Lost Dark
#1 of The Dark Days
With Death Wolf defeated and Mitch and Chloe enjoying sometime alone together; the team decided to go their separate ways and live their own lives. "Goodbye Dark!" "We'll miss you!!" The girls huddled round the dark wolf and cuddled him, sad to see him leave. As the trio split away, Krystal and Sally approached him. "Thank again for all your help Dark. You have been a good friend." "No, thank you," he replied, "you have showed me an adventure I would have never experienced alone." Sally gave him a friendly smile and kissed him on the cheek, "Goodbye my friend." Picking all his stuff and taking it with him, Dark went to say goodbye to his final friend. Finding him at work in the laboratory bearing a heavy lab coat and welding goggles, Dark just smirked at his hardworking companion. "Still working are we?" he asked with a joke. Nik looked up and removed his large goggles, "Are we off then my friend?" "'fraid so!" The had a friendly hug as Nik pointed to his device, "Before you go, Dark, take a look at this!" He was obviously very excited at the what he had created; thrusting the device at Dark. It was a glove of a black shade with lights and buttons arbitrarily spread across the surface. Dark proceeded to pull the glove on and flexed his digits inside. "Nice...what is it?" "My new invention," he cried, clapping his hands in an aloof fashion, "The CPG or the Cerinian Portal Glove. With this an none Cerilian can program the glove to locations and open up a portal to take them there." "Wow, neat!" Dark looked the glove over, peering at all the buttons and gadgets. This his curiosity building, Dark noticed the large red button on the top of the wrist. "Dark, don't push that button!" A flash of blue light filled the room and rocked the ship. Nik was blinded by the huge energy surge and (when his eyes finally adjusted again) he found that Dark had disappeared into an unknown time and place. He was lost to the dimensions.
Dark could hear the voices as the portal began to open on the other side. "How are we doing for food?" "We're okay I guess. We can't stay out here long..." The portal burst into life and Dark could see shapes on the other side. "What the hell is that?" "Are they attacking?" "No...it's no weapon I've seen..." There voices were deep a muffled as if they were talking through gas masks. Dark was thrown from the portal and hit the ground with a the thump, knocking him unconscious.
With deep heat was uncomfortable for Dark which had covered him in a layer of thick sweat. Chained to the ceiling and floor with heavy chains, Dark slowly came to with the figures in front of him again. He surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large, dim-light hall. The walls were made of hard, dust-covered rock with metallic pillars reinforcing the weakened, ancient stones. A dry wind blew through the caverns and kissed Dark's naked chest. The dust clung to the soles of his exposed feet. His back seemed quite light; something was missing. He then returned his attention to the two figures in front of him. One was a female panther with golden fur. She wore a sort of primitive battle suit and armour of grey colour. She had a judgemental look on her face. The other was a much taller figure with a strange build; the creature in front of him lacked all fur. He was cover in skin with patches of fur on his head and little on his arms. He had large muscles and was at least a foot and half taller than Dark. He wore orange dungarees and a white t-shirt underneath like a mechanic. He had large weld goggles on his head. He was leaning on a near-by table with his arms crossed in wariness. "Where am I?" asked Dark in a hoarse voice. The large mechanic grunted, "Who the fuck are ya?" "I believe I asked first," answered Dark in a cocky tone. "You son of a bitch," cried the mechanic angrily as he approach Dark. He revealed his right arm which was missing. In it's place was an arm cannon connected to a robotic upper arm. The cannon began to charge up with energy as the mechanic stared behind it in rage of Dark's disrespect. "Wow, nice gun!" smiled Dark. "Marcus!" came a call from behind him, "The last thing we need is more bloodshed." With a grumble, the large man moved away revealing two new people at the archway. One held a large scabbard, staring at the large weapon in her hand. "HEY!! Dent my sword and there'll be hell to pay!" The small red skunk laid the sword down. The other with him was another person without fur. It was a female wearing an identical space suit to panther. She drew closer to Dark and took a deep breath, "I hate talking to just a face. What's your name, wolf?" "Someone with manners? My name is Dark." "Dark, huh? Very mysterious name. Nice fur you have there." "Nice fur you don't have there. What species are you?" "Human. Have you never seen a human before?" "Well my friend Mitch told me about them. He used to be one." The girl gave him a bewildered look. "Quite an unusual person aren't you?" she asked. "Right now that we know each other can you release me from these chains?" Pulling out the key and unlocking the gauntlets, Dark rubbed his sore wrists. "So what is this place?" he asked. "This," she presented with her arms raised, "Is the Shield; a fortress and stronghold for which our race survives. We are located 30 feet below earth and 10 feet under reinforced plating. It protects us from the other races warring above us." "'Other races'?" "There are two main ones above us. Our race has always been a mix between those with fur and those without. A sort of infection began to spread in the races. 'The Hast' as we call them are the infected humans. They live as animals of their former selves who thrive on killing and eating those they hunt; their humanity and intelligence fade. 'The Hunters' however, are furs that began to create weapons and rifles. Although a small tribe, they hunt with aptitude and fury; true self-commissioned soldiers." She led him to a larger room where a few more were waiting. "Is this all that's left of the uninfected?" "God no. We are the fighters of our race. The rest of the race is in hyper sleep in the caverns below us. Hey, why don't I introduce you to the team." The group congregated in the middle to receive their introduction. "This is Reilly our science technician and medical officer." A brown skunk with large glasses in a white lab coat gave him a timid smile. "This is Sasha our head of defence." The white female lioness offered her hand. "Chelsea is our surveillance operative." The pink bat gave Dark a huge smile. "You've meet Marcus and Maria as our engineer/ mechanic and top warrior respectively." Marcus weakly raised his hand as Maria shook his hand. "This is Lucas our weapon smith." The red skunk rushed up and shook his hand excitedly, "I really like your sword. Could you teach me how to use it?" The girl soon butted in, "Maybe later, Lucas. And, finally, I am Kiva, the head of the Shield. It's a pleasure to meet you." She offered her hand which Dark accepted. For a girl, she had a very confident, firm grip; she seemed like one of authority and assertion, a real leader. "First," she began, "We need to place you through some tests to check your bio structure and then..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dark interrupted, "That sounded painful." "Relax, it's completely harmless. We need to know about anything that may harm you. We also need to check species, fitness and DNA pattern. Then I need to ask you a few more questions." Dark nodded in agreement as Kiva called Reilly over, "Reilly, take him to the lab for the tests." The timid skunk nodded and signalled for Dark to follow him. "You're the one who's going to be probing me, huh?" "Well," murmured Reilly, "I hope to do little probing. We have a scanner instead." "Shame," tusked Dark with disappointment, "I bet your quite cute without those big glasses!" Reilly began to blush bringing a big grin to Dark's face. "Aw come on I kid," he roared with a chuckle, giving the skunk a friendly nudge, "A little joke!" The two finally emerged to a large room. Although the network of tunnels looked similar, the large rooms had big differences. The lab was the largest so far (and quite stereotypical in a way). Tall glass structures and vials of seeping vapour dotted the work surfaces. A few Bunsen's were lit as mixtures of all colours boiled and bubbled restlessly in tubes. "I just need to take a DNA sample," asked Reilly, revealing a large syringe. "Go for it." After retrieving the sample Reilly dropped the mixture into a large machine and pushed the button. "Now could you enter the scanner." Reilly pointed to a large tube in the corner of the room. The middle opened so Dark could step in. "Also," continued Reilly, "You.....need to....um....disrobe.." Seeing the deep crimson appear in Reilly's cheeks, Dark removed his trousers and stepped in. The futuristic machine screeched like a caged bird as blasts of light bathed Dark's body. Reilly removed the cylinders from the machine and poured the mixture onto a microscope slid.
Dark soon had been shown his own room for which the rest of his clothes had been laid. In the corner was his lost sword with a note ('Come and see me later for some training ?, Lucas') clipped on the scabbard. Unlike the rest of the Shield, the rooms were much more pleasant. They were well lit with carpets laid down, soothing Dark's sore feet. With small en-suite built in, the rooms were a small home away from home. It seemed slightly aggravating that Dark's old home was not as well furnished as his room but he decided not to think about it. A knock came on his door and Dark punched the panel to open it. "Hello Dark," said Kiva with a smile, "May I come in?" "Of course, come in!" he replied. "Ah, I see you've found your clothes." Dark (being the warrior of the jungle) had designed his wardrobe around Mitch. He wore a grey tank top, black jeans and a tinted grey long coat like Mitch's. He never wore shoes, however; living in the jungle for his life had thickened his soles so much they acted as sandals. "Thanks for washing them." "My pleasure. Dark, I need to speak to you, ask you a few questions." Offering her a seat, Dark took his place in front of her and readied himself for the questions. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked. Kiva seemed quite surprised by her companion, "I though I was asking the questions?" she inquired with a smirk. "I thought of this as a two way thing. You don't mind...?" She grinned gleefully, "I prefer two-ways! Well anyway the Shield are the guardians of our race. Long ago we were a prosperous race with all of what could be envied. And it was. A race invaded a lived in the mountains of our great lands. We ignored their presence until they became hostile. We fought a great war with the invaders and won. However, before we could destroy the species they created a biological weapon of great power. The weapon infected and transformed most of our race and they still roam the lands above today. All the uninfected are kept here in the Shield. We must wait until we have a chance to wipe out the creatures above or they die of age or natural cause. Only then will we awaken our race and live on the surface again. Right," sighed Kiva after her long tale, "Now for your part of the bargain. Why did you come here?" "Mistake...actually. My friend created a glove that...the glove!" Dark suddenly released what he was missing. He jumped up from his chair in panic with Kiva trying to calm him down at his side, "Dark, what's the matter?" "My friend Nik gave me a glove that can transport it's user from one dimension to another through a power known as a 'Cerinian portal'. I don't know where it's gone..." "Calm down, I'll find out." Pulling a radio off her belt, Kiva called to her colleagues, "Marcus, please report to Dark's room." A few moments and the large, staid looking figure that was Marcus appeared at the door, sweat dripping from his face. "What's the matter Kiva? That generator isn't gunna repair itself." "Marcus, you and Maria found Dark so what did you do with Dark's glove?" Marcus stood in silence, staring at Dark and Kiva in abhorrence, "Are you fucking kidding me?!? You pulled me away from a job for this!?!!?" "Look fuckhead I need that glove so where was it?" "Don't screw with me Wolfie I'll blow your fucking head off!!" "MARCUS!! That's enough; answer the question." With a long silence Marcus took a deep breath and scratched his head to jog his memory. "I think", he replied finally, "I left it on the ground. Maria and I just wanted to get him inside before the infected found us." "Fuck. There's been a heavy sandstorm or two since then. It must be buried out there." "We need to find it!" Kiva and Marcus fell silent, "Dark...I can't spare any of my team out there. They stay at the door but that's as far as they go. You also need an enviro-suit."
Marcus stood to the left of Dark and Maria to the right as they entered the air lock. The heavy door slammed shut and locked as the whistles of the pressures changed, bring heed to the nearing wasteland. "We only venture into the arid ruins of our planet for food," said Maria in fear as she stared forward at the door, waiting for it to open, "And the infected could be anywhere." "Don't get in the way of us pup..." warned Marcus as he cocked his arm-cannon. The door slowly opened to blast the trio with warm air. Dust and sand covered the ground as cracked rocks and dead trees; their twisted branches clawing at the bleeding sky. "Hurry up for the infected get here. GO!!!" Dark rushed into the deep sand and scraped through the sea of golden grains. "I'm never gunna find it!!" he cried. "Hurry up, kid!" cried Maria looking through her scope. Dark could hear echoes in the distance. Cries of those without soul; screams of those in perpetual agony. The infected. "Come on, come on!" A shot was fired. A group of pale humans sprinted over the dunes; squealing and baying for Dark's blood. "SHIT!! THE HAST!! HURRY THE FUCK UP!!!" More and more came, dozens at a time. Unsheathing his large blade, Dark began to fight of the horde. With giant swings and swipes took off groups at a time. Jumping high into the air and pulling the blade down flat caused a huge wind blowing the sand away, revealing a dark patch in the sand. "I got it!" He rushed back to the pair as Marcus and Maria covered him. "There's two many, we'll never close the door!" cried Maria. "That's what you think..." With a huge smile, Marcus punched a controls on his cannon. The end began to open up as a huge amount of energy charged up. "Thank you Lucas." A huge beam shook the Earth, vaporizing a large number of the horde. The doors locked and closed as the Hast crashed and banged against the door. (((This is a real hash of an effort but I just wanted to post it. Hope Dark likes it! Dark is under copyright of Dark Wolfe. Nik[olas] is under copyright of Sonic Fox. Reilly, Lucas, Maria, Marcus, Kiva, Sasha and Chelsea are under copyright of me, SPAMZZKRR.)))