A True Shot In the Dark

Story by Joshiah on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#27 of Transformation Stories

When Ted Fulton runs out of options, he runs into trouble, in this latest commission for Aaron Blackpaw!

The story follows Lance Corporal Ted Fulton, who fails to make promotion yet again in the Marine Corps. When his commanding officer suggests that he take part in a hidden program on base, he reluctantly accepts, but accepts all the same.

Upon arrival at the bunker, Ted is greeted by a one-way mirror and a small injection...one that proves too weak to do the job it's meant to. Once Ted is gassed, however, he'll have to give up much more than his name...and he won't be denied some quick, fun revenge.

As always, read, comment and enjoy!


"Your career is going nowhere, Fulton. You really may as well sign up for the project."

"Sir, I don't think that's a fair assessment. I'm just trying to figure out what my vocation is."

The dichotomy of being trapped on a military facility when the sun was shining so brightly overhead, the skies were a perfect shade of blue, and the occasional breeze kept the sweat from building on your brow was something that very few people could appreciate.

Those men and women of the armed forces could understand it all too well, however, and Lance Corporal Ted Fulton was in the middle of a summer where every single day seemed to be pulled right from a comforting painting on the wall.

"You're the only Lance Corporal who didn't make promotion last month, Ted. I'm sure I don't have to tell you just how damning that is to your career progress. You'll almost certainly be asked to resign, when it's time for you to re-up."

Though he didn't want to admit he could be wrong about his decision to serve his country, Ted didn't have an argument for that, and even in maritime, arguing with a superior was never a good idea. "I'll still have a chance for promotion before I have to re-up though, sir."

"Let me be a little more blunt about this, Ted. You're not getting that promotion, and you're not going to re-up. You're done next year, unless you take this opportunity. The battlefield is changing...and you have a chance to change with it."

Ted Fulton wasn't the most skillful soldier in the world. He didn't have the best shot, his physical health was only on par for military standards, and he didn't carry with him any sort of vocational skills that he could offer to try and be an officer.

Being unspectacular, however, meant that he was the perfect specimen to join in to a new program that could wipe his existence from the memory books and give him a fresh outlook on life. Nobody would truly notice if he wasn't at his post the next day, especially if there was a standard excuse for his disappearance.

It was just a matter of time before his resolve finally broke, and his superior officers were all pushing him in the same direction.

"Is it really worth my entire military career?"

"Considering there isn't a whole lot to your military career...yes, Ted. You'd be an idiot not to take this chance."

Officers in the military were many things, but above all, they were almost always blunt. Sugar-coating didn't exist in military life, and if taking this chance was what it would take for Ted to prove his worth, he didn't see any other way out of the situation.

"...Where do I have to go, sir?"

**

To those who would use science to change the world for the better, it seemed all too often that karma was unkind to them, leaving them disfigured by their own research, wounded, or on the most grim of occasions, even killed.

To those who might go down a darker path and try to use science in the name of increasing military strength, it seemed more likely that these consequences came later on in life, when those people would be called upon to atone for their sins and suffer for their crimes.

In this particular case, waiting wasn't going to be any sort of an issue.

"State your name and rank for the record, please."

A large, clear pane of glass and thick, border-less walls of concrete stood behind a simple observation table and an empty room. The room itself felt even more hollow than it truly was, thanks to the featureless walls of boring, dull beige, and the concrete floor that didn't offer anything colorful or interesting.

"Ted Fulton, Lance Corporal."

"Thank you, soldier, and thank you for volunteering for this particular project. Due to the name of these experiments, you are aware that you forfeit your right to any of the sworn, God-given freedoms that ordinary citizens are allowed to enjoy, correct?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Very well, Lance Cooley. You're going to feel a tiny pinch, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about that."

It wasn't a tiny pinch, when all was said and done. It was a rather firm, full pinch, much more reminiscent of a tetanus vaccine than a flu shot. Of course, Ted had been looking the other way the whole time, so that he didn't have to watch the needle penetrate his skin...it was something that he might regret; he could have seen the thick, black fluid in the syringe pouring into his body, the kind of thing that would have let him know right away what a mistake he'd made.

"...Huh. Not even a grimace. I'm impressed..."

The voice that Ted heard wasn't one that he recognized. He couldn't see through the pane of glass, knowing that it was actually a one-way mirror, but at the same time, he was quickly getting the impression that the officers who signed him up for the experiment weren't present, any longer.

"You're Ted Fulton, is that right?"

"Y-yes...Lance Corporal Ted Fulton, United States Marine Corps."

"Good. Let's start by coming up with a better name and rank for you, Ted."

"I...S-sir?"

"Oh, don't worry. You don't have to call me 'sir,'" the voice on the other side of the glass replied. The speakers in the walls were echoing slightly with his voice, one that, merely thanks to the power of Ted's own imagination, sounded extremely dark and frightening. "The moment you agreed to take that shot in the arm, you became the property of the United States government."

"I thought I already was, as a part of the military..."

"Sure you were! The difference is that before, you were actually a human being with a signed contract. Now...you're actual property, and we don't take kindly to insubordination any more than the military does. I hope you can appreciate that."

Confusion might have been an insult to what Ted felt in his mind. The room wasn't spinning, nothing in his body was changing, and though the site of the injection was a little sore, he couldn't seem to find a single thing different, other than the voice that was talking to him. "Lemme guess...this is some kind of a test, and I'm just being grilled by my superior officers for failing to make my promotion...is that right?"

"Not even close, Ted. I hope you're a little bit more accurate with a rifle than you are with your guesses!"

"If you're actually with the government and able to access my files and history, you should know that I'm a damn fine shot with a rifle, stranger."

"You certainly are...it would seem that you're just having a little trouble advancing ranks in the military. Your heart is in it, but it seems that there's something missing...and that's where we come into the picture. We give you what you need to be a success...but in exchange, you have to work for us from now on, instead of the actual military."

"And just how are you any different from the actual military?"

"I'm glad you asked," the voice replied. Through the sensitive speakers, Ted could hear the faint sound of footsteps, as if the man on the other side was pacing back and forth. He was giving a proper speech, and acting as though he was actually visible while doing it. "You see, Ted, there's a lot of jobs that need to be done in the world...espionage, secret murders, secret wars, but...we can't fight them with the military proper, because the American people, and the rest of the world, for that matter, get angry with us when we do what everyone knows needs to be done, but nobody wants to admit that we've run out of other options."

"So you guys wage wars on a black book budget?"

"Basically. We take the guys who aren't cut out for the usual military, give them massive salaries, and make them do the things that no one else is willing to do. There are thousands of people being killed every single day on our budget, and the free world is none the wiser...it's a thankless job, Ted, but if we weren't doing this, the world would be a much scarier place...I can assure you of that."

"And if I decide I don't want to do something?"

"Well, I did say that we don't like insubordination, but everyone has their own way of dealing with that. The military has physical training and mental abuse to make people fall in line and learn to be obedient. We, on the other hand, have that fun little liquid that you were just injected with...and wouldn't you know, it's the thing that's going to make you a useful soldier, as well!"

Ted rolled his eyes, still finding the entire moment a little too hard to believe. "So basically, you're trying to turn me into Captain America, but instead of publicly protecting the world, I'm going to be going around, secretly killing children or something?"

"Only if it comes to that, Ted. We do exhaust all possibilities before we go eliminating kids...the difference between us and the public military is when they say that they've run out of options, we're only just starting to dig into our own little bag of tricks."

"Well, it all sounds very fascinating, but my arm is really starting to hurt, and I don't buy any of this, so if the joke is all said and done, I'd really like to get back to my post-

"Ted...this isn't a joke, and you've got no post to go back to. Hell...they're making up the story about how you were killed in the field right now."

"B-but I'm not even deployed!"

"You were up for deployment next month, as you well know, and a couple days after you land...not that you're actually going to land, of course, you're gonna step on an IED, and that'll take care of your old personal life. We can build you a new one, of course."

Ted glanced at the floor for a moment, feeling a certain gravity upon his shoulders that wasn't there moments before. He clasped his hands together and nervously twiddled his thumbs as he tried to come up with some sort of a reply, but there wasn't anything he could do to disprove anything that had been said already.

"You're bluffing."

It was a simple comeback, and all that Ted could muster as stress continued to cloud his mind. "Not at all, Ted...besides, by the time that news drops, you won't have a care in the world about your old personal life. You'll be much too concerned with how you'll be spending your time with us!"

"But...but what about my parents, and my siblings, and my friends?! They're all going to think that I'm dead!"

"Trust me, Ted, it's for the best that they do. You don't want anyone that we get involved with knowing that you're actually alive. It would put them in serious danger, and I don't think you want that."

"N...no. No way, no way. None of this is really happening. I want out. I don't want to be a part of this program."

"Should have thought of that before you took the shot, Ted. I'm afraid there's no antidote for the poison that we offer."

"This stuff is poison?!"

"No, not literally. What I'm trying to say is...once you're in, you're in for life. There's only one way in, and there's no way out. That little needle was the only contract you'll ever have to sign again, and once the magic starts to take effect, you'll understand exactly why."

Other than a radiating soreness that was spreading out from Ted's right arm and moving up into his shoulder and down his wrist, there wasn't any sort of side effect from the shot, and yet, the voice on the other side of the wall was convinced that some great change was going to take place. Ted wasn't entirely sold on it, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he was still convinced that this was some sort of a test or a mind game, something that he had to keep his cool throughout in order to pass.

"Tell me, Ted; how do you feel?"

"Exactly the same as I did when I came in and took this stupid job," Ted replied, his lips thinning as he did his best not to outright frown at the man he couldn't see.

"Really? You look a little bit panicked and pale, as far as I can tell. I'm beginning to think that maybe this job isn't right for you, after all."

The test had to be coming to an end. Ted was sure of it when he heard those words, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief as he slumped back in the chair he'd been sitting upon the whole time. "Does that mean that I can leave, then?"

"Oh, heavens no. That just means you get a second dose of the stuff! For some, it takes a little bit more than others."

"I...I'm sorry. What?"

There was no one else in the small room that Ted was sitting in, and the person who gave him the first shot left as soon as it was given. The air vents in the ceiling, however, provided a secondary access for the chemical to enter his body, as thin, black clouds started to billow down from the ceiling and coat Ted in his chair.

"I told you that this stuff works, but I suppose I should have been more specific. For most people, the shot takes care of everything, and then it's off to the depot for training, but it would seem that you're one of the special cases...so you need a little extra dose of our miracle medicine for the transformation to fully take effect."

Ted started coughing as the thick mist filled his nostrils and poured into his lungs. He tried to disperse the miasma, swiping at it with his hands and doing his best not to panic as a spicy, peppery taste built in his mouth from inhaling the stuff, a side effect that convinced him to worry all over again. He really was convinced only moments before that this was all some sort of a test, but as the sensation of cracked black pepper poured down his throat and started to well up in his tummy, fear and panic overtook the otherwise calm and collected marine.

"Try not to cough it all up, Ted. It's for the best that you keep it all down for as long as possible...it'll speed the process along."

Once the vents shut off, however, what was left of the mist easily disappeared into the air around him, and what settled on his skin was either quickly absorbed, or brushed away.

"W-what..." Ted tried to reply through a deep, throaty cough, worried that blood might soon follow, "What p-process?"

"This isn't some kind of a movie or a video game, Ted. We can't just make you disappear off of the face of the earth as easily as I said we could...there's witness protection and such, but otherwise, when someone is a registered member of the military, you have to take certain steps to make sure that no one ever finds them or sees them again...and in your case, we've decided to take things to the greatest extreme."

Exposition was a twisted sort of a game for the man on the other side of the mirror, and Ted was already fed up with it as he fell out of his chair, clenching his throat. Even though the gasses had faded into the rest of the air, he could still feel the burning, choking hold that they had on his lungs...it was only a mild step, however, compared to the pain that now exploded from the point of the injection on his arm; it flew across his upper body like wildfire spreading over a dry timber, and in seconds, he was kneeling before the one-way mirror, grunting in terrible pain and cursing the day he ever agreed to join such a sadistic program.

"It would seem the serum is finally starting to take effect. Just ignore the pain the best that you can, Ted...you're a marine, after all. Shouldn't you be good at that?" the voice asked, clearly able to see every moment of Ted's suffering as he writhed about on the floor of the mostly empty room.

An angry, desperate fist slammed against the glass, but it was easily inches thick and tempered, far too strong for even the most powerful men to punch through. "What...w-what the hell have you done to me?!"

"You've got the heart of a proper soldier, Ted. Your body is just a little bit behind the curve, so...we decided to play a little catch up. We just don't have the time to wait, like the military does, so...we speed the process along as best as we can, all while taking special measures to make sure that no one will ever recognize you again."

Ted was able to see his reflection in the base of the mirror, still. He didn't see any real changes at first, and the pain that continued to spread over his every nerve kept him from thinking too much about his outward appearance...until his eyes became wider, and yet, more narrow at the same time. The cool, relaxing brown of his irises ran for the corner of his pupils like a child running for cover, and for mere seconds, his eyes were plain, white orbs, devoid of a proper color. Within the empty pits, however, a bright, stark yellow came into play, and as it did, the sounds of madness filled Ted's ears like nothing he'd ever heard before.

He could hear his own heartbeat, and even the sounds of the nerves within his body firing to the brain, letting the rest of his flesh know that it should be feeling a sensation of pain. Even through the thick glass and concrete walls of the bunker, he thought he could pick up on the sounds of faint, delicate breathing, and the sensation that someone was about to speak again.

"Now, that is what I like to see...the serum is definitely taking effect. How do you feel, Ted?"

"Like...like I'm f-fucking burning alive!" Ted shouted back, though his voice was already becoming unrecognizable. It was deeper and thicker, and somehow, more feminine at the same time, something that Ted wondered if only he could pick up on. As his flesh continued to burn, he started panting all over again, now that he could take a solid breath, and he tried to stand upright, but he felt his legs cramping up terribly, keeping him nearly pinned to the ground, even without a single weight on his back. All of his muscles were beginning to tense, and the only pleasantry he could find was that the burning pain was finally starting to fade, even if it was just slightly.

On the other side of the wall, there was only a snicker. "Don't worry, that feeling will pass within a couple minutes. The worst part of the process is already over, Ted. Congratulations on making it this far...but now, there really is no turning back. Ted Fulton needs to become a distant memory, I'm afraid...replaced by someone else."

"And just who..." Ted paused, gasping again as he felt as though his spine might burst through the base of his ass, "W-who might that be?"

"That's entirely up to you, really. What kind of a name does a strong, proud female call herself? And not just a strong female, mind you, but one with a very wild side."

The change in his eyes and the sensation of his spine elongating were no longer a mystery to Ted, who managed to lean his body up just enough to see the tips of his ears in the mirror. They were no longer human and rounded, but pointy instead, and growing longer and thicker with the rest of his flesh...even as they started to glide up the side of his head. Feeling as though he were trapped in a science-fiction horror film, Ted gasped and fell back to the floor in disbelief, afraid to so much as touch his own flesh...but he simply had to.

It felt leathery. He was definitely developing the thick skin he'd been told he needed to survive the military, only now, it was taking on a literal sense, and didn't show any signs of stopping. The small, thin hairs that covered his arms and his calves were growing in heavily, even over the parts of his legs that had been effectively shaven by wearing ankle high boots on a daily basis for three years. A terrible itch began to follow, but even as Ted moved his hands to scratch it, that only seemed to make the problem worse, and anywhere he touched afterward, he could feel thicker tufts of hair starting to pop up under his fingertips.

"There's a clarity in those eyes, Ted...have you figured out why no one is ever going to recognize you, again?"

Teeth gritted together awkwardly as Ted's canines began to grow, making it difficult for him to close his mouth in the proper, human way. "When I'm d-done with you, pal...no one is gonna recognize you, either!"

"A pretty bold threat, Ted...but an empty one, at that. Before this transformation is over, your body will collapse from exhaustion, and we'll be able to whisk you away with the greatest of ease...shouldn't be a problem at all, really."

It was true that there was plenty of defense between Ted and the man on the other side of the wall, but Ted refused to give up so easily. Fighting through the terrible cramps in his arms, even as they grew out wildly with thick, shaggy fur, Ted reared back and slammed his fist into the window again...

...Tiny as the spot might be, it cracked, just enough for Ted to know the serum was working.

"Now, now...behave yourself in there, Ted. We can't have you being a naughty wolfess, now. You might have to be punished for it!"

Wolfess? Ted thought, his ears flickering upward and moving at the sudden thought in his mind. He hadn't noticed a physical change to reflect that, except for his voice...but there were others coming, ones that he could certainly feel, now that the point had been made to him.

"I may have agreed to join your program, but I know I didn't agree to that," Ted shot back, finding that his body was adjusting well to the flurry of pain that constantly attacked his nerves. The plan might be backfiring after all, as Ted had the kind of determination that was needed to be a successful marine, even if he didn't have all of the skills that he might need to advance in rank. "You're going to reverse this process now, stranger, and then I'll be on my way!"

"That's impossible at this point, Ted. Have you taken a look at yourself?"

Fingernails grew wildly out of control and spread, growing sharper at the tip as Ted managed to stand up, letting his hands dangle at his sides. They were heavy, so much so that he almost felt they should be placed on the floor, just like a second set of feet. Even rationalizing it that way, Ted was clinging to the last fibers of denial, despite feeling the flat, broad spread of his chest become softer and softer, and yet, the muscles weren't fading; there was simply something covering them up, like an extra coating of flesh that grew little by little, becoming rounder and thicker as the seconds passed.

"I understand your frustration and your concern, Ted...I really do! I'm afraid that I wasn't joking earlier, however. There really is no way to turn back from this...and there's no antidote for the needle you were given earlier...that wasn't just fancy wordplay. Once this transformation is complete, you'll be looking at the face you have to wear for the rest of your natural born life, however long that might last."

A grimace was already hard enough for Ted to wear with his awkward, oversize teeth and fangs, but his face started to finally adjust, as his nose and lips pushed further and further out from his body. He could feel the skeletal structure underneath beginning to warp and shift, as if his bones were nothing more than slick clay to be reformed by a master potter. It was a sickening sensation, sending Ted's stomach into a churn, but it paled in comparison to the feeling of his own manhood shrinking back up into his body uncomfortably, as if it were literally being pushed and stuffed up into his torso. He wanted to reach out and strike the glass again, but he instead brought his hands to examine his own face, and feeling a shape that was decidedly canine, he finally dropped down to his knees, just in time for the thick fur to spread upon them and cushion his fall.

There were only minute details left to change, as the fur spread across the ends of the growing muzzle on Ted's face. His claws raked through the fur in frustration as his chest grew up and out to a final, proud size, and his shoulders hunched over as he felt a twisting sensation in the pit of his crotch.

It would be the last time he could call himself a "he," at least, biologically.

"Just like I thought...the transformation was more than you could handle, Ted. We'll come up with a new name for you in time, and we'll find some nice, new living quarters for you to dwell in while you adjust to your new body. When you awake, you'll find you have the kind of strength that people only joke about...and abilities the likes of which you could never dream of."

A piercing sensation was the only thing that kept Ted from succumbing to unconsciousness, as a sharp, pointed end of bone shot through the base of back and came to rest just above his backside. It was a gruesome sight, but flesh came to form around it almost immediately, and upon the flesh, fur quickly spread, until Ted was blessed with an honest-to-goodness tail, one that began to wag as sadistic desires filled his mind.

"Why don't we put them to the test right now, stranger?"

"What...?"

Ted's eyes flew open as the piercing of bone through flesh kept him in the land of the living, and he leapt up, slamming his fist harshly into the glass and leaving a wide, deep crack across it. Ted could nearly smell the fear of the man on the other side with his new, heightened senses, and he ignored the face that he could feel his own genitals turning inside out still, until there was no protrusion between his legs whatsoever, save for a small, buzzing clit that was just as eager for some action as Ted was for violence.

As her fist crashed through the glass on the second swing with a terrifying CRASH and she leapt right through the mess, she decided she'd compromise with herself and satiate both desires.

"H...HOLY SHIT! Ted, l-listen, buddy...you need to get back in that room and calm yourself down, r-right now!"

"It's Tess, actually...and I won't be doing anything of the sort."

The man on the other side wasn't quite as wimpy as Tess was expecting, but he wasn't exactly a shining example of machismo, either. Clad in a simple, white dress shirt with a black tie, black sport coat and black slacks, he was the definition of a typical, undercover goonie who wasn't trying that hard to hide his identity, one that was about to be stripped away from him by a monster that he helped to create.

"Ted, Tess, I don't really give a flying fuck! Get back in there and wait for the sedatives to come on!"

"Fat chance of that, pal," Tess replied, rolling her eyes and reaching down with a powerful, ferocious paw and wrapping it around the man's neck, pinning him back into his chair. "If I wasn't so merciful, you'd already be dead...according to what you've told me, I wouldn't even break a sweat doing it, either."

"Y-you just burst through a w-window...that can take point blank g-gunfire..." the man tried to reply, though he found his voice entirely strained with such a terrifyingly powerful grip around it. It was impossible to know just how powerful Ted had become, now that he was actually Tess, but it was certain that she was more than a match for anyone that the man could call out to. He was completely at the mercy of the wolfess on top of him, one who was threatening to burst out of her clothes from the expanses of fur underneath them.

"Sure did. It felt pretty good, too...not gonna lie; it would have been even nicer if it was your skull that I'd been crushing like a pumpkin," Tess admitted, letting out a chuckle that was so cutesy and feminine, it was eerie in following such a horrific statement. "Not to mention, I took a little mercy on you when I saw you admiring my figure. Pretty shameless about ogling women, even in the face of death, are we?"

"What?! I w-was not!" he tried to argue, though it was a flimsy statement at best. His head was tilted back and held there, forced to gaze up at a pair of full, supple breasts that were genetically engineered to be perfect; any man would have trouble denying himself a gaze, much less looking away from them. "You're some sort of a genetic freak now! Why on earth would I be attracted to that?!"

Tess crossed her arms over her chest and grinned, tensing up her muscles just enough that the military uniform around her frame began to tear at the seams. She shifted her shoulders and allowed the top to fall away from her body, exposing her newly made bosom and leaving her entire upper half for the man to savor and enjoy, though she wouldn't dare to let him touch it. "Whatever you say, pal. You still haven't looked me in the eyes, even once."

"That's because they're terrifying."

"No, it's because you're too busy staring at my tits...ones that I plan to put to very good use later on...but for now, I think it's about time we had a little talk. What is your name, again? I don't think I caught it."

"It's...it's Ralph."

"Okay Ralph...here's the deal. I'm gonna get up and walk outta here without any sort of interference. I should still kill you for what you did to me, but since I'm feeling merciful, I'm gonna meet you halfway on this one and just take something else from you...something that could be worth more or less than your life, depending upon how you value it."

Ralph shivered at the mention of death, knowing that there was nothing he could do to escape it, but his fears began to subside as the vice-grip around his throat began to ease up. "And what could you possibly take from me, Tess?"

"Your dignity."

Pants were torn away in a flash by the deadly claws upon Tess' paws, and Ralph began to shudder all over again as Tess ripped through his plain, striped boxers. There was just a little life in his member down below, something that Tess knew would be there by scent alone, and she shook her head in disappointment as she took a grip around the base of the length, while sliding out of her fatigues.

"Tess, you are not going to do this to me! I have a wife and kids, damn it!"

"I'm sure one of them is disappointed about this, then. You ever think about taking some of that serum for yourself?"

Ralph was too ashamed to reply, only able to gasp and shiver against the chair as Tess lowered herself down into his lap and dug her claws deep into his shoulders, just enough to draw blood. It was an easy way to make sure that he wasn't going anywhere, even as Tess felt a cock spreading her new womanhood for the first time.

It was a pretty amazing experience for her, one that she knew she'd never forget. She could feel her outer folds giving way to the head of the penis, slipping open so easily and naturally, only for the invading flesh to encounter the barrier of her hymen. She winced a little bit, but compared to the pain she felt earlier, it was a welcome obstacle for her to overcome, until she could feel the full length of the trapped man inside of her, swimming around in her slick, slippery passage.

"Go home to your wife, Ralph...and let her smell it. Let her smell the scent of a hungry, fertile woman all over your body, all over your cock...Let her know that when the time came to be a man and do the right thing, you simply sat there and let a woman like me bounce herself on your length like you were nothing more than a common, trashy manwhore..."

Tess slurped her long, canine tongue along the side of Ralph's face and slowly stood up, only stepping away from the poor man when she could see her juices glistening on his standing erection. She could easily have brought him to orgasm with her new body, but he didn't deserve such a fate...she was starting off her new life on the right foot, choosing mercy over punishment.

Tess...I like the sound of that, she thought, as she licked the faint trails of blood from her clawtips and started to navigate her way out of the bunker.