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Last Chapter-

_During a lull in-between vicious, vicious, vicious snowstorms, Lady Ursa conducts a scan of the area and discovers a structure or structures of some sort twelve miles north of their location. Tired, weak and hungry she and Alex brave the elements and hike toward the structure arriving before nightfall at a secret remote outpost where the worst criminals of the empire are collected and housed. With next to no options left, Alex and Lady Ursa decide to stay. They wonder if they will ever be able to return home from the isolated facility.... _

Counter Earth Chronicles

Chapter 100: Playing A Game You Can Only Lose (The Outpost Of The Forgotten Part Two)

Day 323 continued

Lady Ursa examined the remains of warden Fields. "He has been dead for quite some time pet." She said solemnly.

"That and it looks like something horrific happened to him- he died with his mouth and eyes wide open." I said as my bear knight checked the body.

"There is no obvious indication of what killed him."

"Mistress, there is an even bigger problem." I said locking eyes with her. "If this is the real Warden Fields, who or what invited us into the facility yesterday and gave us the tour of the place?"

"What is their end-game?" Lady Ursa said thinking out loud.

"Do the other prisoners know?" I added.

Regardless their were just too many questions and not enough answers.

My she beast assisted me in re-closeting the remains of the warden. We then combed through the rest of his apartment finding two more bodies in two other closets both avians, most likely support staff of the facility.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked taking her paws.

"We are going to act stupid and cheerful pet as if we hadn't seen what we had seen." She whispered to me. "And then we are very quietly going to try to figure out what is happening here and who is behind it."

So we left the fourth floor of the administration building and headed to the library on third floor.

"What are we doing here mistress?"

"Trying to find records. I want to know just how large the support staff was for this outpost, who they were and their names." My warrior bear said as she started looking through pads on the shelves of the library.

"To what end mistress?"

"That will give us an idea of how many bodies to look for."

(That was quite a gruesome thought.)

So Lady Ursa and I combed through the facility's library. We had assumed that it was where all the records of the building were stored. We were wrong. We just found periodicals, electronic books and such about four months old.

"Good morning Alex, Ursa how are you this fine day?" Warden Fields said peeking into the library.

He looked exactly like the body we had found upstairs in the closet right down to the red eyes and the nicely trimmed blond beard.

"Just splendid sir. Just trying to pass the time." I said trying very hard not to act unnerved.

"Checking up on current events eh?"

"Trying to." My bear knight said. "However all of these publications are several months old."

"Yes the library is only updated when we receive a new shipment. Bertha or Boris then place the new pads and periodicals over here." The man or who ever it was impersonating the warden said pointing to a shelf next to the entrance.

"Great, we will know where to look from now on." I said.

"So you two are more up to date than these periodicals. What is the latest news going around the empire?" He asked us.

"Well, when we left for our little holiday someone was challenging the High Evolutionary for his position." I said looking up from the pad I was glancing at.

"Now who would be foolish enough to do that?"

"Rick Rivers." My she beast said turning to stare at the being impersonating the warden. "He announced that he was running to replace the master."

"That fool. This is a dictatorship not a democracy. The master will most definitely put a stop to that and him. I can't wait to see how it turns out- although it will be several months until the next shipment. Anyway, I will leave you two to enjoy the rest of your morning." He said departing.

(Despite being a normal conversation, that was quite disturbing.)

"Anything mistress?"

"None Alex. I was hoping to find records from the facility. Not books and periodicals."

"Where do you think something like that would be housed here?" I asked my fierce ursine warrior.

"I don't know perhaps the communications room? It would be best to do this very, very quietly. We don't want to arouse suspicions."

"Agreed." I replied.

So we ended our morning reading session and headed to the communications room where we had seen the hub monitor yesterday. For us it was just a quick walk down the hall and around the corner. We walked into the room and found a leather couch in front of the monitor.

"This seems very reminiscent of home." I said inspecting the sofa and the remote control next to it.

"Let me see that pet."

Lady Ursa examined the remote control. She clicked a button calling up a virtual display. She then tried to contact castle Wundagore.

**COMMUNICATION ERROR**

Was the response on the screen. My bear knight tried again this time castle Sovereign in World Five. Castle Sevren in World Three and then castle Warwick in World Two. She received the same response each time.

"If you are trying to contact out you can't." We heard a husky voice from behind us.

My mistress turned around to lock eyes with a five foot tall brown male bear.

"Monitor has been broken for more than year." The bear beastial said to us.

"Thank you ah...." I started to say.

"Boris. Pleasing to meet you Alex and Madam Ursa." He said kissing my mistress paw. "Boris was across hall working on environmental unit for warden."

The bear beastial was a foot shorter than my mistress and initially looked stocky but on closer examination he had quite a pleasing appearance a small narrow waist which gave rise to a muscular v shaped torso, and abdomen with beautiful biceps. His fur was a dark shade of brown much darker than my mistress or Basil's. His most striking feature apart from the way he spoke was the white furred elongated v birth mark just below his collar bone on his chest. It was clearly visible from the overalls he was wearing.

"I hope nothing serous?" My she beast asked taking her paw back.

"Just routine maintenance. Warden has charged Boris with keeping heating system working."

"I see, if it goes down we will all be popsicles." I said smiling.

"Popsicles?" The two bears asked in unison.

"Yeah they are frozen treats that children... oh never mind."

"Only thing on monitor Alex can access is library of hub movies previously downloaded." The bear in the overalls said.

Boris showed us how to access that library via the interface. We saw about twenty movies that could be watched.

"Why thank you Boris. I have a distinct feeling that we will have more than enough time to watch them all." Lady Ursa said.

"Too true it is small facility. Not much entertainment outside of cell."

(That statement spoke volumes.)

"Boris has to get back to rounds. If have any questions come see Boris." The he beast said leaving the room.

"He seems nice." I said as we watched him depart. "It also seems that he has taken a liking to you too mistress."

"Remember pet, that he was sent here for a reason even if the warden has tasked him with keeping this facility running."

We continued to play with the hub monitor, but could not find any type of database with the information we were looking for.

"So where to next?" I asked my bear knight.

"We need to find out where the records are housed, it seems to me that we should try the warden's office."

We left the communications room, descended a floor and rounded the corner to the back. Where we found the warden in his office talking to Bertha.

"Looks like he is in a meeting." I said.

"This is going to be difficult if all the information is only located in there." My she beast said.

"Maybe its not. Keep the warden occupied. I am going back to his apartment." I ordered my mistress.

"For how long?" She asked me.

"Five minutes and then meet me in the cafeteria." I said as I headed back upstairs.

Once I arrived on the fourth floor, I started combing through the domicile checking every drawer, shelf and bookcase. It was in the bedroom that I found some pads that were on the night stand. I quickly examined the contents of each selecting one. This was what we were looking for.

I quickly made my way back out into the hallway in front of the other apartments that were made for the support staff. There were about sixteen in all. Part of me wondered if they were as nice as the warden's. I also wondered if they were holding the remains of any more staff.

I put that thought out of my mind and quickly descended the stairwell to the first floor where I joined my she beast in the cafeteria if you could call it that.

"Did you find anything?" She asked as I sat down at her table.

"Exactly what you were looking for." I said handing her the tablet. "There were two next to the bed."

"Good job! Now let's see what we can see." She said as she looked at it contents. "This is a mini manifest of this facility. I see staff compliments and prisoner compliments."

"So how much support staff did this place have?"

"It looks to be seven in all." Lady Ursa said locking eyes on me.

"Mistress Is that all?"

"Apparently it is a small and forgotten outpost. There was the warden, engineer, healer, chef, guards and cleaner."

"That is a very small staff." I said.

"There was Warden Fields who over saw the facility." She said showing me his picture.

"That's him. Who else?"

"Isha Deer. Engineer, Lena Fears. Healer, Stanley Harsh. Chef, Matty Night. Cleaner."

I looked at the staff positions on the pad. They were all beastials. We hadn't found any of their remains either.

"The two we saw in the apartment. I don't see them here."

"The eagle avian was named Vivix. The vulture avian was called Vile. The were the guards." My she beast said finding their pictures.

"If the warden and the guards are dead...." I said thinking.

"This is a take over Alex, but by who?"

"Good morning Alex, Ursa funny finding you here!" Spirit said as he snuck up on us. "How are you this fine morning?"

(Where the hell did he come from?!)

"Bored Spirit. This facility is so small and there is very little to do here."

"Well I see you found the periodicals in the library." The spotted dog said.

"That we did." My bear knight said adding her voice into the conversation.

"What about the movies in the media room?" The canid beastial asked.

"Yeah, guess we could start going through them next." I said.

"It won't take you long. But yes I can see your point it is easy to get claustrophobic. The outpost was designed that way. I was just about to start on the next meal. Can I get you anything?"

"Dessert would be nice." I said trying to act stupid and cheerful.

"Alex." Lady Ursa said adding to our cover.

"Right make that an orange juice." I said humbly.

"Apple for me." The lady bear added.

"Right away you cuties." The canid beastial said.

"He's goofy." My she beast observed.

"Like another goofy cook I know. Say his markings are quite distinctive what breed of dog is he?"

Lady Ursa checked the pad she was holding. "He is Tian mountain dog."

"His markings make him look adorable. I love the white streak down his nose and mouth, the orange splotches on his cheeks and eyebrows, loppy ears and brown face. Say, what is he in for?"

"Poisoning." My she beast said. "According to this he was in a failed relationship and went nuts when he saw his lover with another."

(I rescind that comment.)

"How nuts?"

"He poisoned them and the entire neighborhood they lived in."

"And the warden made him the cook?" I gasped.

"Her are your drinks cuties." The goofy he beast said returning to our table.

"We will take that to go." I said.

"Right, see you at feeding time!"

So we departed the cafeteria.

"So what is our next move?" I asked my she beast.

"We have a list of prisoners here. I think we should very quietly do a verification."

"To what end mistress?"

"To make sure everyone who is supposed to be here is here. This is maximum security; the prisoners here are locked up and forgotten. So I believe it shouldn't be hard. Remember apart from us only Bertha, Boris and Spirit are allowed out of their cells." My mistress said to me.

"But how do we this without drawing attention?"

"Very subtlety pet."

So we we returned to the prison building and decided to start our informal prisoner count on the fourth floor where the prisoners who had received the living death were housed. After we cross referenced the 'statues' with the prisoner list we planned to then move down to the prisoner wings on the second and first floors and do a count there.

As we were about to enter the fourth floor from the staircase we were greeted by the warden.

"Afternoon." I said.

"Exploring the facility again?" He said blocking our view of the floor. There was some type of activity going on behind him.

"Yes. My bear knight replied. Alex wanted to get another look at the prisoners who are stored in this floor." My lady bear said.

"Yeah it is weird to see the judged and condemned in such states of suspended animation. It is like we are in some type of sculpture gallery." I said as I tried to peer around Warden Fields. He wouldn't let me.

"That won't be possible." Warden Fields said.

"Why is that?" My bear knight asked.

"This floor is closed for emergency maintenance." He responded rather abruptly.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

"Structural support is in need of reinforcement. This is an old outpost after all."

"Are you doing this on your own?" My she beast asked.

"Oh no, Boris is helping, he is a beast of many talents don't you know. But it is not safe to be here right now. I will let you know when work is completed."

"Oh okay." I said as I started to turn around and ran into Bertha who was coming up the stairwell after us.

"Afternoon Alex, Ursa. What are you two up to?" The female human asked us.

"Trying to keep from going stir crazy." I responded as my mistress and I tried to act casual.

"The idleness can drive you crazy if you let it. So I advise don't." My mistress's human doppelgänger replied.

"So what else are you two doing?"

"Just exploring the outpost." Lady Ursa replied. "From the outside it looks bigger than it actually is."

"The prison building only has the four floors- the prison wings on the first and second and the art galleries on the third and fourth floors where those who have received the living death are stored. Oh and the arena in the basement. The rest of the building is housed with the components to keep the outpost running."

"The design of this building is quite simplistic. Small and compact." Lady Ursa said.

"Not good for those who are freaked out by small spaces." I added.

"If you are going to explore the prison wing, be careful many of the prisoners don't liked to be stared at for long periods of time." She said looking at the pad my mistress had been holding. "Which reminds me, I have been meaning to conduct a check up on the two of you since you arrived." Bertha said.

"You mean now?"

"You two don't appear to be busy, so why not now?"

The ex-wrestler pulled us out of the prison building and to the infirmary in the administration building next door. We passed through the glass hallway connecting the two buildings.

"Wow look at that." My mistress said.

"Another snowstorm is on its way." Bertha said. "They are quite prevalent this time of year."

"We should be thankful that we aren't out there." I added.

We were brought back to the little room with the counter and table. Bertha sat me down, removed my clothing down to my undergarments and conducted a physical examination checking my pulse, breathing, temperature, chest, arms, legs, throat and neck using some type of scanner and pad.

"You don'ts seem the worse for wear despite what you have been through. Hmm...."

"Something more?" My she beast asked concerned.

"He has a cute butt." Bertha said.

"That's what I hear." I said.

"That and you do have a slight temperature freckles. Most likely your immunity was weakened do to the inhospitable temperatures outside. I would advise drinking lots of fluids and snuggle your companion here- a lot."

I blushed as she made that assessment. "I think I can do that."

"I have noticed that you two are quite close. But how close?" The ex-wrestler said as I started to turn red. "Oh, that close. Your turn my lady." She said instructing my she beast to strip to her undergarments and sit on the table.

"It is really is amazing just how much you two are alike." I said staring back and forth between the human female and beastial female.

"Yes." Bertha said as she conducted the same tests on Lady Ursa. "Your results are nominal. I will create a file and place your physicals in them. That will be all."

"See you later." I said as my bear knight reclothed.

"Stay out of trouble." She warned us.

"It is a bit hard to do when we are housed in the prison wing with, you know the prisoners." I said helping my mistress down from the table.

"It is odd. Why weren't we assigned one of the apartments in the staff section on the fourth floor?" My lady bear inquired.

"Those units are mostly used for storage after the support staff left." Came the abrupt answer.

(Rather too abrupt.)

With that we cut back over to the prison building to resume counting prisoners on the first and second floors. Both floors contained twenty-four cells each housing beastials and humans and former humans. On the first floor we found the cells that were housing former rebels now beastials Kathryn Hurt, Nikki Waters and Ricky Raccoon and Chester Conner from the Animalita. As we were conducting our count, I noticed their cells were empty. Quite odd.

We finished the first floor and returned to the second floor counting the beastials occupying the twenty-four cells there before returning to our own. We noticed that several cells in our wing were empty too except for the one by the entrance housed by a thin, tall and fierce looking lizard with sharp teeth, claws and spiked head. Who studied us intently.

(Odd these cells didn't seem to be empty last night.)

"So what is the final tally?"

"Inconclusive pet. The pad said that there is supposed to be sixty prisoners in this facility. Eighteen on this floor, Seventeen on the floor above us and twenty-five in the art galleries."

"But since we can't get access to them, we can't perform an accurate count and the prison wings are also missing prisoners." I said thinking. Quite odd.

"Pet, let's wait and re-conduct the count later this evening when everyone has gone to sleep."

"That sounds like a plan. Bertha did prescribe rest for my slight temperature anyway."

So we spent the rest of the afternoon in our cell. I was sleeping and snuggling my bear knight while she was studying the pad I had found.

I guess several hours had passed by when I was awakened by Spirit for the evening feeding.

"Wakey! Wakey!"

"Hey Spirit." I said yawning.

"You are so adorable when you sleep!" The beastial canid said to me. "Where is your roommate?"

"She is not here?! I guess she must be exploring the facility again."

"Here is tonight's feature." He said handing me a bowl.

"What is it?"

"Noodles, with meatballs and pasta. Don't tell the bovines prisoners." He winked at me.

I sampled the dish with a little hesitancy.

"Why so hesitant?"

"I heard why your were banished to this place." I said looking at the canid beastial.

"Hey, my ex recovered... eventually."

(Eep!)

"Alex, I would not have any reason to poison you. Especially since I am trying to make a good impression. Now eat your noodles." The spotted dog ordered.

Carefully, I did and to my surprise it tasted really good and so I ate dinner and waited for my warrior bear to return and waited and waited.

It was around 7:15 when I decided to start exploring again. I left our cell, and descended a floor into the basement where I decided to check out the gym. When I entered I found the arena a flurry of activity.

"YAA---ARGH!" *OOF*

I saw a young adult moose (sans the antlers) go sailing by me.

(What the what?!)

He had been thrown from the ring Lady Ursa and I had seen earlier landing on the mats around it. I cautiously stepped forward to peer into the ring. When I did, I witnessed a stocky dark blue gargoyle being body slammed by that lizard from our prison wing.

*AUGH* The creature moaned as the air was pressed out of its lungs.

"You look bored human." I heard a harsh voice say.

I looked up and locked eyes with that tall lizard with the sharp claws and teeth I had seen earlier.

"Well, if it isn't the noob?" The moose said getting up. "Come to work out?!"

"I was thinking about that. What are you three doing?"

"Wrestling. It passes the time." The gargoyle wheezed.

"And curbs aggression." The scalie said to me.

(Wait I thought this place was maximum security. What are they doing out of their cells?!)

"If you are bored, come wrestle with us." The moose said.

"Well uh..."

"I Gorn." The lizard creature hissed.

"You are the newbie Alex? Right?" The moose chimed in.

"Welcome to end of world Alex." The gargoyle said. "Not much to do here but go crazy from solitude and isolation."

"Gorn, Screech and Thud prefer to work out instead." The lizard creature said as he helped up the gargoyle.

(Screech and Thud?!)

"Guys there is absolutely no way." I stammered.

"Why not?" The moose asked. "It gets boring wrestling same beastials over and over."

"Well you three are stronger, more powerful, taller and most likely quicker then I. And Gorn here has sharp teeth and claws. He could easily kill me without even trying." I said as I looked at the three prisoners.

"Then we ring wrestle with scared, puny human." The lizard creature said.

"Ring wrestle?" I asked.

"See ring on floor there? Alex and Gorn step inside and try to push each other out of ring."

"The one who falls out of the ring looses." I said. "So this is a game."

"Yes." The lizard creature said to me.

"Against a powerful opponent." I added.

"Yes now remove shirt and pants." He said ordering me into my undergarments while Screech and Thud chuckled.

"Gorn, I don't know." I said hesitantly.

"If Alex play, Gorn, Screech and Thud will tell Alex how we wound up here."

"Ok. I am up for a game. A little one." I said stripping down to my undergarments.

I stepped into circle which was about ten feet in circumference.

"Now what?"

"Take Gorn's paws and lock stance."

I place my hands in the lizard's noticing that he had two fingers and a thumb on each paw. Gorn showed me the proper way to stand, leaning my weight on my left foot and and using my right for support.

"Now Gorn and Alex wrestle."

I pushed with all my might against the seven foot tall lizard trying to move him backward and out of the ring. But he wouldn't budge.

"So Gorn tell you why Gorn here?"

"Grrr. No, how did you wind up at the place of the forgotten?" I asked trying to prevent from being pushed.

"Gorn serial killer."

"What?!" I said as the meaning of his words hit me.

"Gorn, Screech and Thud professional hunters, hunt humans for sport."

I was thrown off guard as he pushed me out of the ring.

"Gorn win!"

"What?! How?" I stammered.

"Gorn studied human history before High Evolutionary arrive on Counter Earth saw how humans kill each other repeatedly. Decided Counter Earth be better with only beastials and not with humans. Gorn started hunting humans."

(0_0)

"Was eventually caught, judged and punished and sent here where Gorn met Screech and Thud who had done same thing."

"Why weren't you three de-evolved?"

"Nothing for Gorn to be de-eveloved to. Gorn constructed in lab."

"We were lucky I guess." The moose and gargoyle said in unison.

"Oh my gosh." I stuttered getting up. "Well, will you look at the time... I have to be doing something... somewhere...." I said as I fetched my clothing and ran out of the arena.

"Best two out of three?" The lizard thingie said as I left.

After my botched workout I decided to return back to the cell, read and wait for Lady Ursa to return. I ended up falling asleep instead. Perhaps she was watching a movie in the administration building.

It was sometime after 10 PM when I felt a soft paw on my head.

"Alex get up!" My ursine warrior whispered.

"Mistress! Where have you been?"

"Doing some more checking." She responded.

"Since late afternoon? You even missed dinner."

Apparently that point was lost on her.

"Alex, I broke into the apartments on the fourth floor of the prison building. Bertha was incorrect they aren't being used for storage."

"Of any type?" I asked.

"They are vacant pet. The bodies of the remaining support staff are buried 1/4 mile from the outpost."

"How long have then been there?" I whispered.

"As long as the real warden has been dead- a while." My she beast responded.

"So the support staff has been killed and someone is taking over the facility but to what end?"

"I am still trying to figure out the end game pet. Maybe it has to do with the 'emergency maintenance' that the so called warden was performing on the fourth floor today. You noticed that Bertha decided to give us a check up at that time right?"

"You mean as a distraction?" I said reading her expression.

"That was exactly what it was."

"So what now?" I asked my fierce ursine warrior.

"We are going to go back to the fourth floor and see what was going on up there this afternoon."

So quietly we left our cell and ascended the three flights to the 'art gallery' on the fourth floor to see just what work had been performed there earlier that day.

We entered the floor from the stairwell as we did before. The entire floor was dark, so I held my mistress' arm and let her lead the way. There was no evidence that any structural work had been performed at all. We did notice that there was something different about the room.

The twenty-five statues- the prisoners who had received the living death were no where to be found.

"They are gone!" I said as the light to the room turned on.

!!!

Warden Fields or who ever it was impersonating Warden Fields was at the far side of the room had activated the lights.

"You weren't supposed to see that." The thing impersonating the warden said expressionless.

"It appears that you have released those that were supposed to have received the living death." My bear knight observing the twenty-five human prisoners who used to be statues now standing on either side of the warden.

"Or that either." He said solemnly.

To Be Continued....