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Counter Earth Chronicles - Fallen Empire

*Chapter 10: There Is No Future In Regret *

Day 12 (continued; late evening)

"Crap! Just when we were getting comfortable." I said as my perfect person stood up. I watched with glee as my goo dripped from my bear's vagina and puddled on the floor.

"Get dressed." She said cleaning herself before fumbling for something to put on. She fumbled again reaching for her sword and service weapon while we were headed toward the door.

We ran outside into the street and toward the blue prototype where we found Corbin and the professor already inside. Several moments later Corey and Rumble exited their house to join us. Like me, he was snuggling with his creature when the alert sounded.

"Did someone or something enter the lost city?" I asked as Rumble sniffed the air looking for foreign scents.

"Overwatch! Report!" My warrior bear said approaching the passenger side of the blue coupe.

*Scans from the probe are detecting something within the perimeter.*

"How large is the perimeter?" Dawn asked.

*A mile radius from the center of the city Ms. Stern.*

"What direction?" Corey asked.

"One second." The little mongoose said activating the copilot monitor and keyboard.

"The west maze." The professor said studying the imagery from the monitor.

"Rumble let's go!" The teen said running toward the western boundary of the city.

"No, I think it is the northern maze." The blond said retracting her statement.

"Alex!" Lady Ursa said as we proceeded toward the northern boundary of the city.

"No, no everyone come back! I think it is the eastern maze that has been breached." The archeologist said. "Or is it is the south maze?"

"Such a flake." Corbin face-palmed.

"Professor?" Corey said as we clustered around the cockpit of the prototype and the co-pilot's monitor.

"..........." Rumble grumbled trying to understand what he was looking at.

"Electronics." Corey said to his werewolf. "You wouldn't understand."

"Neither does the pilot. According to this the breach is not below ground." Corbin said looking at the data. "But above."

"So the city has not been compromised." Professor Stern said relieved.

"No, but scans indicate that someone is in the forest directly above the city." The little mongoose boy said.

"...huh...?" The were-creature grumbled.

"Someone is walking through our backyard Rumble." The black haired teen said to his roommate.

"...what is a backyard...?"

"Corbin can you get anymore detail?" My warrior bear asked.

"I have just one life sign, I can't tell what it is." The little boy said to all of us.

"Let them run or walk through our territory then as long as then don't discover us down here." I said to my companions.

*Correction Mr. Mongoose, Mr. Winter. The probe is detecting another life sign on an intercept course with the first one.*

"Someone is being chased." Corey said.

"Not our problem." Lady Ursa said.

"But should we make it our problem?" Corbin said. "What if that is an escapee from the compound?"

"And they are being hunted by something that isn't natural?" I added.

"Or it could be a ploy!" My warrior bear said.

"Or someone in desperate need. Can we afford to turn a blind eye?" Dawn asked looking at Lady Ursa.

*The first life sign has stopped moving. The second is continuing to approach.* Overwatch announced.

"Does the first one know that they are being pursued?" Dawn asked everyone.

My she beast weighed our options.

"Mistress?" I said.

"Momma bear?" Corbin added.

"We will investigate further. Alex, Corbin you run tactical. Rumble with me." Lady Ursa ordered.

"Aw." Corey protested.

"Actually not Mr. Collins. You and Ms. Stern think of a plan B in case this turns out badly for all of us." My warrior bear said.

With that she and Rumble climbed onto the rear of the blue coupe. I swapped places with the professor, powered on the prototype and headed toward the south maze. We paused as we arrived at the surface.

Corbin looked at the scans from the probe.

"Two life signs to the north." He said. "One has definitely stopped moving.

"Launch the probe." My perfect person ordered the mongoose boy. "Do not turn on any lights either."

Rumble watched at the spherical orb lifted off from its dock on the rear of the prototype and made its way into the sky.

"Corbin switch to infrared." I said to my 'little brother.'

"There!" He said pointing at the monitor.

I looked at the first life sign. "It is definitely not moving."

"Is it injured?" Lady Ursa asked.

"Unknown." I replied as a piercing shriek echoed in the night sky.

"Something airborne just buzzed by the probe." Corbin announced.

"That is the second life form." My warrior bear announced.

"...harpy..." Rumble said sniffing the air.

"It's after the first life form!" I announced.

"But why isn't that one running?" Lady Ursa said.

"It could be like that trap from the Others we saw a few days ago." Corbin announced.

That was when we heard another loud scream from the airborne attacker.

"Someone is being hunted." I said staring at my companions.

"Momma bear?" The little boy asked.

"This is what we are going to do. Rumble are you familiar with a pincer attack?" The ursine warrior asked the escaped lab experiment.

Corbin locked the probe on to the two life forms and directed me where to drive.

We watched as the attacker dive bombed its prey who took several blows to the head, neck and arms but did not scream or even flinch. Instead they dropped to their knees, arms outstretched like they had given up.

"How much longer Alex?!" My she beast said as we tried to get into position. Rumble was growing restless as well. I wanted to get within range too, but you can only drive so fast in the forest- at night- without lights.

We soon were five hundred feet from the attacker and victim. At that point, I turned on the headlights. The monster let out a loud screech as it was blinded meanwhile the victim was kneeling on the cold winter ground.

"Ok, Now!" I shouted.

The were-creature darted right from the blue coupe while Lady Ursa darted left. As the harpy was about to strike its victim again, Rumble veered left ran at top speed toward the creature slashing it in the face.

"AWK!!!" It screamed as the were-creature landed, turned and came at it again with another slash and then another. Rumble rolled as he landed turned and charged again head-butting the creature right into Lady Ursa who drew her sword at just the right moment impaling it.

"AWK!!!" The creature coughed as it looked down to see the blade of a sword sticking out of its stomach.

"How did this happen?" The she monster coughed.

"...hunter became the hunted..." Rumble grumbled studying the dying creature.

"And will not be coming back this night or any others." The bear warrior said. "Perhaps you should have chosen prey that doesn't fight back."

"My meat! *cough* I will not be denied my meat!" The harpy said as it bled out.

"You will and you have." The bear said moving her sword up and down then left and right inside the harpy.

The creature looked at its attackers one last time before dropping her head on the forest floor.

"Corbin recall the probe to its docking port." I said to the little mongoose.

"For safety's sake we should dispose of the body." My bear said pulling her sword out of the creature.

"It would be a good idea not to advertise where this thing met its end." I said.

"Rumble how fast can you dig a hole?" My she beast asked our were-creature.

He nodded his head and snorted.

"Corbin keep and eye on the scanner let us know if that harpy had any friends." I said to the little mongoose.

"Affirmative." The little boy said. "And you?"

"I am going to check on that creature's prey."

I walked passed Lady Ursa and Rumble who were digging into the almost frozen ground. "You are safe now." I said stepping in front of the lights from the prototype shielding the harpy's prey from the blinding light. "By the way why didn't your run?"

"I didn't want to nor did I want to be saved." The individual said to me. They were dressed in a dark robe with a hood and little else.

(Was it an Other? But wait, I wasn't sensing anything.)

"Well regardless you got it." I said helping the robed person up. I studied the victim for a moment- it was a dark tan lioness underneath all that about my mistress' height with red eyes. "Kara?! Corbin it is Kara! What are you doing out here?"

"Hoping to die." She said as Corbin came over to greet her.

"It is the lion lady who examined me."

"Corbin, Alex. I had a feeling you escaped." The female beastial said eyeing us.

"Kara." I said staring at the lioness.

"And you have friends." She said looking at Lady Ursa and Rumble who were now making their way over to our position.

"It was because of those friends that we did." I said. "Mistress, Rumble this is Kara another 'indentured servant' from the Grand Kingdom."

"She worked in the infirmary at the compound." The little mongoose announced.

"Hmm....." My fierce ursine warrior said looking at the harpy's would be meal.

Kara looked like death warmed over, she had marks on her body where she had been whipped and beaten. Her robe was tattered, torn and grimy and completely inappropriate for the this time of year and she was bleeding from her head, neck and shoulders where the harpy had clawed her.

"We better get her to safety." My she beast said.

The lioness sat in the passenger seat. Corbin sat on her lap as I drove back to the lost city. My bear knight and or were-creature following close behind.

I thought that Kara was going to be surprised that we actually had a working hover vehicle or that we were living underneath the forest. But as we drove through the maze toward the city she hardly batted a eye.

"So what did you find?" Ms. Stern asked. When we returned.

"...harpy..." Rumble announced.

"It was attacking a escapee from the Grand Kingdom." I said as the blue coupe parked in front our home. "But guess who else we found?"

"Kara!" Corey said looking at the bleeding lioness who crawled out of the passenger seat of the prototype.

"You live here?" She said looking around. "A underground city?"

"This is where we escaped to." I said to her. "Not a sophisticated as the compound."

"But it is safe and free from all the chaos up there." Corbin added.

"So the other life form was a monster?" Dawn asked as Corbin jumped out of the passenger seat.

"It was trying to eat her and she was going to let it." The little mongoose boy said hugging his adoptive mother.

"Why?" Ms. Stern asked.

"Suicide by monster I suppose." My warrior said studying our night guest carefully. "But why Kara?"

"I can't take it anymore- constantly being afraid, the living in fear, the hiding, the lack of conveniences and amenities. I mean if I want to see a play, visit a pamper parlor, go to a game or watch the hub I can't it is all gone!" The lioness said.

"Is that what would make you want to kill yourself?" Corey asked.

"No. That isn't it. Try again Kara." My warrior bear said crossing her arms. "Why DID you run off?

"Caden is a tyrant and very unstable." The lioness said.

"Is that your medical opinion?" Lady Ursa asked.

"Yes, Ida and I realized that recently." The dark tan lioness said.

"Who is Ida?" Dawn asked.

"Another of the healers who works at the compound." Corey said.

"Yes, Ida and I were responsible for the health and wellness of everyone there. But it got to be too much- the Intendant's grand plan, his diatribes- he talks to himself constantly and punishes anyone who looks at him funny. His forces aren't much better."

"They abuse the refugees physically and mentally." Corey added.

"Then there is the tree out front where the worst trouble makers are tied to and left as monster food." Corbin said.

"Exactly. They are hung out front for the simplest offenses. Two days ago it was one of his soldiers, yesterday it was Russell."

"Why?" I asked the she beast.

"He got tired of looking at him- a constant reminder of what he and his forces were fighting against the rich and well to do."

"Yeah, I saw that- Corbin and I ended up cutting him down while staking out the place." I said. "It is ironic because Russell lost everything in the fall, he is just like everyone else."

"Well, he escaped and that was when the Intendant lost it." Kara said. "He assembled a meeting with his forces and there was talk about locking the compound down even further."

"That's not it either." My warrior bear said studying the lioness.

"What pushed you out?" Ms. Stern asked as Corbin, Corey, Rumble and I looked on.

"I thought I could tolerate him, his goons, the compound, the living conditions and my indentured servitude while he tried to rekindle the light of civilization- his grand plan. But I was barely holding on then. I mean I looked the other way when one of his soldiers took in a orphan."

"I saw that actually. Although the man didn't like beastials, he took mercy on a cub." I said. "It was very noble."

"No, it was disgusting, he used the cub to fulfill his dark fantasies." Kara said correcting me.

"No that's not it." My warrior bear said studying the wounded lioness very carefully. "There is something more that you are hiding what caused you to want to end your life?"

Kara was silent for quite a long time before she answered.

"You remember my friend I was worried about?" The dark tan lioness asked as she looked at all of us. "Caden's forces found her. She didn't make it." Kara said. "In a way I wished that I had died with her."

"Now dear you don't mean that." Dawn said trying to comfort the despondent she beast. "We all have suffered great losses when the empire ended."

"And the world that now exists... it is horrifying and I don't want any part of it." Kara said."

"It is bad now, well extremely bad. But that doesn't mean it will always be like that." Corey said trying to cheer her up.

"The last period of uncertainty, which is putting it lightly, lasted ninety years. It was harder on the survivors than those who perished." She said tearing up.

"So let me guess, you waited for an assignment to a work detail, created a distraction and then ran off." Corey said to the lioness.

"Hmm...." My warrior bear said studying the lioness. "You wandered into the forest and just waited."

"That was very foolish Kara especially at night." Dawn said. "You know the forest isn't safe.

"I was counting on that. Speaking of monsters, I see you have one of your own." The lioness said looking at the werewolf.

"Honorary beastial." The black haired teen said. "He is tame, until he need not be."

"Well instead of meeting your demise you met us." Dawn said.

"...and now...?" The werewolf grumbled.

"You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. We aren't as militant as the Intendant- just more concerned with our own survival." The professor said thinking out loud.

"But what if she wants to leave?" Lady Ursa said. "She could expose us to our enemies."

"She brings up a good point." I said out loud.

"...that would be bad..."

"Alex, why don't you see to our guest's injuries?" My warrior bear said. "We have some items to discuss."

"Right. Kara, this way."

As I led the wounded lioness into the central building at the city center I looked back at the blue coupe where Dawn, my mistress, Corey and Corbin were having a discussion about our late night arrival.

"So I can stay as long as I want?" Kara said.

"Yes. But for our own safety you can NEVER leave." I said making a sinister laugh which received no reaction at all.

(Wow, she was really in a bad way.)

"Kara that is a joke. But seriously we are surrounded by enemies, if they found our location all of us would be annihilated.

"Nice underground city." She said as I guided her. "Cobble stone streets, stone houses- very quaint in ancient type of way.

"It was inhabited by the previous survivors of the last cataclysm. You see this two story building is the center. All the houses face toward it. Since all the homes are stone, they have survived for a long time."

"What are those at the edge of the city?" She asked me.

"Mazes which lead to the surface. We use them to travel around without being seen." I said to her.

At the compound, I didn't get to interact with the she beast as much, but being with her now- she seemed familiar in some way, like I knew here some how.

(But where?)

"That is a great way to travel. I also noticed that it is warm and a bit dark around here."

"Well light is in short supply- we use candles and glow sticks a lot." I said guiding her into the central building.

"This structure houses a lot of documents and knowledge from the previous inhabitants this is the only structure with running water."

"I remember Ida saying that you and Corbin were trying to determine why the water supply was tainted when you stumbled on Caden's goons." The lioness observed as I guided her to the second floor and into the former closet that served as the med clinic.

"Exactly right. Here have a seat, I need to see to your wounds." I ordered her.

Kara removed the dark robe she had been wearing. Underneath that was a undershirt stained with blood. I had her remove that as well. She was near naked as she sat on the counter for me. "I am going to need to wash the area around you wounds before I can start to patch them up."

"I don't care." She said giving her consent.

I fetched a cloth from a shower stall in the washroom downstairs and started cleaning. The tan lioness had scratch marks all over her shoulders, neck, chest, back and arms. Her back also had some lash marks as well. She looked at the floor as I started washing her upper torso, her breasts were bigger then my mistress'- not oversized, just large.

However, I did like the color of her fur- she was several shades darker than Lea and taller.

"Kara?" I asked as I continued to bathe her.

"What is it?"

"You just seem so despondent and depressed."

"That happens when you lose the desire and the will to live." She said looking at me with those red eyes of hers.

"Please don't say that. Where there is life there is hope." I said.

"Says a resident of a VERY small struggling community of six refugees." She said to me looking at the floor.

"A close community of six refugees." I countered.

"So you are obviously their healer." She said looking at me.

"Medic actually." I countered.

"Close enough- what do the other five do?"

"Well Lady Ursa and Rumble are our warriors- they keep us safe."

"What about the kind blond?" The she beast said looking at me with those red eyes of hers.

"She is an archeologist. She discovered this city we are now living in."

"And the kids?"

"Everything else." I said sheepishly. "Corbin is her assistant and Corey, well he is um, is Corey. I said as I put the wash cloth down. "I am sorry but the only thing I have to close those scratches and gashes is liquid skin."

"How primitive." The she beast sighed.

"Our technological sophistication is all but gone. This is what we have." I said to her.

"But as you say where there is life there is hope." She said mockingly.

"Well what would you have us do just give up? No, I have been through too much strife, pain, misery and suffering to just give up. This is just another challenge."

"However, long?" She said to me.

"However, long bit it will pass." I said resolute in my belief.

As I finished treating the female lioness' wounds, my warrior bear showed up at the clinic with her sword in paw.

"Mistress?"

"Pet step away from our guest she is not whom she appears to be."

"Mistress?"

"Alex, she is a wanted criminal of the empire; Kara is not her name."

"Say what?!" I said as my perfect person pulled me away from my patient.

Lady Ursa then placed the tip of her sword underneath the dark tan lioness' chin. "Answer this truthfully- no more deception, your good friend that you lost the one you were separated from during the fall was she The Madam?"

"Yes. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Long brought back her leg, arm and tail. That was what they found initially." She said tearing up.

"You tested the remains?" I asked.

"I didn't need to. They found her head a day later."

"Which would make you Shakara her best friend and chief minion." Lady Ursa concluded. "I have been looking for the both of you and especially her for a long, long, long time."

"Well here I am hiding in plain sight." The she beast said moving the tip of the bear's sword from her chin to her neck.

"How can that be? She bears some resemblance to her but the Shakara I knew was sexually ravenous, frisky and promiscuous. Not a despondent, suicidal mess." I protested.

"You forgot devious, manipulative and cunning." My bear knight added.

"Mistress is she evil?"

"Shady. The Madam was the head of the operation. Shakara was a accessory."

"Yes. But I don't get it- she looks so young! The Shakara I knew was old enough to be Lea's mother."

"It was side effect of one of the Madam's final experiments. I was de-aged." The feline said admittedly. "Do I know you?" She asked.

"Yes." I said rather abruptly.

"So many hideouts, so many faces.... You do seem familiar." The she beast said staring at me.

"Shakara assistant to The Madam you are my prisoner!!" My warrior bear announced.

"Um mistress? Exactly what are we going to do with her- it is not like she can be judged or imprisoned. The empire doesn't exist any more."

*grumble*

"Well at the very least this villainess' assistant should be punished for her crimes."

"Too late- already have." Shakara said grabbing the tip of the sword again. She moved it to the space in between her breasts. "Right here with all the force you can muster just like you did the harpy."

"Mistress?" I said.

"No, your were an accomplice to a rouge scientist who conducted illegal experiments." My bear knight said dropping her sword.

"Yeah so what?" The female lion said crying.

"I am quite familiar with your file you are also a accomplished biologist." Lady Ursa said sheathing her sword.

"So?" The she beast said as I tried to wipe her tears.

"We aren't equipped to exactly house prisoners and given the precarious state we find ourselves in- your knowledge could benefit our community." Lady Ursa said staring down her prisoner.

"What are you getting at?" She said tearing up again.

"Our community is in need of healer. Alex here has been trying to fill that spot to the best of his ability- but his knowledge and experience only go so far." My bear knight said talking to the topless lioness. "As penance for your wrong doings and crimes you will assist us."

"Really? What if I don't want to?" The lioness said frowning.

"You don't have a choice."

"Mistress! What she is saying Shakara is that we realize that you are in a great deal of pain and misery. We all are. I realized a colleague of mine died shortly after the cataclysm as well. She was also a skunk. Her demise still hasn't hit me yet. It will in time and when it does I am going to need someone to talk to, and a shoulder to cry on as well."

"This community is small but all we have is each other." My warrior bear said. "We are going to need to depend on each other for our survival.

"Perhaps we can heal the healer?" I said reaching.

"You WILL be staying with us." Lady Ursa said forcefully.

"As your captive?" The lioness asked.

"If need be, we can tie you up and force you talk about your feelings." My perfect person said. "You know, captivate you."

"Mistress! It is my medical opinion that you shouldn't be alone right now. You need someone to talk to, some form of stability in your life before you can start to heal. Your deep personal loss won't ever go away, nothing you do will change that. But the pain will lessen in time." I said helping her down from the counter.

Shakara redressed before we guided her back to our home. By that time the meeting was concluding.

"We should get back to bed Corbin." Dawn said as she started to guide the little mongoose back to their home.

"Ok, but tomorrow we are going to spend some time in the prototype." Corbin said.

"Doing what Corbin?"

"Teaching you how to read tactical data. We don't need any further false alarms or bad information."

"Come on big guy, I need to get you cleaned up- you have quite a lot of blood and um, feathers on you." Corey said taking his wolf's huge paw and guiding him toward the central building.

"So what are we going to do with our visitor?" Dawn asked my bear knight.

"She will be staying with us until further notice." My warrior bear said guiding the tan lioness down the walkway into our house.

"So this stone structure is your home?" Shakara asked.

"It is also yours for the time being. It is a bit small, but offers more space than what you had at the compound." I said pulling her inside.

"A table, bedroom and a room with books." She said looking around.

"A study." I said to the she beast.

"That way to the bedroom." Lady Ursa said.

Once inside we removed our clothing and Shakara's robe as well.

"What gives?!" The dark tan lioness protested.

"Lady Ursa does not allow the wearing of clothing within her chambers."

"I want to make sure, you don't trying anything while we are sleeping." The brown bear said the lioness.

"I see, sleeping isn't the only thing that takes place in here." The lioness said looking at the puddle by the bed.

"Um, pay no attention to that!" I stammered.

"You mean that puddle?"

"Yes." I blushed.

"You mean the semi-fresh one over there." She said eyeing me up and down.

"Yeah."

Shakara watched as my bear and I made the bed sopping up my semen stain in the process.

"That is barely big large enough for two let alone three." The despondent lioness commented.

"The Shakara I knew wouldn't have been bothered by that." I said.

(Or my jizz stain.)

The lioness decided to set up a hammock within my mistress' chambers, lying down in it shortly after it's construction. She watched as my fierce ursine warrior laid down on the bed beckoning me to join her. So I did resting my head on her chest, my back to her tummy and my butt to her groin.

"You are right, I don't need to be alone right now." The she beast said.

"If you need to talk Shakara, then talk. If you need to cry, then cry we will listen either way." I said gently.

"Well I need to talk Shakara. I and others knights were chasing The Madam for over three years. How did you and her..." My she beast said.

"Numerous labs and hideouts. Towards the end it got a little easier as the knight core was more preoccupied with other things." She said staring at us with those red eyes of hers.

"What about The Madam's research study- her grand experiment- the one where she was trying to create a new form of citizen who was both human and beastial through sexual reproduction?" My fierce ursine warrior asked.

"Unfortunately the results were mixed; Bree was only successful once and it was with only a specific type of species. The offspring died soon after birth. She spent the next few years trying to refine her methods before taking a hiatus. She was thinking about returning to the project the morning our lab was flooded. As you know, we became separated. Ida found and rescued me and we wound up at the compound. Where I waited in vain for news." The lioness said as she started to cry.

Shakara spent most of the late evening talking about her dear friend- The Madam and their cause. It was true that our guest was quite despondent. Lady Ursa chastised her for being a rebel- a scientific one.

"Well we have a healer mistress despite her being a fixer-upper." I whispered as the dark tan lioness finally cried herself to sleep.

"We are going to have to pull her back from the brink and teach her the joy of living again pet- if we can."

"In these times? I think we will be healing the healer for some time to come." I said.

"Well it is not like she is a complete stranger. I remember you mumbling in your sleep that she was on some list of yours."

"But a distant fourth behind you and Lea and any other female on the planet mistress." I whispered.

"Well regardless it looks like you finally got your three-way Alex." My she beast said teasing.

"Yeah I guess I did."

(But with the wrong lioness.)

Alex Winter January 13 YOE 34....