The Wastes Part 3(A): The Smell of Vodka
Disclaimer: The author admits that he has no real knowledge about Estonia and so took liberty in how it runs its government.
Jason is mine!
Nikolai and Natascha belong to Joe 2.0 used with permission
Princess Savannah belongs to Akumamika used with permission
Do not borrow, steal or any of that bad stuff or I will find you.
(The consequences will NEVER be the same)
(Edited due to some minor muckups)
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"Boy. Hey, BOY! Wake up!"
"God?"
A hearty laugh filled my eardrums and I could smell the faint aroma of...vodka?
"Not even close my boy. Now get up, we need to move before those things come back."
"Am I dead?"
Another hearty laugh echoed in my ears. "No my boy, but you were close. Now get up" He grabbed my paws and lifted me from what I assumed was a cot. As I stood, a string of pain shot up from my leg and I collapsed back onto the cot.
"What happened to my leg?"
"What do you think happened?" This was a new voice, feminine with a hint of intimidation. "Or to be exact, what do you remember?"
"I...opened the gate and they grabbed me and were gonna feast on me there was this blinding light and then darkness."
"Da. That was us using our last light grenade to blind them and retrieve you. You'd better be worth it."
I followed the voice to the opening of the tent and for the first time noticed I was in the company of two very distinct furs. The first one was defiantly male; he wore armor that reminded me of the riot gear I saw in the old books about peace protests growing up. His eyes shone a bright yellow yet I felt a chill go straight up my spine when his eyes met with mine. There was something strange about him. The female who had joined us however was different. Not different in the clothes she wore but in how she acted. Her tone was that of a nurturing mother, kind yet scolding at the moment. She moved next to the male and gave me a rundown on my injuries from last night.
"You were pretty torn up when we finally got a look at you. They had bitten deep into your leg, almost reaching the bone. The cuts across your face will heal and scar over time; you should consider yourself lucky young man. The beasts had only begun to feast on you when we arrived..." She was about to go into another sentence when the tent flap was opened and a third figure stepped into view. She was a tigress, her clothes more elegant than the soldiers I was currently surrounded but still appeared ragged and torn. What fur I could see blended in with the snowy background or reminded me of the once sandy beaches. Her blue eyes stood out slightly.
"Oh my, you're awake!" she gasped, rushing to my side her paw coming to rest against the bandaged side of my face. "I was so worried when they brought you in but Nikolai told me you were a strong boy and would make it through." Nikolai was the male that much I could tell. "But I was still worried."
I smiled sheepishly at the new arrival. "Well thank you but...I don't even know who you are, either of you."
She looked at me like I had just slapped her in the face before standing up next to the Vixen who earlier had given me the lovely description of my bleeding body. "This is Natascha." The Vixen nodded curtly. "And you already met Nikolai. They're two Russian soldiers who crossed the land bridge when the seas evaporated and Russia fell to the roaming hordes."
"Then who are you?"
She surprised me by doing a regal curtsey before announcing her title. "I am Princess Savannah, heir to the throne of Estonia...or what used to be Estonia." She paused for a moment, a single tear forming in her right eye. "Now that you know who we are, why don't you tell us who YOU are?"
"You'll have to forgive me if I don't bow but my leg is killing me. My name is Jason Rodriguez and I am...I mean I was the leader of a small group of people before you found me. My intention was to sacrifice myself so they could get out and make their way to Anchorhead."
The threesome looked at one another before leaving me in the tent for a minute; I could hear snippets of the conversation but was lost to what it was about. I would remain lost until Nikolai came back into the tent and sat down on the cot beside me. "We know where your group is, we've been shadowing them since we found you but our progress has been slow however mostly due to me having to carry you on my back..."
I took the opportunity to examine him as he droned on about my weight. Nikolai was indeed different from me or any other "Average" fur you would encounter. His muscles looked like they jutted out from his body, his eyes told me that he was well versed in literature and science and his tone told me about the many battles this weary looking wolf had been in. He must have caught my dreamy eyed expression because he cleared his throat and called out my name.
"Jason! Are you listening?"
I nodded my head slightly. "I'm sorry but you're very different from your companions and I admit I am intrigued by it."
Nikolai stared at me for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth. "Well, tell me what you've uncovered so far."
I reiterated everything I had been thinking to him but got no response as I talked. It wasn't until I finished that he spoke. "Natascha, can you come here for a minute please?" His voiced boomed outside the tent and not a moment later the Vixen appeared at the flap.
"What is it Nikolai, I'm busy trying to help the Princess take down the camp."
"Our friend here has a few questions."
"You can't answer them?"
"It's about the Program dear."
"Oh...That's why I'm needed."
She joined us on the cot, a knowing glance over to the armored clad wolf and the explanation began.
"Nikolai is the product of a series of secret experiments conducted by what used to be our government...the Russian government in the early years of the war: Project CARBON. You will notice that his muscles seem to stand out a lot more than you own. We were able to enhance his musculature structure to impossible levels, he's no superman but he's close enough. But we didn't just stop there, we increased his I.Q. tremendously. He could have been the perfect soldier if it weren't for the monsters...they invaded and destroyed the testing facility. Nikolai and I were the only survivors..." She trailed off, the memories bringing a pained look to her face. Nikolai wrapped an arm around her and held her close.
"Excuse me, the what?"
"Oh, you would call them the Burned here."
I nodded, finally gathering the strength to stand up. "Thank you...for everything. I'll give you two some time to talk. Then we can discuss what comes next." I went outside after finding my original bloodstained clothes in a small pile near the cot. Someone had stitched the various tears and even replaced the legging that had been torn away by the creatures with thermal cloth. I walked around the small camp, wasn't a thing like my old home but I could tell it suited its purpose. Each person had their own tent I guess, but upon looking inside one I found not one but two cots placed side by side. I was curious but didn't push the question on anyone yet. Emerging from the tent I bumped straight into Savannah. She was of course delighted to see me walking around.
"Well, look at you! Up and about like nothing ever happened."
I smiled and instantly felt my face freezing up from the cold. But instead of helping me the princess couldn't help but giggle at my little misfortune. But with a little effort I was able to break the icicles on my face and talk normally.
"I want to thank you, for you know..."
"Saving your life?" she beamed happily at me.
"For stitching up my clothes; they fit ten times more comfortably now and the thermal wear really keeps me warm." Her ears drooped a little bit and I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"I may be a woman but I am NO housewife. " She said.
"Relax, I'm thankful for everything. For what you did and what they did. I probably would be in someone's intestines right now."
She shuddered slightly. "Thanks for that lovely image Jason Rodriguez."
"Please just call me Jason, saying my full name makes me feel old."
"Well how old are you?"
I was taken aback by the question; most of my people knew my age by heart and always seemed to find a present for me when my birthday rolled around. But then again these were complete strangers. "Well...how old do you think I am?"
She thought about it for a minute, her eyes darting over my body. I couldn't tell if she was ogling me or just trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't insult me. "Thirty-Six?"
I think my jaw hit the ground when she gave me her guess. "36! I look like I'm thirty six?"
"Well...look at yourself Jason. You have bags underneath your eyes, you walk like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and your fur shouldn't be turning that gray if your younger than thirty-six."
"I'm twenty-three Savannah..."
She wasn't surprised; her previous explanation gave her a clear mind. She didn't say anything else; just put her paw on my shoulder, squeezed and went back to pack up some supplies for the long trip ahead. I turned around and headed back to what I assumed was my tent. Opening the flat I found Nikolai and Natascha chatting in Russian, a conversation they stopped when I came into the tent. Nikolai gave me a warm smile and spoke to me.
"Welcome back Jason, how do you feel?"
"Pretty good, considering the condition you found me in."
"Excellent, I was just talking with Nat here and we feel that we should pack up camp and try to locate your tribe. We have been shadowing them for quite some time after you escaped from the camp. We want to join you."