FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Blargh, sorry for the delay (friggin writers block XP), I think I'm back on track.

When we woke up the next morning I chose forgo buying a horse, and I was glad to leave when I did. Just as I was leaving I saw some people in the same armor that the guards of the city wore. I chose to jog away, gaining distance on them before they recognized me. Khyros followed my lead and we kept running until we encountered a roaring river.

"This is the Mojave River," Khyros said, "and it's the universal boundary for the Coalition's east border. They won't follow us through the river, but crossing is going to be difficult for us." I nodded, looking at the torrential flow and trying to find somewhere we could cross. "Know of any bridges near here?" I asked.

"No, the nearest one is much farther north, closer to the Sierra Nevada mountains."

"Fine, then we cross it here. Hang on to my back, and don't let go no matter what," I said.

He looked at me and nodded and grabbed the back of my coat as I stepped into the river. I was glad for the weight of my pack as we walked through the raging water, slowly advancing step by step towards the other shore. I felt Khyros slip several times and was just a little way away from the opposite shore when the guards caught up to us. I noticed that they had when an arrow zipped past my head and into the water. I looked back, picked up an extremely surprised Khyros, and rushed to the opposite shore.

It was a relief when I finally stepped up onto dry land, and splashes behind me told me that the guards were trying to cross. I pulled out my rifle and took aim at the other shore. The guards saw my gun and chose to just stay where they were rather than risk getting shot. "Come on!" Khyros shouted, and with a quick turn I followed him into the jungle.

*

We quickly reached a road on the other side and began to follow it. Khyros and I talked a while, getting to know each other better. I found out that he had been a forced laborer in the Patron's quarry and had only very recently escaped to take revenge on the patron whom had forced him into slavery. I told him about what I had seen and he marveled at the technologies that had once existed.

I held back the fact of whom I was and asked him about the legends of the 'Last Agent'.

After looking at me oddly he started. "Just after the disaster at a base where the Agents were sleeping, a group from the same organization that the man who caused the disaster came from invaded with the intent to kill. These people saw the Agents as the proof of a government that didn't trust its people and decided to take out as many as they could. What they didn't expect, however, is that the Agents had made sure that those who broke into their base would be met with a force to be reckoned with. They took out the invading group with little problem, and then went out to establish order."

"This wasn't to be, however, and several agents turned against the others in the dark of night, ending their ability to stop the rouges. They cut off the other agents arms and legs and spread them out all over North America, somehow binding each of the faithful agents to a fixed location even as they regained their limbs."

"The rouges now rule over their own countries, none of them trusting the others as far as they could throw them with no fear of the remaining agents. Except, possibly, the one agent who didn't wake up with the rest. He was rumored to be the most dangerous of them all, Agent 25, the Quickdraw. His draw is supposedly faster than the bullets from a gun and he can take down an entire army without killing a single man. The rouges would have us believe that he was killed in the raid, but the one Agent that has been found said that he is still alive."

"He says that Agent 25 was kept in his sleep as insurance in case something happened to the rest of the agents, and he should wake up soon. Where 25 will wake up, he didn't say for fear that the rouge agents would kill him. But someday soon, he'll be able to free the agents and take down the rouges once and for all."

I nodded and wondered at their choice. I was certainly the fastest of the Agents, and the revolver was a natural choice for my quick draw since it didn't have a cartridge that fell out when I drew the weapon. But I was also one of the more physically weak of the Agents. If the battle drew long I was more than likely going to be on the loosing side. I relied on surprise and a fast trigger finger to keep me alive and they knew that. Hopefully things weren't as bad as I thought they were. Khyros and I walked in silence for a while and we almost didn't notice when the day began to darken.

I looked to the sun and I saw that we were still traveling east into the center of the continent and the forest was getting denser. The sky was turning gray and I could hear thunder in the distance. Rain was coming quick and I didn't want to be out in the open when it hit. "Khyros, you know if there's anywhere that we can take shelter along this road?" I asked.

"I haven't been this far in a very, very long time," he said. I nodded and we started running, trying to find anywhere before the rain set in. We arrived at the ruins of an old military base right as the rain started and rushed towards a hole in the fence. Thankfully the main building seemed intact and we sought shelter there for the night.

*

The inside of the building was like a cave after all the years of disrepair. The tiles on the floor were shattered, the paint on the walls was stripped and decaying, and the few doors that remained on their hinges were pitted with rust. The virus must have enhanced some of my senses. I heard the high pitch whine of electronics deeper into the building, and I followed the sound. Khyros was hesitant at first, but followed willingly enough.

"What is your view of me?" I asked him.

"What?" he replied confusedly.

"You seemed surprised that I called you my friend back there. What did you think you were to me, if not my friend?"

"Well... I thought that I was your slave. You killed my old master, and by custom I belonged to you."

"Then why did you seek me out? Don't you want your freedom?" We approached a stairway as I asked this and there was no light below. I opened my pack and pulled out a flashlight and we continued onward.

Khyros was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I do want my freedom, yes, but not in that place. There is no respect for anyone who doesn't serve the Patrons, and those who do are little more than puppets or killers. If I didn't come find you I would have been killed or put back into slavery, it's that simple."

"Then you are a free man. If anyone cares to say differently then bring 'em to me."

The silence between us grew deeper as we reached the bottom of the stairs. I heard the whine of computers more clearly now, and the smell of someone living there. Deeper into the hall I saw a light shining under a doorway and slowly approached. A squeaky voice came over an intercom as we got closer and said, "Well, stop pussy-footing around, 25, get your ass in here!"

I jumped, recognizing the tone of voice more than the voice itself and opened the door. "Agent 20, is that you!?"

A smiling little rodent greeted me at the door. "Yep," she said, "It's me!"

"You're Agent 25!?!?" came the extremely surprised voice of Khyros behind me.

*

"Sit down, Alcham," Agent 20, aka Teresa the Tracker, said, "you've got work to do and I'll need that arm of yours at top speed if I want to escape."

"What do you mean, if you want to escape?" I asked. Khyros was standing behind me, still a little stunned at the revelation that I was none other than the Last Agent, in the flesh.

She pointed to a chain that was connected to the back of her head and to the middle of the floor. "This chain is hooked to a small amount of plastic explosive just under my scalp. It won't be enough to blow the room, but it's enough that it'll destroy my brain, and therefor me. The bastard 67 decided that my refusal of him and faith that you'd manage to kill them warranted torture of the worst kind: Solitary Confinement with no chance of escape except if you managed to find us."

"So why haven't you escaped on your own, if it's just a small lump? Surely you're fast enough to get out?"

She sighed. "You see the computers around the room?" She asked. I looked around and nodded after taking them into account. "They all have motion trackers in them. If I destroy only one of them, or draw any of my weapons, then the ones that are left will take note and send a signal to the bomb and take me out. Trust me... some of them tried, but all their signals say they died." I nodded. It made sense that she had tracked me with the signal that my jumpsuit gave off. These computers were perfect for it.

"So the only way to make sure you don't die is to get all of them at once, right?" I asked.

"Yep," she smiled. "You're the only one fast enough to do it!"

I nodded again and got ready. I took one last look around the room, taking all five computers and the chain into account. I grimaced. "I don't know if I can sever a link with my bullet, I'm not accurate enough to hit all of the parts at once." She nodded and turned halfway, showing me the lump where the bomb was under her skull. I swallowed. One millimeter off and she was dead. "Ready?" I asked.

"Meet you in hell if you miss!" She said. And I drew.

In the time between me drawing and firing the first shot, the lights dimmed. By the third shot three computers were down and the first beep was sounding. By the fifth shot, the computers were all dead and I was turning for the bomb. Less than a millisecond after my bullet tore the bomb out of Teresa's skull it exploded harmlessly, like a firecracker at the end of a silver chain. I caught Teresa as she fell and saw her nanites patch up the wound with little trouble.

"Like I said," Teresa smirked, "You're the only one who could do it!"

*

Six shots in under a second! Khyros thought. Six shots! That man is frightening in so many ways that it's not even funny! He turned and thought about making a run for it, and then stopped. Why am I afraid?

His father had been one of the rouge agents. He was made a slave when he went to visit his mother and was caught alone. His mother had been banished from the Coalition, and she had cried as he was sold for a low price. Why hadn't Alcham, the Last Agent, shown up earlier?

He froze his face, making sure that he didn't betray any emotion, as he stood there battling with himself. Alcham had said that he was a friend, and he didn't have any reason to disbelieve Alcham. In fact, he felt more sure than ever that Alcham being the last agent was a good thing, and that he was just whom Khyros needed to make sure that everything went right for once.

He turned back to the room and looked in. Alcham was smiling and Teresa was laughing at her freedom, almost crying from sheer joy. Yes, Khyros thought with a smile, Alcham is definitely what this world needs.

*

"Sire, the signal from Agent 20's chamber finally went out," the mule said. An imposing man behind him looked over his shoulder. The light from the screen reflected a face that was an impossibility. Agent 67, the Golem, had been turned into a Clydesdale. He grunted as he looked at the screen.

"I guess we put a bit to much into her head," he replied. His grin was frightening to look at, to say the least. "But still, let's go over there and make sure that's what happened. Can't have that pesky '25' coming back from a cold grave, now can we?"

The mule nodded, fearing for his life if he voiced his true opinion. The Golem had suffered for his betrayal, and it had been his mind that had taken the brunt of the toll, that much the mule knew. The Golem went over to his locker and pulled out a long pack that clanked as he moved it. "This will be fun, I haven't stretched my legs in years..."

*

Teresa all but bolted out of the room when she could stand up again. She was eager to get out and see the sky, and I couldn't blame her. A quick look told me what she had done for food and I was glad that they had at least given her that mercy. A food synthesizer stood against one wall, barely functional in its dilapidated state. It took forever before the machine would create something, and even then it had the bland taste of half formed nutrients. I grimaced and pulled out some of my emergency rations as I headed for the surface.

I motioned for Khyros to follow me as I left the room and we went up to join Teresa. She was standing at the entrance to the building, looking out at the rain and crying. "We can't let the others suffer while I take revenge, can we?" she asked.

"No, we can't," I replied, shaking my head.

"The bastard knew that I loved the rain, that I hated being inside. He took me to the middle of the Mojave Rainforest that formed after the disaster, and built this base just to torment me. A world of rain and freedom, just a few feet over my head, and I couldn't see it, I couldn't smell it, I couldn't even hear it." I didn't know what to say, so I just reached over and held her. She sobbed as the rain grew stronger and Khyros caught up to us.

"If we stay here, the Golem will come looking for us," he said. "He's done the same whenever any of the agents has died."

"Then we'll be gone before he gets here," I said. I had a thought and amended that. "Stay here for a few minutes, I'm going to buy us a little more time." I left the two of them and went downstairs, making an order on the synthesizer and placing it accordingly. I went back up and we ran for the treeline, deciding against taking the main roads.

As time went by the forest got denser and denser until there was no sky above us. The rain fell in channels that cut their way through the leaves and vines to make it to the ground. It was hard to believe that only two centuries ago this entire place had been a desert. As time went on I apologized to Khyros for the deception I had played, and he told me that he understood the need for secrecy.

"After all, you would have had to kill a lot more if the guards had found out," he said.

I grimaced and we kept running through the forest, on into the night, until exhaustion finally stopped us and we were forced to make camp.