FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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New to the story? If so, please read the previous parts first! At this point, you REALLY should... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~CHAPTER 16~~~

The next day was a complete waste. I left my room only once, just to grab a day's worth of food and use the toilet. Nobody bothered to talk to me, not that I'd acknowledge their presence anyway. Even Harry and Francis kept their distance; whether from respect or pity, I don't know.

All I could do to amuse myself was exercise, which isn't as easy as it sounds in a small room like mine, by swinging my sword around aimlessly and doing sit-ups until my entire body felt numb. It could've been anything; all I wanted to do was something that didn't require thinking. Because if I let my mind wander, it'd focus on how unhappy Cali is with me, Kyla, and the world. Sure, I was overjoyed that one of my girlfriends didn't dump me, even if we're on the 'break' that all couples fear, but I was much more upset that the other one didn't want anything to do with me right now.

No. I can't dwell on the past anymore. All I can do is try to make a good future for all three of us.

Determined to not spend another day cooped up in my small room, I decided around noontime to go outside and exercise in the fresh air. I have no idea what everyone else is planning to do next against OGD, but if it's something big, I should be at least physically ready for it. To guarantee myself a mental workout later, I melded my armor and sword into one solid block, and left it in a corner of the room. With nobody noticing, I slipped out of the facility and decided to start with a jog around the entire complex, just to warm up.

But once I got to the other side of the base, I found, much to my surprise, Smith and Curtis standing in front of a makeshift obstacle course, clipboards in hand, observing Cali as she gracefully ran through the entire thing with little to no difficulty. Step by step, jump after jump, she blew through the entire thing like a parkour champion. The way she angled her body and seemed to move along with the wind itself was just breathtaking to watch, reminding me of her elegant dancing the night we met. But sadly, it came to an end all too soon when she reached the end of the course, and went over to meet Smith and Curtis to see her results.

I stayed out of sight for a moment, just to listen in on what they were saying and not make my presence an issue just yet. From what I could hear, Curtis had already developed a mild form of the cure to the mental conditioning, and Cali's returning superhuman speed, stamina, and reflexes were proof enough that it was working. I couldn't understand all of what Curtis was saying, but I gathered that he was trying to isolate and bring back one of her abilities at a time, starting with her physical adjustments.

I wasn't sure of what went through Cali's head yesterday, but right now she looked very bright and hopeful. Her green eyes gleamed at the prospect of finally having control over her own hybrid body, simultaneously filling me with joy to see her happy once again.

She smiled, and it made me want to just melt.

All right, time to go say hi.

I emerged from my hiding spot and calmly walked over, drawing Smith's attention to myself, who in turn noted to Cali and Curtis that I was walking over.

Please don't still be upset... PLEASE don't still be upset!

But Cali smiled, turned to Smith and Curtis and said, just loudly enough so I could hear it from where I was; "Hey guys, can you... give me and Greg some alone time? I think I'm done exercising for a while anyway."

Curtis finished writing one last thing on his clipboard and gave a nod of consent as he walked away. Smith patted Cali on the back and whispered something into her ear, which she hastily replied with "I know, I know."

Oh, so she talks with them about her problems and not me?

I immediately quashed that thought. If she needs an outside, unbiased third party to talk to before me, then I should be on board with it if she's got confidence now. And if the butterflies in my stomach were any indication, we're finally both ready to resolve this ugly mess. I have no idea what the next few minutes are going to reveal for either of us, but I'm still not going to be able to choose between her or Kyla. As long as they're both in my life, that probably won't EVER change.

As Smith and Curtis walked back towards the inside of the base, Curtis quickly yelled out "Remember, I need to do a few more blood tests by tonight! Just come find me!"

"All right, thanks Doc!" Cali replied. Curtis gave a friendly 'you're welcome' wave as he opened the door for Smith, showing him some of the data on his clipboard. Once they were out of sight and hopefully out of earshot, I motioned to a huge piece of rock next to us, which we both sat down on.

I took a deep breath.

I should probably start off with something small, just to set a calm mood...

"They're using your blood, huh? I always thought you hated needles. Which is ironic, considering you were studying medicine."

Cali chuckled. "I know, I got a lot of hell for it from my classmates. All in good fun, of course. But I'm trying to get around it now, especially since they're gonna need a lot more of my blood to help make that final cure. At least that's what the doctor said."

"Wow. That's very noble of you, Cali." As I said that, I hesitantly wrapped my arm around her shoulder, half-expecting her to brush me off. But astonishingly, she pulled herself into my side and lovingly nuzzled against my neck, much like she did two days ago. Several strands of her long hair blew into my face from the mild wind, but I automatically ignored them and focused on how good her touch felt.

Happy, though very confused, I continued the conversation. "I, uh... saw that you're already back to full superhuman physique. The extra energy and stamina feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah" she replied, "I'm still not too big on the whole 'hybrid' thing, but I can't argue how great it feels to do so much with this body. All my life I worked hard to keep my form perfect, but this... This is just so much better!" She turned her head to face my own. "I'm guessing you saw me running through that obstacle course?"

Now I chuckled. "Even if you don't like being half-leopardess, you sure moved as gracefully as one. I didn't wanna interrupt you until it was over because... it was really beautiful to watch."

That made Cali blush a little, while snuggling deeper into my side. "Awww, thanks Greg. I might have mentioned in the past that I did gymnastics in high school, in case you were wondering where I got those moves from. Some things you just never forget..."

Perfect timing.

"Ummm... Speaking of never forgetting things, Cali, I---"

"You're wondering why I'm being so lovey-dovey with you right now, even after learning you got a new girlfriend? That's it, right Greg?"

The sheer 'matter-of-fact-ness' in her voice made that statement a lot more awkward for me than I'd imagined. I could feel my throat tightening up and the butterflies in my stomach turning into a swarm of angry bees.

"No! It's... I... I have no idea what to say, do I?"

Cali laughed, seeing how confused and disoriented I was. But the angelic sound of her laughter was more than enough to snap me out of it. "Greg, you don't have to talk, just listen, okay?" She finally broke contact and moved to the side of the rock, giving us enough space to talk on a normal level.

"Okay" I replied.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and began. "All I wanted these past two days was time to think about us, her, and the future. By the time I went to bed last night, I finally reached a decision. But before I share it with you, I wanna know what Kyla said about the two of you, if you even talked to her recently."

"I did" I answered. "To make a long story short, she said that she still loves me and she understands my plight, but we're taking a break for right now. But I... I do still love her, Cali. I love you and her just the same. I'm sorry, but it's true."

After a brief silence, Cali nodded understandingly. "Well, that's more or less exactly what I expected you to say, to tell you the truth. Like I said, I figured it all out, Greg. I knew you would never cheat on me if I was still with you, but considering how passionate you used to be with me, I also knew you'd never be happy again if you thought I was dead. Because I know you; the one thing you wanted most in the world was to have someone to love. Namely me, right?"

Since Cali was indeed alive and right next to me, the horrible memory of losing her didn't bring a tear to my eyes anymore. But "Right" was all I could manage to say.

"And without me" Cali continued, "the idea of a new love seemed impossible, because she couldn't instantly give you the near-two years of love that we had. But she gave you something even better, right?"

"...Right."

Cali paused to find a way to finalize her thoughts. "I guess the moral of this conversation is that I understand your situation now, and I know why you feel the way you do about her. She gave you back the will to live, and that's why she counts for just as much as I do." With the most serious expression I've ever seen on her, Cali turned to me and peered right into my soul through my eyes. "So let me say, loud and clear, that I respect your feelings for Kyla. And from what you told me earlier, she respects your feelings for me, too."

Does this mean I... don't have to worry anymore?

I took a hold of Cali's hand. "Cali... You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that."

Her serious expression turned into a loving smile upon hearing my sincerity. "I know you're going to have to choose one of us eventually, and I'll understand if you pick her over me. All I want you to remember is that I'm your first love, and whether that love stays true or not, I'll always be there for you. No undead freakbags are ever going to separate us again."

I had to fight a sob and a chuckle at the same time, coming from her beautiful words and the little reference she knew I'd get.

"So... We're good?"

She squeezed my hand back, and replied with "Yeah. We're good."

And to solidify our claims, we both leaned in for a quick kiss. But this time, I didn't feel bad about it.

~~~

Sorry about yet another massive delay everyone, I know three weeks is pushing it... Good news is, we're getting closer and closer to the final arc of LITA! Believe me when I say the action (and zombies) are due to return any time now.

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