FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 4

Ascension

The elevator whirred to life as Naraki pushed in the lone button located above all of the others. He and Inari waited patiently as it started its ascent. They watched the floors slide by one after another; suddenly the light in the elevator turned red and began to flash. They both let out small cries of panic and pressed themselves tightly up against the wall. The elevator slid to a halt at a brightly lit floor. The doors slid open, but the light continued to flash. Inari was the first to react; he left the elevator and entered the room. To the left was a small couch flanked by two small wooden tables covered in various magazines. The floor was covered in a thick, green carpet that tickled the pads of his paws. At the end of the room were two doors; between them was a large desk with papers piled high on top of it. Naraki walked over and stood next to him, trying to regain his calm. Both of them were visibly unsettled by what had happened. Their fur, which usually laid smoothly against their bodies was ruffled, standing on end, and sticking up in places. Taking a deep breath Naraki continued forward to the desk, stooped over it, and began searching. Inari flopped down on the couch and watched Naraki dig. Naraki stood up a short while later, a look of triumph on his muzzle. He was holding another watch. He went for his pocket to retrieve his own, only to find it missing. The look on his face turned to one of despair; his watch was gone. He roughly dropped the one he was holding back onto the desk and looked at Inari, who had stood up and strode over.

"Have you seen my watch?" He asked worriedly. "I can't find it. I must have dropped it. Help me look for it!" By this point Naraki was near panic. Inari just put a paw on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze causing Naraki to heave a sigh that seemed to expel the panic from him. Naraki, having regained his calm, looked up at his friend and gave him a weak smile.

:"Thanks... I lost it there for a second." He said embarrassedly. "It's just... That was my favorite possession. I've had it for so long. It was my comfort object... I'm sorry Inari." Inari responded by clapping his paw on Naraki's shoulder and giving him one of his trademark grins. In response, Naraki's tail gave a slight swish. Inari, sensing his job was done, gave him a wink and scooped the watch from the desk, clipping it to Naraki's pocket and then giving a low bow.

"I bequeath this watch to you. I can only hope that you treasure it as much as the previous one." Inari's horrible attempt at well-bred speech only made him feel better, so he bowed in return and accepted the gift.

Feeling happier than he had since arriving here, he decided not to worry anymore. As long as at least one of them didn't give up hope, they would be able to make it out of this. Heading back to the elevator, Naraki attempted to push the topmost button again. After several fruitless attempts he took a different approach. He began to test every button, pushing each one repeatedly before moving on to the next. After exhausting all available buttons he curled his paw into a fist and bashed the panel with the side of it, giving a low growl. Sighing he returned to where Inari had taken a seat behind the desk. He was in a large black chair that had wheels on the bottom. Apparently Inari had discovered its unique ability to swivel because he was spinning around at breakneck speeds, a focused smile splayed out across his muzzle. Naraki went around the desk and reached out his paw, grabbing the back of the chair and causing it to come to an abrupt stop. Inari stood and tried to walk across the room, stumbling and knocking a table over on his way to the couch, spilling countless magazines across the floor. He flopped down on the couch as he tried to regain his spinning head. Naraki let out a snort of laughter as he watched his friend trying to regain the ability to walk. It didn't take long for Inari to sit up and give him another goofy smile.

"That was intense." He said. "I'm glad you stopped me though, I think I would've puked if I had kept going." He said this with an air of nonchalance, giving Naraki the impression that, even had he puked, he still would've had a blast. Naraki grabbed Inari's paw and hauled him to his feet.

"We'd better find another way out of here." Naraki said. "The elevator isn't working, and I doubt that it was an accident. I think we should keep our guard up." Inari gave a serious nod and walked over to the door on the left, grabbing to door knob and turning it.

"This is the way we should go." He said confidently as he pulled the door open, but as soon as he did a screech filled the room. It grated on their eardrums, causing their ears to flatten against their skulls. Inari slammed his hands over his ears and gave the door a mighty kick. It closed hard and muffled the sound slightly. The reprieve didn't last long; with the sound of splintering wood, a large white talon punched through the door, impaling Inari. Naraki watched in horror as the large, bone-white spike emerged from Inari's back, splattering blood across the carpet.

Naraki desperately wanted to, no needed to do something, but his body wouldn't allow it. It was only when he watched the talon withdraw, dropping Inari's limp body to the floor that he could react. He sprinted forward, slipping his paws under Inari's armpits and dragging his body away from the door. A large trail of blood was busy soaking itself into the carpet as Naraki put his ear to Inari's chest. A faint heartbeat was all that could be heard, but it sent a surge of hope through him.

"At least he's alive." Naraki mumbled to himself as he inspected the damage to Inari's body. The large puncture in his abdomen gushed blood with every feeble beat of Inari's heart. Doing the only thing he could think of, Naraki tore off his tunic, not bothering with the buttons as they were torn free and sent flying. He wrapped it around Inari and tied it tightly, attempting to slow the flow of blood. He looked around for some way to move Inari somewhere safer. He spotted the chair and made a mad dash for it, giving the offending door a large berth. He promptly grabbed the chair and wheeled it over to Inari before lifting him and gently placing him in to it. He left Inari where he was and made his way over to the other door. He opened it slowly and peered around it. He could see a long, dimly lit hallway. Sensing no imminent danger, Naraki opened the door completely and ran back to get Inari. He wheeled the chair through the door and into the dim metal passage.

Moving Inari like this was slower than he would have liked; he had to move more carefully so that he didn't overbalance the chair, toppling it and Inari on to the floor. He walked quickly, but the hall seemed to go on forever. Except for the occasional offshoot it was a steady monotany.

Checking every hallway he passed carefully for anything helpful, Naraki continued to walk. Soon he lost count of how many they had passed. The only sounds were the whisper of the wheels and the steady drip of blood hitting the cold floor. He was about to give up hope when he saw something that brought tears to his eyes. A large sign situated above one of the hallway branches had the words Medical Bay stenciled in bright red letters above it. Naraki increased his pace and took a right, plunging down the corridor. Another sign rested above the door at the end, but he didn't even bother to read it. He flung the door open and was greeted by a small white room that smelled heavily of something he couldn't recognize. In the center of the room was a large, padded bed of sorts, also white and surrounded by a flimsy curtain on a hanging track. Above the padded table rested a giant machine with countless arms and tools. Not knowing exactly what needed to be done, Naraki rolled Inari over to the table and lifted him onto it. He hurried over to a counter spanning the far wall and began wrenching open the drawers, trying to find something he could use to help Inari.

Unbeknownst to Inari, the machine above Inari sprang silently to life. It injected small machines into Inari's body, which immediately went to work repairing internal injuries and steadying the rhythm of his heart. On the outside, however, the machine took a different approach. It cut away both his and Inari's shirts for better access the wound and injected a temporary anesthetic into his body. By this time Naraki had noticed what was going on and he watched in silent horror as the machine worked, stitching shut the wound on his gut before gently turning him over and doing the same on his back. The machine turned Inari back onto his back retracted back up above the bed, and sat dormant. Naraki rushed over and, once again, pressed his ear to Inari's bare chest. Inari's heartbeat was now strong and steady, causing Naraki to smile happily as tears ran down his muzzle, dripping onto the floor.

He turned his attention the Inari's abdomen. As he watched, the stitches pushed themselves from Inari's skin. He brushed the small bits of metallic thread away and took a closer look. It was unblemished, as if it had never happened at all. The only evidence to support the fact that it had indeed happened was the large amount of half-dry blood that soaked his fur all around where he had been stabbed. Satisfied that his friend was in no immediate danger anymore, Naraki tore down the flimsy white curtain and draped it over Inari's unconscious form, leaving only his head exposed. Naraki then proceeded to close and lock the door before taking a seat in the previously unnoticed chair to the immediate left of it. He had meant to stay awake and guard his friend's sleeping form, but his body had other ideas. As Naraki watched the steady rise and fall of Inari's chest, he drifted into a restless, dream-filled slumber.