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** CHAPTER 72** Into the bowels

Voices... unknown thoughts. It was all a whirlpool of unnamed feelings that haunted his mind. Soon they faded to bring him back to a harsher reality once again.

"There, there..." a gentle voice could be heard. He could not trust anything he saw; anything he felt or heard. But this soothing voice once again made the pain and confusion go away.

"That was bold of you. You could've been killed, but survived like the brave warrior that you are..."

The darkness of his confusing thoughts finally gave path to a faded light. He opened his eyes to a sharp physical pain that weakened his body.

"Where..." he mumbled. "What happened?"

"You overcame one of the hardest challenges placed upon you, and you managed to get out alive." This well known soothing voice was very close.

He opened his eyes, and although his awakening vision blurred his surroundings, he finally managed to see her.

"It's you..." He said. He instantly knew he was not in a safe place. Somehow that warmness of her was surrounded by the harsh reality that had been tormenting him for that long. "What happened?" He asked again.

"I am proud of you, Husky." She said. He had managed to survive the cowardly attack from the unfurred one and was now being tended by the mysterious hooded Evocanis. "It's been a couple of days, but I managed to bring you here. Unfortunately, you are not safe and bigger tribulations are ahead of you."

As confused as Husky was, an immense sense of joy filled him now that he was this close to the female. She gently petted him on his head. The faint light around them let him once again catch a glimpse of her features. He could see those gentle brown eyes and a peaceful smile behind the worn out hood.

"You are a husky, just like me." Husky said. He was surprised by the fact that she was very similar to him, but at the same time he felt bewildered that despite her warmth and energy felt so familiar, he didn't managed to recognize her. She just smiled and let out a mild chuckle.

"Your physical wounds are healing well, but you need to heal your warrior pride and regain your strength to continue." She again responded in a rather cryptic way. "As I said, you make me very proud, and I know you will make it. Just keep on being strong. Don't look back, believe and hold on to what you cherish the most."

A sudden feeling of emptiness filled Husky as he saw how the female husky stood up and walked towards the end of a corroded and dark room. There was a metallic barred door she opened and walked out of.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Husky desperately yelled as he sat up. An immensely sharp pain invaded his chest and abdomen, almost immediately bringing memories of what had caused that pain.

"The wounds have been treated. The projectiles drawn out. It's all up to you to heal completely. Here is were your will needs to be the strongest." She said as she looked back at him. "I will never lose faith on you, Husky. I will be close if you ever need me." With those last words, the female Evocanis walked out and was soon out of sight.

His heart was full of pain and a sinking feeling immediately filled his gut. He was alone again in that horrible reality and he knew the fight was far from over. Husky did a huge effort to get back on his hind paws and so he did. The weakness was overwhelming and the sharp pain from the projectile wounds pounded in unison with his heartbeats, reminding him of his close encounter with death.

"That coward..." He whispered as he looked down on his unclothed body. He had dirty rags improvised as bandages around his abdomen. The strong smell of alcohol-based chemicals mixed with blood fumed from them. "It will take more than a ballistic weapon to stop me..." He said. The rage inside him was now being fueled by memories of what had happen. "Next time I won't fall for such coward attack..."

Looking around him, he carefully examined the room. It was all corroded metal with no signs of wall covers, electrical circuits or anything. Just a raw metal structure. This was in way worse shape than what he had seen Canis Major. But was he still in the ship he once called home? He first needed to find out where he was and if there was a way out.

Carefully, he inspected the room which was lit by a strange white rod with a small controlled flame at the tip of it. Whatever that was, it was obvious it was made for that purpose judging on how the flame softly danced on it. Checking around the room quickly, he saw a rudimentary bag in a corner. A strange sheet of stained white material was placed on the bag, as he noticed when he got close.

You will need all the energy that you can muster. Be strong; I believe in you... -H. Words clearly carved into this thin sheet of material could be read in Nine-O-Five-One. In his life, Husky had never seen characters and full words apparently carved by paw. It was certainly not done by any mechanical or digital means.

"'H' ?" He asked to himself. It could be referring to him. He realized it was not time to dwell in trivialities, so he instinctively opened the bag. Inside of it, he found a set of ragged clothes and in another small bag, he found what seemed to be bread and a bottle with liquid. There was enough for four or five servings.

He didn't have time to check the contents of the bottle due to the huge thirst he felt. He managed to open it and have a huge sip out of it. "Water..." He said to himself as he caught his breath. It was fresh and tasted clean.

Thirst quenched, he immediately wore the ragged clothes and had a bite of the stale bread. His body ached, but the rustic meal certainly helped him recover from his long slumber. Who knows how long he had been unconscious.

"I must figure out where I am, and how to get out of here..." He said to himself after laying down for a few minutes. Somehow, he knew that looking for and finding that sweet female Evocanis would be futile. However, deep inside, he had a strong impression that although he wouldn't manage to find her, she would certainly find him. All he knew is that he needed to fight his way out of that place and free his brothers not only from the machines, but from the vicious humans that now soiled what was left of the sanctity of his home.

It was no time to sleep. He needed to get up and keep moving. Husky cracked his neck, arms and legs, preparing his body for whatever came to him. He had no idea where he was, or what the meaning of that place was as well. He decided to take the stealth approach as he carefully examined the area.

Quietly walking towards the same exit that the female Evo had previously gone through, he tried to ignore the pain of the wounds that had luckily not killed him. Slowly peeking from the barred door, he looked left and right down a long corridor where that strange room was. He couldn't see anyone, but more of those white rods hung roughly from the corroded metallic wall, illuminating both sides of the corridor.

Left or right? Did it matter? Am I still in Canis Major? He asked to himself in his mind. He knew his home by heart and he did not recognize this area at all. He decided to go left, as he saw the brightest light coming from that way, and also since that was the way that apparently the female Evo had went.

As he slowly walked down the warped corridor, he could hear all kinds of guttural sounds rushing down from behind and in front of him. It was with no doubt nerve wrecking. Metallic clanging, deep whooshing sounds and squeals could be heard. The floor below his paws rumbled every now and then as well.

_What is this place?_He asked to himself once again as a huge sense of discomfort filled him inside. He finally reached the end of the corridor, facing now a fairly large square room. A cage floor above him hid him from whatever was further above.

Oh no... A sudden set of steps above him made Husky seek for a hiding place. There was a lot of movement above. He witnessed with horror that whoever those steps belonged to weren't Evos or machines; clearly seeing through from below the cage floor, he saw a group of those retched humans walking along. He couldn't mistaken that strong and offensive scent that was completely unlike the warm, soft and soothing scent of his kind. The group chattered unrecognizable blabber that Husky didn't even try to comprehend. He just observed.

Soon after they were gone, he decided to walk further and look for a way to get out of that place. As he looked everywhere around him, debris fell down the cage floor; dust, rocks and other minerals.

Before he could do something, the whole room he was in trembled as a loud mechanical noise surrounded him. Whatever was about to happen, it wouldn't be good. Husky tried desperately to run back, but with horror, he saw how a gate that lead to the corridor he was in was lowered. He had no escape.

"I need to get out of here!" He urgently said to himself. But where? The large room under the cage floor had no way out apparently. No exit, other than the one that was sealed behind him. Without any notice, he now felt the floor below him shake as well. He managed to notice something terrible and soon he realized what that room was.

Before he could react, the cage floor above him suddenly split in half, dropping like a trapdoor. Tons of material fell down to where Husky was, blinding him in a black cloud of dust. He was lucky that the full mass hadn't fell on top of him, or he wouldn't be able to survive that.

Seconds after, the worse to happen was announced by a loud siren and a yellow strobe light.

"Vacuum shield! I have to find a way out!!" He thought out loud.

As he managed to find out what the purpose of the room was, he felt how the floor below him now started to collapse under his paws. If this was indeed a disposal, and all this material was to be sent to space, he would undoubtedly be dragged out to a certain death.

Dazed and confused by the sudden unloading of the huge mass of material, chocked and blinded by the black cloud of dust, Husky panicked with the thought that every second it passed, that blast door below him would open and swallow him into the cold darkness of space.

No, NO!

With his body full of adrenaline, he rushed in complete darkness over the pile of material. Sharp rocks injured his paws, he tripped, feeling how the chances of survival left him as he was constantly slowed down by the unfair situation he was placed in.

As the floor made one last horrible mechanical sound, he felt as the whole place dropped a meter or two in an instant. Opening his eyes to the blinding black cloud of dust, he got a glimpse of the cage floor panels collapsed against the wall. Husky's reaction was to just jump as hard as he could. The pain of his injuries were nothing to be concerned at the moment if he wanted to survive.

A deep whoosh noise came together with a massive force that pulled Husky back down in mid air. One second later and it would've been all for the young Evocanis. He had managed to reach the floor cage and hold on to his dear life. He managed to escape the suction of space's vacuum, but it wasn't over. Space pulled at him with such relentless force, as if wanting to claim him as its own. It was as if the hardest he held on, the hardest the force pulled back.

Looking down, he saw the beautiful stars, as the mineral waste was swallowed mercilessly by them. Sound soon became fainter as the air was also drawn from the place. Husky could feel that horrible and familiar suffocating sensation as the air in his lungs fought to escape his body.

For a second, Husky felt peace. There was silence, and looking down again, the stars almost represented his freedom. He almost wanted to let go and find peace once again...

Whatever you do, do not quit, Husky! He heard these words. The voice was that of the sweet Evocanis. He didn't know if he really heard them, or it was just his mind reminding him not to give up.

Not being able to breathe anymore, Husky never lost his strength and pulled himself up as best as he could. Who knows how long it had been, but soon the blast shield closed, relieving the young Evocanis from the deadly grip of the vacuum. Sound soon invaded his surroundings. A loud hiss was indicative that the place was immediately pressurized. A click on his eardrums and the precious air finally caressing his nose made Husky gasp for his life. He had survived.

Husky was exhausted and in pain. He had managed to reach the level above and just lied hanging from the edge. His vision darkened for a minute until he was violently brought back to reality...

A yank on his shirt so violent that actually pulled him out of the disposal hole. Confused, he was thrown on the ground at the level above. Was he safe? All he saw were limbs surrounding him. These weren't paws.

"Well, well... Who dropped this precious prize down here?" a rough voice said, followed by bad-intentioned chuckles surrounding him.

"It would be a shame if such beautiful piece of meat was wasted." The same voice said. Husky was still confused and dazed, coming in and out of consciousness.

A sudden impact woke Husky up. Something had a grip on the skin behind his neck. Forcibly and very painfully, whoever had a grasp of him, now lifted him into the air.

"It's been long since they send such a beauty like you down here." Whoever had a grip of Husky, now spoke closely face to face to him. An acrid smell came from this being's breath as he said these words. This was not the warm, soothing and sweet breath that his brothers had. This was as rotten as the soul that it belonged to, provided that it had one.

"I'm going to make you mine all night..." the rotten being said again.

"Leave something for us!"

"You're going to destroy that thing!" Other voices said in mocking tone.

Finally coming back to his sense, Husky managed to gain composure and finally comprehended what happened. Holding him was a large human. His head and body completely hairless and glistening in oil and filth. Around him, a large group of maybe ten other equally disgusting unfurred ones stood, as scavengers waiting for their chance to take a bite at a carrion.

An adrenaline rush made Husky's muscles jolt and with a quick evasive move, he managed to free himself from the grip of the unfurred one.

"Let me go, you monsters!" He yelled. As he fell on the ground he readied his fighting stance and prepared to defend himself.

"Oh! Little puppy has claws!" the larger unfurred one said as he saw three fresh claw marks on his arm. The rest held what appeared to be heavy tools as they all closed the circle around Husky.

"Dead or alive; who gives... He must have a tight one, and I'm getting some." Larger one said. His despicable words making no sense to Husky.

Husky was in trouble and he knew it. He could take down one or two, but ten was too much. Adding to the problem was that he stood there armed only with his fangs and claws while these monsters held objects that could probably kill him in one hit. The pain of his wounds were also playing heavily against him.

What to do? Fight or flee? But if it came to escaping the evil grasp of those monsters; where would he run to? If he fought, in his condition, his chances of getting out alive were almost none.

Closer they got. Husky could feel the hostility on these beings as he never had witnessed. Whatever they wanted to do with him, they were determined and nothing would stop them. Husky was running out of luck. If that merciless place wanted to take his life, this would probably be it.

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you!" A voice not too far away said. The accent and the way his words sounded were different from the humans. Husky instantly knew it was one of his.

"You wouldn't want to break our agreement; now would you?"

"Damn, too late..." the human whispered.

"He's mine, human. Get away from him..." The voice demanded.

"Hey... I don't think anyone wanted this little piece of meat. I mean, look at him! He's..."

"I said... HE IS MINE!" A powerful bark echoed in the room, making the group of humans instantly back away.

Looking towards were the voice came, Husky finally managed to locate who this voice belonged to him. In the darkness of the place, with the yellow strobes glaring, it was difficult to pick up any accurate features on this creature. All he knew it was a group as big as the humans approaching slowly to where they were.

"Let's not make this worse than it is. Walk away; now." the familiar voice said. The group of mysterious creatures soon reached where Husky was, walking around him as they moved forward to where the humans were.

"Blasted dogs..." The bigger unfurred one said. "Let's get out of here boys. Soon one will fall and they won't get to him on time. We'll get some fresh meat."

"Not on my watch!" One last bark came from the bigger creature.

Soon, the humans disappeared into the darkness. The group of what now Husky confirmed were Evos approached him. Who apparently was their leader, the bigger Evo was given space until he stood in front of Husky.

"I don't know how you got here, but a minute later and those monsters would've gotten you." A large Evocanis, dark as night stood in front of him. Somehow, that same situation felt so familiar to Husky. Too much indeed.

"Wait... no; it can't be..." Husky gasped. It came to him as fast as lighting. That Evocanis... "Anubis?"

Standing in front of him, it was impossible not to recognize this large black and brown Evocanis. It was his D.E1 partner and an Evocanis that had became so dear to him. His friend Anubis...