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Counter Earth Chronicles

Chapter 58: On This Day In History... (While She Was Away Part Four)

Day 175 continued

Flo drove me back to the castle after Arthur and Minka delivered their devastating news to the Fox family. I ended up arriving back at Tauren's lair just as Luire and Sorren were having breakfast.

"So how did the ghost hunting go squirt?" The female coyote asked me as Sorren set the table.

"In one night my views on the paranormal were shattered." I said to the two stunned. "Guys, that stuff is real!"

"How real?" The she beast asked me.

"As we were evacuating the farmhouse, I was dragged from the ghost hunter's van back into the house by the original owner begging me for help!"

"What's so strange about that Alex?" Lurie asked me.

"Nothing other than he has been dead for one hundred ninety-four years. That's all." I said to the stunned coyote female.

"You didn't let any of that follow you home did you?" The dragon asked me. "There was a friend of a friend of a friend of mine that was into that stuff. I heard he got possessed and was never heard from again."

"I sure do hope not!" I said out loud thinking of the repercussions.

"So the investigation was super intense?" The coyote girl asked me.

"That was the understatement of the year. I watched Arthur, Minka and Flo conduct their investigation of the Fox's property. We encountered all strange sorts of phenomena some of it friendly some of it not. The biggest shock occurred when the children discovered that the original owner of the house got into financial trouble and made a deal with a dark entity, a bad one that ultimately cost him his life."

Lurie looked at me as I made that admission.

"That entity and others of its kind then haunted the property and tormented the occupants of the house both living and otherwise for about the last two hundred years."

"So what is the family going to do?" The she beast asked me.

"The children advised them to cut their losses and run. They could try to get it to leave, but there was no guarantee that it or others of its kind would stay away."

"Wow that is just, just wow. Are you ABSOLUTELY sure none of that followed you home?" The goofy dragon asked looking at me funny.

I looked at Lurie and then Sorren.

"Hey, just making sure! I am allergic to being tormented by the dead and the undead. It makes me break out in a nasty rash!" Sorren said smirking.

"How was the rest of the movie?" I asked the two as we sat down and started eating. The breakfast that morning was pancakes and sausages.

"Pretty morose. Camin found Haim's remains in the morning after he had reverted and wept and wept that he had eaten his lover." Lurie said.

"I guess the moral of that story is that love hurts or was it that you always hurt the ones you love and then eat them raw?"

"SORREN!!!"

As we concluded breakfast that Sunday morning I asked the two if they had heard from Lady Ursa. As usual, there was no word. When she left two and half weeks ago she took a big vile of my 'Essence of Winter' with her. I took that to mean that she would be gone quite a while on missions, but I knew at some point she would have to return. I just hoped that when she did, she would have her quarry in tow. In the meantime I decided to keep myself preoccupied with my studies and to stay out of trouble- mostly.

Day 180 (evening)

"Thanks mom!" The rabbit-girl said to her mother as she stepped out of the yellow mini-van.

"Thanks Mrs. Willow!" I said to our chauffeur.

"How long do you three expect to be?" She asked as Cody stepped out of the hover car.

"As long as it takes!" Primrose and I said in unison.

"You two are such good friends to Cody. Just contact me when you are ready to leave." The cream colored rabbit said driving away in the family min-van.

(Hopefully it wouldn't take that long, but given Cody Spencer, then again maybe it would.)

"Well there is!" Primrose said. "The World One Remembrance Museum. Not as big as the History museum. But it should be just as informative."

"Well it wasn't easy to get to." Cody added.

"This museum serves as a eternal reminder of a time before the High Evolutionary. A time when Counter Earth was plagued by chaos, misery and destruction. Let all who enter here learn from the past and remember the lessons of history so that this dark time in our planet's history will never ever come again." I said reading the museum's plaque to my two furry charges for the late afternoon.

"Quite the inscription." The rabbit-girl said.

"And quite the neighborhood too." The cat-boy said looking around.

"The museum was built on the remains of a former battlefield and hospital. It looks like it all but got swallowed up as the city was constructed around it. All that remains is the museum." I said to the beastial children.

"It doesn't look like much of a museum either. A one story glass and concrete building the length of a city block." Cody said.

"Be that as it may, this is your last opportunity to gather some valuable research on your overdue history report. I said to the cat-boy.

"But Mr. Alex why didn't we just go back to the World One History Museum? That place was much more accessible and much more fun as well!"

(Yeah, too much fun for some little cubs I know.)

I looked at the white furred cat-boy right in the eyes as I remembered what had transpired there weeks ago and the very erotic dreams I have been having since- being sexed by a certain lion woman.

"Ah, no. This place is supposed to have a very comprehensive interactive exhibit on the planet's history after the previous government collapsed. From what I heard. It is supposed to be more detailed than the World One History Museum's exhibit."

So Primrose, Cody and I walked through the glass doorway and the museum's entrance. Within minutes of walking in, we realized the Remembrance museum was much smaller than other museums in the city and would probably be easier to navigate as a result. Mostly because the first floor only consisted of three small rooms.

"How big is this exhibit?" The rabbit-girl asked a female human curator.

"Two floors- the one you are on and then the one in the basement. I don't want to rush you but we close in a few hours."

"How old is this museum?" I asked her.

"We are nine years old. The owners wanted to build a much larger structure, but as you can see we got 'boxed' in."

"How long does it normally take to see everything?" Cody asked her admiring her black hair that was tied back into a bun.

"About a good two hours to see everything." The woman who was dressed in black skirt and white top responded.

"It s four now we should be able to finish the museum before six." I said to the beastial children.

"Not exactly Mr. Alex." The cute rabbit-girl said looking at the clock above the front desk. "You are forgetting about the 'Cody Factor.'

"You're right. We better hurry then." I said.

"Hey!" Cody said at the slight jab his friend had given him.

"I hope you are ready to take notes, pictures, video and more notes- we are going to have go through this quick if we are going to see everything." Primrose said to Cody.

"Um, yeah." Big Sexy said unenthusiastically.

So we started to make our way room by room through the exhibits. The first room was only 10' by 10' but had an extensive background about life on Counter Earth one hundred fifty years ago which was about forty-four years after Smith Snow was done in by the dark entity at the Fox's farmhouse.

As the cubs and I entered the room, we saw a large visual display of the planet and the three city-states that comprised the human civilization at the time. I still find it amazing that given how big Counter Earth was that there was only one civilization on the planet or perhaps this was where civilization started and the population hadn't spread out to the rest of the planet yet.

"Are you ready?" Primrose asked the cat-boy.

"Yeah, yeah I am ready." Cody said as he pulled out his cube and prepared to take notes.

I pressed the button on the display and the presentation began.

_Greetings visitors! Thank you for coming! The Counter Earth of one hundred fifty years ago- 4098 looked quite different from the Counter Earth you know today. _

"Why is that?" I asked the display.

Glad you asked. Today Counter Earth is comprised of five cities Worlds One, Two, Three, Four and Five. But that was not always the case. It used to be only three. Anon was the largest city-state, it was located slightly west of where World One now stands. Nimans was the second largest it was located slightly north of where World Two now stands and Plita which is where World Four now stands. Plita was the capital and center of the civilization. It was where the government that ruled the Counter Earth was located at the time as well.

The government was weak since it inception, despite this, it managed to survive for just a mere thirty years before collapsing during a period of long decline which started the wars for control of the civilization and ultimately the planet one hundred twenty years ago in 4128.

During the decline the the residents of the three cities experienced shortages on goods due to irregular growing seasons, horrific winters and historic droughts. To compensate, the government tried implementing price controls, printing currency to pay debt and helping those on public assistance. But the instability further drove the decline and the economy was soon affected. Neighborhoods started turning into slums, foreclosed houses sat vacant. The government was ultimately ineffective at correcting the problem.

_As the decline worsened- inflation increased, businesses failed, banks failed, unemployment increased, homelessness increased which brought about civil unrest. _

_As the government collapsed the infrastructure, the power grid, roads and sanitation fell into disrepair. There were no jobs, food or water. Poverty and starvation became the norm. _

As a result society fell into chaos- violent gangs started to appear in each of the cities as groups formed to compete for control of what was left of the collapsing civilization.

"Wow, that is just, just wow." The rabbit-girl said.

"You getting all this Cody?" I asked the cat-boy.

"Yeah, yeah weak government, societal collapse, poverty, misery everywhere."

Once again Cody Spencer sounded bored.

We are not boring you are we? The display asked.

"Well, I err. I am just having trouble staying interested in something that happened so long ago." The cat-boy said.

"Well you better get interested or you are going to fail that report." Primrose said looking at Cody sternly.

If I may continue. The display said. The exhibit in the next room has more on the societal fallout from the government's collapse.

"Ok thank you." I said to the display. "This way you two."

We entered the room adjacent to the first which was smaller but had a mock up of the six factions we had heard about during our trip to the World One Museum.

The violent gangs coalesced into six factions which sought to control the government or what remained. Each faction promised a return of individual freedoms, liberties and stability in order to increase their membership.

"What were the factions again?" I asked the display.

Glad you asked. The Alliance, The Coalition, The Order, The Consortium, The Dominion and the Legion. The Alliance and the Legion formed in the city state of Anon. While the Coalition and the Order formed in the city state of Nimans and the Consortium and the Dominion were based in the city state of Plita. They fought each other fiercely for control and territory, but were equally matched with the Consortium and the Dominion being the most brutal and violent of the two. A state of lawlessness persisted for ninety years as no faction emerged as the ultimate victor. Many perished as the city states were devastated by conflict.

By the time High Evolutionary arrived the remaining populace was tired of war, lawlessness, the misery, instability and terror associated with it; they welcome the extraterrestrial who promised to fix all their problems with open arms.

_The High Evolutionary's rule while being controversial has brought a period of great prosperity to Counter Earth war and hunger has been eliminated. For those of privilege, wealth and prosperity are all but guaranteed. For those not of privilege prosperity is limited and poverty is more the norm. _

As the projection's narration continued pictures of the three city-states were shown before the collapse of the government, after it collapse and just before the High Evolutionary arrived on Counter Earth. It was a sobering reminder of just what a stabilizing force the empire was to this world.

Under the empire individual freedoms and liberties have been restored but are conditional and limited. But overall life has improved under the dictator's rule as compared to ninety years ago.

Now the next exhibit highlights some of the battles that took place in what is now World One....

Our tour was particularly gripping as the beastial children and I learned about the many battles that occurred in the area including the Great Falls battle which we had heard about previously involving members of the Alliance and the Legion. The Alliance managed to repel the aggressors of the Legion but not before suffering heavy casualties.

But what was interesting was that the battle was fought near to where the museum was built.

"This area must be very haunted." Cody said perking up. "It is a shame Arthur and Minka couldn't come!"

"Yeah, if there is anything in here they would have loved to investigate it." The rabbit-girl said.

"No thanks, I have had my fill of ghosts." I said to the cubs.

Down stairs you will find an exhibit on the technology that was used to hurt and the medical technology that was used to heal. The display said.

That sounded like a plan.

"Down stairs little ones?" I asked as we were leaving the room.

"Yeah." Cody and Primrose responded in unison.

So we proceeded to the staircase at the front of the museum entrance as we prepared to check out the basement.

*BING*

A sliding door appeared on the wall next to where we were standing and opened.

"Wow, an old style turbo lift!" Primrose exclaimed.

"I believe they were called elevators back then." Prim.

(Hmm... I don't remember seeing this when we walked by earlier.)

"Regardless- very retro. Let's check it out!" The rabbit-girl said as she started for the elevator doors.

"Wow, no voice activation!" Cody exclaimed.

"No, you press the buttons on the panel over there and it will take you where you want to go. Watch." I said to my amazed charges.

I pressed the button that said lower level. The doors closed and we descended to the basement or what we thought was the basement of the museum. But when the doors opened were weren't in the museum but in a strange strange room- four orange walls, numerous cots, a double door at the far end. It was a triage room of a hospital- battlefield hospital.

(Nice exhibit.)

As the doors opened we observed the scene before us- a human doctor in jeans with a white jacket overwhelmed with patients. There were four in the room on cots suffering from wounds. Outside there were explosions and artillery fire going off like it was the end of the world. The room shook violently.

"Nurse where are those bandages?!" The physician said looking over his shoulder.

"I think she went out back to get them doc." A grizzled soldier whom the physician had been treating said.

"She has been gone too long." The physician responded.

"Wow, an interactive display!" Cody exclaimed stepping off of the elevator.

"Yeah it's like we have just stepped back in time. Look at the clothing they are wearing! They kind of look like rebels but much more primitive." Primrose said.

"Hey what is wrong with my clothing?!" A red headed female soldier said to Primrose. "It is standard issue!"

"Did you see that Iya? Those three just walked through the wall!!" The grizzled male next to the female said.

"No, we came in through the elevator right behind us." I said turning around to where we had just entered the room. I didn't find any open doors or an elevator just a orange wall. "It was here a second ago?!"

"Who are you three and what are you doing here? This is a hospital!" The doctor said looking up from his patient.

"Umm." I started to say. "This is a pretty weird simulation nothing like I have seen before."

"Bly me doc they are strange looking bunch!" Another patient on a cot across from the blond haired male and red headed female soldier said. "Well the human is homely looking but the children with him they, they have tails! Say what are you?!" The woman said to Cody as he approached her.

The cat-boy walked up to the female patient, looked her right in her eyes while bouncing his eyebrows- "Why whatever you want me to be ma'am!"

"And Big Sexy strikes again." Primrose face palmed.

"Hey doc, your nurse! The Legion took her. We drove them off as best we could but we have casualties." Another soldier said entering the room and collapsing at the physician's feet.

"We are Legion what is ours is ours and what is yours is also ours!" The woman who outed the beastial children said.

"Who asked you!" The red headed soldier across from her said.

"Damn it, how can a I treat the injured if I don't have the staff!" The physician said picking up the collapsed man and laying him on a cot. "You three!"

"You mean us?!" I asked.

"Yeah you three in the weird clothing!"

"What is wrong with our clothing?!" The rabbit-girl said looking at the patients with us in the room, the torn tattered, threadbare uniforms compared to our neat and clean one piece shirts/slacks that were colorful and definitely stood out.

"Do you have any medical experience?!"

"We'll I have a portable dermal regenerator in my cube for healing scratches and cuts." Cody admitted.

"I know how to clean wounds." Primrose said.

"And I, uh well I... know how to apply a bandaids." I blurted out.

"Well you have just volunteered to be my assistants!"

"What an amazing interactive simulation!" Primrose blurted out.

"The rest of my staff is missing; they have either been kidnapped or killed. I hope the previous. But I can't treat the sick and wounded by myself. I am in need of at least a nurse, medic and assistant. And I have neither so you three will have to do. Welcome to Field Hospital or what is left of it."

"Who are they?!" I asked .

"They are members of the fighting force defending this hospital. Some of them are former members of the Alliance." The physician said.

"Hey doc First here are the bandages the nurse went to get. She was captured by the Legion in their assault." A soldier said as he and three more fighters piled in bringing the total to patients to nine in the room.

"All of you lie down." The physician ordered.

"Wow is that wound real?!" Cody asked walking up to a Iya the red headed female fighter who was nursing a bleeding shoulder. The cat-boy then poked at it like it was a ball of yarn being held up in front of him.

"Hey kid! That hurts!"

"Alex! Its real!" Cody said looking at me.

"Of course it's real!" The woman said annoyed. "Is this real?" She asked tugging on Cody's ears.

"OWIE!!!" Cody yelped at the unexpected ear grab.

In response to Cody's reaction she then pulled on the cat-boy's tail.

"OWIIE!"

"It's real!" She said astounded. "You're a walking and talking cat?!"

"That's me!" Cody said smiling at her.

"That is enough specialist." The grizzled warrior next to Iya said.

"But sir the other one is a rabbit!" Iya said astounded.

Primrose and I looked at the other soldiers who were lying on the cots in front of us- the five who were defending the hospital and the other four who we had been speaking to; they appeared to be soldiers from the Legion and the Alliance. This was no simulation with actors those wounds they had were looking at were real.

(What the hell was going on here?!)

"You three what are your names?" The physician asked us.

"I am Alex Winter. That is Primrose Willow and Cody Spencer." I said to the physician.

"Those are some interesting names. How did you three wind up in this area? What is with the weird clothing and why do those children look likes animals?"

"That is because they are!" The redhead who had pulled Cody's tail said.

"Oh these?" I said. "They are just costumes the children were wearing from a party we were at. Watch this." I said tweaking Primrose on her tail.

"Owie!!! Alex!!!

"Quiet." I said the rabbit-girl. "I am not sure what is going on but we better play along for now."

"No they weren't!" Another soldier heckled. "Those ears and tails aren't fake, they are real."

"We were in a museum and took an elevator to the basement. When the doors opened we wound up here." Primrose said the physician.

"Really? A party in a museum? Where? No matter. I am Dr. Richard First and you are in my hospital now or what is left of it. Ms. Willow and Mr. Spencer I want you to interview our five new patients find out what they are complaining of."

"And me?"

"Alex, assist me." He said.

I went with the doctor to check up on the four soldiers who were already in the triage room when we 'walked' in. Three women and one man. Each had laser burns and bullet wounds and contusions on their limbs and bodies. The doctor had patched up each as best as he could and was prescribing rest.

"See something you like handsome?" Iya, one of the female soldiers whose arm was in a sling asked me.

"That triangular symbol that is on your clothing. What is it?"

"I am a member of the Alliance. So is Lieutenant Striker over there."

"Lt. Augustice Striker at your service." The grizzled blond haired soldier next to her said- his shoulder and part of his chest were bandaged up.

"How did you two wind up in here?" I asked.

"Firefight with those jokers over there." He said motioning to the other two women.

"Spare the homely boy your titles you two are thugs just like us." A blond haired female whose legs were in two casts said to him.

Then there was the brown haired woman next to the blond whose neck was in a cast. She just stared at her co-warrior and her enemies from the other faction.

I looked the 'L' symbol on the other female's clothing.

"You two are with the Legion." I responded.

"Grrr!" The blond responded.

"Enough you four. This hospital is neutral territory despite being on a battlefield. There will be no killing here. If you four want to kill each other do it out there."

I checked the four soldier's bandages while the physician went to check on the beastial children's progress.

"What are the fighters complaining of?" Dr. First asked the cat-boy and rabbit-girl.

Cody and Primrose went over the list of complaints the patients had which were minor flesh wounds, bullet grazes and laser burns from defending the hospital. They would be patched up in no time. But then there was the soldier that collapsed at the physician's feet when he entered the triage room.

"That one is not complaining at all doctor." Cody said.

Dr. First. Examined the soldier carefully. "Inter-blast."

"Inter-what?" Primrose asked.

"It is a weapon that destroys the internal organs without leaving a single mark on the skin. Ronald here never had a chance."

Cody and Primrose stared at the dead soldier's remains as the doctor covered him up.

"Mad Ronald was a good man. He didn't deserve to die like that. Alex and Primrose help me carry him to the morgue. You see space is at a premium in here."

Reluctantly the rabbit-girl and I picked up the fallen fighter and carried him to the hospital's morgue down the hall.

"Mr. Spencer can you keep an eye on things here for a minute?"

"Ok doctor." Cody said as he pulled out his dermal regenerator and started repairing the soldier's flesh wounds.

"Finish patching up the four fighters when you are done, they can leave and keep an eye on the other four- I don't want them killing each other while I am away."

"What's that kid?" One of the hospital fighters asked Cody while we were leaving.

"It is a dermal regenerator- it heals wounds to the skin. When I am done you won't need bandages." The cat-boy said reassuringly to his patient.

While we were moving Mad Ronald to the morgue down the hall Primrose and I realized that the hospital was rather small consisting of only one floor, a waiting room, the morgue, triage room and a small operating room.

"Dr. First where is the rest of it?" Primrose asked.

"You see that pile of rubble over there?" He said pointing to the other end of the hallway and the blocked off door which it lead to.

"Um yeah." We responded.

"That is the rest of it." He said as we heard laser fire in the distance. "A few weeks ago this facility took a direct hit. What you are in is all that remains. There isn't any power that failed months ago. The emergency generators are all that is keeping this place running." Dr. First said as we arrived at the morgue.

Primrose and I were horrified at the amount of bodies that had been laid out in the chilled room so many. All covered in white sheets.

"In my free time I try to identify and catalog the deceased. When I have free time."

"What about notifying relatives of the deceased?" I asked.

"Tell me how son? There is no communications infrastructure that was destroyed a year and half ago. Besides who would want to come out in this mess?" He said pointing to a window.

Prim and I stared out of it. We saw the scarred remains of a field in which the hospital was located- littered by broken vehicles, weapons and that was just in our immediate vicinity. In the distance we saw buildings on fire, partially collapsed buildings and rubble. The sky was dark with smoke.

"Oh my gosh." The rabbit-girl gasped.

"You act like this is your first time seeing all of this." The physician said.

"Well it is." I told him.

"I take it that museum you came from- it can't be around here- because there is nothing around here! Not since the government's collapse and the fighting began."

"When did that happen?" The rabbit-girl asked the physician.

"Two and a half years ago. How could you not know that?" Dr. First asked.

"We aren't from around here doctor." I said reluctantly.

"Really?" The man asked. "Right you said that you were in a museum and then you wound up in my hospital."

"Yes sir we are from your future to be exact." The rabbit-girl said to the human.

"Prim?"

"Alex I think I know what happened. Somehow after we entered the elevator at the museum we went back in time to just after the government ended. We are two years into the ninety year war that took place for control of the planet." The little rabbit said to me.

Dr. First looked at the both of us. "Ninety year war?"

"Doctor what year is it?" I asked the physician in disbelief.

"4130." He responded without hesitation.

I quickly did the math in my head 4248 - 4130 =

"OH CRAP!!!!"

To Be Continued...

Next Week:

Cody Spencer's personal history lesson continues.