Moving Along Remastered

Chapter 36: A Changing Tide

Before we begin, I want to thank @BlizzHusky15 for doing this wonderful head shot of my character, Grey Archer. Show him some love when you can! He did great.

Moving Along Chapter 36: A Changing Tide

It felt like we'd been flying forever. Thankfully, Ziro had the forethought to bring some food on board, which I was grateful for. A veggie ham and cheese sub was just what the doctor ordered considering how few and far between meals had been recently. Better than the cardboard tasting rations at the bottom of the bag that I'd inevitably avoid for last. You'd think an underground covert HQ would invest as much in the quality of their food as the tech they housed. I guess the budget had to be cut somewhere.

Feeling the food coma coming in, I closed my eyes for a few Zs. But I was just too anxious to sleep. What would we find once we got to the FIA? Would it even still be standing? Last HQ I'd been to fell to shit only a couple weeks after I'd arrived in this world. That's what I was told, at least. Good riddance, I guess. Wasn't like I had very fond memories of that place. It seemed Ziro had heard the same as well. After everything that had transpired, this didn't really surprise me. So far, the enemy showed proficiency in battle tactics. One of the best strategies, though frowned upon, was to aim straight for the eyes. Attacking the main hub of all Furs, FurCity, and the central intelligence network, the FIA, was instrumental in executing such a strategy. And it worked perfectly.

My head swarmed with thoughts like these. The "what ifs," "how comes," and "maybe I should haves" haunted me. Had I done everything that I could? What if everything I had wasn't enough? I shook my head in an attempt to clear it and glanced at the still sleeping Rogers across from me. Though he was a big old Irish wolfhound, he somehow looked smaller all curled up in his seat. I stifled a smirk when I saw drool start to run down his lower jaw. And here I thought I was a flooder in my sleep. Glad someone was getting a healthy few winks before the impending shit storm.

Ziro on the other paw was a different story. Though his muzzle was expressionless, I could see the gears turning in his head based on his furrowed eyebrows and the way his fingers flexed on his lap. His eyes were clear, though you could tell they were seeing something other than the steel walls of the copter. It seemed best not to interrupt him. I turned my attention to the small viewing window.

We'd long since passed the ruins of BrightFur, which I was grateful for. All I felt was guilt over not being able to save it, just like FurCity. Despite how much I'd grown, I was still too weak to stop its collapse. It made me wonder how on Earth I'd ever be able to take down Zuboi at this point. I was honestly hoping for a miracle. Maybe the book would have some kind of answer, or some form of guidance. Guess I'd find out once we got to the HQ.

Which made me want to ask the age old question of all long travels. Were we there yet? For now, we were just passing over a seemingly endless expanse of forest. That answered that question. As I stared at the passing trees, I allowed myself to get lost in their vibrant emerald green glow. The color reminded me of her eyes, causing me to half smile in spite of myself. 'Reminders of the lost are in unexpected places,' Kurai spoke to me with a warm tone.

'I'll say,' I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath then exhaling. When I opened them again, I was just in time to see us emerge into an immense canyon that spanned at least twice as much as the Grand Canyon itself. You could see the natural erosion along its highest walls that were smoothed down by years of water flowing through it. Smooth wave lines along the orange sedimentary rock further down proved this. At the base of the canyon was quite the wide river that flowed long past the horizon. Surrounded by it were a handful of trees that managed to grow on the slanted landscape, outnumbered by numerous large rocks and boulders that made up the rest of the terrain. These rocks had a considerable amount of moss and sun bleaching caked onto them, showing their age. Nothing seemed to inhabit this treacherous landscape, which wasn't surprising. Trying to take a casual stroll would prove to be a challenge in and of itself.