Rogue Fox Spare Your Soul
Chapter IX
Fallout

"You used to captivate me,
by your resonating light,
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind,
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams,
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me,

These wounds won't seem to heal,
This pain is just too real,
There's just too much that time cannot erase,

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,
And I've held your hand through all of these years,
But you still have all of me,"

Evanescence – "My Immortal"


It's two days after the detonation of the Carmen Photonic Bomb and for the tens of millions of people in and around Corneria City, it was already too late. The photonic bomb had already decimated over half the population of Planet Corneria, killing billions in the blink of an eye, reducing three of Corneria's most majorly populated areas to ash in the matter of seconds. The EMP from the bomb fried any electronics that remained intact after the blast, leaving entire continents blind. The EMPs had destroyed over ninety-five percent of Corneria's electronics, and killed communication.

Many more in the days to come, would fall to plasma radiation poisoning, leaving thousands of dead in the streets of Corneria City from deadly fallout. A Photonic Bomb was never designed to be detonated on the surface, and the deadliness of the fallout, had been greatly underestimated before it came. Two hours after the weapon of mass destruction had been detonated, with it came black poisonous ashes that the wind carried through the city, and the planet. The bodies quickly collected, as authorities were quickly overrun by the population.

Only two of the five missiles had been successfully launched into orbit. The three others had decimated the Cornerian super-cities… including Corneria City. In the hours after the blast, all hope in evacuating the citizens of Corneria City had been abandoned, as riots broke out, consuming the city as the world quickly descended into anarchy, and the last resources that the military withheld went to Katina to fight the war, and orbited Corneria to protect them, from Aparoidian invasion. Corneria City had been designated uninhabitable. Those who found shelter within walls were safe, but more yet died in the streets.

The Military Complex on the North West side of Corneria City had been quarantined. The couple thousand troops inside the complex were now set on guard within the barricades inside the doors of the complex. No one came in, and no one went out. Any surviving civilians within the city, quickly found out they were on their own, and there would be no help coming, which only provoked rioting. The only thing that the military could do now was try to keep the war off Corneria, even if it meant sacrificing the majority of Corneria's civil population.

There was no help coming, because the entire planet was in chaos. Only the smart survived now. On the surface of the super cities, no one could be trusted, and no one trusted each other. The sounds of weapon fire reverberating through the city became a frequent occurrence. People were robbed, and killed, without a second thought. Screams were normal, as they echoed through the town.

The navy had been knocked by hurtling Photonic Bombs, but it wasn't out. The two that had launched were fired directly at masses of naval fleets, but without the other three launching, it was designated by the Slayers as relatively ineffective, even though over a dozen ships were destroyed by the bombs. The Slayers had planned on decimating the navy harder then they did, but destroying the heart was just as good. Society collapsed, and the industrial stable and military power that Corneria once possessed disappeared, as the Slayers progressively overtook the Lylat System.


X

He had already shot fourteen people; most had died on his front lawn. A tall fence surrounded the property, and the raccoon had put barbed wire around the top, and weaved it through the bars, making it virtually impossible to climb. There was only one way into the house, and that was through the front gates. A gang had already tried to take his house, and had managed to get the gate open before Ramirez gunned them down on the deep brown front lawn. They shot at him, but they weren't able to hit him. Their bodies now slowly began to be coated with a film of black and white ash that the wind carried, and what fell from the toxic red sky, smeared with black clouds. It gave the surface an orange queasy look.

Ramirez had faced the radiation for a short while to close the gate out front with wire, and attach some of his fishing line to the swing of the gate. It ran through a small in the window, and down the sheet steel shutters, and inside to a bell. When the bell rang, he could tell that the gate was being opened. This way he didn't have to risk radiation sickness by having the window, or door open.

He watched it for a moment, in the near darkness of the house. He thought it might just been the wind outside. But the bell jingled, hard for a moment, and then stopped. It didn't take him three seconds to grab his rifle, bolt up the stairs, and swing open the sheet steal window shutters with a hard slam, against his wall on the inside. This window over watched the front gate from the second floor. He set the plasma rifle through the steal bars, and stared down the sites. What the muzzle he pointed at, horrified him.

The fiber sights locked onto a figure in black armor. He knew what it was right away. It was a Vortec. He saw the white star on the shoulder of the warrior, as the figure closed the gate behind him. Ramirez didn't hesitate. He pulled in the trigger, giving the weapon a short burst. The bolts washed over the man's left shoulder with hard slaps, he dropped to his knees, and put both paws up behind his head.

After this, Ramirez knew that it couldn't be a Slayer. Though in the Vortec armoring, it wouldn't be that easy to take him out. The figure had a beat up, red wagon with a large duffle bag in the back, and a massive rucksack over his shoulders.

Ramirez knew he had to get out of the radiation. He shouted at the man. "Come to the door! Now! Or you will be fired upon! You will be killed!" with that, he shut the steel doors. The home was dark again. The coon jumped down the stairs, and looked out the peep hole in the door, after opening the thin blast door he had, all with his gun at his side. He watched the figure pull the wagon through the sidewalk. He walked over the dead and rotting bodies on the sidewalk, and pulled the wagon over them. The bodies flipped and the wagon rolled over them. Paul had already collected any weapons that they had, and anything that might be at all useful to him.

The figure came up to the door, up the three short steps. Paul pulled the heavy armored door open, while pointing the M27 Plasma Rifle around the corner at the figure. Paul pulled in the larger man in by a shoulder plate, and slammed the steel door shut, locking the bolts behind it, almost shutting his tail in it. The raccoon pushed the man up against the wall, while pointing the rifle at the back of his head. He knew, he couldn't over power the Vortec if this man fought back.

The man inside the Slayer's suit spoke. "Security sure is tight huh?"

The raccoon let the man go. "I knew it!" He pulled the weapon from his neck.

The man in the Vortec pulled the silver helmet off his head. Inside was a tall hound. A German Sheppard with thick brown and black fur. It was Jim Felon, a Sergeant of the Fighter Force. He had known him for so many years. They were best friends, and had gone through a lot together, and, at this point, rank didn't matter.

Paul walked over to the door, and shoved the weapon away from the jam. He looked out the peep hole, and saw nothing but lifeless bodies, and apocalyptic death. "I thought you were dead." He turned to Jim.

"You know, three weeks ago I called you crazy for turning your house into a bunker." He gaze fell to the floor. "I never thought that you'd ever be right." He grabbed right shoulder hard.

"Sorry dude." Ramirez went around back of him, and looked at the armoring. The nanobots already almost had the armoring sealed up again. His fur was burnt, and skin red, but no big wound. "It's good." he said, as he checked the wounds of the German Sheppard, that he inflicted.

"No worries. Wouldn't be the first time. At least the Vortec is something safe to walk around in."

"So, What's in the bag?"

"Food… water… guns… a little bit over everything." The dog stared at the bag after taking a seat. "I thought you might have some hospitality."

"Yeah." He slowly smiled. "For sure. How's the streets?"

"Trust me. Your place isn't the worst for rotting carcasses. There are bodies everywhere, and the fallout is getting even worse. The world outside this home is literally apocalyptic. There is no society. And who ever is left, is fighting for themselves, and killing to stay alive. Rioting is getting worse… but those who stay out too long just die anyways."

"And I told you it would happen."

"I'm not saying sh-t about that, but… you don't look so crazy now I guess."

"So." Ramirez, took a seat, and propped up his feet on the desk, and crossed them. He rubbed a paw down the rocket launcher that sat by the desk, and took a drink from a glass. He slid a cup of brandy down the desk to Jim. "Any idea how to kill a Slayer?"


X

The Cornerian Military Complex was a large building. At the time, it housed about two thousand soldiers, Marines, and Pilots, plus commission officers of the Military. General Peppy Hare called for a complete isolation of the complex two days after the explosion. No one came in, or out. Marines had the permission to open fire on anything after they warned for a second time to turn back, before it got too close to the complex. Technicians had already got lights working in the complex, and computers up and running again, but no one else in the entire world did… so it didn't matter. Generals had been moved to the shelters that were ten flours below ground level, along with the Prime Minister, and other MPs. They had enough food for over two years with all their reserves.

Krystal had gotten to the Complex, just before they closed the doors for good, and being a member of Star Falco, she had clearance to enter the structure. Katt and Falco had already found their way to the complex, but no one had seen Dash since the photon went off. Falco had already given both him and Krystal up for dead. Krystal had been exposed to Photonic radiation for almost two hours today, after finding shelter, the past two nights. She was weak. The vixen was sick, and had been throwing up anything she tried to ingest. Though it was hot out, she was frozen. Her eyes glazed, much longer outside in the radiation, would have surly been fatal.

When Katt and Krystal met for the first time, Katt cried when she took the blue fox into her arms. "Krystal! I can't believe your ok!"

Krystal hugged her back. "I'm happy to be here. I'm happy you're here." She was nauseous and confused.

Katt rested her head on her shoulder. "I'm so happy your ok." She whispered.

Krystal was basically shocked, just like she had been over the past two days. She glanced over to Peppy. "Do you have any water here?" The vixen was dirty and warn out. Ashes lightly covered her fur, and dusted over her shoulders. Dirt was on her muzzle, and her clothes had burns and cuts on them.

Peppy approached her. "Yes! Yes! Of course! Sit Krystal." He looked at another man. "Get the doctor down here right now." He said firmly.

"Right away Sir." The young male fox ran out the door and up the stairs, and came back with a black feline in a white lab coat. He knew obviously which one it was. He stepped up to Krystal, who was sitting on the edge of a table.

"Eyes." The medic said.

He pulled her lower eyelid down and looked into it, with one of his lights. Krystal winced as he turned on a light, and shone it into her pupil. It quickly dilated, and she struggled not to shut it. Her eyelid fluttered, and she nearly passed out, before she shut it, as hard as she could. But the doctor opened her other eye with a claw, and did the same thing. She struggled not to blink, though she quickly became irritated, and still on the verge of passing out.

The doctor shut the light off. He then checked her ears. He slowly lowered his paw onto the very little fur tip of her ear. The vixen's ear instinctively flickered as she became annoyed at the action. The doctor then put a stethoscope to her chest, and listened.

"Just one last thing." The doctor wrote down a few things. He pulled out a flat wooden stick. It looked like a popsicle stick. "Open your mouth."

Krystal opened it slightly.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "More."

Krystal opened it a little more.

The black cat growled. "I don't have time for this!" He tossed the note pad aside, and grabbed Krystal's snout pulling it toward him. She growled through a shut muzzle. The doctor used the other paw to grab her jaw, and pry it open.

Falco shone the flashlight down her throat. "It's for your own good kid."

Krystal roared, like a monster. The doctor looked down her throat, with the wooden stick holding down her tongue. In just another second, Krystal snapped her jaw shut, narrowly missing the doc's paw tips. The stick splintered as her razor sharp fangs cracked shut over it. The vixen glared at the doctor. Her ears flattened, and her muzzle wrinkled as she bared her teeth. Her pearly teeth gleamed in the glowing darkness.

The doc threw the half of the stick on the floor, and came back to his note pad. "She has mild plasma sickness. It should clear up in a few days if she stays sheltered."

Falco crossed his arms. "How can you tell?"

"Radiation sickness isn't permanent, and it's curable and reversible if you stay inside after you get sick. The only thing is… that is it exponential."

"Meaning…?" The avian ask.

"Meaning that rate of exposure isn't linear. The longer you are exposed to it, the faster it infects you."

"What?"

The doctor paused. "I mean… your rate of exposure isn't say one…two… three… four. It happens more like one…two…four…eight, and so on. If you can't get away from it, for your body to recover, then it WILL kill you. Haven't you seen all the dead bodies in the street? Those who couldn't get to cover in time, die. It makes your nervous system break down, and we don't completely understand the effects." He sighed. "I can tell she has it because her body is lacking oxygen. The radiation makes the body reject oxygen, that's why she can't even keep down water, because of the oxygen in it. She's completely irritable, and impatient. Radiation sickness causes confusion and apathy and lack of oxygen… until it kills you. Let me just say one more thing, and this goes for everyone. No one should spend more than two minuets a day out doors, while radiation is at this level." He looked at the blue fox. "You'll be fine. Just stay inside for a few days. Though your case is minor, you've had some pretty serious exposure. Drink as much water as you can, and you'll be feeling better soon."

With that he left the room, bolting up the stairs.

Peppy handed Krystal a large bottle of water. The vixen snatched it out of his paw, and tore the cap off with her sharp teeth. She shoved it into her mouth, and without even swallowing, she held her breath, and the water rolled down her throat. She quickly ran out of breath, and started taking deep gulps of the water, until the bottle had collapsed into itself, as she sucked out the water. She tossed the bottle to the floor, and gasped. She coughed hard, hacking at her throat.

Katt put her paw on Krystal's shoulder. "What does it look like… outside? We aren't allowed to leave."

Krystal coughed. "There's so many bodies. Burnt… cut… just all on the street… covered in ash… like the rest of the world. Some buildings are just… frames. I walked over the streets. The subway system under the ground has collapsed in places, and it runs like a gash through the city. I could hear voices. I could here people screaming, and gunshots going off. Riots. And the sky…" a tear came down her face. "The sky is… bleeding."

Katt jumped up and took a seat on the table, next to Krystal. "Peppy says that the EMP from the blast has blown out every electronic device on the continent. And that's not the worst part. Peppy says that two other Photonic Bombs have gone off on the planet… Krystal… the whole world has fallen apart. There's no help coming. Peppy has annexed the Complex. There are about two thousand troops on station in this complex. Anyone who isn't in here… is on their own. By the way you say things are going, it sounds like no one's going to be alive much longer. The only thing that Peppy is worried about is the public trying to occupy this building by force. Anyone who comes too close to the complex is fired upon. You made it just in time… but we've given up hope on Dash."

Falco crossed his arms. "You gotta do, what you gotta do."

Katt growled at him. "So what! We just leave them outside! We just let him die!"

All Falco did was shrug, and sigh.

"Krystal!" She spoke, hoping to get some support.

Krystal was still in shock, and everyone could tell, and she was still sick. She stared at the floor, blankly. "Falco's right." She continued to stare straight down.

"Krystal…?" The feline put a paw on her shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was hearing this from her.

The vixen had never been so afraid of anything in her life. She never knew Syxx was capable or such destruction. She slowly rocked back and forth on her seat. A single word echoing in her mind…"Syxx… Syxx… Syxx." It seamed that his voice had chased away all her sanity, and his face still filled her dreams.

"Krystal?" Katt asked again, looking ever more concerned.

She looked at her with glassy eyes. "There's nothing we can do for them."