Title: Changes Part One
Chapter 2: The Search
By: Cody Furlong
Chance hummed happily to himself as he pulled up next to the garage. The proverbial butterflies fluttered wildly in the pit of his stomach at what he was about to do. Shutting off the engine of the powerful tow truck, the muscular tabby reached down into one of the sacks that sat on the seat next to him.
Slowly, as if he would be bitten the golden kat pulled out a small box and held it to his chest. Steadying himself, the tom opened the box to gaze down at the simple, silver band housed within. It might not have been much, but it was all he could afford. The large male smiled as the sun reflected off the band, almost seeming to make the engraved lettering on it glow.
"May our souls be bound together forever." The mechanic whispered, closing his eyes and seeing the engraved words in his mind.
Opening his emerald eyes, Chance gave the ring one last look before closing the box and opening his door. Leaping out of the truck and slamming the door behind him in his excitement, the big tabby hurried into the garage only to find his future mate gone!
Chance blinked at not seeing his smaller lover where he'd left him, that wasn't very unusual normally, though seeing his cap, wrench, and bandanna laying on the stained concrete floor said something wasn't right. Shrugging the feeling aside Chance pocketed the ring box and went off in search of his companion, eager to pop the question to his partner.
Figuring that Jake had simply gone on a break, the large tom first checked their small break room which also served as their living room. Finding the room devoid of the cinnamon furred feline the tabby frowned, then decided to check upstairs to see if Jake had gone to their bedroom for whatever reason.
However a look into their room, then Jake's old room, and finally the bathroom revealed nothing. The nagging sensation returned to the tom's mind that something was wrong as he began to wonder just where his lover had gone.
There was only two other places the slim tom could have gone, one of which Jake had known better than to go to while leaving the garage doors standing wide open. After searching the upstairs for some form of a note and coming up empty handed the tabby backtracked downstairs.
Again, Chance checked all the usual places they would leave a note for the other should something come up, and again there was nothing. His concern growing, the blonde tom closed the garage doors then strode back into their break room and over to where the hatch was hidden.
The heavy lid was of course closed and had the rug pulled over it, but he had to check anyway. Kicking the faded and worn mat aside, the striped male knelt and hefted the hatch up with a grunt. Not bothering with the ladder mounted to the side of the revealed hole, the tabby simply leaped down into the darkness with practiced ease.
Absorbing the shock of his heavy frame landing on the concrete by recoiling like a spring, the burly tom didn't even bother to move from his landing zone as he scanned across the underground hanger. He didn't need to move, Jake wasn't down here, the lights were all off and the only sounds came from his heavy breathing.
Turning back around Chance made the climb back up to the surface, then once topside he stalked over to the nearest car door and threw it up, before heading out into the late afternoon heat to search the yard.
After thoroughly combing through the yard for over an hour, the tabby was forced to come back inside. His fur and coveralls were soaked through with sweat, while clumps of dust and dirt clung to him creating a fine coat of mud that only added discomfort to his worry. Slamming the car door back down, the disgruntled tabby kicked off his work boots then peeled himself out of his coveralls.
"Where the hell is he? He couldn't have driven off someplace, and there's no notes anywhere…" Chance grumbled out loud.
When no answer came, the large tom clad only his sticky undershirt and boxers turned and started to lock up since it was close to closing time. Once all the doors and windows were secured Chance covered the short distance back into the break room.
When he reached their small fridge he jerked the door open and snatched out an ice cold bottle of water. Twisting the cap off the tom held the bottle up to his lips before taking several thirsty gulps of the refreshing liquid. Huffing out a breath after draining half the contents the striped tom plopped down onto the ragged couch. Closing his eyes and tilting his head back Chance brought the water bottle up and held it against his forehead to help cool himself off more.
After a minute the male lowered his drink and opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling, trying to think about where his kitten could have disappeared too. His stare was returned by a tiny electronic eye hidden in one of the water stains, unnoticeable to anyone that hadn't known it was there, and wasn't looking right at it.
"The security cameras!" Chance leaped up once the thought struck him.
He'd almost forgotten about the spy cameras Jake had insisted on hiding throughout their business, though was glad for them now. Swallowing down the last of his water then dropping the empty bottle into the trash as he went past, Chance hurried back down to the hangar, once more foregoing the ladder for the faster route.
This time however the feline flipped on the lights and strode over to where the bank of computers sat in one corner. Not bothering to sit down in the desk chair, the tom griped the mouse in one large paw and brought the home built super computer out of it's standby mode.
Calling up the file were the camera footage was stored Chance brought today's video up on the screen, then rewound it to just after he'd left to pick up the food and ring. Everything looked fine at first, there was Jake working on the only vehicle they'd had come in.
Ten minutes in, the muscular kat watched as the smaller tom had apparently decided to take a break from the white sedan. He watched as his lover removed his cap and wiped the sweat from his face before seeming to just stand there and stare off into the distance.
The chocolate on golden blonde tom had to chuckle seeing it, it was just one of Jake's many traits he thought was cute. His smaller companion had once explained to him that Hyper Focus Disorder or in simpler terms, getting drawn into his wondering thoughts was his curse for being a genius.
The tiny moment of mirth suddenly ended when Chance noticed something however. Moving his face down closer to the screen, the tom watched as the shadows in the garage seemed to come alive and spread throughout the whole building! He watched on in fascination as the shadows thickened, forcing the room into premature twilight before a tall, heavily muscled tom wearing leather stepped out of the darkest part of the gloom.
The tabby growled, his partner didn't even seem to notice the black and silver tabby walking up behind him at all! The golden male nearly pressed his nose to the screen, willing the recorded visage to burst into flames when the tom dared to wrap those arms around his mate in such a way.
"Chance!…You scared me tiger…"
"What the hell!? How can he think that's me!" The blonde tom gasped in shock.
When the dark tabby started to lick and nuzzle Jake's neck and the smaller tom actually responded to it, Chance's anger flared to the point his knuckles turned white from the grip he had on the desk's edge. He couldn't understand why his lover had suddenly seemed to give up and let that bastard have his way with him.
By the time the mysterious tom had disappeared back into the darkness with Jake in his arms Chance was trembling in rage. Turning away from the screen not bothering to watch the artificial twilight fade back into nothingness. The large tabby roared out his anger, the sound echoing off the concrete walls of the subterranean facility.