Warm.

And soft.

Warm and soft.

I felt warm and soft.

I took a deep inhale, letting out a longer exhale.

My bed was great, my mother used to change the sheets for me once a week when I was little. She showed me later in life how to do it myself, it took a dozen tries until I got the hang of it, and she taught me many other useful things.

I rubbed my face into the fluffy pillow, the fur brushing against me-

Wait, fur?

I opened my eyes, my joyful expression faltered. Was the pillow torn? If that were the case, the feathers would've prickled me. I also heard the steady beat of a heart coming from said pillow.

I tried moving my head, but there were two dough spheres on each side of my face.

The wolf held me tighter, nuzzling into me in her sleep.

...

OH SHIT!

I broke into the coldest sweat in my life, how in the- NO! BAD! STAY DOWN! Damn you, morning wood!

My heart raced faster and faster as the pieces fell into place, yesterday's events replaying in my mind. Why did I agree to this- right, I lost a deal I made with the intention of messing with her, absolute smooth brain moment.

If she saw my face right now, all she'd see is a tomato with two eyes, a nose, a mouth and ears. I was the most embarrassed I'd ever been in my entire life, not only because I was being smothered by her, but because it felt good!

Why god? Why must you do this to me? Huh? All because I dissed that you one time when a pigeon pooped on the seat of my bike? You jerk.

I knew there was no way I could get out of this, I'd have to endure this cruel torture as long as she peacefully snored away.

Before I could attempt falling back to sleep, she yawned above my head, squeezing me with a happy hum.

"Hmhm, mhm," I told her, the fur in her cleavage muffling my humble request to be freed from her Alcatraz. In response, she giggled and continued holding me, her grip seeming to tighten.

"Mhmh, mhm, hm," she giggled again along with that I imagined was a moan. Yup, definitely imagined, don't even think about it, just don't.

"That tickled~ Do it again~" She whispered back, her snout deep in my hair. Why couldn't I wake up after her?

On second though, I don't think that there would've been a better outcome if that did happen.

Anyhow, I obliged, retelling her the first time I went to the grocery store by myself, earning another giggle from her. We laid there for an unknown amount of time, she was enjoying it way more than I did, but... I wouldn't say I disliked it.

"I love you so much~"

"M-mhm?" I heard that, I fucking heard that! I take back what I said, we have officially entered the friendzone's inbred cousin; the weirdzone.

"I'm going to get us breakfast, okay? You'll stay here, right~?" After a moment of careful consideration, I nodded into her soft chest. I could use some food right about now, but I'll never admit that out loud.

Those cheese puffs were fire, but I needed something with some actual nutritional value in my belly.

She kissed my forehead, caressing the back of my head as well, her dangerously sharp nails dragging against my scalp. "Good boy~" And with that, she pushed herself away from me, granting me some liberty and air. The bed creaked as she got off, followed by a click and a sudden light that blinded me.

Knowing she was in her underclothes, I didn't move a finger from the bed, I also didn't feel like getting up yet, it was pretty comfortable. She walked over to the closet in the corner, the flap of clothes indicating the extraction of her outfit of the day. When the sound ceased, I dared a glance at her and found she was just pulling an identical set to the previous day.

Once she was done, she slipped on her boots, stretching her arms over her head with a yawn that showed her many sharp teeth. Then, she went to the door, but before she left, she cheerly said, "I'll be right back!"

The moment the door was shut and locked, I jumped off the bed, starting my search warrant around her room.

I opened the drawers of the nightstand, there was a deodorant, a brush with lots of fur clumps, another cheesy snack, a half full water bottle and nothing of use to me. Then, I looked through her closet, finding nothing but what you'd expect from a closet to have. I'll give her one thing, beside the plain military shit, she had style.

I scanned the room again, spotting two opening that allowed the air to circumvent; one beside the closet and the other on the ceiling. The vents were too small for me to crawl through, reminding me of that one popular video game about crewmates on a spaceship trying to find who the killer aliens were while completing silly tasks.

I kicked the bed in frustration, instantly regretting it since it was done with my bad leg, a sensation similar to hitting your elbow on that specific angle taking root in my thigh, dumbass. Returning to sit at the front of it, I held my head in one hand while the other rubbed the injured muscle, reflecting on everything that's happened so far.

What is she trying to achieve? 'I love you,' she said, bull to the shit! No, no, she's crazy. That's the only logical explanation. They were crazy, her and her brute of a sister. Who wasn't though? I was probably crazy too at this point, this whole situation was pure madness. They weren't even human for fuck's sake! Yet they... kind of were, in a strange yet familiar sense.

And more importantly, what the hell were they? Forget her stupid crush on me or whatever that was, why were they keeping their origins a secret from me? There were too many questions and too little answers, I had to play the long game with them.

With nothing else to do, I just sat there in silence, sometimes the quiet helped me, sometimes it did the opposite. I was so conflicted, she was being so... affectionate, it was alien to me.

The most I got from a girl was a slap because I called her haircut 'a copy so cheap not even the Chinese wanted anything to do with it.' Those were good times, real good times. You don't realize the good old days are over, only when they are-

"I'm back!" The she-wolf burst through the door, scaring me out of my skin. I held a hand over my chest, shaking my head while holding off a witty roast.

I hate censorship.

She was holding something behind her back, a devious smile on her maw, "Left or right?"

"Uh... what?"

"Leeeft or riiight~?"

"Riiight," I mimicked the same sing-song tone, rolling my eyes. She beamed at me before revealing the object in her right hand to be a can of pineapples.

In the other was... HEY! THAT'S MY SPOON! You know how hard it is to find spoons nowadays? Might as well make them the currency instead of rubles. Okay, perhaps I was exaggerating, but can you imagine finding a spork?

She skipped over to the bed, sitting down next to me. She opened the can with ease, using a claw to cut open the top, the sour-sweet pineapple begging me to consume it.

I never understood why people hated pineapple on pizza so much. What's the big deal? Did you try it? Yes? Didn't like it? Fair enough. Oh? You didn't try it? Shut up.

She scooped some of the juicy fruit with the spoon, brining it to my mouth.

"Say ah~"

"Wha- MH?" She shoved the utensil into my mouth, talking it out and eating a spoonful herself. I chewed on the marinated fruit, the contradicting flavors complemented each other.

"Wai- MH!" She gave me another full spoon of- WHY IS THIS EVEN HAPPENING?! I'M NOT FIVE YOU CUNT!

Her bizarre exchange of the spoon back and fourth continued until the can was empty, I was too shocked to act against what had just happened.

"Did you like it?" I didn't respond, my leg jittering up and down as my hands shook in front of me.

I don't get it, I don't get it and it's driving me nuts! It's such a simple question, a single word made of three letters; Why? Just why? She didn't have to do this, she could've brought another can, one for each of us.

She wanted to do this, and the unknown scared me.

A knock came from the door, the wolf sighed in disappointment, "Come in sis."

OH, HELL NO-!

The big sister unlocked the door with a key of her own, grinning at me. Unlike the first time, her jacket was closed, keeping her modesty in check.

"Did he cause you any problems?"

"Nope! He was perfect~"

"Excellent," she brought, of course, a rag out of her pant pocket, gesturing with a finger for me to come hither.

Honestly, I'd rather stay with the weird one than the one that didn't mind breaking my limbs. However, as she'd said yesterday; it was her turn.

Regardless of what I preferred, I did as she commanded, getting up from the bed and walking towards her, deliberately slower. Once I was within her reach, she tied the cloth over my eyes, taking my hand in hers.

Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.

They really didn't want me remembering the layout of their crack den. Real smart move on their part, you can never worry too much when your life could be on the line.

"See you later!" The older directed at the younger, the latter staying silent.

"Hey, I know it's irrelevant, but what are your names?" I was sick of calling them 'older' and 'younger', it left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd told them mine, so why wouldn't they tell me theirs?

"None of your business, you'll have to earn that privilege," fine then, you sadistic bitch. Maybe I'll sabotage your shit- bad idea, she'll hurt me in ways I can't even imagine. I needed a punching bag, something to let out these bottled up feelings.

Just like yesterday, I was lead around the maze of a base they owned. I didn't bother trying to make a mental map of the place, there was no actual point because I didn't even know where the exits were.

After a few minutes of letting her take me for a fun walk, she suddenly stopped, pulling me back with a jerk. Then, she took off the blindfold, I'll never get used to the change of lighting. I looked around and saw we were in the middle of a narrow hallway, the lightbulb above us flickering.

"Can you fix this?" She pointed at the dying light source.

"Sure," I replied, sliding my hands into my pockets in a casual manner.

I was too short to reach the dysfunctional lamp.

"Uh, can you unscrew it for me?" She did as I asked, surprising me since she actually listened to me. After she disconnected the lightbulb from the ceiling and gave it to me, I inspected the thing with fascination and wonder.

I'll let you on a little secret; I had no fucking clue what I was doing. Everything I'd learned in university was pure theory. And guess what? Theory without practice didn't mean shit. There were a few times I could count with one hand where we went to some laboratories with all sorts of cool stuff, but they weren't enough to even scratch the surface of experience.

"What's taking so long?" She was irritated, rapidly tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her under her bust.

"U-Um-"

"Did you lie to me?"

"N-No- ACK!" In the blink of the eye, she snatched my neck, but didn't restrict the blood flow or airways. I writhed against the offending paw, her grip tougher than enriched tungsten.

"Listen to me very carefully. If you tell me the truth right now, I'll forgive you."

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX SHIT!" A breathed an uneasy sigh, no turning back now, "W-We didn't get to work on those stuff because... everything went to to shit," I wasn't that afraid of her capability of beating my ass anymore, bad memories replacing the fear.

I could've had a degree by now, working a decent-paying job in some well-known company, maybe start going out on dates.

But I wasn't.

I was stuck in Tarkov; an isolated war zone. My life was, in the simplest terms, done. Everyone I ever knew was either gone or gone .

"Are... Are you crying?" Would you look at that, I opened the fucking dam. Great, now she'll make fun of me for being a weak little bitch.

I lowered my head, refusing to meet her eye to eye. In turn, she loosened her grip, and we just stood there in silence.

Then, she let go completely. And before I could respond, she hugged me. I opened my mouth to speak but decided against it, letting the moment pass in peace.

She sighed, patting my back, "Thank you for being honest, it's a rare quality to find nowadays," so fucking true- hold up! What's with the sudden change of heart?!

You know what? I'll stop asking questions, they'll never be answered anyway. It's also a cheap way to raise the word count.

"Put this back on," I exhaled sharply through my nose, taking the rag from her hand and tying it over my eyes myself.

For the, what, third time? I was taken for a trip around the facility. I didn't feel like caring at this point, sometimes she'd give me a nudge in the right direction, though she wasn't that rough this time.

Those sisters are really starting to creep me out.

After another while, she brought me to a room, though it was definitely not the younger's. There was this strong smell in here, something bitter and... Is that tequila?

She took off the rag, revealing the room to me. It was minimalistic; a bed in the left corner, a neatly folded pile of clothes on a coffee table next to it, two rigs and a- HOLY SHIT! That's a class five armor! How in the world...

She wasn't scary, she was a fucking menace.

"This is my humble abode, what do you think~?" She'd left the door unlocked, noted with a bright marker.

"It's... okay? H-How did she get that vest?" I pointed at the bullet proof chest piece, that thing could take heaps of bullets before becoming useless, and it had a good chance of ricocheting some away.

"I took it. The previous owner didn't need it anymore," she passed me, rolling her shoulders over. She sat down on her bed, patting a spot next to her.

I gulped, I could run out of the door right now. But then what? Fuck, I hated being so vulnerable.

I went over to her, expecting something bad to happen. When I dropped onto the sheets, she put her arm over my shoulders, brining my head against her own. Using the hand resting on my right shoulder, she began playing with my hair, twirling some strands around her finger before letting them go and repeating the process.

"You're weird," I already knew that, thank you for being blunter than Snoop Dog's kush.

"...Okay?"

"And my sister really likes you," tell me about it, maybe the same attracts?

Ha! Yeah right, these "people" were nothing like me. I didn't kidnap others and proceeded to cuddle them.

"W-Why are you doing this?" She ceased her playful fiddling. I fucked up, didn't I? Out of the corner of my eye, a grin began forming on her lips.

"Because you're special~"

"W-What? N-No?"

"Y-y-y-yes?" She mocked me, chuckling at my growing discomfort. Her hand went back to messing my hair once again, though with a little more aggression.

"You're not a scav, or a PMC, or anything really. You're practically a ghost," correct, and I'd like to keep it that way. I didn't need to take sides in this meaningless conflict, I just wanted out of it.

"Do you even realize how hard it is to find humans here? Male ones? Good ones? And cute ones?" Is that supposed to be a compliment? And what's this thing she got with humans? My gut was telling me to run, but that wasn't an option.

"There are almost eight billion of us-"

"O utside. But here? Everyone's either been killed, went mad, or taken, there's nothing worth while in this shithole," her grip tensed around a handful of my hair, a single pull could make me cry out like a baby.

"But... when I'm with you, you make it all much, much better. Plus, it's so fun to tease you~"

I groaned, folding my arms and turning away from her. She laughed at my reaction, ruffling my hair which ended with a playful slap to the back.

"See? I know you're scared shitless of me, but if you do as I say, I can be as good as a lil' pup~" She craned her head over mine, her shadow looming over my smaller form. She displayed her pearly canines with a wide smile, sharp as a Japanese knife.

Haha, I'm in danger.

Before she could enact what she had in mind, an alarm rang throughout the building.

Her wide smile instantly disappeared, replaced by a scowl growing more vexed with every blare. She got off the bed, leaving an imprint where she sat, though I doubted it was all fat.

She grabbed the elite body armor and put it on, unholstering a pistol I didn't notice she had on her. She clicked the safety off, stomping to the door. However, before she left, she glanced back at me, narrowing her eyes. She debated something with herself before bolting towards me.

She grabbed my right wrist, dragging me towards the head of her bed.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" She spoke with her actions; while holding me with a death grip, she pulled open a drawer, taking out a pair of handcuffs- WHY DOES SHE HAVE THOSE?!

She locked one end on my wrist and the other between a space on the backboard that resembled prison bars, rendering me technically bedridden.

"AYO! WHAT IS THIS?!" She ignored my cries, darting out of the room. She quickly locked the door before her frantic running faded away, once again leaving me alone in another bedroom.

I tugged at the metallic cuffs, but they didn't budge one bit. I heard gunfire echoing outside some rooms away, or levels, I couldn't tell. I didn't know whether I should cry out for help or keep quiet. What if they were raiders?

Oh shit, what if they were raiders?! It was the most sensible option, why else would anyone attack this place?

Raiders rarely take prisoners, always preferring kill on sight.

I had to stay quiet, praying they wouldn't find me, whoever the invaders were. Even if they weren't raiders, there were dozens of other factions that didn't mind wasting whoever they pleased.

My prayers fell on deaf ears as the bangs and booms only drew closer to the room I was in, the panicked and pained shouts of the defenders distinct, yet not enough to make out what they were saying. I huddled beside the bed, the hand above limp against the cursed cuffs.

Then, it all stopped.

Sweat trickled down my face, I watched the door as the unsettling silence was left undisturbed for the longest minute of my life.

Someone was coming this way, multiple people. Was it the older sister? Did they win?

I can't believe I was rooting for her.

The ones on the other side turned the handle, but the door remained closed. They tried opening it with more force, it didn't budge just like my manacles.

The older sister had the key.

They didn't.

My breath hitched, those were the raiders! I struggled against the cuffs, but they prevailed against my desperate efforts. Not like this! NOT LIKE THIS!

They began kicking at the door, the wood gradually snapping with each hit. I tugged as hard as I could, creating an agitated, red mark over my wrist.

Then, it stopped again.

And the door flew open, three laser dots appearing on the center of my chest.

I threw my hands up in surrender, shutting my eyes and clenching my jaw shut, awaiting the storm of lead pellets to befall me.

However, no such terrible fate came. After a moment passed, I cracked open an eye.

Three armed soldiers wielding advanced weapons and armor I stared at me, slowly lowering their weapons. One had gray fur all over, another was orange which I almost mistook for a cat, and a third who had a mixture of light brown and even lighter gray patches; all of them wolves.

Female wolves.

The orange canine, her tail tipped with a clean white at the end, was the first to break the ice by speaking into an earpiece, "Command, we found the target," she listened to the one on the receiving end, narrowing her eyes at me.

"T-Target?" I voiced my uncertainty, the cuff still digging into my skin.

"Roger that," she replied to "command", moving towards me, my hands trembling as she switched her weapon for a sidearm. Once she was closed enough, she aimed the sights at me- waitwAITWAIT-!

She shot off the cuffs, tearing off the broken metal on my wrist and grabbing said wrist, forcing me onto my feet. She began leading me out of the room, her tail uncontrollably swishing.

"W-Wait! Who are you? Wh-"

"Save the questions for later, we need to get out of here, now!" She quickly explained. While she was busy with me, the other two went back outside, ready for any hostiles to come at them.

Once we left the room, she switched her hold from my forearm to my left shoulder.

"The hard part's done, ready girls?"

"Ready," the other two replied, and we began moving down the hallway.

I know I promised to not ask questions, but WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! I'm a nobody! I had no use to these people! Yes, they're "people", I don't care anymore. What did they fucking want from me?!

I diverted my gaze from the orange, great, back to the nicknames, to the gray and to the shortest, a sort of cycle to keep myself distracted from the gory scenes we passed.

Walls were blown to pieces, bodies laying under rubble, some above. Sizzling electricity and exposed pipe lines devoid of their contents. The gray wolf peaked around a corner, the words USEC printed on her body armor.

THEY'RE FUCKING USEC!

I gritted my teeth, my nails digging into the palm of my hand almost to the point of drawing blood. I can't believe this! What are the fucking chances? Though the American flag on the gray's shoulder should've been a dead give away, you never know.

But maybe they weren't? Maybe I was just jumping to conclusions? You can't judge a book by its cover-

"We take a shortcut here, we can't risk getting him in harms way," she spoke in English that time! Fluently too! Why do I always fucking jinx it, I need to learn to shut up.

We arrived at what I believed was the front entrance, so many of the defenders were buried under the debris caused by what made them raise the alarm. I covered my nose, coughing from the horrible stench in the air. As we passed the former battlefield, they didn't even bat an eye at the destruction they caused. Once we were out in the open, I tasted the fresh air, and the sky was more beautiful than ever.

I didn't realize how much I missed it; the open world, though I was far from free. From the hands of a pair of cunts to a trio of cunts.

"Hey, I uh... I know it's not the right time-"

"Shut it," the gray she-wolf said, surveying the surrounding area. We were near the edge of the town, behind a small warehouse, a intersection of railroads was further down to the right.

"All clear!" The shortest one said, but kept her eyes peeled for any unwanted surprises.

"Same," the gray one copied, advancing down to the left.

Far in the distance, I saw a massive gate raised a few centimeters above the railway track. It was opened wide for entry, a black car waiting to be taken.

"We're almost done, don't let your guard down," and with that, she lead me towards the car.

While she took me to the vehicle, the other two were listening for any disturbance, their ears like radars searching for a potential obstacle. The grass was overgrown, vines grew on parts of the walls and along the way I noticed a broken part of the rail, rendering it impossible for the infamous armored train to pass.

Although it's been less than half a year, nature didn't waste any time in reclaiming all that was abandoned. Even the strongest of metals will rust away at some point, besides gold of course, but it's a soft metal anyway.

Once we made it to the car, the orange canine, who I suspected was the leader, opened the back door and shoved me in, entering right behind me. I scooted away from her, but the short one entered from the other side, so I had to sit between them. That left the driver's seat for the gray one, who was also the tallest, inserting a key she kept in one of the pockets of her rig. After a few unsuccessful twists, the engine roared back to life. Then, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal, sending us from zero to sixty real fucking quick.

I focused on the rear window, the industrial part of the town vanishing from sight as we drove into the woods.

The orange one huffed, throwing an arm over my shoulder while speaking into her earpiece, "Command, the target has been secured. Returning to the hideout," something was said over the line before she shut it off, taking a deep, calming breath.

"We fucking did it."

"Hell yeah!" The short one pumped her fist in the air, and the driver smiling to herself.

"Okay! What... was that?" I finally spoke.

"You should be grateful we got you out of there in time, who knows what would've happened to you," the driver replied, diverting from the dirt road onto a paved one.

"I... Thank you. Really, thank you."

"You're welcome~" The short one said, leaning onto me.

"Yeah... but why? "

"Hmm?"

"I'm the 'target', no? For what reason?"

"We'll explain everything once we're in the hideout, I promise. Just... try to relax, okay?" The orange said, patting my shoulder.

But... ah, she was right. I needed sleeping pills to get my internal clocked fixed, that's for sure. I didn't even do much, yet I felt exhausted.

They saved me. But they were USEC. They got me out of there. But they're bad and shit...

I reclined into the seat, the smooth drive lulling me into sleep. When I was little, like baby-little, my father used to take me on a lot of drives because it tired me out. I guess some things never change, do they?

As I dozed off between the two armed strangers, a thought popped into my mind. I didn't bother with it though, because I was finally rid of the pesky sisters.

"Nastya! Nastya, where are you?!" The older sister limped through the the base, escorted by the surviving members of their group. Almost half of them were killed in the assault, though they were just a small branch of the whole muscle.

"Natasha!" Nastya came rushing to her sister, catching her in a bear hug. She cried into her shoulder, her sister returning the hug with a relieved smile.

"I-I thought-"

"That a little lead took me down? Ha! I thought you knew me better than that," Nastya backed away from her, her joy turning into anger.

"They... They..."

"What? What happened?"

"THEY TOOK HIM!" Natasha instantly knew what she meant, her growling made her comrades give her some space.

"So that's why they left so quickly..."

"We have to get him back!"

"I'd love to, but we can't," before her sister could shout at her, she added, "At least... not now. We have to regroup, the Sickle won't like this one bit."

"...Yes, you're right. I just wish I... I did something, anything."

"I promise you, we will get him back," she placed her hands on her sister's shoulders," But right now, we need to get the fuck out of here, this base is compromised."

She returned a stern nod, knowing that the Sickle would indeed want revenge for what the operators did, and that way they'd get back what they believed was rightfully theirs.

"When I catch you, Mikey, I'll make sure you won't get away~"