Roaming the Living Wastelands
By J.M.Wolf

Part 1: Origins

09/06/12
"Breaking news, a mass grave was found outside our small town of Arcadia, Nebraska earlier today. Local farmer Jim Crow, credited for the finding, phoned the cops at 9:43 a.m. central standard time. Minutes later, the county sheriff contacted the U.S. Disaster Victim Identification Division. DVI agents are to arrive in Arcadia in less than three hours to secure the scene. That is all we know at this moment. Please stay tuned as we, here at Channel 6 News, will follow this developing story."

*****
09/08/12
"Welcome back to the developing story of the Arcadian Graves. In less than 42 hours, DVI Division has quarantined the grave site making sure no evidence is contaminated. Forensic Archeologists from across the U.S. have been brought to the quarantined site. An anonymous DVI agent has informed us that around 45 remains have been unearthed by the archeologists. At the moment, the cause of death, according to forensic archeologists, seems to be the furs' smashed in cranium, but is not confirmed. Channel 6 News will keep you informed on any information we come across about the Arcadian Graves."

*****
09/09/12
"DVI Division agents have packed up and left Arcadia this morning, just a mere 72 hours after the discovery of the graves. A total of 73 remains have been removed from the site. DVI will no longer be involved in this case, as the remains date circa 3000 B.C. The remains and site rights have been handed over to a team of archeologists who chose to continue studying the bodies. The leader of the archaeological team badger Dr. Dmitrii Stephan Malenkov, top U.S. forensic archeologist, major in virology and microbiology, and lead doctor at the U.S. Labs for Viral and Biological Warfare, had the remains moved to his personal lab just miles outside of Denver, Colorado in the Denver Mountains. There, the team and he will continue the studies. We are sorry to inform that Channel 6 News will no longer follow this story."

*****
10/02/12
...News from Dr. Malenkov's personal lab up in the Denver Mountains. The remains have been identified as a long lost culture. Malenkov and his team identified them as ancestors of the Egyptian and Aztec culture. More information on this claim was not disclosed, cause of death however was given. The mass damage to the cranium was discovered to be induced post-mortem. A disease was said to cause the furs' untimely death. The remains, under Malenkov's orders, will be moved to the Viral and Biological Warfare labs for further study by the doctor and the virology specialists at the labs.
By Wayne Drash, CNN

*****
10/23/12
"Today, thousands stand outside the U.S. Labs for Viral and Biological Warfare in protest to Dr. Malenkov's public announcement made three days ago. His discovery of a new virus on the ancient fur remains was announced to be used in new viral warfare studies that are to be conducted by the U.S. Army and its trusted allies. Many furs from across the country have shown up today to make sure their words be heard against this 'unholy' choice. Even though this is a project that is already in motion, devoted furs plan to put an end to this before it's too late.

"U.S. allies, such as Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Russia and Venezuela agreed to continue the study of this virus with the help of Dr. Malenkov. At this moment, these six nations and the U.S. are conducting tests on the unknown virus, even with the various threats imposed upon the nations by locals. There has been minor vandalism in the labs, but no-----"

----" *Are we back on!? Ok!* A huge explosion has just occurred inside the Viral and Biological Warfare labs. The crowd has stirred into a frenzy of panic. No one in the large crowd seems to be hurt. The explosion must have been targeting the labs only. *Sirens in the distance* The police seem to have responded quickly to this attack. Let just hope they get here in time to rescue any survivors."----

*****
"It has been exactly four hours after the explosion at the labs. The rescue team regrets to inform that there were no survivors. All 50 scientists working in the labs were found dead. Some of the bodies were heavily burned due to the explosion, clearly stating the cause of death. Curious enough, other bodies have not a single scratch on them. Their cause of death is still unclear. All the remains will be moved to the hospital morgue here in Kansas City, where an autopsy will have to done to identify the unknown COD. Investigations are already in motion. The anti-war activists here at today's protest are the number one suspects. Interrogations are.....*What?! You serious!?*...

"I have just been notified that similar attacks have been conducted not just here, but also in all other U.S. labs and labs in our allied nations. Explosions with the same aftermath have swept through all the labs hours before the attack here outside of Kansas City. There were no survivors and all the viral research has been destroyed. Nothing we can do now, only pray justice is brought to the deceased and the families they left behind."

*****
10/24/12
"Tragedy continues to sweep across the globe. Reports of accidents have once again swept the media. Ambulance busses responsible for the movement of the scientists' remains have gone missing. None of the ambulances have reached their predetermined destination and are believed to have been in tragic accidents. How did the government officials come up with this conclusion? Ambulances across the U.S. made distress calls before their mysterious disappearances. Each call was the same as the last. The local officials of Kansas City have supplied this news station with a recording of the distress call made by local ambulances that went missing in the outskirts of the city. I have to warn, the following recording has not been altered in any way and is graphic."
***
911 Dispatcher: "911, what's your emerg---"

Ambulance: "This is Bus #132 from the Kansas City emergency dispatch. We are in dire need of help. A bus right ahead of us seems to have lost control and gone off the road. All busses have stopped to help."

911: "Is everyone all right sir? What is you location?..........Sir?.........Can you hear me?"

Ambulance: "Mother of Christ, they're alive!"

911: "That's great sir. Now wha---"

Ambulance: "That's impossible. You're suppose to--HEY! *screams* What the fuck! Get back!.......That bitch, she bit me. *yelling in the background* What the hell is going on over there!"

911: "Sir, what's going on!?"

Ambulance: "Lady, you’re not gonn---*growling* Shit! Get the fuck back!........ Owww, this fucker bit me too. Hey guys, don't let them get near you! They bite and it hurts like shit! No time for 20 questions, send he---*growling* Get back! *loud growls* What the fucks wrong with all of you!!"

911: "Sir!?"

Ambulance: "They're all ali---*screams* Bitch! Help, they tore off my fucking paw!........We're getting massacred out here! There's blood everywhere! I think a majority of the dispatch crew is severely hurt by these bitches. Send anyon---*growls and screams* No! Stop! Get back! I will hurt you! *growls* Get the fuck back! I'm warning you! Noooooo! *growls, flesh tearing*...."
***
"Shocking audio recording. Every distress call was the same according to government officials. The furs making the calls were full of fear, screaming and growling in the background, and the tearing of flesh could be heard.

"When help finally arrived at Blue River Rd., the destination from where the calls came from, the scene was overwhelming to the responding officers. No fur was in sight. The busses were completely abandoned. The remains and drivers seemed to disappear from the scene, but not without a fight. All that remained was blood and what looked like proof of a large struggle. There were severed limbs, puddles of blood and scratch marks on everything at the scene. Was this one of the rare attacks by feral furs? Or was it another gruesome tactic by the anti-war activists?"...

*****
10/25/12
~Missing~

*Kyle Summers, age 23
Dalmatian
Last seen: Turner Golf Course

*Mark Powers, age 19
German Sheppard
Last seen: Turner Golf Course

*Kathleen Jackson, age 31
Snow Leopard
Last seen: Hillcrest Country Club

*William G. Palmer, age 53
Polar Bear
Last seen: RockRidge Quarry

*David Finn, age 29
Mountain Goat
Last seen: RockRidge Quarry

*Natalie Smith, age 27
Golden Retriever
Last seen: Blue River Greenway

*Robert Dern, age 19
Crocodile
Last seen: Lakeside Nature Center

*Alexander Harrelson, age 47
Vampire Bat
Last seen: Lakeside Nature Center

*Matthew Patton, age 7
Siberian Husky
Last seen: Knotts Elementary School

*Philip Strong, age 9
Horse
Last seen: Knotts Elementary School

*Katey Neil, age 5
American Akita
Last seen: Knotts Elementary School

*Johnny Day, age 15
Grey Wolf
Last seen: Noble Park

*Katherine Macy, age 15
Grey Wolf
Last seen: Noble Park

*reported missing in the past 24 hours

*****
10/28/12
"Hospitals across the country have been flooded by civilians with the same problem. They have all been bitten by other furs of their community. The victims all state the 'biters' came charging towards them, growling and foaming at the mouth. We have a statement from a citizen who was bitten by her own daughter."

"My daughter, Katherine, after being gone for 3 days finally shows up at the house. As her worried mother, I ran towards her to hug her and check she was alright. Next thing I know, her jaw is embedded into my arm. For a 15-year old wolf, she got a really strong grip. Nearly tore my arm off."

"The victims are different but the story is the same. Every hour, more and more furs enter the hospitals, all with bite wounds on their bodies. What could be causing all these random acts of violence?"...

*****
10/30/12
..."He was dead I'm telling you, but I saw him walking around. He passed away last night. There's no way that could have been him, but it was."...

..."One minute he's as dead as wood, next minute he's trying to bite the fur right off of my body."...

..."Bastard bit me. I think he had some kinda disease or something. I ain't feeling so hot ri...*barfs*...s..sorry about that."...

****
11/01/12
Old news interviews kept playing, the sound of the victims' voices filled the badly lit room. The only light was coming from the computer monitor and the slightly opened window curtains. A wolf sat in front of the monitor, fixated on the day old recordings that were playing. His blue eyes were stuck to the images playing on the screen, scanning every movement happening right in front of him.

A lock opened, the clicking noise broke through the recordings audio. The only door leading into the room creaked open. Glowing red eyes were all that could be seen of the dark figure that crept into the dark room. The figure raised his left foot and kicked behind him; the door slammed shut. Not a single blink did the wolf in front of the monitor make. He continued to stare at the screen, like a fly mesmerized by a lit light bulb, his blue eyes gripping the monitor as if his life depended on it.

The dark figure slowly crept closer towards the distracted wolf, but then came to a complete stop. His large paws reached for the covered window and grabbed hold of the curtains. "Let there be light!" yelled the figure towards the mesmerized wolf, not acknowledging the words yelled at him. With a motion faster than his words, he opened the curtains welcoming the bright light into the little room.

"What the fuck!" yelled in surprise the no longer distracted wolf, watching as the sun's glare blocked the monitor's image. His head quickly jerked towards the figure standing by the window. Bad mistake. The wolf's dark sapphire eyes became more vivid as his pupils constricted to the sun's light. He let out an ungodly shriek at the overwhelming brightness. "It burns!" pressing his white paws firmly over his eyes as he repeated the same words over and over.

The dark figure, now noticeably another wolf thanks to the light, walked to the spot where the screaming wolf sat. He lifted his black paw and swept it forward. His dark red paw pads made a thud as they came in contact with the back of the blinded wolf's head. "Calm down Xer! Just some real sunlight. Not that crap that you've been looking at since..." the wolf looked down at his watch with his red eyes. The digital watch read 2:35 p.m. in huge bright green numbers. His red eyes looked up and focused on the wolf he just hit, who was now rubbing the back of his head saying ouch in a hushed tone. "You've been on that since I woke up. That was seven hours ago!"

The wolf got up from his chair, still rubbing at the back of his head hoping to get some sympathy from the new occupant in the room. "Uhh...in my defense, I've been here longer than seven hours. Maybe more like....oh I don't know.... 24 hours." the last part he mumbled, expecting the other wolf to not have noticed. Another bad mistake. He felt the heavy black and red paw come in contact with the back of his head again. "Ouch!" his white paw reached and rubbed the black fur on the back of his head. "Stop hitting me. I didn't do anything, I ---"

"Exactly. You haven't done anything. The least you could have done was open the door for me." The fury in the wolf’s red eyes slowly faded. He knew it wasn't Xer's fault. He was just a little distracted by the recent events in Kansas City. A little distracted? Ain’t that the understatement of the century he thought to himself as he continued to stare at the black and white wolf, who again was rubbing the back of his head.

For the third time, the red and black wolf raised his paw. Xer flinched at the sight, taking step back nearly falling over on the computer's keyboard. "Don’t worry, I'm not gonna hit you." He reached over and gently rubbed the back of the wolf's head. "I'm sorry mate. I kinda over reacted," he moved his paws south, wrapped them around Xer's waist, and pulled the slightly shorter wolf towards him. He gave his mate a kiss, showing him he was truly sorry.

"It's ok Mike," he smiled at the wolf, looking into his red eyes. "You know I can't stay mad at you for long. Even though you can be a bit of a prick at times." He stuck his tongue out showing he was only kidding, about the last part that is.

Mike forced a small smile. "Sorry, just kinda pissed about what happened when I was out. Some stupid bitch came at me and tried to bite me. She would have too if some cop hadn't been there to help me out."

Xer's eyes lit up, no longer having problems to see with the light in the room. His muscles tensed up, fear crept up his spine causing his back fur to rise. "Are you alright?!" he asked, more like screamed, with a worried tone.

"I'm fine," Mike said, giving a reassuring smile, "I wish I could say the same for the cop that stopped the lady that almost bit me. Poor bastard got his paw all mutilated. He'll be out of commission for a couple days thanks to that bitch."

"No he won't. None of them will," fear and confusion in his voice as he mumbled those three words and the words that followed. "That won't stop them. Now they're all doomed. We are all doomed. It starts with a bite, and then soon we'll be doing the biting. Then the cycle will start all over, till everyone is assimilated."

Fear crept up Mike's spine as he heard his mate say those words. Xer had the act of talking to himself, but this was new to him. He could sense fear in his words, but he still continued to speak them, not stopping to take a breath. He grabbed the talking wolf by his shoulders and shook him. "What are you talking about Xer? Stop it, you're freaking me out."

He stopped talking. Silence filled the room, making it just as quiet as it was before Mike had entered. He looked up at the Mike, who still had a tight grip on his shoulders and a puzzled look on his face. "What just happened? Why are you holding me like this?"

"You don't remember? You were spazzing out or something a couple seconds ago. Talking about people getting bit and assimilating everybody, and cycle starting or something. I don't know. But what I do know is you need to stop watching that crazy shit on the Internet. It's mind fucking you, and that ain't good."

Mike eased his grip on Xer, almost forgetting he was grabbing on to him. He rubbed his mate's shoulders, making sure he didn't hurt him when he grabbed him. "So where was I before you started tripping out on me? Oh yeah! When I was at the store some fox dude came running in, freaking out. The dude was wearing shades, but you could tell he was crying over whatever scared him. This fox was beyond freaked out." He removed his paws from Xer to emphasize how much the dude was freaking out. Xer just laughed at the scene. 
"The fox dude was a couple scares away from crapping himself. He was yelling about being followed into town, and being jumped by 'lost people'. He said town wasn't safe and just took of yelling down the streets like a modern day crack head." Mike looked down at Xer, who was now shaking.

A look of fear once again swept over his face. He could hear Mike telling him something but it was muffled as if coming from far away, a distant world nowhere near him. His mind was elsewhere, on the stories he saw and read online to be exact. His breathing became noticeably louder and more labored.

WE ARE FUCKED.....