Counterfeit Reality

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 19)

--Echo "Where were they?"

--FR3-- "FR1 & FR2 were in one of the sections which provides the backup power supply and filtration for this facility"

--Echo "Could you repeat that?"
The Collie whimpered

--Grape "Remember what I said about the standby generators in shelters?"

--Echo "Somewhat?"

--Grape "It is in one of the rooms which houses this place's equivalent of them"

--Echo "Ah, got it"
"Where would that be?"

--FR3-- "At the top of the staircase there's a ladder which goes up to a hatch"
"That should bring us to the same level where the backup power supply & filtration systems are located"

--Echo "Let's go then instead of waiting here doing nothing"

--FR3-- "FR5 will go upfront and FR4 will cover our sides"

--Grape "Sounds like a solid plan"
FR3, FR4 & FR5 moved around the corner heading towards the staircase

--Grape "Are you alright?"

--Echo "Yeah just ummm,"

--Grape "Just what?"
"Echo is this important?..."

--Echo "Well....I"
FR3 came back from around the corner and interrupted the Collie

--FR3-- "So are you coming with us or just staying here?"

--Echo "Coming"
Echo said as he tried catching up with the group followed by Grape as they were the last two to reach the staircase

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Nice chapter Now's no time for apprehension, Echo...

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am liking how this is coming along! Keep it up!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 20)

Within a matter of seconds a monitor lit up with a sprawling list of binary code before launching what seemed to be an interface which required a code of some description before it could continue

There were pieces of paper with ASCII tables on them and scribbled out failed attempts all over the desk
Almost matching the beat to the music, the user made several attempts to get in
But alas they didn't work

Meanwhile over at the facility)

Echo was behind Grape and the rest of the group as they were going up the staircase

--Echo "Isn't there like a way to cut off the air in the section that creature is in?"

--FR3-- "Firstly we don't have that kind of equipment with us"
"Secondly who is to say that it needs air?"

--Echo "Uh, can't we lock it in?"

--FR3-- "We don't know where it is, only a rough location"

--Echo "And we are gonna end up just like them"

--FR3-- "Not really, we know of it now and thus we can deal with it"

--Echo "You could at least give one of us a sidearm?"

--FR3-- "No can do, they probably won't fit in your hands"
"Nevermind the safety & what your friend tried doing earlier"

--Echo "Aight, whatever..."
The Collie mumbled

--Grape "What do you expect to happen when you blind someone whilst aiming a gun at them?"

--FR3-- "Noted"
FR5 then climbed up the ladder & entered through the hatch followed by FR3, after they had given the all clear Grape made her way up

The room was bathed in a warm reddish color with locked doors along either side
Some had obvious signs that something had tried breaking its way out of 'em
However one of the blast doors at the very end had a sizeable hole torn through it

"I'm guessing that's where they went"
"Should've just stayed with Maxwell"
Grape thought

Echo looked at the ladder and started to make his way up it
Once he stepped onto the eighth bar his body tensed up
The trepidation was clearly visible as the Collie remained almost stuck in place

Grape could hear a commotion and decided to look through the hatch

--FR4-- "Come on, it is right there"

--Echo "You're not helping!!"

--Grape "What's the problem?"

--Echo "Nothing, there's no problem"
Echo said hastily

--Grape "Then why aren't you here with us?"

--Echo "I just can't..."

--Grape "You can, it is only a couple more steps,"

--Echo "Alright... Alright"
Echo shut his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up and continued climbing, although his paws were shaking he had made it
A couple moments later FR4 made their way up

[Amazee Dayzee]

Still enjoying this story even after all of this time! Please keep on writing more of this!

[trekkie]

Good job, can’t wait to read your next installment.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

This is a good chapter! Very spooky

[Temno the wolf]

Still enjoying this story even after all of this time! Please keep on writing more of this!

No worries there then!


Chapter 21)

The sun rose up over Babylon Gardens
Once more sightings of unknown lights came in inundating the authorities with reports
Apparently footage of said ufos had found its way onto the internet

The footage was of an ember light rising from the woodland which then emitted a bright flash before disappearing in a blur
Followed by what is assumed to be the person or pet behind the camera running away from the area
Said footage was shaky & far from a crystal clear image, thus led to many people easily brushing it aside as a hoax or something to do with an ARG

There hasn't been a decline in the number of racoons nor other woodland critters though it would be difficult trying to keep track of 'em all
Within a matter of hours since the footage was first uploaded, conspiracy theories sprung up covering anything & everything
From doomsday prophecies to government experiments and even aliens

Allegedly search teams were seen going through the area but these were just unsubstantiated claims right?

In the facility)

Echo was catching his breath
--Grape "You alright?"

--Echo "Please tell me there isn't gonna be anymore ladders"

--FR3-- "There shouldn't be"

--FR3-- "You two cover the entrances, weapons free"
FR3 ordered the remaining two members of their squad

--FR5-- "Roger that"
FR4 took up defensive a position at the doorway of one of the closed cells
FR5 moved to a cell door further back opposite of FR4 watching the hatch where they had came from

--Grape "Is the vertigo gone?"

--Echo "Vertig?..."
"Ye-yeah I'm ok now"

--Echo "What were in those cells?"

--FR3-- "None of our business"
"Alright we are gonna leave you here"

--Grape "Let me guess if anything comes, shout?"

--FR3-- "Or you could hide"
And with that the squad left the two pets, entering through the hole in the blast door
They entered a large room with three cylindrical objects in the centre of the room
Which had a liquid flowing through them

There were also monitors connected to tanks
FR5 pointed out a light that was coming from behind a group of knocked over tanks, which got FR3's attention

FR5 & FR4 checked the corners of the room
FR3 drew their pistol and went behind the knocked over tanks, that's when they discovered what remained of FR1
The light's source was from FR1's helmet but the rest of FR1 was nowhere to be seen just like FR2

--FR4-- "Anything back there?"

--FR3-- "They're gone..."
"Is that thing still here?"

--FR4-- "No, we just missed it"
FR3 & FR5 regrouped with FR4 who was looking down a corkscrew hole in the floor

[Amazee Dayzee]

Loving what you have written for this chapter so far! Can't wait to read more!

[trekkie]

Good job on this chapter!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

It's good to see this story again, nice chapter

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 22)

--Echo "Should we check on them?"

--Grape "And risk getting shot?"
"No thanks"

--Echo "But they might be..."

--Grape "If they are in trouble, then there's probably nothing we can do about it"
"They left us here for a reason"
Grape glanced over at the blast door

--Grape "Have you decided yet?"

--Echo "Decided what?"

--Grape "Where to go..."
"You coming to Babylon or?"

--Echo "On one paw I want to see what it is like, on the other?"
"I don't wanna, cause I'd rather stay with my owners but... I can't"

--Grape "What about that locket, maybe there's something?"

Echo held the locket, rubbing it with his thumb before letting go
--Echo "Yeah, a picture of me and Braxton outside some building"
"Even with the location, what then?"

Meanwhile in the other room)

--FR3-- "Who knows where it went and we can't force it out"

--FR4-- "Then what else can we do?"

--FR3-- "What we were sent here to do"
"Take this facility out of a dark orbit"

--FR4-- "What about the others?"

--FR3-- "The abductees?"
"Follow the protocol for dealing with a primitive species"
FR4 nodded

--FR5-- "If this facility was set up by the same lot who almost caused the extinction of all life on Fiacee..."
"Then their planet might be at risk"

--FR3-- "If so then why leave it a couple generations?"

[Amazee Dayzee]

Keep on writing this story! It just keeps on getting better and better!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Ooh interstellar politics, the stakes keep rising. Keep it up, I enjoy this story

[trekkie]

Another great chapter. Keep up the good work.

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 23)

--FR5-- "Does that even matter though?"
"Fiacee's population centres were reduced to smouldering rubble and ash"

--FR3-- "Exactly so why would they have taken two generations here?"
"Instead of taking one and then repeating the same process"

--FR5-- "I don't know maybe one of the abductees knew something..."
"And that caught their interest"

--FR3-- "Still I doubt all of the abductees would know of it"
"And even if they did, why not just take whatever they found & leave"

--FR5-- "All I'm saying is check this facility's logs before scuttling the place"
"Then if there's anything relating to who done this and the attack on Fiacee, we act on it..."

--FR3-- "That isn't what we were sent here to do, the higher ups won't like it"

--FR5-- "Never stopped us before"
"We should be active and not just reactive to what they cause"
FR5 holstered their rifle and exited the room before looking back

--FR5-- "Someone has gotta be upfront with them about their current situation"

FR4 interjected
"Isn't like telling them their planet is at risk would complicate anything"


Meanwhile)

--Grape "Don't worry about it"
"I understand if you don't want to follow through with moving to Babylon"

--Echo "But..."

--Grape "Echo I don't care what decision you make at the end of this"
"All that matters is if you're happy and won't regret it later"

--Echo "Just a bit..."

--Grape "Indecisive?"

--Echo "Yeah,,, sorry"

--Grape "There's nothing to apologize for"
The duo saw someone leaving the room with their weapon holstered

--Grape "See Echo, told ya it would be alright"

--FR5-- "Not exactly, it is complicated"
FR5 stopped at the blast door

--Echo "Say again?"


In Babylon Gardens)

Two lights were seen flying above the woodland
Some conspiracy theorists claimed that they were conducting a search
And that there is an ongoing cover-up of extraterrestrial visitors

Others say it is simply another case of mistaken identity
And the lights belonged to helicopters, performing routine training exercises
As of this time the authorities have not issued any explanation

[trekkie]

Another good chapter. Keep up the good work!

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am really enjoying reading through all of these! You definitely made some great work!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Nice chapter! I was wondering what's been happening in Babylon Gardens...

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 24)

--James "So, any luck so far?"

--Fin "Define luck, on this case so far?"
"Nothing has came from it, though..."

--James "Though what?"

--Fin "You don't have the graveyard shift tonight, don't you?"

--James "I don't think so"

--Fin "Aight, meet me at the..."

--James "I can't Fin"

--Fin "Fine, well that's the end of my shift anyway"
Fin got out of the chair and left the room, walking down the police station's hallway
He stopped at the entrance, Fin could hear James trying to catch up

--James "Tell me Fin, how do I know that you're up to something?"

--Fin "Relax would ya, I'm not going to do something dangerous"

--James "Oh thank..."

--Fin "Unless if by dangerous you mean going into the woodland at night and without a flashlight"
"Cause I'm bringing one, as well as a camcorder and some other things"

--James "And what would you be doing with all that?"

--Fin "Apollo and Tabby saw lights coming from the victim's rooms..."
"And there were a couple UFOs sighted over the woodland after Grape was taken"

--James "So you're saying there's a connection?"

--Fin "Better than doing nothing, Fox & Fido are dealing with a missing teenager so..."
A loud crack of thunder caught Fin's attention followed by a downpour
Fin turned his head back to face James

--James "First missing pets and then a missing teenager..."
"And you don't think they're connected?"

--Fin "They might be connected but while they're on the case"
"I just thought a different avenue might be all that's needed"

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am really enjoying reading all of this! It is coming out nice! Splendid work!

[trekkie]

Another good chapter. Good work.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Good to see these two again, I look forward to whatever they're going to find

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 25)

--James "Fin, I thought you dragged me out here to help you find something"
"You can listen to your music at home, not during work"

Fin removed the earphones, placing them in one of the vest's pockets and turned off the mp3 player
--Fin "You're not my owner..."

--James "I'm your supervisor, keep focused on what we are here for..."
"What are we looking for exactly?"

--Fin "We are investigating the source of the lights, so anything that's unusual"
The german shepherd pulled out a flashlight handing it over to their supervisor
Before getting the camcorder out and the two started on their trek
Fin was drenched but continued on nonetheless


It was now dusk and getting colder by each passing moment
They were trudging through mud as Fin noticed some tracks and broken branches nearby

--Fin "James, over there"

--James "Appears to just be tracks from a racoon"

--Fin "I'd say racoon or badger judging by the depth"
"As of that other one?"
Fin pointed his camcorder to a set of prints left in the mud that didn't have a trail
One side had four indentations of claws but the other only had three
Two on the sides which pointed inwards towards the one in the middle

--Fin "Looks like whatever left that had a prosthetic"
"And it is certainly bigger than any print I've seen"
Fin firmly planted his foot beside it as reference

--James "Looks like some critters decided to play a trick..."

--Fin "Doubt it, let's keep going"

[trekkie]

Good to see Fin and James on the case. Hope they can shed some light on what is happening to the animals in Babylon Gardens.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Wonderful job writing this! I like how everything is being set up!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Maybe someone got beamed in, guess we'll have to see where the investigation leads. Good chapter

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 26)

Moonlight was visible through the branches
The only sound was that of twigs being snapped

--James "Shouldn't we set up a camera trap, in case they return? "
"Or follow the tracks..."

--Fin "Didn't have enough space for that, plus they could go to a different spot"

--James "What are we going to do then?"

--Fin "Well the light or whatever landed or hovered there..."
 "Hence the broken branches and the mysterious print back there"

--James "And what are we gonna follow?"

--Fin "The trail of broken branches, it could lead us to"

--James "Lead us to a bloodthirsty monster that eats pets?"
"When we are face to face with whatever left those prints, you get to talk to it first"

James and Fin stopped once they saw an ember light hovering just above the path ahead of them
A beam was shot down to the ground and circled around the light before fading away
All of a sudden there was a flash and the light vanished

--James "Fin, is there anything there?"

--Fin "Where it was hovering?"
 "Just a small pile of rubble"

--James "Got it on film?..."

"Might have gotten the last few seconds of it"
Fin shrugged

[trekkie]

Hopefully they got something on film. Nice work on this.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Still enjoying this story even after all these chapters later! I look forward for more!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 27)

--FR4-- "Aren't you going to go after them?"

--FR3-- "What's the point?"

--FR4-- "Our objective..."

--FR3-- "We will just use the boarding craft, it should have enough room"
"So you, cut all power from the room where FR5 is once the signal is given"

FR4 acknowledged their order and found a panel for a console
Once it was propped up they ran a diagnostic

--FR4-- "All green, what if it doesn't work?"

--FR3-- "It should"

On the staircase)

--FR5-- "Where did you two come from exactly?"

--Echo "You can't miss it"

--FR5-- "I'm sure I won't but what am I looking out for?"

--Echo " I don't know, a hand attached to the walkway?"

Grape looked at her right paw and with a flick of the wrist her claws came out
Before clenching them into a fist and retracting them once opening up
--Grape "I wouldn't call it a hand, more of a claw"

--Echo "Or that..."

"Here we are!"
Echo shouted in a tremulous voice as he stepped off of the staircase and onto the walkway, followed by Grape and FR5

FR5 accompanied the two pets as they entered a corridor which had a window
"That's a beautiful sight, is it not?"
Echo asked the group, staring out into space

--Grape "It is though we've already seen it"

--Echo "I know..."

--FR5-- "I suppose it would be, if it wasn't for our current situation"

--Echo "How come?"

FR5 ignored Echo and walked through into the next room ahead of Grape & Echo

--Echo "Hey I asked you a question! "
 
--FR5-- "And what would that be?"

--Echo "Why did you bring us here and who are you lot?"
"And what about our current situation?!"

--FR5-- "Firstly we didn't bring you to this place, why did I bring you two here?"
"It'll be easier for you two to bring your friends up to speed"

"More of the same"
Echo muttered

--Echo "What about our situation though and why are you doing this?"

--FR5-- "Our situation..."
FR5 paused for a moment as Grape caught up to Echo

--FR5-- "I'll keep it simple"
"Whoever brought you here might have set this entire thing up as a distraction or...

--Echo "Or what exactly?"

--FR5-- "Or something on your planet has caught their interest"
"So before we free your friends, is there anything that it could be?"

--Echo "Outside of the cliché motive that is a need for resources?"
"Nothing comes to mind"

--FR5-- "Not resources, something which is unique to your planet"
"Or rare enough to justify not turning it into a wasteland"

"So there might be nothing to return home to..."
Echo replied with a brittle voice, FR5 looked down at the two pets
--FR5-- "That's why FR3 asked"

--Grape "Earth, that's where we are from"

--Echo "There, that's what you wanted to know right? ..."

--FR5-- "And then we would ask, which sector would Earth be located in?"
"But we can't expect that from a primitive species"

--Echo "Who are you calling primitive?"

--FR5-- "Aren't you the one who got stuck on a ladder?"

--Grape "Anyway, from what you said earlier I'm guessing you had a run-in with 'em?"

Babylon Gardens)

Fin and James were walking back to the station
There was a dry spell and the two didn't want to be caught out when it started raining again

--Fin "Now that we've got something,"
"Let's see what Fox and Fido got"

--James "They won't have anything related to what we've got"
"They're on the case of a missing teenager remember?"

--Fin "Still any leads in this case is better than nothing!"

"I guess"
James said as he walked into the station followed by Fin close behind
Without skipping a beat Fido went over to tell Fin what they had found

--Fido "Got anything?"

--Fin "Hopefully, haven't checked the film yet"
"Is there any connection between the missing teenager and the pets?"

--Fido "Not exactly though we are working on it"
Fido went over to the interrogation rooms

--Fin "Why bother, every single time there's a potential lead"
"It slips through our grasp..."

--James "You still have what's on the camcorder"
"That's better than nothing"

[trekkie]

Another good installment of this story. Good work!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Looks like things are starting to come together. I'm really interested in learning more about these abducting aliens.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Glad that I am sticking around for this! Each chapter keeps on getting better!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 28)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun was shining in the sky as the inhabitants of Fiacee went by their own business
As the streets were full of life

Shop keepers selling goods, business acquaintances making decisions in the soaring skyscrapers above
Friends exchanging banter in the pubs, mothers and fathers taking their kids to the parks

Everything was just a normal day, nothing different from the last until a loud roaring came from above
The source of it was from a Qwillian class transport ship which entered the planet's atmosphere
It hovered above the city...

As onlookers were in disbelief
Soon their gasps of awe would be drowned out by a series of deafening sonic booms

Nearby aircraft were redirected from patrols to escort it to a suitable location
All attempts of communication with the occupants of the ship were unsuccessful
Leading to the military moving in and a evacuation of the surrounding area was started

There was a strange sensation in the air that fateful day...
A loud humming sound was heard coming from the ship, building up in intensity
Before anyone had grasped what was going on a bright flash emanated from said ship then...

Millions of lives were wiped out in a single moment
The major population centres across the continents were targeted in similar attacks
Leaving only ash and rubble behind
Scorched and barren wastelands known as dead sectors were created in its wake

Those who died in the blast were the lucky ones
First responders and survivors were stricken by a sickness
They tried anything which was at their disposal but then it progressed...

Our military decided to fly drones over the affected areas in coordination with search teams
Though looking for survivors was a valiant action, some saw it as a waste of resources

(--FR5-- "So skip forward a couple decades...")

Fiacee's population was still dealing with the aftermath and loss of life
Resources from colonies were dispatched to help with the struggle

The salvaged tech from the ships allowed us to improve our interplanetary craft
Along with that tech came remnants of information, locations ect
Fiacee Rescue was then sent out on an expedition

The group that carried out the attacks were labelled the remnants...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


--FR5-- "So that was our run-in with them"

Grape and Echo looked over towards each other before looking back at FR5
"Tell us that you found this place by accident"
The two uttered in unison

--FR5-- "I'm afraid not..."

[trekkie]

Well, very ominous and very well written. Good job.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I just love how this is all coming together. Awesome!

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

What a tragedy... hopefully this history doesn't repeat itself. Nice job with this chapter!

[Temno the wolf]

Chapter 29)

Echo found himself walking down a stone path
The sky was a fiery orange as the sun set
A soft whistling was all that could be heard going through the trees

After strolling along, cracks had appeared on the path
Paying them no notice Echo carried on until he had hit a fork in the path

Glancing at the path to their left, nature had retaken the path covering most of it
The one on their right was obscured and unclear but started off linear

Within seconds the paths started quivering and began to fall into a void
Before Echo could realize what had just happened, the paths ceased to exist
Just like that, he was staring into an abyss


--Echo "Is this how I want it to be?"
"Just forgotten till it fades from memory..."

"Echo?"
Grape said snapping her fingers beside Echo's ears
Taking him out of his trance

--Echo "Sorry I was just thinking of something"

--Grape "Now isn't the time nor place for reverie, Echo"
"We can do that once this ordeal is over..."

--FR5-- "Are they ok?"
"Cause if not there's a"

--Echo "I'm fine..."

--FR5--- "Good to know, back to what I was explaining"
"Our priority changed when we encountered you two"

--Grape "What would that be now?"

--FR5-- "If we were following through with our original objective..."
"This facility would've been destroyed already"

--Grape "You're still gonna do that right?"

--FR5-- "A team consisting of five members"

"Three members"
Echo murmured

--FR5-- "Either way there's no feasible way that we could search this entire place"
"To make sure that nobody else is left stranded here"

--Grape "So we are going to have to wait here?"

--FR5-- "You don't unless if you want to, you will be sent back with your friends"
"All we are doing now is discreetly marking this place so when we report back, another team could be sent out"

--Echo "So that's us?"

--FR5-- "Oh also when I give the signal to the others"
"This place will go dark for some time"

--Grape "Why?"

--FR5-- "We are cutting the power from this room"
"Don't worry, the life support shouldn't be cut off"

Babylon Gardens)

"So let's see what this old thing caught"
Fin said to himself as he played back the film

Upon playing back the footage Fin saw that almost everything was on film,
Almost everything, the ember light was only on film for a short amount of time and it was out of focus for most of it
Till after a couple seconds had passed but as it got in focus, there was the flash

Fin had replayed those last few seconds over and over again
Though something was off about it, Fin played it from the second he moved the camcorder and pointed it towards the light

After closer inspection, he noticed that there was some cloth close to the trees
It appeared to be khaki however that doesn't mean much
Maybe a racoon or something was trying to avoid the downpour and left it there

However when going through the film focusing on that area
A figure protruded out from the trees staring directly into the camcorder, if it was a racoon then it could've held a record for height
They were covered in the material, wearing it like a cloak

[trekkie]

Another very good chapter. Looks like Fin is getting more clues on film.