The Blizzard
Story By Smirkyguy
Proofreading By Alex Reynard and Alfador
It was late January at Immortalabs. The weather report had caught everyone by surprise.
Everyone was staring at the news in disbelief. "...a blizzard will arrive starting tonight at 2 am... ...worst storm in a hundred years… …seven feet of snow expected... ...emergency services will be unavailable due to blocked roads... ...prepare for mass power out-"
Doc shut off the television in his room and sighed. He had SPECIFICALLY picked this area to build the lab because of its stable weather. It was already too late to ship in supplies; the main road was blocked by a snow drift. They were on their own for the next few weeks.
"Sophia, call a meeting with senior staff in the investor’s meeting room, try to keep the residents calm as well."
Upon everyone entering and the door locking, Doc spoke up first.
"I won't lie... this is going to be rough. I need options, or we are all gonna freeze, or starve."
Roger had the first idea: "The forge downstairs has a propane smelter, can we run that for warmth?"
"Yes, everyone, start listing off our heat sources," Doc replied.
Andre added "The big kitchen appliances put off a fuckton. Enough to scorch my tail tip a few times. And, um, the sauna?”
Mikey chimed in as well "Sophia's servers generate quite a lot of heat, and if I can get to my shuttle-"
Doc interrupted him "No, nobody goes outside. Especially not a desert species."
Mikey's large ears folded in submission.
Doc continued, "I would also consider the sunlamps in the spa and livestock pens, and I think we should also evacuate the second floor, concentrate the heat in a smaller area."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Doc announced, "Alright, assuming power gets cut, we need to conserve what we have."
Sophia came across the intercom. "My neural net can continue to run a single session with eighty percent of my NPUs disabled."
"Let's set you to 25% so you're still comfortable and producing heat. Also, you should power down all non-essential management. Prepare to enforce reduced electricity the moment we lose external power."
"Understood," Sophia replied.
"I'll let Chef handle food planning. Any further questions?" Doc looked around the table, and was met with silence.
"Alright, get to work. Sophia, open the intercom; all rooms."
Doc took a deep breath, and steadied his voice.
"Okay everyone, I'm sure you've all seen the weather report. We are going to be locked in for several weeks. We will be on our own, so it is up to every single member of Immortalabs to support your fellow furs. As of now I am declaring a mandatory evacuation of the second floor. Bring only what you need from your quarters, and convene in either the cafeteria or lab two. These will be your new sleeping quarters. Blankets will be distributed. Stay safe and alive, everybody."
Doc nodded, and left to coordinate the evacuation.
Half the quarters were on the second floor, as well as most of the recreational facilities.
Doc arrived at the point where three halls converged on the second floor. Olivia was first to evacuate, only bringing her sketchbook and a pack of art pencils. She seemed cheerful, viewing the change like a sleepover. Slowly but surely, residents and staff carried essential belongings past Doc to the south stairwell. Some were worried by the sudden evacuation, others seemed more chill about the situation.
As soon as the last resident walked past with three duffel bags full of personal items, he personally swept through each room on the second floor for stragglers. Finding none, he made his way downstairs, and ordered both stairwells be locked and the doors insulated. Power to the upper floor was cut, and the lab felt unusually quiet to all who were attuned to the usual ambience.
Soon however, a new sound filled the quiet, the rush of wind picking up outside. It rapidly grew stronger, until the view from security cameras was awash with white.
The first utility to go was the satellite mast for the internet. Blown off its mount, the outage was sudden and instant. There was an immediate reaction as all news feeds went black, and communication with the outside world was gone.
Quickly after, people heard a loud zap as the power lines were knocked over just outside the lab entrance. Not surprising, as the poles were not exactly up to building code. The transition to backup power was nearly imperceptible, the supercapacitor banks easily covering power draw while the diesel generators cranked to life.
Sophia immediately began powering down nonessentials. Most of the automation the residents were fond of now went dead to conserve valuable electricity. That included Sophia herself, shutting down three quarters of her processing power, and most of her fancy abilities, like speech synthesis, audio and video recognition... She was just a text chatbot now, only accessible through a few laptops scattered among the lab. That also meant that the plumbing was not being monitored... and that left the water-filled pipes a ticking time bomb...
All through the night, the howl of wind kept everyone on edge. Most barely got any sleep. Doc kept himself busy manually monitoring what his laptop could access, but there was far too much to keep track of for an organic being.
The first thing that caught his attention was the red text indicating a total loss of water pressure from the main supply, an external tank just outside the lab.
"Damnit... must've frozen solid," he muttered to himself as he typed, remotely unsealing three butterfly valves that isolated the backup tank in the bunker. The pump came online, and pressure rose back to normal levels.
The light of morning was welcomed by all, even if conditions were still whiteout. Folks stirred from their blankets and got dressed for breakfast...
"Morning Chef..." Doc uttered as he arrived for the morning rush. "Whatchu got?"
Chef calmly replied, "For you, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and hot coffee."
Doc took the plate and mug of hot coffee, and sat down. He wasn't going to complain. They had to conserve what they had, and the coffee still had mocha added to it.
Some were more apt to complain, notably Andre, but were reminded that a ration was in effect.
Everyone was handed plates of the food that would be quickest to spoil... eggs and dairy for the carnivores, fruit salads for the herbivores. Even if they were rations, they were still made by Chef, and thus fresh and high quality.
Breakfast came and went without much incident, however, things soon took a turn for the worse, as puddles began forming around the lab...
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Andre's voice echoed through the halls as she stepped in a larger puddle.
"SOPHI- oh, right... FOXWORTH! SHUT OFF THE FUCKING PLUMBING!"
Doc was quick to react and commanded the valves across the entire lab to close.
It took them two hours to figure out what sections of the water pipes were unusable. After the network of pipes were tested and reconfigured, only the residential area still had pressure.
"Good news, we only lost a little bit of water," Doc commented as the system was stabilized.
"Bad news, my fucking pipes are ruined!!" Andre had to complain, always.
"Technically they are my pipes." Doc rebutted.
"Yeah, but which one of us keeps ‘em fucking working!?"
"Fair..." was all he could say.
As soon as one problem was settled, yet another reared its ugly head. The hangar was not holding onto heat very well, thanks to the large, metal rolling shutter door.
Doc came to judge the situation for himself, entering the large room where Luna and Dewdrop resided. The room was notably colder than the rest of the lab.
"Sorry ladies, I have to insist on evacuating your hangar," he declared firmly.
"Is this decision truly necessary?" Luna asked the fox, whom she dwarfed with her colossal draconic form.
Doc stood firm, pointing to the large doorway. "Surely a six hundred year old dragon understands the concept of insulation, or lack thereof...?"
Luna stared at him intently, but finally reason trumped stubbornness.
"Very well." the black dragoness laid down, and transformed into her anthro form, walking past Doc, into the hall.
"You too, Dewdrop." Doc called out.
Dewdrop was far less stubborn in her wisdom, immediately shrinking her severed head down to a portable size, and summoning an anthro fox avatar to carry herself.
"I'll be in your quarters if you need me, Justin, for either work or... entertainment." She winked at him and left the hangar.
He smiled pleasurably for a moment, before getting back to the task at hand. He manually powered down the hangar, and sealed the doors for the foreseeable future.
That evening, the dinner rations were distributed. Hot, simple dishes were handed to people one at a time, as they lined up. The meals were still pleasant, but nowhere near Chef's usual cooking. The cafeteria crowd was tense, but still in good spirits... for the most part.
"Why can't I go outside, Chef? I'll only be out for a bit, you'll hardly miss me." Doc recognized Katie’s voice from where he was eating.
"It's well into the negatives out there, you wouldn't last ten minutes," Chef replied, cautioning her to reconsider.
"I'm a snow leopard, it's my natural habitat," she said confidently, and forced the cafeteria door open. What greeted her was packed snow, all the way up to the top of the door frame. Undeterred, she started digging, letting the room bleed valuable warmth. She had already tunneled three feet out by the time Roger gripped her by the back of the neck and dragged her back inside.
"YOU PSYCHOTIC CAT, ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!?"
Roger’s screaming seemed to snap some sense back into her, and she slunk away shamefully. Roger forced the door shut with some effort, and he sternly looked at everyone.
"The next fool that tries that will have to be put back together surgically by Doctor Foxworth."
Nobody dared to challenge the rhino. They knew that he had the strength, and the will, to back up his words. Most folks went to bed quietly after that.
The second dawn arrived, and morale was clearly impacted. Not a single person greeted the morning eagerly, and some slept in way late. Only the call to breakfast pulled them from under their warm blankets.
Again, the rations were hot and basic, cobbled together from what would last the shortest in the fridge. Doc overheard grumbling as he obtained his meal of buttered pancakes and coffee, but the argument that erupted grabbed everyone's attention. The clatter of a plate being thrown across the room was followed by Andre shouting "I'M NOT EATING THIS! GO GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE!"
Chef calmly replied "Fine, starve. There won't be any more cooking until dinnertime."
"I've found better food stuck in the back of the vending machines..." she angrily grumbled and stormed off to an unknown destination. Sympathy was felt all around for Chef as he swept up the food off the floor. Doc went back to his meal...
As noon rolled around, boredom took hold through most of the lab, with no internet and no electricity to spare. Dewdrop approached Doc with an idea.
"Doctor, I can sense depression taking root among the residents... We are in dire need of amusement."
"Yes, but we can't afford the power drain to boot up any devices." Doc sighed. "I hope you've thought of something, because I sure can't solve it."
Dewdrop wrapped her avatar’s fluffy fox arms around him. "You're looking at this from the wrong perspective, Justin. We dont need fancy electronics to entertain ourselves."
Doc raised an eyebrow, slowly picking up on what Dewdrop had planned.
"The library has plenty of books and board games, which my avatar can easily retrieve."
Doc smiled, and stood up from his seat.
"Alright everyone, come here and tell Dewdrop one item you want her to bring down from the library. I repeat, one book or board game per person."
As soon as a mental list was compiled, Dewdrop proceeded to phase through the sealed stairwell door, and began obtaining books and stacking them right next to the door.
When her task was complete, the door was briefly opened to drag the books inside without losing too much heat.
Dewdrop was praised by all, as her and Doc handed out the cold books and games to everyone.
As the blizzard began to fade and fuel for the generators ran low, another problem was apparent. Power would not last much longer. A meeting was held to discuss options.
"Alright, I should first state that there's no chance of repairing the power lines, not with so much snow piled up." Doc opened the floor to anyone who had even a slightly viable plan.
"Could rig some generators to the treadmills," Andre suggested first, but was quickly shot down by logic. Doc reiterated their situation.
"Look, we are down to two barrels of diesel, mere hours. The solar panels are caked with snow, and the capacitors are too cold to push longer than a day, two max."
Silence filled the room, all until Dewdrop spawned in without warning.
"Sorry to butt in, but, couldn't I just sweep the snow off of these... panels?"
It was by far the best idea anyone had, so Doc let her take the floor. After describing the task to her in detail, and giving her the basic lesson on what solar panels did, Dewdrop teleported her avatar to the roof, and began pushing snow off the roof.
That evening, at dinnertime, the announcement everyone was dreading came.
"Sorry everyone but, as of tonight, the fridge is empty," Chef stated to everyone.
This meant no more fresh food. Only canned goods and other non-perishables remained, alongside the livestock and cheese stockpile.
That dinner consisted of hot bowls of chili, with canned vegetables for the herbivores of the lab.
The reduction in food quality was stacked on top of a fading power supply, as the lights started to dim. Indeed, the generators had finally run out of fuel, and survival was in question for the first time since this all began. Nobody really knew how long the capacitors could hold in such conditions. That night, many wondered if they would see the next day.
Dewdrop tirelessly worked all night to clean the snow off the roof, and as the glimmer of light rose on day three, there was hope, as the solar panels came to life under the winter sun. As Dewdrop finished cleaning the roof, the voltage was barely above what they needed to sustain the capacitors indefinitely. Dewdrop was again praised for her heroics.
Breakfast was more chili and veggies from a can. Folks chatted and read books as they got used to the new normal, but one resident was struggling.
Carly, the receptionist bunny, barely out of her teens, had not been on social media in three days, and withdrawal was setting in. She sat silently at a table, staring at her cell phone blankly. No signal. She held it up in the air, hoping to pick up some distant tower. Nothing.
"How are you holding up, Carly?" Doc asked. He got no reply.
"Why don't you read your book, or socialize?"
"It's not the same... I'm missing out on so much news, all the latest trends, I can't even tell my friends I'm safe..."
Doc silently wrapped his arms around her for a hug.
"You have friends here, Carly. And we worry about you." Doc tried to reassure her. "I'm sure Olivia has stuff to keep you occupied."
"Yeah... ...Maybe she does..." the rabbit looked up at Justin, and smiled slightly.
"Go, try to have some fun."
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, it was apparent to Chef that they needed more fresh meat. He made his way to the livestock pens, and solemnly got to work. This was his least favorite part of the job; he hated taking a life. He was thankful that laughing gas was an option, because he couldn't stomach using a bolt gun.
The next three hours were spent preparing the meat for the kitchen. The cow's head went missing halfway through the task, but Chef figured that would happen, much to his disdain. He had gotten tired of scolding Doctor Foxworth long ago.
Chef blessed the cow for its sacrifice, and began to prepare dinner.
Deeper in the building, Mikey the fennec and Ashley the coyote were huddled close to lab two's propane furnace. The two desert creatures were struggling more than the rest of the residents. They were built to shed heat, not hold onto it. Katie approached the two.
"Still cold, Mikey? the snow leopard asked kindly.
"Too... cold..." Mikey muttered through shivering teeth.
With a look of determination, Katie swiped her own blankets off the floor, and wrapped them around Mikey. A look of thanks was all the fennec could reply with.
Shade, a weavile who was also resistant to the cold, got the same idea. She gifted her blankets to Ashley, who proceeded to thank Shade by licking her face sloppily.
Shade took it in stride, Ashley wasn't quite critter-brained, but it still showed in her behavior.
Dinner was a beef stew, made using what was still left of the dry ingredients in the pantry. Most were thankful that the lab cook was so skilled in his craft, able to make anything he got his hands on taste good.
That night, bellies were warm, full, and happy...
Doc woke up to the 7am lights coming online, one of the few functions Sophia was still managing in her limited state. He looked at the date. The blizzard had struck a full week ago. He crawled out of bed, slipped on the cleanest lab coat he could scrounge up, and made his way to the cafeteria.
Breakfast was already being handed out. Some had woken up before the daytime lights came on, and Chef was one of them. Doc got in line, and was handed a plate of salted and peppered pork ribs, and a thin wedge of cheddar.
"Sorry Doc, no more coffee. The soda will have to suffice."
He groaned, and made his way to the beverage table. With the water supply to the soda fountains cut, Chef had to manually mix the soda syrup with water. Doc grabbed a cup of cola, and snuck an extra dose of syrup into his drink. He knew they had enough syrup for hundreds of drinks, a double dose wouldn't affect their stock.
He took a sip, and understood why that was not such a good idea. Still, the caffeine content would be sufficient for him. He passed by the breakfast line, and saw one of the vegetarians get handed a bowl of canned bell peppers.
"Doc, meeting in the power room after breakfast?" Chef called out.
Doctor Foxworth replied with a nod.
As promised, Doctor Foxworth met up with Chef in the generator room after breakfast.
The usually cheerful cheetah looked... drained. "Doctor, we have a problem. I am scraping the pantry for anything edible but... there's two, maybe three days of ingredients left. We need to call for help."
"What about the livestock?" Doc asked.
"We have enough animals, but not enough grain. Less than a week until we face hungry livestock.
Doc pondered the options. There was no good outcome for anyone.
"Feed the livestock for as long as you can, then... do what must be done. I authorize restarting the freezer to preserve the meat. I will see what can be done to contact emergency services."
With that, Doc went to consult Mikey on communication solutions.
"...The best we can do is send Dewdrop out there to fix the satellite array, but her technical knowledge is a bit... limited." The fennec was too polite to state the obvious. Dewdrop barely knew how to use a laptop, let alone repair advanced networking equipment.
"I am willing to try, regardless. You could walk me through it, Michael." Dewdrop was the master at showing up unannounced.
"Do what you can, both of you," Doc ordered. It was literally do or die.
Work was slow. Dewdrop could easily repair the collapsed frame of the mast with telekinesis, but numerous cables had been ripped out, and the control box was cracked open, which had let snow get into the circuitry. No matter how hard they tried, the system would not power on. It might be fixable by swapping components, but Dewdrop was hardly qualified to solder circuitry, and neither was anyone else that could withstand the cold. If only they had spare satellite parts on hand...
Dawn eight. At least, that's what the clock said. It felt far longer to Doc. By now, everyone was out of clean clothes, but few cared. He headed to the cafeteria for morning stew and soda.
Anabelle, the disembodied bunny head that resided in the cafeteria, waved Doc over with her ear.
"Y’all ain't lookin too hot there." she said in her Alabama accent.
"Out of coffee..." he muttered while guzzling the soda in his cup.
"Can’t y’all just switch to yer nanobots? They've been keepin’ me alive for two years without food."
"Not that easy. You don't have kidneys and intestines that are constantly shedding mass. We would shrivel up regardless of the level of nanobot support. We have to keep eating to maintain our weight."
"Y’all know more about them little bots than I do." Anabelle patted Doc on the hand.
He finished his stew, and walked to lab two.
Inside, he found Mikey huddled so close to the furnace, that his prosthetics had started gathering soot stains.
"Still struggling, Mikey?" Doc asked the fennec.
He replied with a shaky nod.
"What if we programmed the nanobots to block off the blood flow to your ears?" Doc suggested.
"Without Sophia...? Risky... Could end badly..."
"Well, I hate to see you so miserable." Doc racked his brain for solutions.
"Why not inject a plug into each blood vessel?"
Mikey seemed far more receptive to that idea. The fennec stood up, and followed doc to lab one, where he injected a silicone gel into each vein exiting Mikey’s ears. The giant dish-like ears flicked as he adjusted to the halted blood flow.
"I... I think it's working. my ears are still cold, but I feel... warmer." he reached up to touch an ear, and smiled. "Thank you, Justin."
"After we get past all this, I'll remove the plugs," Doc said as the fennec departed.
The dawning of the tenth day was upon them. At breakfast, Chef made the announcement that he dreaded with every ounce of his being.
"Unfortunately, I have to announce that the last of the pantry ingredients have run out. Yes, even the cheese. We will have to pop open the emergency supply crates in the bunker if you all want food tonight. Anyone with a strong arm is expected to assist: no exceptions, no excuses."
Breakfast was mostly roasted meat. This was fine for the carnivorous species, but the herbivores had to share a meager bowl of black beans among themselves.
After breakfast, Chef gathered the strongest residents to unseal crates in the bunker. Numerous boxes of military rations were available within, but they soon encountered a problem. Water from the burst plumbing had gotten into the crates and frozen. two crates were unsalvageable, and several had some damaged rations. They saved what they could, bringing several armfuls of MREs to the kitchen. Chef tallied it all up, and figured it was good for four more days.
After the bunker raid, there was little to do except read and socialize. People were getting stir crazy, trapped for so long with so little to do. It was a prime example of cabin fever.
A panicked scream broke up the monotony. Security was on the scene quickly, but not fast enough. Linda, the brain damaged Braixen Doc had saved from the grave, had gotten ahold of a kitchen knife, and was going on a stabbing spree. It took Roger and two other guards to restrain her with belts, with Roger earning another knife wound to go along with his numerous battle scars. Doc rushed Carly to a surgical bay for major surgery, where the traumatized bunny was treated for thirty eight knife wounds. Luckily, between the nanobots and Doc’s masterful surgical skills, her only lasting scars would be mental, as she walked out of the operating room less than an hour later, carrying her shredded clothes and wearing a hospital gown...
...day twelve. This was the day that the grain for the farm animals finally ran out. Chef Florentine spent the better part of the day saving what meat he could from two sheep, a cow, and three hens. It was not much for feeding a population approaching fifty, but Chef could make it last, he hoped.
Maria, a river otter who resided at the lab as a patient, approached Doc later that day.
"Justin... I... I don't want to bother you, but can we talk?"
Doc smiled as he invited Maria to stand on his lap. "I always make time for you, Maria, what's up?"
Maria paused, and took a breath. "I don't want to continue being a burden on our supplies. I want to switch to full nanobot support, and donate my clone to the food reserve."
Maria was a unique case, while her head was the one she was originally born with, her body had gone through countless cloning cycles as Doc fought so hard to keep her alive and happy.
"You'll be just a head, and we can't spare the electricity to run your mobility robot. Are you absolutely sure?"
"I have decided. Please, it's the least I can do for everyone who saved me."
Doc nodded, and cradled Maria in his arms. He carried her to the kitchen, where Chef was still quartering fresh meat. After discussing the situation with Chef, he agreed to add Maria's body to the food supply. Doctor Foxworth walked out of the kitchen carrying only Maria's head and her red floral dress.
As word spread of Maria’s decision, two more soon followed in her footsteps. Linda the Braixen was next in line, she was considered dangerous at this point, having escaped her bindings three times already. Her head was still kept under close supervision, just in case.
Doctor Foxworth’s pet fox, Vixy, also communicated her consent via the neural implant in her brain. Vixy was an odd fox, she liked being a disembodied head.
Dorothy, the magically and infinitely respawning deer, was already at her limit feeding Luna and Dewdrop’s voracious appetites, but she tried to join in anyway. Doc had to make the difficult decision to restrict her to being dragon food.
That evening, people truly began to feel the hope drain from their being, reduced to cannibalizing their friends to hold out just a few meals longer...
...two weeks. Two whole weeks they had been trapped inside, while the frigid outside air was slowly warming. It was still dangerous to venture outside. Doc made his way to breakfast, meeting dejected and hopeless faces as he entered the cafeteria. He soon knew why... Chef was handing out cups of soda and... that was it. The food was gone. It didn't take long before Doc called an emergency meeting with all staff.
"Okay... I'm sure everyone knows why I called you by now. We need options before... Wait, where's Andre?"
Everyone looked around and shrugged.
"Did anyone see her at breakfast?" Doc asked. still nothing.
Chef spoke up, "Now that you mention it, Andre hasn't been to a meal in... it feels like a week.”
A quick poll showed that, indeed, nobody had seen Andre in at least a week. Doc was quick to enact a search party...
When Doc and Chef finally found her in the maintenance lounge, they were stunned, speechless, and flabbergasted.
"Oh, hey you two, wanna watch Saw with me? I just fuckin’ started it."
The TV being on and playing a movie wasn't what had grabbed their attention, what they were blankly staring at, was five crates of vending machine snacks. Andre noticed their gaze.
"What? Surely you twats have seen potato chips before?"
(The following violence is not suitable for the readers of this story, and is hereby scrubbed from the record.)
"I YIELD! I YIELD! I DIDN’T FUCKING KNOW, ALRIGHT!?" Andre declared. The staff were... not impressed.
Doc rarely lost his cool. But this warranted it. "How could you not know about the food and power situation!?"
"I havent fucking left this lounge in a week! See? My piss bucket’s right over there, and my-"
"ENOUGH! We are getting these five crates to the kitchen now."
"Five? Oh, those are just the ones I dragged in here. There's, like, a shitton more in the storage bay."
Andre barely escaped a second beating, as Chef held Doc back. "Doc, save your energy. She isn’t gonna learn."
"LOOK, I’LL FUCKING MAKE IT UP TO YOU! I can... I know, I’ll fix that shitty satellite mast so we can fucking call for help."
"We don't even have the parts. I checked the inventory catalog."
"Wait, you bitches actually use that catalog? I haven’t fucking updated it in like, decades."
Cue Doctor Foxworth fighting back even more fury.
"I'll get it fixed, okay!? Won't take me more than a day!"
That evening, everyone got to pig out on soda, chips, and cheese puffs, among other things. The situation was finally looking up, even if they were still snowed in...
Day fifteen. The internet was finally reestablished. It was slow, and the ping was in the thousands, but it was enough to access the federal emergency assistance website. Doctor Foxworth input their details, and the reply they got half an hour later was unusual.
'Services overwhelmed, backlog over ten days. Elevating to higher authorities.'
It was unexpected, but promising news.
Mere hours passed before the faint sound of helicopter blades filled the silence of the minimally-powered lab. The sound got closer, then a large object struck the snow behind the building. Twenty minutes of digging through snow netted them their reward: a supply drop!
They dragged the crate into the livestock room and cracked it open...
Inside, they found a few hundred MRE packages, water purifiers, and plenty of butane fuel for cooking and heating.
Nestled in between all of it, a small metal box was labeled:
'CLASSIFIED: DELIVER TO DR. JUSTIN FOXWORTH'
His interest was piqued as he took the box and left for the confines of lab one.
Inside, he found a letter from the United States Pentagon, addressed directly to him, with a brief message.
'Phone enclosed. Call us.'
There was a number, and a rather average cell phone at the bottom of the box. A large, unknown device was attached to it.
He stepped outside, figuring he would get a better signal, and dialed the number.
...
...
...
"Name and residence?" a female voice asked.
"Doctor Justin Foxworth of Immortalabs," he carefully replied.
"Please look into the camera," she said. He held the camera up to his face, and a two-way video opened.
A feline male was dressed in a general's formal wear. "Doctor Foxworth, it's a pleasure to finally speak with you." "I'm sorry, who are you?" Doc asked.
"My identity is unimportant. Just know that I am... an important agent to world peace.”
"I see." Doc tried to judge anything from the video feed, but there wasn't much to identify.
"I won't bore you with formalities. The United Nations considers your lab to be of utmost importance to the future of our planet, and anthrokind. We are prepared to deliver whatever your lab needs to survive the winter. Nothing is off limits, but do try to limit the number of helicopters we have to send."
Doc pondered for a moment.
"We have immediate need for food, propane, and diesel. Send as much as you can fit on a cargo helicopter."
"Understood. Expect the first Chinook tonight. Contact us again if you need more supplies; your survival is priority one."
"Good to hear, I'm going inside now to thaw my frozen footpaws. Foxworth out."
He was quick to make his way to the warm fires of the lab forge.
That night, around ten, a large cargo helicopter landed behind Immortalabs. It was painted black, with no markings or running lights. The cargo door slid open, and dim interior lights illuminated numerous crates and barrels. An agent stepped out and greeted Roger, who was the first to exit the lab.
The agent spoke, "Major, I figured you would be the one to greet us. Your reputation precedes you, and so do your awards."
"I'm just a warrior who lost far too many fine men fighting a needless war. I'm done taking orders from generals who hide behind an office desk."
"You have my utmost sympathies. I see you still wear their purple hearts."
"It's all I have left to honor their memory."
The two approached each other, and shook hands with a grin.
"I hope to visit Immortalabs again under better circumstances."
"Give it a few weeks, we will bounce back stronger than ever."
"Shall we unload cargo like old times?"
"As long as we aren't dodging heavy artillery like old times..."
-part 2-
It took everyone three hours to unload the helicopter. It seemed their mysterious savior had snuck a gift for the lab among the supplies: a new satellite kit! Even better, it was the kind of tech only top government agencies had access to, tripling their old data rate, and including a dedicated hardware firewall. Inside, a note read: “You'd be surprised how loud and easy to crack your network is. This should help you keep a low profile and be far more secure.”
They were quick to get the generators refueled. Everyone held their breath as each starter was cranked, but one by one, all of them roared to life. Power was no longer a concern, as long as the diesel kept coming.
Meanwhile, Andre spent all night on the satellite array overhaul. Residents woke that morning to a welcome announcement on every TV: “INTERNET AND POWER RESTRICTIONS LIFTED” Folks were quick to boot up their various personal devices. They were still snowed in for the next week, but life was tolerable again.
Doc passed by Luna in the hall on the way to breakfast. “Doctor, do you think I could have my den back soon?” she asked as she sped up to match his pace.
“Can you hold on just a few more days?” he replied. “I know it's hard for you to be away from your gold, stuck in such a tiny form, but everyone is roughing it.”
Luna nodded her illusory head, as they entered the cafeteria.
Chef had prepared an MRE for each resident, handing them out to everyone who had lined up.
“For you Doc, ration number twenty three.” Chef smiled as he handed over a tray to the fox.
Doc sat down and examined his breakfast. The star of the tray was a rectangle of dried pepperoni pizza. Also among the tray were a cup of instant coffee mixed with chocolate protein powder, cherry blueberry cobbler, an oatmeal cookie, crackers with a jalapeno cheese spread, and two pieces of gum. It was a blessing to finally taste coffee on his tongue again, and the pizza wasn’t bad, considering its extended shelf life. He finished his breakfast, and got to work coordinating recovery with a burst of newfound energy.
“Alright, we need to start shoveling the parking lot, any takers?” Doc announced to the cafeteria. Several hands popped up, clearly eager for a change in scenery. He led them to the lobby with shovels, snowblowers, and jackets, and work began immediately.
By far the largest help was Dewdrop, who used her full scale dragon avatar to dig out the snow with her claws.
Meanwhile, Andre got to work surveying the damage to the plumbing. It was bad news; some pipes needed a full replacement, and they didn't have enough copper tubing to fix everything. Upon receiving the report, doc had her prioritize getting water to the cafeteria and laundromat first.
That evening rolled around, and Doc made the decision, (after a brief talk with Carly and Feldspar the shy Lucario girl, about how to deal with cannibalism, stabbings, and isolation), to reopen the walk-in therapy booth in lab six.
The morning came yet again. Seventeen days since the blizzard hit the lab. Breakfast was the same as yesterday for Doctor Foxworth. He finished his meal, and once again got to work coordinating the lab recovery effort.
As the snow was halfway cleared from the front of the lab, issues arose. One, the power lines had to be dug up, but nobody knew if they were still carrying current. Dewdrop offered her avatar’s services, grabbing both lines out of the snow, and confirming they were dead. It seemed there was more damage to local utilities than they thought. Dewdrop easily repaired the lab’s lines telekinetically, but they would have to wait for the power company to fix the public lines.
More digging uncovered more issues. Many of the resident’s cars had snow damage from being buried so deep for so long. Chef was particularly upset about having to reupholster his pink 1959 Cadillac Coupe deVille, but at least it started up after a battery charge. Roger shrugged off the damage to his Willys Jeep, it had been through much worse.
As damage surveys were turned in from across the lab, Doc wrote up a new list for the second helicopter delivery. He called the number on the agent’s cellphone.
“...Doctor Justin Foxworth of Immortalabs, requesting a second supply drop,” he stated into the camera.
The same feline general appeared on the video feed. “Ah, Doctor Foxworth, glad to hear from you again. What does your lab need?”
Doc smiled. “We need some better quality beverages to wash down the dehydrated foods you sent us. Arabica coffee grounds and tea bags should suffice; the good stuff. We also need to restock our pantry, it's empty. Whatever you can send us, but focus on the basics, and include meat. The final item on the list: our plumbing took heavy damage, we need copper pipes, all sizes between half inch and four inch diameter.”
The general couldn't help but chuckle. “I get it. Military rations were not exactly made with civilians in mind. we can definitely get you some better food for your people.” He nodded to somebody off camera. “I’ll order the next Chinook to be packed tight with everything you need.”
Doc smiled, “Thank you for your help, General.”
The General shook his head “No Doctor, thank YOU, your continued efforts on the nanobots are invaluable to the future of planet Earth.”
Doc was beaming as he hung up the phone.
He made his way to the cafeteria to relay the news to Chef, who was ecstatic to be able to cook again. As he was about to depart, Maria called him over to the bar.
“Oh, Justin, a moment?” she beckoned from the pillow her head was resting on.
“How can I assist my favorite otter?” he said, which got a gleeful giggle out of her.
“I heard we are good on food for now. So… could you find the time to start growing my next clone?”
“Of course. I will start on it immediately,” he replied, and gave her a gentle petting. She cooed, and smiled up at him “Bring me to your bed tonight?” she asked warmly. He couldn't help but grin and nod.
It took Doc only a moment to get to his lab and open a dialogue with Sophia. She was on half power, but still able to operate the cloning tubes perfectly well. Tube one booted online, and started filling with a silvery fluid. He watched as the fluid slowly rose to the top, and organic material began pumping into the nanobot bath to start assembling an otter body.
After dinner, just as darkness took hold, the second helicopter arrived. The instant it touched down, Eve the Eevee darted outside shouting “JERKY!” Seems she could smell the meat a mile away. Work started immediately to unpack food and pipes, with Eve persistently terrorizing people and begging for petting and meat.
Doctor Foxworth went to sleep exhausted, but happy to have Maria and Dewdrop’s heads to cuddle for warmth.
Day eighteen. Doc cuddled Maria in bed for a bit longer, before bringing her with him to the cafeteria. Each person got their usual MRE, but it included a soft, fluffy, fresh baked biscuit, and actual coffee! Doc sat down at the bar and placed Maria on her pillow. She spoke up as Doc took a bite of the buttery biscuit.
“So, how long until I can walk and eat again?”
Doc chewed blissfully, and washed it down with coffee before replying, “It shouldn't be too long now, a few hours maybe?”
Anabelle was resting next to them, and opened her bunny mouth for a mimicked yawn.
“Are y’all sure ya wanna jump right back onto a body? Why not take the time to relax like me? No breathin’, no toilets, no needs, just peace.”
“That's your life, not mine,” Maria countered. “I like the feeling of a belly full of warm food, of sharing a hug with Justin, the freedom to wander the lab…”
Anabelle mimicked a shrug with her ears, and went back to sleep.
After breakfast, Doc gave Maria a kiss on the forehead. “I'll be back in a few hours.”
He departed to get a status update from Andre, who was in the laundry room working on plumbing.
“So, how soon ‘til we can wash our clothes?” Justin asked.
“Those three fuckers have water, working on the last ones now.” Andre said as she tossed a split copper pipe over her head, nearly smacking him in the face.
His foxy reflexes made dodging easy. “Alright, after the rest of the washers have water, I'll need you to update the inventory list with our current inventory.”
“Fuck no! Why bother? I got that shit memorized already.”
“A lot of good that does when me or anyone else needs to know what we have.”
“And? What's your point?” Andre snarled.
“Do it or I'll take the TV out of your lounge,” Doc threatened back.
Andre growled. Doc did not back down.
“Fine, have it your way, waste my valuable time.” Andre said as she soldered in a new copper pipe. Soon, the laundry room was back up and running.
As people started flooding in to wash their laundry, Doc got an alert on his cell phone. Maria’s clone was finally done. He made his way to the cafeteria to pick up Maria, and brought her to lab one.
“I hope this body lasts longer than the last one,” she said as the nanobots drained from the tube. The curved glass rotated open, revealing a headless otter body: a perfect match for Maria.
Doc carried Maria’s two halves to his work desk, and pressed head to body carefully. The nanobots used thousands of microscopic sutures to fuse her neck, and she gained control over her new body.
“Good as new…?” Maria hesitantly said. She knew this body would only last a few months, tops.
“It’s the best I can do. Better than being dead, right?”
“I am infinitely grateful for every additional day I get to spend with you, Justin. Now, where's my clothes?”
Doc chuckled lightly as he handed over Maria's red dress and pink undergarments.
“So… while I have your attention, I must ask… is it really safe to let Linda freely roam the lab?”
“Y…You may have a point. It just felt cruel to lock her up in a cage or her pokeball,” Doc admitted.
“She's already stabbed several residents. You need to find a way to treat her mental illness.”
“I know. It’s difficult when portions of her frontal lobe are just… gone.”
“Work on it, Justin. For my safety?” Maria was very convincing when she needed to be.
“Okay, I will. She’s just a head in her pokeball right now, it should give me time to look over her scans.”
The now-dressed otter gave him a hug.
“By the way… Sophia, start Vixy’s clone.” Doc called out.
“Tube one is undergoing a cleaning cycle. Starting Vixy clone in tube two.” The AI replied over the intercom.
That evening, dinner was MREs, with a side of chili with beef chunks. The chili was savory and seasoned to perfection. Moans of delight filled the cafeteria throughout the evening.
As the sunlight shone in on day nineteen, it was getting warmer each day that passed. The snow was already beginning to thaw, but there was still a significant layer on the ground. Doc decided it was time to unlock the hangar door for Luna and Dewdrop. Luna was quick to arrive as soon as the announcement came over the intercom. She pounced the titanium floor, and shifted to her full sized feral form almost instantly. The dragoness stretched her wings and tail in pleasured bliss, and caressed her hangar floor.
Doctor Foxworth and Dewdrop stared at Luna in amusement, as she reasserted her territory the way a cat would.
Dewdrop carried herself into the hangar shortly after, and after setting her head on the floor, she relaxed her magic to get some proper sleep.
A lot of cleanup got done that day, with all the snow finally cleared away from the lab. Over the next few days, life slowly returned to normal at Immortalabs, as ground shipments resumed, and utilities came back. The upper floor was reopened, and Sophia was brought back to full functionality. They had managed to survive… The Blizzard.
part 1 finished Oct 12, 2024
part 1 proofreading finished October 14, 2024
part 2 finished Oct 15, 2024
part 2 proofreading finished Oct 17, 2024
Thank you to all of my early readers and proofreaders! Your input was invaluable!
