by Tom Jones
FALLEN
WORLD
The Complete Trilogy
Trilogy by:
Tom Jones
Book One
FALLEN WORLD
“Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” - Jesus Christ
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” - Jesus Christ
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” - Jesus Christ
Chapter 1
Escape from Las Vegas
“Alpha One-Actual, we have moved into our position overlooking the hotel-casino, over.” The radio sounded within the SUV. The man in the passenger seat flipped down the microphone on his headset and spoke into the mouthpiece, “Copy. We are almost at our destination. Arcades is going to deploy at approximately twenty zero one zero hours. Synchronize your watches when we give the signal. Over.” The man waited for a response which was delivered promptly, “Affirmative. Alpha Two will remain on standby. Out.”
The man flipped up his microphone, and he turned to face the third occupant of the vehicle which was seated in the passenger's seat. “You ready to get going, Arcades?” The occupant, designated callsign as Arcades, nodded. He was not like the others in the vehicle, and he was not even a human. Arcades was a member of the species Anthro sapiens, which was a race much like human beings, but shared certain characteristics with canines and felines. Arcades was part of the canoid racial division, more specifically, he was a fox.
“I’ll be ready as soon as we arrive at the hotel-casino,” Arcades confirmed with the man in the passenger seat. The passenger decided it would be a good time to review the mission with Arcades, though the fox already knew what the mission was. “Remember, you’re going in with nothing on you. We can’t afford to have you caught by security on the ground floor. Get to the eighth floor and use the keycard that we gave you. We had an inside man stash your equipment in one of the drawers. When you get the equipment, open the blinds and confirm with us via the radio that is in the drawer with your stuff. Then, we will proceed with phase two of the operation.” Arcades listened patiently as he took another look at the keycard that he was carrying. The card appeared to be the same as any other keycard that guests at the hotel-casino would be carrying. Arcades opened the thigh pocket on his Multicam Black pants, and he placed the keycard in before closing the velcro pocket. The fox’s black clothing matched with his dark gray and light gray fur. Unlike other red foxes, Arcades’ main coat was a dark shade of gray, which many took for being black. However, he still had a very light shade of gray that went down his muzzle and continued to his chest which added further contrast to his fur color.
The fox adjusted the low-profile kneepads which were held in by more velcro inside the dedicated slots on his pants. He then made sure that his black shirt was still tucked into his pants, though not many would care about this small detail. He looked out of the window of the SUV, and he watched all of the people walking down the busy Las Vegas streets. Most of the pedestrians were humans, but there were still some anthros walking down the street. Many humans did not like anthros, and anthros were commonly denied service in many establishments. This was nothing new to the fox, as that’s the way society had been when humans and anthros started coexisting together. As he was looking at the people walking the streets, Arcades could feel the SUV making a turn. The gray fox brought his attention to a KRISS Vector chambered in .45 ACP that was strapped behind the driver’s seat. He knew that if things were to go south, then he would have the means to defend himself once he got back to the vehicle.
However, Arcades despised the very thought of having to shoot someone. Almost everyone that he knew also knew that fact about him as well, even though the fox did not directly say this to people too often. The driver of the SUV took a right turn, and the human spoke to Arcades, “Alright boss, we’re here. Sniper team is in place overlooking the hotel-casino. You have one hour to give us the signal to start phase two. If you don’t signal us in that timeframe, then the mission will be aborted, and none of us want that to happen. We don’t want to have to attract more attention than we already could potentially have. Good luck.”
The SUV came to a slow stop, and Arcades unbuckled his seatbelt. He opened the door, and he slowly stepped out of the vehicle. He immediately felt the difference between a carpet floor and pavement under his bare feet. Some anthros did not wear shoes, and Arcades was one of those anthros. The fox closed the door behind him, and he watched as the dark gray Toyota 4Runner that he was riding in began to accelerate away from him. The fox then looked at the door of the hotel-casino and approached it when he began walking at a steady pace. Several humans were leaving the casino, but some other humans were also coming inside of the casino. They were hoping to strike rich by gambling in a place nicknamed ‘Sin City’. Arcades knew why the city was nicknamed such, and he disliked the fact that people would be proud to nickname a city as such. Pushing the main entrance doors open, Arcades was immediately hit by the distinct smell of cigarette smoke. The smell was so strong, that it almost made his eyes begin to water.
However, the fox remembered what his mission was. He stood back and took in the surroundings of the lobby. Many humans and anthros were playing on gambling machines, while others were sitting at tables playing Blackjack and Poker. Arcades moved slowly down the gambling hall and was looking around for any details that aroused suspicion to him. The fox soon remembered why he had to go in with no weapons. He had to pass the casino floor in order to get to the elevators on the other side of the gambling hall. He knew that this design choice was intentional, as the owners of a hotel-casino would surely want people to spend their money gambling before going to their room. Arcades walked by a human wearing a yellow ‘SECURITY’ shirt and noticed that the human was looking at him. Arcades then remembered that he was a fox and that many humans did not trust foxes. It was another fact of life that the fox just had to live with.
When Arcades finally made his way through the busy gambling hall, he approached a group of elevators and stood next to an elevator that had the descending symbol lit up. A human woman was standing outside of the elevator and was already waiting for it to reach the ground floor. As the fox stood behind the woman, he turned around to get another glimpse of the casino. Many of the gamblers were humans, but some of them were surprisingly anthros. However, Arcades noticed that he was likely one of the only foxes in the casino, so he now made it a priority to draw the least amount of attention to himself as possible. Most of the anthros were feloids, with only a few of the anthros being canoids. The few canoids that were at the casinos were wolves, which was one of the larger subraces of canoids. Arcades did not remember how many vulpoids, or other foxes, were still in the world.
Arcades heard the dinging noise of the elevator as it reached the ground floor. Arcades turned around to face the elevator, and he stepped aside in order for the five occupants of the elevator to disembark. Four of them were humans, but one of them was an anthro tiger. Arcades allowed the woman to enter the elevator first before stepping in himself. Arcades grabbed his black tail that was tipped with white fur in order to ensure that it would not get stuck in the elevator door. He knew a few anthros who managed to get their tails stuck in an elevator door, and they learned their lesson fairly quickly. The woman pushed the button on the elevator for the sixth floor. Once she moved away from the button panel, Arcades pressed the button for the eighth floor. After the elevator sat idle for a pre-programmed amount of time, the doors began to close automatically, and
the elevator started to ascend.
The woman stood in front of Arcades, and she did not even bother to look at him. The fox assumed that she had her own business to attend to, as he knew that the city was quite lively during the night. He looked at his black furred hand and then grabbed his foot to examine his sole to make sure that he did not step on anything in the gambling hall. Arcades flexed his four toes, and he brushed dirt off his black pawpads with the back of his hand. Anthros had five fingers like humans did, but only had four-toed feet. Anthros only had pads on their toes and the balls of their feet as their heels did not have any padding. Anthros also had pads on the tips of their fingers as well as pads on the upper part of their palms. Anthros and humans had very similar looking hands, but their feet were somewhat different mainly because anthros had one less digit on each foot. Anthros were still plantigrade much like humans were as well.
After finishing brushing off his feet, Arcades noticed that the elevator had now arrived at the sixth floor. The elevator made a ding, and the door promptly opened to reveal a hotel room floor. The woman began to disembark the elevator after the doors locked in their open position. As she was doing so, Arcades said, “Have a good night,” to which he received no response. Once the woman had exited the elevator, Arcades leaned forward to press the button to close the elevator. Arcades was a tall fox; he stood at six feet even. Many humans were shorter than he was, and his ears made him appear to be even taller. However, the ears of anthros did not count to their actual height when measurements were done. The elevator finally began to ascend again, and Arcades pulled on his belt to make sure that his pants were not slipping down his slim waist. When he finished, Arcades went to go check the time, but he quickly remembered that all he brought was an ID card and the keycard for the hotel room.
The fox heard another ding, and he glanced at the display above the elevator buttons. The display showed the number eight, and Arcades knew that he was at the floor that he needed to be on. The doors opened, and Arcades stepped from the cold elevator floor onto the rather comfortable carpet. Arcades smirked slightly, and he was glad to finally be standing on something that felt comfortable under his feet. The fox took a look around the area outside of the elevators, and he noticed that nobody was around. He removed his keycard from his pocket, and he looked at the number that was written on the keycard in marker. ‘Eight-eight-six-five’ the fox read the numbers out in his head and then walked into the hallway to look for his correct room.
As he walked down the hallway, Arcades noticed that the room numbers were too high to be the room he was looking for. The fox turned in order to begin moving down a different hallway, but now the numbers were far too low to be the correct room. However, the numbers were ascending and they were becoming closer and closer to the correct room number that the fox was seeking out. Arcades finally noticed the correct room in the middle of the hallway. Arcades held up his keycard again in order to confirm the numbers matched, and then he stepped up in front of the door once he finished. Arcades did walk past a man travelling down the other side of the hallway, but thought nothing of it since the human looked just like any other civilian.
Finally ready to enter the room, the fox inserted the keycard into the slot above the door handle, and the small light on the door handle went from red to green. Arcades then grabbed the door handle, and he could feel as the door electronically unlocked itself . The fox pushed the door handle in and gently opened the door. He used his foot in order to help himself push the door open while grabbing the door frame with his left hand as he pushed the door with his right hand. Once Arcades held the door open for himself, he placed his keycard back into his pocket as he would no longer need to use it for the mission.
Suddenly, Arcades saw something approaching fast in his peripheral vision. A human hand grabbed Arcades’ muzzle and wasted no time clamping it shut. The fox could then feel himself being forced into the room while that same human grabbed his left arm. Arcades grunted from the sudden movements, and he was completely caught off guard from what just happened. Once forced inside the room, the fox heard the door close behind him, but he was still being held by an unknown assailant. Arcades attempted to speak, but he was still unable to open his mouth due to the human grasping it shut. Arcades was then pushed against the closet door in the hotel room, and he grunted again as the assailant pushed his torso into the closet door. When the fox attempted to struggle, the attacker responded by grabbing his wrist tighter and twisting his arm upwards to ensure compliance. Arcades finally heard a male voice speak, “Listen up, I’m only going to say this once. You’re going to give me your right hand, and you are not going to speak when I release your muzzle. Is that clear?” The fox reluctantly grunted before indicating an affirmative response by nodding his head.
The fox slowly moved his right hand behind his back, and he could feel both of his wrists being pinned behind his back with one hand. Since Arcades’ wrists were very thin, the human was able to easily hold the fox’s wrists together. Once the assailant had control, he spoke again, “Alright. I’m going to release your muzzle now. Don’t try anything funny and don’t scream or shout.” The attacker slowly released his grip on Arcades’ mouth, and the fox rested his head against the closet door. The fox complied with the human’s order to stay quiet. He then heard a distinct metallic rattling which he knew previously, and the fox felt the familiar sensation of handcuffs being applied to his wrists. Arcades knew this feeling all too well, and this was far from his first time being restrained in handcuffs. He relaxed his hands, and he turned his head to the side in an attempt to view his assailant.
“Alright fox, I know you’re not a guest at this hotel. You’re going to tell me what you’re here to do,” the assailant said as he patted down Arcades for weapons. However, the human did a poor job of searching Arcades, for he completely missed the ZAK Tools handcuff key that Arcades always carried with him along with differently shaped handcuff keys. Once the human had finished searching the anthro, he grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face forwards. Arcades sat down on his knees, and he attempted to get into a comfortable position. He grabbed his fairly bushy tail with his restrained hands, and the fox pushed it off of the soles of his feet.
Arcades turned his head and looked at the cuffs which he was restrained in. He immediately felt relief inside as he recognized the black and silver color scheme of the metal restraints. Arcades identified the cuffs as being standard ASP chain-linked handcuffs. His key would be able to open the cuffs if he was put into a situation in which he would have to do so. However, Arcades felt that he would be able to resolve the conflict peacefully. The fox then noticed that the cuffs were not double-locked; he noticed that the double-lock pin was not pushed down to properly engage the double-lock. Arcades looked past the cuffs, and he looked at his soles. He moved his tail off his soles again the best he could, but some fur was still slightly tickling his feet.
“Alright, first off.. Who are you supposed to be?” When Arcades heard the human speak, he directed his attention to the man. Arcades thought for a moment what to say, “My name’s Kurt. Kurt Hofmeier is my full name. However, many people call me Saint Arcades.” The human displayed a puzzled look on his face before continuing, “Saint? What?” The fox nodded his head, “Yeah, that’s right. You see, I’m a born again Christian, so I can call myself a saint. The New Testament mentions the word ‘saint’ sixty times.” The man paused again before saying, “What are you-? What are you doing in Vegas? You know, they call this place Sin City for a reason. Don’t you know that?” Arcades looked up at his captor and said, “Yeah, I do know that. But, I have a job to do here.” Arcades eyed the Glock G17 which was held in his captor’s holster, but he could not tell what organization the man belonged to. One handgun is not enough to determine this. The fox watched the man move over to the door, and he looked out the peephole. As he was looking through the hole, he asked, “How many people came with you here?” Arcades waited for the man to look at him again before he a
nswered the question, “I’m the only one here.” Arcades did not lie to the man, but the human still did not believe him. Part of the reason was due to the fact that Arcades was a fox.
“No, something’s not right. You’re a fox. You’ve gotta be lying to me,” the human said in disbelief as he unholstered his G17. Arcades noticed the firearm and said, “No, please. I promise you, there is nobody else in this hotel that’s with me. You can put that G17 away.” The human paused again, and he briefly examined the slide on his handgun. He saw that the slide did indeed read ‘GLOCK 17 Gen5 AUSTRIA 9X19’. The human shook his head in disbelief before saying, “How did you know what model this gun is?” Arcades gave another honest response, “I can identify it just by looking at it. Glock G-series handguns are pretty easy to visually identify.” The man holstered his handgun, and Arcades asked, “Do you have a name I can call you?” Arcades’ captor waited a moment while he considered if he should tell the fox his name, “My name’s Johnny. You can call me that I guess. Wait, how do I know you didn’t lie about your name?” Arcades provided an answer to Johnny’s question, “I have an ID card in my right thigh pocket. You can take a look at it if you don’t believe me.” The fox sat up on his knees, and he allowed his captor to remove the ID card from the pocket. After Johnny was finished, Arcades rested back on his knees. He was practically sitting on his soles at this point.
Johnny examined Arcades’ identification card. Johnny looked at the fox’s photo, and he compared it to the captive fox which he had kneeling right in front of him. Johnny dropped the ID card on the desk after he was done before he said, “Well, it looks like Kurt Hofmeier is indeed your name, according to your ID. But, how can I be sure that you’re not lying to me? You are a fox.” Arcades continued making eye contact with Johnny as he began to continue speaking to the human, “Well, do you want me to tell you some truth?” Johnny concealed his handgun with his gray jacket and replied, “Sure fox. Tell me something true.” Arcades smiled before saying, “Around two thousand years ago, a man named Jesus Christ of Nazareth was sent to this earth by God the Father in order to die for everyone’s sins, so that all may be forgiven. You and I broke God’s law, and Jesus paid the price for that. Now, even foxes can be Saints. I don’t want you to forget that.”