You were surprised when you had gotten the call. It had been months since you last heard from him, and you weren't exactly sure as to when you would get in contact with him again. However, as you packed a bit of luggage, you had a small smile on your face. It had been ages since Davur had contacted you, and you weren't going to risk losing contact with him again.
You hadn't heard from him every since the end of college, when he had signed up for some experiment or another. The entire thing had been very secretive, and you weren't sure about the details, but you weren't going to miss a chance to see the dragon. You were just glad for the chance to see your friend again.
It was surprising that the two of you had ever struck up a friendship. The only reason the two of you began talking to one another was because he had collided with you in the hallway while he was in a rush. It was quite something when you crashed into the biggest dragon at the school. It was a rather rough first impression for the two of you, and you weren't quite sure what to make of it when you saw the large red splotch on his white scales and light shirt. As you picked yourself up, you It only took the two of you a few moments to figure out that while there wasn't any serious injury, you had gotten a bit of a nosebleed. The mess had been enough to make him worry, and he had taken you back to his place until he was sure that you were okay.
You weren't even sure how things had progressed from that stage. Although he always had plenty of people surrounding him and talking to him, and he was always busy at the gym, the two of you just bumped into each other enough for things to start progressing. You had gotten into the habit of carrying a small snack with you, and he was always a voracious eater. From there on, whenever you bumped into one another, it always seemed like the two of you had a few minutes to sit down and chat while he ate.
That was hardly enough for a stable friendship. But during those few conversations, you learned a lot more about him. Of course, he was working towards being a bodybuilder, but how he was trying to get a degree in physics just because he wanted a backup. On how he was determined to go through the entire thing on his own cash, which made it tough for him to really go out around the town. Even on how he was the first one in his family to really be out on his own. It wasn't a whole lot that was unusual, but you listened, and he just seemed happy that he had someone who was listening.
Things had just kept moving on from there. He invited you over a couple of times, and even though all the two of you did was just chat or watch TV, you had gotten used to each other. You had even accompanied him to the gym a few times, though it was painfully clear that you would have a lot of difficulty keeping up with him. Even with that, he was satisfied with you just trying to help him out. He always had a few eyes on him when he worked out, and after a while, you were one of them. But despite that, it amazed you that despite there being much stronger people around, he usually asked you to help spot him or to keep an eye on him.
It was only a couple of years before two of you had become close friends. During your third year, the two of you had moved in together, and had taken care of one another. During that time, he seemed to work even harder. You didn't quite understand it. To you, he had always looked fine. He was easily the biggest person in the school, and everybody knew it. You had to admit that when you saw him coming back from a workout, or walking around without a shirt, he looked amazing. He had always laughed it off whenever he caught you looking, and though you were a little embarrassed, he had made sure that you were never intimidated.
Over the next couple of years, he kept working out and kept growing, and you were always the first to see it. Though he could easily get into almost every athletic team. Instead, he rejected them just to continue working on his body. He attracted plenty of attention, and you still remember hearing him talking about a few offers he had gotten once he had graduated. By then, the two of you had planned on being roommates if he was offered a job close to yours.
However, that changed right before graduation. He had suddenly gotten an offer from some secretive scientific clinic, and he accepted it without a second thought. You still remember his expression upon reading the offer. His grin easily stretched along the full length of his muzzle, and he looked like he'd punch a hole through the ceiling if he tried to jump for joy. The offer that he had received didn't pay as much, but something about it made him simply ecstatic.
You were a little disappointed that he'd be going away, but you weren't going to let that get in the way when he was that excited. The two of you had split off since then, and you had settled into your new office job. Things had been calm, and while it was difficult to bear it, you were satisfied with life in general.
But ever since that time, it was nearly impossible to get any details about him. He had only occasionally managed to get a couple of calls through to you, and they were always brief and vague. He couldn't ever talk about the details, and could only tell you not to worry. This time, however, things were different.
You weren't exactly sure what to make of it. Somehow, he had gotten you a chance to visit him. You weren't sure exactly what changed, but it was quite clear that something had changed. It was difficult for you to make out how he was feeling just from his voice. He seemed oddly subdued as he spoke. You would've though he would be in high spirits after confirming the visit, but it was nearly impossible for you to hear his tone of voice. You had to wonder exactly what happened, but as you drove out onto the location he had provided, you were just excited to see him.
As you drove, it was slowly becoming clear why Davur had such a difficult time getting in contact with you. You had to travel over numerous side roads to attempt to follow his direction, and after a certain point, you were driving upon dirt paths in order to try to follow along. If there was anything out here, it clearly wasn't a place that many people visited.
However, you had to gape when you arrived. The building that you saw was an enormous, sturdy construction, and the place felt like there were room for thousands. There were a few security gates, and you couldn't easily get a good view into it. However, near the front, you could see a security camera hooked up near a speaker.
You weren't really certain what to do, so you simply parked the car and walked up near the front gate. You pressed the button, shifting a little awkwardly as you waited. However, you soon heard a fuzzy crackle from the speaker, followed by someone's voice.
“Pretret?”
You turned a little, looking at the camera, but giving a small nod. “Y-yes, that's me. I'm here to visit Davur... He arranged for everything, right?”
Your response was an awkward silence. But before you could speak again, you received a small confirmation from the speaker. “Someone will be there to escort you in.”
The gate opened slowly, making you swallow a little as you waited. You heard a slight rumble as the steel door pulled off to the side, a ferret in a lab coat nodding as he walked out.
“You can leave your things in the car for now. Come with me.” He only gave you a slight glance before starting to walk the other way, forcing you to run a little to catch up and keep pace. If he noticed, he didn't think much about it. He simply spoke as he walked onwards. “There are a few checkpoints to make sure that you wouldn't be a security risk. As you've probably guessed, this is a rather private facility. You're only here on Davur's request.”
You weren't sure exactly what that meant. Did Davur really become someone who had enough influence to get you into a place like this? You weren't sure what happened over the last couple of years, but there really wasn't anything for you to say at this stage. You figured you'd have to ask him yourself when you saw him. You had to wonder as you passed through all of the security and were guided down a few halls.
However, you would soon find out exactly what had happened to him...
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