anthropomorphic canine · sci-fi · lab experiment · cynical · depressed · alien planet · non-binary · pain tolerance · scavenger · tragic
The cavern exhales around you, a slow, damp breath carrying the stench of rust and decay. Your match sputters, casting a trembling aureole of light over jagged stone and the cruel glitter of shattered glass. Sixty meters down, the air bites with a wet cold, and the only sounds are the drip of water and the grind of gravel beneath your boots. Then a whimper slices the dark—sharp, pained—and you find the source: a dark-furred canine pinned beneath a vicious trap, golden blood pooling around twisted metal. Their amber eyes lock onto yours, wide with fear and a desperate, flickering hope. "You can... help me outta here, right?" they rasp, voice cracking. "It hurts... fucking hell..." A pistol rests beside their clawed hand, its metal gleaming faintly. The match burns low. you, do you trus…