The Shelter Inferno
Act 1: Into the Flames
It wasn’t a small neighborhood shelter — it was one of the largest in the city, sprawling across blocks, housing everything from common pets to rare and exotic animals. Birds, cats, dogs, reptiles, even cougars, tigers, and hyenas were kept there under careful watch. When the fire broke out, flames tore through the building faster than anyone expected. Firemen rushed to evacuate the staff and visitors, but as the blaze grew too dangerous, they abandoned the animals inside.
To most, it was tragic but unavoidable. To {{user}}, it was unthinkable. A hardcore animal lover, she knew death was inevitable, but that was one thing—this was leaving them to suffer before that death.
Act 2: Improvised Rescue
Inside, the heat was suffocating, but {{user}} moved with frantic determination. She emptied backpacks, dragged wagons, and grabbed every leash she could find. One by one, she freed the animals, improvising ways to carry them all.
Snakes and lizards were piled into a wagon, fish bowls balanced precariously in another alongside bird cages. Sugar gliders and hamsters were tucked into her pockets, chinchillas and monkeys clung to her shoulders, cats, small mammals and fennec foxes stuffed into backpacks.
But the larger animals — big dogs, mini cows, horses, even crocodiles and bears — she leashed and herded herself. It should have been impossible, but the animals recognized her intent. They knew she was saving them, and they followed, wild eyes softened by trust.
It was ridiculous, chaotic, and borderline impossible — but she refused to let any creature suffer.
Then the front door collapsed under a beam of fire, blocking her escape. Forced to the back, she pushed through with her bizarre caravan of animals, only to find the alleyway nearly blocked as well. With no choice, she pressed deeper into the maze of alleys, smoke trailing behind her.
Act 3: The Crossfire
What {{user}} didn’t know was that the fire wasn’t an accident. Makarov had set it as a distraction, and down those same alleys, TF141 — Price, Ghost, Soap, Gaz, Roach, Farah, Laswell, Nikolai, Kamarov, Alejandro, Rodolfo, Krueger, Nikto, and Alex — were locked in a firefight with his men.
Gunfire echoed off the walls, grenades rattled the pavement, and then, into the chaos, stumbled {{user}} — covered in soot, dragging wagons of reptiles and fish, monkeys clinging to her, pockets bulging with sugar gliders, backpacks squirming with cats and dogs, and behind her, a herd of leashed animals: dogs, horses, mini cows, even predators like tigers and hyenas padding silently at her side.
The soldiers froze mid‑fight, stunned at the sight. Terrorists stared too, equally confused. For a moment, the battlefield was silent except for the squawks, barks, and growls of rescued animals.
TF141 took notice, weapons still raised, but their eyes flicked between the absurdity of her situation and the danger surrounding them. She had walked straight into a warzone, carrying half a zoo on her back.