FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

 'Uuuh...Where am I?' I opened my eyes.        Wait...this

bed feels so comfortable-like my bed at home.        Was

that just a dream?But, I'm

still wearing my uniform. I don't wear uniform at home. I looked to my side and

saw my cracked helmet, my M9, a few packets of rations, a pile of military

equipment and a cup of hot cocoa. It's still hot and steaming which means that

it had just been prepared by SOMEONE. My entire sensory organ turned on as I

swiftly reached for my combat knife and start scanning my surrounding. 

      "Whoa..." my jaw nearly drops. I craned my neck

to look at my surrounding. The wood-trunk-beamed ceiling was two storeys high,

held up by carved wooden wall. An assortment of hunting equipment and weapons

decorated the shelves at the walls. A timber made deck ringed the room, all

looking out to the ocean and the sandy beach. There's a fireplace beside me, a

cradle -made from a net- at a corner and two symmetrically aligned window on

each side of the house that display a breathtaking view of the sea-with a small

yacht- and a river. It's so amazing, so awesome and cool. Am I dreaming? 

      "So, you're awake?"My combat

instincts kicked in. Before I knew what was happening, I'd re-chambered my gun

and aimed at his head -actually, his chest. He's about eight feet tall [maybe a

bit higher], muscular, wearing a full-face reflective futureristic looking

helmet and metallic looking full-body suit [I wonder if it's bulletproof or not]

with a net wrapped around his body with seaweed, palm leaves, twigs, branches,

grass and vines -it's a ghillie suit. He had a variety of hunting equipment, a

bow, spears, machete and lots of other stuff on the floor around him. And he's

wet.

"Who

are you?" I demanded. "You must be 'The Mother' minions right? Or maybe a

search and hunt any survivor party? Looking after my crash site, digging

information, taking me as a HOSTAGE." I took a shot in the dark -a blind

guess."Hey, I'm

not a threat." He raised his arms and put his weapons aside. "Just a civilian.

Not a minion, enemy or what-so-ever." His words made me lowered my gun. I'm probably

inside his house anyway."Sorry...I-I-I

didn't' mean it. I'm just protecting m-"he held my arm in his huge palms."It's okay.

Take it easy. I don't mind... Well, if I were you, I would probably 'shoot

first, talk later'. Don't worry, I won't blame you." he replied.  I recognized

his hand. "Thanks for saving me" I said with a smile." You remember?""Well,

I remembered about a hand punching through my cockpit and based on the size,

your knuckles and....Wait, that cockpit is bulletproof. How do you punch a

bulletproof glass with just one punch?""Here, let

me check something" he flashed a flashlight towards my eye and observed

closely. I could see a clear reflection of my shrinking pupil on his visor. "Good.

No signs of concussion.'' he tried to change the topic by making a diagnosis on

me. I saw something moving at his back. And he tried to HIDE it behind the

shelves."What's

that?" I pointed towards his back."N-n-Nothing"

he stammered as he scratched his neck and turned away from my gaze. Obviously,

he's lying through his teeth."Don't

hide anything from me. It's good to get something off your chest. You know that

you can't hide something forever. Whatever the thing behind your back is...

well, it's just a matter of time before I figured it out myself.""Okay,

okay. Just don't... And don't freak out. You asked for this." he said as

he undone his ghllie suit and turn his back on me to put his equipment on the

wall.I'm stunned.

"Y-y-You have a t-TAIL? I managed."Yup!"

he replied while moving his tail side by side as he walks. A one and a half

meter long grey and shiny looking shark's tail, right there attached to his

back -to be precise at the end of his spine. I gave him a 'What the hell is

that?' look."No.

No. No. That can't be a real tail. You're an actor aren't you? Or a stunt

double... This must be some sort of prank, a TV show or a film... that must be

prosthetic right?" I laughed. "I'm fully awake now. You can't fool

me.""Prosthetic...!"

He sounds amused as his helmet automatically retracted itself. My heart skipped

a beat...or two because he has a head of a SHARK. No kidding, the whole head. I

can't find the line between reality and imagination. Maybe I'm just hallucinating

or drugged or maybe he's wearing a High Definition Mask like the one used in

movies.Although,

well... shark faced, he's drop-dead gorgeous. It's hard to accurately describe

'shark face', imagine staring at a wood axe from the front. That's it. Except

for, it's a bit wider, decorated with a friendly simile [NOT a smile of a

KILLER] and warm emerald green eyes. Somehow, that shark face makes him looks

cute, friendly and like an awesome big guy. His green eyes combined with his

handsome shark face and greyish, muscular body gives him the image of a

mythical god. If he ever holds a trident or carved with ancient symbols, I'm

pretty sure that I'm never gonna look at Poseidon or Anubis the same way again.

I mean, those gods are supposed to look old or have weird animal head. But,

this guy in front of me shows no signs of going wrinkly and he's really

handsome -not weird. I stared at him for the whole 30 seconds and luckily, I

managed not to drool and well...be cool. Yeah, be cool.

"No.

No. NO! That can't be real. It must be plastic. You're wearing a costume."

I managed as my mind raced with possibilities. There's must be a logical

explanation (to that face and other awesome features).His eyes

widen with surprise. Maybe he's surprised why I didn't bolt for the nearest

exit (the window)."You

think this is a costume?" He fixed his gaze straight at me. "Tell me,

what kind of actor that would stay wet in his costume in the storm." He said

as he reached for a towel nearby."Well,

maybe the storm begins quite suddenly..." My brain raced to find an idea.

"And you don't have time to change your costume."He chuckled.

"If this is costume, I would have changed to something more 'normal' when

I hear even the first thunder.""Anyway,

if you still didn't believe me. You could check this 'costume' by

yourself" he said as he moved closer to me. Did he raise one of his eyebrows?

It's hard to tell with shark. "It's okay. I don't bite." he said as he

kneeled in front of me. "Imagine someone saying your skin is plastic" he

muttered under his breath.I begin to

touch his skin. It felt surprisingly warm. I start bringing his face closer to

me and saw the fine details on his skin. He's still quite tall so, I need to

stand. From this point of view, he looks very real and alive. "Well, you look

quite alive." I said as I turn his face from side to side and trying to find

the signs of makeup or holographic display or synthetic skin. I begin to touch

his gills. They seem alive, moist and functional. It must be a high

technological mask. I begin to scratch the lower part of his neck to find the

edge of his mask but ended up tickling him instead."Hey, stop

it... It tickles laugh. Its real skin, okay" he tried to hold his laugh "So, what

are you actually? Where do you come from? If you are a fish, how do you breathe?

Why did you-""Shh...

Could you ask me those questions one by one? You're really a verbal freight

train aren't you?"I grinned. I

know it's wrong to storm him with questions but he's really interesting. Just

can't help it. Being in the military and with the whole unknown flying object

conflict makes you miss the moment where you could sit around and chat -without

a Kevlar still strapped to your chest."Sorry..." I

cleared my throat. "Just can't help it. You're very interesting.""Any more

compliment?""No. You

silly.""Okay, first

question. What-I mean-who are you? "A kinda failed experiment. Long...story. I'll

tell you tomorrow, I promise. Before this, I'm a human too." He grinned as he

paced towards the window, looking at the stars."So, if

you're a human, what is your name?""Hmm...

Actually I didn't really remember my name but... I remember one word. BANE.""So, Bane, How

do you breathe? I mean on land. I didn't see your chest movement""Bane? I like

that. Just never thought it as a name before." he smiled. "I got gills and... a

pair of lungs. The gills still work on land cause it's moist."I traced my

hand down to his neck. His skin feels smooth when you're going from head to

tail but feels like sandpaper when you're going the other way around. "Careful,

those could cut" he said to me. I make a mental note: If you want to pet a

shark, make sure you go from head to tail. I noticed a sharp edge running from his wrist to

his elbow -leftover of uhh...a pair of pectoral fin. "Are these sharp as a

knife?" I asked. "Yup, I've use it as an axe to make this house" he grinned.

"And... don't touch my tail. It's quite sensitive.'' He chuckled. "My fifth

limb.""Tell me

more about yourself." he asked as he roasts some kind of birds at the

fireplace. "All I know is that your name is Alex."How do you

know about my name?""Duh. It's

on your uniform... and I used that radio over there to listen and pick your

last coordinates." He pointed to a table near the window."Bane""Hmm""Do you know

what happened to my squad after I... well, you know." I made a mushroom cloud

gesture with my hand. I felt a sudden tug of responsibility and care."Well...

they couldn't find the signals from your plane, obviously didn't hear your last

coordinate, thought you were dead and flew away." He paused. "Then, I decided

to check your crash site."'Every cloud

has a silver linings' my mom voice echoed inside my head. Being considered dead

have its perk. No more work, no hectic daily routine and a free vacation on an

island with this dude at my side. God, he's such a hunk. Wait...why I'm

fantasying about him again. I tried to put those annoying thought aside by

finishing my drink. "Wow, you

must be a good runner, Bane."I tried to break the silence."Actually, I

swim. You're about 1000 meters away. I arrived in about a minute. So, I must be

around 60 kilometers per hour." he said while proudly wagging his hail."You are

such a show offer, aren't you?" I smirked."Said the

one who's 'good' at evasion and then...Boom!" he mumbled."I HEARD

THAT, BANE" I snapped."Anyway, thank you for being there when I need you. I

mean it. I owe you my life. So, could I help you out with dinner?""Sure! But

first, I need you to wash that cup at the sink. Make sure you pump up the water

first. Then, you could help me with dinner. These roasted birds are almost

done. How about porridge." He suggested."That's

good. But, I think it'll be easier if you use this ration" I tossed him a

packet of MRE (Meals Ready to Eat). "You know that... you sound like my mom" I

chuckled."You have a

family?" he sounds excited as he stared at me. I'm surprised."Yeah. Of

course I have one. Why?" His face rippled with joy."Can I meet

them one day?! I've forgot how it feels like to have a family again.""Sure. Actually,

I do plan to get you out of this lonely island. Maybe, we could go to my house

in Waikiki." He gave me a smile. I've never see him so at ease, so pleased. I

ended up telling him about my life, my two big bro, my little sister how I

became a pilot (It starts from my dad).            The rain has stopped when I start to

cook the MRE -its spaghetti and meatballs inside [Yum]. Then, I saw something

strange outside, a cylindrical object stuck on one of the huge branches of this

tree house. It has huge parachutes jutting out from it that is used to make the

roof of this house.

"What's

that?" I asked Bane. Apparently, he had appeared beside me wearing an urban

cameo tank top and a pair of blue jeans that fit him perfectly. Except for his

height, tail and face... I almost forgot that he's not completely human."That's a

dropshot. Umm... how do I explain? Basically an ejection pod. I told you that I

came from a lab.""A dropshot?

Drop from where? Space?" I laughed.His eyes

widened. "That's true. How do you-""What! So,

you came from a lab in SPACE? But, that's impossible.""Not really.

It's called low orbit... I'll tell you tomorrow. It's a very long story.""Where's

your silvery suit.""I leave it

to dry. It's a nanosuit. I use it while hunting because it covers my traces of

heat and smell. You know that it's hard to hunt, even a pigeon, when you're

three meter tall. Anyway, those wild bird are ready." He points to the

fireplace."Okay. Let's

have dinner. I guess the spaghetti is well cooked. You want some?""No. Thanks."

We sat down on a table and had our dinner. Based on the food he ate, I

concluded that Bane is a meat lover. He ate a bit of vegetables though because

he's partially human. Well, having dinner with a humanoid shark really sounds

weird but he's a very polite gentleman -or a 'gentle shark', I guess."I am very

surprised to your reactions when you saw my face. I mean, I bet that most

people would have run away." He begins. "I thought that you're gonna bolt for

the nearest exit but... why didn't you do that?""Hmm..." I

cleared my throat trying not to blush and say that he gorgeous or hot or

something and I had started to have feelings for him. I know it sounds weird

but, I have no luck with girls anyway. "Pick your reasons. Maybe I just wanna

say thanks." "So, thank you." I smiled and waved my hand at him. "Or maybe

because you're not really scary or... do you know that I'm a very brave

person?"He laughed.

I always love his laugh that seems to echo throughout the room.We shared

our jokes and chat at the table ignoring the flow of time as we emptied our

plates. It's the best dinner that I had ever had. After that, I went to the

sink to wash my wooden bowl. "You know that this house, its furniture, water

system, electricity and everything... is just great. I wonder how you built all

this. I wish I have free electricity and no water cuts at home.""Well, I'm a

natural engineer. Back when I was still human I've build a backup generator for

my home and rebuild my basement so that it became a military grade bunker. I

guess I've watched too many zombie movies." He chuckled. "The water came from a

nearby stream. Oh, I love that stream -refreshing water, lots of fishes. The

electricity came from that dropshot. It has solar panel, a backup battery and a

radioisotope thermoelectric generator."

He points to the dropshot outside."So...where

do you gonna sleep tonight? On the bed, the couch or maybe on the floor?""I'll take

the couch. I love the view of the sea."I replied."Hmm...

Okay. I'll take the net." He said as he climbed onto 'the net' - it's a

makeshift net/cradle hanging at the corner of the room. "I can't sleep on a bed

because of 'fin-at- the back' issue.I went to

the couch and sat on it. It felt comfortable. With a cool breeze, the smell of

the sea and the moonlight it's perfect. I took a look at Bane. He looks very

funny when he sleeps -with his tail dangling on the floor and his fin sprouting

from the net not to mention his opened mouth. I giggled. I hope he didn't

snore. I waited for a while. He didn't. Good."Good night,

Bane."I lied down onto my new bed and closed my eyes as tiredness washed over me. One hell of a day...!