FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2 - Crash and Burn

The bright white walls and floors bounced every inch of light around the airport, making everything much brighter than it should be. Leo walked away from the security checkpoint with his gray, rolling carry-on trailing behind him and his bright orange laptop bag slung over his right shoulder. He had just waved goodbye to his parents, who he wasn't going to see in person in quite some time. It was hard for him to see his mom in such a wreck too. It took every ounce of him to not stop and head back to them.

His heart was beating so fast he was surprised he was still alive. His paws were sweating as he held onto the plastic black handle of his suitcase. Music was one of the things that could distract him. He reached up and plucked his earbuds out of their magnetic holder that hung around his neck. He placed it into his ears and waited for the Bluetooth to connect. After a few second he was finally able to play music. He already had a playlist of music queued up. He hit play and the song, Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down came on.

His music selection was very wide; just about anything really. He had video game and movie soundtracks along with pop, alternative, rock, country, and rap, anything he found an interest in. He also enjoyed singing along more often than not. He didn't think he was a bad singer, but also not the best. He only sang when he was alone, usually in the car or his bedroom.

Leo bobbed his head up and down a bit with the music and he finally made it to his gate. He found an open seat and sat down. He rolled his suitcase close to himself and propped his legs up onto it, making himself a bit more comfortable. Leo wasn't one to try and put others out, so he tried to make himself as compact as possible, not sticking his legs out into the walkway or where someone can bump into him. His feet bobbed around to the beat of the music.

The music continued to play as the Husky sat there observing everything and everyone. He watched as furs walked around the airport, getting onto their planes or just getting off. It was still a bit early in the morning but, the foot traffic through the terminal was picking up by the second. He kept looking around to help keep his mind occupied and off the fact he was leaving home.

After almost 20 minutes his plane was finally starting to board. Leo's heart rate had calmed down and he himself was starting to calm down. He was ready to get on the plane but, still terrified of the unknown. After another ten minutes Leo was finally on the sky bridge to get on the plane. The line took a while due to furs finding their seats and trying to stow their carry-ons. Leo didn't fly a lot but, he flew enough to know to have things ready and be efficient. He was always organized and efficient.

Once he finally entered the plane it was a little cool with the air conditioning blowing. There were pink and purple lights on in the cabin. The seats were grouped into sets of three on either side of the plane. The chairs themselves were black and white with small touchscreen TV's imbedded into the headrest of the seat in front of it. He glanced down at his ticket once more just to verify the number. Seat 21F, the window seat right on the wing..

He slowly made his way to his seat, glancing at any overhead bins near the seat and he found a spot open right above his row. Once he got close enough he hoisted his suitcase up and into the open spot. Once his suitcase was in the overhead bin he grabbed his laptop bag and squeezed past one passenger who was already sitting down in his row; a very muscular ram sat next to him in the middle seat and the aisle seat was still open as passengers began to board. Another minute or two went by before a female Cougar sat down.

Leo fastened his seatbelt as he could hear the engines starting up and the door to the plane shut. When it closed it made a loud, yet subtle, thud. He didn't bother pulling his earbuds out at all, he listened to his music at such a low level that it didn't matter; he could still hear everything. He jerked forward as he felt the plane jerk backwards, getting ready to taxi off the runway.

A few minutes of taxing the plane was finally about to take off. Leo sat straight up and looked out the window as the plane accelerated faster and faster towards the end of the runway. The tiny jostle of the bumps in the tarmac we're almost soothing. He felt a slight incline as the plane's nose started to lift into the air followed by the rest of the plane. Then the gentle incline became a sharp one as the plane lifted higher and higher into the air. Takeoff and landing was what made the window seat great but, aside from those two there was no need to sit there. Sometimes it made it more inconvenient because he had to cross over three people to get to the bathroom. But, the plus side was that he was against the fuselage wall so he had a little extra room.

Planes always fascinated Leo, that and cruise ships. He especially liked seeing how they worked and the TV show, Air Disasters. It probably wasn't a good show to watch a show about real airplane crashes before a six plus hour flight but, it didn't bother him. He knew what to look out for, what sounds were bad, what didn't feel right. He also knew that take off and landings were the most likely times of a crash. Flying and heights didn't really bother him all that much.

It was a little past two hours into the flight and Leo was fast asleep. His hoodie was over his head and his head rested against the side of the plane. Once the plane was high enough in the air, all you could see were white clouds. By this time they were somewhere over Ohio and making good time.

The rest of the plane was quiet, just the quiet hum of the engines and the occasional conversation for other rows. It was a smooth ride thus far and some other furs had already nodded off much like Leo. It wasn't too common to get a nonstop flight but, if you could find one it was usually worth the extra money. That way you didn't have to try and rush to your next gate if your plane was delayed on arrival.

The plane rocked a bit as it started to go through some turbulence and the captain turned the fasten seatbelt sign back on. The shaking first started off subtle but, quickly started to increase more and more and became more violent. The whole plane shook and it was enough to jostle Leo back to consciousness. His seatbelt was still fastened tightly around his waist. He looked around and nearly everyone was awake. Some were wide eyed and some didn't seem to care.

The turbulence grew stronger and stronger and he could see a few furs getting worried about what was happening. Turbulence was something that naturally happened during flight, it was something anyone could be worried about. Planes always seemed like such fragile vehicles, being in a thin metal tube made you feel like the smallest disturbance could bring it down. The sudden jostling of an aircraft many miles up was always scary but, it very rarely can cause a plane crash.

Knowing that they were fine, Leo's heart still raced as the captain came over the intercom and said, "Attention all flight attendant's and passengers, please fasten into you seats, we're going through some rough turbulence but, it should be over soon."

The plane shook more and more violently thrusting everyone up into their belts and some luggage fell out of the overhead bins. Leo gripped onto the armrest of the chair and looked out the window. He sat right on the wing and could see the right engine perfectly. It was unsettling to hear the engine getting louder. "We'll be fine." He thought to himself. "It will be over in a second." His heart pounded harder and harder as he imagined everyone's was. His hands started to shake as his adrenaline and nerves kicked in.

After a few moments, the shaking subsided and the plane became level once again. The flight attendants told everyone to stay in their seats as they went around to collect the bags and stow them away again.

Just as they started to collect the bags there was a violent thrust into the plane again. Anyone who was standing was quickly tossed into the ceiling of the plane. The oxygen masks deployed from the ceiling compartments and seconds later the plane suddenly went into a nose dive. Leo managed to grab his mask and place it over his muzzle; he braced himself up with the seat in front of him. Both of his paws were held against the seat in front of him and his legs tried to keep him pushed back in his seat.

There were a few screams in the plane from the passengers. The sudden drop in altitude freaked most of them out. Leo knew something had to be wrong when the masks all dropped. They generally didn't drop unless there was a change in cabin pressure. The sound of twisted metal could be heard just outside his window.

Leo managed to get a glance out the window; he could see smoke pouring out of the engine and part of the wing looked like it had torn off. Just past the wing he could see the ground getting bigger and bigger, what little he could see around the black smoke cloud. The engine revved louder and louder until he heard an explosion and the engine was ripped off the wing. More metal was ripped off the wing and was sent sailing backwards in the air. The plane was about to make a crash landing as it sailed towards the ground at roughly a 30 degree angle. Leo felt the floor move as the landing gear was deployed underneath.

"Brace! Brace! Brace!" The captain shouted over the intercom. The plane listed suddenly to the right, Leo's window was now nothing but snow covered farmland, he couldn't see the horizon at all as they were about to make contact with the ground.

The plane then slammed into the ground and Leo shot awake. His arms and legs flailed into the air. His heart raced as he looked around; the Ram and Cougar gave him a weird look. Leo poked his head up above the seat and looked around the aircraft. Everything was fine. Everyone was still in their seat, there was no crash, and there was just some turbulence that shot him awake. It was just a dream, a very real but, very fake dream.

"I need to stop watching Air Disasters." He thought to himself. He pulled his hood off of his head and his ears flopped back into a point. He rubbed his face and leaned back into the chair. Leo pulled his phone out and looked at the picture he took of his siblings, he scrolled through the pictures taken earlier and he started to calm back down. Music continued to play in his ears since he never bothered to pause the music before dozing off.

A few hours later the plane finally landed in LAX. Aside from his crazy dream the plane ride was nice. No major turbulence or anything. Of course he was glad to finally get off the plane and stretch his legs. He was cramped in that seat for over six hours; he was ready for a walk.

He waited in his seat for a majority of the passengers to get up. Once there were only a handful he stood up and grabbed his laptop bag from underneath the seat and then his gray carry-on. He made his way off of the plane and headed out towards baggage claim. He was ready to go look at a few apartments he had already viewed online.

It was 2:14pm western time now which meant it was just after 5 back home. As Leo headed to baggage claim he pulled out his phone to call home. The phone rang and his mother picked up the phone.

"I take it you made it alright?" She said gleefully. She was happy Leo was so independent and brave enough to move across the country alone.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just at baggage claim. I'll be heading out to see some places soon." He replied. Leo stood next to the metal belt where the bags were soon going to be moving along.

"Okay well I won't keep you. I'm glad you're safe. Also, I've deposited some money into your account to help you get a car; but, don't tell your father." Sometimes Judy just couldn't help but, help Leo. She always worried about him, even when she didn't show it.

"Mom you didn't have to do that. I would have been fine."

"I know but, I wanted to." She continued. "Well, I have to go, so have a good day. I'll talk to you later. I love you sweetie."

"I love you too, Mom. Talk to you later." Leo hung up the phone just as the bags started to come out of the back and onto the belt. Leo found a luggage rolling cart and pulled it closer to him. The handle had a crack in it and the wheel was a bit lopsided but, it was a cart. He moved the cart to the side as he noticed his bags come down the belt. He walked over to grab the two bags and when he walked back, his cart was gone. He looked around and didn't see another one anywhere.

"Son of a bitch! Who the fuck stole my cart?" Leo thought to himself looking around for a culprit. He did notice someone not paying attention and thought about snatching their cart but, he wasn't that type of furson. The suitcases had four wheels and pivoted in any direction so he set his two big suit cases back to back and held onto the handles with one paw and pulled the carry-on in his other.

He was so pissed; first time in LA, on the ground for less than twenty minutes and his cart was taken. He always heard LA was pretty cut throat but, he thought growing up in New York would have prepared him for that. He was wrong. One jerk was all it took to piss him off. He and his siblings usually had short tempers but, Leo did everything he could to keep it under control but, sometimes he couldn't help it.

Leo made his way down the terminal and found the car rental station. He told the clerk that he had a car reservation and they pulled him up onto the computer. He had to sign a few papers but, in a few minutes he had the keys to his rental and he was ready to go.

As Leo headed towards the doors to go out to the parking lot he heard a cart wheel shaking. He had a feeling it may have been his cart, curious enough; Leo decided to start looking around the area hoping to find the fur who stole it. As he walked around not paying attention to where he was going, he bumped into a large kangaroo. It was like walking into a wall almost.

"I am so sorry!" Leo said to the guy.

He looked over at the kangaroo that was about six foot three and had more muscle than Neo. His fur color was somewhat typical, he had tan fur covering most of his body, a lighter beige color started on the front of his neck and it moved downward onto his pecs and abs, crotch, and then onto the bottom of his tail. The same beige color was on his toes and fingers and on the bottoms of his hands and feet where his black pads resided. A brown color was also found on the top of his muzzle moving backwards on his head and down the back of his shoulders. The brown was on his shoulders and faded into a point just under his shoulder blades and reappeared just on the top tip of his tail and the tips of his ears. The kangaroo also had long, shaggy, blonde fur in between his ears and dangled halfway down his back.

The kangaroo wore a white tank top, camo cargo shorts, and gray low top converse shoes. He wore a military dog tag and had an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder. His large ears moved back a bit in frustration when Leo bumped into him and he looked down at the husky.

"Watch it, mate." He said in a disgusted, frustrated voice. He didn't have much of an Australian accent but, Leo caught a hint of it when he said 'mate'.

"I'm really sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Leo said in an almost shaking voice. Back in elementary school, Leo was made fun of a lot. His siblings or parents didn't know because he didn't want them to worry. He was bullied pretty hard behind the scenes and even took a punch or two from time to time. It wasn't until the seventh grade when he and Neo started to hang out more and Leo was brought into the 'inner circle'.

The kangaroo noticed all of Leo's bags as he turned around and mumbled, "Damn tourists."

The New Yorker in Leo wanted to yell back at him and rip his head off but, Leo knew it was a fight he was going to win. Plus with him working in Hollywood any mistake could cost him everything. He knew that no matter what happened from here on out he was going to have to swallow his anger and sometimes, his pride. What was equally frustrating was how attractive the guy was. He was cute but, that didn't change the fact he was a dick.

Leo took his bags out into the parking lot and looked for his rental car. It took a few minutes but he eventually found a green Mini Cooper. The car was small but, it was just him and it was only temporary. He shoved his suitcases into the trunk and the back seat and drove off, away from the airport. He had a few apartment listings to look at.

Over the next three hours Leo looked at apartments around Hollywood. He looked at places in Downtown LA, Koreatown, West Hollywood, and finally Valley Village. By the time he looked at his last place, Leo was done looking at places. He had looked at nearly twenty places in three hours; many of them right down the road from one another and some were so disgusting, in person that he was only there a few minutes.

Finally Leo pulled up to his last place in Valley Village, just north of Hollywood. It had a parking lot that he managed to find a spot in. He walked into the leasing office where the a manager was cleaning some things up to get ready to leave for the night.

"Hi, my name is Leo Sparks. I was hoping you could show me any open apartments you may have?"

The manager was a heavy set tiger who said, "When were you looking to move in, kid."

"Tonight." Leo promptly responded. The manager then shuffled through some papers and then grabbed the only available apartment he had. On the way the two made small talk. The manager's name was Tony, and he was quite nice. Leo explained he was moving to LA because he got a role in a movie and he was pursuing his career.

The 250 square foot studio apartment had dark wood floors, beige colored walls with a white trim. White cabinets in the kitchen with a gray counter top and a white mini fridge. The bathroom was the only walled in section of the apartment; it had a white tub/shower and a toilet. The sink was the one in the kitchen with a mirror above it. A small closet stood just off the kitchen. There was an air conditioner attached to the wall just above the window and a tall furnace was next to the window. It was a shoebox apartment for sure, and smaller than Leo and Neo's bedroom back home. The thing that stung was that it was the nicest thing he had seen all day.

"How much is it?" Leo regretfully asked.

"Well, normally it's $1,000 a month but, since you're here for acting we have a discount. For you it would be about $800." Tony explained to Leo. "Gas, electric, AC, water, trash, everything is included in the price as well. We just need to see a copy of your acting contract and you will be locked in for a year."

Before Tony could finish his sentence Leo already had the Contract pulled up on his phone and handed it to him before saying, "I'll take it."

Tony had to verify everything but, it was all in order and the two went back down to the office and Leo signed the contract for a one year lease. Tony handed Leo the keys and the two shook hands. The next few hours for Leo were critical, and expensive. He had a lot of things to buy and not a lot of time before the stores started to close.

He dropped his luggage into his new place and headed off to a furniture store in Burbank which was only 20 minutes away. There he bought a twin sized bed with drawers underneath, a night stand, a short dresser, a small table with two chairs and an oversized chair. He ended up spending $1,500 there but, he would have furniture in a few days.

Just down the road was a Target where he bought bedding, pillows, a rug, cleaning supplies, some food, a toaster oven, an electric hot plate, microwave, TV and various other items. All in all, he ended up spending over another $1,500. Leo managed to cram everything into the tiny Mini Cooper he was given and headed towards his new apartment complex.

Back home he didn't have to worry about buy all of the stuff, his parents would have given him some furniture in their basement but, he was alone out in LA. He didn't want to pay to have stuff shipped from back home, that would have been just as expensive or more. It just made more sense for him to go out and buy everything he needed.

It had been a long day and Leo was starting to get a bit tired. It was already eight o'clock at night and the sun had set. He had been nonstop since he woke up and he knew he still wasn't done. His legs and feet hurt, he hadn't had a chance to take off his shoes all day. He was getting hungry and felt a little stressed out. He turned on the radio and listened to some music on the drive back to his apartment and he started to relax a bit.

Just as Leo pulled into a parking spot the sky opened up and it began to down pour. Rain pounded against the car as Leo put the vehicle in park. If he was just ten minutes faster in Target then he may have missed the rain. He looked back at all the stuff in his car and sighed. He knew he couldn't leave it in the car but, to try and unload it now would make him soaked. He knew he had to unload it but, getting drenched was not on his to do list. He regretfully jumped out of the car and started to unload it.

He grabbed on bag and placed it onto his wrist and grabbed the TV he purchased and shut the back door with his hip. He sprinted as best as he could to his building until he was inside. He headed up the stairs and down the long hallway; his shoes squeaking along the oak hardwood floors until he reached his apartment, 222. He went to grab his keys and he realized he left them in his car. He quickly set everything down outside his door and sprinted down the hallway. His wet shoes slid out from under him as he approached the stairs and he stumbled down a few steps. He knew how to tumble down stairs from acting class but, he could still feel a pain in his shoulder, a bruise that was sure to come no doubt.

Leo stood back up and ran to his car and grabbed his keys and quickly back up to his apartment to unlock the door. He was worried someone might steal his TV. He was a trusting individual but, he didn't have a lot of faith in anyone. Especially after that jerk kangaroo at the airport.

Leo opened the door to his apartment and put his stuff inside. His hoodie and shirt were soaked through already so he saw no option but to take them off. He kicked off his shoes as well as he ran back out of the apartment to his car.

On the fifth trip back up he had the last of the bags and had locked the car. The bags were soaked but, luckily everything else was all in plastic. His jeans were so soaked that they were three shades darker and beginning to sag. He was starting to pant and was out of breath as he headed up the stairs the last time. He was walking down the hallway, dripping wet and exhausted.

As Leo walked to his apartment he was on the right side of the hallway and coming down the left side right towards him, was the kangaroo from the airport. "Son of a Bitch!" Leo thought to himself. "Does he live here or something? Maybe he's dating some girl here or something like that." Leo made eye contact with him and gave him a dirty look. He was miserable, he spent over $3,000 in a day, was jet lagged, and still had to clean the apartment before all the furniture showed up. It was a productive day but, an exhausting one at that.

"Oh, so you live here, kid?" The kangaroo asked as he noticed Leo unlocking the door. He had to be in his early twenties, yet he still called him 'kid'.

Leo had every emotion running through his body today and it all finally boiled to the surface. "Yeah, I do, 'mate'." He said in a snarky, sarcastic tone. "And don't call me kid. I'm 21 and I'm guessing you are as well."

"Actually I'm 23." The kangaroo was so calm and confident and dry. All of Leo's fur was matted down and dripping water at every tip.

"Cool!" Leo opened the door, walked in and slammed it shut. He was so pissed and he didn't know why. He dropped the bags onto the floor and held up his hands and noticed that they were shaking. His adrenaline was pulsing through him again. It was close to 9pm but, back home it would have been midnight. He wanted to sleep but, he couldn't yet.

Leo Just wanted to get out of the soaking wet jeans so he unbuttoned and started to unzip them when he heard a knock at the door. He walked over and looked through the peep hole, even though he had a feeling of who was on the other side. Sure enough, that tan kangaroo was leaning against the door jam. Leo zipped his pants back up and opened the door.

"What." This time Leo didn't show anger in his voice, this tone was different. This one sounded more like defeat. Like the guy had beaten him up and taken everything he had and still wanted more.

"You dropped your watch." He held up Leo's smart watch by the black and blue band. Leo glanced down at his wrist and the watch was indeed gone.

"Thank you." He reached up and grabbed the watch.

"I'm sorry about before... What happened at the airport? I just got back from my best friends funeral and I had a lot running through my mind."

"I'm sorry to hear about that, and it was my fault. I wasn't watching where I was going." Leo apologized. They had both been having bad days and they let their emotions get the better of them.

"Let's start over. My name is Nathan but, you can call me Nate." Nate stuck out his right hand to shake Leo's. He reached out and shook his hand back.

"I'm Leo Sparks." Leo smiled. It seemed like he was starting to make a friend.

Nate smiled back and then said, "So when did you move here? I've never seen you in the building before."

"Well," Leo swung open the door to reveal the nearly empty apartment, aside from his suitcases, and the things he bought at Target. "Today. I just got here from New York."

Nate's eyes bugged open at the barren apartment. "Ah, I see. Did you need some help?"

Leo looked down at the ground for a moment before replying, "Nah, I got it but, thank you."

"You sure? I've got nothing to do tonight and I can order us a pizza if you're hungry." Nate seemed pretty persistent but, he did just lose his best friend so he probably just wanted to get his mind off of it.

"Alright. Come on in." Leo stepped aside and let the kangaroo walk in. "Just let me change out of these pants first." Leo walked over to the pile of bags and started to rip them open as he looked for a bath towel. It was slightly damp on one side but, mostly dry. He took opened up his carry-on and grabbed some gym shorts and a shirt from the suitcase and went to the bathroom to dry off.

When Leo came back he and Nate started to unpack all of his stuff. The two unpacked all the stuff he bought and Nate had some pizza delivered. The two talked and got to know one another as they hung out.

Nate was born in Los Angeles but, moved to Australia when he was five when his father transferred there. He lived in Australia for eight years until they decided to move back home. That's why Nate had a touch of an accent in his voice. He was an only child and like Leo's parent's they made a fair amount of money.

When he turned eighteen he joined the Army and quickly became friends with a guy from Texas named Christian. The two were deployed in the same unit overseas and were caught in a firefight when their convoy was attacked. During his deployment Nate watched six of his soldier brothers die in front of him. That's when he decided he couldn't keep it up and left once his enlistment was done. Christian stayed in and was killed just a year later during a raid. Once Nate heard the news about his friend he started to wear his dog tags again. It was a way to remember his best friend, a brother he had lost and the life they shared. Nate played the guitar a lot and he and Christian promised one another to sing at the other's funeral if it ever happened. Nate held up his promise.

Now, Nate lives across the hall from Leo in the same little shoebox apartment except, his has furniture. He never went to college but, he played with the idea of it when he got back home. Instead of going back right away he decided to try singing and pursuing a career in music. He always enjoyed doing it and he was pretty good at it too. He had a series on YouTube of him playing guitar and singing and he went out to a lot of coffee shops or bars or anywhere they had an open mic night. He had a few small gigs here and there but nothing major yet.

Nate, like Leo, played Xbox a lot and the two of them shared them shared their gamertags so they could play later. Leo thought Nate was very attractive and the more the two of them talked the more he wished he was gay but, sadly he knew a guy like that was straight. During their conversations Leo picked up the terms her and she every once in a while. Nate picked up on the fact that Leo was into guys and he didn't care in the slightest. He grew up with an open mind and an open family.

The two of them talked until midnight and that was when Leo started to nod off. All the stuff was put away as best as it could be and he had a blanket and pillow on the floor for a bed. Nate headed back across the hall and he felt bad that he couldn't help Leo out with a more comfortable bed. All Nate had was a twin size bed which barely fit him. When he went back across the hall Leo locked the door behind him and watched him walk into his apartment though the peep hole. Leo laid down on the floor and started to fall asleep. He felt a real bond with Nate, like he had finally made a genuine friend. That day seemed to turn out alright.