FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

{"Who knows? Not me. We've never lost control. You're face to face with the man who sold the world." - David Bowie}

**

I started giggling when I saw the van. Like a twelve year-old. I couldn't help it. I tried to hide it, put my hand over my mouth to cover it, but I just kept on giggling. It just looked funny - the van, all shot up with arrows. Really, who uses a crossbow? In the city? One of the arrows had punctured the front bumper, even though the bumper was supposed to be impervious to puncturing. There were also holes along one side, and a big ol' dent in the driver's side door.

We'd gotten lucky. The arrows hadn't popped any holes in the tires, nor had they hit the engine.

"It's not funny, Jack," Celeste said, staring at me as I giggled. There was a sharp edge in her voice.

"It's a little bit funny," Rav said. Celeste spun around, to stare at the tall Lion.

"Yeah," I said. "See? Rav gets it."

"It's not funny," Duncan spoke up. "How did they know where to find us?"

My giggles dried up like evaporated water getting raptured up into the air.

"That _is _a good question," I said, looking at Duncan.

"I'm just saying, don't disrespect the van." Celeste glared at Rav, then she glared at me. She patted the van with obvious affection. "This lady - this powerful machine - this beast - just survived a bunch of assholes shooting arrows at her."

Just then, Drake suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. I couldn't help but notice how big the feral dog was.

"The police haven't arrived yet," Drake informed us. He seemed tense - there was a certain tenseness in his shoulders. I suppose he was just being alert. He kept glancing around at the few anthros and people who walked by. Probably, he was expecting more trouble.

We'd driven a few blocks away from where we'd been attacked. Now, parked, with all of us out of the van, we were surveying the damage and talking about our next move.

"It wouldn't surprise me if no one actually called the cops," I said. "Some dudes attacking a van with frickin' arrows - of all things - yeah, no reason to call the cops. It's just another day in New York."

"That sounds about right," Rav said, nodding his head.

"I don't want to be around when - or if - the cops show up," Duncan said. "I think we should get going - after all, we have to get to the ferry before it leaves."

"Don't you want to find the human in the business suit?" Rav asked the big Pit Bull. "He acted like he was in charge. We should go after him."

"We probably don't have to," I spoke up before Duncan could. "If that human's after Micah -" I waved a hand in Micah's general direction - "He'll be back. He'll try again. Shit, if he could find us once, he can find us again."

"And we'll be ready for him," Rav said, smiling. His eyes lit up with some kind of glee. "Now, _that's _a better plan."

"I agree," Duncan said. "And I really want to focus on getting out of the city. Celeste? What do you think?"

"I want to pay that human back for shooting up the van," the elf replied, with a slight smile. Then she sighed. "But, yeah, you're right. We have to get to the ferry. Besides, where would we even start to look for the guy in the suit?"

"Maybe our guest can tell us that," Duncan said. He started walking to the back of the van, and the rest of us followed. We were a small flock, following a shepherd. So far, we were getting along pretty well - but we'd only just started out. I wondered, for a moment, how well we'd get along if things got heavier, or weirder. Heavier or weirder than dudes in motorcycle helmets shooting arrows at us.

I have to admit, I am something of a cynic.

Duncan pulled open the van's rear door. Our "guest" was tied up and slung casually on top of a crate of bottled water. It probably wasn't very comfortable, but fuck him - he'd just tried to kill us, after all. As Duncan opened the door, and the rest of us crowded around him, the tied-up guy was just starting to wake up. He was a youngish human with short hair and a scar on his cheek.

"We have questions, we need answers," Duncan said, as a way of starting out. "Let's chat."

"Dude," the tied-up human said, "I don't know shit, and even if I did know shit, I wouldn't tell you shit."

"That's too bad," Duncan said, sadly. He stepped aside, and Drake stepped forward. The human's eyes widened considerably.

"There're six of us." Duncan's tone was soft, almost polite. "And only one of you. You were the only one we took. Six of us," he repeated. "Including this very large - and very angry - dog . . ."

Drake growled, a low and angry sound emanating from somewhere in his broad chest.

"Jesus, Mary, and all the saints," the tied-up human muttered. "You can't . . ."

"What do you know?" Duncan demanded. "Who's the human in the business suit? How did you know where to find us?"

Drake growled again. Somehow, the second growl was even more menacing, even more full of promises to inflict some sort of bodily harm on our "guest" should he choose to not cooperate.

"Fuck this," the human said, fear and anger mixing in his voice. "We were hired by Snark -"

"Snark?" I interrupted. "What's that?"

"It's his name."

"His name?" I got the giggles again. "There's a guy named Snark? Please tell me he's a human."

"I guess he named himself - or - you know - gave himself a new name," our captive said.

"I'm guessing he gave himself that name when he was in high school," Rav said. "When he thought it was cool. He probably beat up other kids, too. Loser."

"And now he's -" I started laughing. "- he's just Snark."

Rav started laughing, too. "He was probably in a really shitty band, in high school."

"Hah!" I laughed harder. "I just pictured him screaming his name into the microphone, like he was some bad dude."

Celeste started laughing, and so did our captive.

"Alright, alright," Duncan muttered. "So you were all hired by - by someone whose name I won't mention." The Pit Bull glared at me.

"Not - not all of us." The captive human tried to control his laughter, which was subsiding into giggles. "Not the guy in the suit. Snark hired us to help that guy - that human dressed up in that fancy suit. _He _knew where to find you. He just told us he was there to get one of you. He told us to knock the rest of you out if you resisted - kill only if we had to. He didn't want the rest of you. That's what he said."

"And do you know where to find him?" Duncan asked.

"No, and I don't wanna know!" The laughter was completely gone from the tied-up human's face. A look of fear edged into his eyes. "That guy - that guy just scared me. It wasn't anything he said, or did, there was just something scary about him. And nothing scares me."

"What if Snark got his high school band back together?" Rav asked. "Would that scare you?"

And that was it, I was just gone - just gone, laughing, my head titled up towards the polluted sky.

What a weird, crazy fucking day I was having.

"I suppose Snark might know where to find him - that human in the suit," I heard Duncan saying. "But I don't care. I vote we get moving. What do the rest of you think?"

Celeste simply nodded. She was already walking towards the driver's side door.

"Yeah," was all Rav said. He grabbed my shoulder, briefly - a friendly gesture, a sign of friendship. For just a second, he clasped my shoulder, the way that friends do, and I silently prayed I didn't find him attractive.

Drake, too, nodded his head. Duncan turned towards Micah, the young human. According to Duncan, Micah was going to lead us all, someday. And not just us - everyone, the whole freakin' country. I wondered if Duncan believed in Micah simply because the boy - shit - the young man had passed some mystical/magical tests. Or did Duncan believe in him because he saw something in him? In his personality?

So far, Micah had said hardly anything.

"Jack and Rav are right," Micah said. "We'll let them come to us. And we'll be ready."

**

Rav untied our captive, and he ran off down the street as though demons were after him.

Demons armed with arrows, perhaps.

For a second, we watched him, then we turned back to the van.

"Duncan," Micah spoke up, suddenly, quietly. "We knew this trip was going to be dangerous. Now we know that someone is after me, and he knows where to find us . . . I just want to make sure, you know - you guys don't have to come with me. I have to get to the West Coast. The rest of you - you don't have to. And I understand if you don't want to go."

"I'm going," Duncan said, firmly. "I said I would, and I will."

"Yeah," Rav said. "We signed on knowing it would be dangerous - like you said. It doesn't matter what _kind _of danger it'll be, or who it comes from."

"Yes." I nodded my head.

"Yeah!" Celeste yelled out. She was already sitting behind the wheel, with her window rolled down. Her sharp elven ears had picked up Micah's quiet words, even though he stood near the back of the van. "Now can we _please _get motoring, for the love of all the gods?"

Some kind of strong emotion rolled like a wave across Micah's face. His expression - for a moment - showed gratitude, mixed with surprise, mixed with relief.

"Thanks," was all he said.

We got into the van.

**