FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Alright, so you don't know shit. That's most workers. You don't know anything," she began, impatiently tapping her foot as if she was more interested in doing something else, but still obviously eager to explain this. Emily was hard to get a handle on. “Your boss probably doesn't know anything either. His boss probably knows a little bit, like at least that you're always contracted by the same set of companies and subsidiaries very cheaply, with the real money under the table".

Emily paused. “Of course, that's like 90% of companies these days, so it's not too surprising. Corruption wide and deep, my friend", she smirked.

“So where as I? Right, how that guy's boss knows everything the previous levels do and probably that they're part of an organization that despises supernaturals, especially werewolves, 'cuz-“

I interrupted her. “What, supernatural s? There's more than werewolves?"

“Yes. Stop interrupting me. So they hate us in particular because we're basically ideologically opposed to them; they want everything to be controllable and predictable, but we want everything to be wild and free," Emily continued, her tone growing more excited. “But that's not all of it, of course, and that boss's boss would know… fuck it, I'll cut to the chase." She exclaimed, apparently having lost her train of thought.

“We serve two gods. Us, the werewolves and allies are nature, like Gaia or whatever you'd like to call it, except non-gendered (who still assigns genders to gods in 2017?) and they're, well, they're basically industry, the new god of humanity's greed and the roots burrowing deep into Gaia."

“So…" Emily paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “Basically neither of these gods are good or evil, they're simply forces and we're their empowered tools. But I'd rather live wild and free than be a mindless cog in a machine working tirelessly around the clock, because that's what their side wants."

I hesitated, but decided to ask. After all, I was still in my new wolf form, and she was a dainty little human. “Well, how come you're not a werewolf, then? You seem like a true believer."

“Well look at that, who's a good dog learning to use his fresh new nose? Think a little further than that next time, we need people on the inside too, interacting with and convincing other people. If all we did was sabotage industry and kill the guilty, we'd have a hard time doing anything at all."'

“So that's where the human team comes in-“ She puffed her chest out. “-we spin the opinion, convince individuals that we're correct, maybe fuck a politician to get our way-“ She looked at my expression. “-what, you have a problem with that? These are quite literally cosmic odds we're up against. Sure it's a bit degrading to have so blow some old, fat, married dude, but if it stops us all from being enslaved by an evil god, I think it's worth it!" she huffed.

As if on an afterthought she glared at me. “And no, you don't get a blowjob. Unless you earn it." Emily added.

I ignored that barb and instead opted to ask questions. “So, is there any actual proof of anything you just said?" I asked, cocking my head and then quickly pretending I didn't. My new lupine instincts were simmering just below the surface.

She huffed. “Well, we don't have any right here, but that's what we recruited you for. In a few weeks. We're going to raid one of the subsidiaries. You remember Ambicorp?"

I nodded. “We did some ad campaigns for them."

“Yeah. We're going to hack their corporate network, fish out all the top secret stuff. We know what servers they're kept on, we just need physical access. And you big bulky wolf boys, you'll be providing that," she smiled, seemingly getting more excited as she went into more detail.

“You're a hacker?" I asked incredulously.

“What? No, but you'll meet him during exercises. He's the twitchy guy, the one who wanted to shoot you. Kinda nasty, very black hat, but he's got his his priorities straight," she explained. “Oh, PSA: Don't rough him up, he's not a wolf either, so keep your revenge boner in your pants, or sheath."

“So why-“ I tried.

“Because you big wolves draw big attention. We only have two in our cell: you and Stephen. He's the alpha, you're the omega, so-“

Now it was my turn to interrupt. “That alpha/omega bullshit was dis-“

“With REAL wolves yeah, but it totally applies to werewolves, boy" she replied, adding emphasis on that last word. I wasn't in my wolf form anymore but I could feel phantom ears folding back both in submission and anger.

I decided to change the topic. “So what exactly does Ambicorp do? I mean, specifically. I don't want to risk killing innocent-“

“They're a megacorporation, no such thing as innocent, doggo. But we know that their medicines suppress lycanthropic shifts, both the ones caused by infection and the ones you might be born with. There's probably more, but we don't know for sure yet…" she explained. Pausing for a moment, she the continued, rubbing her temples as if to signify being deep in thought. “But don't worry your little brain about that, all you really need to know is they're not innocent, and here's a newsflash for you: your whole life is about violence and murder now, just in the name of good. Oh, and sex. Lots of beastial, animalistic…" she leaned closed, so close I could smell a faint whiff of her perfume. “…fucking."

“Really, most people would kill for what you've got now, so show some gratitude," she told me.

At this point, I really had to roll with it. There wasn't much else I could do. I couldn't go back to work, which meant I couldn't pay my rent, which meant I couldn't go back to my partner, especially considering I might turn him into a monster too. I had to push on through this rabbit hole, no matter how deep it went.

Some number of days passed. I slept on a dingy mattress in a condemned apartment around the edge of town during my “training", sometimes alone and sometimes with other activists, most of whom I'd never meet again. I became a creature of the night in the most literal sense, as everything we did, we did under the cover of darkness, as the shifts were both involuntary and often loud, and nobody wanted to hear or see that a werewolf lived on their block. During the day we did odd jobs; I did heavy lifting thanks to the enhanced strength of my human body, sometimes I participated in underground fighting rings. It wasn't a good life; I'd go as far as to say every day was miserable, like a Sisyphean nightmare where I worked as hard as I could but made no progress.

It was balanced by the nights. Oh, the nights. Every night I was the wolf, sometimes hunting in the wild, sometimes stalking the streets, but sometimes fine-tuning my control over the unnatural lupine body. The nights made me forget about the days, made me forget even about my human life, which quickly became a faded memory in only a matter of weeks. I had never felt so alive before, and it was intoxicating, a blurry haze of violence, of breaking the limitations set by society and even nature.

My first “training day" as they called it, was immediately the day after my conversion, off in the countryside. I had to demonstrate that I was able to think like a human while in my wolfen form. Anyone could be a violent beast, Emily explained, it was even easy for regular humans, but blindly throwing yourself into a meat grinder just didn't work, no matter how strong you were. Therein laid the difference; I had to achieve a level of harmony between man and beast, so that I could apply my physical might like a razor rather than a sledgehammer. Ultimately, she explained, we had to sway public opinion, because no matter how many we'd convert, there'd always be more people than there were lycanthropes, and through sheer numbers they would overcome us.

“So, basically, we can't just murder everyone involved," Emily told me while piloting a car so rusty it was a wonder it could drive at all. “We have to pick off key targets, and we have to convince the public that they had it coming. I mean, they do have it coming, we're not lying, but you know... innocent until proven guilty".

She'd been talking the better part of the journey, which took almost an hour. I had no idea where we were going, but it was deep in the middle of nowhere, in a forest so far from the city that there was no chance we'd be interrupted. I knew there'd be fighting, and that's about it. I had been a pacifist in my human life, but now with that life torn away by the hands of fate, I found myself looking forward to it.

At some point, we turned off onto an unlit side road. After having spent nearly my whole life until now in the brightness of the city, where even the darkest hours were lit by countless streetlights, lamps and neon signs, it was vaguely unsettling to me. This was how things were, now; unfamiliar and strange, with most human comforts peeled away like the skin of a fruit. The only thing lighting our path now were the car's headlights, and they weren't bright. I had no idea how old the vehicle was, but it felt as if It hadn't any maintenance done. Ever. Somehow, Emily managed to navigate fine. I figured she must've known the path, as despite the bumpiness and sharp turns of the worn dirt road, she never erred from it.

I suppose I wasn't the first werewolf they converted and trained. Wouldn't be the last, either.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea sent my head spinning. I dry-heaved, near doubling over in the passenger seat. Emily glanced at me with a mixture of amusement and irritation, slowing the car to a near crawl. I looked back with what I must assume was bewilderment and fear.

“You're shifting. Every night, remember? Open the door," she ordered. I obeyed.

“Now get out," she told me. “Just follow the scent when you're done."

She gave me a shove and I fell out of the car, my sense of balance totally gone. I tried to protest, but no words came out, a sudden spasm stealing my breath away. I rolled once and then laid still in the dirt, trying to stop my body from shaking. I saw Emily's hand wave through the car's window, and then she was gone, the taillights disappearing behind a curve.

For some reason, I had assumed that the shifts would all be as pleasant as the first. They weren't, but with time, they'd get easier and faster. Right then and there, it felt as if every part of me was burning, with nausea beyond the nastiest hangover imaginable making me unable to focus. I could barely breathe, retching as I was.

That sensation came to a point as the pain suddenly spiked, becoming beyond unbearable and then, as I became unable to fight any longer, rapidly dissolving into nothingness. I felt like I was floating somewhere outside of my body, initially seeing only darkness, but with more and more details emerging. I watched each limb lengthen and thicken, bones breaking and healing into the unnatural lupine shapes I'd witnessed before. My nose grew again to form a long canine muzzle, and before it was even done I knew exactly which direction to go in; both Emily's perfume and the overpowering exhaust fumes of the car hung like a miasma in the still air, pointing the way as surely as a well-lit traffic sign.

The same instincts I'd felt the night before came flooding back. I wanted to tear something apart. I wanted to fuck something, too, I realized as I became suddenly aware of how swollen and erect my cock was. My human side didn't find the transformations erotic in the slightest, but apparently, they were an intense aphrodisiac to the wolf. Still, there was nothing to mount in my immediate vicinity, so I resolved to chase after Emily. Surely at our destination I'd get to tear something apart, at the very least. I followed the scent-trail a good few kilometres through the dark woods. Had I still been human, I'd have been fearful, but right now I was the beast everyone was afraid of. Anything the darkness could throw at me I could take on, drunk as I was on adrenaline and whatever aberrant energy the were-curse infused me with.

I came upon a barn. Abandoned, surely, as there were no lights, and although it was late, I doubted it was late enough for most people to sleep yet. It all looked derelict, with the roof sagging and the door stuck open. I could see pattern emerging; everywhere we went was right on the edge of human society, stalking right behind the modern world as it abandoned building after building to retreat into the comforts of the city.

I saw the junker I'd been sitting in only moments ago. No trace of Emily – well, there were traces, but they were olfactory rather than visual – but I did suddenly become aware of the presence of several other wolves. Their scents were similar to my own; light, vague, fresh. Did that mean they were newly turned? I could smell fear, aggression, and insecurity, although I couldn't tell where exactly any given scent came from. This had to be-

I was interrupted by a loudspeaker crackling to life.

“Well, well, here we all are, “ someone spoke. A male voice, distorted and tinny through whatever improvised setup they had. “I'm sure you've figured out what's going to happen. You're going to fight, and we're going to see where you belong in the pecking order."

I had guessed as much, but having my suspicions confirmed still sent an overload of adrenaline through me as I braced for combat. I heard a growl from somewhere nearby, and then I realized I was growling too, instinctively, lowering my body so I'd be harder to knock over.

“Don't worry," the voice continued. “You're basically all incapable of killing each other. You should remember that from when you were turned; you'll outheal any wounds done by regular claws or teeth in a matter of moments, so don't hold back."

“It'll still hurt though, so try to win," he added a few moments later.

Time slowed to a crawl. My ears pricked up. I heard a crash, then a yelp, and then a few hesitant steps much closer to me. Paws in dry grass. Instinctively, I swung towards the sound, black claws cutting through the air like razors, before I could even look at what I was attacking. My claws sunk into something warm and yielding. When the rest of my body followed by arm to stand face to face with my attacker, I saw that it was another werewolf, like myself except grey in color, and now with five gaping wounds, like deep furrows, on his chest. Without another word, he fell over with a heavy thud. My suppressed human mind was alarmed; had I just killed someone? Instinctively, I knew that I hadn't; unless I meticulously tore someone limb from limb they'd come back.

Out of the darkness, another shape barrelled into me from the side, sending us both crashing down into the cold, dry earth. As we were falling, I heard – and felt – his jaws snap shut, repeatedly, just centimetres from my neck. I answered with a slash across his face, although with no leverage it had to be superficial damage at most. I hit the ground with a heavy thud, and immediately the other wolf was clawing at me in a frenzy, trying to get me to lower my guard so he could tear my throat out. It was excruciatingly painful even though I felt my flesh re-knit itself seconds after every slash, and with increasingly hard to control fury I stuck my arm out. I was trying to get to his throat, but instead, his jaws locked around my hand and bit down, crushing bone effortlessly.

I dug my claws into whatever I could in his mouth, and then yanked with all my might. I'm pretty sure it broke his jaw; there was a visceral crack and he released my mangled arm, jumping off me and feeling his muzzle. I pressed my advantage, scrambling to my feet and tackling him down, reversing the earlier position. Again I felt his claws rake across my body, but I was so angry now that I didn't feel anything. I saw that his jaw wasn't moving – not intentionally, at least – grabbed onto it with my whole arm, and tore it off with a furious growl. He didn't immediately move after that, so I considered it a victory.

Around me, the sounds of fighting had died down. There were a few of left standing; colors were hard to tell in the darkness, but I'm fairly sure he was white. Another one seemed black like me. The white one was hunched over, clutching his belly with both arms_. Trying to keep his guts in while he healed?_ The black one seemed whole at the first glance, but walked with a noticeable limp. I think it was clear enough that none of us had escaped from this unscathed, and so we all eyed each other warily, but made no threatening moves. It's weird how instinctual it felt. I made eye contact, and then broke it immediately. They did the same. None of us wanted to display submission, but neither did we make a show of dominance.

“Feeling tuckered out already? Poor little pups", the speaker crackled again, in a very mocking tone. It wasn't enough for any of the three to get angry at this point.

“Alright then, that's step one. White, black and brown, you're the winners, so you'll be physically leading our wholesome family activities in the future."

The voice paused. I heard someone argue something in the background but couldn't make it out over the terrible sound quality.

“Okay, so there's two more tests left. The next test is seeing if you can get along with the people you just tore apart, so we'll be in touch again the next night."

“Oh, and the last test will involve fucking. Keep your cocks in their sheaths, boys, it won't be until tomorrow night. Until then, you all asleep at this barn and don't attack each other. G'night!"

Well, I suppose that was the way it had to be. They wanted us ready to fight as wolves, without being totally socially inept as humans. We dragged the more seriously wounded into the barn. The first one I had “killed" was breathing, but barely; at least the superficial damage was all but healed. The jawless wolf looked like he'd take a longer time to heal, but other than a keeping a suspicious eye on me, he behaved.

As exhausted as we were, I don't think any of us had much chance to murder anyone in their sleep. Instead, inside the barn, we found a dozen or so mattresses, all pretty dirty and probably soaked in everything from rainwater to blood. It didn't matter much; I flomped down on it and was out like a light.