FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It all begins with a spark. It doesn't matter who or what makes it, as the result is always lives being taken and property destroyed. And while the latter can be recovered, even with questionable capabilities - the lives are irreplaceable.

Gunner Lightfoot was a jackal, the runner in a firefighter team. In more professional manner he'd be a search and rescue, but a lot of people simply would refer to his job as a runner. This entire equipment he wore, the stacks of procedures to follow... they meant nothing if someone had no courage to just search a building which was a nice gateway to literal hell.

"Nothing here on the first floor."

"Keep looking," the voice in the radio screeched.

In all honestly, the jackal couldn't see shit in this mask. That's why you always needed a keen eye to spot even the slightest detail through the deadly smoke. Tops for the falling debris in flames and low for anyone who's been unconscious.

Thankfully the latter were found just right now.

"I got one guy, a cougar. Looks like a teenager."

"Grab him out quickly, it doesn't look good from here."

The jackal firefighter dragged the body of the young cougar onto his shoulders. The legs were just limp, following his own steps. There was no point - let alone time - to try waking him up. Gunner couldn't even check his pulse given his equipment given his gear. But the boy at least seemed to breathe.

"Prep the oxygen mask and call the medics. The guy's unconscious."

He didn't even hear for the response, just pushed forward out of survival instinct. The flames were slowly turning entire building into ash, slowly eating the old wooden frame in a very greedy manner. Some wooden scrap just dropped next to the firefighter and the rescued.

"Shit!"

"You okay?" the radio squeaked again.

"Yeah, I got my heart a bit rushing too much," Gunner said. His eyes became a bit teary thanks to the smoke. Not even the best equipment could hold that much given current circumstances. The jackal couldn't rush either, as he risked the cougar's legs being stuck or broken.

Soon, he couldn't even tell the colours on the walls or overall position of his, just to recall the way he went into here. But Gunner had a good memory. Every scrap of such information meant survival to him and the people whom he had been rescuing.

Even despite the gear the jackal could feel the serene breeze as his legs led him outside of the fiery pit. His visor was already black from the smoke and ash that glued to it with its sticky, still warm, texture.

Gunner placed the unconscious body onto the grass in a safe distance and pushed the masked helmet out of his head. His first breaths exhaled the smoke that somehow got into his lungs as well. The jackal peeked at the firefighters who started first aid. To his relief the young cougar started coughing and gasping for air, with his face being immediately covered with the oxygen mask.

One more life saved. From a fire that was likely sparked out of someone's idiocy. But it wasn't Gunner's worry at that rate: it belonged to police and forensics, as well as others in the firefight team who had to do reports in coordination with authorities.

To the jackal, the most important this was that one more life has been saved.

"And I made it out myself, as well," the firefighter thought grimly. Gunner looked at his helmet and then just realized that how close to being hit into head he was. He didn't even feel the impact back there but the helmet had a deep cut. Few inches to the left and that would be his head.

"You will get a replacement," threw one of the colleagues in the firefighter gear. Gunner couldn't say who was that, but most likely it was one of the bigger felines or a wolf given the package underneath. "At least we didn't need to drag out two bodies out of there."

"Bright points all the way," the jackal snapped in half-joke. Someone had a damn good humour today.

But then again, Gunner thought it was a healthy reaction. Developing apathy would be disastrous.

"No, two more lives saved today.

---

"...And this is how you snap the belts!

Gunner just stood there, watching how one of the other firefight team members demonstrated the gear to the students at school. He didn't need to say anything, just to stand there as a living mannequin to show the full equipment to the guys who wanted to volunteer into their local fire depots.

The jackal didn't mind it. It was better than to lay down on the bed and trying to recover. After all, he had no time to even go back to home, since this presentation was "paramount to citizen awareness and no one else was free at the moment". It was more like vacations, as Gunner's mind was absent-minded.

"They say it was arson."

The canine snapped out from this thinking. He just realized that they already were in a fire truck. "What?"

"The fire yesterday? Hello?" The crew member chuckled. This made him even more hyena-like if it wasn't clear enough. The name was James Lacuna, one of the least serious firemen in the team.

"Ah yes, the one with the cougar boy...?"

"Shit man, you really need some rest today. I know how hard it was yesterday," James chuckled and didn't keep the eyes off the road. "I'm glad I didn't ask you to drive. You'd tail us all way to the, I don't know, Moon?"

That amused the jackal a little bit, giving him first reason to laugh today. "I don't know, I'd be absent-mindedly go there, given enough time."

The hyena looked at him when their fire truck stopped at the red light.

"You seriously need some sleep. You look miserable. I don't think you even washed that smoke off from yesterday."

"You think so, Lacuna?"

"Yeah," the spots-fur scratched his own ear, then pushed the gear up. "Ask the old man to give you a day off. You've been on feet for twenty hours for now."

Gunner didn't really need to ask the chief for that. Once the jackal entered the office the old grizzly guy just looked over him and gave him two days off, commenting that he didn't just looked like shit but also smelled like one.

At home, the canine stepped under the shower and let the water flow through the fur. Until then Gunner had no idea how smelly he was. The jackal let it soak up for a longer while too, trying to piece his thoughts altogether. It was hard at first, but since he still could say what time of a day it was then it couldn't be that hard.

"Gun!" the vixen screamed after throwing everything to the floor once she entered the house and found her husband in a towel. "I missed you so much you rascal! You didn't even call!" It was the moment the jackal realized he left the phone in the locker at the base. He didn't even want to know how many calls named Jessica were on it.

"I... forgot about it, honey," Gunner smiled and kissed her deeply. She responded pretty fiercely and almost in a predatory way. "H-hey..."

"Don't you "hey" me! Bastard! I was so worried when I heard about that fire! I watched that on the news. And there was not even a single word from you ever since! You know shaken I went to work?!"

The jackal scratched his own head. "I am really sorry, I didn't..."

Jessica looked down and smirked while reaching for his towel.

"...We are in the hallway," he finished.

"So?"

Gunner didn't even notice the moment when she took off her pants. He was naked anyway. His hands slowly slid under her halfway unbuttoned jacket. The canines went on it pretty quickly, with Jessica half-laid onto a small dresser.

The jackal felt a familiar warmness around him manhood, welcoming and wet. Her hands went around his neck, trying to gain some leverage against the gravity in the position they were in. Gunner immediately ceased to care about the surroundings. What mattered was just them two, becoming one, shaking mess.

"Fucker... You didn't even... call... me!"

The vixen moaned loudly and shivered in ecstasy, but her husband didn't stop at all. The dressed kept hitting the wall for an indefinite time until it was Gunner to reach his own satisfaction. When that happened, she whispered into his neck once they were done.

"I always fear that one day you will perish in flames."

---

It was a normal call. Or at least it was supposed to be a normal call. A simple request for a fire truck to something trivial as getting fire off the gas stove in small suburb kitchen. However while the car was still on route, the situation went slightly out of control. And by slightly it meant it went through a total shit.

Gunner went out of a second truck that came to assist after the first one didn't get enough hands. The jackal jumped out from the car and after consulting the first team, he stepped into the house. The special equipment wasn't needed yet, but situation could go out of hand pretty soon.

They knew nothing, aside of the fact that it was a family of four: a single mother, two kids and older man... Likely the grandpa or uncle.

The jackal ran across all the rooms in search of the people. "No one here," he reported. "Is the family even at home?"

"Hold on... Negative. According to the neighbours, all four went on vacations to another State."

"Then who the hell called?" Gunner got suspicious a little bit, but it didn't push him away from searching for anyone who could be living here. After all, the cases of kids breaking to live in a house while owners were away weren't that rare.

"It was a phone outside. Booth, likely."

"Okay, I will keep--"

Gunner didn't finish the line. He was pushed away against the wall by the sudden heat of wave that emerged from the opened door. It took away his breath and made him temporarily deaf. After a while he started coughing, as smoke was on the floor. Everything just vibrated around and all the jackal could hear was a pinging, high-pitched sound.

The canine didn't remember what happened next but when he came to all senses, it was already somewhere outside. Gunner could feel a light breeze on his face when someone was asking questions. The jackal quickly noticed the police uniform who held tablet.

"...What?"

"I asked about the door. What happened when you opened them?"

Gunner looked at the feline in the uniform. It was a cheetah, most likely. Or a jaguar. He couldn't tell, because his vision was still blurry and eyes were likely very red from the smoke. His arm was held when he tried to rub the eyes.

"Don't."

He looked at the side. The voice belonged to someone from the medical care. These vests were screaming orange color all over the green and black surroundings.

"Your hand is hurt, I'm patching it."

"So," the policeman cleared his throat. "The door. The explosion happened before or after it?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Gunner said very carefully. He tried to recalled the event but it was as blurry as his vision. The jackal couldn't really admit he had been searching automatically across the room. It could look bad in the papers, because one of the worst sins of a firemen were apathy and "autopilot". "When I opened them, I think something threw me away from them."

"It was explosion," said the spotty feline and poked at the screen. "I mean, we cannot say for sure, but it wasn't an accidental fire. It wasn't even arson, but someone placed a bomb."

A bomb?! Who the hell would do that? "I... don't follow. It wasn't an accidental fire by someone who did not belong to here?"

"Nope, but that's what I can say for now." The policeman pointed at the gawking journalists about dozen meters away. "These news-seeking hyenas would catch it up and spread terror."

"I guess so..." Gunner could swear that one of the journalists waiting and documented the entire situation was a hyena. "Not a word."

"I mean, they are taking you away anyway," the spotty grinned and hid his device into the jacket. "We'll contact you as soon as your own investigators wrap up stuff. Then our own men would take the rein of entire situation. After all... the situation isn't normal. At all. Okay," the feline turned around the looked at the crowd of the people. "Showtime, sadly."

The jackal had to agree, but quickly his thoughts were taken away by the sedatives that kicked in. In the end, he just gave up and relaxed as ambulance blared its signals - with him, inside the vehicle.

---

Gunner woke up in the hospital. He didn't know how many hours had passed, but it must have been a couple at least. The sky behind the window was already shined by the rising sun. The jackal tried to recollect events from the last night but they were mostly murky.

It was the cheetah policeman who came to check on him to reminds on what happened.

"Hi, how are you, sir?" The spotty feline was dressed in his typical uniform, suggesting that he was still on duty. "I hope that they didn't have to sew you? Also my name's Ali Kemal. Sorry for not saying my name earlier, but you know how it is."

"No, not really..." Gunner replied and looked around himself. He wasn't even connected to anything with a needle, so the jackal thought he wasn't that hurt at least. "I am just having a small headache but I guess I can talk at least."

"So said the doctors," the police officer noted and smiled again. "It turns out it was a bomb someone put to anger the actual inhabitant, not the kid that was in there. Truth is the kid in question was one of those who break into the houses and live there like kings while the owners are away on vacations and disappear a day before they are back."

"As I thought so," the fireman nodded. "That's why I was surprised to find him in a position as if he didn't know the quickest way out." Truth was, the one whom he saved was anywhere but around the quickest escape route.

"Yeah, I've read the report written by one of your colleagues from the unit. They will be sending you some flowers later today from what I've heard. They care for you."

"Aha."

"So... the house belongs to a rich businessman who left it vacant for some time due to his business in Singapore. Some larger corporation wanted a loan there, so I guess destruction of this place wouldn't really hurt him. But, like they say, it's our duty to inform him."

"I wouldn't be pissed if someone set my own place on fire," commented Gunner and shook his head. "Ouch... Especially if that was a bomb... Any note who could that be?"

The police cheetah cleared his throat. "Even if we know, I cannot say, because of the investigation and other things. Besides, what would you do with that fact?" he added and chuckled. "Just tell me if there was anything else besides what you said earlier in the evening?"

"No, not at all. Like I said I was in full... automatic mode. But don't mention it in your report. Just say I was doing my duties and I wasn't expecting anything unusual like someone rigging a device to blow up."

The feline nodded sympathetically. "I can relate to that, I know a few guys who are stuck on routine and that's nothing alien to us, sheriffs of the city."

That caught the jackal off guard, so he bursted out of laughter, which in turn became a painful moan.

"Ah yes, the ribs," Ali noted. "They mentioned something about it. Now, if you excuse me, I will just go before the doctors catch me making you laugh, sir."

"Just call me Gunner."

"Okay then," the cheetah smiled again. There was something oddly friendly in that smile despite Ali in full uniform. "Since you are likely still on your painkillers I can't really make you sign this as it is more something like "an unofficial preliminary report" in this case. I guess you'll need to visit our station anyway."

"Sure thing," the jackal laid down and waved his hand at Ali. "I'll be seeing you then, unless they assign someone else on that case. This is my first bomb to the face, you know."

This time it was the spotty guy to laugh. "Okay, now I seriously need to go. Just don't report to visit us after you get out of the hospital."

With Ali out of the room, Gunner became the lone person in the entire room. The bed next to him was empty, as if they put him with no one else. The jackal didn't even know if they put a policeman at the door like in these murder mystery movies, but he didn't really bother about it.

Entire case with the rich businessman, the kid who spent time there, and all that bomb made his head dizzy. He needed to rest. At least until recovering.

[The End?]