FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Jenna had stayed behind that counter for too long. She saw frequent beams from flashlights and heard the men chatting. Whoever they were must have been here recently, and there was a chance they'd find her hiding. Who knew why they were here? Jenna looked up at the open cabinet she couldn't reach without standing. She swallowed, feeling her heart beating out of her chest.

"Box is where we left it. You got the key?"

"Yeah, we're just moving this to the depot?"

"Boss's orders."

Boss? Depot? Jenna had stumbled into something she shouldn't have. She sat up slowly and peeked over the counter. They were occupied at the right corner of the store. She had to go for it. She needed those damn pills.

Jenna took a breath and held it, reaching her left hand up to the cabinet and slightly standing while trying to maintain her balance. "Gh, come on." She was close enough for her fingertips to touch the bottle but couldn't reach, so she inched up and promptly snatched it. Jenna crouched and shut her eyes for a moment while taking silent breaths, struggling to keep herself composed.

She did it. Okay, time to go. She stayed crouched for the most part but started moving toward the back door.

Unfortunately, Jenna couldn't see well, and her foot kicked the bottle she'd dropped while searching earlier. She grimaced and froze again, hearing the chatter stop and picking up whispering. They heard it. Fuck, they heard it. Her legs felt like bricks, but Jenna kept walking until a powerful beam of light hit her back and lit her surroundings.

"Hey!"

Jenna heard a deafening bang followed by something whizz past her. She flinched and widened her eyes. Why were they shooting? She hadn't done anything.

She stood and ran out of panic, stumbling while more bullets zipped past her. One shattered the glass door, making her flinch again and cover her head.

Jenna made it but heard two more shots and felt something hit her left hand, causing her to drop the Anastin as she ran through. She stopped. "A-Ah," she gasped and held it up, feeling warm liquid run down her arm. "Nh..." Her hand shook. She heard more gunfire and snatched the bottle off the ground with her other hand, then hopped a short chain-link fence and ran down the road in the direction she came as fast as she could.

However, Jenna was tackled abruptly from around a corner on the way. "Uhf!" She landed on her back, the bottle flying out of her hand again. Someone was sitting on top of her. They lifted a walkie-talkie to their mouth.

"Found him." It was another man, heavyset. "Who's with ya'?"

Jenna struggled to get from under him, grunting while pushing his chest and attempting to lift herself with her legs but was met with a swift hook to the jaw. "Ih-" she felt nothing but the impact since her adrenaline was pumping, but it stopped the fight she was putting up.

Jenna saw a flashlight hit her face and winced.

"Eh, a girl? Wouldn't have punched you." He began to stand and tugged her arm. "We'll question you at-" another gunshot.

Jenna felt his grip loosen and shoved him away, rolling onto her stomach while tears welled in her eyes. She couldn't catch a break yet as she saw another figure approaching.

Jenna spat blood on the ground she felt pooling in her mouth, weakly gripped her rifle, and tried her best to aim it at her next attacker.

"Jen?"

It took her a moment, but she recognized that voice. Jenna fell limp and dropped her defense while catching her breath.

"What'd they do to you?" Amy grabbed for her flashlight and crouched, shining it across Jenna's body and lifting her jacket, then feeling around her stomach, sides, and chest until finally falling on her hand. "Fuck... that's bad." She'd been shot in her palm, and Amy saw that blood covered her arm upon shining the light down it.

Amy reached into her pocket and took out the gauze she carried. "Gonna slow the bleed. This'll hurt." She held the flashlight in her mouth and wrapped the cloth around Jenna's hand and its wound, tying two thorough knots to apply as much pressure as possible.

"Mhn..." Jenna gritted her teeth from the pain radiating throughout her hand as it was pressed and watched Amy pull both ends of the fabric firmly to keep it in place.

"You okay, besides the wound?" Amy checked their surroundings for more danger. Maybe that was the last of them.

"S-Sure, yeah." Jenna started feeling dull, heavy pain in her jaw and the back of her head but could ignore it. The pain in her hand, not so much.

"We need t-" Amy saw their surroundings flash brightly for a split second, heard a pained screech, then a zap. She looked up and saw a person fall to the ground that was approaching from a road beside them with smoke rising from their corpse. "Nice catch, Hiko." Amy glanced back at her luxray.

Hiko had stayed on watch while Amy was tending to Jenna. He walked and stood beside them.

"I'm sure there are more, Jen. I'll help, but you have to get up now," she said. No one knew what dangers this city held, and they were in its center at night.

Jenna nodded and stood with Amy's aid, leaning against her as they started walking while her arm was around Jenna's waist. They were making ground too slow to be safe, but it was better than sitting out in the open.

Just then, Jenna remembered the Anastin she dropped. "A-Amy, the pills."

"What?"

"I dropped them."

"Ugh..." Amy scanned the area before setting Jenna down and shining her flashlight along the ground, soon spotting the bottle several feet away resting against a curb, and jogged to grab it. They didn't have time, but it'd at least make Jenna's injuries worth something. "Here." Amy handed it to her upon returning.

"Thanks." Jenna, this time, put it in her pouch and zipped it closed, standing with Amy again. "How'd you know?"

Amy pulled her up as they walked. "I took Hiko and followed you. I knew how this would go... I'm just glad you're alive, but don't do anything this stupid again. I mean it."

"I won't." More tears streamed down her face. As much as Jenna wanted to function independently, it didn't seem to be in her. It disappointed her, as it wasn't the woman she could afford to be, but her true nature refused to budge.

Amy grinned. "You did get the pills, though."

A gunshot crackled and filled the sky, significantly louder than the last three. Jenna froze and heard a corresponding thpf, then felt Amy's arm slip from her waist.

"Ghf-" she fell to her knees and wheezed while clutching her chest, her eyes dilated.

"Amy?" Jenna looked around frantically. She saw and heard no sign of people nearby, and neither did Hiko. "A-Amy." She felt dizzy and didn't know whether it was from blood loss or the situation. Jenna knelt and held her up with what little strength she had. "Amy, no, p-please... "

Hiko ran to his trainer while she coughed up blood and choked before collapsing onto her stomach, forcing Jenna to release her. Amy writhed as blood pooled around her chest on the ground. He saw her movement stop; in her open eyes, fear and excruciating pain.

"Help..." Jenna's clothes had her and Amy's blood on them, and enough tears were in her eyes to where she couldn't see properly. She leaned over and took Amy's necklace from around her neck, and while she did, another shot echoed and hit Amy's body, blood splattering onto Jenna's face and clothing.

She gasped and stumbled back with the necklace, sitting at a distance while gagging. She wanted to curl up and hope this was a nightmare.

Hiko nudged her arm. "Lux." They wouldn't last another five minutes if they sat here. There was a sniper atop one of the buildings and more people coming, likely.

Jenna wiped her eyes and runny nose and stood, almost falling over but gaining balance. She saw Hiko trot in front of her and dropped her rifle, following behind. Still weak, she fell upon hearing another gunshot ricochet off a nearby bench.

Jenna got back up with Hiko's help. He had run back to nudge her rear up and let her use his back as leverage to get on her feet. "Amy..." Jenna glanced back at her body multiple times. She felt horrible leaving her.

Jenna didn't know how close she'd get to Celestic, but she didn't want to pass out in this city. If she did, she'd hope to die before those sick people got ahold of her and Hiko.