FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Night was falling as the trees rustled from the wind that blew through the wooded area, disturbed only by the sound of an approaching diesel engine. Steadily, a set of headlights appeared and illuminated the gates to the abandoned campsite. It was an odd sight to see a plain looking box truck roll down the overgrown dirt road that led to the camps. While certainly standing out from the natural backdrop, the truck still came up to the gate before turning and performing a three point turn so that the back of the truck was pointed towards the old gates that blocked the way in.

A snow leopard came out of the cab of the truck and proceeded to open the back of the box truck to reveal a kind of home brewed yet "techy" mobile command post inside, complete with multiple flat screen monitors, a computer towards the "nose" of the truck, and a bunch of electronic equipment from cameras to exotic homemade gadgets. The snow leopard walked up the ramp and systematically started each electrical device inside. He was booting up the computer when a flash from outside and the sound of crunching gravel drew his attention. Stepping out to the bottom of the ramp, He spotted a SUV that was making its way down the long pathway. It was only a moment later that it pulled up to the gates, headlights casting an eerie glow among the woods before they were turned off and left the forest in darkness once again.

The snow leopard approached the SUV as the doors opened and he regarded each of the four passengers as they got out. The first one out was a red and black haired otter by the name of Alex Fisher, looking very much like a stereotypical otter with his typical mellow facial expression and amiable posture he had. Alex looked more like he belonged on some beach where he could be among the surf, not well inland where a large body of water was hours away by car. Next out of the vehicle was Jea Gilmore, a blonde gray tiger feline. He remembered hearing that the young girl was equal parts beauty, athletic and intelligent. Then there was Destiny Castro, someone who looked almost as out of place as Alex. The red panda wasn't as smart, nor as athletic as her companions. Instead, she still had a sharp, analytical eye for details and had a quite strategic mind when it came to placement and angles for capturing things. Then finally, there was Aclide Howells. A lot of teachers considered the fox a troublemaker and a pain to deal with, but the snow leopard was able to see past and bring out the better side of Aclide nature.

"Good evening Professor Powell." Jea said as she closed the door.

"Good evening Ms. Gilmore, Ms. Castro, Mr. Howells, Mr. Fisher." Professor Perry Powell greeted each of his students. "Hope the ride out here wasn't too much trouble."

"It was enough." Aclide snipped. Destiny rolled her eyes at the remark.

"He's only pouting because he almost missed the last two turnoffs to get here."

"Still," Alex spoke up to keep Aclide from starting an argument. "It wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least we were able to spot the turns before it was too late."

"I know what you mean." Perry said, gaining the attention of the others. "When I first scouted the location, I had to turn around a few times before I finally got here." The group snickered at that and the professor just smiled. "So..." He spoke as he clapped his hands together. "Shall we get down to business?" Everyone turned and entered the back of the truck into the makeshift office.

"So, what are we dealing with?" Destiny asked as she moved some of her red locks of hair back into place.

"Students, welcome to Dustfall Woods. An undeveloped forest that some of the locals avoid because of rumors of it being haunted." The professor stated as he handed each of them a folder. "The area we are going to be focusing our investigation on is the abandoned campground that was built on the edge of the forest." Perry turned and posted a few pictures on the cork-board that was hung next to a set of four monitors on the right wall.