FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Stepping off the bus at near midnight just outside my home, the doors gave the characteristic pssst sound as they closed behind me, reminding me that my long day at work was finally over. I began the usual fumbling with my house key, allowing my mind to drift back to work. It had been hectic at the cinema; the latest fad while watching the Minecraft movie was to throw your popcorn up in the air at the mention of the phrase ‘Chicken Jockey'. I shuddered, remembering how annoying it was to remove all the kernels from every seat crevice, getting it ready for the next showing, only then to do it all over again.

Finally finding the correct key, I entered my abode, which I shared with my parents. Strangely, the living room lights were still on this late at night, and muffled laughter could be heard. As I walked into the living room, I jettisoned my backpack into its usual hole and was greeted by my parents

drinking wine, which was unusual for them, given it was the middle of the week. Noticing my somewhat tired entrance, my mother, Susan, spoke up.

“Big day, dear? You look like you fought off a herd of goblins," she said.

Sigh. “You’re not far off it. To be honest, I’d rather wish it were a herd of goblins. Just another day battling the scourge of popcorn and the usual mall rat trying to score a free movie.” I replied.

"Oh, by the way, we have some very important news to share with you."

“Like what? Are you pregnant?”

I asked jokingly, knowing full well that I’d always remain their only child. Not because of anything medical-related, but rather their busy lifestyle, my mother being a real estate agent and my father a bank manager, only allowed for one child. Furthermore, as cool as it would be to become a big brother, having all their undivided attention on me did make life easier.

"No, silly, your father and I have just landed a big investment deal, so we’re celebrating a bit, and after discussing it, we have an exciting arrangement that involves you, dear."

I stared at my parents, trying to gauge from their faces what exactly they had in store for me.

“Son, we just purchased an apartment building with eight units in Border Town, and since we're tied down here with our jobs, we thought, what better opportunity than this to give our son his own freedom and some real-life managerial experience?" My father, Greg, revealed.

“Wh… what did you just say?” I asked, almost certain I’d misheard.

“Just as your father said, Jakey,” my mother began. “Our friend Colin has presented us with an unprecedented opportunity.”

“Wait, wait, wait? your friend Colin? The same Colin that’s been on trial for his dubious investment deals? The same Colin that is as shady as the shadow he casts. That Colin? You seriously can’t be considering this offer for real, right?” I said, trying to process the life-altering news being delivered with such disturbing calm from my parents.

"Listen, son, Colin has never been convicted on any of those charges. They may have been dubious, yes, but he never broke any laws, plus we’ve known him for almost your entire lifetime, so we couldn't turn down this deal. We did all the necessary investigations and believe it’s a wise investment," my father said sternly.

“Oh, Jakey,” my mother interjected with a sigh. “Can’t you understand how good of an opportunity this is for you and for us? If I were your age and someone offered me the chance to live rent-free to manage my own apartment complex, I’d be jumping at it. This is our chance not only to secure our future but yours too. Besides, I think it’s about time you left the nest and got yourself a real job. You're an adult now. Tearing movie stubs and making popcorn won’t get you a house … or a girlfriend.”

Ouch. That last part cut deeper than I expected.

“Look, I know working at a cinema isn’t exactly glamorous... or lucrative, but no one is hiring inexperienced 22-year-old college dropouts in this job market,” I pleaded.

“I’m sorry, son,” my father said. “But this is our decision; remember, we agreed that when you decided to leave college, we’d respect your choice under the condition you’d find full-time employment, and since you haven’t lived up to your end of the deal, we made the choice for you.

“I know, I know. It's just I wouldn't know the first thing about managing an attic, let alone a whole apartment complex." But I knew I had been beaten. Persuading them otherwise was a lost cause. With a heavy sigh, I surrendered. “Fine, just what do you call this prison I’m supposed to guard?"

My mother smiled. “Château à la Frontière".

Page Break

“Château à la Frontière,” I read aloud, squinting at the barely legible paint on the building’s front. From what my parents told me, most maintenance here was already taken care of, rent was paid through an accounting firm, grounds were maintained professionally, and most tenant needs were handled by local tradespeople and utility services; there really wasn't much for me to do.

My only real job? Enforce the building rules and be available in case of emergencies after hours. Simple enough.

The building itself was two storeys tall, housing eight apartments, four per floor, each with a small personal patio. The place was… quaint, to say the least.

Who would want to live all the way out here, on the outskirts of town, I wondered?

From what I learned in school, Border Town, as it was so aptly named, had been established after some secret government weapon tests back in the ’50s accidentally tore open portals to another realm. A realm filled with fantastical creatures we’d once called myths. The various world governments were at a loss at how to contain and manage such world-changing events until the emissaries of the Fae kind, as they called themselves, brokered with the human governments on shared territories, trade deals, information swaps and various other things that are of interest between the two parties.

Border towns like this one were somewhat like an international airport, where certain Fae were allowed to live on the Earth, working, studying and interacting with the local peoples. Ours was the first and, consequently, had been given the most uninspired name imaginable.

The existence of Magick was another whirlwind, life-changing concept that shook the scientific communities; even now the world's leading physicists are still trying to figure out how it actually works.

A curiosity that’s left many confused is that when Magick is performed on Earth, it's either really weak or doesn’t work at all, and if the Fae Kind were to spend too much time on Earth, they would tend to get really tired and weak, like some kind of deficiency. So once a month they have to return to the Fae Realm to 'recharge'.

Sighing deeply, I turned toward the entrance, grabbing my suitcase.

“Well, better go and accept my fate.”

Stepping into the front foyer, I noticed the four doors for each ground apartment and a tired-looking concrete staircase leading up to the upper floor where my new home awaited.

As I passed the first couple of doors, an elderly man emerged from the apartment just before the stairs.

Apartment 4… Adalbert Fehlberg, I recalled from the tenant ledger I had tried my best to learn before arriving.

“Oh, um … Hi. I'm Jake. Jake Hopper, the new building manager. You're Mr Fehlberg, right?”

“Hmpf. So it seems. I hope you're better than the last lot that was here. Done nothing about the mess upstairs. Rubbish everywhere. All 'cause they be fraid of that blooming fat lizard up above.”

Fat lizard? What?

Great. It hasn't been five minutes, and I've already been dragged into some bizarre tenant feud.

“I'll check it out as soon as I unpack,” I offered, hoping to appease this old man who looked at me with a scowl so deep, I felt like a son who had disappointed their father.

“Hmph. I believe it when I see it,” he grumbled, slamming the door shut with surprising force for someone who looked like a stiff breeze might knock him down.

Hesitantly, I continued to my apartment on the upper floor.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs on the upper floor, I noticed what could only be described as a rubbish dump. Various different kinds of furniture littered the back half of the upper floor hallway. Lamps without shades, shades without lamps, three-legged chairs, torn cushions, just… junk.

“Seriously?” I sighed. “Adalbert wasn’t kidding about there being a mess up here, and it’s blocking my apartment door.”

I dropped my suitcase and began digging a path through the clutter, sneezing my way through the dust clouds I was creating and hoping there wasn't anything sinister amongst it. After what felt like an eternity moving every item akin to a haunted garage sale from my door, I finally unlocked it and stepped inside.

My new kingdom.

A three-seater couch, a flatscreen TV from a brand I’d never heard of, a breakfast bar separating the kitchen, and the standard discount store appliances.

It wasn’t exactly the lap of luxury.

Still, when I opened the bedroom door and saw the queen-sized bed, I grinned. “Well, at least one thing’s an upgrade.”

Page Break

After unpacking and putting away the last of my clothes into the convenient tallboy drawer in my room, I decided to tackle my first “official” duty bestowed upon me by Adalbert: clear the hallway of the fire safety violation directly outside my apartment. First, I needed to speak with whoever lived in Apartment 7, the person who was allegedly responsible for the pile in the first place, and inform them that they mustn’t use the common areas as their storage closet. Afterwards, I would set about clearing some of the pandemonium they had created.

Leaving my apartment and tiptoeing around the mess, I reached the opposite from mine.

"Emberlyn", I read from the ledger. No last name, huh? Strange.

I knocked on her door.

“Hi, uh … Miss Emberlyn? This is Jake Hopper, the new building manager. I just wanted to talk about your…‘collection’ in the hallway outside."

No answer.

It was Tuesday afternoon after all, and they were probably out or at work.

With no response, I got to work regardless. Praying whatever I touched didn’t have any nasty surprises hiding in it. After hauling the junk for what felt like hours, I dropped the final broken lamp into the bin outside.

Stepping back inside, I went to apartment four and knocked gently.

The door opened just enough to see a sliver of Adalbert; I reported to him my success in fulfilling his request.

"The mess is all taken care of, Mr Fehlberg,” I said proudly.

“Hmph. Maybe you're not as useless as the other lot after all.”

And with that, he disappeared back into his apartment.

“No need to thank me,” I muttered under my breath.

“Hehehehe…”

I paused and looked around. I could have sworn I had just heard someone laughing right behind me, but apart from the spiders sitting in their corners, I was utterly alone.

I shook it off. Probably just dehydration talking; I did build up quite a sweat moving all that broken furniture to the bin. I decided it was probably best to go have a drink of water and take a shower; the smell emanating from me could probably strip paint at this point.

Refreshed and wrapped in a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Noticing my somewhat scrawny reflection in the mirror, I made a mental note to start looking at any local gyms nearby. The chances of needing to defend myself from an actual goblin herd have increased dramatically now that I live in Border Town; though cases of Fae-kind attacks on humans were rare, they weren’t unheard of. Every now and then when the Fae get weak and don’t go back to their realm quickly enough, they can become agitated, disorientated and dangerous to the point where they act almost feral.

Noticing the time of 5 o’clock, I decided to do a quick Google search of what grocery stores were nearby. The pangs of hunger were starting to creep in as the very uninspired sandwich I had on the Greyhound bus here began to fade.

Suddenly a loud scream could be heard from the hallway, outside my door.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Then came thunderous bangs on my door, causing me to jolt.

BANG, BANG, BANG.

“YOU BETTER GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT, YOU THIEF, BEFORE I BURN THIS DOOR DOWN!”

What the hell?

It must be the tenant who owned all that junk I threw out earlier.

Scrambling to the door in only a pair of boxers and a singlet that I hastily put on, I slowly cracked the door open. “I’m sorry, Miss Emberlyn, but the building code and fire—”

I froze.

On the other side of the door was not something I thought I’d ever see.

It was a dragon.

Red-scaled. Towering. With sharp, glinting teeth, smoke seeping from her nostrils, and with horns black and curling on either side of her head, similar to a ram's.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! THAT WAS MY HOARD—MY TREASURE—you … you just threw it out like common trash! I’ll have you know a dragon’s hoard is protected under the law."

SLAM.

I shut the door, locked the deadlock by turning it with my trembling fingers and sprinted into the bathroom, turning off the lights and hiding behind the door like a bug sheltering in a dark crevice, avoiding being squashed.

“HEY! DON’T SLAM A DOOR IN A ‘NESS'S FACE!” her voice thundered. “I’M GETTING MY STUFF BACK, AND IF YOU TOUCH IT AGAIN, I’LL BURN YOU TO A CRISP, SOFT SCALE!”

It went quiet; maybe she had left? I didn’t want to find out, so I stayed curled up on the bathroom floor, too afraid to move.

Welcome to Border Town, Jake Hopper.

Where your next-door neighbour might just roast you alive for touching her ‘treasure’.