FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Her name is Jinx she is only 21 and we begin this story at the moment of her death. Some people believe in an afterlife, some people believe in reincarnation and some people don't even like to think about it. Nobody knows exactly what happens when you die. The only thing that is certain is that everything has its time be it an individual, a species or a universe. In this story the passage to death is not a straightforward line, as in life so in death. In this story before you die there is a small period of time in which you can recapture your former life and come back from the brink of eternal night. The old tale of the light at the end of the tunnel is a good way to put it into perspective. But first you must travel through the unknown to reach the light.

The vixen's eyes shot open as she awoke with a sudden shock. She hugged tightly at her entire body gripping her orange fur at the pain that was not there. She remembered nothing she didn't even know where she was. She was completely unclothed lying in the foetal position paralysed by an invisible force. She was not anywhere familiar. Taking herself out of her huddled position she was able to look more at her surroundings. She was inside an eerily quite forest with only the sound of the wind through the trees rustling the brown dead leaves. She took note of a stony path only a few metres from where she lay. The cold of the autumn air wrapped around her naked body making her shiver and curl back up. She felt a chilling and haunting presence about her being as if she was being watched. A gust blew up her back sending her fur forwards carried by the wind. She used her bushy orange tail to hug and closed her eyes trying not to feel the cold. The air became more like ice taking away the insulating properties of her soft protective coat. It became unbearable as more time passed; the temperature was steadily decreasing and never warming. It seemed like an eternity as she remained in a tight ball with her eyes slammed shut.

Then it stopped, the harsh wind ceased and feeling came rushing back to her numb body. She opened her eyes once more and found herself in a completely different place. She was inside of a house from what she could gather. There was a roaring fire going in a period fireplace that was very enticing. The whole room was quite dark as there was only the one small window. It was a cosy little room that was a mesh of dark brown colours and old style furniture. What surprised her more was the fact that she was now wearing clothes that had somehow appeared on her body. There was no longer a need for her to huddle up, as it was very warm inside the dim room. Still feeling the effects of the cold she got onto all fours and crawled her way over to the fireplace to bask in it's warming glow. She sat crossed legged rubbing her paws vigorously trying to wake them up. The thought then occurred to her that she didn't know what this place was and could be anywhere. Sensing something was not right she left the fire and stepped quietly out the one wooden door in the room. She cautiously opened it turning the black metal ring handle having to force it to open.

She once again was in a forest, the same one she had first woken up in as she remembered the stony road. But this time there was a thick layer of snow carpeting the earth in its simple purity. She did not wish to step outside the warming confines of the house and could feel the chill already blowing inwards through the door. Shivering slightly she closed the door with a loud slam that made her turn around to face the rest of the room making sure nobody was behind her. The sounds she heard previously were of a brewing blizzard rushing it's way through the air with a loud swooshing sound. But on the other side of the door she could hear nothing that resembled a blizzard. Opening the door once more she could visibly see that the weather had changed once more. The new climate suited that of a spring afternoon with fresh leaves beginning to sprout on the trees and flowers were coming into blossom. This climate was more to her liking and she stepped out of the door closing it soundlessly behind her. She would have expected to hear at least something in a thick wood but there was not even bird song. She walked further forward looking around herself in awe wondering how the seasons could just change like that.

"Beautiful isn't it," a soft voice spoke from behind her, which startled her. She did not instantly turn around to frozen to do so and only managed a slow swivel in the direction of the voice. When she made a complete turn in the opposite direction she saw that the small cottage like house had vanished and in its stead was another fox dressed all in white standing only a fair distance away.

"I said it's beautiful isn't it," he repeated himself taking only one step closer to her. In turn this made her take one step back weary of this stranger that had suddenly appeared.

"Who are you?" she asked abruptly trying not to show signs of weakness or fear.

"Now I would say that was a good enough question but you still haven't answered mine," he replied taking another single step forwards. She looked at him squinting slightly to block out the sun.

"Yes it is beautiful now please answer my question," she answered just as abruptly as before not backing down. He plucked as single flowering bud from an over hanging tree and held it in his paw. He looked down upon it and smiled caressing it with his fingers. He then looked up at her removing the smile.

"I am your spirit guide," he answered bluntly placing the bud into his breast pocket.

"My spirit guide what's that supposed to mean I don't believe in such things," she scoffed lightly not taking him seriously.

"You may not believe in such things but what if such things believe in you, Kiddo," he looked into her somewhat displeased eyes taking in her reaction.

"My father used to call me that when I was little... we were the only ones who new about it, so how do you know?" she grew angry with him not liking the fact that he knew a secret of hers she had kept for many years.

"I told you, I am your spirit guide I live inside of your soul and I know everything you know," he took a step forwards almost putting him in arms length of her.

"What is this place?" she asked still not accepting the reality of the situation.

"Again a good question...you are in a world between the realm of the living and the realm of afterlife, this point here and now only exists in your mind," his voice was gentle yet hard sounding.

"So you're saying I'm dead is that it?" she huffed crossing her arms with a look of disbelief.

"No, I'm saying you are neither dead nor are you alive," he answered. She still did not believe him and only looked at him snidely scrunching her muzzle.

"Why am I here?" she interrogated him further still with the same harsh tone and crossed arms.

"Ah now this was the question I was looking for..." he took another step forward bringing him at arms length. "You are here because you want to be here whether you know it or not."

She looked at him with a growing amount of confusion, as his words were more like riddles to her than proper sentences. She looked at his expressionless face with intrigue. She did not speak not knowing what else to say and trying to un-jumble the mix of words she had in her head.

"You are here because your mind doesn't want you to die, if you die it dies and what it doesn't want is for you to die or otherwise it would no longer have a purpose," he talked slowly and concisely taking one last step coming face to face with Jinx. She stared at him with concerned eyes for if what he was telling her was the truth she might not have very long to live.

"So what do I do?" she asked in a gentle tone uncrossing her arms. He raised a paw taking the flower bud from his breast pocket and placing it into hers. She looked down at it then up at him again with lips ready to speak and a confused expression.

"This bud represents your time in this place... when the very last petal falls your life will come to a permanent end," he spoke very lowly and seriously looking her in the eye. She nodded in acceptance.

"Follow the light Jinx it is there that you will undergo the Final Judgment. Choose you're paths wisely for you may meet with others from your past, they may either help you or hinder you. However, beware of the past it can be a painful thing to look back upon and you may find things that will frighten you. Just bare in mind that they are only figments of your imagination and your own imagination cannot hurt you if you don't allow it." He pointed in a direction behind her making her turn around to see what he wanted her to see. There was nothing obvious so she turned back around to face him but he was gone, disappeared as quick as he arrived. She did a complete 360 degrees swivel looking everywhere he could have gone to, but he was nowhere. She turned and looked again where he had pointed. This time she looked more closely and saw a faint white light in the distance.

She padded softly on the grass until she reached the stony path looking at how far it stretched into the horizon. She removed the bud from her pocket and noticed it had already begun to bloom more than it had been previously. Placing the bud once more it to the safety of her pocket she moved along the path. It crunched under her feet with every step kicking the stones around that made up the consistency of the path. Each step took her more into the thickening forest shutting out the light from the over hanging trees. As the sun could only penetrate the tiny gaps in the leaves it created a pattern of yellow lights on the ground. After not hearing another sound for quite some time when she did hear one it was blatantly obvious to her. It sounded like somebody crying up ahead and she quickened her pace a little to get closer so she could hear the noise more clearly. It was indeed someone crying and her brisk walk turned into a jog as she crackled her way over the stones. As she neared the emergence of the sound she saw that it was a little fox child who had fallen of his bike and had injured himself.

"Hey are you all right do you need some help?" she rushed over to check on him and see if he was seriously injured.

"No get away from me it's your fault!" he snapped back at her shuffling away from her clutching at his bloody knee.

"What's my fault I haven't done anything?" she asked worriedly concerned for the safety of the small kit. He sobbed into his paws and repeated over and over again 'it's your fault.' She crouched down over the child and put a paw out on his back to try and settle him down.

"Shhhh now tell me what happened?" she spoke softly being as gentle and calming as possible. He turned his head to meet hers. When Jinx got a good look at his face and look of shock appeared on hers.

"It's your fault!" he screamed at her once more making Jinx close her eyes tightly not wishing to bring back old memories. When she opened them again the child was gone. She stood back up with a heavy heart and continued down the same path.

The small kit was her childhood best friend who she had fun with and they stayed friends throughout their young lives. This scene of him having an accident like that symbolised the accident that took place when they were eleven. She had invited him over on a sunny afternoon so they could hang out and just have a laugh. He took his bike as usual riding blissfully unaware of his imitate fate. He never arrived at her house and she didn't see him again. The last memory she had of him was when her parents came into her room with sad looks on their faces and sat her down on the bed. They told her that there had been an accident involving him and a car, needless to say he did not survive the crash. She had always blamed herself for the accident and had always said that if she didn't invite him over that afternoon he would never have been killed. Just thinking about this memory made her want to cry for the loss of the best friend she ever had.

Jinx continued to walk down the same path keeping her eyes fixated on the road ahead. It was then that she came to a fork in her path. She stopped just at the edge of going one-way or the other. Shifting her gaze from side to side looking as far as possible down each of the paths. There was absolutely no difference between the two sides so it was almost impossible to decide.

"Stuck?" a strange rasping voice sounded behind her. She was getting a little tired of people popping up wherever or whenever they pleased but none the less she had to turn around. She saw an elderly male fox clutching a walking stick and shakily slightly.

"Grandfather?" She asked questioningly realising that it was another person from her past.

"No I'm not your Grandfather, I'm just a figment of your imagination created in this way to appear more trusting and friendly to you, but this is besides the point," he coughed into a paw losing a bit of his balance. This had to be him it looked and sounded just like her Grandfather. She cocked her head looking inquisitively at him twitching an ear.

"Two men will walk down those paths, one of these men always lie's and has never told the truth once in his life. The other man always tells the truth and has never told a lie once in his life. Of course only they know who is the liar and who is telling the truth making this somewhat difficult. You must find out which of the two paths is the best one to take. You can ask only the one same question to both of them, choose wisely and good luck," his voice was somewhat distorted but clear.

[You may have already heard this riddle, if so then this won't be all that interesting but if you haven't you may find this interesting. If you want to take a few seconds to think about it don't read on for a minute, the answer will be at the very end of the story, but please refrain from reading it till the end].

"Can't you just tell me which way to go?" She pleaded with him in little hope that he would actually tell her anything.

"Hehehe you were always one to try and find the easy way around," he coughed again from the physical exertion of chuckling. Jinx smiled at the floor then noticed he was pointing at the two paths making her think that the men were approaching. Turning back she could not see any obvious signs of anybody walking towards her. Spinning back around her Grandfather had disappeared like the others.

"Oh damn it stop doing that!" she shouted angrily rolling her eyes. Turning once more to face the paths ahead to new figures had appeared. They were both exactly the same to the finest detail. They were both Gray wolves wearing matching suits. Jinx hadn't had much time to think about the riddle she had been given and racked her brains trying to think how this was going to work. She tapped lightly at her chin pacing up and down being watched all the time by the two wolves who hadn't spoke the whole time. It took a while before she thought she had the answer and stepped up to the first wolf on the right.

"I want you to tell me what the other man would say if you were to ask him which path to take?" she smirked at him who didn't return it and kept a completely unemotional look on his face.

"Take the left path," he told her keeping unemotional and continuing on his way. She then walked over to the other man and asked him exactly the same question.

"Take the left path," he replied exactly in the same unemotional state as the other man and continued on his way as well. She pondered over it for only a second longer and decided to take the right path crunching over the gravely ground. The wilderness all looked the same almost as if she was going around in circles. The only thing that convinced her she wasn't was the fact that the light had gotten closer since she last looked at it. She removed the bud once more from her breast pocket holding it out in her palm. It was no longer a bud and had bloomed in to a beautiful white flower of some kind that she had never seen before. She looked at it worriedly not knowing how long she had left to travel or even how long it would take for the flower to lose all it's petals. Having nothing better to do other than walk she started to wonder about this place. She hadn't really thought about it much until now but everything just seemed to make a weird sort of sense to her. It is quite possible she is asleep and only dreaming but if she were dreaming how is it that she cannot wake herself up.

Being so deep in her own thoughts Jinx did not realise that the path beneath her feet had disappeared and she was now walking idly through the woods. It was not until she stepped on a dead leaf that made a different sounding crunch that she noticed she had lost her way. She turned back to try and find the path but a bunch of fallen tress obstructed her way. She wondered how she managed to get where she was and not bump into them. A little confused and somewhat distraught by her new situation she continued on cautiously minding her way this time not wanting to get even more lost. Having no way of telling time she did not know how long she had walked but she figured she must have travelled a fair distance by now. It took a clear head and a keen mind to pick her way through the dense trees even though she could have been getting herself even more misled.

Eventually she stumbled across a cottage type house that looked exactly the same as the one she had first been in. This was a very troubling thought, as it seemed that she came all this way and only went around in a full circle. Her natural curiosity got the better of her and she approached the house on the balls of her footpads creeping silently up to the door. There was a large black metal doorknocker, which she carefully picked up and swung against the wooden door making a louder bang than she had wished to make. There wasn't a reply and again her curiosity egged her on telling her one little peek couldn't hurt. She turned the metal ring handle and opened the door, which creaked unexpectedly. She placed only her head around the door taking stock of the inside of the cottage. If this was indeed the same place then they had done some serious redecorating since she was last in it. The whole inside was completely modernised like something you expect in a brand new studio or apartment. When she stepped in she noticed that the inside of the door was different from the one on the outside. She closed it being careful not to make any unnecessary noise. The room was fairly large with a plasma screen T.V situated on the wall in front of a cream leather sofa. There were large windows that illuminated the room perfectly even though there was no sign of windows on the outside. It was a bit minimalist for her taste but she shouldn't even be here so what did she care. It crossed her mind why a place like this would be out in the middle of nowhere and why it looked completely different from the outside.

"You're home early," a male fox said walking down an adjoining flight of stairs. She didn't know if he was talking to her but guessed he had mistaken her for someone else as he had a towel over his head rubbing vigorously at his head fur. Something else she noticed was that he was completely naked apart from a towel over his face. She couldn't help but look at his sheath that bobbed slightly as he descended the staircase. She blushed a bit when she saw this side tracking her from her main line of thinking.

"I-I umm..." was all she could manage still staring at his quite large sheath feeling herself becoming aroused by it. He removed the towel from his face and finally took a look at the person had just been talking to, naked. He whipped the towel around his privates tying it securely and looking at her in shock. Jinx looked away trying not to make it look like she was interested in what she saw.

"For god sake Jinx you don't just walk in on somebody when they're nude," he scolded her but not as angrily as she would have expected from a stranger whose house she just broke in to.

"I'm really sorry sir I just walked in and... did you call me Jinx?" She stood up looking at him cock eyed with a curious expression on her face.

"Well that is your name isn't it?" He answered her question with one of his own. Jinx just looked at him trying to figure out who he was, his face was certainly familiar but she couldn't put a name to it.

"Uh well yes it is but how did you know that?" she questioned him further.

"If you're trying to be funny drop it okay because it isn't," he said with a short sigh walking into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"Sorry could you just remind me who you are again?" she asked feeling a little bit silly if she should already know this person. He looked at her with another sigh and a somewhat irritated look drinking a gulp of his water.

"I am your flat mate and my name is Rico, now please stop messing around," he huffed walking over to the sofa and sitting only one seat away from Jinx. Now she remembered, Rico was the boy she fancied back in secondary school and she knew he had a crush on her as well. But before she could do anything about it another girl in her class took him. They never saw each other after they left school and went their separate ways. She was heart broken but he would always remain with her, even if it was only in her memories.

"How much did you see?" she snapped back to reality after being stuck in her head for a while.

"Well I would have thought that was obvious," she replied giggling a little because when she thought about it, it was really quite funny. He rolled his eyes again and they both blushed a little. It was an awkward silence that came between them and Jinx fidgeted in her seat.

"Soooo... what do we usually do now?" Jinx mumbled trying to break the silence that was making the atmosphere cut able with a knife.

"Well we usually watch the telly until the early hours of the morning but I've got work tomorrow," he replied smiling shyly at his half empty glass.

"Why didn't we ever get together Rico?" She was unexpectedly straightforward. He was a little blown back by her bluntness and couldn't find the right words. His wide eyes shifted from her, to his glass, to the T.V and then back to her. Jinx looked at him blankly waiting patiently for an answer.

"I guess we were just to shy to do anything about it," he finally answered looking at her. At exactly the same time one singular thought entered their minds. They both shot towards each other and locked in a kiss. Their lips moved around over the others and they allowed tongues to pass through. Jinx's tongue flicked at the underside of his tickling it whilst his danced around on top. They both naturally had their eyes closed just enjoying the others embrace. Nothing was going to stop them continuing now as they were completely caught up in the moment. Jinx's paw drifted down his naked belly and untied the towel that was the only thing holding him back. Throwing it aside she allowed her paw to slide gently over his exposed penis. She brought her paw down to the very hilt then kept the same grip all the way back up to the tip. She stroked it almost playfully teasing the tip with her fingers then pulling downwards in a quick jolt. They continued their long kiss only stopping so Rico could let out a short moan once and a while. Rico used a free paw to sneak underneath her shirt and unclip her bra strap, which was no easy task with only one paw. When it was unlatched he pulled it out from the bottom of her shirt and dropped it into the floor. Jinx started to lye back long ways over the sofa with Rico closely following her with a hand cupped around one of her breasts massaging it. Her hand never left his shaft and she continued to work it even when they were led down. He squeezed her nipple between his fingers pulling at it gently. This stimulation only made Jinx rub him faster and harder making him moan more frequently.

Playtime was over, they both wanted more. Jinx removed her paw from his penis and unbuttoned her jeans. Rico slid them down her legs gladly taking them right off and chucking them over his shoulder. Whilst he worked on removing her moist panties Jinx was removing her shirt over her head throwing it aside as well. They were now on equal terms, both naked. Jinx decided on the position and flipped onto her side with her butt facing the back off the sofa. Rico crawled in behind her kissing all the way from just above her tail to the back of her head. She lifted a leg high up into the air making a V. Rico placed his hips just below her angling his member into position with her awaiting slit. Using a paw as his guide he centred with her parting and pushed against her only allowing the tip to slip inside. The feeling of her wetness over his tip and the scent of her sex drove him wild. With that he pushed upwards feeling every glorious inch force its way into the depths of her cunt. Jinx to could feel his hard shaft thrust deep inside making her whimper with pleasure. When he buried himself fully he let out a groan of ecstasy breathing hot air onto the back of her neck. It was a struggle to keep her leg raised in the air for such a long period and Rico noticed that so he used a paw to support it's weight. His jolting upwards thrusting made Jinx exhale harshly each time his groin collided with her bum.

It was not the most comfortable of positions or even easiest but they could make it work. At the same time as he pumped upward Jinx would force herself down creating a very smooth and refined rhythm. As each thrust hit home both Rico and Jinx were letting out short bursts of breathless panting then desperately sucking in air before the next one collided. He went slowly at first but with power and accuracy with his strokes. As his pleasure increased dramatically so did his testosterone making him unbelievably horny and wanted nothing more than to fuck her brains out. He did just that increasing his speed gradually until he reached the point where his shaft was going to catch on fire. Jinx was in heaven loving the fact that she was being taken so aggressively which increased her overall sensations. The speed came with a draw back, which was the fact that Rico now desperately needed to cum. She could actually feel his cock twitch madly inside her vaginal walls and encouraged him by using her cunt walls to pleasure him further. Her own climax was very close she could feel it in the pit of her stomach and she knew that his orgasm would bring her to hers. She felt him make one final thrust before he moaned into her ear loudly reaching his peak. She could imagine his potent fox cum flooding her walls and coating them in the sticky white ooze. Her imagination and the feeling of his rushing seed made her orgasm hard screaming and gripping onto whatever she could find. Her leg collapsed not having his support and not having enough energy to keep it up any longer. They panted heavily and Jinx felt his hot breath once more on her neck. He removed his shaft from her sticky hole and pulled himself off the sofa and over the armrest.

"I best take another shower," he smiled down at Jinx who was led on her back now using his towel to clean herself up. Rico disappeared upstairs leaving Jinx to catch her breath on the sofa. When she found enough energy she raised herself onto her feet and padded along the floor gathering her clothes.

She picked up her panties and trousers and slipped them on. When she lifted up her shirt she noticed the flower that once resided in her pocket had fallen out. Picking it up several of the petals fell away and floated gently to the ground.

She left through the door she came in and stepped onto a familiar sounding path. Looking down she saw the gravel path that was once more beneath her feet and she smiled at it feeling her sense of being lost disappear. When she did eventually look at her surrounding scenery she saw a major difference. She was no longer in a forest but in a valley of which she presumed was part of the mountains. Of course when she turned back around the house was gone and was now replaced by a rock fall forcing her to go forward. The clouds above seemed so close almost as if she could touch them. Being several thousand feet above sea level up in the sky she would have expected it to be quite cold and for there to be little oxygen. But she found it quite pleasantly warm and had no trouble breathing what so ever. Continuing on the same path she walked between the two sloping hills either side being weary of their unstable rocky features. There were no twists or turns in the valley at all giving her a clear sight of the path ahead and a clear sight of the ever-closing white light.

She was right to be weary of the rocks above as only a few feet in front of her a small boulder tapped down the side of the left slope. That one small boulder signalled an avalanche as another much larger set of boulders came crashing down rumbling the very ground she stood upon. She would only have a split second to make a run through the deathly trap and have to avoid many incoming objects. Fortunately, she saw a cave just off to her right side embedded in the mountain. She had another difficult choice ahead of her and only a moment to decide. Either run through and possibly get killed or run into the cave getting trapped and possibly not find another way out. Both ways carried equal risks and out of the choice of two evils the cave seemed like the lesser one. She stumbled over the shaking earth swaying from side to side desperately trying to make her way inside the cave before it was to late. One final leap for safety she skidded face first inside the opening of the cave scratching holes in her jeans and shirt. The rumbling stopped and she perked up her ears twitching them around listening to the slightness of sounds. When she finally concluded that there was no more danger she opened her eyes lifting herself off the floor with her arms. She brushed herself down wiping clean her fur of the dirt. She found a small amount of blood on her paw as she touched her muzzle and realised she must have grazed it along the ground. She had a few more cuts over her body but nothing serious.

The cave was dark, its only illumination was the small hole unfilled by the landslide and a tiny flicker of light up ahead. The light up ahead gave her hope of another exit so she started to walk out of the singular beam of light and into the dark depths of the cave. Her night vision was good but even Jinx was still struggling in the pitch black. The cave walls would get narrower in some places and widen in others. The rough walls scraped along her palms but did no damage and only made her twinge a little. It was quite uncomfortable cramming herself through sharp jagged rocks that pressed past her fur and onto her skin. Her feet would sometimes slip under the loose rocks that littered the floor. It took a long time to navigate through the cramped claustrophobic corridor but she finally reached a large open space still inside the cave. Jinx looked about the opening with a gaping mouth at the sheer size of it. It was mostly dark with only one small trickle of light illuminating a bit of the cave.

"Jinx," an odd sounding voice hissed in the darkness. She turned in circles trying to pin point the source of the noise.

"Jinx," it repeated a little more harshly this time.

"Where are you?" she asked the dark worriedly as this was certainly a voice she did not want to meet in a pitch-black cave.

"Over her child," it hissed again. She turned around and saw two bright green eyes staring at her. She could see nothing else but the eyes that never blinked and she found herself compelled to stare at them.

"Who... I mean what are you?" she spoke timidly clutching at her paws nervously.

"Do you remember when you were six, you owned a snake," the creatures voice was quite high almost in a soprano tone.

"Y-yes," she whimpered slightly knowing where this was going.

"And what did you do to that snake?" it asked deepening its voice.

"I-I... please I'm sorry!" she pleaded desperately almost in tears holding her head in her paws.

"Stop stalling girl and answer the question!" it hissed at her angrily and the eyes showed its anger.

"I-I... stomped on it!" she blurted out.

"Yessss you stomped on that poor snake that you held captive, why did you decide to end its life!" Every S was extended in a hissing sound. She was not quite crying but was trembling a lot.

"I don't know..." Jinx sort of trailed off at the end looking down at the ground with her head hung low. She was just a kit back then and didn't know the concept of life and death.

"That is not a good enough answer!" it roared at her. She was so ashamed for taking a life needlessly like that and she really had no answer to give.

"I don't know," she repeated in the same way as before. The green eyes floated towards her as the creature became more visible. Its long slender muscular body slithered its way towards her in a swaying motion. As it entered the light jinx saw exactly what she expected to see just on a much grander scale that she first thought. A 40-foot serpent loomed over her with its big green slit eyes fixated squarely on hers and its tongue flickered out of its mouth. Its body was the thickness of a car tire and was a multitude of red, black and ivory. It was her snake, the one she killed all those years ago when she stood on it. She remembered when she lifted her foot the snake had stopped squirming around and just stayed perfectly still. Even as a six-year-old kit with no concept of life or death she instantly realised what she had done. The snake raised itself further off the ground using its powerful muscles to propel itself upwards. Jinx looked at it and whimpered quietly with a very worried look on her face. It grinned at her evilly and breathed a lungful of air through its nostrils. She was so mesmerised by its eyes that she did not realise its tail curl up around her body. She did not feel its smooth scales slide silently up and over her arms winding they're way to just bellow her chest. It was only when its grip tightened around her stomach and chest causing pain to surge throughout her body that she came out of her trance like state. She yelped a bit breathlessly as it pulled tighter around her forcing her arms against her sides. It looked at her evilly again chuckling lightly.

"I'm going to do to you what you once did to me," he hissed flicking his tongue out and licked at her ear. She felt her whole body crush inwards as the powerful snake body contracted again. She took a desperate breath in wheezing as she did then exhaling. It was then that the smooth body became even tighter decreasing her lung capacity by half. The crushing pain overwhelmed her senses filling her head with a nauseating black. It became increasingly difficult to breathe as the snake continued to squeeze the very life out of her small body. Her breathing became even shallower with quick inward struggled panting. Everything became blacker by the second as her body could not get enough oxygen to its much-needed areas. She could hear her very heart pulsate slowly and the thumping became less recognisable.

"It's not real... it's a figment... you cannot hurt me... you're not real!" she screamed with her very last breath closing her eyes tightly. She felt the earth shake once more and she imagined the walls of the cave crumbling around her. The tightness on her rib cage did not cease and she still couldn't breath properly. The ground shook violently as she felt herself being thrown from her feet landing with a crash onto the floor. All consciousness left her as the dark took over her mind.

She awoke with at first sleepy eyes that blinked at the sunlight bearing down on her. It only took a second for her memories to return and she grabbed at her chest sitting up taking in a deep gasping breath like a fish out of water. There was still a heavy tightness upon her lungs and it caused her to wince in pain. Each breath she took was like she was choking and it hurt every time she breathed in. Her breathing was again shallow and rapid as if there wasn't enough air to fill her lungs. Her vision was completely blurred and she could not see anything.

"Hey kiddo calm down you're going to be fine," she heard a somewhat familiar voice speak to her. She felt a soft paw being placed on her back steadying her from falling back to the ground. Her ears were a little messed up so the person speaking to her sounded a bit fuzzy but recognisable none the less. As her breathing rate and heart rate began to return to normal so did her vision and hearing. The distorted face in front of her became clearer as the haze disappeared. She once again found herself in the same forest with the same gravel path mere metres from where she was. She then looked at the figure that was bent over her.

"Dad?" she wheezed slightly looking at his face with questioning eyes. It was most certainly her father as she remembered him perfectly. He had long golden hair that mingled in with a slightly orangey body fur. He had white belly fur that stretched up to the tip of his chin and black tipped ears.

"You still haven't worked this one out have you?" he spoke back to her in a soft chuckle. He sat down on the grass besides her placing his paws on his knees as he did so.

"You're just another figment aren't you," she looked at him somewhat disappointedly as she loved her father and was devastated the day he died when she was only 12.

"Bingo," he replied in his usual chirpy way. He was always smiling even if he had no reason to and he would always sound cheerful. Jinx looked down at her now crossed legs feeling tears starting to pool at the sides of her eyes.

"Why did you have to leave me dad?" she asked him tears now trickling from her eyes as she had missed her dad every day since she was twelve.

"Well I think the cancer might have had something to do with that kiddo," he smirked placing an arm gently around her shoulders using the back of his paw to wipe off her dripping tears. She sniffed inwards trying to stop herself from balling her eyes out.

"I missed you," she sobbed resting against his shoulder letting her tears drip onto it. He placed a hand softly on her head and stroked at it trying to sooth her pain. For the first time in his life he was not smiling and had a very deep look of sadness on his face. He hugged her close using his arm to pull her into his chest. She continued to cry staining her cheek fur a slightly lighter colour sniffling almost constantly.

"I'm sorry kiddo but that's all the time I've got," he said sombrely looking down upon his little girl. She looked up at him with watery eyes fearing she was about to lose him again. She would have been perfectly happy to throw her entire life away just to be with him for one more minute.

"I don't want you to leave me again," she whimpered rubbing up against him trying to deny or at least delay the inevitable.

"We'll be together again Kiddo... someday," he kissed her on the forehead. He stood himself up pulling his daughter with him. She wiped away the tears so she could look upon him one last time.

"Have you still got that flower?" he asked smoothing her cheek. She nodded sniffling slightly.

"Look at it," he told her with a single tear trickling down his right cheek. She removed the flower from her pocket and looked down at it in her palm. It had nearly lost all its petals and only had three left making up the very inner circle. She tilted her head back up again to face her father... but he was gone. Like those before him he had disappeared without a trace. Even in her fantasy world created by her mind she was unable to say goodbye.

She rejoined the same path she had been walking on for most of the journey. The familiar crunching of the rocky gravel was her only comfort as she walked along it closing in on the now very near white light. She was so tired both emotionally and physically but her will power kept her going. The long road was nearly at an end her feet dragged her onwards towards their goal.

She finally made it to the source of this strong light that had guided her the whole way on her perilous journey. She starred at it in awe with wide eyes and a gapping muzzle. She was drawn to it like a moth and now she had finally reached it she didn't know what to do. Her spirit guide talked about a final judgment but she could see nothing except this gorgeous white light.

"Beautiful isn't it?" a voice sounded behind her. She was just so tired and fed up of it all but if she had reached the end then this was bound to be the last time. Turning around to face the voice she saw that it was her spirit guide dressed all in white. He stepped towards her smiling this time obviously proud of her for getting this far.

"Yes it is beautiful," she replied taking a few steps closer to him. They met at arms length each wearing a smile even if it was only a little one. Jinx had discovered a lot about herself on her journey, things she may have wanted to know and things she didn't. She took out the flower from her breast pocket and looked at it on her palm, there was only a single petal left. She looked back up at her guide the smile disappearing from her face.

"There never was a way out... was there," she spoke in an accepting tone finally realising why she was here and fate was inescapable.

"I'm afraid so... what was to be is what must be," he said sombrely watching her as she let what was left of the flower slip from her paw and fall to the ground.

"The final judgement was a test of acceptance and the realisation that death is unavoidable," he placed a paw on her shoulder reassuringly. She looked down at the flower then at him.

"My father was right... we would be together someday... I just didn't realise he meant today," she sighed turning her head toward the light.

"Just remember Kiddo... death is not the end," he turned around and walked down the gravel path. She watched him as he walked away being able to finally do so. When he was out of sight she turned around to the ominous white light. She took one last breath and sighed as she took the final step forward and vanished consumed by the light. The flower on the ground blew gently in the wind as the very last petal fell.

If you take just one thing away from this story let it be this: 'Life is short so don't waste it by trying to avoid the inevitable.'

[Still can't figure out how she chose the 'right' path! Well let me explain, remembering that she doesn't know who is who. When she asked the man who always lies 'what would the other man say' he would lie about the truth and tell her the wrong path. Then when she asked the man who always tells the truth 'what would the other man say' he would have no choice but to tell the truth about what the liar would say (which would be a lie) and tell her the wrong path. Both of them will have told her the wrong path so she simply took the opposite path].