FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Where the hell have you been?" Miranda shot a glance over her shoulder, an angry look plastered on her face. Ryan rushed behind the counter, trying his best to avoid her gaze. He was late to his shift at the bar, and it looked to be a busy night. The cruise ship he had seen coming into port earlier that day must have dumped a couple thousand more folks out onto the island. The crowd around the bar didn't look like the touristy type either. Most likely they were staff from the ship and the hotels that wanted a lower key venue.

"Would you believe me if I had to rescue a drowning family of four right at the end of my shift?" Ryan smirked at her as he quickly rinsed his hands in the sink.

She didn't return the smile and simply started handing him dirty glasses that needed to be washed. "Seriously not in the mood tonight.." She mouthed under her breath.

Ryan sighed in response, shrugging his shoulders. At least that was his version of an apology, to get any more out of him you would have to ask directly.

He went about lighting the tiki torches around the edge of the bar. The sun was just beginning to set, casting bright orange streaks across the calm ocean. It looked so appealing right now, its surface like glass. You could still feel the heat radiating off of the beach sand after it had spent all day baking in the suns rays.

"Excuse me, we've been waiting!" A patron shouted from behind.

"Yeah, what can I get you? Ryan spun around to the direction of the voice. It appeared to have come from a slim female canine, clad in a bikini top and brown shorts. Ryan waited for a response but it seemed like she was staring right past him. "Oh my god, Miranda?" The canine's face lit up.

Ryan turned to let Miranda know she had a visitor, but she was already soaring towards the other end of the bar. The two embraced while leaning over the bar, energetically chatting with each other.

Ryan went back to handing out drinks. He would have complained about having to take both sides of the bar, since Miranda was still busy chatting it up with her friend. Cutting his losses would have been a better option considering he had left her on her own for almost an hour.

The night continued at its brisk pace for a couple more hours. Miranda was less helpful than usual, constantly being distracted by her friend at the bar. It was past midnight when he got his first chance to take a quick rest, using it to rinse the sticky residue of beer and cocktails from his hands, and to grab a drink of his own.

"Ryan!" Miranda shouted excitedly, waving him over just has he went for a sip of his beer. He held up a finger as he took a couple quick gulps before setting the drink down. "This is Erin, we went to school together years ago."

"Nice to meet you." Erin gave a little wave. "So you work here with Mir?"

"Yeah." Ryan scratched the back of his head. "Keeps me busy. I get to rest at my other job." He chuckled, going back to collecting empty mugs from the counter. He really didn't care to make small talk with Miranda's old school friends. He really didn't care for small talk with anyone...

"What's your other job?" She asked just after he thought he had escaped further conversation by appearing to be busy. She kept eye contact as she sipped her drink.

"I'm the lifeguard on the beach here." He answered as he gingerly set an armful of empty mugs by the sink. "Every once in awhile it's exciting, but mostly its quiet. Not a lot of action on this beach."

Erin nodded, smiling. "Oh, a couple of my friends are lifeguards on the ship. Mostly they're just glorified pool boys." She added chuckling a bit.

"Ryan here is a glorified beach bum." Miranda quipped, jabbing him in the ribs as she returned from dropping a stack of dishes in the sink.

"Beach bum my a-" Just as he was about to finish his sentence, all three of them caught the distinctive sound of shouting coming from the water. The each exchanged glances in silence.

"Help!" It was faint and far away, but distinctive. Both pairs of eyes were now staring at Ryan.

"Did you hear that?" He asked making sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

"Shhh!" Miranda cut him off, turning her ear towards the sea.

"Help!"

"Alright." Ryan sighed. "I'm on it." He pushed open the door that led around the counter. He pulled off his white and grey striped tank top and tossed it at the bar. He turned back and kicked off his sandals before continuing out to the sea at a relaxed pace.

"Do you need help?" Erin shouted after him, standing from her seat. A worried expression was on her face.

"I think I can handle it." Ryan almost laughed. Who could handle themselves better in the water? A shark, or canine?

He paused as he reached the edge of the water. The waves were small and gentle, slowly sweeping over the tops of his feet and sinking them into the wet sand. It was almost completely dark now, only silvery wisps of moonlight being reflected off of the sea were visible. He was about to call out to whomever needed assistance when he heard the cry for help again.

"Help!"

The voice didn't sound distressed. Also lacking was the telltale panicked splashing of someone drowning. Ryan waded in a bit further, up to his waist now. He could hear hushed voices speaking, but was unable to make out what they were saying.

"Help!" The voice shouted out again, this time accompanied by snickering and shushing from one or two others. Ryan dove forward into the water, slipping silently beneath its surface. He could sense the others in the water not too far away, even though he couldn't see or hear them any longer. One of the benefits of being a shark. He swam deeper, a few meters below the surface, lazily drifting onto his back so he could look up above. He let his eyes adjust to the dim moonlight. He could feel the pulses in the water getting stronger telling him he was getting closer.

Something off to his left caught his attention- He could see three pairs of legs, all kicking to tread water. He swam up from below stealthily, letting his tail do all the work. He stopped less than an arms distance from the three pranksters. One appeared fuzzy, maybe some type of canine. The middle one was scaly and jagged, probably a crocodile. The third was slim and smooth, built for swimming. Maybe another ocean goer? He got even closer, now coming up behind them. He raised his head over the water just enough to hear them speak.

"Help!"

"Shut it Nick! She can't hear us!" The one on the right, a dolphin, hissed at the croc in the middle.

"Help!" Nick shouted again towards the bar, barely able to contain a chuckle at the end of his fake cry. The third off to the left, a male canine, snickered.

"What if they actually call for a rescue?" The dolphin pleaded, obviously trying to get his friends to stop.

"You think Erin would call for a rescue before trying to help out herself?" Nick scoffed.

"Then you guys can do this on your own." The Dolphin shook his head, then dove under the water. He started swimming his way to shore. He narrowly missed kicking Ryan in the face as he took off.

"Better not ruin it, TJ!" The canine shouted after him. "That guy is such an ass. Why do we let him hang out with us anyway? Is it 'cause he's friends with Erin?" He shot a grin over at Nick.

"Man, just shut it.." Nick responded, craning his neck to make sure TJ wasn't headed towards the bar.

Ryan had heard enough. He slipped back under the surface, gliding underneath the legs that were still treading water, and headed back towards the shore. Suddenly he stopped, an idea entering his head. Maybe he could play a little prank of his own...

"Dude, what was that?" The canine's head spun around, trying his best to glance down in the dark water.

"What was what?"

"Something just touched my leg.."

"Alex, you better not be messing with me.." Nick shot a look over at his friend.

"I swear man, I just- THERE IT IS AGAIN!" The canine nearly jumped out of his fur, rising a foot out of the water as he kicked at the darkness below him.

"Sure it isn't your tail?" Nick turned to eye his friend, his back to the shore.

"Pretty damned sure man..." Alex continued to paddle around in a small circle, fruitlessly trying to see what was lurking beneath.

"Come on man, it was probably nothing... Seaweed or something."

"I don't care. I'm heading to shore." The canine started a pathetic looking paddle past Nick and towards the beach.

"Whatever man. Not like you have anything to worry about with me out here.." The croc floated lazily onto his back watching his scared friend doggy paddle away.

He turned his gaze back to the shore line. It was pretty damned impressive looking, with the soft orange glow from torches and lights reflecting off the waves as they broke over the shore. It was a shame that the cruise line he worked for only allowed him a single night free on the island per visit. Over to his right, only a few feet away, something caught his eye. At first it looked like a wave that was going the wrong way. Then he realized it was something, something big, moving just under the water. Before he had much more time to study what it was, a dark spotted dorsal fin popped out of the water. It passed only inches in front of him before turning after Alex, and slowly disappearing back under the ocean.

"Holy shit!" The croc gasped, righting himself in the water and starting to swim after his friend. "Alex!" He hissed after his friend, trying to catch up and keep a lookout at the same time. "Alex!"

"What man?" The canine paused casting a worried look at Nick.

"No, no. Don't stop. Keep swimming!" He shoved Alex forward prompting him to keep going.

"What is it man?"

"Shark. Keep going." Nick responded breathlessly now passing his friend in a panicked race to get to the shore.

"Shark?!" Alex's paddling became louder. "Shit man, I told you something touched me!"

"Shut it! Just keep swimming!"

"I am! Hey, wait up, man. Don't leave me!" Alex shouted as his friend swam past him and kept on going.

"Swim faster!"

"I'm tryin' man! I'm not built for the water." Alex whined back.

"Try harder!" Nick glanced back over his shoulder. The dorsal fin was back, headed right for Alex. It sunk back out of view again. A split second later, the canine was dragged under the water, letting out a short yelp before he vanished.

"Shit!" Nick glanced around franticly searching for his friend. "Alex!" He yelled, real fear in his voice. He dove quickly under the water to have a quick look around. It was useless, being totally dark. At least he couldn't smell any blood...

He returned to the surface, relieved to see that the Alex had past him and was almost near the shore. Suddenly he felt something wrap around his own leg, and violently tug him under. He fought back, kicking and punching in every direction. The grip was released, and he took the opportunity to swim away as fast as he could. As he did so, he felt a slight tug at the waistband of his shorts. Being in fight or flight panic mode, he didn't think anything of it.

The shore had only been 50 feet or so from where he had been pulled under, but it felt like it had taken an eternity to get there. A panting Alex sat in the sand just out of the water.

"Did you get bit?" Nick asked, pausing to catch his own breath.

"No man, you?"

"No. I don't think so at least.." Nick glanced himself over, looking for any marks. He stopped, letting out an annoyed sigh. If his skin hadn't been green and covered with scales, it would have turned red. "I am missing my shorts though."