FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

'Uuuh...Where am I?' I questioned myself as I gained consciousness.

Everything was still mostly pitch black with 'fringes' of grey--after effect of asphyxiation, I guess. There's a throbbing headache stuck deep inside my forehead numbing my thought and coordination. I need to focus!

I opened my eyes.

Argh! BAD IDEA! Bright light washing into my retina worsened my headache. But, the sense of pain seemed to make me more alert.

I'm on a bed...This bed feels comfortable, cloth wrapped but the fillings inside is made of...straw?

Was that just those PTSD episodes again? Is this some kind of a dream...inside a dream?

Wait, I'm still wearing my jumpsuit.

...

To my own horror, I looked to my side and saw my cracked helmet, my M9, a few packets of rations, a pile of military equipment. "Wake up,it's FUCKING REAL!," my brain told me.

"Where the hell I am?" I turned slowly to look at my surrounding. Despite my back-from-the-dead condition, I'm in a nicely furnished room. That's good news.

The wood-trunk-beamed ceiling was two storey high, held up by multiple chiseled wooden walls. An assortment of hunting equipment and weapons decorated the shelves at the walls. A timber and rope supported balcony ringed the room, all looking out to the ocean and the sandy beach. There's a stone fireplace beside me, a cradle made from a fishing net and at a corner stood two symmetrically aligned window on each side of the house that display a breathtaking view of the sea and a river. Whoa, whoever designed this place should win a few interior decor shows. I'm amazed that everything stayed intact--untouched or hidden from the war with the drones. Yeah, those UFOs are unmanned. I prefer calling them 'drones' which accurately explained their speed and acceleration that is way past the limit where a normal flesh & blood crew would black out. I looked around and admired the beauty of this little paradise--

'Wait, is that a cup of drink?' I noticed a cup standing on a cut down log beside my bed. It's still hot and steaming which means that it had just been prepared by SOMEONE. My fight or flight instinct kicked in as I swiftly reached for my combat knife and started scanning my surrounding.

"So, you're awake?"

My combat instincts kicked in. Before I knew what was happening, I already thumbed off the safety and aimed the muzzle to his head--actually, his chest. He's about eight feet tall [maybe a bit higher], bulky, wearing a full-face reflective helmet and metallic silver looking full-body suit [I hoped it's not bulletproof] with a net wrapped around his body with seaweed, palm leaves, twigs, branches, grass and vines making a camouflage suit. I wonder what's with the impractical silver colour.

He had a variety of hunting equipment, a bow, spears, machete and lots of other stuff hanging from his belt. Oh, did I mentioned that he's soaking wet and smelled like the sea?

"Who are you?" I demanded. "You know that scavenging an unauthorized crash site, digging for information through my equipment and taking me as a HOSTAGE will result in..." I give an indicative stare towards the muzzle of my gun and shot him a cold stare authoritive look. I'm totally not gonna become a hostage!

"Woah, easy there. Hey,hey,hey..." He raised his arms and put his weapons aside. "Just a civilian. Not the search party, enemy or what-so-ever."

I noticed the wooden carving decorating his machete and realized my mistake. Oh, how rude am I? Those weapons are intimidating but they are homemade. He's probably just a hunter living around here. I lowered my gun and set the safety to 'on'. I'm probably inside his house anyway.

"Sorry...I-I didn't' mean it. I'm just-" A skull-pounding headache hit me. My feet immediately feel numb and some dark fringes to appeared in my view. Oh no, low oxygen to the head.

"It's okay. Take it easy." His fast reaction time caught me from dropping to the floor "Slowly...sit down. Ok, good."He puts me back on the bed. "Easy, you almost blacked out there."

He seemed nice and sincere. I've given him a lot of chances if he wanted to attack or overpower me...but he didn't.

"Actually, I don't mind it... Well, if I were you, I would probably 'shoot first, talk later'. Its just a natural human self-protecting reflex arc...Must be some side effect from those painkillers. Here, let me check on those wound."

That last part sounds knowledgeable...no, scientific. He is probably a doctor or some kind of field scientist. I leaned my head towards him as a sign of 'go on ahead.'

I recognized his huge hand as he fiddled with the bandage covering my forehead. "Thanks for saving me" I said with a smile.

"Oh, you remembered that? What else could you recall?"

"Well, I remembered about a hand punching through my cockpit and..." The shattering sound of my cockpit glass echoed in my memory. A big question popped in my head. "Wait a second, that cockpit is bulletproof. No, not only bulletproof, it is even certified against multiple bird strikes. How do you crack that with just one punch?"

"Here, let me see" he flashed a flashlight towards my eye and observed closely. I could see a clear reflection of my shrinking pupil on his visor.

"Good. No signs of concussion or internal bleeding.'' he ignored my question. Oh, typical doctors who never answer your questions. Seriously? Did they ever get the difference between rhetorical questions and the real big ones? Then, I saw something moving at his back.

He tried to hide IT by nudging IT behind the shelves. How interesting, a doctor with secrets. Sounds like a thriller movie.

"What's that?" I pointed towards his back. I think there's no use of beating around the bush here. If I want him to be honest, I need to be honest. I think he's the only person here living in the middle of nowhere since most major cities had been overrun by war and chaos.

"N-Nothing" he stammered as he scratched his neck and turned away from my stare--not looking at me eye. Obviously, he's lying through his teeth.

"Don't hide anything from me. You know that you can't hide something forever. Whatever the thing behind your back is... well, it's just a matter of time before I figured it out myself." I emphasised on the word 'myself'. "It's good to get something out of your chest." I persuade him.

"Okay, okay. Just don't... And don't freak out. You asked for this." he said as he undone his ghillie suit and turn his back on me to put his equipment on the wall.

I'm stunned. "Y-y-You have a t-TAIL? I struggled for words.

"Yup!" he replied while moving his tail side by side as he walks. A one and a half meter long grey and shiny looking shark's tail, right there attached to his back -to be precise at the end of his spine. I gave him a 'What the hell is that?' look.

"No. No. No. That can't be a real tail. You're a movie prop aren't you? Or a stunt double... This must be some sort of prank, a TV show or a film... that must be prosthetic right?" I faked a laugh. "I'm fully awake now. You can't fool me."

"Prosthetic...!" He sounds amused as his helmet flip down visor automatically retracted itself. My heart skipped a beat...or two...

Because he has a head of a SHARK!

The whole head. I can't find the line between reality and imagination. Maybe I'm just hallucinating or drugged or maybe he's wearing a High Definition Mask like the one used in movies.

Although, well... shark faced, he's drop-dead gorgeous. It's hard to accurately describe 'shark face', imagine staring at a wood axe from the front. That's it. Except for, it's a bit wider, decorated with a friendly warm simile and emerald green eyes. Didnt quite make the impression of a killer. Somehow, that shark face makes him looks cute, friendly and like an awesome big guy. His green eyes combined with his well-built shark face and greyish, muscular body gives him the image of a mythical god. If he ever holds a trident or carved with ancient symbols, I'm pretty sure that I'm never gonna look at Poseidon or Anubis the same way again. I mean, those gods are supposed to look old or have weird animal head. But, this guy in front of me shows no signs of going wrinkly and he's really kinda handsome -tottaly no sign of weirdness no matter how I tried to find it. I stared at him for the whole 30 seconds and luckily, I managed not to drool and well...be cool. Yeah, be cool.

"No. No. NO! That can't be real. It must be plastic. You're wearing a costume." I managed as my mind raced with possibilities. There's must be a logical explanation (to that face and other awesome features).

His eyes widen with surprise. Maybe he's surprised why I didn't bolt for the nearest exit (the window). Well, I don't want to break a leg.

"You think this is a costume?" He fixed his gaze straight at me. "Tell me, what kind of actor that would stay wet in his costume in the storm." He said as he reached for a towel nearby.

"Well, maybe the storm begins quite suddenly..." My brain raced to find an idea. "And you don't have time to change your costume."

He chuckled. "If this is costume, I would have changed to something more 'normal' when I hear even the first crack of thunder."

"Anyway, if you still didn't believe me. You could check this 'costume' by yourself" he said as he moved closer to me.

Did he raise one of his eyebrows? It's hard to tell with shark.

"It's okay. I don't bite." he said as he kneeled in front of me. "Imagine someone saying your skin is plastic," he muttered under his breath.

I begin to touch his skin. It felt surprisingly warm. I start bringing his face closer to me and saw the fine details on his skin. He's still quite tall so, I need to stand. From this point of view, he looks very real and alive. "Well, you look quite alive." I said as I turn his face from side to side and trying to find the signs of makeup or holographic display or synthetic skin. I begin to touch his gills. They seem alive, moist and functional. It must be a high technological mask. I begin to scratch the lower part of his neck to find the edge of his mask but ended up tickling him instead.

"Hey, stop it... It tickles *laugh*. Its real skin, okay" he tried to hold his laugh.

"So, you're not a doctor. Are you? Where do you come from? If you are really a fish, how do you breathe on land? Why did you-"

"Shh... Could you ask me those questions one by one? Going full verbal freight train there."

I grinned. I know it's wrong to storm him with questions but he's really interesting. Just can't help it. Being in the military and with the whole unknown flying object conflict makes you miss the moment where you could sit around and chat -without a Kevlar still strapped to your chest.

"Sorry..." I cleared my throat. "Just can't help it. You're very interesting."

"Any more compliment?"

"No. You silly."

"Okay, first question. What-I mean-who are you?

"A kinda failed experiment. Long...story. I'll tell you tomorrow, I promise. Before this, I'm a human too." He grinned as he paced towards the window, looking at the stars.

"So, if you're a human, what is your name?"

"Hmm... Actually I didn't really remember my name but... I remember one word. BANE."

"So, Bane, How do you breathe? I mean on land. I didn't see your chest movement"

"Bane? I like that. Just never thought it as a name before." he smiled. "I got gills and... a pair of lungs. The gills still work on land cause it's moist."

I traced my hand down to his neck. His skin feels smooth when you're going from head to tail but feels like sandpaper when you're going the other way around. "Careful, those could cut" he said to me. I make a mental note: If you want to pet a shark, make sure you go from head to tail.

I noticed a sharp edge running from his wrist to his elbow -leftover of uhh...a pair of pectoral fin. "Are these sharp as a knife?" I asked. "Yup, I've use it as an axe to make this house" he grinned. "And... don't touch my tail. It's quite sensitive.'' He chuckled. "My fifth limb."

"Tell me more about yourself." he asked as he roasts some kind of birds at the fireplace. "All I know is that your name is Alex.

"How do you know about my name?"

"Duh. It's on your uniform... and I used that radio over there to listen and pick your last coordinates." He pointed to a table near the window.

"Bane"

"Hmm"

"Do you know what happened to my squad after I... well, you know." I made a mushroom cloud gesture with my hand. I felt a sudden tug of responsibility and care.

"Well... they couldn't find the signals from your plane, obviously,and flew away." He paused before adding, "The area's too hot anyway."

I took a deep breath before asking the hard question, "Did all of them made it?"

"I-I can't confirm." he replied apologetically. " I don't want to give you false hope either..."

The conversation hit a dead end.

'Every cloud has a silver linings' my mom voice echoed inside my head.

At least not ALL of them get Being considered dead have its perk. No more work, no hectic daily routine and a free vacation on an island with this dude at my side. God, he's such a h- Wait...why him? again? I tried to put those thoughts to rest by finishing my drink.

"Wow, you must be a good runner, Bane."I tried to break the silence.

"Actually, I swim. You're about 1000 meters away. I arrived in about a minute. So.." he let the conversation hang in the air, wagging his hail.

"You are such a show offer, aren't you?" I smirked. I've seen enough 'squids' at the bar to know what he's bragging about.

"Said the one who's 'good' at evasion and then...Boom!" he mumbled.

I cleared my throat."Anyway, thank you for saving my life. So, *could* I help you out with dinner (so that nothing goes over your head)."

"Haha, don't need to flower your words." he guffawed. " Even without your 'offer', I'll figure a way to make you do that anyway...First, I need you to wash that cup at the sink (make sure you pump up the water first). Then, you could help me with dinner. These roasted birds are almost done. How about porridge." He suggested.

"That's good. But, I think it'll be easier if you use this ration" I tossed him a packet of MRE (Meals Ready to Eat). "You know that... you sound like my mom" I chuckled.

"You have a family?" he sounds excited as he stared at me. I'm surprised.

"Yeah. Of course I have one. Why?" His face rippled with joy.

"Can I meet them one day?! I've forgot how it feels like to have a family again."

"Sure. Actually, I do plan to get you out of this lonely island. Maybe, we could go to my house in Waikiki." He gave me a smile. I've never see him so at ease, so pleased. I ended up telling him about my life, my two big bro, my little sister how I became a pilot (It starts from my dad).

The rain has stopped when I start to cook the MRE -its spaghetti and meatballs inside [Yum]. Then, I saw something strange outside, a cylindrical object stuck on one of the huge branches of this tree house. It has huge parachutes jutting out from it that is used to make the roof of this house.

"What's that?" I asked Bane. Apparently, he had appeared beside me wearing an urban cameo tank top and a pair of blue jeans that fit him perfectly. Except for his height, tail and face... I almost forgot that he's not completely human.

"That's a dropshot. Umm... how do I explain? Basically an ejection pod. I told you that I came from a lab."

"A dropshot? Drop from where? Space?" I laughed.

His eyes widened. "That's true. How do you-"

"What! So, you came from a lab in SPACE? But, that's impossible."

"Not really. It's called low orbit... I'll tell you tomorrow. It's a very long story."

"Where's your silvery suit."

"I leave it to dry. It's a nanosuit. I use it while hunting because it covers my traces of heat and smell. You know that it's hard to hunt, even a pigeon, when you're three meter tall. Anyway, those wild bird are ready." He points to the fireplace.

"Okay. Let's have dinner. I guess the spaghetti is well cooked. You want some?"

"No. Thanks." We sat down on a table and had our dinner. Based on the food he ate, I concluded that Bane is a meat lover. He ate a bit of vegetables though because he's partially human. Well, having dinner with a humanoid shark really sounds weird but he's a very polite gentleman -or a 'gentle shark', I guess.

"I am very surprised to your reactions when you saw my face. I mean, I bet that most people would have run away." He begins. "I thought that you're gonna bolt for the nearest exit but... why didn't you do that?"

"Hmm..." I cleared my throat trying not to blush and say that he gorgeous or hot or something and I had started to have feelings for him. I know it sounds weird but, I have no luck with girls anyway. "Pick your reasons. Maybe I just wanna say thanks." "So, thank you." I smiled and waved my hand at him. "Or maybe because you're not really scary or... do you know that I'm a very brave person?"

He laughed. I always love his laugh that seems to echo throughout the room.

We shared our jokes and chat at the table ignoring the flow of time as we emptied our plates. It's the best dinner that I had ever had. After that, I went to the sink to wash my wooden bowl. "You know that this house, its furniture, water system, electricity and everything... is just great. I wonder how you built all this. I wish I have free electricity and no water cuts at home."

"Well, I'm a natural engineer. Back when I was still human I've build a backup generator for my home and rebuild my basement so that it became a military grade bunker. I guess I've watched too many zombie movies." He chuckled. "The water came from a nearby stream. Oh, I love that stream -refreshing water, lots of fishes. The electricity came from that dropshot. It has solar panel, a backup battery and a radioisotope thermoelectric generator." He points to the dropshot outside.

"So...where do you gonna sleep tonight? On the bed, the couch or maybe on the floor?"

"I'll take the couch. I love the view of the sea."I replied.

"Hmm... Okay. I'll take the net." He said as he climbed onto 'the net' - it's a makeshift net/cradle hanging at the corner of the room. "I can't sleep on a bed because of 'fin-at- the back' issue.

I went to the couch and sat on it. It felt comfortable. With a cool breeze, the smell of the sea and the moonlight it's perfect. I took a look at Bane. He looks very funny when he sleeps -with his tail dangling on the floor and his fin sprouting from the net not to mention his opened mouth. I giggled. I hope he didn't snore. I waited for a while. He didn't. Good.

"Good night, Bane."

I lie down and closed my eyes as tiredness washed over me. One hell of a day...!