FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Disclaimer - I only wrote this because you guys told me to, you sick, sick, bastards . . . (This is a work of pornographic fiction. Please do not read if it would be illegal for you to do so.)

The Lone Courier

Ashley took a long pull from the tumbler of warm whiskey, drawing in his breath through his teeth as he looked around the dusty saloon. The pianist plunked away at the keys, filling the the room with tinny jubilance as beams from the setting sun lanced through the smoke hanging still in the air. His poncho was stained with the grit of the trail and his boots had lost their gleam somewhere back in the Nevada territory. As he surveyed his surroundings, his hand tightened on the worn leather strap of the satchel that hung from his shoulder.

The rails didn't come this far out yet, and if you wanted something delivered discretely, something that you_really_ cared about, he was the man to get it done. There'd been a few scrapes along the way: he had to duck out of the last town when he saw the suits poking around, asking questions that sounded suspiciously like they were looking for a man mighty similar to Ashley himself. He scratched his nails against his stubble as he thought. There was nothing that he would rather do than get rid of the whole thing and finally get paid. The only reason that he'd put up with any of this brouhaha was that he had a whole heap of money coming to him.

As he let the strong drink soothe his weary body, the double doors to the place swung open, letting light lance into the bar. The pianist stopped, turning on their stool as the rowdiness of the bar died into nervous whispers. It was amazing that such a thin man could command that much respect as he calmly walked into the saloon, soles of his immaculately shined shoes tapping against the dusty floorboards. Despite the heat, he wore pinstriped trousers with braces over his pressed white linen shirt. It was odd though because he was hardly clean shaven, brown stubble dusting his cheeks. The strange combination seemed to deflect the gazes of the other patrons as Ashley finished his drink and turned around.

"I've got yer box." Ashley patted his satchel as he stood and leaned back against the bar.

"It looks like we're going to get some rain . . ." The man walked forwards, standing face to face with the somewhat shorter cowpoke as he spoke with a deep measured voice.

"Chis' sakes." Ashley spat. "Not even so much as a 'hello.' Look, you say that, then I say 'might just be the wind.' Then you say 'It's hard to tell.' Then I finish, 'It's always changing.'" He crossed his arms. "This was supposed to be a secret. You told me that no one would know you hired me. I've had toughs in at least two towns putting their ears to the ground like they knew where I was goin'. I'd like a bit of an explanation Mr . . ."

The man seemed slightly taken aback. "Camby. Wash Camby." The man proffered his manicured hand which Ashley reluctantly shook. The pianist tentatively began to play again. "You know how hard it is to keep secrets on the east coast Mr. Pine. No doubt they sent word by pigeon; not that it seems to have impeded your progress . . ."

"I said that there were a lot of 'em. Not that they were any good." Ashley snorted. "Now, about my money."

"I'll just need to check the contents . . ." He reached towards the gruff courier's bag, the other slowly moving down towards his pocket.

"You think I was born yesterday?" Ashley spat as his contact slid the polished hardwood case out of the worn canvas satchel, brows furrowing as he flicked the latch, other hand clenched around what was no doubt a derringer in his side pocket.

"It's empty, Mr. Pine . . ."

"It's almost like I don't trust ya." The weather-worn man took the time to pull out a somewhat ruffled cigar from under his poncho, clenching it in his teeth as a sulfur match blazed into life filling the immediate area with the smell of tobacco and brimstone. "You get me the money first, then I'll let you know where I put your precious package."

"Figures." Wash snorted. "Meet us by the Lazy H mill at sundown. We'll have your money. But if anything has happened to a single sample, the damages are coming out of your hide, Mr. Pine . . ."

* * *

Ashley was distinctly aware of the eyes following him throughout the town after that, and so he kept his big iron at his side, even leaving his gun-belt on the edge of the tub as he had a bath tapped for him at the only hotel in town. He laid back in the wooden trough, letting the hot water soak in to the accumulated grime from his travels. Scrubbing himself, he thought about his future. Maybe he'd just lie low for awhile after this. With the amount they were paying him, perhaps he'd just stake a claim and settle down . . . not that it had ever worked before.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, the courier gathered up his scant belongings, cleaning out the barrel of his tarnished piece, oiling the hammer and testing the action before loading up and strapping on his belt. If all went well, he wouldn't need to use it; these displaced city-slicker-types never knew when they'd already shown their hands.

While the sky faded from a brilliant orange to a cold blue, he trekked over the ridge towards the mill, careful to wind his way through a copse of ponderosa pines, grinning as the shuffling noise of boots against the crisp needles continued even after his own footsteps halted. Amateurs.

As he approached the old mill house, he saw Wash there as expected, crisp white of his shirt standing out in the fading colors of evening. He wasn't alone though; his hands rested upon the handles of a antique looking chair with metal wheels, a rather reserved looking old man sitting there, an afghan folded in his lap as he steepled his fingers. His liver spotted skin was wrinkled, but he was still barbered up real nice, with a thin mustache and combed over wispy hair.

"You're late." Wash squinted towards him with narrowed eyes.

"You're early." Ashley trod forwards into the clearing next to the mill, cricking his neck from side to side.

"Gentlemen, please." The older man interrupted their scowl-off with his surprisingly powerful voice. "We have nothing to fight over. This man has done us a great service. All that remains is for us to seal the deal as it were . . ." He produced a gunnysack and pulled out a stack of printed green bills. "We have the five thousand in notes, just as promised."

"Let's both be honest with each other then." Ashley cleared his throat. "I'll take you to where your precious little tubes are, and you can have the boys that you had tail me come out and stop prowlin' around like polecats."

"Indeed . . . Quite astute, Mr. Pine." The older man's eyes widened with an emotion that was not quite surprise. "This was merely a precaution though, I assure you." He beckoned with his hand as two men wearing brown dusters seemingly materialized from the woods behind the courier. Each wore a bandana around their faces, but their eyes all glittered almost yellow in the fading light. "I simply couldn't have you trying to skip town, you see."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Ashley grinned. "Now we've got a bit of a hike ahead of us. Don't know if you crippled folk will have a time of it . . ."

"We'll manage, Mr. Pine."

"But, Mr. Bentley . . ." Wash interjected, hands gripped tight to the handles of the older man's wheel chair.

"We _ will _ manage, Mr. Camby . . ." A shiver ran up Ashley's spine as the older man lowered his voice. Something about him didn't sit right . . . It made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

"Well, you four can stay behind me." Ashley shook his head before starting back into the woods. "And don't try anything funny. You won't find it without me."

"We wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Pine." The older man grinned, lips pulling back to reveal his surprisingly straight white teeth.

They trod into the forest as the last rays of sunlight faded, quickly surpassed by the dull glow of the moon and the chill of an early summer night. Ashley occasionally looked back at the placid calmness of Mr. Bentley as Wash muscled his chair through the underbrush. The wheeled throne looked like it weighed a ton, but the larger man didn't seem to have any trouble lifting it over roots and holes as they went, the two duster-clad thugs walking behind them like a pair of banditos. A hidden bump drew a wheeze from the old man as Ashley looked back and Wash's face pulled into a sneer of hatred as he apologized and carefully lifted the front and then rear wheels over the gap like a careful mother.

Ashley kept moving, keeping a good fifty in front of his unlikely followers. Eventually he neared the place he was looking for, a rickety rope bridge crossing a deep ravine, seemingly endless in the dark shadows of the rising moon. "Why don't you all just stay over here and I'll go get your package. We'll make the hand-off on the bridge. One wrong move, and your little chemistry set goes into the pit . . ."

And with that, he walked over the boards suspended by swaying rope, rustling into the darkness of the woods on the other side. The two coat-clad followers behind Mr. Bentley made as if they were going to follow, but the old man held up his hand, thinking as Wash swallowed nervously behind him. "Sir, you shouldn't . . ." He whispered down.

"I can deal with this, Mr. Camby, as well you know. Do not test me." Mr. Beastly's tone darkened as he stroked his chin with a leathery hand.

They waited in silence for a good spell before Ashley emerged from the trees on the far side of the ravine, carrying a heavy leather sack under his arm as he stepped onto the rickety bridge. "Alright. I've got yer goods." He reached into the bag and pulled out one glass vial, pale liquid gleaming in the moonlight, handwritten label completely unintelligible even though there was a flicker of recognition in both Wash's and the old man's face.

He held the bag out over the edge of the bridge and carefully put the vial back in it. "Now one of you boys walk out here nice and slow with those green backed bucks, and we can make a little trade . . ." He stepped forwards.

"My dear Mr. Pine . . ." The man in the wheelchair spoke calmly, voice no louder than a whisper as Ashley's eyes widened.

"Don't push me old man." Ashley's grip tightened as he thrust out his arm. "I _ will _ drop this."

" No. You Won't" The old man's voice rang in the courier's ears as sweat began to bead on his leathery skin. Ashley's body felt stiff as he turned his head around him, seeing nothing but still feeling that voice echoing around his mind. "You would have been the perfect courier . . . but you had to look in the box, didn't you?" The old man sighed even as veins visibly pulsed near his temples. "I would have gladly parted with the money, but secrets are far more valuable. Put Down The Bag , Mr. Pine. Carefully." It was not a request that the cowpoke could deny.

Every muscle in Ashley's body tensed up as he tried to resist, but he found himself slowly bending down and placing the bag carefully on the planks of the bridge. "Cocksucker . . . " He managed to spit, trying to make heads or tails of his situation. The old man's voice was ringing in his mind, like a foul undeniable subconscious ego that he never knew he had. He had to follow . . . but he was also fairly sure that the old timer hadn't wanted to be called a cocksucker either, so there was some leeway . . .

"I truly wish that we had met under different circumstances, Mr. Pine, but I'm afraid your usefulness has expired." His eyes widened as his lips peeled back in a crazed rictus of a grin. "Now, Jump."

Ashley's heart crawled into his throat as he felt his leg muscles tense. He couldn't stop it . . . It was like trying to stop his own pulse, a reflex that was undeniable. As he toppled over the side of the bridge he stopped thinking about how to save himself, and just for a split second thought about getting even, hooking his leg through the strap of the leather sack before falling off the bridge without even a scream.

"No!" The old man's voice rang into the night, followed by a fit of uncontrollable coughing as they heard the distant crashing deep in the ravine.

"Sir!" Wash leaned in behind him, wiping a handkerchief against the corner of the hacking man's mouth. It came up pink with blood mixed with spittle.

"Go . . ." Mr. Bentley gasped weakly. "There has to be at least one sample left intact."

"But sir . . ."

" Go Now." The old man snarled. "All three of you. Find me that bag or you'll have hell to pay." He gasped, leaning back and clutching at his chest as Wash and the two men in dark coats ran, looking for any way down the steep ravine.

* * *

It was like he was dreaming, teetering down in a dark tunnel. But no dream hurt this much. The first rocky outcropping slammed into him with a sickening crunch knocking the breath out of him, his nails scratching out as he continued falling. His gun tumbled from its holster, clattering against the rocky wall, Ashley flailing out desperately before he landed at the rocky bottom, bag crushed between his chest and the stones below him as he immediately lost consciousness, strange violently hued liquids dripping out around him, steaming in the cool night air.

* * *

Ashley awoke with cool basalt pressed up against his cheek as his body burned inside and out. It was pitch dark, but he could hear footsteps, pounding against his skull just like his erratic pulse. He groaned, trying to push himself up, hands slipping, covered in something that felt like cooling blood. Barely balancing himself, every muscle cried out in pain as he found his footing, leaning heavily against a boulder for support as he could hear pebbles rolling down into the ravine in exquisite detail.

Why couldn't they just leave him for dead . . . Heck, why wasn't he dead in the first place? And how had that old bastard forced him to jump?

He reached down and prodded his chest, wincing, finding gashes and tears in his worn shirt, but aside from some slight bleeding and feeling like he'd been hit by a runaway wagon, everything seemed intact. Limping along the rocky ground, he stumbled, swearing as he pulled himself up again, looking for a way out of this long rocky deathtrap. He patted his side, cursing as his hand came across his empty holster. That limited his options . . .

Low voices murmured in the distance as the footsteps picked up pace. Ashley loped along as best he could, but realized that there was no way in hell he was going to outrun them. Looking up, he saw the gash of the pale moonlight illuminating a shelf near the top of the ravine, but not much of a way up there, there were a few roots sticking out here and there, but he was running out of options. Lip curling up in pain, he grabbed a hold of a tangled shrub and swung himself up to the first shallow shelf, booted feet scrabbling as his breath came out in ragged heaves. It felt like his blood was made from shards of glass as he fell against the wall, grimacing as he yanked himself up again, fingers straining, nails seeming to dig into the earthen walls, giving him just enough purchase to grab the next handhold.

At that point there was a whizzing pang and the rock wall exploded next to his head, a chunk of lead ricocheting off wildly into the ravine. Ashley gritted his teeth and leaped up, grabbing onto a precarious root as he hauled himself up closer and closer to the light of the night. There was another crack. Pain flared in his right side suddenly as he nearly lost his grip. His eyes widened as he felt the heat of his own blood running down his back, soaking into his poncho as his breaths turned wheezing and ragged. He didn't understand how the bastards could see him at all, but his mind was focused on getting to that last ledge, just tall enough that the light from the moon swept over it with its dull pearly glow.

The sharp rapport of another shot rang out, and his leg was on fire, crimson pouring from the sudden wound as he screamed out. These weren't the kinds of wounds a a man could shrug off, but with one last flagging fit of strength, he wrenched himself up onto the shelf of the ravine and let the moonlight wash over him, staring up as his life's blood leaked out of him, pooling onto the cool stone as he wheezed.

Footsteps continued to echo below him, ringing out through the ravine, but Ashley barely noticed. Pain coursed through his body, not just where he'd been shot, but even his skin felt like it was being seared by embers. He fell back, letting his head rest against the rough cool stone of the rocky shelf, breaths coming in halting ragged pants and then suddenly stopping as he opened his eyes and looked up at the moon.

It was inextricable, filling his vision as his pupils widened and his irises blazed golden, consuming his senses as he gasped suddenly, as if he'd just resurfaced after a long plunge. Icy lances and flame-hot pulses rocked through his body, muscles contracting wildly as he shouted out a garbled string of curses. It felt like every sinew in his body was being flayed, strung out and then rewound. His head jerked from side to side as his jaws stretched open wide as if by an invisible force, moonlight glistening off of his teeth as his canines lengthened and his face began to press out, skin stretched taut.

His chest bulged against his shirt, seams straining as his hands reached to either side of him, scraping against the gray stone as his nails jerked and extended into sharpened claws, leaving gashes in the uneven surface. The pain radiated towards his leg wound, pulsing as he howled out in agony. A lead slug clacked against the shelf, pushed out of his body as the bleeding ceased and his toes felt like they were being crushed. With a surge of motion, his heavy leather boots bulged and then burst, revealing shining black enameled hooves as his thighs bulged with new muscle, covered in a dark brown equine looking coat of fur.

Ashley's wicked jaws snapped at the cold air as his face stretched out, mostly canine, more bestial as his ears pulled back into triangular points while mottled gray brown fur creeped up from his neck. He could smell them, black leathery nose huffing as he took in the bitter scent of the two duster-clad men from earlier, thickening neck muscles straining as his fear and confusion were melting down into unbridled rage.

Rolling onto his side, his dragged his straining retractable claws over his chest, rending his coverings to shreds, revealing a shaggy pelt that looked like it belonged on a coyote or a cougar as his muscles bulged underneath. He growled as a sickening crack came from behind him, flesh tugging out into an animalistic tail, tugging as it grew long and sinuous, but bushier than a cat's as the dappled length whipped about with a life of its own.

The other bullet was forced out of his side as he continued to grow, senses flaring into overwhelming clarity despite the dim light and near death experience. Spittle ran from his slavering jaws as he panted, unable to think of much more than the scrabbling noises on the cliffs below him.

Methodically, the two bandana clad men were making their way up the cliff, yellow eyes gleaming as they nodded to each other, noting the bloodstains that led up to the natural shelf. What they expected was to find a dying man; what they got was a snarling beast straight out of hell. The enraged animal that was Ashley braced his rear hooves and launched himself at the first man, knocking them both off into the night with a snarling lunge. The man growled, trying to draw his gun in mid air as Ashley roared, latching his fearsome jaws onto the man's arm, growling as he felt bones crack between his teeth, tasting the blood well out before they hit the ground with a thud.

The man struggled underneath the huge humanoid beast, trying to pull back his maimed arm as he lashed out with his other, claws extending through the edges of his glove and raking at the side of Ashley's dog-like face. With an unsettling rumble, Ashley brought one of his own hands to bear, latching onto the man's neck and yanking up, tearing skin and bandana alike, as the man's scream turned into a raspy death rattle. The man's flesh was pale, but his features were oddly feline, terrified amber eyes wide as Ashley let his corpse drop to the side like a puppet with its strings cut.

Two sharp cracks echoed from up the cliff as shots suddenly hit Ashley in the flanks and shoulder. But the bullets fired by the other duster-clad man did nothing to slow down the impossible man-beast that Ashley had become. He cleared the cliff that had given him such trouble before in three bounds, claws digging in as his powerful hooves propelled him with the strength of his fury. The other man was reloading on the blood stained shelf when Ashley hit him, locking his jaws around his throat, and shaking savagely, feeling sinews snap between his teeth before tossing the body back down the cliff to join the other, bloody slaver running from his jaws.

His breath huffed in the cool moonlight as his golden eyes glowed leaping easily out of the ravine with only one thing in his mind . . .

* * *

Solid hooves crashing through the underbrush, Ashley followed the ruts of the wheelchair back through the woods. He could smell both of them, black leathery nose huffing in Wash's fear and the old man's unnatural reek as the boughs of the wood whipped past at impossible speed. His new instincts drove him towards the vague notion of revenge, but as the shock faded, he realized that he needed to know what had happened to him. The wind blew through his variegated fur as the tatters of his pant legs fluttered against his powerful form.

The ruts of the wheelchair led to the larger tracks of a wagon mixed with the smell of horses whipped into a wild gallop. Ashley's claws clenched against his leathery palms as he knew he was getting closer despite their apparent haste. Down a winding road just before the base of the foothills, an old plantation estate loomed, out of place even in the darkness that the changed man's eyes pierced through with savage acuity. His tawny ears twitched . . . there was movement just inside: they'd just gotten in moments ago.

His first impulse was to launch himself after them, to feel the old man's neck snap in his jaws, but before that, he needed to understand how any of this was possible . . . and perhaps find some sort of cure. Circling around to the back of the estate, he could see a double window opening up into some kind of study, shutters left wide open. The strange antithetically sterile and yet septic smell of the old man was sharp against Ashley's huffing nose, but it was far from fresh, no, this was the smell of habitation, the perfect place to start looking for answers.

Trying to sneak through the window proved fruitless as he clawed his way up and his heavy hooves hit the wooden floorboards on the other side. His lips raised in a silent snarl. Perhaps he actually wanted them to find him so he could teach the cocksuckers what they got for not killing him properly the first time.

Although the room was nearly pitch black, it was woven with a rich tapestry of scent: harsh chemical odors, the smell of the old man's unnatural flesh, and the dry bitter odor of paper and ink. The lock on the roll-away did little to stop him as his animal paws smashed through the dark stained wood. Slitted eyes dilating, he rummaged through the papers inside, mostly written in the same cyphered script as the vials that he'd carried so far.

There were a few proper English sheets though; mostly bold printed out bounties wanting everything from badgers to mountain lions, but instead of just a foot or an ear to prove the varmints were dead, they wanted them alive, and the prices were quite impressive, triple what you'd get even after hocking the fur.

There was also a faded leather bound ledger in there, and although none of the spidery language made a lick of sense, the diagrams told a strange story of their own. Animals cut open in every way imaginable, bloodless membranes laid out with diagrammed notes of all the veins and other bits, all sketched with a cold steady hand that could only belong to the old man who's smell clung to the tome like a miasma. As Ashley flipped on, the subject of the notes began to shift to the same location on all of the subjects, just above the neck, the base of the brain.

There were comparisons between cats and canines, rodents and insects, but towards the end the diagrams became truly terrifying. From the level of eviscerated flesh, it was hard to tell at first, but there were clues. It seemed like just another animal, but then became more and more obvious: a familiar joint, a five fingered hand, eventually a staring bloodless human head cut open just like the other animals. And that was the note that the book seemed to make, there was some structure, some gland that was present in all of these creatures. Ashley growled, claws scraping over the desk as his tail swung behind him irritably. He needed to know what this said. He needed to understand this; to really know what he had become and why.

There were ways to make people talk. Ways that most decent folk would never even consider. Ashley wasn't even sure if he qualified as folk at all at this point, much less a decent one.

Clutching the book in his tawny paw, he stepped to the doorway of the study, fumbling with the lock, swearing before kicking down the door with a heavy black hoof. Clomping down the hall, he could hear their voices from the dim illumination at the other corner of the house, faint at first, but growing louder as he closed in, feral body bristling with ill intent.

"But, sir . . ." Wash's voice pleaded. "You still haven't found if its reversible."

"I've come too far to lose my research now. I will not allow one stubborn courier to stand in the way of my progress. You will do this." Ashley winced, head pulsing with the force of the words, black lips peeling back as he snarled.

Ashley's heavy hoof falls thudded louder in the dark hallway.

"What about my family though." The other man's word's quavered, as if he were standing on the precipice of some unknowable terror. "Melinda. You said that you'd cure her . . . "

"And she is still alive is she not? It would be a travesty if something were to happen to the sole man keeping the last member of your little family in the world of the living . . ." The old man took a deep breath. "He's getting closer. There's no time for this. Do it. Protect me." The stern voice trailed off to hacking and wheezing

Ashley could hear a grunt of pain and the sound of a man slumping down to the floor moments before he stormed into the main room, kerosine lamp dimly illuminating the scene, casting shadows around the dusty old opulent furniture. There sat the old man on his wheeled chair, hands folded in his lap as his eyes caught on Ashley's lumbering animalistic form, filled far more with wonder than with fear. Wash lay crumpled near a sofa, completely still, a harsh chemical odor permeating the air around him. Ashely couldn't even hear him breathing . . .

"Intriguing . . ." Mr. Bentley steepled his fingers, curious eyes scanning over the courier's changed form. "You should be dead you know, Mr. Pine."

"You goddamn son of a bitch." Ashley's words came out as a barely comprehensible roar as he surged across the room, knocking a table aside with a huge crash as he reached towards the smirking little bastard. He could smell the fear under that measured countenance.

" Stop." The man's pale blue eyes glared at him as his brow furrowed, a vein pulsing in his forehead as one of his eyes twitched, whites going pink and cloudy.

The changed courier's hooves faltered for just a second as he blinked his amber eyes and shook his head. "I ain't gonna." He growled, reaching down and grabbing the surprisingly light man up by the collar of his shirt.

"No wait, please . . ." The pasty skinned man wheezed, body struggling feebly in Ashley's immense grip.

"You're gonna tell me what all of this means." Ashley waved the leather book in his other hand. "What you did to me. And trust me. I ain't asking . . ." He tightened his grip, white teeth bared in the flickering light,

"Yes, fine. Please . . ." The man gasped as his limbs flailed weakly. "I can tell you everything." He finished with a humph as Ashley tossed him onto a dusty sofa, towering over him.

"Then start talking." The changed courier snarled, furry tail batting about behind him as if he were about to pounce.

The papery skinned man rubbed his throat, looking up before beginning to speak. "It's really quite a simple process, finding out what connects us all as baser animals. Haven't you ever been curious as to why God made us all from the same cloth? Four limbs, one mouth, two nostrils, one heart, et cetera et cetera . . ." His now mismatched eyes gleamed in the dim light of the lantern. "Why, from a scientific perspective, there's barely any difference between a cat, a dog, or a human being . . ."

Ashely growled as the old man wheezed, coughing up blood and phlegm before continuing. He could hear Wash beginning to moan on the sofa behind him, but his predatory focus didn't leave the old man for a single second.

"The process of what kind of animal you get is largely chemical in nature. The only trick is tracking down the right glands and then adulterating the expressions . . ."

"Speak English, you bastard." Ashley roared.

"Err . . ." The panting man paused, looking up at Ashley's terrifying visage, and then beyond him just briefly. "You need to find a way to make the chemical accessible to a new host organism. The process usually takes months, and is hardly ever successful in any useful way, but you, you lucky creature you, have proved that a very violent change can occur, and might even be stable. Of course I'll have to run some tests to be sure." His fear was slowly being replaced by an almost morbid curiosity as he looked up at Ashley.

"I'll rot in the ground before I let you run a . . ." Ashley was interrupted as a shadow loomed across the light from behind him, letting loose an inhuman screech and barreling into him, sending him sliding across the polished floor before crashing into a near empty bookcase.

Wood and paper clattered to the floor around him as Ashley shook his head, sharp teeth gritted as he pushed himself up. Standing in the middle of the room between him and the old man was a huge hulking and yet sinuous figure, the tatters of Wash's clothes hanging from its body. Its hunched heavy-legged figure was covered in strange chitinous plates, tufts of brown fur sticking out between them with sand colored scales that ran down his spine in the blotchy pattern of a rattler. A serpentine tail snaked behind his towering form, tufted end coiling irritably around the edges of the sofa behind him, as his finger length claws clenched and unclenched in the air before him.

"Now." The old man wheezed as the creature's long lapine ears swiveled towards him. "My orders stand. Protect me, and deal with him." Bright crimson trickled down from the wheezing man's nose as the hulking beast looked back at him, snarling muzzle revealing sharp incisors in addition to the pair of wicked fangs. But the beast turned with odd animal resignation to face Ashley as his hooves clopped against the wooden floors.

"My fight's with that fella, not you." Ashley growled, taking a heavy step forwards, powerful body tensed. "You don't have to . . ." He was cut off as the inhuman chimera that had so recently been a man surged towards him, lashing out with a lanky arm that Ashley barely managed to sidestep before the other swing caught him under the chin, sending him reeling back into one of the vertical beams that supported the steepled roof, making the entire chamber shake as the monstrous conglomeration roared at him with inhuman rage.

The once-courier barely managed to roll to the side as the beast launched itself through the air towards where he landed, powerful hind legs tensed as it surged forwards with its overly-long serpentine neck. Ashley managed to catch the jaws in his thick-fingered paws, turning the snapping monster away, smelling its rage and fear as it raked out again with its foreclaws, leaving bright bloody gashes against his exposed furry flank.

The cowboy's animal lips pulled back in a snarl as he bucked with his bulky equine hind legs, catching Wash in the chest and knocking the sinewy animal over as Ashley manged to once again to right himself, feeling the familar stinging heat as the gashes in his side began to close. He reached down onto the end table next to him, grabbing an empty glass decanter and hurling it towards the old man's beaming bloody face. With a crash and a spray of cut glass, it was swatted out of the air by the lightning fast claws of the impossible beast between him and his tormentor, as it stepped between them on its oddly muscular hind legs.

"It's no use you see." Mr. Bentley scoffed. "Your change was merely an unfortunate accident. This is something that has been years in the making." Ashley backpedaled as the beast rushed him, malice dripping from its jaws as it always kept the bulk of its massive frame between him and the grinning old fool. "He's conditioned. The serums just make my control over him even stronger." His voice wheezed as the beast's arm swung down and cracked into Ashley's shoulder. The couriers own claws lashed out, but only to rasp harmlessly off of the armadillo-like plates that covered most of the creature's upper body.

"You should fight yer own fights." Ashley spat as he lost more ground, breathing heavily. This thing didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat . . .

"No, no. That's what creatures like yourself are for, I'm afraid. Well, one's that aren't quite so defective at least . . ." The crippled man let loose a hacking wheeze of laughter, watching his personal creation advancing on the accident with murderous intent.

"You yellow bellied son of a bitch!" Ashley spat, punching the beast in the neck as it lunged towards him, driving him back against the same pillar from before, slamming into him with a wicked backhand, knocking his head against the beam so hard that the whole room shook as his vision blurred for a disorienting second. This thing was hell bent on killing him, and didn't seem to care much about the furnishings . . .

"You could always surrender, you know? I might be able to find a place for you . . . once I understand exactly what makes you tick." The withered man pulled himself up slightly and crossed his hands in his lap.

"I ain't giving you the satisfaction, little man." Ashley pulled himself back behind the beam, feline agility keeping it between him and the hideous cross of scales, plates, and nightmares. Dust from the rafters shook down as the beast's claws raked at the cured wood.

"Oh don't worry, I can figure you out on an operating table just as well." Mr. Bentley smiled with his oddly perfect white teeth. The creature's arms opened wide, surging out and pulling back, knocking his muscular frame against the pillar, reaching out with a wide clawed grip and slamming Ashley's head back into the wood again and again, making the cowboy's vision blur before he just managed to pull away, sliding to the side, inches away from the rampaging thing's slavering jaws.

"Oh I think I can figure you out as well." Ashley spat. "Little_pricks_ like you tunnel in on what you want, but you miss . . ." He pulled back as another massive swing missed him by inches, long white claws causing splinters of wood to fly from the beam. "The big picture."

"What would a simple backwater hack like yourself know about the big picture? This project has taken decades, and will change the frontier forever. This side of the continent is going to be mine, Mr. Pine." The old man glowered.

"That's what I mean. You're too focused on a backwater hack like me." He ducked, feeling a claw shear through the top of one of his ears with a surge of hot pain as he felt the pillar shudder with the impact of the blow. "Instead of what's keeping the roof up." The entire room shook as the beast bore down on him, and despite being nearly decapitated after a close dodge, Ashely smiled a feral grin.

The old man's eyes opened wide in the dimly lit room as his pulse quickened, veins bulging along his temple. "Wait, don't . . ." he wheezed, pink spittle dotting the edges of his pressed shirt. " Don't. Stop him, but . . ." His breath hissed as the chimera that was Wash lunged towards Ashley one last time, arms outstretched as the smaller hybrid slipped under his grasp and kicked out, sending him crashing into the support beam which creaked ominously. " No. Both of you. No more fighting." The man screamed, both eyes going bloodshot as the roof creaked ominously.

Ashley felt the tug in his mind, just like he had on the bridge.

But he was stronger now.

"Not a chance in hell." He barreled forwards, putting his shoulder into the beam as the house shuddered. There was a sudden pause, the beast shaking its head to deal with conflicting impulses as the old man's eyes widened, turning fearfully up. The walls groaned, seeming to breathe for just a second before the roof tore, falling inward with a heavy crash as Ashley covered his head, and Wash looked up with puzzled incomprehension, heavy debris crushing down with a thunderous rush as the floorboards creaked and bucked under their weight.

* * *

A voice in the distance, seeping through the ether:

"_ Deal with him " " Do it _"

"_ Both of you " " No more Fighting _"

Ashley awoke with a snarl, breath coming out in pained wheezes. Everything had collapsed into some kind of basement, the main beam from the roof having caused a very precarious lean-to, leaving some space in the gritty darkness. It hurt to move, dust seeping down from the heavy mass on top of him as he coughed. There was something scraped that he could hear, stirring in the rubble with a deep shuddering growl.

He braced himself and pushed against the scattered wooden planks and rubble on top of him, pain flaring through his crushed body. Gravel and silt pattered down against his head as he shoved, muscles bulging under his matted dusty fur as he managed to roll out from under the beam that pinned him to the floor of the ruined cellar he found himself in. His notched ear twitched as he turned towards the sound of the other noise, the wild beast that used to be Wash erupting from the rubble, blood and slaver running from the side of his jaws as he staggered to his feet.

There was no sign of the old man at least. Thank god.

Bracing himself, the ex-courier raised his fists wearily, one arm hanging lower than the other, not doing what he wanted it to, feeling like it'd been hit by a train. The other monster approached him, clawed feet stuttering as it dragged its scaled tail wearily along behind it.

"I ain't got no guff with you." Ashley coughed out, feeling the grit of sand and earth in his teeth.

The monster simply kept approaching though, plodding steps drawing it closer and closer towards the scowling disheveled animal that was Ashley. It made no move to strike though, dark eyes darting one way and then the other as if it was waiting for some unheard cue.

"I'll just get going then . . ." Ashley turned to the rubble and began scoping out a way to climb out of this wrecked pit. But as soon as he made to sidle up a beam, the plated snaky beast tensed its strong hind legs, hopping towards him and latching onto his arms with a snarl.

Deal with him No more fighting

"Look, You can get out this way too. See that there's moonlight." Ashley pointed up towards the area he hoped to reach. This only seemed to draw a blank savage stare from the other beast though. "I'll just show you . . ." He made as if to climb again and the beast tackled him, rubble groaning dangerously as the beast roared, maw splitting open wide, spittle dripping down upon the matted fur of Ashley's face.

"The fuck do you want!?" Ashley reached up, sharp claws extending as he made to fight for his life, but the heavy monster had stopped again, its heavy weight pinning him to the ground. He could smell its confusion as it tried to puzzle out what to do. The old man's words still rang in Ashley's head as well

No more fighting Deal with him

"Goddamn it." He swore as the beast growled at him. "The old cocksucker is dead. Let's just get out of here." But the beast didn't budge, its hot weight pressed against Ashley's prone form. "Maybe there's some kind of cure." His words didn't seem to phase the transformed assistant in the least.

Ashley was trying to come up with some solution, some way out of this seemingly endless predicament as the beast began to sniff at him. It started near his face as he pushed it away, but then incorrigibly huffed down his mussed furry chest with its wide flaring nostrils, smelling the chalky dirt that covered up his animal musk. Ashley tried to back away, but there wasn't anywhere to go. He pressed his back up against the earthen wall as the beast snuffled lower, over his belly, and then the remnants of his trousers. With almost surgical precision, the beast's lapine and serpentine head darted in, snapping through the waist of that last piece of human clothing and tearing it away like a disgruntled farm hand shucking corn.

He was going to smack the thing for being obnoxious, but he didn't even have time to before the thing's nostrils huffed warm air up against his crotch. Ashley gulped as the beast's black eyes turned up to him briefly before it snuffled in again, butting between his legs. The cowboy's eyes widened as he saw what his torn off pants had revealed. His manhood wasn't even remotely human, a girthy animal sheath pressed up against his belly with heavy furred orbs hanging beneath it. The sight seemed to appeal to the beast as much as it shocked him. It immediately lashed out with its long fleshy forked tongue, sliding up his balls and the edge of his plush animal maleness.

"The fuck do you think you're doing?" This didn't seem right in the least . . . but it certainly wasn't fighting. Ashley groaned as he looked down again, gritting his sharp teeth as the beast's breath huffed over his crotch, tongue slipping up again and again as it developed a taste for his musty maleness. His body tensed, hooves sliding against the ground as the monster slid its tongue inside of his now taut sheath, wriggling around as Ashley's heart pounded, and he watched in horrified awe as the flared tip of his monstrous pink cock pulsed and swelled out of its tawny furred home.

The only response he got from the strange beast was a rumble from its odd mismatched muzzle, sending shivers through Ashley's spine as he stared in horrified fascination while his maleness pulsed out longer and longer under that unflagging slick hot animal tongue. His hooves scraped out against the floor as his muscular thighs tensed, feeling that long wet tongue catch against the sides of his throbbing erection. There was a section there, looking a shade lighter, his eyes going wide as he saw stubbly barbs there, not unlike those on a cat's tongue. What the hell was wrong with him . . . and why did it feel so impossibly good as that monstrous tongue tickled across them?

The huge lanky animal hopped closer, pushing itself against him with increasingly evident lust. It was almost too much, sensation making him yowl out a wordless howl of pleasure as he wrapped his paws around Wash's bobbing head, feeling the plates and brown scales with tufts of fur, long rabbit ears poking through his thick animal paws as he panted.

Just when he thought that his non-human shaft couldn't possibly keep growing, the sensations changed again, a tense need growing in the pit of his stomach as his fuzzy sheath began to bulge. The monster that butted its huffing muzzle against him seemed drawn towards the emerging base of his member, encircling its flexible tongue around the bottom of his cock as it began to pulse and seethe and swell. Ashley's broad paws tightened their grip around the creature's head as a turgid glistening bulb of flesh began to pulse out from his taut furry sheath, a pulsing knot that swelled larger with each of his increasingly erratic heartbeats.

It was getting impossibly hard to think straight as he tried to keep up with the unbelievable pleasure from his alien cock. He was completely unprepared for when the beast stretched its maw wide and engulfed his maleness in one surge of lusty motion. Ashley's animal lips pulled back in a grimace, feeling the tense points of serpentine fangs against his skin, and the chiseled sharp incisors brush against his cock, but the monster was incredibly careful with its movements despite its obvious feral eagerness. He could see a bulge in the thing's gullet as his flared tip, barbed length, and knotted base were all tensed around and rubbed against by the animals slick hot sinuous gullet.

The monster's inky black eyes looked up at Ashley as it could feel his cock begin to pulse and tug, jolting dollops of musky male pre down its throat. But just as the couriers tail began to thrash, cock aching and balls clenching, the creature pulled back, licking its animal chops as it sat up on its haunches, the debris above them creaking as it shifted its weight.

"What . . ." Ashley panted. "What the hell was that for?" One paw reaching down for his glistening member instinctually, a moan escaped his lips as a padded fingertip brushed past the uneven edges of his equine flare, pre welling out and dripping down the cooling edges.

The monster made no verbal reply, turning away as if to leave, even though there was still no exit in sight. Ashley's aching cock made him sad to see the thing go, but he could probably deal with this colossal problem himself. Being a courier was lonely work, and he'd had a lot of practice.

However, instead of bounding towards the slit of moonlight in the ruined ceiling, the beast merely raised its furry haunches and looked over its shoulder with is ponderous neck, scaly tail raised up, tufted tip flagging from side to side as the thing's bared stretched anus twitched where scaly skin met furry flesh.

Ashley thought for a split second about all of the dangers involved, and all of the things he still didn't know, but all of that was overruled by the throbbing need between his legs. His animal instincts bore him forwards with a hot wave of lust, drawing him in towards that inviting hole: twitching as the tail curled and flicked, just begging to be filled.

The beast let loose a rumbling huff his as he stood and ran his padded fingers over its haunches as its rabbity ears twitched. His cock bobbed in front of him, massive length rubbing up against the creature's rump, making him grit his teeth as the differences between the smooth scales, the rough plates, and the silky fur teased his pulsing shaft. His plushly furred chest heaved as he reached down and aligned his member, driven more by need than reason as he felt the beast's muscular tail twitch against him as his glistening cock smeared the pink edges of that straining ass with glistening pre and thick cooling spittle. The feel of his wide flare pressed tight against that quivering muscular passage made his breath catch his throat before the creature, tired of waiting, rocked backwards, hissing out as it felt the thick slick shaft spread its clenching pliant anus wide. Ashley had no choice but to rock forwards as the clenching muscle enveloped him in a wrenching hot surge.

The courier whinnied, purred, and howled out, hips beginning to buck forwards, sinking deeper and deeper into that tight straining hole as it wildly grasped around him. His claws came out, latching onto the edges of the beast's thick plated carapace as his fluffy tail batted wildly behind him, heavy balls swinging, bared asshole clenched. Barbs just catching at the edge of the writhing creature's clenched ring of muscle, Ashley's mind was set ablaze with a million pinpricks of ecstasy that just made his pace quicken, fangs bared as his rough wide tongue dangled out the side of his mouth while his rocking thrusts drove inch after inch of his thick shaft into the growling beast under him.

He could smell a new distinct musk in the air, Wash's body undulating as the furry vertical slit between his powerful lapine legs bulged. Two glistening fleshy points slowly emerged, dripping passion down their odd pulsing contours. The blended scents of reptilian and mammalian passion welled forth, filling Ashley's senses with cloying musky need. His mind slipped into instinctual desire as he rammed in harder, making his partner's emerging chiseled dual shafted maleness bob and spatter hot dollops of musky pre against the dusty floor, their rocking bodies making the tenuous rubble shift ominously.

Ashley's mind wasn't paying attention though, lost in the throes of lust, hooves clopping against the floor as he shifted his weight. His tongue lapped over his black leathery nose, engorged knot butting at Wash's strained entrance as he rocked forwards. The creature hissed, haunches tensing as he braced his front claws against the ground, rocking back into the courier with wild animal abandon. Ashley's thrusts became longer, more violent as he shoved forwards with all of his weight, stretching the wriggling ring of Wash's animal ass as his deep purring breaths grew into growls, leaning forward and bracing his considerable weight against the serpentine beast's warm plated back.

The crazed need was driving Ashley mad, frothy spittle dripping from the edges of his mouth as his knot strained and bulged against that tight grasping asshole. He finally arched his back, claws latching onto the beast's chitinous plates, driving himself forwards as his cock strained, passage resisting for just an extra halting moment before clenching and sending him rocketing inside of the beast's depths, knot locked there firmly as the courier's tail raised, slitted pupils dilating, rear legs straining, balls churning as his cries turned to a moment of penultimate silence, caught in his throat as his entire body convulsed.

The creature's claws dug into the hard floor as white hot torrents of thick male essence surged into its ass, Ashley's cock tugging and writhing inside of the monster's engulfing passage. Both of them screamed out in inhuman bliss as Wash's own cocks tensed and bobbed, jolting out dripping twin streams of jizzm as its tail curled down around Ashley's legs. Their confined space was filled with lusty roars and heady animal musk as they continued to slam together, urged on by unflagging animal stamina. The courier's knot and flared tip both bulged and blazed with sensation as he felt the creature's iron banded slick hot insides constrict around him in impossible tugging pulls, scraping over his barbs, egging him on as he unloaded his potent load in surging jolts of masculinity.

After every last throbbing tug had finished, they both stood there panting for some time, Ashley leaning against the creature's back, still tied together even as his colossal cock began to soften. The echo of the old man's voice was now gone, the only thing ringing in his mind was the aftershocks of their volatile climax. He wasn't sure, but perhaps he'd been dealt with . . . in a way . . . It was certainly better than the alternative.

But no sooner had he begun to think about it, the monster under him snarled and began to tug away from him, straining its ass and Ashley's cock alike.

"Ah, ow, goddammit, just hold up. We could look for a cure or . . . errrrrgh!" He shouted as the beast wrenched itself away from him with a painful surge, leaving his throbbing half hard cock dripping in the darkness. It looked over its shoulder before hissing in what could have been animal insanity, or perhaps just self-loathing before scrabbling up against that fallen support beam, bashing into the debris and raking them away with its claws with a wild destructive need to escape before bounding away noisily into the night

Ashley shielded his eyes as rubble began to rain down, swearing as he gathered his wits. Desperately, he leaped up, latching onto a beam and hauling himself up and through the detritus as well, hooves having trouble finding purchase as the building began to settle further. There was a growing ominous shuddering as he latched on with his claws, pulling up with his immense strength as he threw himself away from the wreckage of the building. Just as he hit the ground, there was a crunch and a great whumph of dust and dirt flung up, the ruins of the estate crashing into the shattered pit in front of him.

He supposed that he could try to go rifle through the ruins and try to find something, a better record, or perhaps some kind of cure, but he knew he was kidding himself. He was no scientist, he wouldn't know what to do even if he did find some sort of clue. And even if the book was in there, it was probably torn to shreds by now.

But someone in the town had to know what the old bastard had been planning. With a set up as elaborate as this, he'd of had to hired quite a bit of help, maybe greased the wheels a little bit. They would know more, and that was where Ashley would have to start.

Looking down down at his furry animal body, Ashley flexed his paws as he sighed.

Clothes. Maybe clothes were a better place to start . . .