FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Beware! Monsters abound!" hung on a timber sign nailed to a tree. The couple paid no mind to the clearly fake warning, dripping with red paint and posted at the start of the trail. They had experienced their fair share of haunted locations while attempting to stave off the boredom of living in the country.

“I'm not impressed." the Fox spoke. She turned to her boyfriend whose pointed ears perked up at her voice.

“Of course not. You're impossible to please!" he joked. “Besides, are you sure we're even there yet?"

“I dunno. The website said they were hosting it on their property. How much of this place do they own, anyway? Are they rich?"

She only received a shrug from him in response. Shining his flashlight on the orange fur of her face, he received more than one type of glare from her. The vulpine couple continued their midnight jaunt through the woods, not slowing down for the creaking of the monumental oak trees. Their bare branches formed a canopy of wicked limbs that shook in anticipation over them. The wind was their voice, their energy, and their soul. Strangely, they heard no sounds from animals. Not even birds or bugs dared to encroach on the wind's territory.

Although they had gotten used to the sound of snapping branches meeting the earth, that didn't help them when a particularly loud crash echoed in the distance. Whatever it was scared off the wind and made them both jump. The couple looked at each other, shrugged, and continued down the trail. Another minute passed while they hiked toward an unseen destination with only a handheld flashlight illuminating their path. The owner kept it trained on the ground in front of them so they could avoid tripping on roots and rocks littering the path.

“C'mon, this can't be worse than that 'haunted' mansion we got duped into exploring." she added finger quotes to the word along with a face that screamed disappointment.

“Ouch, yeah." he scratched the back of his head. “Can't be worse than almost breaking an arm."

Crash

“You heard that, right? I'm not going crazy?"

Turning up to her partner, the vixen shielded her eyes when he accidentally shined the light in her face again. "It's just a tree falling. High winds tonight, remember?"

"I didn't hear any wind after the first couple of noises." he replied.

“Hmph, big baby. I should start calling you Ichabod Crane since you think you're gonna get your head lopped o-"

CRASH

Both Foxes whipped their heads around at the commotion. Whatever it was, it echoed past them and gave the impression that it came from multiple directions. They stood stock-still for a moment trying to pinpoint the origin until…

CRASH

“It's getting louder!" The man screamed.

He grabbed his girlfriend's arm and they ran deeper into the woods without thinking. Boots met dirt at high speed, drawing them deeper into the clutches of the forest. They ran fast, but whatever was moving out there noticed them and drew closer.

CRASH

CRASH

The swift Fox woman's boot caught on an exposed tree root. It was less than a second, but it was enough to knock her off balance and send her tumbling to the ground. Her partner scrambled to stop and turn around, almost tripping like she had. He barely managed to stay on his feet until another explosion shook the earth and dropped him to his knees. Although he was in the perfect position to get up and help his partner, A deep instinct was screaming at him to stay as still as possible.

_CRASH

CRASH_

_ CRASH _

The couple could only stare at each other in horror while the creature located their position. Finally, the banging stopped. They tried to be quiet, but they were both panting from their sprint through the woods. Slowly moving his flashlight up, the beam partially illuminated the monster standing above them. It was incredibly difficult to make out anything in the pitch-black forest even with the light. Whatever it was had three heads: two with glowing orange eyes and all with horns on them. They practically bobbed up and down in excitement at their next meal while the middle head stood fixed in place and leered over them. Large globs of saliva drooled from its mouth and onto the ground next to them. It was person-shaped and must have stood over five times the size of a regular person.

Terror escaped their lips and the couple sang a duet of fear for the beast and its domain. They made a desperate dash for the entrance where they came from, managing to scramble between the creature's legs and sprint far past it. It did not chase them as it had before, but they heard a low rumble like a chuckle come from it. They dare not look behind them.

---

Vinny sat on his front porch in a wooden rocking chair that made him feel like a child. Next to him on an oversized stand, a bucket of candy taunted him. It was just as full now as it was four hours ago. Halloween night and nobody had the guts to show up! They advertised it on their website and everything! Even decorated the cabin with jack-o-lanterns and all sorts of props from the nearest party store, which was incredibly far away. He would be having a terrible time if it weren't for one detail.

He looked down at his costume: A chain mail shirt under a dark robe, a pointed hat on his head, and a wooden staff leaning on the wall behind him. Halloween was the time of year people dressed how they wanted. They got to be their ideal selves, and who wouldn't want to be a wise wizard? It helps that he summoned a loyal monster tonight.

A rhythmic crashing signaled the return of his partner. A massive Wolf stepped into the porch light and revealed her form. She wore a leather bikini decorated with massive chains made of plastic. Their hollow noises were drowned out by her heavy footfalls. Atop her head a pair of fake horns were taped to her forehead, jutting up from her above her eyes and giving her an overall demonic look. What completed the image was the pair of fake canine heads mounted to each shoulder. They were both mounted on springs and bounced up and down, side to side with each careful step. They had wires inside them that lit up their eyes with orange LEDs, and the wires trailed down her back to a battery pack on her neck.

“Nothing?" she asked, stepping up to the cabin which was now only knee height to her.

“Nope! Not a single one made it here. You checked the markers, right? All the signs point the right way?"

“Yep. None of them fell and the trail is pretty clear."

“Damn. Guess nobody wanted to visit."

The wolf crouched down and looked him in the eye with a grin as wide as he was tall. “Maybe they're all too scared to visit?"

Vinny thought about this for a moment. “Or maybe we're too far out in the boonies?"

Kiva mulled this over in her head as well, then promptly ignored it.

“Oh well. More candy for me. Throw some in my mouth, huh?"

Vinny tilted his head up and smiled. He left his chair to rock on its own and grabbed a giant-sized chocolate bar out of the bowl, unwrapping it and throwing it into her greedy maw.

---