FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

For a Thursday preview event the convention hall was packed with a lot more people than Amanda had figured. It being her first time attending one of these larger tech trade shows there were likely a lot of misconceptions she’d have to get over if she was going to do her job. Her first since graduating college that is actually within her field. A shy and polite person by her nature it was definitely a major coming out party to be amidst the hustle and din of the large convention hall. Amanda was determined to not waste this opportunity to work a dream job of sorts. So armed with her press lanyard and satchel purse she struck out into the crowds.

Amanda was in her mid-twenties, fair skinned, tall, blue eyed, had a runner’s build, with dyed dark blonde hair tied up messy bun, and wearing her circular metal framed reading glasses. She didn’t normally wear her glasses out but with the amount of fine print in the literature she’d be collecting that day going around booths it was easier to have them on full time. For an outfit she’d worn black in all facets; two inch block heels, stockings, knee length pencil skirt, and matching black lingerie; except for the sleeveless silk blouse dyed a vivid scarlet. Managing to be professional and bold without shouting it. Very much Amanda’s style.

The trade magazine she worked for had a focus towards renewables. This trade show was nothing but emerging tech using renewable and/or sustainable tech spread out over an eight-hundred thousand square foot main exhibition hall. As well as numerous side rooms for conferences, showcases, demos, and parties hosted by sponsors for attendees. Amanda’s focus in particular was on personal defense devices. The show boasted hundreds of different vendors and at least fifty-nine of them Amanda’s editor had marked out for her to visit.

‘At least I’ll be getting my steps in today,’ Amanda thought to herself as she checked her digital watch for the time. She had drawn up a map of places to hit that day, with her personal expectation being that she could knock out most of the exhibits in a day. The leftovers she could visit tomorrow, leaving her the rest of the weekend to write up the article and have it ready Monday morning in her editor’s inbox. An optimistic goal Amanda felt would help her stand out for an initial piece.

Aisles were busy without being crowded and booths showcasing loud, flashy products from big name companies attracted many attendees. The booths Amanda had to visit were from smaller companies or vendors, which was fine by her. The first few she found on her list were showing off a variety of items intended for personal and property defense. Many were very niche or wildly impractical or struck Amanda as more dangerous to the user than their intended attacker. Amanda took pictures, collected and cataloged any materials or samples she got, and then moved to the next booth. She’d saved some remarks in her phone about each to help her future memory when it came time to write.

Three hours of this and Amanda was running desperately low on energy. Her watch showed quarter past noon. With her free lunch voucher not good until 1 PM, she would have to work through the next forty-five minutes the best she could. For a recharge she bought an energy drink from a vending machine and emptied the can in a few deep sips. After a few minutes her heart was going and Amanda was sociable enough to visit more booths.

When Amanda had been going through her map that morning, several booths had yet to open. She had a little over a half hour to kill so it seemed a good time to revisit some to see if they’d opened back up. The first few she visited were still empty to her disappointment. However she found one that had just finished getting ready and had started inviting passersby in. Amanda took the bait and by all accounts was the first to step into their booth.

The space was done up with fake grass, fake trees, fake bushes, and items like fences, chairs, fake sprinkler, hose, and bird bath to give the impression of someone’s backyard. There were raised, backlit displays that clashed with the faux look of everything else but wasn’t out of place from many other booths. The company, ‘Scentsible Solutions by Nature’, wasn’t one that Amanda had heard of. That could be said of a lot of the companies on her list so she didn’t hold it against them. At a glance Amanda saw they sold products intended to keep animals and insects away from your home using natural, harmless odors and sustainable materials.

‘Fancy, nature 3D printed housings over an air freshener that supposedly keeps bad things away,’ was the mental and actual note Amanda took in those initial moments. Before the two hired booth workers in their khaki pants and company t-shirt came romping up to chew Amanda’s ear off.

“Thanks so much for checking us out, friend! I’m Glory!” the bubbly bleach blonde woman of the pair introduced. She was Amanda’s age with more curves, brown eyes, pure white smile, and the kind of enthusiasm you get from someone paid to be there.

“And I’m Randall! Pleased and proud to meet ya! So happy that you came to check us out here at Scentsible Solutions! Where we nose a thing or two about scent based solutions!” declared the guy proudly. Tall, over tanned, with plenty of show muscles and a fake white smile to compete with Glory’s, Randall was like many other booth bros she’d encountered that morning. He had a manner of speaking that told Amanda he was constantly trying to remember a script.

“We sure do! We’ve got ways to keep your house, apartment, or place of business free of pests and insects all without harming them or damaging the environment. Which is so precious and important these days,” Glory extolled. Her manner of recalling lines was far more natural than Randall. Yet noticeable to Amanda all the same, having dealt with it all morning.

“So important! What defense concerns matter to you, ma’am? I’m sure there’s something we can do to assist!” Randall insisted while he and Glory effectively boxed Amanda in.

“I’m actually doing an article on self-defense weapons, clothing, or other deterrents. To keep away attackers or someone robbing you, rather than some ants or a pesky rabbit in your garden. Have anything like that here at the show?” Amanda answered and asked cordially. All while having to swivel her attention between the two.

Glory and Randall’s eyes lit up in unison. Randall backed away towards another display while Glory ushered Amanda towards it.

“If it’s self-defense you’re going for then your timing couldn’t be better! We have a new item debuting at the show this year geared precisely towards self-defense on the go! Do you use any kind of self-defense item yourself?” Glory politely probed along the way.

“I normally keep pepper spray in my purse. Wasn’t allowed to bring it on the show floor, funny enough,” Amanda smirked as she let herself be guided.

The block column display was four feet high, a foot square, and topped with a glass case. Inside on a textured, custom built pedestal. Inside was a single palm sized black canister with a housing done up in black and white stripes. The trigger was made to look like a skunk’s tail for added detail. While it was another housing on another dispenser, Amanda noticed this one was of a much higher quality. Likely a custom job that was impressive, though not her personal taste.

“You may never use it again after you see what our scent engineers have come up with! Say hello to Skunk’em! A naturally derived and specially synthesized mixture that evokes a skunk’s targeted natural defense with a revolutionary mixture delivered by a sleek, sustainable, and downright adorable design. Making it easy to find in your purse or drawer when you need it most!” proclaimed Glory.

“And if the look of it doesn’t scare the person off we guarantee that after one squirt from our patented spray ejection system your attacker won’t come back for a second! The odor is not only overpowering and potent, it will stick on the person like wet on a fish! Making it easy for police or security to track the person down afterwards so they don’t hurt anyone else. All done with natural products and reusable materials,” proudly explained Randall in one long breath.

“It really is a truly amazing breakthrough in sustainable nonlethal tech. This one here is the first working model and is just one of the configurations that will be available. To really play on that Skunk’em name we went with a skunk inspired trigger and theme. Easy to use for righties or lefties!” Glory touted. She fawned over the case and like Randall acted properly ardent for their product.

“Now that’s what I call smart design! The kind that could save your life too someday,” Randall warned with a grin, having forgotten to change his inflection. This as he handed Amanda a pamphlet filled with marketing talk and product details.

“Sounds pretty nifty I guess. Looks pretty cute,” Amanda remarked passively while reading through the pamphlet. Finding it full of claims and uptalk but not many details. Typical for a lot of booths that year. “So does it just smell really bad? Doesn’t burn or blind them temporarily or something? It just, sort of, stinks really bad?” she asked respectfully to make conversation.

“We call it a directed nasal agitant. The smell is intense enough to burn, disorient, cause nausea, vomiting, and excessive drooling. It takes only seconds and, depending on the amount used, the serious effects wear off in an hour or two. The stink, however, persists until a neutralizing agent, which we also sell, is used,” Glory was quick to answer.

“Purchased at the attacker’s expense too, of course!” asserted Randall after Glory answered before he could.

Glory not-so-discreetly elbowed her coworker in the ribs. Then hastily amended, “We actually can’t legally guarantee that. Just that we’ll do what we can to make sure justice is served!”

“Yeah, justice!” agreed Randall while glaring at Glory for correcting him.

“Okay, but you didn’t answer my question about the actual smell. Is it rotten eggs and spoiled cabbage dialed up to eleven? Or like pepper spray? Or something else entirely? ” Amanda speculated. Almost doing it for fun after sensing they weren’t prepared.

“Well, we haven’t had a chance to experience it ourselves yet but from the test material and footage we’ve seen it’s definitely a powerful stink! You can see on the monitor here that- oh drat, the tv’s not playing anything,” Glory huffed when the screen she pointed overhead wasn’t working.

“Well that’s unfortunate,” Amanda commented wryly.

Trying to save face and perhaps one up Glory, Randall got creative. “Darn, real bummer. While my coworker takes care of the playback I’ll do my best to describe it to you, since I have more hands on experience than Glory with this device.”

“Oh, sure! I’ll be right back why I go see what Randall wired wrong,” Glory chided through her smile. Then saw herself out rather than cause a scene.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about. She was in charge of the wiring. But that’s nothing to do with your question! To answer it, truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve only seen the proof of concept version that used a standard mace can. But remembering that demonstration gives me an idea! Just have to get this off.” Randall had waited for Glory to disappear into the back of the booth to remove the display case from the Skunk’em spray. He was emboldened when it lifted off without issue and he could retrieve the can without issue. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on using it on either of us. Or using it properly at all. With just a little pressure I should be able to coax out just a droplet from the nozzle. I’ll just grab a piece of sample paper from our bug repellant display table over here and we can get a tiny whiff of what this has to offer!”

“Is that safe? To use that indoors? Even a little?” asked Amanda.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine! Trust me!” reassured Randall using words that always preceded disaster.

Randall didn’t want to be interrupted in the middle of his genius so he moved fast. Grabbing on of the thin, waxy strips of treated paper and having Amanda hold it while he carefully squeezed the nozzle like he’d seen the instructor do in the video. Sure enough for a tiny droplet. Satisfied it worked, Randall put the spray and case back together. While he did Amanda whiffed the air and didn’t smell anything. She lifted it nearer to her nose but still didn’t pick up on anything. Hardly registering the droplet breaking and dripping down to make incidental skin contact.

“Are you sure this isn’t just water and dish soap? Doesn’t really smell like… anything?” Amanda shrugged to Randall as he came over.

“It doesn’t? Really? They said this stuff was loaded with the real deal!” Randall recalled. He sniffed the paper in Amanda’s hand and she could see him trying to find some scent to play up. But there was nothing. “Huh, that’s a bummer. I’m really sorry about that. Guess it’s just the housing that’s finalized. You can toss that scent strip in the garbage over there. I’ll just put this case back and- oh! Screen is on! Check that out for some more information on Skunk’em and some of the actual spray in action!”

“Okay, thanks. Maybe they didn’t want to have live spray on the show floor. Probably for the best,” Amanda excused with an easy smile. She tossed the strip and turned around to Glory to see a returning Glory catching Randall fitting the display case back on. With time to still kill until lunch Amanda stood nearby, pretending to watch one of the screens while listening to the two coworkers bicker.

“And why would you try to test it? What if it worked? We’d be dealing with a stink that would get us fired! You’re damned lucky it didn’t work!” reprimanded Glory in a poorly hushed tone.

“I was trying to hook someone in, Glory. That’s what they told us to do with this booth! Not my fault the packet they gave us didn’t cover everything! No harm done anyway,” Randall dismissed.

“That suit from corporate was pretty adamant about not removing it from the case, Randall. And what’s the one thing you do within fifteen minutes of opening? Opening late, I might add, because you overslept two hours,” accused Glory while helping her coworker get the case on securely. “Go get the glass cleaner. Idiot. Try to think a little before acting next time, okay? I really hope they don’t find out about this. You better not cost me this gig” she threatened while Randall did as she asked.

The two workers bickered over the next ten minutes until other attendees than Amanda were coming to check out the booth. They all but forgot about Amanda in order to attend to newer folks, which was fine by Amanda. She was taking notes and thought the funny exchange might serve as some color in her articles about the show. Amanda had another twenty minutes until lunch so had planned to stay another ten minutes at least for material.

A sudden onset of flush red heat, full body goosebumps, and aching chills down her spine caught her off guard. Amanda figured her symptoms were nothing more than what she gets for wearing heels to a convention. Another culprit could be the overlapping smells in the booth overloading her senses. Whatever the culprit she exited the booth and tried to put some distance between it and her.

‘If that booth made me sick that’s going in the article,’ Amanda thought to herself as she sought fresher air.

Once Amanda put some distance between her and Scentsible booth the symptoms abated somewhat. Much of the aching and chills went away and she could breath a lot easier. The one place the discomfort persisted was her tailbone and lower back area. That she had no trouble attributing to being on her feet, in heel, for the past six or seven hours. Certainly never considered she was growing a tail. Choosing instead to find one of the areas set aside from charging devices to write up her notes on Scentsible.

it was her tailbone displacing to bulge backward, resulting in new bones sprouting into stretching flesh. Which lengthened the pointed new appendage down between her butt cheeks. Her skirt and top did a good job of hiding this development from others. There was no place for Amanda to sit so she settled for leading against the column her phone was charging from amongst others doing the same. Amanda had to put the soreness out of her mind to write proper notes for herself. Her back’s uncharacteristic sweatiness kept her new tail and the places it touched slick wet. It helped mask just how long and thick the tail was getting already.

Amanda finished her notes as aching returned to both of her ears. Again her tactic was to downplay it. Unaware that the cartilage and flesh of her ears were actively reshaping themselves. The edge curled, tips formed towards the top, and they steadily shifted on her head. These things together lead to tingling in her ears and an all over headache. Only when her glasses were being affected that Amanda used her free hand to try and fix them.

“The hell?” muttered Amanda as her fingers tenuously traced the changing shape of her ear. She didn’t think it was possible. So she felt the ear again and then checked the other to find it was also wrong. Quick as Amanda could she got her phone’s front facing camera up to confirm what didn’t seem possible. Even then she couldn’t believe it. “My ears are changing? Why is- how is- What is going on?!” Amanda gasped.

Others standing near her turned when they heard her. Amanda turned her head and stepped away, trying to hide herself. She tried to get her glasses on but when that didn’t work she took the hair ties and hairpins from her bun to let it down, covering her ears effectively. That did nothing to solve her actual problem.

‘What is going on with my ears? How long have they been like that? And why do they still hurt?’ Amanda frantically wondered as she moved away from people. She gave no thought to leaving her charging cable behind to avoid anyone noticing there was something seriously wrong with her. Seeing signs for the bathroom Amanda rushed without running to get there. Along the way becoming aware of her own tail. Which was eight inches long and growing. ‘What’s rubbing against my ass? The hell is going on with me?’

The desperate thinking matched Amanda’s panic as she entered the women’s bathroom. It was crowded but most of the women there were booth girls at the mirrors applying makeup. There were several stalls open and Amanda took the first one she could. She hung up her purse and folded her glasses into one of the side pockets with one hand while the other brought her front facing camera back up. Amanda held up her phone and saw her changed ears protruding from her hair. Their shape brought to mind an animal’s but she couldn’t imagine what sort exactly.

If things weren’t bad enough for Amanda an itch broke out over those recently changed areas. She watched on her phone as her ears broke out in tiny black splotches. These grew and merged, sprouting thin black hairs wherever they spread. Though she couldn’t see it, the same was happening to the thing in her pants.

‘Have to see what’s going on back there,’ thought Amanda while sliding down the back of her skirt. She lifted her shirt and looked down to see ten inches of lightly furred tail attached to her backside. Most of that fur was black save for some white hairs dotting down the top. More than the ears, seeing herself growing a tail stupefied the woman with what’s and why’s.

Answers weren’t forthcoming but further aching changes were. Amanda’s breasts throbbed, her spine squirmed, and pangs of unwanted heat blooming in her crotch onset within the same couple of minutes. The heat in that stall turned up as Amanda’s body temperature did.

“No, no, no, no, no, no! What in the hell is happening to me? Why am… changing?” Amanda said in a shaky whisper as hunched over the toilet. Every few seconds she winced or clenched her teeth from one pain or another. Underscoring much of it was a pulsating, foreign sensation that came from the wriggling moistness of her panties. Amanda had let her skirt fall down around her ankles but her undies were only tugged down in the back. Leaving the front to soak up the copious juices leaking out of her. “Gotta sit down. Gotta think,” she mumbled.

Amanda went to sit, jumped up when her tail touched the water, then sat again with the tail safely pulled to the side. Holding it for just a couple seconds was more than the woman liked. She spread her legs and fanned herself to deal with heat practically steaming off her body. It didn’t help much but kept both hands busy while she tried to think what to do.

‘What is doing this to me? Feels like my body is warping into something else. Something bestial,’ Amanda fretted to herself. Fearfully she tugged the front of her panties forward to peek at what was happening.

She hesitated when glimpsing black skin sprouting fine, short, silky hairs above her pussy. Amanda took a deep breath to steady herself then pulled her panties out fully. Under clear, sticky fluids her cunt was almost unrecognizable as human anymore. More of that black, furry skin around a pink, swollen slit like so many forest animals had. Internally her vagina and pelvic floor had their aching dulled by flashes of feral arousal. Such unwanted sensations persisted and kept her pussy moist, but also disguising the growth of new glands inside her anus. Amanda had more on her mind that she could handle and could only stand to look so long at herself.

‘I’ve gotta get outta here. The air in here is too close. And the lights are too bright. Come on, Amanda. Pull yourself together and get out of this place!’ she resolved.

After wiping her crotch with some toilet paper and flushing it, Amanda stood and pulled her skirt and underwear up with her. Once up though she wobbled in her roomier heels, felt the top of her stockings slip down to her knees, and had to grab the waistband of her skirt to keep it slipping down. Amanda was getting annoyed when she caught a whiff of the faintest aroma of skunk spray. Those developing glands in her butt had leaked a few drops that were caught in the wipe she flushed. The longer the odor hung in the air the stronger it became. Leading to Amanda intuiting she was, improbably, becoming a skunk.

The revelation spurred Amanda to simply hold her sagging skirt and panties up before exiting the stall. She made a beeline for the exit but had to slow as other women waited to enter and exit. The normally tall woman had shrunk several inches that were noticeable now that she was in the press of them all. Amanda fluffed out her hair to hide her ears and tried to act normal when the shouting started.

“Gross, who let a skunk in here?!” Amanda heard a woman behind her in the bathroom yell with disgust.

“That’s so nasty! I think I’m gonna throw up!” declared another amidst sounds of gagging and coughing.

The stink had spread and imperceptibly trailed Amanda. Soon the skunky odor was in the noses of her and those around her. Embarrassing as it was, Amanda's unintended spray did fix the traffic jam at the door. With everyone in a hurry to leave she was quickly back out on the convention floor. And from there hastened towards the nearest exit she knew of out of the hall; a propped open side door meant for smokers.

Every step felt like it brought new troubles to Amanda who was trying to navigate and swerve the busy aisles. Her dip in not just height but mass was apparent to her most in how she struggled mightily with her clothing. Prompting her to ditch her heels when she could no longer sensibly fit in them. She did pull her stockings but solely to hide the patches of black fur Amanda felt itching her legs. Skirt, panties, and blouse being loose did hide the worst of what had happened to her while being an ever more bothersome encumbrance.

The most vexing piece of clothing proved to be her bra. It was loose on her in most ways like the rest of her clothes; hanging loose on her diminishing, lightly furred shoulders. What made them troublesome were her sore breasts- all eight of them. While her regular set of C cup tits had shrunken closer to pudgy teats, another three pairs took shape inline down her chest and stomach to her waistline. Every new nipple was extremely sensitive and sore. When rubbed by her bra it caused similar unseemly baser lusts that Amanda contended with from her cunt.

‘Gotta run, gotta get out of here. Everything’s getting so big! So scary! I don’t like any of this!’ went Amanda’s racing thoughts. So many eyes around her that she could feel. Being a full foot shorter than she had amplified her panic. As did her aching, deforming nose, her fluffing tail, and the bounce of so many tits. It kept Amanda from taking a moment to catch her breath for fear that she would be caught. A fear born out of a skunk’s instinct that Amanda couldn’t distinguish from any other primal impulse. ‘So many big people. I wish they would go away so I could have space to think! Anyone of them might see what’s happening to me and then what? They’ll drag me away and, and, and…’

Amanda worked herself into a frightened state and unconsciously squeezed in her hindquarters. A short squirt of foul smelling skunk spray shot out under her. A lot landed on the carpeted floor but excess got her drooping stockings and skirt. Like in the bathroom, shouting and gagging sprung up in Amanda’s wake. And like then it caused Amanda to get out of there before they knew she was the source.

As fast as Amanda was trying to go her body was shrinking as a whole to effectively lengthen her journey to the exit. She pressed on anyway until cramping toes and fingers forced her to stop off to the side between two busy booths. There she let her skirt and panties, both reeking of skunk, and attempted to shake off her stockings. Both got caught in her dark, elongated nails to frustrate her. People around her were gagging and the hall was filling with angry people who smelled a skunk.

‘Stupid stockings! Go! Go!’ Amanda thought as she dropped to all fours to kick the stubborn stockings free. It worked at the cost of powerful forces shifting her pelvis and shoulders from within to lock the woman onto all fours. ‘No! I need to stand! Need to run! Need to get away!’

Those around Amanda saw her hunched over on the floor in just a red blouse, stinking of skunk, and acting strangely. Sensing this attention sent Amanda fleeing on all fours in a very lumbering, awkward manner. People in the crowd would feel something brush against their leg and catch just a glimpse of the three foot tall skunk woman scurrying for safety. Her arms and legs, hands and feet transformed into shorter, furrier versions to cause her ungainly locomotion. Then it grew easier for Amanada as she went and made her paradoxically feel like she was getting better. Even as she was shedding her natural hair and sprouting whiskers she thought she was on the path back to normalcy.

Out from Amanda’s face pushed a snout, reshaping her nose further akin to a skunk’s. Her teeth grew sharper, her tongue longer, skull smaller, and brow flatter. All of Amanda’s human features are either remolded or covered in ever spreading black fur. Where her natural hair had fallen out the fur was already filling in and pushing out what human hair remained. The hair was longest and thickest starting at the back of her head and continued all the way down into her tail. Her blouse covered a lot but with tail and head clearly showing their white stripes the shrieks at Amanda really got going.

The press of the crowd parted all around Amanda. Seeing her secret was out she froze out of sheer dread. Amanda’s beady, bulging eyes searched for a way out while some pointed, others retched, a few took out phones, and the smart ones ran away. Her adrenaline was going hard and she wasn’t even aware there was a difference between her and a skunk’s instinct anymore. Embarrassed like a human and scared like a skunk made Amanda react like a skunk; lifting her rear and not entirely furred tail to defensively spray.

That sent those around her really running away from her. Her putrid, pungent skunk was vile to all but Amanda herself. Her own nose picked up on the smell of fresh air, tobacco smoke, and the outdoors somewhere close. And there, fifty yards ahead of her, was the exit she had been seeking. So she made for her escape amid the shouting and panic she had spawned.

Amanda didn’t have to deal with weaving people as they readily kept their distance. Allowing her a straight shot out the door if she could make it. Weight steamed off her body as she went, her mass and form continually shrinking with creaks and crunches of bones accompanying every step. She stopped at one point to wiggle her body through the collar of her blouse to shed it. Then a few yards later did the same with her bra. Only her lanyard remained, hanging back over her body and not massively slowing her down.

‘Run, run! Have to get away! Need safe. Need to get away from bigs. Need outside!’ thought Amanda at a greatly reduced intelligence. She was running off instinct and urges from her body by this point. Amanda was still herself but diminished to the capacity that being a skunk allowed. She had no memory of why she was in this place but a rumble in her belly meant she’d come for food and regretted it. Now she had to get back where she belonged. ‘Almost… there.’

The Amanda that rushed out the exhibition hall and out the door to a rear parking lot was a far cry from the woman that entered that day. Stripped of her clothing, shrunk to two feet in length (that included a bushy tail), reduced to less than twenty pounds, and maybe a minute from the transformation completing, Amanda wasn’t her old self anymore. Those near the exit took her for a skunk that stole someone’s lanyard and rightly kept their distance.

“How did a skunk get in there?” one man asked that Amanda managed to comprehend.

It didn’t give her pause or stop. Amanda ducked under parked cars and dashed through aisles to a wooded area on the other side. As she went over the curb her lanyard caught on a storm drain and was finally tugged off her neck. She was happy to lose the weight before escaping into the high grass and brush.

A trail of smelly confusion in her wake, Amanda was able to breathe easier, unlike those in the convention hall. When her heart and body weren’t racing anymore Amanda was able to think clearly again.

‘Hungry. Need find food. Food then breed. Need food and breed and sleep,’ reasoned Amanda as her stomach and loins were left the only things aching. Forgetting all about the convention as she trotted off to fill her new skunk needs.

*******

“It could have been worse,” Randall remarked to Glory, who was seated next to him at the same table in the interrogation room.

“Don’t. Start,” Glory told the man tersely with a face still buried in her hands.

Randall shrugged to hide the fact he was scared shitless. “What? I’m trying to look on the bright side. It’s not, like, we broke any laws. We’ll just lose our jobs. It sucks but-”

“I said don’t fucking start! You ruined a lot of people’s lives today, including the one I care about most: me! So shut the fuck up, Randall, or I will throttle you to death, so help me,” a fiercely angry Glory threatened the man. Nearly knocking him out of his chair.

“Woah, cool it, bitch! How was I supposed to know what the shit could do? Do you remember something in the orientation packet about Skunk’em turning people into fucking skunks? Cause I don’t! I ain’t liable for this! I’m not going down for this!” declared Randall as he slammed his fists down on the table. Then started sobbing and whimpering to himself while Glory scooted her seat away from him as he bawled his eyes out.

Watching via camera in another room were two federal agents, a convention spokesperson, someone from government disease control, and Scentsible Solutions by Nature’s CEO Margot Levance. The mood was somber and reflective aside from the aloof Mrs. Levance idly composing an email on her phone.

“Shifting the blame on these two for this outbreak shouldn’t be that hard,” said one of the federal agents.

“The woman should be easy to flip on the guy. Pin the seven confirmed victims on him and make up the rest of the charges as we go,” added the other agent.

“So long as it doesn’t directly trace back to any wrongdoing on the convention, our sponsors, or the wonderfully well-connected Mrs Levance, you do what you have to. This expo brings in a lot of money to the region,” the spokesperson reminded the agents.

“As do I,” Mrs. Levance chimed in.

Both of the agents grew visibly nervous for their lives when Levance raised her voice.

“Don’t worry, we can handle this. It’s not our first rodeo,” one agent dutifully promised.

“Rodeo? No, it’s more of a zoo,” corrected the government scientist matter-of-factly. Yet with an undertone of resentment. One that made the agents and spokesperson more uncomfortable in the room than they already were.

“Whatever it is, we’ll handle it,” the agent reassured.

“Without question,” agreed the other agent as they tapped their partner on the shoulder. “Let’s go have a talk with our two friends and see if we can get them to play along.” The two agents were happy to see themselves out.

“Well, if there isn’t anything else, I’ll see Mrs. Levance back to her driver,” the spokesperson, eager to escape the situation too, told the scientist. Who then started ushering the CEO out.

“Nothing else?” laughed the scientist as he turned from the tv to approach. “We’re still waiting on Mrs. Lavance’s company to provide us with material and data related to their ‘Skunk’em spray’ that set all of this off. We have had six confirmed cases of people turning into feral skunks caused by simple direct contact with an infected individual. An individual that’s not been located and could be spreading this as we speak. Miss Levance won’t be going anywhere until me and my team are satisfied we know everything. I don’t care who she knows or how much money she has, this is a public health crisis. Which means I’m in charge here!” stated the defiant scientist.

The flustered spokesperson was trying to think what to say when Mrs. Levance handled things.

“You aren’t, in fact, in charge here. Not anymore,” Levance smirked. “You should be getting a message from your boss, a Mr. Cole, soon. He’s already found someone to replace you. Someone more capable that can take on this whole business so I don’t have to waste more of my precious time. Try to remember who you’re talking to next time.”

Mrs. Levance and the spokesperson left as the scientist took out their phone to see the message that they’d been fired. All the drive went out of them with a long, ragged sigh. “This stinks,” groaned the unemployed scientist.