FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The beat-up Chevy sped down the setting sun, past the endless telephone poles and cornfields. The smell of moist earth outside and cigarette smoke inside the car mingled together. The cigarette almost fell out of Jack's mouth as he yawned. Another hour on the road before he could hit the sack. Meanwhile, The Eagles blared over his radio, telling him to “take it easy." He pushed his dirty shirt sleeve to his head and wiped away another layer of sweat. Damned humidity, he cursed himself for not spending his last paycheck on getting the AC fixed. “Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy," the radio sang. Too late for that, years too late. Another road marker flew by and it felt as if someone were tying weights to his eyelids. American Pie started up and Jack flicked the radio off with extreme prejudice. Another yawn escaped him and he closed his eyes to rest them, only for a moment. The loud, buzzing vibration of the rumble strip forced them open again.

“Shit!"

He veered off of the highway. Flecks of loose gravel clattered against the car. A patch of some unsuspecting tallgrass met its fate and the car turned sideways as he slammed on the brakes. It lurched up on two wheels and hung there for a moment that felt like forever and then it landed with a heavy thud, slamming his shoulder against the door while hot cigarette ash fell onto his clothes.

Jack cursed to himself as he brushed it off. He flicked the cigarette away as if it had done it on purpose. A rusty squeal sounded as he pushed the door open and looked the mess over. The Chevy had a few new nicks and a colorful bouquet of tallgrass jammed in the grill, but otherwise looked no worse for the wear. As much as he didn't care for his car it was the most valuable possession in his life at the moment. The thing that tethered him to his crappy job and paycheck.

A mixture of panic and relief washed over him that no one had passed in all this time. Jack wasn't so proud as not to accept help, but enough to feel embarrassed that he'd almost fallen asleep at the wheel. Feathering the throttle, he babied the car back onto the side of the road as he listened for any new noises or rattles. He was about to forget this whole thing had ever happened and start for home again.

And then something moaned.

“Hello?" he asked to no one. The crickets began their evening song as the sky turned darker. His tired fingers fumbled for a new cigarette and he fished for his lighter.

Then he heard it again.

Jack spat out the cigarette and flung open the storage between the car seats, tossing aside empty energy drink can, trying to find his flashlight. The sound had come from the trunk; he was sure of it. Meanwhile, the voice of common sense yelled at him to get the hell out of there. After all, this was how countless people died in bad horror flicks. Of course, if he'd listened to that voice, he wouldn't have been on that stretch of highway in the first place, but that was a different story.

The flashlight felt heavy in his hands, a good, solid weapon if necessary. The gravel crunched and shifted beneath his boots. He looked at the car trunk, his companion through countless beer runs. Only now seemed more like the casket of an unloved relative. He gave the trunk a quick rap with the flashlight; something moved inside and he almost dropped it.

“Probably a damn possum or something," he said, more to reassure himself than anything. He stuck the key into the trunk and in one quick motion flung it open.

A loud scream rang out and he fell backwards onto the road, landing on his rear. The flashlight hit the ground, knocking the top off. Jack watched the batteries roll away into the grassy ditch, vanishing into the dark. He seized up the lower half of the flashlight as common sense savored its victory.

The sun vanished from the horizon, leaving the only light emanating from the car. Jack clutched the lower half of his flashlight and got back up. The sweat poured from his brow and his shoulder ached something fierce.

By no means a violent man by nature, Jack believed in live and let live, but his reservations had drowned in a sea of sweat and pain. He lifted the flashlight over his head, ready to pummel whatever it was in the trunk, only to stay his hand at the last moment.

“Please! Don't hurt!"

A small, scaly humanoid creature with claws raised in defense trembled. Horns, tail, and all. A kobold, a damn kobold in his trunk of all things. Jack recalled his only encounter with them, they'd tried to run off with some of his stuff once, not a good memory. The creature lowered its claws and looked up at him with pleading, desperate eyes.

“Please..." it said again with a wince. Jack could see it favoring its leg. He was wary of those claws, but the kobold didn't seem like much of a threat at the moment.

“What…what the hell are you doing in here?" He lowered his arm and looked the creature up and down. The dirty, green, little thing was wearing a ragged t-shirt two sizes too big, and a pair of loud-colored shorts with cartoon characters on them, probably stolen

“Lys was looking for food," it said.

Jack looked confused. “Food? Why the hell would you look for food in my trunk?"

The kobold winced again. “Lys friends showed her that humans sometimes put food in back, she got hungry and…ahh!" She clutched at her leg. Jack got a closer look; a massive red patch had already formed across the kobold's leg and it looked swollen.

“Can you walk?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She struggled to move and yelped out in pain before giving up, giving him another desperate look.

Jack ran his fingers through his sweaty hair. “Well, don't you have a home to go to?"

She shook her head and looked on the verge of tears. “Lys…has no home."

“Anyone I can call to come pick you up or something?" He started to reach for his phone.

“Lys has no one, Lys knows no one, Lys is alone," she said with a sniffle.

“I thought you just said you had friends," he said with a slight air of smugness, assuming he was catching her in a lie.

She looked at her leg and began rubbing it, scrunching up her snout in pain. “Lys had old friends, old friends who left Lys, now she is alone." She wiped away a tear and gazed up at him. Something about her big, yellow eyes evoked pity.

The crickets continued their nightly serenade and the humidity soaked into everything. Not a single car had passed on the deserted stretch of road. Jack rubbed his tired eyes for a long moment before staring out into the endless dark and then back at the kobold.

“Ah hell…" He shrugged and let out a long sigh. “Come on." He gestured towards her and began reaching inside.

Lys squirmed towards the back in a panic. “Please don't leave Lys here! Lys is sorry!"

“Relax, I'm not going to."

“W-what is man going to do with Lys?" Her yellow eyes remained full of fear and locked to his own.

“C'mon." Gesturing with his open arms for her to get closer, but she tried to squeeze herself further back.

“Don't take Lys to prison!"

He raised an eyebrow at the kobold. “I'm not taking you to prison, I'm taking you home."

She remained still. “Lys said she has no home."

“Yeah, but Jack does and Jack really needs to go home because Jack's tired as hell. Come on."

“Man named Jack?" Lys asked. Jack nodded and gestured again.

She tilted her head, looking confused. “Why is Jack helping Lys?"

His arms were growing sore, which is to say sorer than they already were. “Because I can't just leave you out here like this." He waggled his arms again at her, hoping she'd get the hint.

She inched closer to him, but still looked wary. “Why? Anyone else would leave Lys. Lys friends left Lys."

Jack closed his eyes as sweat continued to pour down his face, his mind raced over everything he knew about ethics and morality.

“Because it just wouldn't be right. Look, do you want to sit in my trunk all night and talk about it?" He couldn't hide the frustration in his voice anymore. She looked at him a moment longer and then shook her head. The kobold pulled herself forward and let Jack take hold of her. She let out a yelp of pain as Jack hoisted her out of the trunk.

“Sorry," he said as he loosened his grip, “how bad is it?" She was surprisingly light. He almost startled when he felt her tail curl about his arm.

“Bad, is leg broken?"

“I think you'd know, probably just bruised it." Or so he hoped, what did he know about kobold anatomy?

“Watch your head…horns." He lowered her into the backseat since her small size would make sitting up front troublesome. He still couldn't quite believe he was doing this. He sat her down. “Here, let me—"

All at once she seemed to forget her pain as her eyes lit up. “Lys knows what to do, seen humans do it many times," she said, excited at the prospect of buckling a seat belt. Jack let her go ahead and watched her mimic the motions. He hid his smirk.

She held the two parts in her claws, looking dismayed. “Lys doesn't understand. Push two things together and…" Amusing at it was, Jack wasn't getting any more alert.

“Here, it's like this…" he said. The rusty seat belt buckle clacked in his hands and didn't want to lock. “Come on you…" He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a passenger, let alone someone in the back. Lys watched him, like a student learning from a master.

“Got it. Tuck your tail inside." The rusty door shut with a squeak and Jack meandered to the driver's side, still questioning his own judgement. He also couldn't help but ponder if he was committing a crime, kobold napping?

It wasn't like they had many rights; most people thought of them as pests at best and dangerous at worst. He knew them to be thieves and Lys had even admitted to trying to steal from him. He looked at her through the windshield. She didn't seem like a threat. The nervous little kobold was busy taking in the interior of the car. Her tail flicked back and forth as she continued to rub at her leg, occasionally grimacing with pain.

After he buckled himself in, he fished out his pack of ultrawides, one left. With a grunt of disapproval, he lit the cigarette up and the sweet taste of tobacco and nicotine made him feel a bit more sanguine. Against all odds the car engine turned over on the first go. Jack accepted it as good karma and soon he was flying down the road again. He glanced at her in the rearview mirror. The kobold's expression grew more desperate by the minute like her world was coming apart, if he read his kobolds right anyhow.

“So, how did you get into my trunk?" He'd hoped to distract both her from her troubles and himself to stay awake.

Instantly her face turned to a bright, toothy smile across her scaly snout. She dug into her pocket for something. “This! Lys friends showed her how to make it, can get into lots of locked things."

Jack had to squint into the mirror, but he figured it was some kind of improvised lockpick. She seemed so proud. “Very nice," he said with a nod.

“Thanks." Something about her smile made him want to smile as well.

“How long were you in my trunk for?"

“Since Jack pulled into the gas place," she said. “It smells bad in here." Lys scrunched up her snout.

Jack took a few exaggerated sniffs, worried she may have been smelling gasoline. “I don't smell anything."

“It smells like that." She pointed at Jack who was still puffing on his cigarette. “Ugh…" She covered her snout in disgust and Jack remembered why he liked not having passengers in his car. He took one last mournful drag on the cigarette and snuffed it out. The last wisps of smoke escaped through the open window.

“Happy now?" He glared at the rear-view mirror unable to hide his aggravation, but Lys nodded and gave him that smile again. "Cute" wouldn't have been how Jack would describe kobolds before now. Yet, Lys's large, yellow eyes gave her an air of innocence and her green scales kind of reminded him of a pet iguana he'd had as a teen.

“Jack! Lookout!" Lys pointed at the front.

He put his eyes back on the road in time to keep the car from swerving into the path of a big rig, a loud, angry horn blared into his left ear in retribution. Lucky for them the driver kept on going. The last thing needed was to stop again or have to try and explain a kobold in the back seat.

“Does Jack know how to use car?" Her tone seemed innocent.

He clinched the wheel. “Yes, Jack knows how to use car, Jack has known how to use car since Jack was sixteen," he snapped at her.

Lys sunk down into the seat and stared out the window into the dark as she favored her leg.

“I…I'm sorry, I'm just really damn tired, it's been a long day and…"

She closed her eyes. “And Lys made long day longer…" her voice dropped to hardly above a whisper.

“No. Well, yes. But…" Jack decided to stop before he struck oil. The city limits came into view, another ten minutes and this mess would be over.

The apartment complex hadn't seen a renovation since the early 2000s. Paint peeled from the weather-beaten wood and rust stains bled from every outside light fixture. Home sweet home. The speed bumps had never felt so good on his aching back as he pulled into the parking lot, another day done.

He stepped out of the car and began to walk away when something rapped on the back window. The day was far from done.

“Sorry, I'm not used to having other people in the car." He opened the door and started fighting with the seat belt again. The button refused to release. Lys looked at him in shock.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her as he struggled with the button. “What's wrong?"

“Lys was afraid Jack was going to leave her in car." He could feel her heavy breaths on his face and she looked ready to freak out.

The belt gave up the fight. “What? No. I'm not used to having people in my car. I'm sorry. I'd never do a thing like that."

“Promise?"

It seemed odd that she'd ask such a thing and he was too tired to think about it further. “I promise." With that he hoisted her up.

“Is this where Jack lives?" she asked, looking over the dilapidated building.

“Yeah." He felt a tinge of shame. He could do better than this if only he'd applied himself or maybe if he just had a better job. Or maybe if he were an entirely different person who was more responsible, or maybe…

“It's beautiful!" She seemed thrilled.

Jack had to stifle his laughter. He'd called the old place many different colorful adjectives before, but beautiful had never been among them.

“Beautiful?"

She nodded and began to smile. “Better than any place Lys ever been."

Somehow that made him feel better about this odd situation. It didn't stop him from taking a quick glance around as he didn't want his neighbors seeing him carrying a kobold into his apartment. The local drunks were usually the only ones out around this time. With no one in sight he made the trek up the creaky steps and three doors down, his own little hole-in-the-wall.

“Need to set you down for a moment," he said.

Lys nodded. Jack set her down next to the door and she went back to rubbing at her leg.

“God, I really did a number on you, didn't I?" He sighed and shook his head. The weathered apartment door creaked open and Jack reached into the darkness to flick on the light. He hoisted Lys back up into his aching arms. The smell of cheap cigarettes welcomed them as they crossed the threshold.

“Wow!" the kobold blurted out.

“Shh, people are trying to sleep, what are you so excited about?"

Lys looked all around in wonderment, forcing Jack to balance himself. “This is great, except that it smells like Jack's car."

“Great?" Dirty dishes filled the sink, the empty beer and energy drink cans adorned the alleged dining table, and several ashtrays were bursting with cigarette butts. It didn't seem so great to him. He set her down on the couch, one of the few clean things in the apartment.

“Jack doesn't like home?" Lys cocked her head at him in confusion.

He shrugged. “It's home."

“Lys think it's great," she said with a huge smile, her tail flicking back and forth as if she could take flight.

“Do you want anything? I think there's some leftover…something in the fridge." More than anything he wanted to go to bed, but the kobold's smile had reminded him to be a good host, especially since she was being a good guest. He considered offering her some painkillers, but he had no idea how they would react on a kobold, but she seemed to be coping.

“Water please. Lys is so thirsty."

Jack thanked the heavens, glad that water was all she wanted. He wasn't so sure the leftover “something" in his fridge was edible anymore and the only other thing in there right now was ground beef, 90% lean at that. The cold water hitting his hands gave him a much-needed jolt while he rinsed a glass out.

He couldn't get over how excited she seemed to be in his crappy apartment, why couldn't human women act like this? He handed her the glass and she chugged it all in one quick gulp. “Thanks, Lys very grateful."

“I've got a spare blanket and pillow in the closet, hold on."

The cleanest looking blanket and two pillows he'd swiped from that crappy motel he'd stayed in last year were his picks. At least they smelled clean anyway. Jack handed her the blanket and placed the pillows behind her, but she seemed to be growing nervous, turning the glass about in her claws.

“Well, if you need anything, I'll—"

“Wait!" Lys grabbed Jack by the arm, her claws weren't just for show. A bit more pressure and he'd have been bleeding. “Lys doesn't want to be alone." She tugged on him, the glass tumbled to the floor.

“I'm only going to be in the next room Lys," he said with a grunt, “Your claws are sharp by the way," he added. The kobold eased up, but she did not let go.

“Lys is afraid of being alone. Lys is afraid of being in dark." She tugged on him again.

Jack couldn't help but laugh. “You sound like a kid."

She glared at him. “Lys is no hatchling. But..." Her stern look turned to sorrow and she turned her head. “Lys is afraid."

“Look, Lys, there's nothing—"

She stopped him. “Lys didn't climb into Jack's trunk for food, Lys wanted to get away from the dark and be near someone, anyone. Lys's friends left her."

Jack could see she wanted to let it out. And every selfish fiber tugged at him to make up some excuse so he could go to bed. Whatever it was could wait till he was more awake and more capable. Yet, he managed to tell the crueler angels of his nature to piss off and placed his hand on her scaly claw.

“Tell me what happened."

The kobold paused as she thought about it. Her eyes seemed to be gazing off someplace far away. “Lys and friends were stealing food and things," she said.

“Your friends, other kobolds, right?" Jack asked.

Lys nodded. “Friends liked to be around small human towns, easy to run away and humans never chase far. Lys always run off into the fields to hide with others." She smiled at the memory and Jack could hear her tail thump against the couch in a rhythm.

Her face grew dark again. “One day a big truck stopped at store. Lot of food in back and a big fat man taking it out and bringing inside." She gestured with her claws, even making a sphere for the fat man she mentioned. “Lys watched and friends sneak up while man is talking to someone." She started to curl up, but she remembered her leg.

“Got caught, humans chased us for a long time that time, very angry, threw things at us." Her speech became a bit hurried as she remembered the event.

“The loud cars with lights and the brown shirts came. Lys and friends ran into the fields, but Lys stumbled. Called for help, but Lys watched as they all left her there for the brownshirts."

Jack gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “What happened next?"

“Lys managed to get up and run, found nasty, wet pipe to crawl into in the ground." Her eyes clenched shut and her voice grew soft. “Lys hid there all day and night and day and night again, in the mud and dark." Jack saw tears forming in her eyes. “Lys friends left her to hide alone, not very good friends."

She took a deep breath. “Lys don't like stealing, but has to." The kobold looked up at him, awash with fear. “Lys friends told her about prison, where the brownshirts take people they catch. Full of bad humans who steal and worse. Kobolds already hated outside enough by humans, no hope for kobolds in there. If the brownshirts had caught Lys…" She shuddered, dwelling on the thought.

“Shh. It's alright," he said, squeezing her tight. The little kobold trembled in his embrace. “You're going to be alright and you're not going to prison." The two of them sat there holding each other. He'd never thought of himself as a shoulder to cry on, but tonight was a night of firsts. She started to relax in his grip, then she nuzzled into his chest which caught him off-guard.

“Thanks Jack. Lys know kobold in Jack's home is trouble for him, kobolds trouble everywhere they go." She nuzzled him again, it felt nice.

“Eh, not that much trouble, not really," he said. He was on vacation for two weeks after today. His busy itinerary of smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo had been ruined. “Are you going to be okay out here?"

“Yeah…" Her face betrayed how she felt.

“My bedroom is right over there," he said as he gestured to the door. “If you need anything just let me know." He gave her one last hug and headed for bed, leaving the door to his room cracked open.

The inside of his bedroom fared no better than his living room. Loose clothes littered the floor while empty cans of god-knows-what adorned his dresser. Jack refused to throw them away; they'd been there so long that they were almost part of the family. He glanced over at the digital clock on the dresser as he reached for a pack of smokes on the nightstand. 1:14 in the morning.

He tossed aside his boots and jeans, not even bothering with the shirt and flopped into bed. The cheap pillow felt like a goose-down to his tired head and within moments he was asleep.

The sound of grunting, whimpering, and scraping drew him out of his slumber. He took it for some bad dream and glanced at the clock again, 2:31 AM. He was about to shut his eyes when he heard a cry of pain. His eyes darted over to see Lys on shaking legs, trying to brace herself between the door and wall. The doorknob twisted in her claw and she began to slip. Jack dove for her, nearly tumbling over in his blanket, but he managed to catch her before she fell.

“Wha…what are you doing?" he mumbled as he braced her.

“Jack said to let him know if Lys needed anything," she said with a shaky voice.

“I meant just shout for me or something."

“The thing Lys needs is to not be alone." She clinched his arm, almost drawing blood. “Lys is afraid. Keep dreaming about the pipe, the brownshirts taking her to prison."

“Lys, you're—"

“Please…" The little kobold looked on the verge of panic.

“Lys, you are not going to prison," he said, trying to reassure her, but those big, yellow eyes kept gazing into his own.

He huffed and shot one more look at the clock. “Alright, alright. Now I know how my mom felt when I was four."

“What?"

“Forget it."

With the last bit of strength left in him he hoisted the kobold up one last time and carried her to the other side of his bed.

“Jack too nice," Lys remarked as he sat her down, she seemed quite relieved.

“I know." He clambered back over to the other side of the bed as Lys looked this way and that, taking in the bedroom.

“Lys never had a nest like this." She pressed down on the mattress. “So soft. Jack must sleep well every night." The kobold looked relieved.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure."

“Jack has nice legs."

He seemed confused until he looked down at himself and remembered he was only in his tighty whiteys. He stumbled back, almost knocking over the lamp on his nightstand.

Lys raised an eyeridge. “What's wrong?".

“Nothing." He snagged a pair of shorts off the floor and headed for the bathroom. “I need to go take a leak." He closed the door before she had the chance to ask what exactly.

Feel like a stranger in my own apartment

He tugged up his shorts and looked at his tired visage in the mirror. How had all this managed to happen in a manner of hours? And why him of all people?

The universe has a strange sense of humor.

Jack braced himself to answer another twenty questions before he could go back to sleep, but Lys had beaten him to it. The sleeping kobold almost looked angelic, if angels were lizards dressed in grimy clothes. He'd have to swap out the sheets tomorrow.

The pillow welcomed him once more, but sleep didn't come easy this time. He kept looking over at his unexpected bedfellow. It would only be a week at most, he thought. He'd get a nice warm fuzzy feeling from doing a good deed and she'd learn how much she didn't like hanging around with smokers, a win-win.

But what would she do afterwards? He'd manage to find someone who's life was even more garbage than his own and the deck was stacked against her 10 miles high. It wasn't his problem to worry about, or so he told himself.

But he was a terrible liar.

Jack awoke one last time that night to find that Lys had scooted over next to him. He sighed, unsure if he should feel flattered that she looked up to him. Or worried because she might become dependent. He also noticed that either by instinct or intervention his arm had been draped over her rather nicely. He was too tired to care though and it was kind of sweet. A lecture on personal space could wait until tomorrow, or never. He closed his eyes and drifted off.