FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

It was a silent drive through the night. A car raced along the highway, the young man coming back from visiting his friend. The young man had a couple or more drinks with his friend, something that could cost him his license. He had agreed to sleep the night but once the clock turned 2 AM he slipped out of the mattress, silently gathering his belongings and leaving the house.

And now he was on the road. A sign came up ahead.

Waterford – 4km

Tramore beach – 1km

The man studied the street sign, pain evident on his face. He exited the highway earlier than he intended. As his VW Sharan drove along the roads of the cliffside, he remained deep in thought. Suddenly he came to the end of the cliffside and killed the engine. As he exited the vehicle, he inhaled the fresh sea air and grabbed a cigarette from his pocket. Lighting it up his eyes wandered the horizon, from the distant city lights to the endlessly stretching sea and the stars above. His vision swam as memories not a week old finally caught up with him. A large fight, a house burning and being held back by many arms as he registered the stench of burnt flesh. The tears came as soon as he dropped to the ground, cigarette falling to the side. The man desperately clutched the sand beneath him as his voice cried to the above.

„God! Oh God, please, give them back!“

Silence followed. The cries queited down until he could stand the silence no longer, roaring to the heavens, his voice strained and cracking. He breathed heavily as he stood up again, entering his car while he tried to hold back his emotions. Igniting the engine, the young man steered backwards to face the cliffs better. His foot connected with the gaspedal, sending him over the cliffs. He closed his eyes as an explosion of white light surrounded him.

The first thing he noticed was the pain. Eamon groggily opened his eyes, taking in the surroundings. He was still in his car…not submerged underwater. Turning his head to the right, he could make out what seemed like trees in the dark. Trees. Waterdrops running down his window.

"I guess it worked.." he murmured.

A dark chuckle escaped his lips, causing him to wince. „Fuck. I guess you can still feel pain in the afterlife. But where the fuck am I?“

He noticed the car was still running and turned on the headlights. They illuminated trees, off trodden paths and thick brushes. What startled him was yellow eyes staring at him belonging to two figures, vaguely humanoid, vanishing into the forest. „What the fuck!“ he screamed, scrabmbling back into his seat. His ears strained to hear something besides the engines, there was nothing. Slowly calming his breath, Eamon tried to gather his thoughts.

'I am dead, right? Fuck, I have to be! But this isnt like Heaven or whatever fucking bullcrap. This feels like Earth, and then what? I know I crushed into the sea! Where did I land up! Fuck! Keep your wits, E.'

He reached to his pockets and fished out a cigarette with shaking hands, hoping that it would calm him somewhat. As he lit it up, Eamon stared into the forest again. No signs of the creatures, to his relief.

„Okay, okay. I gotta keep my head. No clue where I am.. I have to stay in the car. Drive until im out,“ he muttered. Stepping onto the gaspedal, Eamon followed the large roadway through the woods.

The drive was surreal. Eamon could not form coherent thoughts. Outside of his car alien flowers bloomed, and the trees themselves were completely unfamiliar to him. He simply stared dumbfounded, driving his car along the makeshift road in a mix of awe and numbness. His heart nearly stopped after passing through another clearing.

Headlights illuminated beings that his brain had trouble accepting. They looked at him in equal shook. To him it seemed like he had stumbled upon a scene he was not supposed to see. Infront of him were wolves...or humans looking like wolves. One stood upon a motionless creature that reminded him of a mix between a monkey and chipmunk. Only larger, and an open stomach, blood covering its fur… and clothes? His eyes shifted, spotting two other wolves standing above another of the species, holding some sort of clothing in their hands that was partially torn. Looking at the creature below that looked as if it had tried to desperately get away comfirmed who it belonged to. Casting his eyes upward revealed more eyes in the darkness, humanoid chipmunks sitting in the trees.

His eyes turned forward again, landing on the wolf infront of him. Seconds passed as intruder and everyone else held their breath. Eamon could feel his heartbeat rising, sweat forming on his forehead.

„This cannot be real,“ he finally laughed hysterically.

The wolf howled, his pack advancing on the new prey.

He jumped back into his seat as the first wolfman reached his car, nails screeching along the window. Eamon panicked. He looked around, desperately trying to find something, anything, to defend himself. His sudden movement shot him back into the seat.

'The fucking seatbelt. Fuck, keep it together!'

As he fumbled with the seatbelt, another wolf reached his car. It tried to punch it and howled in pain as paws not meant for a fistfight met metal. Finally out of the restrictive seatbelt, Eamon tried to think of any good way to handle this. Multiple wolves were now around his car, screaming at him in a weird language, the very sound of it inhuman and unnerving.

The absurdity of it all filled him with fear and anger. His hands reached for his carkey.

"Fuck you, you fucking monsters!"

Foot slamming down on the gaspedal, the car surged forward and trapped two of the wolves beneath the wheels. The sickening sounds of flesh ripping and bones breaking nearly caused Eamon to vomit. His vision was blurry because of the adrenaline and when he saw the tree it was too late. The car crashed into it, jolting his body forward. "Ugh, fuck!" he screamed. Eamon tried to ignore the pain and turned the carkey. No reaction. He groaned as he opened the cardoor and stumbled outside to the ground. The stupidity of it catched up with him not a second later. Now he was outside. His vision swam and his thoughts were unfocused. The rearlights did not illuminate as good as thr headlights but it was sufficient. A couple meters back lay two of the wolves, their bodies disjointed.

'The car coming to life must have scared a lot of them. And the dead bodies.' Eamon thought half-consciously.

He kept an eye on the remaining three as he slowly moved to the back of his car.

'The crowbar. The fucking crowbar should still be in there.'

Eyes peeled on the remaining wolves, Eamon pressed the button on the trunk. The hood opened and his fingers searched blindly before getting a good grasp around a familiar metal object.

Taking a deep breath, Eamon looked at them. They seemed a lot more careful after the car action, trying to circle him. Eamon was not able to keep them all in vision and snapped.

"Listen up you furry fucks, I did not try to kill myself just so I could be eaten by fucking Star Fox design rejects!"

Growls answered him. The first wolf ran, launching himself at him. Caught completely offguard, they both crashed into the ground. Eamon gasped as his upper body registered the pain. The wolf opened his hideous mouth, the humanoid face around it sending chills down his spine and kicking his already overworked body into overdrive. With flight-or-fight instincts kicking in, Eamon jerked his head forward and delivering the maneater a nasty headbutt. The wolf recoiled in pain and held his bleeding muzzle, giving Eamon the few seconds needed to get back up. Another wolf moved towards him in the vision of his eye and this time Eamon reacted in time. Swinging the crowbar as if he was Joey Votto, the crooked end connected perfectly with the creature's chest. Eamon felt the bones breaking through his grip on the crowbar. The wolf slumped to the ground, right next to the other.

He was sweating and his back hurt strongly from the earlier tussle. Eamon was close to passing out, he could feel it. But adrenaline kept him going, sending him into autopilot.

"You wanna eat me, you fuckers? Well, watch this!"

He slammed the crowbar down onto the wolfs head. His ears heard the nauseating sound but his eyes were fixated upon the remaining wolves. Eamon was no expert on humanoid wolfes and their facial expressions, but if he guessed right what he saw now was not bloodlust but anxiety. The crowbar slammed down once more, the other wolf sending a last yip before going silent.

Shaking fingers gripping the crowbar, Eamon took one step towards the last three wolves. They retreated just the same.

"Fuck outta here!" Eamon screamed.

The wolves turned tail, running into the bushes. One stumbled and shot an alarmed look around his shoulder. A second later he was gone too.

Silence finally filled the clearing, the sound of his rapidly beating heart the only thing Eamon could hear.

Slumping against the side of his car all he could think of was nothing. Now that his body was calming down ge felt himself unable to move a single muscle. The crowbar slipped from his fingers as he tried to stand up.

"Fuck - cant pass out here!" he hissed, trying to get back up.

Standing on shaking legs, he turned around and examined his car. It had certainly seen better days. He groaned when he noticed the state of the passengers door. It was trashed.

"No use sleeping in this car...just perfect," Eamon murmured.

He walked back to the trunk. The backpack was still there, containing some extra clothes he had intended for the next morning after sleeping over at his friends house. Slinging it over his shoulder, Eamon also sighed in relief when he noticed the emergency flashlight next to the emergency vest. Giving it a testclick, Eamon hummed in appreciation as its light came to life. Grabbing up the crowbar with his free hand, Eamon turned and faced the forest.

Dark and foreboding, it gave off nothing besides the sounds of leaves whistling. But he knew he was the one living being completely unwelcome here.

Trying to ignore the strong urge to just rest, Eamon disappeared into the forest.

"We have to move quicker, Dama is bleeding pretty badly!" Soomin shouted, carrying the body of his brother while they hurried through the trees.

Kalani fought against the urge to look at her father's body. All she wanted to do was to reach the makeshift village. Waking up and know that her mum was there, Dad who would make some bad jokes while her younger sister laughed.

Tears started forming in her eyes and she shook her head, focusing on the road ahead instead.

They carried on silently but it became clear that they would not reach their destination before sunrise.

Setting Dama gently next to the tree, Soomin tapped Tani's shoulders.

"Sis, I know it is hard. But I need your help..looking at his wounds."

Kalani watched her mother cry silently before nodding. She couldnt remember if her mother had said a single thing since the ambush. Her eyes wandered to her father.

'They ripped into his stomach-'

Her breath quickened and tears formed in her eyes. Looking away, Kalani saw her sister, fright evident on her face.

"Is Daddy going to be okay, Kali?"

Wrapping her arms around her, Kalani whispered "Yes. Dad will be fine."

She closed her eyes, falling into sleep. Nightmares wrecked her mind.

Burning treetops. People tearing at her clothes. Her body shifted around violently until she felt familiar arms wrap around her, the strained voice of her mother soothing her back into sleep.

The rays of sunlight woke Kalani. She groaned as she moved her body upwards. She was not used to sleeping bare forest ground, even after everything happened. Her movement caused Manita to cling even more to her body. Looking around she saw her mother and uncle packing up their meager belongings. She relaxed back onto the ground, trying to organize her thoughts as she noticed her uncle Soomin speak.

"...Lost a lot of blood. I did my best but we will need to move soon. Sanctuary is our only hope. If not for that...creature turning up with that weird vehicle, well. Let us consider us lucky."

Her eyes met her father's body. The torso was wrapped in the scraps of Soomin's clothingy but they were stained red. Kalani's eyes filled with tears and her chest tightened.

She tried to ignore the memory but her brain did not care.

The burning treetown. The botched evacuation. The ambush in the woods. Her father getting struck down. The male Dagin catching and disrobing her. The loud sound of splashing water, accompanied by white light blinding her sights. The object illuminating the forest. The Dagin rushing at it, unable to do a thing. Thunder in her ears as it moved forward, crushing two of the barbarians.

The strange creature stepping out. The unfamiliar language. The fight that started.

Kalani and her family took that chance and escaped, but she risked a last glance. The creature had a weapon in hand and a Dagin lay dead next to him. Then it screamed, a sound of rage mixed with fear.

'He. It was a man.' she realized.

That was the last thing she saw.

Soomin broke her out of her daydream.

"Kali, we need to go."

She got up, waking her sister. Shooting one last glance at her father, she said "Come on sis, we need to go."

The trek towards their destination was an uneventful one. Kalani was left to her own thoughts, everyone and even her sister being silent. The smell of her father's blood or the unreadable expression on her mother's face brought Kalani to the edge. She needed to talk and walked up to Soomin.

"Hey uncle...uhm. What do you think that thing was?"

Her uncle shot her a look as he huffed, carrying the legs of her father while her mother carried the front.

"I don't know. Just glad it showed up when it did. Don't wanna imagine-" he replied, quickly catching himself.

"Uhm sorry."

"Do you think...Dad is going to make it?"

Her uncle shot her an alarmed look.

"Of course he will. My brother is stronger than he looks. Dont worry, we will reach the village."

Kalani nodded.

They carried on in silence.

The silence was killing Kalani inside but there was nothing she could say. It seemedas if everyone was in shock, only intent on reaching a safe haven. Her eyes darted back to her mum. The same pained expression painted her face, only staring forward.

Her eyes trailed downward, nearly meeting her father's face before shooting up again.

It took her everything to simply cling to her sister's hand and not cry.

Finally the sanctuary was in sight. It was a village situated on the ground, long abandoned by its previous inhabitants but now used by her people. Guards spotted them and shouted orders. The gates opened and healers accompanied by healers rushed forward.

"Quickly, get him inside!" one of them shouted. Kalina followed them alongside her family. They arrived infront of a house.

"From here you on you cannot follow. But, we will do our best to heal him."

Her mother slumped to the ground, her body shaking as she cried.

"Thank you..thank you.."

Kalani felt herself pulled into a hug alongside her sister. They exchanged no words but the feeling of finally feeling her mother again lifted a weight of her shoulders.

They stayed like that for a while.

"Im so sorry girls... I should have comforted you more.." Tani sobbed.

Kalani felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Mum, you and Uncle Soo d-did what you had to to keep us alive." she whispered between sobs. "And I know you still took care of us while we were asleep..."

Soomin wrapped his arms around them too.

Kalina's tears of relief turned to tears of joy.

Finally safety. Mum alive. Manita alive. Uncle alive. And her dad would survive, she was sure!

"Guards to the gate!"

A simple sentence echoing throughout the surroundings brought Kalani out of her bliss.

People were moving around her. They broke out of their hug and her mother turned to a guard.

"Whats going on? Did they find us?"

He stopped for a second as more people rushed towards the entrance.

"No, no Dagin or else it would have been an an alarm."

She was not sure what compelled her in that moment.

Simple curiousity? She heard her mother calling for her, still clutching her sister. Following the crowd she heard her uncle curse and rush after her.

They arrived at the gate just in time for it open.

Two guards carried a body inside.

A gasp ran througg the crowd as they stared at the the large creature being dragged inside.

But Kalani did not hear them.

All she heard was her heartbeat as she saw them bring in the stranger from the woods.