FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I stare out over the crowded streets below me. Random pedestrians who happen to glance up at me wave and shout something--likely 'good luck' or something like that--but the wind is too loud. Their words are carried away long before I hear them.

In case you're the curious type, I'm standing on top of a building, getting ready to throw myself toward the building across the street. Don't worry, though: I'm in a virtual reality where I can't die, so I'll be fine, even if I screw it up.

Actually, I'm inside of a game. I don't really remember the name of it, but it's basically where you have two buildings and you have to make your way down to the ground. If you make it down to the street alive, you can exit the game. If not...well, you're pretty much stuck there until you do. I mean, there's probably a time when the game closes down and kicks everyone out, but I've never been there for it.

I back up to the edge of the roof of the building I'm on. I take a two-point stance, as football players or football geeks call it--if you aren't one of those people, it's where you have one foot in front of another, like how runners start their races. I twist my back foot a little, grinding away the dust underneath and providing a more solid grip. Then I start sprinting as fast as I can.

I reach the edge of the building--and leap. I mean, I hardcore jump.

My body is propelled across the chasm separating the two buildings, and I stretch out my hands. I find a protruding windowsill and latch on to it. I bring my feet up just before I hit the wall. The impact shudders its way up my body, and I almost lose my grip on the windowsill.

I stay in place for a minute, taking deep breaths, then, just when I get my breath back, I let go of the windowsill and jump again, pushing off the wall and flinging myself once again across the gap. I repeat this process all the way to the ground.

I strike the ground hard, bending my knees and then rolling a few times to discard the excess momentum, then spring to my feet. I roll my shoulders to release some of the tension as impacts explode all around me. That's the one thing I don't like about this game: all of the players are deposited in the same location. There's also no mechanism to keep exiting players from colliding into one another, so you often have to hit and then roll sideways to get out of the way of incoming players.

I turn and search the landing crowd for a familiar face. I don't see one in the crowd, so I assume he messed it up--again--and has to redo it. I lean against the wall and cross my arms, resigning myself to a long wait.

As it turns out, it wasn't as long as I expected it to be. Not ten minutes later, I feel a hand clap my shoulder, and I open my eyes to a toothy grin.

"You know," I say, my tone bored, "you really should stop doing that, Cain."

"Doing what?" Cain asks innocently, closing his mouth and backing away.

I wave him off. "Nevermind." I glance up at the sky, then back down at his scaly face (I'll get to that in a minute). "It's around time for dinner. My parents will be expecting me back at the house soon."

"Honestly, Colton," Cain says, "you have the most strict parents ever."

I smile, tilting my head down a little. "Coming from you, of course."

Cain shruggs it off. "Yeah, yeah, I suppose. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I hope so," I say. "If you don't, I'm probably dead or worse."

"I'll hold you to that," he says.

"Good. You should always take people at their word. And if they don't, you bite them."

Cain and I have a good laugh at that, then say our goodbyes and head our separate ways.(God, the song Separate Ways by Journey popped into my head at that)

As for the 'scaly face' earlier, I meant what I said. Like I just said, you should always take people at their word at first. Anyways, yes. Cain is a dragon--or at least, his in-game avatar is. However, things like that exist in the real world today as well (it's 3041, idiots). People who look like animals while still retaining most of their human shape and capabilities actually do exist (again, this is the future).

So, in addition to that point, I am a wingedwolf with sleek cobalt-blue fur and a little pink nose (people still say it's cute to this day, even though I'm 19). My eyes are a hazel gold, which means they will change shades of gold depending on anything from what clothes I'm wearing to my mood to the environment around me. But anyways, I'm going to have to end this here, considering it's a journal that I'm keeping stored here in the VirtNet. In other words, when I 'Rise' to real life, I can no longer edit this, at least until I re-enter into the VirtNet. I will have a filler chapter explaining all these terms, which will probably be the next chapter.

Anyways, thanks for reading, guys. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you tomorrow...