FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Ben was woken up by the loud ringing from his phone. He answered it sleepily,

'Sis?'

'Ben, just listen. Call the ZPD for us. We're at the warehouse near the Harbour Street and our radio has been jammed. We need backup immediately...' And the signal was lost.

'Sis? Adira?' Benjamin tried to call his sister again, but he couldn't reach her. He tried the ZPD hotline instead.

'This is the ZPD emergency hotline, how may I help...'

'This is Officer Clawhauser. Something went wrong at the drug bust at Harbour Street and their radio's jammed. Send help now!' Benjamin yelled into the phone as he rushed out of the house.

'Acknowledged, sending backup pronto.'

Benjamin drove to the warehouse at full speed. The sound of sirens drew nearer and nearer and he could hear gunshots outside the warehouse. He sped through the police line and ducked when the gangsters fired at his car. The front glass shattered but the car kept roaring forward. With a yelp he crushed the three mammals shooting at him against a wall.

The airbag exploded in his face, saving him from crashing head first into the wall. Benjamin was dazed by the crash, but he had no time to waste. He took one of the guns from one of the gangsters crunched between his car and the warehouse and hurried inside.

He hid behind some boxes after entering the building. He was slowly creeping around the sides to the back of the warehouse when a gun suddenly pointed inches away at him.

Benjamin jumped in panic and calmed down after seeing the mammal holding the gun. Mansa gestured Benjamin to their hiding place as he lowered the gun. Benjamin covered his mouth in horror as he saw the rest of the officers slumped against boxes or the wall with blood all over the floor.

'We kept fighting when they searched for our hiding spot and lost officers one by one after calling you.' Adira said sadly.

'They're not dead yet, Ben.' Mansa clarified the situation, 'but if they find out we're the only ones left fighting we're all gonna die.'

'We tried to fool them with this.' Adira held up her phone, which was playing out gunshots repeatedly, 'So we can buy time to patch up whoever we can. But they'll realize soon. You already called the ZPD, right?'

'I did. They're fighting outside, trying to get in.' Benjamin took a good look at both of them. Adira looked unscathed, though sodden and shaken. Mansa, however, was stained in blood and had bandages all over his body.

'So all we can do now is to hole up and wait for reinforcements to enter.' Mansa concluded painfully.

'Duck!' Mansa bellowed. Adira and Benjamin lied down immediately as Mansa opened fire. The bullet hit a panda in the stomach and he doubled up in pain.

'You... didn't kill him right?' Benjamin asked fearfully as he stood up and watched the panda squirm.

'What are you doing, Adira?' Mansa pulled her back as she tried to approach the panda with a med kit.

'He's gonna die if we don't stop his bleeding.' Adira struggled against the buffalo's tight grasp, 'Ben, cover me while I work on his wound.'

Mansa wouldn't let go, 'He's still dangerous, and he's a criminal. He deserves it!'

'No, Mansa. I can't just sit here and watch him bleed out.'

Mansa sighed and released her. He raised his gun again, 'I'll take the left. Ben, watch the right.'

Benjamin took up firing position beside Adira and froze. He saw a bear turning around the corner and was about to see them. He aimed his gun at the bear's head and his hand trembled.

The bear shouldered her gun and was about to shoot Benjamin when she saw Adira bandaging her friend. She hesitated.

'Thank you for helping my friend.' The bear tried to smile at her friend's savior. Adira looked up from the wounds she'd been working on and saw Benjamin still aiming at the bear.

'Ben, lower your gun. She's not gonna shoot us.'

Benjamin lowered his pistol as he was told, 'You're friendly?'

'I guess I am.' The bear too lowered her gun, but it misfired half way pointing at the ground and shot Adira.

'No! I...' The bear panicked and disappeared among the pile of boxes.

'No! Sis!' Benjamin immediately knelt down to check on Adira. His heart pummeled as he saw blood spilling quickly out of her body, 'No no no no, please don't die! Mansa, what do I do?'

Mansa, too knelt down and shielded both of them with his body, 'We have to stop the bleeding, now. Ben, use the cotton...'

Ben was stemming Adira's bleeding with his hands when he heard a grunt of pain from Mansa. A stray bullet pierced straight through his right chest and he collapsed onto Benjamin.

Benjamin held him up with difficulty using his left paw, the other paw still pressing onto Adira's wound, 'Mansa, what's wrong?' He felt his fur slowly soaking in warm liquid.

Mansa tried to speak, but was overcome by the pain in his lung and coughed blood all over Benjamin's frightened face.

Confusion, despair, hatred... Benjamin felt the world spinning around him. The taste of buffalo blood in his mouth reminded him of something, something primal...

He lost control.

Mansa slumped forward on the floor after losing Benjamin's support. The cheetah had already got down on all fours and pounced at the attackers.

'Ben, don't...' Mansa said weakly as Benjamin left his slowly dimming vision.