FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The large warehouse loomed overhead as Austin stepped out of his car. Well, he called it his car, but it was mostly stolen. The decaying building sat on the outskirts of the city, well away from any sort of modern civilization. He double checked the address on his phone before entering the building through the gaping hole in the side. Shards of glass and shattered bricks clattered under his feet. Silence was attempted, but not obtained. He wandered through the rooms struggling to find reason behind his coming here. The reason eluded him, as it seemed like the entire building was empty. Austin found himself enjoying the exploration regardless, the activity reminded him of past years when his life wasn't quite as miserable.

FIVE YEARS AGO

Last day of summer, last day of true freedom, or at least it was for Austin. He seemed like the only one who packed his college schedule so tight that he had no free time. Atlas was throwing another hyper-active party. Over caffeinated behavior was sort of in the job description of being a fox. Atlas was a night owl, and a morning person. One caffeinated beverage could launch him into the stratosphere. As a result, Austin often found himself restraining his buddy from coffee and other such drinks. Tonight was different though, he had other people to worry about. He pulled Evelyn closer, making sure she was warm enough in his jacket before knocking on the front door. Atlas answered, talking a mile a minute, and bouncing on the balls of his feet. It was clear he had one too many cups of coffee.

"Hi hi hi hi hi!!" He shouted at them.

"Hey," Austin greeted, Evelyn smiled back as well.

"D-dya wanna...a...wanna-a-drink? I got s-stuff!"

"Woah there, calm down before you have a aneurism."

He nodded and bounced off to go elsewhere. The two wolves pushed their way through the crowd and out the back door. Atlas' parents had always been the wealthiest ones in town. The large swimming pool was evident of that. Hardly anyone was out back with them, so the two decided to go for a swim fully clothed. The water was warm, and the music could still be heard from where they were. A few glass bottles broke as they fell from the balcony above, there was going to be quite a mess to clean up before the the Fox's parents got back. Unfortunately, Austin always seemed to get roped into helping.

The two soaked wolves laughed and chatted the night away until they were interrupted by a very hyped up fox.

"Dude!" He shouted, "cops are h-hereee gottttaaa g-goo!!!" He was jumping up and down in agitation. Austin sighed and Evelyn rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time they had dragged the caffeinated fox away from a party.

The three ran down the side of the yard, trying to avoid the floodlights as sirens sounded in front of the house. One by one, they slipped over the wall and landed softly in the grass on the other side. Their silent celebration was cut short as they turned around and saw a group of police.

"Wow, some party going on huh?" Austin joked.

Atlas was shaking so hard it looked like he was having a seizure. Evelyn had grabbed a dry jacket and she managed to look somewhat normal. Austin was soaked.

"Did you three just come from that party?"

"No, just passing by," he told them.

"Okay, so why are you so wet?"

"I really had to uh...go to the bathroom. Kinda lost it, you know?"

"Head to toe like that?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite explosive," the others nodded in agreement.

"Okay, and one more thing," he stepped closer, "why do you smell like chlorine?"

"Uh...yeah...we came back from the public pools...they offer late night memberships there. I kind of have a bad habit, I drink a ton of pool water when I'm there."

"You drink pool water?"

"Yep. Tons of it. Done it ever since I was a child. I'm kind of immune."

"Well, uh, I guess that story checks out," he scratched his head and looked them over, "you guys are free to go."

"Okay, cool. Thanks!"

The three walked off as calmly as possible and as soon as they were out of earshot, they began to laugh and cheer. They spent the rest of the night exploring an abandoned factory warehouse in the next town. Atlas' parents had recently purchased the land to turn it into a shopping center.

PRESENT

Austin grinned as he recalled the night at the warehouse. It was one of their more chilling adventures, but still one that would never be forgotten. He rolled his shoulders and descended into the last unexplored part of the building: the basement. As he rounded the corner, the dim glow of fluorescents reached his eyes. The bottom of the stairs opened up to reveal a small room. In the center sat the man he had met the other night.

"Glad you could make it. I wanted to talk to you about what I want you to do."

"Why couldn't you tell me last night?"

"I wanted to see if you'd follow directions. Now that I know you can, I'll need to know for sure whether or not you're in for good."

"I'm in."

"Good. If you back out, these men will make sure you'll never speak a word by killing you." He gestured to several others standing behind him. Austin eyed them all wearily, and nodded.

"Good. You're job is simple. A rival criminal organization is delivering a small package in a couple days at an old factory. I want that package. If you get caught, you die."

Austin nodded again. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as several other masked figures burst into the room. The two groups stated off at each other for a moment, before going at each other like the opening fight scene of A Clockwork Orange. The fight was over quick, then all eyes fell on Austin.

"See this bull here?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Kill him."

"W-what?"

"Well, unless you brought him here, kill him."

"I-I don't think that's.."

"Did you bring these people here?"

"No sir,"

"Then kill him."

Austin took a deep breath and took the gun from him. He pointed it at the bull's head and pulled the trigger.