FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

James awoke to see Astar sneezing wet snot from his nostrils. He knew what was wrong all too well, yet he couldn't stop himself from asking what was wrong. With a voice more nasal than usual, Astar answered, " I think I've got a cold."

" Alright, everyone up."

James scooped up the hatchling dragon and led them back to the road.

The sun peeked over the horizon, and a breeze passed by them. In this breeze, James picked up a scent, like his fur after not showering for a week, but worse.

After a second, he picked up another scent, that of a dead body. Without a word, he turned from the road and followed the scent.

It didn't take long for him to find the source. There, out in the open, was a bulky creature with thick fur and claws for fingers. They had a long, bushy tail, like that of a mink, as well as a pair of horns that curved down. Parts of its white coat, like the back, arms and legs, had purple markings, which matched the eyes.

The thing seemed to pick up his scent, because it raised its head and looked right at him and the three kids who had caught up. " Who are you," asked James, " and, what are you?"

No response, except for a grunt. He could see silver streaks in its fur. " Everyone, stand still. Drop any weapons you have," he said before dropping his sword and scabbard. " We're not here to fight, we're just trying to reach a fort."

"Fort?"

" Yeah, Fort Lewis."

" Maybe I can help, for a price."

" What kind of price?"

" You see that tree," they said and pointed at the only living tree in the area. " It has the most delicious apples in it and I can't get the nice fresh ones. If you can pluck the tree clean I can join the team, and take care of stuff for you."

" Woah, where did a living apple tree come from? Oh wait, I take it it's out of the blast zone."

" Yes, that it is. I will spare some of its fruit to you."

" No problem."

" So can you get those fruit at the top of the tree?"

" Can do."

It was no problem finding the tree; it was the only one that still had leaves and fruit. He grabbed a branch and used his wings to get up. After he perched on the branch and grabbed another one to avoid falling, he saw the best apples in the tree, reached up and jumped. He managed to grab a branch of apples, which slid in his hand.

The leaves blistered his palms and fingers, but the apples stopped the branch from slipping out of his grip. " I hear Japan is shot," said the creature. " Really," he called back with a hint of disinterest in his tone.

" Yep.... I found an arm at the beach!" *she said holding the yellow undertoned arm up*

He stepped closer to the trunk and hit it with his foot. A few apples came loose and fell off their branches. Then, after another kick to the trunk, he grabbed the apples on the branch he was holding on to and dropped them. When he did, the branch slid from his grip, and he lost his footing. The end of the branch thwacked him in the groin on the way down, and he shut his eyes expecting to receive broken bones. However, the impact wasn't as hard as he expected.

He opened his eyes to find that he was in the arms of the beast. He made eye contact and stuck his tail between his legs. She set him down, and he stood up and staggered into the trunk of the tree. " Uh.... You okay?"

" I think my nuts got caught on a branch."

" That must hurt!"

" You have no idea."

" Yeah, I don't."

" So, what do you know about what's been going on?"

" Damn commies are here."

" Commies? What do you mean?"

" Is it North Korea?"

" Yep, and China."

" Great. Well, anything about people leaving the planet?"

" Not yet."

" Oh well. To Lewis?"

" Yep."

She finished stuffing fruit in a bag, and he led the way back to the road and beckoned the kids along. Half an hour passed before they came across a van driving towards them. It stopped before it could reach them, and the driver opened the door and stepped out. " What have we here? One, two, three, four, five. Do any of you need something?"

" Hai... A gallon of water, and a barrel of rum," said the wicker, showing signs of a slightly more eastern accent. " And blankets."

" I might just have what you need."

The man went to the back of the van and opened the doors to the storage area. James put a hand out in front of the kids and went to the back of the van to check. " God damn it!"

" What?"

" What the hell is that?"

" I'm sorry, but I might need your help getting rid of these."

" You two can keep the dead ones, if you want."

" We need them?"

" We could eat them."

" Okay. Just gut them I guess. I remember my grand father eating scorpions in front of me. Then again he was a freak anyway and spoke little English."

With that, James unsheathed his sword, and the man a machete. Both of them took a step towards the nest and started whacking the creatures. They were no trouble to kill; it was quite easy to sever or blow the heads. After the nest was exterminated, the scorpions, their kills and their nesting material was shoveled out of the van. "Should we roast and salt them?"

" Wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah, I'm not eating them raw. Gods, this brings back terrible memories."

James kicked the scorpions further from the van, took a deep breath and huffed a bolt of fire at them. He turned to face the man that owned the van and went inside to see what he was selling. As the Wickerbeast outside sniffed one of the fried scorpions, James called, " How much for a blanket?"

" What do you have that you don't want or need?"

James dug through his pockets finding his straw and gun, both things he would need. Then, Astar stepped forward and, without a word, undid the fly on his pants. " Astar, what are you doing?"

" I won't be needing these."

When his pants were around his ankles, he pulled his shirt over his wings and head and said, " Or this."

He saw the wicker cover her eyes and said, " Don't worry, it's all internal."

" What're you talk-Oh my god!"

" Still! Do you have civility left?"

" Yeah, I'm keeping my boxers."

The man stared at Astar dumbfounded by what he just saw. Then, he cleared his throat and went back in the van. As Astar folded his clothes and approached the back of the van, the man grabbed a folded blanket and tossed it outside. The wickerbeast caught it, and Astar handed his clothes over. " Good luck out there."

" Thank you!" called the wicker. As Astar left the van, the man shut the back of the van and drove off. The wicker looked down and said, " Now, to eat."

James knelt down next to the fried scorpions and began spreading them out with his hand. The wickerbeast was the first to grab one, after her came the kids. Josh was the first to get two, followed by Sasha. Finally, there was James and Astar, and the hatchling. " We'll need this protein if it's about a week's walk to the fort."

"Hai. You need me kill a deer," asked the wickerbeast, who then shrunk down into a weasel.

" Are there any left? And, you never told me you could transform."

" I don't know. Oh That, I might make potions."

" Sometimes, I wish I could do that."

" It's not as easy anymore."

" Not as many ingredients available, I take it."

" Exactly. Few here, few there."

" Let's go, before night."

" Yeah, before we become dinner."

James scooped up the hatchling dragon and led the way along the road. Open field was the only thing that could be seen for miles. Astar slowed down to catch up with the weasel and asked, " Can I see that blanket?"

"Yes," said the weasel. He snorted some snot up from his throat and spat on the ground. She handed over the blanket, and he wrapped himself inside it. " Are you cold?"

" I've got a cold, as dad calls it."

" Oh! Well, I've got a cure."

" You serious?"

" Yes."

She produced a vial, and James called, " I'd be careful!"

" Why you say that?"

" There have been placebo cures before."

" You do not trust a potion?"

" Well, I don't know what it'll do."

" Just take a sip."

Astar took the vial from her, pulled the top and tapped a drop into his lower jaw. It burned his tongue. His eyes watered, and he gasped for air. " Calm down! Your cold will be gone soon."

" It hurts!"

" It's supposed to. It burns the infection out."

" How long does the burn last," asked James.

" An hour."

" Come over here, Astar."

Astar caught up with James, and they both stopped, and James knelt down and said, " It'll be over before you know it."

"I hope so," said the weasel. As soon as they finished speaking, a faint snarl could be heard followed by groaning. " Wait, did you hear something?"

" Yes."

" Sounds like..."

"Like what?"

" Like something crawled out of its grave."

The weasel turned around and loaded her rifle. In the direction she looked, there was the thin form of a balding human shambling across the sand and rock. James stood up, stepped towards the thing and drew his sword. He stopped once the thing was within inches of him.

Suddenly, it lunged at him with its jaws open. He swung his sword at its neck leaving a deep cut where the jugular was. Then, the sound of a gunshot pierced the silence of the wasteland, and the husk dropped dead. " What is that thing?"

" I don't know, but I don't want to wait to find out."

" Neither do I! Lets go!"

" Everyone, run!"

The Scales and the weasel bolted along the road to get away from the husk. After while of running, James looked back and stopped. " I think we lost it."

" Thank gods, I'm to fat for this!"

As the weasel flopped on her back, James gasped, " Anyone see the fort yet, or anything indicating where we are?"

" No."

After the weasel responded, he looked at the kids to see them shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders. " Well, that's just great."

" What is?"

" None of us know exactly where we are."

" That is great."

" By the way, what's your name?"

" Snow Dove."

" James Scale."

Upon receiving James' name, Snow dove bowed and said, "Just call me snow for short."

" Alright. Oh, and these are my kids, Josh, Sasha and Astar."

" Nice names."

" Thanks. I put a little more thought and research into Astar's name."

" You did?"

" Yep, I wanted to give him a more draconic name than Billy or Joe."

" Agreed, those names wouldn't work."

" Josh is one I've had in mind for several years. With Astar, I was also thinking of a name he could brag about."

" Well yeah, but is bragging worth it?"

" To some it is."

"Eh, true."

" Well, let's get moving."

" Yup."

Along the way, they came across roadrunners that had been mutated. Snow looked at them and said, "Look, food!"

James spun around and saw a mutated roadrunner, which now resembled a prehistoric raptor. He unsheathed his sword and stepped towards it. " Looks like a zoo's been breached," he whispered.

" Agreed."

As either luck or irony had, there was a zoo several meters away. " Well, what do you know."

" Shoot and eat?"

" Yeah."

" How good it would taste with hot chilie sauce."

" If only we could get some."

" We can look in old stores."

" But first..."

" We kill!"

With that, James and snow crept towards the roadrunner weapons ready. The roadrunner looked in their direction, turned and booked it. "Shite!"

He looked at her and, with a straight face, said, " This can't be easy."

" I don't think it can be."

" Oh well, we should probably maintain fitness in case we need to run."

"Yeah. We can't wither away from nothing."

" Right, gotta eat something."

Snow turned to face something, and James looked in that direction to see a mutated moose. It seemed to be eating a cactus, completely ignoring the spines. As Snow raised her rifle, James whispered, " Careful with that, bull moose were dangerous enough before this."

" Yeah, I know."

The male moose was visited by a 2 headed moose cow, with twin calves in tow. " Jesus christ! Let's get going, before one of us pukes."

He spun around and came face to face with a large wolf. He took a step back, and the instincts of his Awek beastmaster ancestors took hold leading him to turn to the moose and whistle. The moose family saw the big wolf, and the bull charged. Both creatures locked in a flurry of blood, fur, hide and teeth. During the tussle, James tried to get a clear shot for stabbing the wolf. The animals seemed to be attracting. Vulters. The Moose fell dead, the wolf barely looking harmed. " How can a lone wolf do that?"

" I, I don't know!"

" Run!"

He sheathed his sword, turned and bolted along the road followed by the kids and Snow. They kept running until nightfall, when they huddled under the blanket to sleep.