FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The hot chocolate thermos had cracked when it hit the ground. It was leaking at an alarming rate, so Hexin deposited it into the nearest trash can he could find. Elox Tower came into Hexin's view shortly thereafter, at which point he pushed his body to the limits in a final sprint. The automatic doors opened just before he slammed into them - Hexin was very grateful. He panted as he made his way to the receptionist and rang the small bell sitting atop the granite countertop. A small fox wearing a blue button-up shirt and dress pants rushed to the counter. His hair was slightly messy, and the shirt didn't quite cover his cream chest completely, but his smile drew the attention away from his seemingly unkempt appearance.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" he said before scanning Hexin. The fox's cheery mood almost instantly vanished when he realized he was dealing with a panting, sweaty wolf. He rushed his paw through the fur on the top of his head and then placed both of his paws on the keyboard of the computer in front of him while shaking his head side to side in annoyance. Hexin held up a finger and caught his breath before speaking.

"I need to see," he took a break and caught his breath yet again, "Someone named Xero. Do you," Hexin coughed, "know where I can find him?" Hexin placed his right paw, along with the notebook, on the counter and beat his chest with his other paw. "God," he muttered under his breath after finishing a loud coughing spell. He looked back up to the fox who was busy typing away on his computer.

"Do you have an appointment, sir?" he asked and looked down his nose at Hexin while waiting for a response. Hexin held up his finger again as he stood up as straight as he could.

"I should be... listed under, uh, either Hexin or 5XG-7L, whichever one." He looked to the fox's name tag: "Seht Fawks". "So, Seht," Hexin continued, trying to make small talk, "how long have you been working here?"

"Please save the pleasantries, Mr. Wolf. Your appointment is scheduled for 8:45 this morning on floor sixteen in the Walnut Conference Room. Do not be late; you are expected to be there in exactly four minutes and three seconds." Hexin looked at the clock dangling on the wall above Seht's head. He started into a panic when he saw that it was 8:41. He grabbed the notebook from the counter and rushed to a nearby elevator.

"Thank you!" he yelled as he rounded a corner. Seht shook his head.

"You're welcome... sir," he muttered as he watched Hexin rush away. He turned around and made his way back to the break room. Hexin swiped the card key that agent 5XG-1L had given him in a glowing apparatus beside the elevator and pressed the "up" button on the panel; he watched the lights at the top flash as the elevator made its way to the first floor. As soon as he heard the 'ding', he stepped back slightly to let the crowd of people that emerged pass as soon as the doors opened. When they had dispersed, he rushed into the elevator and pressed the opaque button beside the large white number "16" at the top of the control panel. Hexin knew his job was important, but he never thought that he would be dealing with someone at the head of a business with a multi-story building complex.

The elevator rapidly climbed the tower. Hexin stepped out when it opened on the top floor and made a dash to the sign on the wall. The sign showed that the Walnut Conference Room was down the hall to Hexin's right. He turned and rushed down the hallway as fast as he can. When he reached the end of the hallway, he was face to face with a pair of frosted glass doors. A small clock above the doors read 8:44; Hexin was slightly early. He took the extra time to catch his breath and considered the idea of getting back into going to the gym on a regular basis.

Right at 8:45 the doors swung open and a wolf similar to Hexin stepped out. He turned his face away from Hexin and trudged down the hallway. He flipped his purple hair as he turned the corner and quietly sighed. Hexin looked inside the doorway and saw large glass table sitting in the middle of a room with a very high ceiling. Extravagant chairs sat around the table, all of them empty except one at the end that was turned away from Hexin and out the window. Hexin stepped through the doorway and waited in silence, gripping the notebook with both paws.

"Are you Xero?" he finally asked after a few minutes. The chair occupant stood up and turned around slowly to reveal a broad-chested fox wearing a custom-tailored business suit with a light blue tie.

"So you're the one they sent to deliver my papers? A scrawny little maggot like you? What are you, bronze rank? I specifically asked for an experienced spy," he grunted and stared at Hexin with an intimidating glare. "Did you at least bring the papers?" He lifted his head in the air arrogantly as he straightened his tie.

"I'll have you know I graduated top of my class at the academy and I have achieved Gold Rank in little under six months of work, thank you very much," Hexin muttered indignantly.

"What did you say to me, punk?" Xero barked, his anger starting to boil. "I thought I asked you for those papers. I didn't ask for sass. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Hexin muttered as he pressed the notebook to the table and slid it across the surface.

"Watch the glass, you worthless scum; it's probably worth more than your whole house." He caught the notebook and flipped through the pages. He sat the notebook down suddenly. "Where's the rest?" he asked.

"The rest of what?" Hexin responded.

"The rest of wh- The rest of the plans! The rest of the plans that you delivered specifically for me? Those are important! Do you think this is some kind of joke? Fork 'em over!" he yelled at Hexin across the table. He slammed his fist to the glass, nearly shattering it. The echo reverberated throughout the room and a vibration as strong as a miniature earthquake shook the floor. Hexin took a step back.

"I swear, I don't, I don't have them," Hexin sputtered and nearly fell to his feet while slowly backing away. Xero started towards him slowly. Hexin started to back away even faster.

"Liar! You know exactly where they are! I can tell it on your face! Don't make me use force!" he shouted as he approached Hexin, his figure already starting to tower over the much smaller wolf. Hexin let out a soft whimper and he rushed around the table, avoiding the slow swing of Xero's arm. "Don't you run from me! I can make your entire family name disappear within the blink of an eye. You return those papers or you and your whole family are done for!"

"I swear, I really don't have them! Why would I even take them anyways? Wh-, what purpose would I have for them anyways?" Hexin asked, rushing around the table.

"You're telling me that you don't think you could benefit from a machine that has power over the weather itself? I hardly believe you!" Xero grunted as he pushed chairs out of his way and approached Hexin. Hexin threw his arms out and shouted.

"Wait! It can control the weather? Why do you need such a machine?" he asked, crawling under the table while Xero was stopped.

"To optimize conditions for sales of specific products! What else would I use it for other than financial gain?" he asked, dropping to his knees to crawl under the table. Hexin tried to back away, but instead brushed up against a chair. Xero grabbed his leg and crawled from the table. He stood up and dangled Hexin in the air. His green hair flopped from side to side as he swung gently in the large fox's grasp. "Now give 'em!"

"I swear, I don't have them!" Hexin started to feel slightly nauseous as he felt Xero start to shake him up and down. "What are, what are you d-doing?" he asked.

"Perhaps I can shake them out of your thieving pockets. If not, we may have to do things the hard way," Xero chuckled as he finished his statement. Hexin's key card and wallet fell to the floor, but to Xero's dismay, there were no papers. He turned Hexin around and sat him on the ground. "Hands behind your back," he commanded.

"Excuse me?" Hexin exclaimed, backing away.

"If you want me to believe you, I have to search your pockets." Hexin tried to get away, but Xero had already grabbed his hands and handcuffed them behind his back. He reached an arm through Hexin's hoodie, then searched inside Hexin's front pockets, and finally Hexin's back pockets. He frowned when he realized Hexin really didn't have them. "If you don't have them, where are they?" he asked, taking a key from his pocket and unlocking Hexin's handcuffs.

"I don't know - I'm just the messenger," Hexin said, lying right through his teeth; he's had many years of practice with lying and could fool just about anyone on the planet. He knew that he'd messed up big time, and he knew that if he told this fox that he could wish his life goodbye. Xero grunted once again before the room fell completely silent.

"You're going to get them," he said after the extended pause. "If you want your payment and if you value your life, you're going to get those papers. I won't take no for an answer."

"But I don't even know what, much less where, they are!" he complained. "It'll take forever to track them down!"

"Better get to work then, huh?" he muttered before waving Hexin away. "Now go. I have a meeting at nine. Don't let the doors hit you on the way out," he laughed. "I expect those papers within the week," he finished right as Hexin closed the doors. He, too, trudged down the hallway much like the other wolf he had seen earlier. He had no idea how to get those papers back or even where to start. He reached to his pocket for his card key and realized that he'd forgotten it in the Walnut Conference Room, and there was no way he was going back to that crazy animal. He sighed as he also realized he lost his wallet as well.

"This day just can't get any greater, can it," he muttered. He was prepared to take the stairs when his thought was interrupted by a news bulletin on a TV overhead.

"Temperatures expected to get below negative fifty degrees Fahrenheit tonight, an all-time low, as an unexpected cold front makes its way through the area," the newscaster stated. "Scientists are baffled by the random appearance; the entire front took less than three minutes to develop into a mature storm system. We'll keep you up to date on the latest as more information becomes available. Thanks for watching; we'll see you back here after a word from our sponsors."

Hexin thought to himself for a moment: 'Surely they couldn't have constructed the machine that quickly. It's probably just a coincidence, right?' His assurance was cut off, however, when another broadcast interrupted the TV commercials. A small fox, probably not more than four feet tall, stood on the TV screen. He raised a small gun-like figure in the air and waved it around.

"Good morning, citizens of Furley County," he started in a shrill voice. "My name is Chill, and I'll be taking care of you this fine day. You may see that I am holding a weapon; what you may not see is that this weapon has been in development for quite some time - we just needed the right information to power it. As you may know, there is a "freak" cold front coming right towards us. That is no coincidence, for this," he continued, waving the weapon in the air, "is the weath-o-matic 1.0! It allows whoever wields it to be in complete control of the weather. Now, this front coming at us is merely a footsoldier in the war I am waging. Meet my demands, and perhaps the torture will stop; fail and you'll be suffering through a blunt of winter so cold and so long-lasting that you'll wish you could hibernate forever.

"So, what shall it be? We have already sent a list of demands to city hall - the fate of you all rests in the hands of your local authorities. Good day," he finished and the TV cut completely black. Hexin looked to the thick heavy steel door a few feet in front of him. He knew what he had to do; he knew this was his mess and that he had to fix it; and he knew that he couldn't do it alone.

He pushed open the door and started down the stairs, lost completely in thought. He hardly noticed when he reached the bottom because he was so immersed. He passed Seht again on his way out of Elox Tower. "Did you get what you wanted?" Seht asked, but Hexin did not respond. He continued out the door and down the street, making the journey back to his office. The flurries, that had seemed to stop, started to fall again, except now fell more frequently. The cold nipped at Hexin's nose as he passed several storefront windows. A small coffee shop, a frozen yogurt store, an organic ingredient market, a nail salon, and a small electronics store all passed him, but he took no notice. Down the street he continued, drafting the list for his quest, preparing for the consequences, and running worst-case scenarios through his head over and over again.