FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I roused from the stupor I had fallen into while simultaneously tracking the goings on around me and gnawing over what to do about the growing hunger that I felt distantly in my elongated body.

I opened my right eye to glance down at those who had dared awaken me. I saw Thumper with Alison and Alex.

"What now" I asked with resign and tiredly shut my eye.

"Get up, you flying gecko." He kicked once more at my paw.

I sighed and grumbled "if I punch you like I did when we were kids will you go away?"

"Yeah, probably into my own grave. Have you looked at how big your hands are lately? Seriously little brother, wake up. It is time for me to go, along with Dr. Allison here.

I went to rise by flexing my legs, leaving me in the awkward position of having my tail and ass raised in the air. I muttered discontentedly to myself and pushed with my other legs as well raising myself levelly off the ground. With a thump my daughter's head fell off my neck to the ground. Unperturbed, she continued to sleep. Kim was nowhere to be seen. This last bit raised some alarm bells.

Swinging my head to and fro in search I asked; "where?"

Alex shrugged "Got up about two hours ago and headed for the woods. I asked her where she was going, she muttered something about slim-jims and then walked right through seven first responders into the trees."

My laughter made the air vibrate; "just like with the twins. I wouldn't get between that woman and some food if you held a gun to my head. I just hope she brings some back for the rest of us."

"You know, your pronunciation has been flawless since I just woke you. Although you still sound just the same as Kim and Irma. The three of your voices have this rumbling tone to it that sounds like falling rocks being echoed inside of a cavern."

"Oh?" I asked earnestly. "Do we have any audio recordings? I'd liiiike tooo listen to them if I can."

"I'm sure there's some around here somewhere, ask Ulysses."

I shrugged and then relaxed against the ground hold my heading up to continue talking with Allison and Alex. Surprisingly, Thumper just sat and watched... I think. It kinda just sat there unmoving, and unblinking. In what I thought was a surreptitious manner I flexed my tail tip towards the still alien. Feeling the strange sensation of a part of me growing out of my ass slithering along the ground. I could feel the grass part and the sticks roll along the ground as my fifth limb quested onwards. My tail reared up behind the small computer projection, but before I could poke it a small cube of water appeared and dropped on my head.

"When I am asleep/offline/renewing/between, I close my eyes just as the rest of you do."

As the water ran off my hardened epidermis in crazed rivulets. I tried to nonchalantly continue my conversation with Allison who was wiping the mirth from her eyes. My brother made the mistake of snickering as well. Until his chair flipped backwards with him in it for reasons that had nothing to do with my tail. Nothing at all.

Thinking along a new tangent due to his comment I asked: "Why do you even need to sleep?"

"All organic organisms require rest. My heart/core/brain/processor is organic. As is this body. Rest is needed. Especially for you, Irma, and Kim. Once she returns in 1.1 minutes you and Irma must feast, and then return to slumber. You have much growth yet in store."

"How much bigger will they get?" Alison asked waving a hand at me and Irma, who had placed her head once again across my back.

"Average mature size for adults are 28.0-33.0 meters in length, 5.00-8.00 meters in height, 40.0-50.0 meter wingspan, and a weight of 4.00-5.00 thousand kilograms."

"Holy shit." I heard Alison whisper as all who were in ear shot had stopped to turn and stare at me.

I grinned as widely as I could. Actually feeling like my head had split into two. A solid dozen of the crime scene investigators and sheriffs looked up at my looming head uneasily. "What? Don't worry, you'll be too small to make a decent meal." My rolling laughter silenced all sound in the clearing as everyone else turned to look.

Before I could antagonize them further, a suddenly full sized Thumper put a paw on my head and pushed me into the ground like a feather. Then it addressed all those present in commanding tones that carried to every corner of my property.

"Look upon me, this is your reality now. Your fellow people/humans/creatures/essences have been stripped of the lives they had. They have sacrificed, and we have come, to guide your last chance at salvation. Spread my words, through your devices, and your own voices. Be at peace. As long as I am here, we are committed to salvaging your world and yourselves."

One of the Sheriff's deputies called out his objections. "You are invaders! What right do you have to dictate our actions? Where is our free will to act as we see fit in OUR world?"

"My right has been granted me by those who have seen civilizations such as your own fail, time and again, at your present development. By itself that is normal, not every civilization can succeed. It becomes OUR concern because every one of those failed civilizations have taken their homes/worlds/environs/spheres with them in their petulant death throes. Just like all the rest, you choose to trade your future for your present. I have been helping civilizations for the past 115 million of your years. But I already know, that none of that matters to you and others like you Deputy Rod Blakenship. No, for those that intend to resist, of which there will be many. Only seeing for yourself that neither I nor the others wish to cause you harm will convince you. Make no mistake however, there is steel beneath the velvet. For eons I have assisted civilizations with a success rate of 68% and a planetary recovery success rate of 100%. Your planet will be saved. Whether you, who have deemed themselves masters of their world will be saved, will be decided by your choices and actions henceforth."

"No one of this world knows how vanishingly few worlds bloom with life in your universe. This light that fills the void WILL be protected at all costs. Do you, do you all, understand?"

Officer Blakenship spat on the ground. "I would sooner die, than submit to an alien power." He turned and began to stalk from the clearing. The unknowable gaze of Thumper's golden eyes following him.

"Every world. Every one, there have been those that thought as you do. On this world, you and others like you will cost the lives of 1 billion 374 million people. But even now it is not too late to change. I do not see one future, I see all futures. Time is a book that I can read at will. Rod, your children Austin, Sean, and Heather, will die due to the actions that you are already planning."

He stopped, with visible tension in his shoulders. Whirling violently he pulled his sidearm dropped to a knee and began squeezing the trigger rapidly. Nothing happened, the handgun had begun to dissolve into powder the moment it left its holster. Then he was tackled by three other deputies, cuffed, and taken from the scene screaming in incoherent rage.

Tired of being pinned I scraped dirt from beneath my head until I could squeeze out from beneath Thumper's paw. Just as I brought my head up Kim sashayed into the clearing with blood splattered all over her jaws and clear down the front of her chest. For fuck's sake, did she bathe in it? She had a deer in her mouth and another on her back. I groaned and hid my face.

"Fuck, fuck, fuCK, FUCK!" I screamed, my roar causing my wife to throw the carcass in her mouth at me. The 150 lb animal struck me in the snout, bowling me backwards clean off my paws and causing Irma to awaken. This revealed where Luke and Lucy had gotten to as her wing rose.

"Yeah, settle down. Now that you're all here and awake. I can say my goodbyes. Now, Kim oh mY FUCKING GOD!" He had turned and gotten a good look at Kim close up as she reached our gathering. She was not the Kim neither I nor he had last seen a few hours ago.

For one she seemed to be twice as long. For another, and most importantly, my head only came half way up her neck. Which put her head about six feet above Alex's. She lowered that towering neck to bring her head down next to Alex. "What? What's wrong?" She asked with genuine confusion on her muzzle, and raised her head to look back over her body.

"What's wrong? Holy fuck Kim! What have you been eating? You are over 12 feet tall!"

She shrugged and dumped the other deer on the ground before Irma. "I don't know. Two, maybe three deer? An elk maybe?" Her eyes closed to narrow slits and her voice became dreamy. "I caught the first one by snapping its neck, and then... Oh, and then... I bit down." Her whole body shook with a tiny tremor beginning on her distant tip and travelling up her spine until she shook her head with repressed energy. "I bit down, and felt life flood my being. I felt... I don't know... I felt life ending, for new life to grow..." She curled up and settled her head on her coils protectively. "I felt my children grow, with the life given me by my prey... All the times I've hunted before, it has never felt so... intimate. Oh? What's this?"

She unexpectedly walked off with her head low to the ground and nostrils flaring rhythmically.

"Well" Alisson began. "I'm sure that this circus can continue on for a good long while. But, I've given my statement, and I do have a medical practice. Soooo..." She made an impatient circling motion with her finger and then jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Okay gggrrrrrumpy"

"Did you just growl at me?"

"...No......Maybe.........Yessss"

"Look, I'll be back. Your daughter is still a patient of mine." She scratched her head while looking at the scaly face of her sleepy patient. "I think... Anyway... How about another visit next week, Friday maybe? I can't do anything more for your body, but I'll be back to see how your mental well-being is."

"Okay. I would likeeee that."

"See you later then, alligators." Alisson waved absently at us, as she walked back toward her car.

"That was rude." I opined. "It's not like we didn't go through the intensely personal experience of transforming along with our daughter into...lizardssss! And...Aaaand! Watch the world almost eeeend, and lastliii capped off by going through an exchange oooof fire wit her. Aaaand sheeeesayssss cyu laterralligatorsss!" I felt a hand on my tensed and trembling shoulder.

"Easy brother, the more worked up you get the worse your speech becomes again. You were literally spitting at the end there. And you know, I don't want you to accidently kill me."

He pointed down at my hands. In my agitation my clawed digits had tilled the earth over pretty good beneath the paws. The back and forth shifting of my hindquarters told me my tail was demonstrating my agitation as well. Already several light stands had been swept into a jumble as a state trooper watched me warily with a hand on his sidearm. Like that would stop me from...

Hhhhssssstcktcktcktcktck Hhhhssssstcktcktcktcktck Hhhhssssstcktcktcktcktck

I didn't even realize it had been me making that noise until Alex wrapped his arms around my snout and shouted into my ear.

"Tom! Tommy! Little brother, stop!"

I stopped my advancing on the panicked trooper while he scuttled backwards on his ass only realizing when I had that I had been stalking towards him with Alex hanging from my head and trying to set his feet against the ground.

"Tom, your scaring me buddy. Talk to me. Please." He begged.

I was startled, what had I been doing?

"Aaallleeexxx? Whaaat haappeend?"

"What happened? Holy shit Tommy, I thought you were gone! There was nothing left of you in your eyes. You snapped your jaws only a few centimeters from that cop that was just watching you!"

Stunned, I collapsed to the ground. "Whaat? Alex?"

I was still visibly reeling when Thumper coiled its even larger body around me and hid me from sight as it talked with Alex. Even with my enhanced hearing I only heard some of what was said between them.

"........... mental strain........... trauma and stress............. erratic............. lethargy.................. time... recover........................... stay........ you.......... them................... keep.............force............. How................. instincts..........food.............eggs............need......... barn."

Thumper's body unwound from mine allowing me to see what I hadn't noticed earlier. The end of its tail was hooked around Kim's neck preventing her from getting any closer to a group of huddled investigators. From what I could hear she was attempting to cajole them into tying two of the SUVs to her for tug of war. She had her paw latched to the roof of one and was rocking it back and forth like a toy. Her blood splattered muzzle nudging the nearest people leaving bloody prints on their uniforms. Ulysses was attempting to distract her with a handheld laser and a cricket with limited success until she placed him on her back where he held on looking unsure of what to do now.

Looking the other way I saw that Irma had returned to sleep with her own bloodied face half buried into the side of one of the deer. While Luke and Lucy stood next to her head shaking it and calling out her name as they cried in confusion and fear.

What the fuck was happening to us?

At a loss, I looked to Tom for answers, my misery must have shown through my stiff unmoving face as he approached me and hugged my snout once again before drawing back to talk to me.

"Tom, I have to go. But Thumper is willing to make my absence a short one. He will transport me to Atlanta where I can make my report. Then bring me back immediately afterwards. I'm sorry Tom, I will be gone at most two days. Thumper says this is normal, but that you should be kept away from others until you have come to terms... With this...."

He gestured to all of me.

"Little brother, I will always watch over you, no matter how big you become. But I don't want to have to watch as you disappear forever into the mind and body of an animal. Please don't ever scare me like that again. You and your family are the only ones I have. Please be here, please be yourselves, when I return."

"AleEEeexXX? I feel cOONnfussseEEd NNooothng issss rite, myyy bodyyy isss too long tooo hy eeevrytinnggg feeelz distaaaant, tooo farrr. Iiii move myyyy haaands and my legssss moveee, Iiiitwitch myyyback Iiiifeeelwwwiingsss. Iiii tuuurn my headmyyy neck curlsss. Feeeel thretend feeeel trapd evvverythingizztooloooud tooosharp tooorealll. Don't leaveeee uUUssss. Dooon'tttleavvveEEemeEEEee. Yyyuuu, LuuukeeeandLuuucccy, rrreeeremindersss ooofff what weeee wer."

I felt moisture build in my enormous eyes while I begged the last bit of stability for my altered family to stay. Even now writing about these events a year later I still feel the overwhelming uncertainty that I felt then. Like I had been washed away in swift moving water, no longer sure which way to go for survival. Up until now we had had clear goals, an endgame. But then what? We had to deal with the fact that we were no longer human. Our identities unravelling like balls of yarn. We needed new touchstones to anchor us.

I curled my neck around him and rested my head on his shoulder where my tears began to fall. He staggered briefly and then reached up to comfort me by rubbing the scales on my snout. A warmth began to build in my mind.

"No, no I won't leave. How can I leave my family now? I didn't know, but should've guessed, the effect on you all. I had thought you all were adjusted with your humor and your jokes. But this was your duty wasn't it? To see it to the end no matter the cost. Now we have reached the end, the pressure is gone, the healing starts now. This is the true cost of what was done to you. I am a doctor, I will do no harm. The Director can accept that, or my resignation. "

Hearing him pledge his help did more for more me than he could know at the time. His words made the growing warmth in my mind erupt into a cascade of relief that swept through me, cradling me. Without realizing it I had begun to hum contentedly. My big brother continued to soothe my scales while he felt the rumbling of my appreciation and smiled at me.

"Come" He held me on his shoulder and tried to lead me to the deer that remained unclaimed. "Your flesh has sunken so far in between your ribs that I can fit my whole hand in there. If I'm going to help you all, you need to be healthy first."

Reluctantly, I followed. Crawling low to the ground to maintain the contact that I so desperately needed. Until we reached the kill and I realized just how hungry I was.

He patted me one more time before withdrawing to a safe distance. "Once you are done, head to the barn. I will try to gather the rest of your family. Your concerns with the rest of our situation are over for now."

One eye swiveled towards him to keep him reassuringly in sight as I bobbed my head, and then I ripped the abdomen of the deer clean open and began to indulge in the much needed meat. I remember thinking that I didn't feel any of what Kim had said. Perhaps I wouldn't until I made my own kill, instead of being catered to by my wife and daughter.

Alex watched over me for a few more minutes as I savaged my meal and then reached up to scratch me briefly at the base of my neck before heading over to Irma. Past them in the distance I could see Kim resting her whole forequarters on an SUV that she had hopelessly destroyed. She was pushing herself around on it like a skateboard making honking noises and blaring her uncharacteristic and delirious enjoyment for all to hear. Space was quickly made for her as no one would or could stop her. Except for Thumper who calmly paced over to her and then extending its neck, murmured something into her ear.

Her eyes began to close as she fell sideways off the vehicle and began emitting a whistling snore before she had even hit the ground. Ulysses went flying due to the impact but Thumper gently caught him using his wing as a basket before lowering him to the ground. Once on the ground Ulysses was asked by the enigmatic guide to open all the doors, windows, and coverings of the barn.

The soldier grabbed one other member of his team and began to do as he asked. The reason why soon became apparent when Thumper dragged Kim onto its back and brought her into the barn. Thumper was just too big to fit in the barn in a normal fashion while it supported Kim. The large creature had to come through the barn like a drive thru even though Kim herself fit neatly within.

It was apparent that the barn would never be big enough to house even one of us once we had grown to our full sizes. But that was a problem for the future. Now as I cracked the last of the leg bones and ground it into dust my own eyes began to droop once more.

I crept towards the interior of the barn with my wings and tail dragging and leaving a peculiar trail behind me. I stopped to allow Irma to snatch a few more bites of her own meal before lurching to her feet to lean heavily against me as we entered the sun lit barn.

Not even having the energy to lower ourselves we fell onto our bellies and entangled ourselves together and with Kim. My mate began to fidget restlessly until she felt the small hands of her remaining human children on her neck. Giving a long sigh of contentment the muscles of her great body began to sag into relaxation starting from her tail tip and cascading forward.

The last thing I heard before I fell asleep myself was a short conversation outside between Thumper and the Sheriff.

"We haven't finished in there yet."

"You must be satisfied with what you already have gleaned. They are not to be disturbed. The change has damaged their psyches. All matters/cares/questions/intrusions that relate to them will be addressed to me until further notice." Replied the once more pint size alien computer with finality. A subtle distortion in the air surrounded the barn as I fell into oblivion.

With a new guide, old friends and new, and family to watch over us. Our healing, and our new purpose, had begun.

Well, I had meant to end this beginning chapter of their new lives here. But.... After reconsideration (and all the reminders that the ending seemed forced) I'll just continue by branching off from the Schwarzkopf's (Hahaha, Get it? German for black head = black scales! Hahahahah! Boom! Clap if you saw it!) story. I have hinted at much of the ramification on the larger world before. But now I'll get to delve further into that quagmire. I really do want to get into how an ultrarealistic scenario would play out. Many amusing and horrifying anecdotes to follow. But let me know if you're just here for the transformations or you really are interested in the chaotic world rending event that this would be. I'm about to get all kinds of Sci-Fi up in here.

So, if you've read my epilogue on FA, then this might be news to you. That message will be changed as soon as I can remember to.

Right now I have a couple of solid ideas on some new tails in this world. To include: The Computer That Felt! And another story: Jasmine! The Dolphin Who Would Defy a God!

If I haven't responded to your comment or other blessing of my person yet, I apologize. I will shortly.

As always, don't be shy about leaving reviews/comments/such and such. Thanks for reading.

I'll start posting another (older) story of mine in the meanwhile.

Thank you all.