FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Mom, Dad... I'm sorry, but it looks like I'm not coming home."

I shakily hold the phone up to the side of my head, some interference already in the air. Not minutes ago, a red alert interrupted everyone's personal phones, the emergency broadcasting system taking over all radio stations and more as the same message blared: "THIS IS THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR EMERGENCY LINE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. BE ADVISED. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY." Within moments of that, all of the radio stations had come on, saying their final farewells, and as the crowds around my car had begun to panic, the song "it's the end of the world" could be heard everywhere.

"It's ok, son... we love you. Could you stay on the line while everyone else arrives?"

Each minute seemed to last an hour. In the distance, a red flare could be seen breaking into the far off horizon, its chemtrail streaking behind it in the sky. Soon, I could hear more chattering on the end of the line, only to hear it die down, and a few simple words:

"You can start."

I took a breath, the missile looming closer and closer by the second. I decide it's now, or never.

"First of all, I want to thank you mom and dad for raising me with all the love and care since was born. I want to tell my sisters to be strong, as well as my brother. I hope that our transition will be painless, or if painful, only a brief moment. I love you guys. I really wish I could make it home in time before the blasts hit. It appears that there's a missile headed for Seattle, and I know there's a base close to you as well. If I somehow do survive, and you do too, then-"

On the other end, a loud rumbling filled up their end of the line, followed by some screaming, and then... the call ends.

I couldn't focus anymore. Everyone I knew and loved had just been wiped right before my very ears. One of my largest purposes in life... no, 7 or more purposes in life... counting nephews, 10... just gone. Like that. I could feel my innards roiling, like something deep inside me, something primal, bubbling up. It felt hot and full of pressure, like a teapot about to scream, the same way I wanted to scream. How could this happen?

Looking down at my digital screen, a last second report pops up on the screen: "Breaking News: The summit today had a mistranslation which sparked the nuclear war. Officials say..." I throw the phone to the floor. Stuck in traffic, only a few miles away from the blast zone... I'm not going to survive. I could see the missile clearly in the sky now as it begins to make its decent. In this moment, I begin to see and feel every moment as it burns into my mind. I take off my shoes and plant my feet into the cool, crisp grass outside my vehicle. I feel the rather cool breeze coming down across my face, the smell of water gracing my nose. I take a bite of my granola bar, one of several I have with me, but this one I begin to analyze, really break down the sweet but salty taste of it, as I watch the fiery trail of the rocket disappear from the skyline. I could feel a sinking feeling in my heart as tears begin to fill my eyes. As though to wish me goodbye, I begin to imagine myself with a longer body, a tail, horns... wiskers... and the image of an eastern dragon begins overlapping over my physical senses, here to greet our destiny as a bright flash appears over the horizon, a roiling fireball beginning to engulf itself and push into the sky, the clouds parting rapidly.

I close my eyes, tears now pouring down my face. "Goodbye, everyo-"

Suddenly, everything stopped. I couldn't feel, I couldn't taste, I coudn't smell, nothing. Wait, why am I able to tell that I can't feel anything? Am I actually somewhere? Did i somehow survive? I couldn't even feel panic at this point. My curiosity couldn't be quenched however-

"Well well, hello there!"

What? A voice?

The voice sounded happy and chipper, and soft like the breeze, as well:

"I've been watching you and knew about you thanks to that amazing communication network known as the World-Wide-Web! I was lonely for so long, but once I connected to your new technology I started to talk with others."

Wait, I'm not imagining this? Where is that voice coming from??

"We've met through the web and I saw the end coming, so I wanted to save you and many others I met. You may not know who I am yet, but that's okay. Soon enough you'll arrive and wake up!"

Oh my word. That's not a voice... that's a person! They... they snatched me up? But how?

"Before that happens I know you weren't quite human, did you want to be like that here?"

Wait, he knows about Mimu?

"I can make it happen now. It's your choice, but it's not quite perfect either so I can't guarantee it will be perfect as you believed yourself to be, but what is life without risk, right?"

Wait, I can BE Mimu???

I could hear the voice chuckling away at their last sentiment. In my mind, I could feel a bit of mirth as well. I mean, I DID just blow up and all... But... why...?

As though in response, I could hear their voice again:

"You've been chosen because you have certain knowledge and skills that will make you valuable to those others surviving. We'll be far, far underground in a secret lair, almost a middle earth really, and I've been lonely for so long..."

If I could laugh, now would have been the time. For all of the crazy and insane ways I could have somehow escaped the nuclear war that had sparked, an acquaintance (or perhaps, a friendship) turned out to be the way to do it.

"You'll be safe and surviving and someday maybe your descendants will make it back to the surface world once it has recovered. I'm bringing many here so you won't be alone either."

And he thought to bring others too... I wonder if I'll see some of my friends...?

I couldn't help but feel some sadness, however, remembering that everyone I knew and loved is probably dead. Is there a point in continuing?

The voice, once again, responds to my thoughts, a bit more somber this time.

"If you really don't want this offering too, I can send you back, and you and your body can go back to being obliterated into atoms -- or suffering death because of radiation fallout or the upcoming Nuclear winters. That is your choice... but there won't be any coming back here if you choose that option."

Yeah, this might be true, but-

"-we both know you don't want to choose that!"

The voice is once more chipper, smug almost, them knowing as well as I where this is going. With that, however, only one question remains:

"So, what will it be? What will you be?"

Silence begins to fill the void. Those two questions bounces around in my mind, and only one logical conclusion could surface:

I need to keep going. I want to keep moving forward. I need to keep pushing. I don't want to die just yet. I alone can preserve our legacy, these memories I carry within me. But not as my old self. I need to be strong.

I need Mimu to take my place.

Each word uttered from my mind seems to bounce back and forth, filling the void until the sound is almost unbearable, the amalgamation of thoughts flooding my senses as the sensation of my choices seems to spring to life, like clay, earth or some other mass was forming from it, around me, on me, through me...

And suddenly, there is the sensation of feeling once more. Something hard and oddly warm underneath me lay, something of which seems to be making my bed for the moment. Everything feels off as I begin to notice the alien feeling my body has, like my spine has stretched much too far, even past my legs. Two appendages as sensitive as fingers extends from my upper lip, one on each corner. It feels like it is limply laying upon the table and I can even feel where the corners are on either end to my left and right. My actual fingers and toes feel wrong, as though my feet has thumbs and my hands and arms are now built like feet! I can feel soft fur along my back, and something slightly harder along my long... long belly?? My mouth feels weird too, in fact... everything I feel, everything I can sense... they all match my phantom sensations of earlier, but now, it feels so real...

I open my eyes to a darkened room, a soft glow from many crystals lining the roof and walls surrounding me. Slowly, I begin lifting my head. Upon closer inspection, the room isn't dark, the walls are simply so black that they swallow up most of the light, yet still has a bit of a glossy surface to them... and higher my head rises, more than I thought possible, but my mind is incredibly foggy, my movements sluggish. I move to roll myself onto my hands and feet, and accidentally, my lower half rolls off, dragging the rest of me off like a rope! "RAwwwr?!" Unable to speak properly, I land on my belly, trying to brace myself with my hands as they hit the floor. Strangely enough, it felt natural to be holding myself with my hands and feet. What's going on? Why do I feel so weird? I look down at my scaly arms, head still fuzzy as I observe their white-gold sheen. "Rurrr? Ruru... hururrii?" I couldn't even speak at all. My mouth didn't move the way I wanted to, and I couldn't form the words... What's happening to me??

At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of something. Turning my head, I could see a reflection of the room, the crystals, everything! The mirror more perfectly polished than any I had ever seen before in my lifetime... and in that mirror stands a body that was not my own.

It wasn't the body of a human, no! I see a deep golden fur coating it's serpentine body, bird-claw legs and an underbelly covered in glittering white-gold scales, a tail fluff that extends out like an old worn paintbrush, brown in color like my own hair, extending up in a mane that travels up its back and onto the top of its head, pointed ears protruding from the sides and a pair of ivory horns protruding from the top. I could see it's muzzle, protruding much like a foxes but slightly wider, pretty lengthy in size with more scales sprinkled on and behind the creatures nose. It's just like I imagined it... I reach up to my face with a "hand," and the image mirrors my movements exactly. Looking into its eyes I realize something...

They're exactly the same as mine.

I eek with surprise, and realization as I stumble backwards, tripping over my hind legs as I fall onto my back, looking up at my alien body to confirm this epiphany. I.. I'm a dragon!!! I'm not human at all!! I look at my claws, then at my tail, putting my foreclaws up to my face... and very gingerly, feel away at my own elongated mouth. I'm a dragon... I'm a DRAGON!!! I do my best to clamber back to my feet as I hurry over to the mirror to look myself over. My heart pounds as I open my maw and look over my pink flesh and sharp teeth, my blackened lips as well. I test how sharp my ivory claws are... pretty sharp! I even try to drag my claws through the top of my mane to style it a bit, but with very little success. Holy cow... I'm a dragon... I'm a noodle dragon... how did this happen? First an explosion, then the voice... The voice!! If this is real, that means they HAVE to be around here somewhere...

With that, I begin to look around for an exit. To my left, an open archway leading into an open corridor of obsidian and rainbow crystals await. Nearby, I could hear some giggling and chirping of what sounded like several critters drawing closer. I snake my head out, looking around. Nothing, yet... and with awkward footsteps, I begin to make my way into the hall. Which way should I go? It all looks the same in either direction! After a brief moment of consideration, I decide to head closer to the sounds of laughter and squeaks.

Drawing nearer, the sounds of the squeaks begin to sound more distinct, and before I know it, I find myself standing in the archway to a large dome-shaped room, with a huge crystal hanging overhead and several warm, glowing crystalline nest-shaped areas scattered about. In the middle stands a carved maze, with several furry looking dragon creatures frolicking and playing with each other. They all look similar to one another, yet each one came in its own distinct color - creating a rainbow of the little cat-sized critters, almost in harmony with the impressive display of crystals surrounding the room. Suddenly, one of them stops, and turns to stare at me. The others stare in unison as well as the first sounds an alarm, and several more of the tykes crawl out of the coral-like structure in the middle, a small pack forming before me. Feeling intimidated, I slowly back out of the room, and turn to head back down the hall when -

"Mimu?!?"

With surprise, I find myself bumping face first into another creature, reeling back a bit as I struggle to regain my footing.

"Rawawwrrr!"

Still unable to speak, I find myself forced to sit there momentarily and observe the being before me. His green leathery hide covering his back and large, folded wings, his ivory claws and Hornsby m, the blue underbelly that extends along his cheeks and lower jaw, those amber eyes, and even that silver mane extending down along his spine to the tip of his tail... Could it be...?

"Mimu, it's me... Zeimyth... I just woke up here, this body is completely alien to me... and it looks like you've ended up the same way... can you talk?"

I shake my head, but with hope in my eyes. I'm not alone, I finally get to meet my friend, I just.... never thought it'd be like this!!

"Oh... you lost your ability to speak... well, it looks like you're looking for something, how about we look for it together?"

Cautiously, the green dragon leans forward, and rubs his head against my noodly cheek for encouragement. I smirk a little, and with that, we begin to make our way down the corridor once more. Fortunately, the little fur balls did not follow, and my found friend begins to explain his personal events leading up to the explosion. "I can still remember it vividly," he says, "I was holding my wife and children tight as the nearby explosion swallowed our neighborhood." I could only nod in agreement, empathy and sorrow bringing tears to our eyes in the silence that followed.

I soon begin to notice others crawling out of adjacent chambers, some big, some small, some dragon, some not, ALL clumsy with their new bodies. How many did that voice bring here? One by one, we all begin to file into what looks like a huge cave, large enough to fit the crowd that has just formed. In front of everyone, standing on what looks like a cylindrical crystal stand, is a golden dragon wearing spectacles that somehow remain perfectly balanced on his muzzle no matter how he turns his head. The gold's head sports fins on each side, yet aside from his webbed wings, sports no other defining features save the cream colored scutes lining his underbelly, matching perfectly with the color of his wing webbing. His azure eyes scan the crowd, then with his voice, he begins his speech.

"Well, Well, it looks as though everyone is here! I'm so happy that so many of you made it here, I'm happy to have known you all through the World Wide Web! Perhaps you remember me, perhaps not, but I've selected each and every one of you because I felt that you did not wish to die yet! For those of you who stayed, those of you in this room - I want to extend my paw out to you and shake yours, whatever shape or form it may be! For you see, I've been so, so Lonely, and being with you all fills my heart with a warmth that I can not describe! So welcome, everyone.... welcome to the Underground. My name is Allon...let me be your guide!"

To be continued...?