FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is very long, but there is not any other way to make the chapter. I hope you all like it.

Chapter 1

A young cat sighed as he clumped down in his bus seat. The bus had been driving from Decatur, Illinois to the Shawnee National Forest down in Harrisburg, Illinois for the past three hours. Mitch Ward, the cat, had been chatting with the black and white ferret in the same seat as him. The ferret, Cathy Smith, and the fourteen other aboard the bus attended Millikan University back up in Decatur. Some of them -from what Cathy had told him- chose to head down the help take care of the forest and get away from the city life. There were those who were forced to either to join the environment club on their first community service or face expulsion due to their misconduct around campus.

Mitch, however, wasn't a college student. He just recently had his seventeenth birthday and still went to high school. He had only one motivation to go to the forest; it was where his sister Debbie had disappeared last week. The two of them had been really close and ever since the death of their parents four years ago, Mitch had been living with his older sister. Now with his sister gone missing, he was scared and paranoid that the government would come and send him to an adoption agency, despite how pointless it would be since he would be legal in just a year; besides he just knew that Debbie would be found soon. Once he heard about the trip to Harrisburg, the tuxedo cat spoke to the organizer of the event- who was a one point Debbie's teacher back when she was still in college - and got the okay to join the rag-tag group of students.

The cat heard the male raccoon behind him swearasthe bus screech3ed to a sudden stop in front of the camp. The raccoon jolted forward and crashed into the back of Mitch and Cathy's seat. Mitch kept quite as everyone pushed their way out of the bus for some sweet and refreshing air. The cat waited for everyone to get off the bus before he jumped out and joined them in front of five wooden buildings. Choosing to be with someone he was starting to know, Mitch went over and stood by the ferret as they waited for the camp counselor to arrive.

"So any particular reason why you are on the trip Mitch?" Cathy asked looking down as the smaller cat. Her soft baby blue eyes reassured him that she would be someone that he could easily get along with her.

The cat chuckled softly as he looked back up at her. "I've got nothing better to do this summer. I guess I just wanted to try something new before school starts back up." Mitch felt bad already lying to the ferret, but in his paranoid state he felt it was better in no one knew his true intentions to why he came down here. "What about you Cathy," he asked trying to hide his discomfort of the question.

"I really wanted to check out this forest. I love drawing picture of nature and getting a picture of this forest would be so unforgettable. If you would like, do you want me to make you a picture of the place too?"

Mitch nodded his softly instead of giving a verbal reply as a young African Hunting Dog walked gingerly towards the group of students. "Greetings everyone! I would like to thank every one of you for volunteering to come down and helping." The counselor spoke energetically.

"Some of us didn't get the choice to come." A young squirrelsnickered, teasing the kids Cathy had told Mitch about back on the bus. The comment got a few negative remarks from some of the other college students.

The dog cleared her throat before continuing to speak. "As I was saying, thank you all for coming. My name is Lundan Garr and I will be keeping an eye on you while you are staying at my camp. Officer Luke Bradford, of the Illinois state police, has set up a makeshift office here and will also be helping me keep an eye on you all. He and the local police have been on high alert about this place ever since there has been cases of people disappearing within the past three weeks. If you need to talk either of us, we will be in the main cabin," Lundan smiled happily and pointed to the large wooden house in the center, "which is that one right there. Well, I better let you guys get your bunks set up in the cabins. The two on the right are the boys and the two on the left are the girls. For safety sake, four of you per cabin." The hunting dog turned around and trotted off to the building that she and Officer Bradford would be living in while the college students stayed at the camp.

Mitch's large tail flicked nervously not knowing who he would be rooming with or which cabin he would be calling home for the next couple days. Looking around, the cat saw Cathy head over to the female raccoon who sat behind them on the bus. Joining the two girls were a meerkat and a husky. The other group of girls included a lithe snow leopard, a tall poodle, a lioness, and a make-up infested cow.

Over with the guys, the obvious football-playing bull gathered up a few other athletic-looking guys. Among them was a dumb-looking zebra, a tiger with a huge cross hanging from his next, and an unusually tall fox. With this, Mitch's cabin mates consisted of the raccoon that sat behind him on the bus and the squirrel that had made the commentthat enraged some of his fellow college students and a rat who, until now, Mitch hadn't caught eye of not once on the way to the camp.

"Hey kitten, over here." Mitch turned his gaze to the male raccoon waving for him to get over to the group of three. Unsurprisingly, he was the shortest of the group. The large male rested on of his paws onto the cat's shoulder. "I overhead you talking with Cathy on the bus and told myself I would help you fit in. Since you are also forced to, welcome to the group. My name is Vincent Votipka."

"Please to meet you Vincent, I'm Mitchell Ward." The cat replied with some confidence as he felt his fears being to slip away.

"Nice to meet you too, Mitch. Well, that squirrel over there is Shane Delgado. He is a massive nature nut and doesn't believe the 'brainless' students should be out here." Shane shot a fowl look at Vincent as the raccoon introduced him- "And this here rat is Ashton Thee; he is an inspiring writer."

"A murder mystery writer at that." The rat commented without out looking up at either Mitch or Vincent. Despite how dark his writing interests were or the deepness of his voice, Ashton wore surprisingly bright colored clothing. His tail was particularly notable, as it was partially black towards the tip while the upper part was a dull pink.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, let's head to our cabin." Vincent chuckled lifting his suitcase up and heading towards the two men's cabins.

Shane quickly gathered up his things and darted a head of the raccoon. His dash was cut short as he reached the furthest cabin from the counselor's cabin as an obnoxiously-loud booming voice called out from behind him. "Back off faggot! That's our cabin." The athletic bull plowed his way up to the squirrel and easily manhandled him, throwing Shane as far away as his bovine muscles would allow him to.

Mitch started dumbly at the squirrel and then to the bull. He was pissed and wanted to dash over and start cursing out the bull, but held back when he saw Vincent walk over, calmly, and help Shane of the ground; completely ignoring the brutish bull. Picking up his things, he followed Ashton; trying to catch up with the other two. As he passed the vulgar bull, Mitch's eyes focused on the smug grin that had formed on the bull's face. Every sense of his mind and body told him to follow suit and ignore the bull, but his body resisted as Mitch bared his teeth at the jock in a threatening way.

"That's right you little pussy ass bitch, keep on walking away. Stupid fucking faggot!" The bull taunted as Mitch continued on past the cabin.

The cat hastily followed the others into the cabin and shut the door behind him. Tossing his bag onto one of the beds, Mitch slumped down to the ground, burying his face into his arms and knees. After a few whimpered breaths, Mitch rose from his resting place with a half-hearted smile. "Don't worry about me, just trying to calm down," His eyes immediately rested upon Vincent's concern filled eyes. "That ... asshole out there is such, well, an asshole."

"Kevin is an ass, so don't let what he says cause you too much grief. He is just your run-of-the-mill jock: if someone threatens him or looks very weak he instantly thinks they're gay." Vincent explained patting Mitch's back obviously trying to help calm the cat down.

Mitch smiled at the raccoon before going over and sitting down on the bed that his bag landed on. He lifted the bag and slid it under the bed so he could lie down. As he rested there, thought of school came back to him. Mainly his friend who ended up moving away because of the way people at school treated him. His friend was gay and it was the main cause of him getting picked on by the other students at school. It wasn't until now that he realized how hateful that word could be now that is was directed at him.

"As much as I would love to stay in here and spend time with y'all, you are doing nothing to inspire my writing. See y'all later." Ashton exclaimed breaking the silence before it could really begin. Mitch could tell when the rat had left due to the chilly air that rushed into the cabin when the door swung open. His ears picked up on another set of paws tap against the wooden floor and head to the door also.

"I'll see you guys later too. I want to check out the forest a bit." Shane murmured before shutting the cabin door with a soft bang.

Vincent chuckled softly tossing his bag up onto the bunk above Mitch's. After a few moments the raccoon leaned down looking at the cat. "Hey, do you think you could also head out of the cabin also? I want to send some alone time with my girlfriend Angel."

The cat's face formed a smile before opening his eyes. "Sure thing!" Mitch slipped out of the bunk before heading for the door. "Just don't do it on my bunk. I don't like crusted blankets." The cat added sarcastically, before heading out the cabin.

Mitch considered trying to see if Cathy want to hang out, but he ended up deciding on heading off for the cabin with Lundan and Officer Bradford. They young cat slowly opened the door and peered in. The inside was just as one would expect it to be, simplistic yet calming. Mitch hopped up the stairs, hoping that Lundan and Bradford's rooms where up there. There were two passages on the upper floor, one led to the left and the other to the right. Mitch looked down the one passage to the right and saw Lundan lying in her bed reading a book. He was about to turn around and try the other hallway, but someone grabbed his shoulder tightly and pulled him backward.

"What do you think you are doing kitten?"

Mitch spun around to find himself facing a young, attractive german shepherd. His fur looked as if it glistened in the dim light of the cabin. The shepherd was dressed in normal police attire. Mitch stared up at the older shepherd trying to sputter out a response as his fears slowly started to comeback. "Officer Bradford, I ... I was just trying to um ... find you."

"Really? So what do you need me for?" Officer Bradford questioned further as he lead Mitch over to his room.

Mitch sat down on Bradford's bed staring up at the shepherd who shut the door behind him. The officerreached out and pulled a chair out from his desk so that he could sit down. He gazed at the cat, still waiting for a response. "Well?"

"Oh sorry. Um... I was just curious to hear what you all know about the missing ... people," Mitch mumbled shuffling his paws gently against the floor. His soft blue eyes stared up at the officer.

Lukestared up at the ceiling as if the answers were written upon it. One of his tan paws dug into the chair while his face looked troubled and concerned. "We don't know really anything about what happened. No matter how hard we have been searching, everything leads to a dead-end or what we are hoping to find seems to elude us. The only reason we even know about the most recent two missing is because the female victim's younger brother reported her missing." Luke's mossy green eyes looked into the cat's eyes as his voice took a somber turn. "Is this why you came out here? You were hoping to see if you could find out what happened to your sister?"

Mitchell gawked in disbelief. How did the shepherd know him? He tried to ask the question but his brain couldn't put the question to be voiced. He gazed into the officer's eyes seeing what looked like pain and sadness.

"I was the officer that picked up when you reported her missing." Luke interrupted and answered the thoughts within the cat's head. "Your voice is quite distinctive so that a dead give-away." -The dog stopped to clear his throat- "I'm not going to lie to you, I've never had to deal with losing my whole family. The closest I have ever had transpire to me was suffering the loss of my ex a few years back. We were still dating at the time though."

"What happened to her?"

"He was killed in a car crash a few years ago." -Luke stopped and looked at the cat quizzically seeing no change in the cat's facial expression he continued- "We were going through a rough patch and he left our house pissed off at me. A few hours later the car he was destroyed by a semi-truck that crashed into him. Even to this day I blame myself for his death. I wish I would have been a more loving partner. That and I didn't bitch so much. It really hurts so much to think that the last thoughts that he had were of him being furious at me." The german shepherd's eyes had darkened and began to fill with tears while his ears drooped back. Luke sighed softly as if he was trying his best to hold back the tears, sitting down next to Mitch. "Just don't blame yourself if your sister can't be found or...." The officer left the other possibility unspoken.

Almost immediately, as if it was an instinct, the cat turned towards Luke and wrapped his arms around the shepherd in a soft, comforting hug. Mitch's pulled back after a few seconds while smiling gently at the officer. His smile turned into to a grin as he was rewarded as a similar, sunny smile formed on Luke's face. "Would you mind if I sleep on your bed for a little bit? My cabin is being occupied by two love birds and they don't want to be disturbed." The cat chuckled trying to lighten up the situation. His large, fluffy tail rested limply in between his legs as he waited for the answer. He had been tired thought the whole day and his eyes remained open only by the adrenalin that pumped through his body.

The shepherd grabbed a pillow out from one of his bags before tossing it over to the teenager. "There you go, make sure you get a lot of rest." Luke set his police hat on and patted it quickly before heading out the bedroom.

Mitch gazed at the now vacant space for a few moments before lying down on Luke's bed, nuzzling the pillow the shepherd gave him to use. Not too long later, sleep overcame him.

Shane sighed heavily staring that the poodle he was sharing lunch with. The squirrel had a deep resentment for just about anyone that played sports or did cheerleading; but Vincent and Carla Wilson, the poodle, were the only exceptions that he met so far. Many times he had overheard other students from Millikan say that the only reason why he liked being around Carla was because she had mental problems and it made him feel more special. That, of course, was nowhere close to the reason. The poodle was a nice person and was one of the easiest to get along with up in Decatur.

"I swear I have no clue why Kevin said that to you or the cute little kitten." Carla murmured apologetically staring down at her food and one of her paws that rested next to the plate.

Shane reached over and patted the poodle's soft white paw. He had bitching about how much of an ass the bull been him and the young cat that was staying in his cabin. He knew that nothing he could say would make Kevin change; but maybe, just maybe, he could help Carla realize who were the good people and who weren't. "Don't worry about it; none of what happened is your fault. I would like to know why you even bother being friends with anyone like him."

Carla stared dumbly at the squirrel with only the slightest bit of confusion. "They are nice to me, so why shouldn't I be friends to them?"

Shane sighed softly, despite know how hard it would be for him to convince the poodle. It was obvious that people like Kevin and his girlfriend, and cheerleader captain, Dani had been forcing their views and ways on the poor poodle. "Because people like them think that hurting others is the right thing. I wouldn't want anyone as my friend if they were to hurt you in any way."

"You wouldn't?"

"Of course I wouldn't anyone hurt you. Hang here for a second; there is something I want to show you." The squirrel leaped and turned towards his cabin.

"What is it Shane?" Carla asked softly.

Shane stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards the poodle. He shuffled his paws gingerly against the ground. "It's a picture of my sister. She passed away four years back of cancer. Nearly the whole town called her a sinner and preached getting cancer was god's way of pushing her. You remind me so much of her and I would like to share her with you." The squirrel's troubled mind settled down as he saw the smile form on Carla's face. Quickly, he hopped back around and headed for his cabin.

Before he make it halfway to the cabin, Shane felt a sharp pain jolt through his body, surging out from his belly to each edge of his body. Not too long later, his knees buckled and he fell to the ground; gripping his waist with one of his paws and the other placed heavily against his chest. Within a few more seconds, everything faded to black.

Mitchell opened his eyes as he felt a soft tap on the bedroom door. His adjusting eyes glanced over to the clock. Hours had passed since he had fallen asleep. It took a few moments to remember where he was, but once realization hit chuckled softly. Turning his head, the cat's blue eyes looked straight at a shirtless, shepherd returning the gaze with his green eyes.

"Did you have a wonderful nap?" Luke chortled while putting a plain, gray t-shirt over his well-formed chest. The jeans he had been wearing earlier in the day were gone and replaced with casual shorts. The shepherd reached over and pulled the covers off of the teenager lying in his bed.

Mitch stretched out gingerly across the bed, his limbs reaching to each limit of the bed. He let out a muted yawn before reluctantly sitting up on the bed and murmuring his response. "Yeah! Thanks for letting me sleep here. Do you need it now?"

Luke let out a softened chuckle looking down at the kitten. "Nah, one of the girls, the lioness, wants everyone to get together for a little bonfire party. So I am getting on some laid back clothing on and waking you up. So come one. Mitch's eyes shot open as the muscular shepherd yanked him out of bed and dropping him gently - feet first - onto the ground. He yawned louder, trying to boot the sleep from his body. Mitchell pounced ahead of the shepherd, so he didn't have to be picked up by Luke again.

The campsite was dimly lit from the massive flame positioned perfectly in the center around the cabins. A zebra, tiger and fox tended to the fire, keeping the flames high. Near the fire sat a group of three thin girls most likely gossiping.

"Hey kitten!"

Mitch barely had time to turn to see the lioness that Luke mentioned earlier, bound her way over and wrap her arms around his waist. "I may not know you yet but I really hope we become really close friends!"

"I bet that we will too! You seem like a person that I would get along with." His bright smile help hid the face that his attention was fully transfixed to her massive amount of rave bracelets wrapped around her arms.

"Awe you're such a sweet heart. Well make sure you have fun, I'll catch up with you guys in a bit. I need to make sure everyone else is too." The lioness bounced off towards one of the groups of students.

"I still don't know her name." The officer whispered causing the young cat to burst out into laughter. "Well, go on kitten, go find your friends; I think that everyone is getting ready to start telling ghost stories over there by the fire."

Mitch gazed around trying to find either the ferret or raccoon. Vincent wasn't anywhere to be seen. Probably still in the cabin with his girlfriend. The cat thought still trying to find Cathy. Despite everything illuminated poorly, he swore he saw the ferret dart out of her cabin and head into the forest. Instead of chasing after the specter, the cat caught back up with the shepherd. "I'll just sit with you if that's all right."

Luke smiled softly at Mitch and wrapped one of his paws around the cat's fluffy shoulders. "That's quite alright with me. "Come on then," the shepherd chuckled leading the way over to the fire.

Mitch and Luke sat down on one of the logs positioned around the massive fire. As everyone started to gather around, Mitch couldn't but help feel calm and happy form the first time since Debbie had disappeared. The cat purred softly, snuggling next to the officer by his side as the lioness from before got to where everyone could see and started speaking.

Cathy slumped down, sighing up at the dark sky. She had finally found her sketch book that she left out here earlier in the day, but now she lost her way back to the camp. Her ears shot up curiously as she stumbled out of a bush. Is that music? Cathy wondered as she tried to pin point the origin of the sounds her ears picked up on. After feeling confident that she located the direction of the music, the ferret jumped up happily that she would be able to get back to the camp, before the end of the party Jensen briefly mention to her earlier today. Her heart raced heavily as she trampled her way through the twilight-light forest.

SMACK!!!

The ferret collided against the ground and rolled with the impact for about a foot. Cathy whimpered softly as she pushed herself off the ground, trying to shake off the slight pain that surged through her body. She turned back to face the tree that she tripped in front of her wanting to know how she had tripped. There sat Shane, tied to the trunk of the tree, with his legs laid out inform of him. The squirrel, after receiving the surprisingly painful kick from the ferret's show, regained some of his consciousness and gazed groggily up at Cathy.

"Jesus fucking Christ! What happened to you Shane?" Cathy jumped down beside her friend, trying - with no success - to untie the ropes that held him tightly against the tree. The artist growled angrily as she continued to fumble with the troublesome ropes.

"I don't remember. I was having lunch with Carla and then nothing." Shane groaned while trying to wiggle a bit to get more confortable. "If you are having too much trouble getting the ropes undone, then go bring someone from camp. Just promise me that you'll be back."

"Don't worry, I promise that I will." Cathy gave the squirrel a quick hug and grabbed her sketch book. The ferret hopped up and dashed off towards the music. Please let this be the way back to the camp. Cathy prayed, still running for the music. With her mind's fixation on running and thinking about Shane she never saw an oversized bush right in front of her approaching quickly. Mentally she told herself to stop, but her legs wouldn't listen and keep going. The ferret screeched as the thorns and branches cut and slashed her as she pulled and pushed out of the vegetation. She screeched even louder as a thick, strong paw reached into the bush and yanked her out. Cathy winced heavily as she fell to the ground.

"What are you doing out here?" The ferret looked up to see Kevin standing above her.

"I was out trying to find my sketch book," -she held up the book which avoided too much damage -"When I ran into Shane. Someone tied him up out there and I wouldn't get him untied. Do you think you could help me untie him? I know you don't like him, by he needs help."

The bull stared down at her with his soft brown eyes. ""Tell me which way to go. It will be much faster if I go alone. Plus with a killer out there somewhere it will be safer if you head back to camp."

The ferret looked around with heavy concern. She wanted to keep her promise to Shane, but Kevin's words were nothing but true. Cathy whimpered softly trying to make up her mind. I hope I'm making the right choice. Cathy thought finally making up her mind. "Alright, he is back that way." -her paw pointed towards the bush that Kevin pulled her out of- "Just make sure you call his name so he can help guide you to him. And thank you Kevin." Cathy's slinky long arms did around the bull for a couple of brief seconds before she darted off towards the camp again.

Kevin waited until the ferret had left and was long gone before bursting out into laughter. "Dumb bitch." The bull chuckled heavily. Kevin sat down next to one of the trees and popped open a can of beer and poured some of the alcohol down into his stomach.

Shane whimpered gazing out into the night sky. He's stomach grumbled heavily telling him to get back to camp and eat. His foot tapped against the ground rhythmically, each feel sending sensations through his body trying to keep him from falling asleep. His small ginger ears picked up on a soft crack of branches breaking come from behind the tree.

"Cathy! Is that you?" The squirrel tried to twist his head hoping to see who was coming up from behind him. "Who is ther..." Shane's call was cut short as his thin furred neck was sliced in two. The squirrel tried to cry out in pain, but all that ended coming out was not only sickening, but also a slowly fading gurgle. The squirrel's paw fought valiantly against the ropes, struggling to get free so that he could try to do something to save his life. But with each passing second, his remaining strength slowly slipped away, and after a few moments, the world had faded to black and the squirrel's head slumped against his shoulders. A long shadow darkened Shane's flowing blood for a few momentary seconds before vanishing behind the tree.