FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Last one

By Ralley

Click-click

The rifle was in Skunks paws before his eyes had even rendered what the phantom walking towards him was. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he struggled to keep his breath under control. His aim had to be steady, but he would not shoot until he saw the whites or possibly yellows of whatever eyes were attached to his uninvited guest.

The figure stopped just inside the light of the campfire, its arm was outstretched towards Skunk with a six shooter in his webbed paw. The hammer was cocked back and a calm digit rested on the trigger.

Skunk relaxed slightly, the figure did have whites in his eyes. The stranger was an Otter who looked like he had quite a few years on him. There was a scar that ran down his cheek from just below his eye and stopped somewhere under his vest; it was like a canyon of flesh in his fur. He had a thick mustache of a creamier light brown then the rest of his dark brown fur. The dust of the desert caked his clothes and fur, although Skunk himself wore the sands of the desert like it was going out of style.

Otter held up a finger as if signaling to wait one minute before shooting. He fished around in his jacket pocket and produced a vial of black liquid. The stranger shook it in his paw; the skunk saw the label and his jaw dropped.

Soy sauce! Skunk thought, drooling.

Otter smiled and nodded towards the rack of lizards that Skunk had been roasting over the fire just minutes earlier. He licked at his lips and, as if on cue, the Otter's stomach growled.

Skunks eyes moved between his food and the stranger. He had cooked up plenty of lizards and planned on stuffing himself and then some, but the lizards did not have a good taste and were rather dry. His tongue slipped along his lips as he stared at the Otter's soy sauce. With a light shrug, Skunk lowered his rifle slowly and Otter returned his gun to the holster on his hip.

"I could smell those morsels from half a mile away, stinky," said the Otter.

Skunk bit at his lip to hide his disgust. He hated that name. You never told strangers your real name because you might have to put them down later. Most strangers took on the brand names that were printed on their weapons or people just called you what species you were. After a while, you weren't quite sure what you were originally named. In Skunk's case though, every single refugee he came across and befriended called him 'stinky.' He only smelled of campfire and the dust of the desert, his own natural odor was kept in check. Still, he could the minor insult if it meant some flavor to the lizards he had been eating. For weeks it had been nothing but lizards for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The last abandoned store he had found was picked clean. There were not even pests or insects to eat.

"Where did you get that stuff?" asked Skunk. "I haven't been able to find anything like that since before the werewolves came."

The Otter grinned and replied, "I got lucky in the last town I stopped through. But those monsters found me and captured me. I barely got out alive."

Skunk handed Otter a lizard dipped in soy sauce on a stick as he prepared another for himself. His interest was piqued. The werewolves came out of nowhere a few months ago. They moved from town to town eating or changing anyone that was in their way. They were like locusts and their numbers just kept growing. Soon after, most towns were nothing but cemeteries devoid of life. Old buildings stood as tombstones to mark what once was.

"Were they Alphas or Betas?" Skunk asked.

"Keep those lizards coming and I'll tell you all about it." Otter smiled and held out his paw.

Skunk sighed and handed the lizard on a stick he was preparing for himself over to Otter and soon grabbed another from the rack. He looked back expectantly, showing a slight smile to beckon the stranger on.

"Okay," Otter started, "I was with a caravan of folks from North Hampton. We had heard word that the wolves did not go south and left the tropics alone. So we packed our wagons in the hope that the rumor was true. Our caravan was only a skeleton of what it once was, only a good forty of them left out of the hundred they started with. They picked me up along the way, saved me from a hungry Beta that cornered me as I was looking for supplies in Jericho--That's where I found the soy sauce, in a general store that still had most of its stock intact.

"Anyway, we were about fifty miles south of Arbuckle when we decided to pitch camp for the night. The horses and oxen were tired and deserved a break. It wasn't my turn to guard and the day had been a rough one, so I was fast asleep when they came.

"It was all betas, they ransacked the tents. We lost ten people before they really got into it with us and I swear another entire pack of them just materialized out of the dark. We took several of them down but they just kept coming. We were down to half our people when things got weird.

"They stopped killing and used their big fists to knock us out or held and tied some of us to wooden posts. I've never seen them take anyone alive. I started to flee but one of them pounced and knocked me out."

Skunk yawned. He was literally on the edge of his seat but apparently the day was catching up with him. He'd watched the werewolves before at a distance and knew what Otter said was true--they never took prisoners. They only ate or bit the ones they felt they wanted to keep. Within the more recent weeks he heard rumor that they weren't biting anymore, just eating their prey. One night, he saw some of the more scrawny werewolves eaten by a pack.

He handed a few more lizards over to the stranger and munched on a few of his own. His eyelids were growing heavier. It was a struggle to stay awake but he needed to know more.

Otter continued, "I woke up in one of their camps. We had all been disarmed and lined up; people were crying. More and more people kept disappearing from the front of the line and into a large tent. Escape was impossible; we were in the middle of their camp with wolves on all sides. I won't lie to you, when my turn came I started praying to every deity I'd ever even heard of.

"They drug me into the tent. That's when I saw him, an alpha easily twelve feet tall and as monstrous as they come. There was something regal about the way he looked and spoke, he had females all around him and they seemed to be hanging on his every word. Those brutish betas made me bow before him on my knees and the alpha came in close to me, sized me up from all sides. I checked myself to see if they had taken my 'Emergency surprise' dagger, damn wolves were thorough, I reckon.

"The alpha said I was not strong enough and not worthy to be one of them and therefore I would be food."

Skunk was having trouble keeping his eyes open, he tried to move to stay awake but found that everything was happening in slow motion. His head throbbed and it felt like the world was spinning. He shook his head for a moment and looked at and around the stranger--and noticed the pile of lizards on a stick piled on Otters side of the campfire. There was something else in that soy sauce. The bowl of soy sauce dropped from his paw and shattered.

In panic, Skunk reached for his rifle but his arm moved so slowly that Otter was already on his side of the campfire and kicked the rifle away. Otter reached forward, grabbed Skunks wrists and tied them together.

"Now now, young one," said Otter with his gun out of the holster, "I'm not done yet. You just sit there and let my poison do its thing while I finish my story. The others will be along shortly.

"Where was I? Ah, right. The alpha told me I was to be food. The females moved in and grabbed me as the alpha came in close. That son of a bitch was drooling. Just as he was about to tear my throat out I cried out to stop. I made them a deal, I would find them twenty wandering meals and in exchange they would make me an Alpha."

Otter grinned and took a seat next to skunk. Panicking, Skunk struggled but he found his body wasn't responding to him anymore, all he could do was breathe and blink. Otter leaned in close.

"You're number twenty, my friend." Otter whispered. "My quest is complete and I'm going to be on the winning--surviving side of this shit. And it's all because I'm a cunning and conniving son of a bitch.

"My poison won't kill you it will just paralyze you temporarily. Problem is, it's a little slow acting, so I have to distract my prey for a while. I'm pretty good at stories but I find the ones that are mostly true tend to keep people's attention better. By now, you probably can't move a muscle."

A monstrous form stepped into the firelight: A towering female werewolf covered in brown fur looked the pair over and sniffed at the air. Her eyes seemed to glow yellow in the light. She growled and circled around the campfire.

"This was the best you could find?" she spat and growled. "The alpha deserves better."

"You say that every time." Otter said while fishing a pack of cigarettes from his jacket. "This, son of a bitch, is the only one for miles. He's young and strong, too. He'll make a good meal."

The female leaned in closely to Skunk and sniffed, her eyes traced along his form.

"He seems a bit small," said the female, "but the Alpha has not turned down any of your offerings, yet."

Skunk could only stare in fear. Another monster slowly crept into the firelight. The urge to run was overpowering, if only he could make his legs work.

A twelve foot tall monstrous male white wolf entered the firelight. His sinewy muscles seem to ripple with each movement he made and the ground shook with his weight. His stomach didn't seem to fit the rest of his body; it was bulging as if he had one too many meals.

Skunks head spun. He finally gave into the fatigue and let the darkness take him as his eyelids fell and he drifted off to sleep, his body slumped forwards towards the fire but Otter caught him and laid his body back before stepping aside.

"Shall I kill the prey for you, alpha?" The female asked as she raised a paw, stretching her digits, each tipped with long talon-like claws.

Large yellow eyes scanned the black and white furred skunk. The alpha stared and scratched at his chin as he contemplated. His eyes went a bit wide as he surveyed the prey.

"No," said the alpha, "this one we'll keep as a beta. He is strong and he will serve me well."

"This is my last one," said Otter nearly breathless from fear and anticipation, "whether you eat him or not, I want the reward that was promised."

The larger wolf growled and in two massive paws gripped Otter and pushed him to the ground in a pounce. Otter looked up at the beast with fear in his eyes, his heart was beating so hard in fear it hurt his chest. He wanted to flinch and look away but he knew that would only anger the beast, so he did his best to look the wolf straight on.

"Then you shall have your reward!" The alpha roared.

Otter felt the fangs sink into his right shoulder with pain followed by a burning sensation that sped through his entire body.

His body began to change.