FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Do you remember that old prediction of the end of the world back in the year 2000? I don't know exactly how it went but from what my mother told me after her mother passed it down was that the whole worlds computers were going to short out or something and it would fire nuclear missiles from major military stations and it was going to wipe us out. Spooky right? Well it happened, just not with nukes, instead it was biological missiles. This all happened in the year 2157, so the whack jobs that bothered to look this up and predict what would happen were only 157 years off, I guess that doesn't make them crazy now but you get the idea. I had just graduated at the age of 17 with my brother Jake; we knew where we were going.

When you turn 16 the US requires you to take a test that determines what grade of college you are going to or if you were going at all. If you score from 400 to 500, you were sent to a pristine university, 300 to 399 you were on your way to a high paying job and a good life, 200 to 299 you were set for a decent life with struggles but most could handle it, but below 200 you were sent to a labor camp, the officials that created this figured that if you couldn't score above a low standard then there was absolutely no hope for you. Those that scored lowest either died at the camps or became wanted criminals for running away. I was set though, I scored a 478 and my brother scored a 400 so we were good but I was thrown out of my home to live on my own because of my dad. He believed that I was smart enough to take care of myself but of course he let Jake stay, he always loved him better but I really didn't care, I hated that old man. The situation wasn't that bad though, mom sent me money, I had a job and our A.I. (artificial intelligence) Tess would always visit, she was our family's nanny since my brother and I were little but when we didn't need her anymore we didn't have the heart to shut her down. Granted that she was a hologram and didn't have a body, she still made an awesome nanny. My brother and I had begun training in a junior military training academy so that we could tuck some skills under our belts. We knew how to fight in hand to hand combat, use firearms, and survive in the wilderness, we had learned some very useful skills. Things were pretty standard for people my age until new years in 2157, that's when the missiles went off. I was in Denver when they struck, luckily out of range of the explosion when they hit but not the radiation, they were biological gases that attacked your genes, made you mutants in a way. Although I was fortunate enough to survive the explosion, I wasn't lucky enough to avoid the radiation. I changed into one of the mutants. My whole body went from a human, to morphing in to a wolf like mutant. I could still walk on two legs and talk and use my thumbs but I quickly grew black fur and my teeth became ferociously sharp. My name is Goliath Vakarian and this is my story. Castle Rock, 10 miles." I read the sign out loud as I walked towards what was my birthplace. After the missiles hit, I traveled through Denver trying to collect what resources I could, which wasn't much but I could still use them. I found matches, a combat knife and some water purifier. I tried to survive in the city but everything turned into a total anarchy, groups of the newly transformed beasts had formed tribes and became savage. They had already left the old ways of civilization and went completely savage, not many people formed groups and they tried to live on their own but were soon killed by the tribes. I had luck, the tribes didn't mess with me, I had my military training but it wasn't enough for those who had guns. All this began in 2157, it's now the year 2160 and Earth was in horrible shape. Everyone was hit by those stupid missiles and were either dead or mutated, if you were really lucky you would only have minor mutations like a tail or animal ears but that was a rare case. I finally had enough sense to leave Denver and head back home when I turned 20 and I was almost there. I had been walking for days and I was a filthy looking dog but I was finally almost home, I only had an hours worth of walking left, "I'm almost home." I climbed up the last incline of the highway before my home was within view, I was completely devastated. Castle Rock was practically a crater, it had taken a direct hit from the missile and who knows where my family had been while it struck, "No.... no no!" I shook my head and ran to my hometown with the knife held so firmly in my hand my knuckles were white. I was in the town boundaries and there were no signs of tribes anywhere, not like anyone could have survived this. "Jake! JAKE!!!!!" I yelled out as loud as I could as I walked through my neighborhood. I sighed and continued my walk through my street, all the houses had crumbled and only a few walls were standing for each house, and it was so painful to see all these homes destroyed. I made it to my house and it was in better condition than some houses but not by much, the whole upstairs was demolished. I walked towards the front and shoved beams and walls out of the way to get in. There was so much rubble from the upper floor, there wasn't even a ceiling, you could look straight up at the sky, "Jake! Mom... Tess?" I called out for anyone that would respond, I didn't care who I just wanted to know someone survived, even y dad answering would be more comforting, at least he could tell me who survived. I called out their names again as I searched through the house, "Jake! Tess! Please answer!" I searched every room in the house but there were no signs of anyone here until I caught the scent of one of my dad's cigars, ever since my transformation my sense of smell has improved immensely along with hearing and some other senses. I followed the scent but what I found wasn't a good sign, I found my old mans bones under a door. They matched his height and they had some of clothes on them but they had become tattered and filthy from age and the explosion, these were no doubt my father's bones. My ears folded back against my skull and I fell to my knees crying, tears stung my eyes and flowed down my filthy cheeks, "What if none of them made it? Am I the only one left?" I just crumbled at the thought and cried harder, my tears staining the rubble that lied beneath me, "Oh dear god why?" I cried out and pounded my fist on the ground in a painful mix of anger and sorrow. It took a while for me to finally collect myself after I couldn't cry anymore, the pain was still unbearable as I climbed to my feet and headed down to our basement, "Maybe there's some supplies that made it in the vault." I wiped my tears away and opened the door to our basement; the door nearly flew off the hinges when it was opened. Some stairs were missing so I had to be careful not to fall through them. The basement was definitely in better condition than the rest of the house but there was still debris everywhere. I walked to the family safe that was on the other side of the room, I was amazed at how it made it through all this, there was no damage to the frame at all, only the paint had faded away and the edges were rusty. I still remembered the code and entered it into the dial pad. The monitor turned blue and it beeped a few times before it said, "Hello Vakarian. Welcome to your vault." I chuckled softly, we never did change the greeting that safe made when it was unlocked. It creaked open and I looked inside, there was still the emergency clothes, guns, ammunition, and my fathers police bullet vest. I grabbed the bullet vest and my grandfather's old western, duster coat and some guns. The guns I grabbed were a semi-automatic 9mm pistol, and a hunting shotgun. Once I cleared those out something in the back caught my eye, some of our old family photos. I grabbed them and looked at each one individually, tears welled up in my eyes again but they weren't so much sad as they were joyful. Those pictures brought back so many memories, especially the one with my whole family at our high school graduation. My mother must have stored them there over the years. Things were so simple and easy back then, now everything had gone wrong. I sighed and tucked our graduation photo into the duster's pocket and shut the safe. I went back upstairs and washed myself with what little water we had and changed into the new clothes, the only trouble with that was trying to get the boots and spurs on. I looked at myself in the mirror and I laughed at myself, I looked like some old western hero with the boots, jeans, collar shirt and coat, I decided I might as well go for the whole look with a cowboy hat. I really did look like some vigilante. I headed back out towards the door with my new supplies when a little girl caught my eye. She was rummaging through our kitchen obviously looking for something to eat. I cleared my throat and that immediately caught her attention, "Can I help you?" She was absolutely terrified of me, "Please don't hurt me mister. I was only looking for food, I didn't know anyone lived here." She hid behind the counter; she couldn't be any older than seven. I couldn't figure out why she was so scared until I realized I had my paw on my gun, I let it go and answered, "Don't worry, I wouldn't hurt you. Please come out from behind there and tell me your name." I crouched down trying to be less intimidating and held my paw out, "Come on." She peaked out from here hiding place and reached her hand out nervously until she held my paw and came to me. "My name is Scarlett..." She mumbled nervously, she had the ears and tail of a fox with pure white fur and black tips in her ears and tail, she had shimmering green eyes, dirty blonde hair and wore a grimy blue dress, one of the lucky ones that only suffered minor mutations. I smiled and held her hand gently, "Scarlett? That's a beautiful name. I'm Goliath, mind if I call you little Blue because of your dress?" She shook her head, "You can call me whatever you want." I chuckled at her innocence and stood at my full height still holding her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Scarlett. So what brings you to a crater like Castle Rock? You must have someone that watches after you." She shook her head again. "No, I don't have anybody. I was visiting my uncle before the missiles hit. He died trying to get me away..." She started crying, but I rubbed her hand and said, "Hey, no need for tears little Blue. You said that you were visiting him when they hit so your parents could still be alive. Where do they live?" She cried harder and hugged me tightly, "They're in Grand Junction. I want my mommy." I was surprised by her sudden hug but she was so sad I had to hug her back for comfort, "Shh It's all right Scarlett... I can take you to your parents." Her ears perked up and she sniffled, "A-Are you sure? They're so far away." She rubbed her eyes and I nodded, "I'm sure... A little out of my way but who knows, I may find the people I'm looking for." I refused to believe that my family was dead, Jake is smart enough to run during a crisis like this, he could have taken mom and Tess with him and dad might have been too stubborn to leave his home. "I'll take you to Grand Junction." She managed to stop crying and I let her go, "But what about the tribes? They could kill us if they wanted to right? I don't want to die Goliath." I patted her head, "No tribe is going to kill you because I won't let them, don't worry little Blue I can get you home." She nodded and we walked out the door. I kept thinking to myself, 'what am I crazy? I can't let a child slow me down. I have my family to look for and a cure for this whole mess. This little girl is only going to slow me down.' I looked down at her and she had this goofy smile, she had started skipping during our walk like everything in the world was just great. I couldn't believe this child, she was so stupidly happy that I couldn't say no to her now, and I can't abandon her. She's my responsibility now and I have to keep her safe. I had no idea what we would do if her parents weren't alive but we will cross that bridge once we got there. I sighed and mumbled, "What have I gotten myself into?" She looked up at me, "You say something Goliath?" I shook my head and answered, "Oh it was nothing." I kept smiling but she gave me a funny look. We had been walking for a couple days until we made it to the next town, "Are we there yet? I have to go Goliath!" Scarlett had been hanging on my arm since we left this morning, "Then why didn't you go at the rest stop this morning?" I let out a soft growl of agitation and she calmed down a little, "I didn't have to go then." I pinched my forehead and sighed, "Ten minutes and we will be in Silverthorne. Why haven't you just gone in a bush or something?" She looked at me astonished, "Because it's embarrassing, I'm a little girl. I can't just go like guys can." I pointed at a ditch and growled showing my fangs, "Obviously not, just go Blue. It's not that hard. I promise I'll give you privacy." I gestured toward the ditch and turned my back to her, "I swear if you turn around Goliath." I shook my head and waved it off, "You don't have to worry about that." It had taken her five minutes and in that time I had sharpened the knives hidden in my boots, "Okay we can go now." She walked over to me and I climbed to my feet stretching, "You finish a novel over there?" She blushed a little and I laughed, "I'm just teasing you Blue. Let's go, we're almost there." She held my paw as we walked into the boundaries of Silverthorne, it took little damage from the missiles but it still wasn't welcoming. There was smoke coming from the town that obviously showed there was a fire. I kept Blue close and tried to keep away from the smoke. All we needed were some supplies and then we could keep traveling, but that wasn't going to happen. The smoke was only part of the problem, what was really going on was a bandit raid, "We're going to have to go to another town Blue. This is no place for a child." She groaned not even caring about the raid, "But we're so low on food, there's no way we can make it to another town." I tried to lead her away from the town but she kept resisting, "We'll hunt Scarlett, we have to." She didn't like the answer at all as she yanked me back, "I'm starving and I will not eat another snake, or scorpion, or some disgusting rat. I want to eat regular food!" I sighed and looked her in the eyes, she was dead serious, this child would not move until she got what she wanted, "You're killing me Blue. Wait here, and I'll get us some food. Don't talk to anyone, don't accept food from anyone, and don't even look at anyone. Just stay hidden." She hid in a dumpster as I ran off looking for a store, "There has to be food somewhere, come on." I ran past a flower shop where groups of people were being slaughtered by bandits. It wasn't my business, I had to take care of Scarlett and myself but it wasn't right just leaving them there to die, "Damnit!" I ran into the store, the cold steel of my knives chilling the soles of my paws as I walked in, I grabbed a large stone and held it firmly in my fist as I snuck up behind a bandit that was about to kill some children, "Psst, hey Charlie." He turned around and I slammed my fist into his face, he stumbled back and fell to the ground, "Never gets old." I pulled a knife out from my boot and held it in a reverse grip. One of the bandits looked at his bloody friend and back at me with a gun, "This doesn't concern you dog. Just leave and you won't get hurt." I laughed hysterically, "I think this does and you really think that I'm intimidated by your little threats? I'll have you all dead before you could leave a scratch on me." The bandits didn't appreciate my response. "This is where you die mutant dog!" I growled and rushed into the fight. The first bandit had a standard laser gun aimed at me so I ducked his first shot and thrust my knife into his chest, "Here hold this for me." He screamed in pain as I held the knife in his chest and aimed his arm at another bandit, I twisted the knife making him clench his fists shooting a laser right through his comrade, "Thanks man." I kicked him back unsheathing the knife from its target and took a stance ready for the next group of bandits. "Is this the best you have to offer?" I cocked an eyebrow and they all growled at me, "I thought I was supposed to be dead by now according to you grunts. What happened?" I grinned and they all charged me. One was brave enough to charge at me with a knife but I quickly disarmed him and roundhouse kicked my spurs into his head sending him flying into a wall, I stopped spinning and focused in time to see another one with a gun aimed between my eyes. I fell to knee and kicked his legs out from under him before I caught his shirt collar and threw him into his other friend. I grinned and looked at the hostages in an attempt to taunt the last bandit, "Are you not entertained?" The bandit tackled me and tried to shove a knife through my neck. We were now stripped down to a knife and strength as our weapons but I came out on top when I aimed it at his neck and slammed the handle with my free paw. He died instantly and I grabbed his gun before I kicked him off of me. "Everyone, get out of here! Leave town it's not safe." The hostages ran out in frenzy but not before the first bandit I stabbed climbed to his feet with a highly explosive grenade, he was trying to kill me one way or another, "You lost, put it down!" I growled and aimed the gun at him, "You will die here with me mutant mutt. We will rule this country of Shaula." He laughed maniacally as I pulled the trigger but it only clicked. It was out of rounds! He pulled the pin and dropped the explosive as I grabbed a sheet of metal and ran for the door. It beeped a few times before it exploded but not before I jumped and curled up behind the metal shield, it exploded and flung me through the glass shop and into a car. I coughed up some blood and lied on the hood of the car, I took no lethal damage from the explosion luckily but the force really messed me up. I tried to sit up but I yelped in pain as one of my ribs cracked and I coughed up a stream of blood, "Crazy terrorists." I forced myself to sit up. I nearly screamed from the pain but I managed and wiped the blood from my muzzle, "AH!" Another one of my ribs broke and I gripped my chest in pain, "I still need to get the supplies." I grit my teeth and tried to walk again but I fell to my knees, "Damnit!" I held my ribs and growled. Why did I have to be the hero and save those people? I was in so much pain that I didn't notice that one of the hostages that I saved was offering me a hand and a bag of food and supplies. I looked up at her and took her hand, she was a tall black bear with blue eyes and rugged clothes "Take it and feed yourselves. There's also some medicinal salve in there, it's not too strong but it will numb the pain... Thank you for saving me and my little boy." I took the bag and looked at the mother and her cub, "Thank you very much ma'am. But how did you know I was traveling with someone?" She chuckled softly, "No one would be desperate enough to run into the middle of a bandit raid for some food unless they had a young one with them. It's a little girl isn't it?" I nodded and she laughed more, "Well good luck with that and take care." She grabbed her cub and ran off before I got the chance to thank her properly. "You too." I turned and ran back to where I hid Scarlett, "Scarlett. Hey Scarlett! Where are you little Blue?" She popped out of one of the dumpsters, "Right here." She climbed out and ran over to me, "W-What happened Goliath, you look like hell!" I swatted her head and guided her around the boundaries of the city, "Don't use language like that and you would not believe what I had to go through to get you your stupid snacks." I handed her some warm bread as a starter and she ate it hungrily, "Thank you Goliath." I nodded to her, "You have to take care of me tonight, and I was injured in a fight. Just don't ask what happened and help me get that salve on later." Scarlett really enjoyed her food, I had to stop her from eating it all in one day. We needed to ration it so we wouldn't have to make so many stops in cities, who knew what kinds of tribes were there. After the bandit incident raid, we had to avoid cities and sleep in abandoned cars until we found a tent and bed rolls. The walks were longer because of the pain in my broken ribs and the wounds I had from the explosion, Scarlett did a good job with first aid. I showed her how to bandage wounds and she put the salve on me. I healed more quickly thanks to little Blue. The positives of avoiding cities were that we didn't have to deal with tribes, the negatives were that we had to fight twice as many mutated predators as normal and when I say we, I mean I had to kill all of them. Rad roaches, giant scorpions, blood vultures, if you can think of all the animals that are in the wild and were mutated, I killed them all. They made a decent dinner though so we definitely were not short on food, just the food that Blue could stomach. This cycle went on for a while, walk, defend, sleep, walk, defend, and sleep, over and over again until we made it to Grand Junction. "We're here, we're here! Goliath do you really think that my parents are down there?" Scarlett was ecstatic; the mere thought of her parents being alive brought her hope. Which is exactly what all of us need, something to hold on too, "Well, it looks like no missiles hit here so that's definitely a possibility. Sure kiddo, go look for them. I have to look for some things on my own but I'll meet you there in half an hour." She already had a head start on me before I even finished, "Meet me at 9112, Kaus drive." I nodded and waved her off. My ears folded back when she was out of hearing range, 'What if she doesn't find her parents? What then? Will she stay here to fend for herself or am I going to cave in and care for her...' I shook my head violently. I had no room for thoughts like that, I had to focus on looking for a cure and finding my family. I walked through town asking for the nearest research center but all the answers I got were, "No" and "What are you crazy?" I sighed and gave up asking the locals, I would have to find it on my own. I knew there had to be something here, all the rumors I've heard from travelers confirmed it. These people had to be hiding something and I didn't find it until I passed a "No access" sign. The gate had a hole under it so people had to have come here recently. I forced my way through the small fence and started walking towards a small building. I held my 9mm with my finger on the trigger and walked in, "Hello? Is anyone here?" I called out but no one answered. I walked through some corridors, the cold steel of my blades managing to give me chills in this creepy place but in a strange sense the touch felt pleasant. I was feeling the wall for a light switch until I felt the shape of a switch and flicked it on. I watched as the lights glowed to life all through the hall and saw a large metal door at the end of it, "That looks important." I walked towards the door and tried to turn the knob but it wouldn't budge, "Definitely important."

I confidently put my gun in its holster before I grabbed one of my knives along with a pin from my hat and began to pick the lock. Pretty standard lock, I mimicked the shape of the right key with my tools and twisted them activating the tumblers and making the door unlock with a click, "Ha! Never fails." I put my tools away and opened the door only to be looking down the barrel of an unmistakable plasma pistol, "Shit!" I bent backwards avoiding the shot and kicked the gun from its owner's hand. Everything went to pure instincts, I had no control as my instincts clouded my judgment and moved my body for me. I flipped back from my awkward position and slammed my knee into the gunman's stomach before I knocked him to the ground with my elbow. I growled and tried to finish it but his legs wrapped around mine and threw my on my back, he kicked up to his feet and curb stomped my chest knocking the wind out of me. He tried to stomp my head in but I rolled away from him and grabbed the knife I dropped. I climbed up to my feet and took a stance, he predictably charged at me but I was ready for him, he threw a punch that I evaded and slammed my elbow in the back of his head. He was disoriented long enough for me to grab him, swing him around and slam him into the wall. I held him up with my forearm and held my knife to his neck, "I'm just looking for Doctor Richtofen, and if you don't tell me I swear I will spill your blood out here and now." "That's enough!" I turned back to the doorway and aimed my 9mm at the owner of the voice. It was a tall wolf that looked identical to myself, he had my shotgun pointed at me, I wasn't surprised though due to the fight and everything, "I will not have you killing the doctor's assistant." I laughed and aimed the gun at his head, "I don't believe you are in any position to negotiate." The man I had my knife on chuckled, "Oh he doesn't?" He pressed the barrel of his plasma pistol right on my temple; the bastard grabbed his gun while I was down! My head started to clear up as I took control of my instincts, I was in a tight spot and had to do everything these guys said or I would have my brains blown out from both sides, "Now release my friend and put your weapons down." I dropped the gun and knife as I took my arm off the man's chest, "Good dog, now keep your hands up and get on your knees." I growled defiantly and did as the wolf instructed. I had my other knife but it wasn't enough and my instincts can only take me so far before I lose myself. The assistant kicked my gun and knife to the wolf, "I have a few questions for you. What tribe are you from and what are you doing looking around for Doctor Richtofen?" I laughed at him, "You really think I belong to a tribe in this get up? I don't work for anyone but myself and my friend Scarlett but she's harmless and I'm looking for the doc for a cure." He grinned at the same time I did, "Interesting answer, but there is no cure. We are too far back in technology to make one and the tools that we needed were lost with the missiles that destroyed them." My eyes widened at his answer, "There... There's no cure? No, there has to be! Who fires a biological missile with no antidote in case they get infected?" My heart stopped when he answered, "The explosions destroyed the cure. We don't know how to make it." My heart was racing, I just couldn't wrap my mind around it, "What do you mean you can't make it?" My arms were getting tired so they both tied them behind my back, "The only one that knows is Richtofen and she's under so much pressure. She doesn't have the right tools, samples or subjects to test them on." I couldn't believe it; I wasted all this time looking for a cure that doesn't exist and a doctor that can't recreate it, "So there's no hope? We're stuck in a barbaric age of savages that kill their own? We can't go back to how it used to be?" The wolf shook his head, "There are people that are trying to form a government so we can go back to the old ways, but they're trying to force it on us. Not everyone believes it's that easy to go back. We can make the cure but it's going to take time." I sighed and pulled my knife out of my boot, hiding it behind my back, "How long will it take?" I quietly began to cut my ropes, just enough so they were weak enough to pull apart if things got bad, "Couple years, assuming we have no more run ins with hostile tribes and men like you interrupting us. I have one more question for you though." He came closer to me and we glared at each other until I asked, "What?" I held my knife in a firm grip, the assistant that had the pistol aimed at me had finally put it down, I still hadn't gotten a good look at him, "How did you get my family's shotgun?" I was caught off guard by the strange question.

"Your family's shotgun? That belongs to my family." He growled and I held my knife more tightly, "Don't lie to me boy, you stole this from my family. Now what are you doing with it." I growled at him and spit at his feet, "I don't lie, that is Vakarian property. You say I stole that one more time and I'll knock you on your ass." Now it was his turn to be caught off guard, "You said this was your family's and that you were a Vakarian? But, the only Vakarian that can me your age is my..." His eyes widened before he dropped the gun and fell to his knees, "Goliath." My ears perked up when he said my name and hugged me. It took me a while to figure it out; when he let go I looked him in the eyes and asked, "Jake?" He nodded and we both cried, I asked him still crying, "I thought you were dead! When I saw the condition of Castle Rock and when no one was home I thought you were dead!" Jake laughed, "I thought the same thing, I heard what was happening to Denver and thought that you were killed by one of the tribes." I shook my head, "We stayed away from each other. I got sick of running away from them so I decided to look for you. What happened, is mom alright?" He hung his head, "We lost her in the explosion, I tried to get everyone out but mom refused to leave dad and you know our Dad. He didn't believe that the missiles were coming so I grabbed Hayden there and we drove off. We crashed the car when the missile hit and walked for a couple days. We heard about doctor Richtofen and decided that we wanted to help in any way we could, and here we are." Jake hugged me again; nothing more needed to be said. All I cared about was that my brother was alive and I found him. "So who is this Scarlett friend of yours?" My brother asked mockingly and I laughed, "A little girl I picked up when I was home. We came here looking for her parents, I'm supposed to meet her at her house soon." He grinned and untied me. Jake lost it when he saw the cut on the rope and my knife, "Glad I stopped you before you could do anything." I nodded in agreement, "Things could have gotten real bad for both of us." We chuckled and I headed off to meet little Blue, "Sorry our reunion was cut short, but I'll be back later." He waved and I ran to the address that Scarlett had given me, "9112, Kaus Drive. This is where she said she'd be." I walked to the front door and opened it, "Scarlett?" I walked in and shut it behind me, "You here kiddo?" I heard crying from upstairs, "Oh no." I ran up there and saw her on her knees. She was hugging two bodies that I couldn't make out until I got closer. It was a male fox and a female lab; they both had bullet wounds in their chests. A tribe raided the neighborhood and stole everything, they were shot in the process. "Oh Scarlett." I kneeled beside her and held her, "It's going to be alright." I closed my eyes and she cried harder, "How can you say that? I lost both my parents to this stupid apocalypse. I have no one." I rubbed her back feeling her pain, "I can say it because I lost both of mine too. I didn't find out my mother was dead until today so I'm an orphan too." We held on to each other, hearing Scarlett cry this hard breaks my heart. She didn't deserve to find out like this, and her parents didn't deserve to die like they had either, "You do have someone kiddo... You have me." She looked up at me, "I do?" I nodded and looked back at her, "Of course. I promised I would take care of you no matter what didn't I?" She nodded, "That's my Blue. We will find the people that killed them I promised. Now is there anything your parents told you to do if anything bad happened to them?" She rubbed her eyes and nodded, "They said come home and look behind the family crest in my room." We walked into her room and found the painting of her family's crest, I lifted it off but there was nothing there. Scarlett looked crushed, "There's nothing there." I knocked on the dry wall, "Hold on kiddo they would have to be smart and hide it better than that." I knocked on it until I found a hollow point, "Here it is." I punched right through the wall and felt around the hidden pocket. My finger tips touched what felt like an old parchment letter and a box, I lifted them out and handed the items to Blue, "The letter is meant for you." She looked at the letter first; it had a wax seal with the crest on it. Scarlett opened it and read it out loud, "Our dear sweet angel. If you are reading this then it means we are gone. We're sorry we couldn't tell you this before we passed but this was the best we could do. We are heartbroken that we won't get to see you grow up and mature into a wonderful woman, we are proud of you sweetheart and there is no other being on this world that we love more than you, you're our sweet angelus. We're so sorry we aren't there to protect and take care of you but you will be living with your godparents, we know it's hard to accept, but give them a chance they love you too. We've left some things for you in the box you've found, they are very special to us and we preferred to hand it to you this way instead of some stranger if we passed. We love you angelus, and always will." She held onto the letter and looked in the small box, she pulled out a locket with her crest on it. I have to say though, her crest is beautiful. It's a spade with a wreath around it along with a dove on it. The necklace locket was silver and the crest was in gold, the back of the locket read, "Don't tread on me." It took all her emotional strength to open that locket to see the inside, there was a picture of her parents holding each other and smiling in there. She admired the locket for some time and finally put it around her neck, the next thing she pulled out was a picture of her with them when she was really little, they looked like they were having a great time. Tears started rolling down her cheeks when she tucked the picture inside the envelope along with the letter. There were some baby toys and clothes that must have been hers in the box, her parents wanted to save that memory of her. Her tears fell into the box when she looked at all her baby things, she closed the box leaving her baby things in there and hugged me again, "Thank you for everything Goliath." I smiled down at her, "You're welcome sweetheart. We should give your parents a proper sendoff, come on." She nodded and took the box along with us before we collected her parents and started the ceremony. I had dug a hole in her back yard and filled it with flowers, I set her parents on them and closed their eyes making them hold each others hands. She set the box in between them and I had them hold a flower along with a wreath over her mother's head, I began burying them and hammered an old cross as their headstone. I tried to make it as genuine as possible so Scarlett would feel better; I sang an old song that my mother taught me. I sang Amazing Grace to send them off, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now I see." I sang the whole song for her and she held my paw. When I was finished I asked Scarlett, "Would you like to say anything on their behalf?" She shook her head, "They already know..." I nodded respecting it and she kissed the picture she had of the three of them before she set it on their grave, "They'd appreciate it Blue." She wiped the tears away from her eyes as we walked back to the lab. I couldn't believe how much she had matured in that short amount of time, she used to be so innocent to everything but now she was exposed to so much, she's accepted her parents death and she walked differently, in a way that said she was fierce and she would do anything to keep on living. I smiled as we walked into the center, Hayden and Jake waved at Scarlett and I. I finally got a good look at Hayden, he was a tall brown bear with large muscles and a tough looking exterior, and it's amazing that I managed to swing him into a wall. "So this must be Scarlett." Hayden had asked and I nodded to him, "Yes, we just got through with her parents burial..." I looked down at her to see if she was all right and Scarlett looked up at me and mouthed, "It's fine." I smiled and looked back at Jake, "Are you looking for any help on this cure?" His ears perked up when he looked at me, "We could use all the help we can get. It will take some time but doc is sure we can make it." He walked us to see the doctor, she was wearing a hazmat suit and was the only full human I had seen in a long time. Scarlett's tail went wild when she saw her, she cried out to the doctor, "Biate!" She ran to her and the doc answered with a heavy Russian accent, "Scarlett, it's so good to see you child." They hugged each other and I couldn't help but ask from my confusion and curiosity, "You two know each other?" Doctor Richtofen nodded, "Yes, her mother was my best friend. I was Scarlett's babysitter until I became a scientist." She looked at Blue's new locket, "I'm sorry about your loss child." She hugged her." but Scarlett shook her head, "It's alright, I have Goliath now." She pointed at me and I waved, "I see, well mister Vakarian you and your brother better take care of this girl." I nodded, "With my life ma'am." She smiled through her helmet, "Good answer, now what can I do for you Vakarian?" I looked at her and answered, "I would like to help out with finding your cure." She set Scarlett down and patted my shoulder, "Excellent, let's get started then..."

This was a lot of fun to write, my favorite character was Scarlett because she was inspired by my neice, the same one who broke my computer. Hope you enjoyed it and God Bless Jessica, pray for whoever else he's hurt and kidnapped and the children that are unfortunate to be near him.