FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

The sound of papers being thrown around filled the air as Terrow yanked another drawer free of its rest in the cabinet. A wooden thud echoed throughout the room as the drawer slammed into the ground. Immediately, Terrow got to his knees and dove into it, throwing papers this way and that after quickly skimming them. After some quick reading, he tossed that batch of papers and hung his head, as he stared at the carpeted floor.

The otter shivered slightly. The room he was in was both dark and cold, but that was to be expected when one was rummaging through a tall office building that had been abandoned for years. It was near dusk outside as well, in the middle of fall, and that didn't help to improve his situation. Neither did the fact that he chose to wear simple black jeans and a black tank, although it did accentuate his snow white fur quite nicely. He could have blended into a snow storm except for a few odd patches on his fur. The fur of his right paw was as black as night and made him appear to be wearing a glove. His left ear was just as black with thin wispy patches of gradually fading color that extended from his ear and surrounded almost his entire left eye, fading back to white before reaching the nasal bone.

After a day or two of searching, Terrow was beginning to become a bit depressed that he was still without any reward for all his effort. Still, he had to remain resolute, so he pulled out another drawer and began searching once more.

The otter was so focused in his task; it took him quite a while to notice the smell of tobacco that was slowly filling the room. As soon as he did though, his heart started to pound at full speed. In one fluid motion, Terrow reached down with his right hand and grabbed the handgun that was attached to his belt, while at the same time putting one foot on the ground, and spinning on his heel to face where he thought the smell was coming from.

The otter grimaced as he looked up toward the source of the smell. It was a large cigar and it held quite a heavy scent now that Terrow was focused on it. However, it wasn't the cigar that made him grimace, nor the smell. In fact, Terrow quite enjoyed the smell of tobacco usually. This time he could find no pleasure in the aroma, for holding the cigar in his hand, just removing it from his mouth as he puffed out some smoke, was a black panther that Terrow had never seen before.

The panther grinned. He was well dressed, standing there in a pale-grey suit, one hand in his pocket with the thumb out and the other holding the cigar. His ebony fur looked to be incredibly smooth and well groomed and he had a completely poised and confident look upon his face. The sight of a gun being pointed at him as the otter got to his feet didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Ah, Terrow. I've finally found you. You're quite a slippery sea rat."

Terrow held his stance. His eyes narrowed into a glare as they locked onto the smug looking feline that stood in front of him. Directly behind the panther was the long broken office window. Terrow was sure that one good shot from his gun from this distance, only a couple feet, would be enough to send the panther through the window and down several stories to the hard ground below. He knew he should have pulled the trigger as soon as the shadowy prowler uttered his name. Curiosity got the better of him.

"Who are you?" asked Terrow. "I don't remember a panther being the one that is stalking me."

The panther chuckled lightly and took another puff of his cigar before blowing more smoke, this time directly into Terrow's face.

"My name is Marchitas Luna Rosales. You can call me Marc, if that is your wish."

He took another breath and blew out a bit more smoke. The air in the room was becoming saturated with the smell of tobacco.

"You're quite right Mr... Falswind, I believe that's your last name? It is not I that has been following you. To be honest, in the grand scheme of things, you were nothing much worth dealing with- just another lucky lab rat that managed to escape its cage. It is an oddity though. I've read over the files, you see. You've managed to elude one of our most dedicated trackers for a year. You must know that there is a reason that nobody enters the cities anymore."

"Of course," Terrow responded through gritted teeth. "The big cities are huge hubs of energy left from the eruption. Those who enter the cities without protection will quickly succumb to exposure."

"Yes, that's the reason most people do not enter the cities. However, there is another reason that people like you should be aware of. Since you have been running from us for a while, I'm sure you know of the kind of technology that is in our possession. That's why I'm quite puzzled Mr. Falswind. If you know of what we are capable of, it seems foolish of you to enter this place.

"You see, Mr. Falswind, the people I work for have spent many years researching what is now known as the R.E.F. or Residual Eruption Force. We have been able to tap into it and measure it. For places like this, that are high in R.E.F., one would think that it would be hard for us to find anything. That isn't the case though. You see, R.E.F. reacts differently when it is around different living things. For normal beings, it presses upon them, like a pressure, sorta like water crushing down and submerging an individual. It suffocates them, drowns them in an energy that their bodies simply can't handle.

"That is one way it reacts. However, there are beings that it reacts to quite differently. Around these beings, the energy swells and spikes around the individual. Sometimes it appears to be dancing, as if it is excited that the individual has entered its presence. Do know what these beings are Mr. Falswind?"

Terrow moved to pull the trigger and kill Marchitas but the gun wouldn't fire. He pulled out the twin handgun that was attached to his other hip. Again, the gun refused to fire.

Marchitas grinned and flicked his long tail in a confident motion as he puffed on his cigar once more.

"We like to usually call those beings gate keepers. You might be more familiar with the term locksmith. It doesn't matter what you call them, they refer to the same beings. They are the beings that have managed to not suffer from the eruption, rather they embraced it. They made the energy a part of them to be used how they see fit. You are one of those beings, are you not Terrow? That is why you have been chased for so long."

Once more the otter attempted to fire his gun. This time he was shocked when he discovered that it wasn't that his gun wouldn't work, it was that his fingers refused to pull the trigger, no matter how much he willed them too.

Marchitas flashed his teeth when he noticed the otter enter into a state of disbelief.

"Are you wondering Mr. Falswind, why you still haven't killed me?"

He walked closer, walking right past Terrow's guns and between his outstretched arms. He walked right up until his face was mere inches away from Terrow, exhaling the smell of tobacco as he spoke.

"It is because I told you not to Mr. Falswind. I told you not to kill me long before you ever noticed I was ever in the room. I also told you that you could not run away from me."

He leaned in close and gave the otter's ear a lick to show just how confident he was. He knew the act had worked when he heard the otter's breathing begin to become unstable out of fear. He kept close to his ear and whispered, "You see, Terrow, I'm a gate user too."

Terrow's eyes closed as he lowered his arms and let them fall limp at his sides. It was pointless trying to act like he could win now. Marchitas was right. He discovered that he could not move his legs or even will his body to push the panther back. Instead, he just stood there, somehow bound to comply with the feline's will.

"The tobacco..."

"Very good Terrow," responded Marchitas as he stepped back from the now broken looking otter. He walked to the shattered window and held his hands behind his back as he gazed over the landscape.

The city looked ruined, and in a total state of decay. Only fifteen years had passed since the eruption and yet the world had changed so much. The places that were once full of people and the hubs of ever evolving technology were now nothing more than skeletons that time, along with R.E.F., was quickly eroding away into dust. Some places already looked as if they had been abandoned for well over a hundred years. The sun was beginning to set and it cast an eerie light as the large skyscrapers and office buildings broke up the quickly dwindling light. Soon enough, night would arrive and the light would vanish from the world.

"I'm wondering something else though, Mr. Rosales, spoke the otter through staggered breath.

"And what's that?" asked Marchitas without turning his attention away from the city landscape.

"Why haven't you killed me yet? If you planned to take me back, there would be no point in toying with me for this long. I'm sure your superiors would want you to get me back as soon as-" He paused and sighed, cursing himself for not figuring it out sooner. "They don't even know either of us are here, do they?"

"They know I am here, for what they think is routine patrol to measure the energies around this area. As far as I know, they do not know that you are here Mr. Falswind. At this point, I'm not even sure they still care."

"Then why ?"

Marchitas sighed and turned to face the otter.

"Because Mr. Falswind. Something exists in this particular city, in this particular district. I have been keeping my eyes on this city for quite some time now but I don't have time to or the wit to convince my superiors to let me look for something here without them knowing. After watching your movements for the past few days, I am convinced that you are close to discovering it."

"If that's true, then why stop me now? Wouldn't it have been easier to wait until I actually found it? Then you could just kill me and take it for yourself."

"There lies the problem," groaned the panther, now looking a bit bothered. "I don't believe it is something I can just take from you. I don't even really know what 'it' is. I have come to the conclusion though, that is not a physical object. It is knowledge. So tell me Terrow, what is it that you are looking for?"

The otter attempted to move his legs again. Still no go. Against his will, he found himself responding to Marchitas' question.

"I don't know."

"Excuse me?" questioned feline, now turning around. He took another deep breath from his cigar and walked back up to puff more smoke into the otter's nostrils.

"Tell me now, Mr. Falswind. What are you looking for?"

The otter began to chuckle ever so slightly as he looked into the panther's eyes.

"I don't know."

"What? Tell me what you are looking for. I demand you tell me Mr. Falswind!"

"All I can tell you is that I am looking for the truth, Mr. Rosales."

He began to laugh softy but openly now as he stood there almost paralyzed.

"Oh man, you go through that entire speech, you stalk me for days. You somehow have this power to make people do what you want, and I can't give you an answer you want. The look on your face right now... it's almost worth dying for. You were hoping to get all your answers from some random passerby?"

A large paw came and swiped Terrow across the left side of his face, leaving long scratch marks that were dripping blood.

Still, the otter couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why are you laughing Mr. Falswind? Perhaps the air in this room is getting to you. Why don't you walk over to the edge of that window and you get some fresh air?"

Still chuckling and unable to control his body, Terrow did what he was told. He walked over to the edge of the broken window and stared outside as the cold night air greeted him.

"Would you like to know how my ability works, Mr. Falswind? Since the eruption, I have found that my voice has become somewhat... intoxicating to those around me. I can persuade others to do something and even have them believe that it was their own decision, just I as instructed you to ignore my presence until I wanted you to be aware. It has something to do with how the sound mixes with the air that leaves my body. To be honest, I don't fully understand how it works. I have found that if I use something else, like tobacco for example, I can make others become even more compliant to my will by the sound of my voice. Perhaps the smoke reacts differently to the vibrations of my voice, maybe it's the natural relaxing properties. Maybe it has nothing to do with the tobacco at all and just by me feeling more in control and relaxed, I am better able to persuade others. Whatever the case may be, I want you to realize something Mr. Falswind. At this moment, you are under my complete control."

Terrow felt the panther's paw wrap around his neck, causing him to gag, and then throw him back against the floor of the office room.

"I could kill you anytime I wanted. I could make you walk out that window. I could make you put your gun in your mouth and pull the trigger. If I wanted to, I could make you gouge out your own eyes or bite off your own tongue."

Coughing a bit, the otter grinned slightly as he looked up at the panther standing above him.

"What's wrong Marc? You seemed so confident earlier. You turn into a desperate pussy real fast when you don't get what you want, huh?"

A mighty kick was delivered to the otter's chest, causing an audible snap as a rib was cracked.

"One more time Mr. Falswind. What are you looking for?"

"Salvation," was the answer the otter gave as his held his gun against his chest, trying to put some pressure on his rib.

Marchitas cracked his neck, a scowl on his face.

"Salvation..." he spat at Terrow with disgust. I had hoped otherwise, but it's obvious now that you're of no use to me. I can't take you back since I should have reported that I found you here days ago. Therefore, I shall end your search for salvation. I will even do you a favor. I will kill you with your own gun."

With a look of resentment, Marchitas stomped down on Terrow's arm, eliciting a yelp of pain from his captive. Crouching down, Marchitas pried open the otter's right hand and took the handgun from his grasp. He couldn't help but examine the gun. It was eggshell white with gold plating that curved like a serpent from the barrel of the gun and ended in multiple swirls as it reached the grip.

"Good bye, Mr. Falswind."

Terrow locked his eyes on the panther, unyielding to his gaze and refusing to give the feline the satisfaction of seeing him die in fear. He knew he was beat, he knew there was a very high chance that his life would end the moment he had entered the city. That is why he was stunned when Marchitas dropped the gun to the ground and even more amazed when, without warning, the panther also hit the ground a few seconds later.

Before Terrow could even begin to understand what had just happed, something was quickly being placed on his nose and mouth and wrapped around his head. His body was feeling very weak but once the item had been placed, he pulled down the mouth part and turned to see somebody new.

It was a wolf and she quickly put the mouth piece back on Terrow's face. He realized it was a medical mask and the wolf was wearing one too. She was dressed in tight clothing that was a dark shade of blue. The otter was feeling quite groggy from the all the tobacco and his mind was still a bit rattled so he wasn't able to make out the style of clothing. It seemed familiar but still quite odd and out of place. The wolf's fur was the color of ash, underneath looked be a strong but lean muscular frame. Her eyes appeared to show kindness but were very stern.

"I am a friend," whispered the wolf. "Forgive me, but we do not have much time before the other one shows up. We have to move now."

The new face noticed the otter's guns and holstered them back into his belt before lifting him over her shoulder.

"I would keep up with your guns. Now, it is important that you stay awake. Breathe deep now and the mask will filter the air for you. This is not over yet"

Carrying the otter on her shoulder, the wolf began to move.

"Mm.." groaned Terrow. His head was throbbing. "Who are-"

A thunderous roar interrupted Terrow's question. It was so loud that the building seemed to shake and Terrow could feel his insides vibrate.

"Shit. He's here," cursed the wolf as she started into a full sprint, the otter still slung over her shoulder.

The otter's head swirled with dizzying confusion. The past few minutes had become a complete blur to him. One moment he was looking through some papers, next he was on the floor about to die, and now he was being carried somewhere by a wolf he did not know and there was apparently something else coming after them.

The wolf had quickly yanked open the door to the stair well and slammed it shut behind her before placing Terrow onto the floor.

"Shit," she cursed quietly. "I didn't expect him to respond so quickly.

"Who's responding..? And who are you?" groggily questioned Terrow as he held his head.

The wolf stared at Terrow. Her eyes were a mixture of both mercy and desperation, a maelstrom of emotion.

"On your feet otter. You may not be fully recovered yet but we don't have time for you to rest. He will be here soon."

Staggering to his feet, the otter used the wall to steady himself before pulling out his guns. He grimaced for the movement caused his ribs to ache in pain.

"What is going on?"

Another deafening roar shook the building.

The wolf sighed.

"He's called Corona. He's responsible for the deaths of many, many people. All those who have tried to fight him have died horribly. It's said that nobody has ever been able to lay a single scratch on him. He usually accompanies that vile panther. The two of them can take down an entire city easy if given enough time..."

"And now we have to somehow fight this guy right?"

The wolf closed her eyes for a moment.

"Not quite. If we fight, then we will have no chance in ever beating him. Not with just the two of us. We may be able to hold him off long enough to escape though. Running is really the only option when dealing with that thing."

"Thing? Just what is this Corona?"

The roar thundered through the air once more, shattering the glass in the room just outside the stairwell.

"Get down the stairs now!" shouted the wolf in fear.

It was too late.

The wolf gasped in shock. Her eyes grew wide. Her hair stood on end.

The door flew off the wall, nearly taking the wolf with it. Before she could even turn around, a huge, blue, scaly hand was wrapped around her throat.

A low grumble could be heard from the other side of the wall.

The wolf's neck started to tighten and she strained to breathe as the claws gripped around her larynx.

"I found you at last Cheyenne," spoke the creature with a low rumble. It was a heavy and powerful male voice. It was a rolling thunder, deafening and inescapable

The wolf's eyes started to flutter as she grasped at the claw and tried to kick away but the claw just held her higher off the ground.

"It's been so long Cheyenne, I've missed you. You can't die just yet. You're too important..."

She was dropped to the floor, where she fell onto her hands and knees, trying to gather air in gasping breath. She didn't have much rest before a scaly blue foot slammed into her side, sending her clear across the stairwell and into the opposite wall, where she fell to the ground in a heap.

The creature stepped forward through the doorway at last. It was a blue reptile like creature, very muscular with a broad bare chest and obviously male. He wore body tight pants that extended from his waist to his mid calves, allowing for his massively powerful foot claws to be free and open. The neck of the beast was thick and full of muscle like the rest of the creature. His head was that of an apex predator. His eyes were sunken into his scale armored skull for protection. As the creature spoke, large and sharp teeth would flash within those powerful jaws that could snap bones with minimal effort. While most of the creature's scales were a shade of aquamarine, his chest was a shade of silver-white, as well were the raised spikes that extended from the top of the creature's spinal column to halfway down his thick tail.

As the creature finished crossing the threshold, Terrow's eyes widened. There was even more to this creature.

Two massive wings began to fold down behind the creature's back.

Terrow gulped.

"Sky shark..."

"Hm?" spoke the creature, just now turning his attention to the otter that was slumped against the corner wall. "Well now, seems Cheyenne made a friend. You must be the one that Marchitas was following. Stay there. I'll be with you in after I finish with her."

Terrow immediately pointed both his guns as the creature. He swallowed hard. He was still in no condition to fight but he couldn't just let the wolf that saved his life die with him doing nothing.

"You're Coronas right?" asked Terrow, his voice a bit shaky but somewhat firm.

"Yeah, that's me. What are you gonna do with those?" asked the creature with a grin.

"Leave her alone then. You're with Rosales, and Rosales came for me, right? I'll go with you, just don't hurt that wolf anymore."

Coranas cracked his neck and gave Terrow a bored look, devoid of any concern.

"I'll pass on that offer. You're a null class gatekeeper and those guns of yours are beyond useless. Let me show you."

He walked toward the otter, his massive tail swaying back and forth with power as he did so.

It wasn't until he had approached Terrow, that he realized just how big Coranas actually was. He had to be at least eight feet tall and all that muscle just made him look even bigger. Compared to Terrow's lightweight 5'7 frame, Coranas was like a cannonball to a pebble.

Coranas stepped forward so that the guns were pressed against his hard belly. This was the second time today that somebody had willing put himself in the way of the otter's guns.

Terrow began to duck away but Coronas grabbed one of the otter's paws with his massive claws, gripping it tightly and causing Terrow to groan in pain as he forced the otter to keep the gun pointed against his belly.

"The term you used earlier- sky shark. It's been a very a long time since I've heard that term. I am a dragon, and a very rare breed."

Coronas squeezed Terrow's hand, slowly with force until finally the otter's finger was forced to squeeze the trigger, causing the gun to fire.

"Fuck!" gasped Terrow from both the squeezing grip and the close impact shot.

The dragon pulled Terrow's paw and the gun away from his belly.

The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion for Terrow. As the gun pulled away, he saw something begin to slip and fall from the other side of the gun. A flattened piece of metal fell to the ground with a clink. There was no blood, not even a scratch from where the bullet had impacted. The only evidence that there had been any shot at all was a small ring of dust on the dragon's belly.

"Understand now? You can't do a thing to me." With that, Coronas again turned his attention to the near incapacitated wolf.

Terrow stared down at the ground, he felt utterly defeated.

"Please tell me... why have you come for her?"

"Why? Why do you care?" asked Coronas. "We know that you have been travelling alone before today. What do you care about somebody like her?"

"Because she saved my life. I need to know if her's is a life worth saving as well."

Coronas grinned slightly. "You want to save this bitch? You can't even scratch me with those guns of yours. What the fuck can you do?"

The dragon flicked his tail back and forth and thought for a moment.

"Alright, you've amused me with that cocky messiah-like attitude of yours, so I'll amuse you as well. Cheyenne thinks she can change the world. She's very adept at learning hard to find information and causing mischief. You don't need to worry though. We're not going kill her. She's far more useful to us alive. You both are."

"I see. This mischief of hers... has it caused trouble for you and the people you work for?"

"Oh yes, Cheyenne is a real pain in the ass. I plan to be there when they torture the information out of her."

"I see," spoke the otter. "I suppose that's all the information I need."

"What the fuck... my head is killing me"

Marchitas was just beginning to wake up and get to his feet. He staggered around and put his hands on a desk to stable himself. He felt sick, like had spent the whole night drinking and was waking up with a hangover the next day.

He whipped his head to the side when he heard the mighty roar of Coronas. He was just in time to see the walls splinter as the dragon was blown backward by an enormous gust of air that continued to send the overgrown lizard through a glass window and clear out the building. Marchitas had to crouch behind a desk to narrowly avoid being decapitated by a chair as the gale whipped itself through the floor of the building.

"What the fuck is going on?!" shouted the panther as he watched Coronas finally come to a stop as he slammed into the cement wall of the adjacent building. He could barely even hear himself scream as the roaring gale stampeded through the area.

Cheyenne thought she must have already passed out and be in a dream. She couldn't believe her eyes. Where did that wind come from? It had been powerful enough to actually blow the behemoth Coronas away like he was a leaf!

Then she saw Terrow panting heavily. His shirt and pants had been torn to shreds by the force but were still intact. As he turned to face her, she noticed a marking on his left side. His fur was black in the shape of a sun, about five inches in diameter and situated about three inches above his waist. Tendril rays extended outward from it and extending as much as half a foot in all directions. They didn't extend straight, but twisted and coiled in random directions, like vines across the ground. But almost instantly, the black tendrils began to fade away back to the snow white fur until only the sun marking remained black with the tendrils only extending about half an inch outward from it.

Cheyenne began to rise to her feet, the shock of the moment, making her forget just how much pain she was in.

"Just who and what are you," questioned Cheyenne. "There's no way in hell you're a null class! Why didn't you do that that earlier?"

Still recovering his breath, Terrow struggled down the stairs until he caught up with the wolf and put her arm over his shoulder to help her remain stable.

"My name is Terrow Falswind. We need to help each other get out of here for now. That wouldn't have killed that sky shark. Once we get to a safe point, we can fill each other in. I have my own questions, but unless we can get out of here- it's not gonna matter what we tell each other if we're dead.

Cheyenne nodded in agreement.

"If we can get to the lower level and out to the lake, there's a hidden tunnel we can take out of the city."

"Can you fight?" asked Terrow.

"That beast caught me off guard. Don't worry, it won't happen again. Next time, I'll block anything he throws at us."

"Right," answered Terrow as he began to help the wolf down the stairs. "Let's get moving."