FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

"Would you hurry up? We're going to be late if you don't pick up the pace," gasped a very large, very upset brown bear that was exiting an old red pickup truck. Still sitting in the passenger seat was a scruffy looking tiger that was busy fumbling around with the seatbelt. The two had just driven over an hour in the summer heat with no air condition so it was safe to assume that they were both a little hot under the collar.

"I'm going as fast as I can! I think there's something wrong with your truck." With a large tug, the tiger finally freed himself from the seat, jumped out of the pickup truck and ran over to meet the ursine that had already made his way to a large tent. The two friends walked up to the entrance together bickering about the truck. They had probably had this conversation a hundred times, but they never seemed to get tired of discussing it. "I told you not to buy the cheap thing from that warthog; I mean who buys a truck on FurBay anyway?"

The bear growled back, "Would you shut up about that already? It runs good and that's all that matters besides, it got us here in one peace didn't it?" Without waiting for the tiger to respond the bear made his way up to the table that was placed in front of the entrance. The opening of the tent was simply a large flap that was just barely open enough for those on the outside to catch glimpses of the inside. The table that was separating the two from the tent looked old and worn from use, like it had been hauled all around the world. The cheetah that was sitting behind it looked up at the two furs and smiled a wide toothy grin.

"Good evening gentlemen, may I be of assistance?" The feline had a thick foreign accent and was heavily built like he was from some far away country. He was dressed in an elaborate coat with gold embroidered down the sleeves. To sum it up, he looked like a ring leader in a circus. The tiger eyed his getup and wondered how he could possibly be wearing all those cloths in the heat. His observations were cut short by his bear friend.

"Yeah, my names Jake and this is my bud Rex," said the bear who pointed to his feline companion. When the cheetah raised an eyebrow at the tiger the bear shrugged his shoulders and the tiger piped up, "What can I say? My parents had a weird sense of humor." The ringmaster looked the two over a few times and glanced down at a clipboard in front of him.

"Oh yes, you must be our two lucky winners!" The cheetah was referring to a game show that was played on the radio two days ago. The radio host played a clip from an old western movie and asked the audience to call in with the correct title. Jake knew the movie by heart and called in. The host on the radio gave him two tickets to "The Transforming Circus" and an address that led into a field just outside a small town. Being on such short notice Jake's only option was to bring along his best friend Rex.

The cheetah smiled again and motioned towards the tent flap. "Please step right in; I hope you both have a wonderful time here, and don't worry my friend, we have a weird sense of humor around here as well." As the pair walked inside Rex noticed a glint in the other feline's eye which left him with an unpleasant feeling in his gut. Shaking his head he jogged to keep up with his friend. After the cheetah was positive that the newcomers were out of hearing range, he picked up a walkie-talkie from the desk and clicked the call out button. "Our two guests have just arrived. Make sure everything is prepared for their special tour." The grin on his face would have sent chills down Jake and Rex's spines, if they had seen it that is.

"Wow." Both Jake and Rex said in unison. The inside of the tent looked as large as a football field and was filled with several strange acts and wonders. There were traipse artists who swung from the rooftop, bearded females who's facial hair stretched down to the ground, and contortionists who were wrapped into pretzels. There were even feral animals that were inside cages being trained. Jake and Rex walked down the tent looking from act to act and wondered to themselves how these furs were doing what they were doing. It seemed like they had every act you could think of, and several that never would have crossed a normal person's mind. This carnival was a picture perfect version of what everyone thinks carnivals look like. The smell of cotton candy and corndogs filled the air as well as other foods that were never meant to be fried.

The pair continued through the carnival marveling at each attraction until they reached the end of the tent. When they turned around they found themselves staring into the sinister grin of the ringleader. "I'm sorry to bother you both, but it appears that there has been some sort of mistake." Seeing the confused looks on both of their faces he continued, "You see, it has come to our attention that the game show on the radio may have been rigged. I'm sure that it has nothing to do with you two, however we feel it necessary to revoke the free tickets that were given out to the winners. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to pay the whole price for both tickets."

"What!?" Jake and Rex questioned at the same time. "You want us to pay for the tickets that you already gave us? What kind of rip-off is this?" The ringmaster's smile faded into a deep frown that made him look very threatening. Jake met the cheetah's gaze and held it for a tense couple of seconds. Neither one of them looked willing to back down, or even bat an eyelash. After a small amount of time passed, the cheetah blinked and smiled again.

A calmly as he could, the cheetah said, "If you are not willing to pay for our show, you will simply have to work off your debt." The two friends watched in confusion at the cheetah clapped his hands together. Before either Rex or Jake could question what he was talking about they were grasped from behind by two very large, very strong rhinos. This took both Rex and Jake by surprise, as well as knocking the air out of them. The rhino's grips were unbelievably tight and Jake began to think that these two were a part of the strongman group they were watching earlier. He recalled seeing them lift a giant weight that had 1 TON written on the side of it. If that was true then there was no way that he or Rex was going to be able to get out of this mess.

No matter how much they wiggled or strained to get loose, Rex and Jake couldn't shake their captors off. At one point Rex even resorted to biting at the rhino's hands; however the only good that that caused was the large brute to shake him violently. After Rex stopped seeing stars circle around his head he began to make out words that the ringmaster was saying. "Now gentlemen, you will find out why we call this 'The Transforming Circus.' I hope you two enjoy your backstage tour." With that, the cheetah turned around and walked towards the center of the tent, still laughing as Jake and Rex were dragged behind him, struggling all the way.