FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The first thing anyone noticed at Howl's gym, was the smell. The bitter foul stench of sweat and blood. This wasn't just a gym, it was a training ground. The bass poured through the large speakers, flooding veins with emotion and power. Deep beats and stories of hard living spoke to the men as they fought.

Hym's fists pounded at the bag over and over, his thoughts and fears coming out with each swing as the alcohol beaded out with his sweat. The dalmatian on the other side of the bag was having a tough time holding onto it.

"Damn Hym! You're really hitting it today! Shit dude!" the dalmation said in his thick English accent.

The sweat scattered from Hym's orange fur against the ground with each rolling shoulder throwing his full weight into each firm jab again and again. He wasn't just hitting the bag, this was too personal for that and it showed.

"Hym! Take a break!" called the white tiger drawing closer in those shiny black leather shoes of his. "I think you've punished that bag enough for today," he added with a grin. The dalmatian trainer sighed in relief, giving the tiger a thankful nod of relief.

Hym sneered, inhaled deeply through his flared nostrils and blew it out again in a huffing spray before landing one more, much strained, hit to the worn bag causing the dalmation to reel back and nearly fall over. Hym relaxed with a deep breath and gave his trainer a little nod before throwing a towel over his sweat covered fur.

"I have something for you my fox friend," grinned those brilliant white tiger teeth, bleached with blood and that was no secret. "There's a little group getting together tonight. Some friends of mine. I think it'll be good for you." The tiger gave a nod to the worn out bag followed by a wicked grin to the worn out trainer, but the dalmatian knew his place and quickly walked away with a solemn bow. He knew better than to listen in on this sort of thing.

"What's the job?" Hym asked clearing the sweat from his face. His large damp chest heaving slightly with each breath.

"I can't say just yet." The tiger's friendly face turned to deep concern. "I haven't chosen my team. I simply can't decide, so I'm having auditions."

"Auditions?" asked Hym with some confusion.

Those gorgeous pale blue eyes laughed a little and the tiger paused for a chance to think of a witty reply.

"Let's just say that I'd rather not take any chances with this one. Dorgand Station. South Platform. Usual time. Don't be late, or you'll miss the train."

Hym would be early.

^^

2:34 AM, Dorgand Station.

A dozen figures, a mix of rough and fresh faces, stood there on the platform. Some Hym recognized from the gym, some he didn't. In the dim, flickering light it was difficult to determine exactly how many were competing, by it didn't matter to Hym, he was going to win. He needed the job, not for the money, but to prove to himself that he hadn't reached the bottom of the bottle just yet.

"Alright boys," barked a hardened, tough looking bull, his left eye covered in a black patch. "This is underground, so you know what that means. First four to the next station win. The rest...fuck the rest."

The runners looked around the platform. If it hadn't been clear before, it was now. This was to the death. A few of the men were uncertain about what they'd gotten themselves into, but all of them knew it was too late to turn back.

A puma stood behind them, hand stuffed into his jacket as he looked up and down the worried group. He would see to it that they understood the only way out of this station for them was to jump onto those tracks. Hym's heart pounded in his in his chest, his fear turning into a fiery adrenaline.

"When this train leaves, you follow the tracks and be quick about it," said the bull. His scared features devoid of remorse.

He carefully watched as the train pulled into the station. It slowed, the brakes screeching and crying out with metal on metal, but it did not stop. The brakes released and it was swiftly moving again. It was just starting to leave when the bull cried out...

"Go!"

The runners poured over the platform onto the tracks and began to run for their lives. Hym took a position towards the side early on and avoided the others, but he could still hear fights behind him as some tried to thin the competition.

A loud scream and a flash of light bouncing off the tunnel walls told him that someone had hit the third rail, or had been thrown against it, but Hym just kept running. He was too worried about his own life to think about anyone else.

Worrying about anything else would just get him killed so Hym just tried to keep his pace. Despite the ache in his chest and buring in his legs, Hym knew had to stay ahead of the others. If enough men passed him, Hym would never catch up in time. If they tried to fight, it would be a different story.

A leopard leapt past him and dove ahead, running at full speed. Hym watched the guy for a moment before a young feline caught up to him and slammed against into his side. The larger fox threw an arm over the feline's shoulders and with his other fist he gave the cat a firm reminder to the side of the stomach not to mess with guys twice his size and the feline went down coughing while Hym barely lost his rhythm.

The darkness of the tunnel suddenly erupted into a flash of oncoming lights as another train began rounding the corner ahead.

"Fuck," Hym whispered to himself and took a moment to turn his head back and look around. Now he could see the full compliment of men coming at him. Some bloodied, some angry, all scared, but the feline still on the ground coughing.

Hym stopped in his tracks and dove towards the other runner. He hefted the guy up by the arm. The feline was light and easy for Hym to carry, but the train was coming and it would easily kill anyone left in that narrow tunnel. The fox quickly looked around at the walls. He spotted a small doorway on the wall as the light poured over it. Hym bolted towards it without hesitation, feline in tow.

A couple of the other runners ran past. They were either using this chance to get ahead, or were too blinded by their own fear to notice the oncoming danger. Hym didn't care if he was falling behind, he was more concerned about just staying alive and wasn't interested in causing someone's death either. He pushed the black and white cat into the doorframe and squeezed in beside him.

Hym tested the door, unlocked.

Hym dove into the door, pushing the cat inside with him. Leaving the feline behind, Hym headed down the tight maintenance access tunnel as fast as he could. He could hear screams coming up behind him from the open door, but forced them from his thoughts. Though he shook his head in despair, he took relief in the belief that at least those deaths wouldn't be on his conscious.

Hym took a deep breath and pushed ahead. After some distance, Hym noticed another door and tried his luck. Also unlocked.

The light from the next platform was in sight, and so were four more runners. Three behind and one ahead, the leopard. Using the tunnel had put Hym ahead, but despite the pain in his body he knew there was no stopping. He had to win or he'd be dead.

Just Hym leapt down from the door and onto the tracks, another train was approaching from the other side of the next platform. He knew right away that whoever didn't make it there before the train wasn't going to make it at all, so the fox put every last ounce of energy into his final burst of speed.

The leopard was soon leaping onto the platform ahead and despite the hard run, a familiar feline was passing the exhausted Hym up. Hym noticed the cat grinning a little to himself as he passed the fox up and it wasn't much longer before the feline took econd place upon the platform.

Hym was next, but as the feline showed, the bury fox was running out of power and fast. Everything he had he'd put into his run back in that tunnel. With so little left, Hym wasn't sure he could make the three foot, upwards jump.

The leopard was buckled over catching his breath, cringing and holding his sides in exhaustion, and the feline didn't look so great either. But as Hym reached that yellow caution landing, a small white and black hand reached out and grasped him, pulling him up with some effort onto the platform and the cat and the fox fell back against the landing together.

"What about...the others?" the leopard panted out to the stone faced white tiger looming over them patiently.

"What others?" was the chilling reply.

The three finishers looked at each other, white faced and terrified. They turned and saw that the oncoming train wasn't slowing down, but rather speeding up.

The same thought was going through all their heads, but they knew that when you agree to something the tiger asks you to do, you understood the risks and any sign of hesitation now would be met with 'disqualification.'

Two more runners leapt onto the platform. A grey and black wolf and behind him was a young white horse. The gray suited tiger frowned at this.

The other runners turned to look to the horse who was busy juggling between catching his breath and counting how many runners had beaten him. He would have been wetting himself or trying to run if he hadn't been so exhausted.

Then all heads turned back the tiger.

The train flew past the platform with unrelenting speed. A hyena tried leaping through the air at the platform, and his terrified eyes were wide open just as the train collided with his body. In a blink, he was driven into that dark corridor in which no one else would ever return.

"Five then," said the tiger, cold and without emotion. "That will work out nicely."