FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was a strange day when the Ship appeared in out port, it must have made berth sometime during the night for the morning watch found it moored and silent. The sun was shining yet a cold wind howled through the city streets, no children could be heard playing nor were there any birds singing.

The ship itself was a monstrous sight. Its hull scared with burns and deep gouges, its portholes coated with grime and filth. Its tattered sails covered in strange stains. Worse yet was the figurehead, a painstakingly detailed carving of some vile creature. Hundreds of piercing eyes and gaping maws covered its slender torso and arms, its head was no different. From the waist down it was nothing but a mas of tendrils, impossibly long, they seemed to worm their way through the Ship's moldering hull like maggots through rotting flesh. The sight of it made my flesh crawl and my fur stand on end.

As the captain of the city guard I felt it my duty to assign a detachment of guards to the dock at which the blasphemous Ship was moored. Every hour they tried to hail the Ship's crew, but every time they were met with silence. Meanwhile I worked my way through the city, trying to find anyone who knew anything about the mysterious Ship. My search was in vain for there was no one new at any of the portside taverns and no one had ever seen the Ship before. Not even the old sailors knew any tales or rumors of such a ship.

I returned to the port to find my men in disarray. Several of them were being held down by the others while they screamed of strange whispers that came from the Ship and of bizarre shapes that lurked behind the grime of the portholes. With the help of the ones that were still sane, I dragged the flailing and ranting men away from the docks. As we set foot on the cobblestone streets they slowly began to calm down. Shakily, they got to their feet, mumbling apologies they stumbled off towards their homes, their ears and tails gone limp. Concerned I ordered a new group of guards to be brought in and made it clear that they were to switch with another group after two hours or if they began to feel anything strange.

Weary, I returned to my office in the governor's keep. Settling down behind my desk I attempted to prepare a report on the Ship. Instead I found myself staring into the polished brass nameplate that sat at the corner of my desk. My glittering emerald green eyes stared back at me from amidst the dark grey fur of my wolfish visage. Aimlessly, I picked up the nameplate and idly turned it over and over again between my shaking hands. I couldn't rid myself of the sense of growing dread centered on the abhorrent ship. Sighing I put down the nameplate and turned towards the window. It just so happens that my office has a clear view of the docks. My eyes were drawn to the Ship, its deck was utterly still. Eerie as it was, I felt as if it also held an otherworldly beauty.

I stood there for hours, enthralled by the utter strangeness of the Ship. I watched as it bobbed gently upon the waves. Empty and lifeless as an open grave, waiting for its time to come. I watched as my men continued to try and hail the Ship's crew. I watched as the two hour limit came and went, and a new group of guards along with it. Finally the strange day came to an end, as the pale light faded I made arrangements with the night watch before heading home.

The strangeness of the day was even felt at home. My wife, Samantha, told how our boy had been uncharacteristically skittish and quiet for the entire day. After dinner was little more than just a memory we sat together by the fire, the unseasonable cold still lingering. My boy clung to his mother's side as he were afraid she would drift away. Normally he would be scurrying around the room, bouncing from one toy to another as the fancy took him. He shivered, despite the warmth of the fire. As I reached over with a blanket he shied away and stared up at me, his eyes wide and frightened, and his ears flat against his head.

As he hid behind his mother I looked away and let the blanket slide from my hand. I sat back and stared deep into the heart of the dancing flames. At some point Samantha got up and went to tuck our boy in for the night. I heard the clicking of her nails on the wooden floor as she came back. "He's not the only one. All of the children have been like this today." She told me. "But how many of the others have suddenly become scared of their own father?" I asked, my voice grim. She slipped an arm around me, but it took her a few minutes before she answered. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back to normal soon enough. He's probably just not feeling well right now."

"I hope that's all it is." I tried to keep my voice from shaking. Strange that all of the port's children would come down with something all at the exact same time. In my mind I saw the Ship's horrific figurehead, its many eyes suddenly locking their gaze upon me. She didn't press the issue any further. Instead she just leaned against me, her arm around my waist. With my hand on her shoulder, we sat together and watched the fire burn low. As the flames flickered and died we headed off to bed.

The next morning brought fresh horrors. We were awakened by someone pounding at our door. Hastily pulling on a robe, I stumbled through the dark house and pulled open the door. One of the morning watchmen stood there, his hand raised for another round of knocking. After apologizing profusely for waking us he told me I was needed at the home of the port's doctor. Confused, I quickly dressed and followed him out onto the streets. The cold winds still lingered from the previous day.

As we walked he filled me in on what had happened. Less than an hour ago, the Nickerson's boy, an adventurous sort that was only a few years older than my boy, had snuck out and managed to board the Ship. The guards think he swam around to the far side and climbed one of the cargo nets. Just a few minutes ago they heard him screaming, just seconds before he fell from the deck and into the water. The guards rescued him and immediately brought him to the doctor's place.

We stopped outside the doctor's home and I could a cacophony of bone chilling sounds drifting through the thick stone walls. What awaited us inside was even worse. The boy lay upon one of the beds, held down with heavy leather straps. Despite the bindings he continued to thrash about with enough force to slam the iron bedframe against the walls. He was screaming in a devilish tongue, punctuated with bouts of insane laughter. Foam clung to his muzzle and dripped on the pillow, occasionally being flung across the room as he thrashed about.

"You two, hold him down!" barked the doctor as he readied a needle, his sharp voice cut through our shock and we hurried to obey. In his madness the young lad was surprisingly strong. I strained with the effort of holding him down as the doctor slid the needle into his arm. The boy gave one last convulsion before the doctor's concoction set to work. Within seconds the boy went limp and his breathing steadied.

As I stared down at the boy I thought about how similar his condition was to the madness that struck my men the other day. I could only hope his was temporary as well. As my thoughts danced about the matters at hand I once more saw the Ship's vile figurehead. This time it wrenched itself free from the ship and its writhing tendrils carried it towards me. I back away in horror but I soon felt the cold stone wall against my back. The creature slithered up to me, its countless mouths grinning as it reached out and caressed my face. My flesh burned where it had been brushed by the thing's feverish hands.

"Sir, are you alright?" the watchman's voice shattered the nightmarish illusion and the doctor's infirmary snapped back into focus. I found myself in far corner, my back against the wall.

"I... I'll be fine. I just need a minute." I told him

"It seems like the stress is getting to you, Captain." The doctor said, "Perhaps you should take a vacation."

I snorted, "I will once this is finished." I turned towards the watchman, "You stay here, keep an eye on the kid."

He nodded as I turned to leave. Quickly I made my way to the barracks and got together a group of twelve of my best men. I made our mission very clear, we were to search the Ship and then take it off shore and sink it.

The men standing guard at the docks saluted us as we passed. They had seen us coming and had already set up a gangplank. Cautiously we boarded the Ship, eyes and ears twitching, constantly searching for the slightest hints of life. The deck felt strange beneath my paws, it didn't feel like wood. Instead it was some repulsive and feverishly warm material that seemed to pulsate in time with the ocean waves. Looking around I saw the others glancing down, they must have felt it as well. As we drew towards the center of the deck it suddenly lurched and pulled away from the dock. Before we realized what was happening we heard a splash as the gangplank fell into the water. Stunned with shock and horror, we could only watch as our island city drew father and further away.

At the same time the Ship's crew decided to show themselves. Rising from the lower decks they soon had us surrounded. They were a horrific collection of bent and twisted nightmares. It was impossible to tell what they were originally, their flesh a patchwork collection of different kinds of fur and scales. Their faces mangled with scars and similar hybrid surgeries. Different colored eyes glowed from mismatched sockets and cruel grins danced on lopsided muzzles. Some sported multiple arms or tails which others seemed to lack. They all fingered the vicious edges of filth encrusted blades.

A hoarse voice shouted an order in some gut wrenching language and they were upon us. It was over in seconds. Three of my men lay dead, their blood soaking into the fake wood of the Ship. Two others had jumped overboard and were swimming frantically towards the shore. The rest of us had been disarmed and beaten down. The patchwork crew set about tying my men to the mast. I on the other hand was kept separate from the rest. They bound my hands and ankles, forcing me to kneel as they locked a heavy iron collar around my beck. Thick chins ran from it to iron rings set into the deck.

From below deck came a minotaur, a massive brick of a creature, one horn had been broken off at the base. He was dressed only in a bloodstained leather apron and matching belt, upon which hung a cruel collection of knives. He gathered up my slain guards and dragged their bodies below deck, several of the less extreme patchwork horrors followed him. A short while later they remerged, now sporting the eyes and limbs of my former men. The smell of smoke and sickening spices as the only clue as to what was done with the parts they didn't take.

Another order was given and the crew parted, revealing what could only be their captain. He stood head and should above even the tallest horror. Unlike his crew his body seemed unadorned with the spoils of their victims. My heart nearly stopped as I realized he was once a wolf such as myself. One side of his face was burned and twisted, no fur grew over the charcoal black bone that showed clearly against his pale silver fur, and the eye on that side had been replaced with a sphere of rusting iron. He looked over my men, disappointment clear on his face. He barked out an order and laughed as his men fell once more upon my helpless guards. I felt the Ship tremble as it soaked up the blood that flowed so readily across its deck. I felt bile rise in my throat as I watched their brutal display.

The captain walked over to me, up close he smelt of death and rot. He looked me over and a smile split his ragged features, revealing vicious slime coated teeth. As he walked away he gave one last order. I saw his crew glance between him and me, disappointment clear on their butchered faces.

Days passed and at some point the captain has cut away the ropes that bound my hands and feet, but the iron collar stayed. Occasionally they would toss me a scrap of meat, but remembering how my men had been dragged below deck and the smells that followed I refused to eat.

One day several of the crew surrounded me. Clutching buckets and brushes in their mismatched hands they painted obscure symbols on the deck in blood. Unlike before the blood wasn't absorbed, this time it stayed glimmering amidst the burn scared deck. Several of them held me down and rebound my wrists and ankles as they painted similar symbols across my naked body. Then they began to chant, a hellish sound that sent jolts of pain through me with every syllable. The sky grew dark, there were no clouds or thunder, it was more like the light had been drained away by something. Their chanting quickened as the captain slowly walked towards me, in one hand he held an icy blue eye that once belonged to one of my men. In the other he held a long metal rod, its tip glowing red.

The crew was now stamping their feet in time with their chant. The captain raised the metal rod and plunged it into my left eye. My scream merged with the demonic chanting. Through the pain and horror I was dimly aware of the captain lifting my head and pressing the new eye into my bloody socket. The chant reached its end and tendrils erupted from the deck, wrapping themselves around me and blacking out the fading world.

The ship told me of its nature and that of its crew. It is a parasite, I realized before all thought was burned from my head.

I stood at the bow of the Ship as the island port came into view over the horizon. There was something irritatingly familiar about the city. But it was of little importance, by dawn they would be dead. We lay anchor in the shallows not far from the docks. We didn't bother with the rowboats, instead we slid like ghosts through the warm waters. At the Captain's signal we drew our weapons and fell upon the town.

Like serpents we wound through the streets, cutting down those that crossed our path. The city guard seemed helpless, running around as if they had no orders on which to act. Several of them stopped when they saw me.

"Sir, thank god you've retur..." he never got to finish as I stepped forward and ran him through. I tossed his lifeless corpse asides and turned to the others as the stood there in shock. The music of tortured screams danced in my ears as the rest of the crew ravaged the town. Blood coated the streets and glowed crimson in the light of hundreds of flickering flames. I had just finished off a few stragglers by the docks when the Captain found me.

"There you are. I think you should have the honor of finishing the last of the townsfolk." He chuckled and led me through the streets. The rest of the crew had formed a circle around the survivors, a young woman curled protectively around her child with her back against the stone wall. The crew parted to let us through and the child looked up, his eyes growing wide. "Papa?" The woman's head snapped up as she heard the child's quivering voice. I saw my mismatched eyes reflected in hers as they blurred with bitter tears. My lips pulled back in a silent snarl as my blade flashed twice, silencing her scream and the child's cries. Twin sprays of crimson glittered against the startles sky while the Captain's laughter echoed in the night.

We left the town to burn, taking only their blood to nourish the Ship. "Where to next, Sir?" I asked the Captain as we climbed aboard the Ship. In the far corner of my mind a small voice screamed and cried but soon it was drowned out by the calls of the Ship.