FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I used my allowance that weekend to buy some essentials at the local supermarket: A few big bottles of water, some food, and enough batteries to power my handheld video game for a few days, since I knew I'd have to have something to pass the time. The plan was simple: Tuesday, after school, I was going to hide out in the ravine about a mile away from school. I'd hide out there for three days, and let them think that I'd gotten kidnapped or something. Then, that Friday afternoon, I'd return home, bask in my parents' relief that I was all right, make up some story about where I'd been, and then go back to school with everyone being glad I was all right, and stopping them from making fun of me at least for a little while.

I didn't even bother to bring any textbooks with me to school that day - all the space in my backpack was being taken up by the supplies I'd bought a few days ago. Everyone went through their usual routine of tripping, teasing, and spreading the daily vicious rumor about me, but on this day, I didn't care. I knew that once 24 hours went by without my parents seeing me or knowing where I was, the missing person report would go out and they'd start worrying about me, and maybe, just maybe, start to regret all the horrible things they'd done to me for so long. And by the time Friday rolled around, they'd feel so terrible that they'd start wishing for me to return - and there I'll be, ready to receive their relief and contrition.

The bell rang at 3:05 to indicate the end of 6th period, and I started walking home just like every day. Just when I knew that nobody was watching, though, I cut back towards the school and made my way towards the western end of town. There's a ravine there that's fenced off from both sides, and with the overgrowth of willow trees on either side of the fences, I knew I had enough of a cover to hide in there without being noticed. I climbed over the short wooden fence and descended the ravine. Once at the bottom, I followed it all the way south to its very end, where it opened up to become a riverbed. This would be my home for the next three days.

I started to get cold feet right around the time the sun began to set that first night. Is it going to get to cold for me out here? I asked myself. What if I run out of food or water? What if someone spots me? A zillion questions ran through my head, all of them urging me to just get out of there and head back home. I knew, though, that doing that would not only waste all of the time and money I spent preparing, but it would accomplish nothing that I was hoping to see come out of this plan. If anything, my parents would throw a shit fit about me being out late, and I'd have angry parents to contend with in addition to the hostile student body at school. I plopped myself down next to a shrub, turned on my video game, and tuned out the doubts in my head.

I didn't bring my cell phone with me - I didn't want to be tempted by others calling me to see where I was - so I don't know what time it was once the sky got dark. All I know is that I soon regretted not bringing any light source with me. I cursed under my breath - how am I supposed to play my DS when I can't see what I'm doing? Nothing I could do about it now, though. I just sighed, turned off my game, and just lay back to look up at the night sky. Looking up at all the stars, I started to wonder if there was life on other planets. And if there were, if their life forms were anything like ours, and what their societies were like, and if there might be anyone out there going through the same kinds of problems I had. I must have stared at the sky for hours without moving, because the stars in my field of vision became the backdrop of my dreams as I quietly fell asleep.

Sleeping outside was very, very uncomfortable. It wasn't as cold as I feared it might be, but the ground was so hard and rocky that it felt as if I was sleeping on cobblestones, all of them jabbing into my back. As the sun rose that Wednesday morning, I groggily reached into my backpack, pulled out one of the three water bottles I had left, and took a swig. The hardest part was over; getting through the first night, when I knew that the homesickness and fear of failure would be at its worst. Smiling to myself, I turned the DS back on and continued my game. I'd done a good job so far rationing out the food and water, and all I had left to do was ride out the next two and a half days, and my plan would be complete.

Wednesday passed with no incident at all. I had enough batteries with me to just sit there and play my DS the whole day, and still had plenty of bread, cold cuts, and cookies with me to make at least ten more sandwiches with plenty of snacks in between. I almost marveled at how well I was at conserving my supplies, when I'd never even gone camping before. As the sky darkened once again to reveal another starry sky, I almost welcomed another opportunity to gaze at the heavens and let them relax me into sleep.

Wednesday night became Thursday morning, and I was met again with another sunrise as I woke up, a little more accustomed to the hard ground I slept on. The cold cuts tasted a little sour now, since I had no way to keep them fresh over such a long period of time, but I still had about three quarts of water left, and I'd only gone through half the batteries for the DS, so my entertainment was still in good shape. But as the day progressed, I watched as the sky above the ravine started to turn gray, a rather thick cloud cover rolling in from the east. I didn't think too much about it - after all, I only had one more night to endure, so I could handle it being a little chillier.

Then, just as the sky was turning dark yet again, I felt the first drop of precipitation. A second and third swiftly followed. In a matter of seconds, It started to rain. Hard.

My luck had very quickly turned about as bad as the ham and turkey I had left in the backpack. The ground became muddy, and I was forced to stand up to avoid getting my clothes all dirty. It was getting really dark - I almost couldn't see anything in front of me - and I decided to head back north into the ravine, where hopefully the cover of the willow trees would provide enough shelter from the rain.

After about 15 minutes - during which time the rain had totally drenched me and the backpack I was carrying - I finally got back within the tree cover. It wasn't a whole lot better than the riverbed, but it was enough to let me ride things out until the weather cleared up. But when an hour passed and the rain showed no indications of stopping, I became seriously scared for the first time since I left school. What do I do now? Try to get out of the ravine and find someone to take me home, or stay out there and run the risk of catching pneumonia?

I waddled my way towards the trunk of one of the willow trees, getting up close to it so that I could stay out of the rain while I thought about my predicament. Just as I got there, I heard something. Something that definitely didn't sound like rain. It sounded guttural and savage, like a growl.

I turned to my left, and no less than 100 feet away from me, on the other side of the ravine, stood someone else. Or... some_thing_ else. It stood on two feet, but any resemblance to a human ended there, as it looked taller, larger, and more hairy than any normal person would. Its eyes - golden eyes, that seemed to glow in the nearly non-existent ambient light - were focused straight at me. I thought my vision and the bad weather were playing tricks on me, until it growled again, much more loudly this time, and took a few steps towards me.

I just about pissed my pants.

The choice was clear now - get the fuck out of this place and, assuming I got out alive, get back home by any means necessary. I scrambled up the side of the ravine, slipping on the wet rocks and muddying up my jacket and pants on the way up. I didn't drop my backpack, though I should've, considering how much it weighed me down. I reached the fence, bounded over it, and sprinted to a nearby street, following it until I came across a convenience store. I grabbed the pay phone outside, put in the pocket change I still had with me, and punched in my home number.

I was lucky to make it out of there alive. But soon, I was going to wish I hadn't.