FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Searching by 12 as SonicHowler Originally published August 28, 2008

Morning brought a story similar to that of the day before. The city of Trentbriar was shrouded in a cloud of thin smoke. Used bullets littered the backstreets and exhausted firefighters trudged home after putting out the last of the fires, which, luckily, hadn't been too extreme. Confused officials planned and pondered endlessly about what these horrid furs could possibly want, and what to do should another attack occur. Most big businesses were closed. Most smaller, local, or family-owned businesses, or some combination of the three, stayed open to those willing to leave the safety of their homes. Among these businesses was a small café, in which furs sat in comfy chairs and booths, sipping coffee or eating a hearty breakfast while the news reporter on the television spoke about last night's attack:

"This morning isn't_too_ much different from yesterday morning. There are more bomb sites, more fires, more roads closed down, and more bullets--but also more questions. You can see behind me Holston Avenue, a backstreet near Lake Sylian Park. The entire street is just covered with bullets and other used ammo, and there has been a lot of damage. The same story goes for many backstreets throughout the city, but officials are wondering why the helicopters have not attacked any main streets, nor targeted any furs. Though it's a relief, it is also a mystery as to why the death toll from these attacks remains at zero. Danford officials are just as baffled about these attacks and are currently questioning anyone they can to get to the bottom of what's going on. At this point, Trentbriar officials have given a very tentative all-clear to those who wish to go out today, but seriously encourage everyone able to stay tuned to any radio station throughout the day in case anything suggests that the all-clear be revoked. We here at Channel Fourteen News encourage you to stay with us, and we will keep you updated."

A pair of twin huskies, dressed in identical red shirts and blue jeans, sat at a table, listening to the news reporter. Well, at least one of them was. The other was busy scarfing down a heaping plate of hot, steaming pancakes, topped with sweet strawberry syrup, sliced strawberries, and cool whipped cream.

"Yama! Not so fast!" scolded Timba. You're gonna make yourself sick! You don't want the first thing you say when you meet Dewey to be, 'Hey, we haven't met, but I'm your--blaaarrrgh!'" He acted like he was throwing up.

Yama looked up from his plate. "C'mon, Timba! You know Dad doesn't cook food as good as this! Oh, it's so good! More please, waitress!"

The waitress nodded and went to get a third plate of pancakes for the hungry canine. Timba sighed and shook his head. "Good thing Dad gave us plenty of money. Listen, we need to go soon. Trentbriar's a big place, and we're trying to find one husky in it. All we know about him is that he probably drives a blue convertible and looks just like us. We've got work to do; we don't have time to sit here stuffing ourselves full of pancakes, Mountain Boy."

Yama looked up again. "Hey! Just because my name means 'mountain' in Japanese doesn't mean you can call me 'Mountain Boy!'"

"It wasn't just your name," said Timba. "You've got a bunch of, uh... snow on your tip."

Yama wiped the whipped cream from his nose with a napkin. "Heh, thanks." The waitress returned, taking Yama's empty plate and replacing it with another plate full of delicious pancakes. "Alright!" Yama cheered, digging in.

"No more after that, bro," said Timba. "We need to get searching."

"Awww... well can we come back tomorrow?"

Timba smiled. "We'll see. Now hurry up, okay?"

Yama polished off his last plate of pancakes and paid for his and Timba's meals, and the two huskies left the café full, contented, and ready to begin their search for their long-lost brother.

Dewey woke up a little later that morning. He was surprised to see Laitan next to him, fast asleep in his makeshift sleeping bag, composed of a quilt and a few pillows. "Hm, must've gotten called off," Dewey muttered to himself. He cleaned up the empty snack packages and folded up his own quilt, leaving it and Laitan's television set in the basement in case they would need to spend another night there. Yawning cavernously, stretching his body into wakefulness, he went upstairs and into the kitchen to get breakfast started. He turned on the small television in the kitchen, flicking through the channels to see if anything interesting was on. It didn't surprise him that news stations had taken over every channel but C-SPAN. He shrugged and left C-SPAN on. He'd heard all there was to hear about the attacks on Trentbriar. For now, his main focus was his lookalike.

As the frying pan heated up for scrambled eggs, Dewey went to the living room to clean up the remains of last night's dinner, which had been abandoned as the helicopters flew in. Thoughts of his double raced through his head. Ace, Zack, Eddie, Kanei, and Jerlon had all offered their help in finding him. Where were they to begin? Trentbriar was a huge place. He sighed and returned to the kitchen to finish cooking.

Laitan lumbered out of the basement after awhile, yawning widely and rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Morning, Dewey," he said. "You're up early, huh?"

Dewey gave him a nod, putting some of the fully-cooked eggs on a plate. "Yep, sure am! No work today?"

"Nah. Businesses are closing down today. Hey, thanks for cooking."

"No problem, Lai! Help yourself, I made plenty." He took his own plate, put a bagel in the toaster, and sat at the breakfast bar. Laitan spooned some eggs onto a plate and sat down next to him to eat.

"Heh, what, no cruisin' the town today?"

Dewey smiled. "Heh, don't worry, I will. I'm just hungry!"

Laitan chuckled. "You'd better be careful. I want you to call me every now and then, okay? And if there's any danger, come home right away."

"I know, I know. I'll be fine, me and the gang are just going around to find stuff to do, and see what last night's attack left us with. Maybe we'll keep working on our music. Kanei and Jerlon did ask me last week to teach them how to play the guitar."

"Alright. Be home in time for dinner, okay? Oh, and if there are any stores open and you have time, pick up batteries on the way home. An eight-pack of each size will do. Y' never know when you'll need them. Just grab a twenty from my wallet on your way out."

"Sure thing, Lai." Dewey was almost finished with his breakfast anyway. He spooned the rest of his eggs onto Lai's plate, put the empty plate in the sink. A shower, some clean clothes, and a bit of toothpaste, and he was ready to go. He grabbed a bill from Laitan's wallet, bade him goodbye, and hopped into his new car.

"Let's see," he said aloud, starting the car. His favorite alternative rock band blasted through the sound system as he backed out of the garage. "Kanei said to stop by at eight, so I'll be right on time."

________________

Jaden sat alone inside his underground home. The wolf had just finished his morning exercises outside, above the entire underground fortress. There was something he really loved about the morning. Maybe it was the exhilarating feeling the of the earth coming into wakefulness around him: the wetness of morning dew, beneath his paws and shimmering in the lovely radiance of a bright morning sun, whose golden light painted the mountains, the grass, and the trees as they stretched their night-cooled limbs into wakefulness amidst the gentle sonata of nesting larks. None of his crew loved or appreciated the morning nearly as much as he, if at all. Every morning, rain or shine, even before the sun began to appear over the eastern horizon, Jaden would stand in the heart of the valley and exercise, taking in the cool, refreshing morning air, stretching and doing sets of pushups and sit-ups, and even using a tree to do pull-ups. He'd complete his workout with a jog, from the base of one mountain to the base of the one opposite it, about a mile. Jaden was never one to allow fat to accumulate about his middle. After this, he'd sit with his back against his favorite oak tree and look to the east, watching as the sun rose in a split between two mountains.

After his morning exercises, he'd return through the fortress' secret entrance to his own house, take a nice, hot shower, and then sit on his couch, a journal and pen in his paws. Every morning, he'd write at least a page's worth. Since years before he'd gotten Timba and Yama, these journals had been kept. He had almost a whole shelf full of these journals. His father, Logan, was the one who had first instructed him to keep journals. Jaden's bookcase had a couple shelves' worth of his father's journals as well. Now, alone in his home, sitting on his couch, he wrote, his thoughts traveling from mind to paw.

"Grr... what's the word I'm looking for?" he muttered. "Rude? Mean? Er... uh... short-tempered? Guh!"

He gave a start as a rather sharp knock on the door broke his concentration. With an agitated sigh, he stood up and went to open the door. "This'd better be important!" he snarled as he swung the door open. The red fox standing on the other side of the doorway flinched.

"S-sorry, Jaden, 's only me!"

"What d'you want, Raxit? I'm busy!"

Raxit and the rest of Jaden's crew were quite familiar with his common ill-tempered manner. Despite the wolf's rough attitude, however, he was very much respected among the crew. Granted, the crew had no choice but to stay loyal and respectful to him. Proving themselves disloyal or disrespectful made them untrustworthy in Jaden's eyes, which was always a fatal mistake.

Raxit bowed his head, ears lowered. "S-sorry, sir! I-I just needed to talk to you about the next flyover, that's all!"

Jaden had seemed irritated, but not all too angry. Raxit breathed a sigh of relief as his leader stood back and gestured for him to enter.

"Thanks, Chief," Raxit said. Jaden didn't respond; he just walked back to his couch.

"Have a seat and let's talk then. What about tonight's flyover?"

"Well, it's about one of the helicopters. The main computer system seems to be malfunctioning. Nothing too serious, the craft'll fly just fine, but we..."

Jaden's phone interrupted. The wolf sighed. "Hold that thought." He stood up and went into another room. The crewmember sat on the couch, waiting, hearing Jaden's angry voice. "What do you mean, 'he lost the plans?!' ... No,hold your tongue! You'd better tell him now that he'd better find them! I won't tolerate ignorance!"

As Jaden's angry conversation continued, Raxit suddenly noticed Jaden's journal. It didn't look like a journal, or anything else important, to tell the truth. It was just a composition book, with Jaden's writing inside. The page the book was open to wasn't labeled to allow anyone to know what it was. Curiously, the fox looked at the top of the page.

Timba and Yama are out by themselves in the streets of Trentbriar. Every time I send them out there, I worry. Not that Trentbriar's unsafe for them. If anything, at this point in time, it's more unsafe for Trentbriar's residents than anything! The mission is going well. I saw a Trentbriar news broadcast that tells me they're starting to get the message. Tonight, we'll let them all know just what we're after. I'm sure we'll have some luck.

I haven't heard much about my father lately. Then again, that's not uncommon. He behaves himself in prison. Completing his work is up to me now. I'm not without hope though. Good behavior means he could get out early. Then maybe I won't have to put up with these numbskulls that call themselves a crew, or looking for that elusive Dewey.

Dewey... my third son. Eighteen years old, and not knowing his father--neither his biological father, killed by some of my own crew, nor me. That will change soon. Soon, he'll know who I am, and that'll be all. Timba and Yama were very excited to hear of his very existence. Oh, but I went over all that already. I hope Dewey cooperates, for them if anything. Then, maybe he won't get hurt.

Every day, I realize that I'm closer to my and my father's goal, and every day, it frightens me. Why? Because I know the possible endings to this story on my side, and there are few that look good. Still, it must be done. The husky-versus-wolf war will be over for good. Why? Because there will be no one left for the wolves to war with. It's that simple. Maybe--

"Ahem." Raxit's blood ran cold, not at the clearing of Jaden's throat, but at the feeling of cold steel upon the side of his neck. "Enjoying my book?" asked Jaden. His voice was calm, almost sweet-sounding. That was not a good thing for Raxit.

"S-s-sir!" he started to plead. The click of the gun as its safety was removed silenced him.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you?" asked Jaden softly. "It's rude to read someone else's journal."

Raxit's voice was barely a squeak. His heart was pounding so hard, he was sure Jaden could hear it. His nose and mouth had gone dry, and his body was shaking uncontrollably. "Y-y-yessir," he replied. The only words he could think were,I'm going to die.

Jaden spoke slowly and softly, his voice almost a cold, deadly whisper in Raxit's ear. "Give me one... good... reason not to pull this trigger and blow your worthless life away."

Tears rolled down the shaking fox's cheeks. "I-I-I d-don't have one, s-s-sir," he whispered. Jaden's finger stroked the trigger of his gun, almost lovingly.

"I didn't think so. Say goodnight, foxy."

Shaking and crying, the wretched Raxit clenched his eyes tightly shut, his ears lowered as he awaited his impending doom. Time seemed to stand still as he heard the deafening sound of gunfire. It wouldn't take much time at all to reach his body, but the nanoseconds were crawling by like minutes. Flashbacks from his life were blasting through his mind at an alarming rate. His heart was racing even faster, caught in his throat. He was suddenly aware of everything around him. Every strand of fur on his body seemed to be screaming an announcement of its presence. He could feel the bullet closing in on him, and the heat from the gun. He could smell the gunpowder wafting through the air. He could even feel the bullet as its tip just began to touch his shoulder....

Wait, that wasn't right... his shoulder? Time melted back into normalcy, and searing pain ripped through Raxit's entire arm. He screamed in agony, but then grunted as the now-warm steel of Jaden's gun clubbed him in the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the ground. A river of crimson was pouring from the bullet wound, forming a pool on Jaden's tile floor. Raxit's pupils expanded and contracted as Jaden's smiling face came in and out of focus.

"You breathe a word of anything, anything at all, that you read in that book, to_anybody,_ and I'll put so many of those bullet holes in you, I'll be able to wash my dishes with the back of your left paw."

Raxit's world went dark, and he knew no more.

Jaden opened his front door and yelled to the first two furs to walk by. "You two! Come in here and take Raxit to the infirmary. When that's done, come back and clean up this mess!"

"Yes sir!" The two of them carried an unconscious Raxit out of Jaden's home. As if Raxit had never even knocked on his door, the wolf calmly set his gun down on his coffee table, sat back down on the couch, and continued to write in his journal. Raxit was one of his best crewmembers, and nothing on that page had been too important anyway. Just because the fox was a discourteous idiot didn't mean Jaden wanted to lose him. That bullet wound would be sure to curb Raxit's curiosity. If not, Jaden would just have to find a new crew member to call one of his best.

________________

Morning wore on, its golden hue giving way to the brightness of day. Dewey, Ace, Zack, Eddie, Kanei, and Jerlon had met at Eddie's house, and all stood on the front lawn, discussing their plans to search for Dewey's unknown lookalike.

"So," said Zack. "We've got three cars here: Eddie's, Dewey's, and Jerlon's. There are six of us, so it's obvious that we should split up three ways, two to a car."

"Yes, that would be best," agreed Jerlon, one of his long ears folded in half, the other standing straight, "but where should we look? Trentbriar's not a small place. He could be anywhere!"

"Well," offered Ace, "we saw him at the park yesterday. Two of us should go there; he could have gone back."

"Good," said Zack. "Two more places. The mall?"

"Not a bad choice, I suppose," said Kanei with a shrug. "And then two of us can just patrol around the city."

"That can be us, K," said Dewey. Eddie volunteered to take the mall with Ace, and Jerlon and Zack would go to the park. Cell phones were turned to their highest volume, three vehicles drove away in three separate directions, and the search for Dewey's twin was on.

To Be Continued....