FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I woke up in what felt more like an exam room than a hospital. After rubbing at the fur on my face I discovered something had been taped to my right hand. It was a call button which had been attached with medical tape. Written sloppily on the tape were the words "Press Button". I frowned slightly and proceeded to unwrap it from my hand and set it down without pressing it. The tape tugged at the fur on the back of my hand but it didn't pull out. My right shoulder was sore and it felt like I had been punched repeatedly in the chest and stomach. In addition, my throat felt raw and my chest burned and ached internally, especially if I took a deep breath which had the added bonus of triggering a painful coughing fit. I made a mental note not to do that again as I realized I needed to take a monster leak. I fiddled with the rail at the bedside until I got it to slide down out of the way and cautiously swung my paws over the edge of the bed to dangle above the laminate tiles.

I felt shaky as I pushed off from the bed and swayed slightly as my paws contacted the cold floor. My toes tingled and burned as I placed my hand along the bed for stability. When I felt reasonably sure that up was indeed where I felt it to be I scanned the room. Everything seemed taller and larger but I blew it off as disorientation and padded quietly for the door which pulled open. All of the doors in the spartan but brightly lit hallway were unmarked.

Damn it, where's the bathroom?! I thought as I tried the first door on my left.

A light came on automatically to reveal a small unisex bathroom consisting of a single toilet, sink, mirror and paper towel dispenser. First door! Finally some good luck for a change. I wasted no time in making use of the facilities, hastily fumbling with the hospital gown to take care of business. Ohhh man! Phew, what a relief.

When I finally finished I stepped up to the sink and started washing my hands. My finger tips burned and tingled like my toes as I tried to get the tape residue off of my fur. I only partially succeeded but decided it would have to do until I could take a proper shower and pulled a couple of paper towels from the dispenser as I glanced in the mirror.

My chest tightened and my ears went back, the face in the mirror wasn't mine. I gripped the rim of the sink with both hands and closed my eyes. I took a deep slow breath and let my mind go blank. I opened my eyes again. The same face looked back at me. The species was right, Gray Wolf, but the fur markings, proportions and age were all wrong. I looked down at the rest of my body and was left with no doubt, this wasn't mine.

My mind raced as I replayed what I could remember. I was driving home and a truck was about to crush my GEOde METROpolis XFInity. _There is no way, NO WAY, I could have survived that. I had gone out of body, that's right! At the last moment I had reflexively jumped out._I had to go back but my body was crushed beyond recognition and lifeless. I tried to get in anyway but I couldn't attach. I couldn't stay out more than a few minutes. The urge to reconnect was overpowering, it was like trying to hold my breath. I HAD to go somewhere, with each passing moment I felt as if my very soul would burst into a million points of light. Traveling with the speed of thought I felt around for something, anything to reattach to. Suddenly I found an opening, a body with no one in it. I hesitated only a moment but sensed nothing of it's previous occupant. Survival instinct took over and with a roar that filled my ears I was suddenly waking up in the hospital.

Horror gripped my heart, Did I take someone else's body?! No, it's impossible to enter anything living, not even a plant. When I was first learning to control my talent, that's what the mass media liked to call it, I had tried to enter grass, flowers and trees but the energy of their life force got in the way, just like with animals and people. So he must have been dead, his soul was gone or I wouldn't have been able to occupy that space. I tried to reassure myself.But what if he was about to come back after I jumped in? He wouldn't have been able to, I'd be in the way. That doesn't matter though, I'm the only person I know that can jump in and out of their body at will. I replayed the events as best I could remember but it was like trying to recall a fading dream. I thought as I stared at the face in the mirror. Still... what if...? I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and felt tears streaming into my cheek fur.

"Crap!" I heard a rough male voice say. It sounded like it was just down the hall. I snapped my eyes open and froze as if I had been caught in some horrible act. My emotions are all over the place, get ahold of yourself! I opened the door just as a solidly built male Wolverine was reaching for the handle. He was momentarily startled and then angry, "Damn it kid, can't you read?"

"I..." was all I got out before my raw throat spasmed shut at the vibration of talking.

While I was still coughing he picked me up and hauled me back to the bed. "I've been on call for hours, I step out for a few minutes and that's when you wake up. I taped the damn button right in your hand." My initial memories of waking up in the ER were vague but he seemed familiar. There was so much I wanted to say but I couldn't get out a a single word. Despite his apparent mood he wasn't rough as he set me back in the bed and slid the rail up in place. He pointed a finger at me and said "Stay put this time. I need to get Laura. Stay!" He held his gaze with me for a moment longer and then turned to go out the door.

Geez, what did he expect me to do, piss in the bed? Push the button... right. You know you could take my side for once. I argued with myself as I looked around for a pen and paper so I could communicate when someone came back. The room was filled with everything medical and high tech but not a pen or piece of paper was to be found, not even the marker the Wolverine had apparently used to write on the tape. I let my head drop back against the pillow and sighed gently. I felt shaky and weak, like I hadn't eaten in far too long and all of the sore spots ached their way into my attention again. To escape the moment I tried to use my talent and go out of body but nothing happened.

I had read how being a deviant, that's what the haters called those who had talent or unique physical charateristics, was a genetically inherited trait. %#$@! New body, new genes, I'm not a deviant any more! At first I felt elation, no more secret to hide! Moments passed and the greater ramifications of the revelation begin to filter into my thoughts and my mood grew more somber. It's over, the one thing that I had, that one damn thing left and now it's gone too! The sudden rush of anger surprised me. I wasn't usually prone to strong emotions zooming from one extreme to the other. In fact, I spent most days virtually numb. I tried to work it out of my system and chided myself. It's in the past, we only live in now... let it go. I took a deep, slow breath and cleared my mind. Emptiness of thought didn't come as easily as it used to, but that was the old me too, and I kept at it. After a few more breaths passed I felt the anger fade. Better, much better...

Damn, Thad Beaumont is one lucky f _#ck_. Still, that bitch Meg sure got hers, at least I was able to finish that! At the random thought I realized my anger wasn't as gone as I thought it was and I went through another mind-clearing routine. Man, what's with these emotions?! I haven't felt this much in years! The door opened and my attention focused back on the present.

"Hello Roger, I'm Dr. Laura Tamner, glad to see you back among the living. Can you tell me about what happened?" said the Lioness. She stood taller but leaner than the Wolverine at her side. She was wearing a white lab coat over business clothes and her glasses reflected the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. The wolverine wore only jeans and a black t-shirt which stretched to show off his well muscled frame. She looked to be in her thirties while he seemed older yet somehow fitter.

Remembering what happened the last time I tried to speak I opened my mouth and pointed a finger at my throat while shaking my head. Her ears swiveled and she leaned back as she said "Are you feeling nauseous?"

I was, a little, but I shook my head from side to side and gestured like I was writing with a pen and looked at them questioningly. The two looked at each other as the Wolverine's hands went to his pockets. "I left it upstairs by the phone, don't you have one, DOC?"

He said the latter with a mocking tone and smirked. She scowled and produced a small phone from her pocket. She swiped and tapped at the screen a few times and handed it to me. It was open to a note taking app and the tiny display contained an on-screen keyboard.

This doesn't even have swype functionality! I thought as I pecked at the buttons with quavering fingers. I missed my intended keystrokes so often the word prediction was worthless but I finally managed to type out "throat hurts look" and handed it back to her.

She glanced at it and showed it to the Wolverine who still hadn't told me his name.

"Let's take a look." she said as she produced a pen-light from one of the many pockets on her lab coat.

Really, you have a pen-light but not a pen?! I thought as I opened my mouth. "Can you flatten your tongue more? I can't see behind it." she said.

I pulled down but she still wasn't satisfied. "Where are the tongue depressors?" she asked.

"I think they got used up on that girl whose jaw got dislocated and stuck open. We used them up popping it back in place." he responded.

"We should probably update the stock sheet to keep more of those in the cabinet. Roger, just try to flatten your tongue as best you can, I need to see back there." What do you think I was doing the first time? I hated being the focus of attention and it made me crabby but I tried as she suggested and had no better luck than the first time.

"Oh for craps sake!" said the wolverine who stuck his finger in my mouth and pushed down my tongue. I scowled at him with a "You've got to be kidding me!" expression which he seemed not to notice.

She exclaimed, "Wow, SOMEONE really did a number with that trach tube!"

He responded "What? It's not like there was time to be careful. Would you rather he be dead? It'll heal up." Despite his words his ears flattened slightly into an apologetic stance.

"Yes, it will heal but you should avoid talking for a few days and you'll need to be on a soft diet too. I'll change your antibiotic prescription to liquid so you don't have to choke down pills. You'll just be on those a few days, I want to make sure you don't get an infection from all that water in your lungs and the resulting trauma your body has been through." Her eyes turned to glance at the Wolverine before continuing. "I'll prescribe an inhaler too, it will keep the inflammation down and make you a bit more comfortable. Also, you've got some nasty contusions from the seatbelt but there's not much we can do there, you'll be sore from that for awhile but we checked and there's no internal injuries. You'll be feeling a lot better in a few days."

I nodded in response after which they both continued to stand awkwardly at the bedside. The Wolverine nudged Laura and said "You gonna tell him or not?"

She visibly collected herself, her ears dropped and her tail curled down and around her leg, the tip fidgeting at the floor. "Roger, how well do you remember what happened last night? Wait, I know, you can't talk... do you remember what happened last night?"

I knew better than to attempt describing it all under the circumstances even if I could, they'd just think I was nuts. I held up my left hand, palm down, and tipped it from side to side, trying to convey "so so."

The point seemed to get across as she swallowed and said "Your father and the taxi driver... they didn't make it. I'm sorry, by the time they got them out it was too late."

I looked away, not wanting to hear the details of Roger's demise or that of the others. Even though I wasn't responsible for it and even though I didn't know them it bothered me deeply. Without realizing I was doing it I tried wrapping myself in the familiar numbness I had shrouded my life in for years but I wasn't as able to shut off as I was in the past. I took a shuddering breath and continued to stare at the floor where Laura's tail tip now laid idle against the cold tile.

"We've been trying to piece together what happened, we assume it was your father that teleported you to the rec room. That is, we know that you're talented and since it's hereditary we're assuming it was your father but it could have been the driver."

Wait, she means Roger! I wonder what his talent was... is?

The momentary diversion in my train of thought vanished as she fidgeted, burying her hands in her pockets as she continued. "I guess it doesn't matter but whoever it was, they saved your life. Your car went over the side and broke through the ice on the lake. You were in the front seat with the driver and the front of the car rapidly submerged. According to reports people tried to help but the vehicle was several feet from the bank and the doors were jammed."

She stopped talking and the Wolverine picked up where she left off. Even with his gruff manner it was obvious he didn't want to talk about it any more than she did. "The.. ah.. driver... They found him still strapped in the driver's seat. Your father... he was loose but never made it out of the car. By the time real help arrived it was totally under water and he was still in it. They got him to the hospital eventually but..."

I nodded, wanting to be numb but feeling awful. Laura found her voice again and spoke to fill the silence. "Roger, we know this is a lot to deal with. Is there someone we can contact for you? I looked in your file but the information under emergency contacts isn't very helpful, no one answers."

She passed me the wretched little phone again. I held it for a moment, looking at the screen blankly. There's so much to say, but what could I type here that would make a difference? I handed it back to her without using it and shook my head.

Her ears pointed forward as she said "There must be someone?"

I indicated no again as my thoughts clicked about something she said earlier. I gestured towards the phone and she passed it over. I painstakingly typed "rec room?" and showed it to her.

"Oh, yes..." she said "You, and a surprisingly large amount of water, appeared in one of the dorm rec. rooms. You're in the medical division of the campus right now, the one your father was bringing you to. This is Burwell Academy."