FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The scorching heat and blinding sun were beating down on the four canines as they made their way to the entrance of the shanty town. It was unusually well organized and built up, having a wall protecting it and from what they saw from the air a port for trading.

"Everyone have their ear translators?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah." the three dogs replied, switching them on. "Now remember were not here to stir up trouble, just ask questions." Hunter explained.

"Well we should've left the toys at home," Keith said, patting his weapons. "Having these won't help stem the tide at all."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about interacting with any of the locals, cuz there's no one here." Blitz interjected, ears swiveling around.

All the dogs stopped and listened; sure enough, Blitz was right.

"No movement whatsoever. That's really scary." Exile said, un-holstering his pistol.

The dogs ran to the entrance which was sealed by a red gate, and they listened once more.

"A trap?" Keith whispered, hand on his gun.

"Could be....." Hunter whispered back. "After all they did manage to ambush us on the way here."

"If that's so, what the hell did Parvo do with the town's population?" Blitz asked.

"I guess were gonna find out. Blitz, Exile open the gate. Hunter, you're with me. Shoot anything that attacks, human or dog." Keith ordered.

Hunter nodded and readied his pistol, standing next to Keith. Keith got into postion as well, ready for anything. Blitz and Exile put their paws on the latch, waiting for Keith's order.

"One, two, NOW!" Keith shouted.

In a flash the gate was pulled to the left, revealing a trading area. The area had various stands selling fruits, meats, and other merchandise. It was a square area, and had another gate on the other side. It had a building in the middle, along with a bus that was obviously broken down.

"Typical shanty town....." Keith muttered, lowering his weapon.

"Yeah, but even shanty towns have people." Hunter added.

They all stepped inside, weapons drawn.

"I don't like this, were too out in the open. If we were to get ambushed....." Blitz began.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! All the dogs jumped at the sound; it was Hunter's radio.

"Easy guys. It's probably Shag." Hunter chuckled.

"Go ahead buddy!"

"RARRAA! RAARRRARARARARA!" Shag panicked through the radio.

"WHAT?! The cano-soldiers came back?! What are they after?!" Hunter exclaimed.

All the dogs were bracing themselves at the sudden panic, waiting for an answer.

"RARAAA! RARARARARARAAARAA! *SHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT*" Shag replied.

"Shag! Shag! Fuck!" Hunter panicked. "What's going on?!" Keith exclaimed.

"The base is being invaded again. Shag said they're after Shepherd's research data!" Hunter replied.

"What?! We have to get back! Colleen!" Blitz shouted.

Suddenly the gate slammed shut behind them, and voices in Swahili began to shout around them.

"Up there!" Keith shouted, pointing his gun at the top of the bus.

What they saw weren't humans, but more of those cano sapiens from before. What was weird was that they weren't suited up for battle, but dressed like they lived here. Typical torn up clothes, dirt faces etc.

"Where did they come from?!" Exile shouted.

"Were trapped!" Blitz proclaimed, trying to get the gate open.

More of the dogs were coming out of the wood work, and the Rovers were quickly getting surrounded.

"Shoot them! Push through!" Keith ordered.

They all began running forward, shooting anything that attacked them. The enemy dogs had makeshift melee weapons, including axes, picks and glass bottles.

"Split up! Exile work on the gate leading on, the rest of you keep them busy! We'll cover you!" Keith said.

Exile nodded and ran off to his destination, while the rest split up to combat their assailants. The dogs were all from different breeds including labs, mutts and others; all screaming for a piece of their intruders. Keith ran on top of the building on top of the bus to provide some sniper support, only to be stopped with a glass bottle to the face.

"AH! SHIT!" Keith cursed, clutching his face.

The dog laughed and something parasitic came out of its mouth and went back in, as if to say it was mocking him. Keith blew the dog's head off, and then jumped on top of the bus. Keith pulled out his machine gun and began targeting the resident dogs, aiming perfect headshots. Hunter was being backed into a corner and was almost out of his first clip. No matter how many he took down, more kept coming! Hunter reloaded his handgun, only to be axed from behind.

"AUGHHHH!" Hunter screamed.

"Hunter!" Keith and Blitz said in unison.

"Blitz! I can't get a clear shot! Save Hunter! I still have to cover Exile!" Keith radioed.

"Roger!" Blitz replied, finishing off a black lab with a headshot.

"Hold on Hunter!" Blitz shouted, running over to where Hunter was being stomped on.

Hunter was screaming in intense agony from his wound and being pounded on by the resident dogs. They all were howling and laughing in triumph as they wailed on the poor retriever, but yet Hunter couldn't help pity them a little.

They're all mindless beings. They're just being controlled, their lives stolen from them.

Hunter tried covering up his head with his arms for protection, but it was no use, he was done.

Was I just slowing everyone down? Hunter thought. Sorry for being so weak everyone....

The poor dog's vision was slowly fading to black, when he saw one of the dog's head explode.

"Hunter! Stay with me!" Blitz shouted, shooting the cano-sapiens. T

he dogs howled in rage at Blitz, but they were all quickly overtaken in a hail of bullets thanks to additional covering fire from Keith. Blitz quickly ran over and cradled Hunter, shaking him awake.

"Wake up! Hunter!" Blitz said in desperation.

Hunter's eyes slowly opened, and he looked into he eyes of his best friend.

He smiled and mockingly said "I wasn't predicting this *cough* usually it's me saving your ass. *cough*"

Blitz smiled and replied "Shh. Can you stand?" Hunter shook his head no, so Blitz radioed Keith.

"Keith I need a patch up over here! Hunter is critical!"

"Okay. Cover Exile. I'll....GAH!" Keith shouted.

"Keith! Keith!" Blitz radioed. Blitz looked over at the bus where Keith was, and he was being pummeled by a couple of fat, muscular dogs.

"Where did they come from?!" Blitz exclaimed.

"Hey! I could use some help over here!" Exile shouted, being surrounded by a group of enemies.

What should I do?! There's too many and Hunter is too badly injured to leave alone! Blitz thought frantically.

Suddenly he felt a warm energy emit from Hunter, and he seemed to glow a bright orange. It had the same feeling as Keith's energy.

So he has finally awakened as well. I guess I'll have to tell him everything once we get out of this. Blitz thought.

"My body's getting hot again!" Hunter said.

Suddenly his wounds were healed, and had renewed energy to fight.

Wait. Am I the same as Keith? What's going on?! Hunter thought.

Hunter shook himself and stood up, ready to fight again.

"Come on Blitz! I got Keith! Go get Exile!" Hunter ordered. Blitz nodded and the two split up to rescue their partners. Keith was being bounced and forth between the two massive dogs, and was barely standing up.

I can't even get still for a second to heal myself, or even to use my parasite energy in general. Dammit! Keith thought, being knocked to the ground.

The two dogs slapped their stomach and laughed heartily. Keith attempted to get a fix on one of the heads, but his vision was incredibly blurry.

Come on now! Give me something to work with!

Suddenly a flurry of bullets overtook the two dogs, and they fell with a heavy thud. Keith looked at the source of his savior; it was Hunter.

"Keith!" Hunter said, lowering his machine gun.

He ran over to his fallen comrade and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?!" Hunter exclaimed.

How did he recover so quickly? Keith thought.

"Let me help...." Hunter said, holding out his paws. Keith began to feel a warm, gentle aura began to overtake him; it was Parasite Energy!

How the hell did Hunter get my powers?! What's going on? Keith thought What's more, how did he learn to use them?

What was really weird was the pureness of the energy being processed, like it was more powerful than Keith's. Keith recovered quickly, and just looked at Hunter a little confused.

"Yeah I know it's a shock to me too. But we can discuss this later. Let's go after Blitz and Exile." Hunter said.

The two lept off the bus, taking out a few more dogs along the way. Blitz and Exile were putting up a pretty decent fight, but they were running out of steam and ammunition.

"They just keep coming!" Blitz shouted, round housing a dog away.

"Yeah! More fun for us I guess!" Exile retorted, reloading his weapon.

POP! SPLAT! Two heads exploded near Blitz and Exile, and the two nodded in acknowledgment of their compatriots.

"Took you two long enough!" Exile said, firing away at various targets.

After a few more shots, Keith decided to help speed things along.

"Guys get close! It's going to get really hot around here!" Keith shouted.

All the dogs huddled close together, not knowing what to expect. "Inferno!" Keith shouted, focusing his hand into a fist and then pulling his arm down in a jerking motion. Suddenly all the dogs spontaneously combust, and what was left retreated over the wall. Keith was panting after releasing all that energy, and hunched over a little. The three other dogs just stared in amazement at the scene, and then looked at Keith.

"That's something I created on my own." Keith said with a smile. The three other dogs were a little taken aback, but they just chuckled a little.

"But anyway, Hunter how did you get parasite energy?" Keith asked, holstering his weapons.

Hunter shook his head and replied "I don't know. That's something I wanna know myself." Blitz became really quiet and turned away, lowering his head.

"Comrade? What is it?" Exile asked, putting his paw on Blitz's shoulder.

"I.....know why. I know about everything. Hunter's past, the experiments, everything." Blitz said, a little saddened.

"What?! How?!" Hunter exclaimed.

"I....we need to get to a safe place first. I'll tell you everything once we get settled." Blitz replied, helping Exile open the gate.

All the dogs were silent and nodded, then proceeded on.

What's going on? What does Blitz know? Hunter and Keith thought simultaneously.

Hunter and Keith looked at each other with a little bewilderment, but shook it off when they both remembered they loved each other and how nothing would separate them.

It doesn't matter. No matter what the truth is, we will always be together. They both thought.

Keith gave his mate a kiss on the cheek and a reassuring smile, and Hunter just smiled back. Past the gate was a strip with various stands on it, empty buildings encasing the strip. At the end seemed to be some sort of storage warehouse, with another red gate blocking their path.

"Night is starting to fall. We should get to that warehouse and take some cover. If we were to get ambushed at night, were screwed. Any objections?" Keith asked.

No one spoke up, and they continued on. The dogs were getting tired, and the mile long walk to the facility wasn't helping at all.

We can't stay in any of these buildings. It's too dangerous being out in the open. And maybe the ware house has some supplies. Keith thought to himself, trying to keep himself awake.

Hunter was staggering a little, as was Blitz and Exile.

"Come on guys, just a little further!" Keith encouraged his compatriots.

"Hey it's easy for you to say! You're not the one with a thick Siberian fur coat in the suffocating heat and carrying a ton of equipment!" Exile replied jokingly.

"Well there's one way to solve that problem....." Hunter said, pulling at Exile's pants.

"Hey! You have your own partner! That's Blitz's job!" Exile replied, elbowing Blitz.

Blitz just smiled slightly, and just continued to sulk. The others were getting worried about their dobie, what did he know that was so bad that it would affect their happy-go-lucky friend? The rest of the walk was uneventful surprisingly, and they opened the gate without much effort. The Rovers stepped inside expecting a fight, but they were greeted with nothing but eerie silence. The warehouse exterior yard was filled with various old broken cars and junk scattered all over the place. No signs of life to be had.

Where the fuck did they go? Surely there were a lot more of them..... Keith thought to himself.

"Over here!" Exile shouted. Exile had discovered a side door leading inside the warehouse, and they all prepared to enter.

"On my mark....." Keith whispered. Exile placed his had on the door, the others readying their weapons.

"NOW!" Hunter and Keith entered the warehouse waving their weapons; Blitz and Exile following.

The warehouse was filled with cargo trucks and army vehicles, along with various machinery. The interior was massive, and had a second floor that looked like it was just offices and storage.

"Split up!" Keith whispered "Exile, Blitz the second floor. Hunter you're with me."

Everyone nodded and split up, ready for anything. Blitz and Exile found a stairwell leading upstairs, and they slowly made their way up.

"*Cough hack*" Blitz coughed.

"What's wrong?" Exile asked.

"Smell that?" Blitz asked.

Exile sniffed the air, and gagged a little.

"Something's obviously dead......" Blitz added.

They made top the stairs and stepped into a dim lit, narrow hallway. Light was coming through the windows in the offices, but it was quickly fading thanks to the impending night. Blitz and Exile pulled out their flashlights and slowly crept along the floor, ready for anything. As they made their way toward the first office, the smell became stronger. As much as the dogs wanted to avoid looking in, a part of them couldn't help but look.

"Oh geez......" Blitz said, falling back into the hallway slightly.

"What comrade? Holy....." Exile said, freezing at the sight. It was one of those dogs, except its head was missing and its body lying prostrate on the floor. Blitz threw up in the hallway and Exile just froze, completely taken aback at what he was looking at.

What the hell have we gotten ourselves into? This is a living nightmare! What the hell is Parvo thinking?! Exile thought.

Exile went over to inspect the body, covering his muzzle with his sleeve. The poor dog had been beaten to a bloody pulp, and then his head ripped from his neck with tremendous force.

What could've done this? One of those dogs? Why would they kill one of their own? Unless.... Exile thought.

Exile searched the pockets of the corpse, and found what he was looking for.

No....

Exile found his id. This dog was a Rover. But how did he know about Parvo and the virus?

Unless headquarters knew about this before we did. But why didn't they tell us? Were the main force! Unless....it has to do what Blitz is hiding. How deep does this thing go? Exile thought.

"Exile? What are you....?" Blitz asked, still a little woozy.

"This dog is Rover. From the looks of it, he's been dead awhile now. What I want to know is how he knew about Parvo and his plans to begin with." Exile explained. Blitz froze and had the same look as earlier; like he knew something.

"Blitz? What the hell do you know?" Exile demanded, shaking him a little.

"More than you think. I told I'll explain it to you all when we get settled." Blitz replied, looking away. Exile nodded and let him go, and then he walked past Blitz into the hallway.

I didn't know this would all be uncovered at once. I've got a lot of explaining to do. Blitz thought to himself.

Blitz sighed and readjusted himself, and then followed after Exile.

Hunter and Keith were had searched half of the bottom floor and all of the trucks along the way. What was weird was they all full tanks of gas, along with various types of equipment including ammo, searching tools, weapons, and other various items.

"At least we can stock up while were here. No if we can just find some....." Hunter started.

"Rations. And water!" Keith finished Hunter's sentence.

Keith had discovered some cans of fruit, beans, and other various food items. There was also some bottled waters to go with it. What was really strange that they all weren't expired, and were surprisingly fresh.

Never kick a gifted horse in the mouth... Keith thought.

"Hunter radio the others. This area is secure and were turning in for the night." Keith ordered.

"Copy that. Blitz, Exile is your perimeter secure?" Hunter radioed.

"Affirmative." Exile replied. "Come downstairs. We found some rations and water. Were turning in for the night." Hunter said.

"Roger!" Exile replied happily. Keith and Hunter began unpacking the rations they found, and took out some glow sticks to help light the back of the cargo truck. Blitz and Exile soon arrived, and the boys unequipped their weapons so they could relax for awhile. They all sat back against the walls of the truck, talking about little things, this and that. Then it was time to get serious.

"Blitz, what do you know? About Hunter? Shepherd? That dead Rover?" Exile said.

Hunter and Keith choked in unison, and Hunter spoke up. "Dead Rover? What are you talking about?" Hunter said, still hacking a little.

"We found a dead Rover upstairs. We have no idea what he was doing here. Apparently headquarters know more than they let on." Exile replied.

All eyes were focused on Blitz, waiting for his answer. Blitz finished off his can of fruit and then he began.

"Well to begin, I never knew any of this would come to the surface, so I kept it hidden. I was just trying to protect you all. I found this in the Road Rover database. I did it to find something about Hunter. On why he didn't have as many powers as the rest of us."

Silence.

"Hunter you are exactly like Keith, you're mitochondria are engineered to put out an enormous amount of energy. How this came about is something you might not believe..." Blitz trailed off.

Keith and Hunter looked at each other, a little frightened about what Blitz might say. They took each others hands, ready for anything.

"A few years back, there was an outbreak in Manhattan. It involved a being named EVE. She apparently wanted to make mitochondria the supreme beings and control the earth. Mutations on many types of animals occurred, and they spread like an epidemic throughout the city. A lone police officer with the same powers as you two put the being down and the threat was contained. But....."

"But.....?" Keith urged. "There was a scientist who took samples of the mutant mitochondria from the police officer, and used it for "research".This eventually escalated something into the "Neo Ark Project" in Nevada. That's where you and Keith come in."

Keith and Hunter's eyes widened, and they clutched each others paws tightly.

"The Neo Ark Project was used to engineer supreme animals and humans with the mutant mitochondria, in order to "re-vitalize all living races". Shepherd oversaw the animal department, and his specialty was dogs. He engineered many types of dogs, a majority of them failed, but then he found......" Blitz stopped, looking at Hunter.

This is going to crush him...

"He found your mother, and he engineered her. What was strange was, she had the exact same signature as EVE in Manhattan. Shepherd concluded that she had contact with the virus in Manhattan and carried with her, but didn't mutate because of her blood type." Blitz said.

"My mother?! My mother......" Hunter was cut off.

"Is not in Wisconsin, you are an orphan. You're real mother perished in that facility..." Blitz finished Hunter's sentence.

I don't want to hear anymore! Hunter thought It's all a lie! I know it!

Hunter's head lowered in sadness, and Keith supported him.

"Shepherd decided to reproduce additional dogs like your mother. So he artificially made dog sperm without mitochondrial DNA, that way the signatures would remain the same. All were miscarriages, except you Hunter. There was however, a rebellion. Your mother transformed into EVE and unleashed her power which destroyed half of the facility. You however somehow managed to escape. That's how you ended up in LA. How Shepherd survived is a mystery. You were also chosen to be a Road Rover because of your dormant powers, and just in case you ever awoke, Shepherd could keep an eye on you." Blitz explained.

Hunter's head was lowered and he just stared down in disbelief.

What? My mother is dead? What about my memories? Were those fake? No! NO! I won't believe it! Hunter thought.

"But what about my memories? I remember playing with my mother! Laughing! Crying! Being comforted....." Hunter breathed, holding his tears back.

Keith hated seeing his partner like this, and wished that he could do something for him.

Hunter..... Blitz looked at his best friend and wanted to cry, but he knew Hunter had to hear this. He....and Keith are the only ones that can stop what's to come.

"You're mitochondria altered your mind to help you deal with the trauma, that's all there is to it. I'm sorry Hunter......" Blitz said ashamed.

Hunter was breathing hard and trying not to cry, and then he buried himself into Keith.

"What about me?" Keith asked, comforting Hunter. "From what the files said, you were developed for military research under the same branch. You appeared in Hunter's vision because you probably interacted with each other one time or another. As far as your memories and other facts, you're the same as Hunter. As far as the Rover Branch being involved in this, they already had a tack on Parvo......" Blitz was interrupted.

"Please Blitz stop....please...." Hunter begged.

"Hunter you need to hear....." Blitz argued.

"ABOUT WHAT?! HOW I'M REALLY A MONSTER?! HOW MY LIFE IS A LIE?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HID THIS FROM ME ALL THESE YEARS!" Hunter raged, standing up.

"Hunter!" Keith said, grabbing his arm. "How is this not bothering you Keith?! Aren't you the least bit scared and sad about what you are?! What's more about me!" Hunter snapped.

Keith was silent, and fell back. Hunter's eyes were filled with tears and began rocking back and forth, unable to handle the information he just heard.

It's a lie. It's all a lie....

"Hunter...." Blitz began.

"Please just leave me alone..." Hunter whispered, walking away.

Exile grabbed his arm and Hunter replied "Let me go. I don't want to end up hurting you all. Please just leave be...."

Exile let go and Hunter hopped off the truck. He climbed in the one next door and lay down to go to sleep. The others were completely silent in disbelief. There was nothing else to say, so they all stripped out of their clothes and went to sleep. Keith heard Hunter sobbing in the truck next door, and his heart was broken. However he knew Hunter needed to be alone, so he just let out a few tears and went to sleep.

Hunter.....I love you. Even if you are a monster. Were partners to the end.....