FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As the door opened a blinding light filled the little fox kit's field of vision. He raised his paws in front of his eyes as he toddled into the room. Once the door behind him closed the light faded back to a normal intensity. The kit looked around the room; it was gigantic, filled with nothing but chairs and their occupants. He had never seen so many people in one place before.

Taking count of the different people the kit noticed that the vast majority were elderly. Sometimes he would see a younger adult in one of the chairs. After looking the room over he realized he was the only child present. In fact, he was the only non-adult in the entire room.

From behind the kit heard a deep voice speak. "Michael Whitfield..."

The kit turned his head instantly upon hearing his name.

A tall male in a pitch black suit stood by the door. Michael couldn't get a good look at the figure's face, and he couldn't see a tail, so he had no idea what species male was. The male stared at Michael for a few seconds before saying "Please take a seat" in an emotionless voice.

Michael felt a primal surge of fear well up in response to the male's voice. The kit quickly scurried away to the other side of the room. As the kit searched for an empty seat he could feel a thick blanket of tension covering the room. He started taking a closer look at everyone's face.

Each person he looked at was wearing a distinct facial expression. Some of them showed a deep, mournful sadness, a few looked absolutely terrified, and every now and then he would come across someone that seemed elated to be in the room. Still, the majority were just tense, keeping their heads down, refusing to acknowledge Michael's presence.

After walking for what felt like hours Michael finally spotted an empty seat. Walking over to the chair he realized he was going too small to sit regularly. As the kit prepared to jump up he heard a female's voice. "Need some help? Little one"

Looking to the voice's source Michael saw a young female calico cat sitting in the seat adjacent to the one he was trying to occupy. The cat was staring directly at Michael, so the kit softly shook his head up and down. The young adult cat quickly reached down, tightly wrapping her paws around Michael's side before gently lifting the kit into the chair.

Michael gave the cat a soft "thank you." The cat returned his gratitude with a warm, almost motherly smile.

"It's a damn shame" a male's voice came from behind the cat.

"Paul! Don't use language like that in front of a baby!" The cat swiftly countered

"All things considered, I don't think it really matters anymore" the male voice said. The owner of the male voice shifted in his seat, allowing Michael to get a good look at him. He was a solid white cat, and looked to be the same age as the female.

Paul briefly gazed at the fox kit before turning his head away and muttering. "Someone his age shouldn't be here."

Paul closed his eyes and threw his paws behind his head, trying his best to look relaxed. Despite his efforts Michael immediately picked up on the stress in his motions. The fox kit gave a small whimper and folded his ears slightly. Did he do something to make the male cat mad?

The female cat heard Michael's whimper and moved quickly to comfort the kit. "Oh, don't pay him any mind, little one. He's just... tense... everyone here is."

The female cat leaned over and patted Michael's head. "My name is Linda, and he's Paul. Paul is my fiancé; do you know what that means?"

The fox kit shook his head from side to side.

"It means that we were going to get married soon." Linda said with a smile.

The white cat gave a cough and shifted in his chair again. He turned his head away from Michael and Linda before softly saying. "But now... That will probably never happen."

Michael gave the cats a curious look and asked, "why not?"

Paul immediately turned his head to face Michael, with wide eyes he asked "Little boy, do you know what this place is?"

Again Michael shook his head from side to side.

"Paul! Please, that's enough, the last thing we need right now is negativity. Whether we get sent back or go through we will still get married! I know we will..." Linda said, her eyes beginning to slightly water.

"Linda! We have no idea what's going to happen. What if one of us goes through and another goes back. What if...one of us... goes to...?" Linda rapidly slung her whole body around, wrapping her paws around Paul's shoulders.

"Paul, please... We will be together... we have to be" A single tear rolled down Linda's cheeks.

Michael gave the two cats a confused look and asked "Why you thinkin' you won't be together? You're together right now!"

Linda couldn't help but chuckle at the kit's comment. "Hehe, you're right little boy, if nothing else, we can face this part together." With that comment the two cats shared a brief kiss.

After finishing their exchange Paul began to speak directly to Michael. "She's right. I was being dumb; we'll end up getting married soon!" Despite his best efforts Paul was unable to hide the doubt and fear in his voice.

As he noted the odd look the toddler was giving him Paul quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm curious; do you know what's going on here little one?"

The fox kit's only response was to lower his head and mutter a soft, "no."

Before Paul could say anything else Linda interjected. "That may actually be for the best."

Michael stood up in his seat and began surveying the room for a third time. all he saw was a giant room full of people sitting and doing nothing it instantly reminded him of something.

"Is this like a doctor's office?" the kit asked.

"That's a good way to think about it. This is pretty much a waiting room. Though we're not waiting to see a doctor." Linda said without turning her head.

Michael opened his mouth to speak again, but he was suddenly interrupted by a loud "NOOOO!" from the row of chairs directly in front of him.

Turning to see what was wrong the kit saw an elderly mare on her knees with grey hair and red-rimmed glasses. The mare voice and appearance instantly made Michael think of his grandmother.

The figure said nothing, but slowly extended its arm outwards. The mare let out a dreadful shriek as the figure's arm inched closer and closer. Until the cloak touched her, and suddenly the mare and the figure were gone in an instant.

Michael, Linda, and Paul all sat motionless in their seats. Their wide-eye gazes were fixed on the now vacant chair. What felt like hours passed before Michael finally brought himself to ask out loud "what happened?!"

Paul began shivering. He placed his paws between his legs and looked down at the floor, muttering out. "It was her time... It'll be out time soon."

Wanting to balance out her fiancé's negativity Linda turned to comfort the kit. "She was probably just scared cause of how sudden it was! I doubt anything bad will happen to her... Or to us!"

The words did little to comfort the kit. He couldn't help but curl into a ball and hide his face in his knees. He closed his eyes and entered into a state of deep thought. He just wanted to go home; he missed his mommy and daddy. Why was he here? Why did he have to sit in this chair?

A long time passed as the three sat in silence. Michael stayed in his curled up position, reflecting on various memories, the holidays at his grandmother's house. The time that his dad and uncle first took him to the community pool and taught him to swim. His collection of soft, warm plush toys waiting in his room at home, but most of all, he kept thinking about his parent's faces, their warm smiles.

Michael's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Paul's voice. "oh...oh no..."

Michael broke his posture and looked over at the couple. Linda was breathing heavily, seemingly struggling to get air down. At the same time Paul sat wide eyed the fur on the nape of his neck standing on edge.

Michael could feel the panic coming from the two cats. He took a look around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Trying to find out why the two were so worried all of a sudden he asked in, "What's wrong?"

Tears began to stream down Paul's face. He gripped the edge of his seat with all his might. Between deep breaths and anguished hiccups Paul managed to grunt out. "It's my time..."

Michael's vision briefly faded. When it was restored he saw the same dark figure that had taken the mare earlier standing in front of Paul. Michael let out a gasp, knowing what was about to happen. At first the figure stood completely still, but after a few moments it began to extend its arm towards Paul.

"Wait! Please! I'm sorry, I'll go... Just... Please let us go together." Paul said through his tears.

The figure turned its cloaked and stared at Linda. The calico cat went completely silent for a few seconds before looking up at the figure and nodding. Without saying anymore words Linda grabbed Paul's paw. Afterwards Paul reached out and grabbed the figure's cloak, and in an instant the three were gone.

Michael stared out the empty chairs, completely dumbfounded by what had just happened. He was now completely alone, he looked to the left and saw no one; he looked to the right, only empty chairs. The kit felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. He absolutely hated being alone.

Without any warning the fox kit heard a voice. "Michael Whitfield... I will be before you shortly..."

Michael gulped, just the tone of the voice made a primal fear well up inside of the kit. Despite the dread he was unable to bring himself to move. He placed his paws at his sides and stared down at the seat cover.

Finally Michael's vision briefly went dark. Once it returned he slowly lifted his head. Sure enough, the tall, cloak figure was standing directly in front of the kit. Soon the kit heard the voice again. "Come... It is time... Grab my cloak... I'll take you to the gate."

Despite the voice wracking his nerves, something inside the little fox told him he had to do what the voice instructed. After a brief bit of hesitation Michael slowly extended his paw forward and gently put it on the figure's black cloak.

In an instant the kit was transported in front of an ordinary looking door. As the door began to open on its own the kit turned around, the cloaked figure was already gone, and all that was behind him was an empty room filled with unoccupied chairs.

Taking a deep breath Michael slowly toddled through the door. The next room was completely empty save for a wooden stool sitting in front of a nondescript office desk, and Sitting behind the desk was a dashing dog. Though Michael couldn't tell exactly what species he was.

The Dog reached down and picked up a stapled pile of papers. Once the papers were firmly in his paw he looked up and gave Michael a smile. "Don't be afraid, little one, please come take a seat."

Michael did as instructed. He walked up to the wooden stool; he observed that he would need to climb it before sitting down. Once he nearly reached his destination the dog stopped him. "Hold on a sec! I don't get little ones very often in here; let me fix that for you..."

Michael blinked. Despite his eyes only closing for a split second the dog behind the desk had managed to replace the tall adult stool with a low to the ground child stool. As soon as he sat down Michael felt warmth envelop his body. The dog stared into the kit's eyes for a few seconds, before cheerfully announcing. "Awesome! You pass the test!"

A confused look crept across the fox kit's face. Completely ignoring the kit's confusion the dog spoke. "Whelp, you're just about done here."

The kit's ears twitched at the word 'done.' He perked his head up and loudly asked. "Does that mean I get to go home soon?"

The dog flipped the papers in his paw back until he reached the very last page. After taking several seconds to examine the parchment he answered the kit. "Yes, you'll be going home soon. Though not to the home you're thinking about. You'll be going to your true home"

Only feeling more confusion at the answer Michael asked the dog, "what does that mean?"

Without looking up from the paper the dog answered. "Little one, this report here is telling me there is no way we could send you back to the home you came from. I know you've only been where you were for a few years, but you have to leave that place behind."

Michael felt a familiar sensation in his chest. A lump formed in the kit's throat. The dog didn't stop staring at the papers but he did begin to comfort the kit. "There is no need for tears Michael; you're moving into the happiest place that ever existed."

The dog's words soothed the kit immensely, he felt the urge to cry leave him immediately. However; he was still not sure where the dog was talking about. "Am I moving to Disneyland?"

The dog chuckled at the comment. "heh, the place your going makes Disneyland look like a boring, rainy Monday afternoon! Now then, my assistant, Rosalyn, deals with cases involving young children, please exit the office and she'll take care of you."

Michael slowly toddled to the door. Once he was a few feet away the door opened by itself, this time however; it opened to a brightly lit hallway, rather than the tense waiting room it had connected to before.

"Hello Michael, I've been waiting for you" a soft voice came from the kit's left, causing him to turn.

In front of him was the most beautiful vixen he had ever seen. As soon as he saw the vixen he felt a sense of peace and happiness wash over him. He stared at her, wide eyed, as she approached. She reached down and gently picked up the kit. Holding him close she introduced herself. "My name is Rosalyn. I'll be taking care of you from now on."

Michael gave Rosalyn a confused look. "Take care of me?"

Rosalyn smiled and brushed the kit's cheek. "Yes dear, you'll be living with me from now on. As soon as we get out of here I'll show you around. You're in for a real treat!"

The kit looked Rosalyn in the eyes and asked. "Are mommy and daddy coming too?"

Rosalyn took a deep breath. "I'm sorry little one; they'll come pick you up some day, but not for a long time."

Michael gave Rosalyn a pained look. "But I wanna stay with mommy and daddy!"

Rosalyn picked the kit up in her arms and held him close. She patted his pack and ran her fingers gently through his tail, trying her best to sooth him as she explained. "Little one, I know you miss your parents, but... When the truck driver hit the black ice he lost control of the truck and it swerved across the median... It hit the back of your family's car and crushed it. You just got hurt too badly for your little body to sustain your life; your home is here now."

Michael felt tears well up in his eyes. Noticing this Rosalyn embraced the kit in a tight hug. "Now now, there are no tears in heaven. I promise you'll be happy, and remember your mommy and daddy will come pick you up eventually."

Her words were enough comfort to stem the incoming flow of tears. Still feeling twinges of sadness Michael gave a deep sigh before resting his head on Rosalyn's shoulders. The vixen opened the door, allowing a pure white light into the room. She spread her angelic wings and gently carried the kit into paradise.