FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Clara..." I started as she stormed off up the stairs after her yelling match with Aaron. Just to my right, he stood fuming. Thinking it best not to speak to him yet, I flicked my tail nervously and darted my eyes over to where David was kneeling on the ground, trying to get back up despite his bum knee. "Here," I offered, bending down and grasping his arm lightly, "let me help you back over to the couch."

"Get away from me, you piece-of-shit freak of nature!" He bellowed, tearing his arm from my grasp and reaching over to the nearby small wooden stool. With a grunt, he flings it over at me.

To my surprise, Aaron quickly pulled me out of the projectile's path, then shoved David over onto his back with a foot. Pointing a finger menacingly, he nearly yelled, "You need to just shut up, bigot." He then turned to me. "Keon, let's get out of here for a bit. Everybody here needs to go take a very cold bath, and even that might not cure all this hot-headedness."

"Uh, yeah. Sounds like a good plan" I mumbled as my eyes darted warily to where David lay on the floor, stunned and fuming. I quickly scooped up my bag, which I had lain by the door, and followed Aaron outside to the Dart. After opening the driver door and checking the gas tank, seeing it still had about a fourth left, hopped in and started her up. The engine purred to life as I tossed my bag in the back seat. Aaron hopped in right as I was changing the AC to a more comfortable setting.

"Ready to go?" He asked, smiling over at me.

"Ye...yes, I'm all ready" I stammer a bit and turn away from his warm smile. As I pulled away

Yeah, I'd only just met him, but he was, by far, the nicest person I'd met in a long time outside of my family. Circumstantially, I imagine you'd fall for his handsome, tall, blonde figure.

So there.

Plus...he reminded me so much of John...

***

By the time I was born, the battle for equality in love and marriage had been completely fought and won. Any couple in any state could legally be a couple, with only the fear of the bigots. It was even made to be something taught in schools, as to try to stop the cycles of bigotry. From kindergarten, many children learned what many parents already taught; anyone can love whom they chose. All this, of course, didn't stop all the hatred. Just like the KKK still existed after the civil rights movements, so would those groups that hated homosexuals, transsexuals, and whoever else. Luckily, the government foresaw rebellious attitudes, and made protective laws.

It was the ending of the 23rd century when I finally started school, a mere kit entering kindergarten at Decatur Elementary in Decatur, Illinois. Of course, my parents made sure that I went to a school that was openly friendly towards Furries, as the Furred Rights Movement was in full swing in many areas of the country.

I remember crying as my mother knelt next to me in the front lawn of the school, her reassuring words and kisses doing little to calm my five-year-old self. My mother had to leave, though, and had to send me off to the door still sniffling, tail limp and ears folded back sadly.

"Hey, foxy, are you okay?" I heard from beside me, though I could not see whom it was with my head hung.

"No..." I sniffed, then continued, "Momma had to go...she's gone..." Still not looking up, I wiped a few tears away with the sleeve of my shirt. I was finally walking to the outside door where my mother had told me to wait.

The voice, a boy's, followed me, as did to dark furred feet-paws. "She'll come back. And if she doesn't, your daddy will." A hand-paw of the same fur grabbed mine and tugged lightly.

"You sure?" I asked as I looked up into the smiley face of a dark furred leopard cub, rich amber-brown eyes twinkling happily over a black nose, whiskers twitching a bit in the light breeze.

"I promise" The cub assured me, pulling me into a big, unexpected, but welcomed hug. "My name is John!"

"Mine's...Keon."

The rest is history, as they say. We became fast friends, and were nearly inseparable. I was never a talkative child, and he more than made up for my lack of speaking, but I was always willing to listen. He was funny, pretty smart, and cute too. Luckily enough, he thought I was cute too, and we shared our first kiss, one of those small pecks common of elementary school. As we were both in the innocents of third grade, we both blushed brightly after he pecked me on my orange-furred cheek. "I hope we'll always be together." He'd told me when we were leaving school that day.

"I hope so, too."

That only lasted for so long.

We were in sixth grade when the Virus swept into America. I'd heard things about it for a little over a week, while my mother and father stalled answering any of my questions; I imagine now that they'd been wondering the same things. Even the teachers' worries were easy to see as the news of the outbreak on the east coast grew worse.

On day John was here, the next, gone.

He and his parents had fled to safety before things really got bad, and he didn't warn me, or say "goodbye," or anything. I think, now, that he had as little warning of his departure as I'd had, but I'd felt extremely hurt. He'd been, by far, my closest friend and anyone could tell we were together, even if nothing had officially been said between us; it had never been necessary.

The dark furred leopard always stayed in my memory, though. As stupid and mushy as it is, I really do think I'd loved him. I knew, deep inside, that I'd probably never find him again; never see his goofy grin, here is strange feline laugh, or hold his paw in mine.

***

Here, we can try looking in some of these houses." Aaron pointed down a street as I drove slowly through the outskirts of some town. The ride, about 30 minutes or so, had been filled with Aaron's voice. He told me about this and that, whatever came to mind, as I pretended to listen while I actually daydreamed, just conscious enough to know where I was on the road. I don't remember exactly what he had talked about, but I remember his smiles, frowns, wind-blown hair from his rolled-down window...

"Here. We'll start here." I said, pulling up by a house with wood siding that had once been stained a red color, from the looks. "You can go ahead; I'm gonna fill the gas tank really quick."

"Alright, no problem." Aaron answered as he opened the car door and pulled his pack off the floor, swinging it over a shoulder. As he walked to the front door, looking to gain entrance, I turned the old Dart off and popped the trunk and gas cap. After I'd empted one of the gas cans into the car, I grabbed my own pack and shut the trunk. Aaron, by this time, had moved to the back door, seeing if it would be easier access.

"Any luck yet?" I asked as I hopped the fence to the backyard.

"None. I was never good at picking locks, and I don't even have the right tools to do so. The front door is solid hardwood, so kicking it open won't be easy. We could maybe break in through this door," he gestured to the door with a large, double-paned window in the middle that took up the majority of the door, "but again, not the easiest thing to break, though easier than the door." He stood up and sighed, giving the whole house a quick once-over with a keen eye.

"Is there a basement? We could break in through a window well."

"No, unfortunately, it's a ranch-style house. So, no basement or second level windows."

I looked around the backyard before answering. "There are a few large landscaping rocks around. We could one of those to shatter the glass."

Aaron nodded. "That's a good idea; it's worth a shot." And so, we both went and hoisted up a rock together. After shuffling over to near the door, we swung it our arms a few times before tossing it at the glass. The glass shattered as it flew through and hit the interior floor with a loud thud and the sound of breaking tiles.

"Here, I want to wrap my paws really quick so I don't have to worry so much about glass shards." I said as I sat down on the ground and pulled my cloth wraps from my pack. "You don't have to wait for me." I added as I saw Aaron lean against the house and watch me.

"I know, but I will anyway." He replied. I just shook my head a little and smiled. After I had wrapped both my foot-paws, Aaron offered me a hand and helped me up. I don't understand... why is he so nice to me? No one else is... _ _I thought as I followed him through the broken pane of glass. Treading carefully, we entered into what looked to be a kitchen. Glass and broken tile crunched under my cloth-wrapped paws as I reach over my shoulder and pull the flashlight from my pack. I didn't need it now, but I might later.

Aaron turned to face me. "Here, before we start, we should think of a few specific things to find. I vote medicine be on the list."

"Yeah, that is a good idea. Any jewelry is good for bargaining with other survivors. And if there is any gas cans in the garage, I'll put those in the trunk."

"Alright. We should also see if we can find any batteries." Aaron added with a glance at my flashlight. I nodded and stepped forward, turning on the beam into the dark house, dusty motes floating through the air. Looking around, I headed towards what looked like the main hallway. The carpeted floor was covered in all manners of debris, from the droppings of various rodents to their ancestor the dust bunnies.

Coming on the first door of the hallway, I turned the handle and nudged it open with a foot. A couple of rats hissed and skittered of what remained of the bed in the center of the bedroom. It was obvious that the room had once belonged to a girl, as the flashlight illuminated bright pink walls. "We won't find anything in here," I muttered.

I continued down the hall with Aaron behind me. The next door was a bathroom, complete with a medicine cabinet. I gave the flashlight to him and said, "I'll scrounge in here; you go look around some more."

"Alright; holler if you need anything." He said as he walked over to the door adjacent to the bathroom.

Pulling open the medicine cabinet, I placed my pack on the counter underneath and pulled open one of the pockets. Now prepared, I took a finger and followed the labels with it. "Aspirin...acetaminophen...ibuprofen..." I muttered to myself as I knocked the recognized drugs into the open pocket. I also put in a bottle of rubbing alcohol, some rolls of medical tape, and an asthma inhaler. Closing the cabinet, I opened a few of the drawers under the sink but found nothing of interest.

I jumped about a foot in the air when Aaron spoke up from behind me. "Found anything interesting?"

"Damn..." I held a hand to my chest as needless adrenaline coursed through my blood. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Yeah, I guess. Some basic pain killers and a few other basic medical supplies."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's about all I found. That was a bedroom, probably the master. I also found some batteries when I rummaged a bit in the closet."

"Nice!"

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Well, I want to check this last room," I gestured over to the last door in the hall, "And then, we should head back."

"If that's what you, that's totally cool. We've been out for about an hour and a half, so they should have cooled off at least a little." I nodded then padded over to the last door and entered in. This room was painted blue, and had most likely belonged to a boy. On the floor, against the wall, was a dusty suitcase next to a tall bookshelf. The room was somewhat small and didn't appear to hold anything of interest. Aaron just stood at the doorway as I, at a spur of the moment feeling, knelt down in front of the suitcase and unzipped it. It was just clothes. I was about to get up, until...

...that smell...

It couldn't be...

Quickly, I grabbed one of the shirts at the top of the suitcase and shoved it against my nose, inhaling deeply. It was faded, but...I'd recognize that scent anywhere.

It was John's scent.

I stood up quickly, almost giving me a head rush, and grasped Aaron by the shoulders. "He was here!" I let go just as quickly as questions fill my head. "But why? Why would he have been here? And when?"

"Just hold on a second, please, Keon!" Aaron interrupted. "Who? Who is this 'he' you're talking about."

"John! He is John. He left..." a thought crosses my mind, "Of course! He and his parents left Illinois when the Infection started...they must have come here..."

"Alright, that's cool. It's a small world, cool. But, how is this important or relevant?"

My tail, which had been flicking excitedly, drooped as Aaron's words sank in. This didn't mean much anything, except that I knew where John was six years ago. If anything, since his stuff was abandoned and covered in a thick layer of dust, he was... "You're exactly right. It's nothing of any importance. Let's go. I'm done here."

Without waiting for his answer, I pushed pass him gently and headed for the broken window where we had entered. I heard his boots crunch on the glass behind me as I stepped through the broken windowpane. We both said naught a word while we circled back around to the front of the house.

"So...I think I should ask who John was..." Aaron finally spoke up after I'd tossed my pack in the back seat and started up the car.

"He was...he is my closest and only friend...and more..." I murmured as I shifted the car and started down the street. "I...I loved him..." I finished as a single tear rolled down my cheek. Why am I being so emotional? Damn it...I haven't seen him in like 6 years...why now to start crying? I shook my head at the seeming ridiculousness. The rest of the car ride was silent, except when I asked which way to go.

After about 20 minutes, we made it back to the house we were holed up. Clara opened the door and leaned against the frame as we got our packs and exited the car, walking up to the house to meet her.

"How'd the scavenging go?" Clara said as she moved out of the doorway to let us enter.

"It went well. We found some painkillers, a few simple medical supplies, and some batteries." Aaron spoke up as he sat down on the footstool by the door, unlacing his boots. Using a wall for balance, I stood on one foot-paw while I unwrapped the other. Tossing the wraps in my pack, then pulling out one of the purification tablets, I head for the kitchen without a word to Clara.

After a bit of banging around, I find a very large stockpot in one of the lower cupboards. Filling it nearly to the brim with water from the tap, I dropped in the tablet and let it dissolve. None of us could guarantee that the tap water was sanitary, as there was no one to run the water plants anymore. After it was completely gone, I pull a cup from the cupboard and dip it into the now-clean water, chugging it all down as a pair of feet walk into the kitchen behind me.

"Keon?" asked a voice which I identified as Clara's.

"Yeah?" I turned to face her, wiping a few stray droplets of water from my muzzle with my arm.

"I just wanted to say..."

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I nearly dropped my water glass from surprise, and Clara's face turned white as the pounding at the door resounded through the house. Her tone changed immediately. "You weren't followed, were you?"

"No! How many other people do you know that have a working car with gas?"

"Yeah, alright, good point..." she conceded. I nodded then held a finger to my lips for silence. Padding softly into the living room, I did the same gesture to David, who was on the couch, and Aaron, who had been coming down the stairs. Standing in front of the door, I looked out the built in peephole. Outside, there stood someone who was obviously a Furry, as his cloth head-wrap outlined a muzzle.

"Please! I know you're there! I just want lodging for a night. I have no food, and little water. Please? Just a night?" He shouted so that we might hear him. I heard a whisper from Clara behind me.

"Don't do it!"

I looked back to the figure and was tempted to do as she said, until I saw the characteristic dark-furred tail whip from behind the Fur. Intrigued, I saw him reach up to unwrap the cloth around his head, probably so he could yell better. What would he look like?

I wonder...

In two seconds flat, I was out the door and had my arms wrapped around the Fur.

"John! John, you're alive!"