FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

1

The sky glowed with a pinkish orange hue as the sun began its morning ascent, bathing the city below in its light. Every part of the city was cast in its warmth, from the residences to the businesses to the port at the eastern side of the city that lead through a canal out to the Atlantic Ocean. The city's urban sprawl consisted of buildings made mostly of wood and bricks, with only a handful standing more than a few stories in height. For the most part the city's residents were asleep, but in a few quiet corners people stirred, leaving the world of dreams behind.

Such was the case in a somewhat small apartment above a book store that lay nestled between two larger residences. It was in the lone bed of the singular bedroom of that apartment that William Keller slept, one arm draped possessively over the woman beside him. Somewhere in the apartment a clock let out several resounding chimes, signalling the time as six o'clock. Will groaned, reluctantly pushing himself into a sitting position. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes then sighed as he ran a hand through his dark hued hair. Hearing the sounds of the clock fade away he muttered, "Hate that damn thing."

His mood improved slightly as he looked down to the left side of the bed, where Jenna Mactíre lay sound asleep. He couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of his somnolent lover, her eyelids fluttering and her flaming red hair splayed out on her pillow. She always somehow managed to sleep through the clock's morning fanfare, which left it to him to wake her. He reached down and gently placed a hand on her lightly freckled shoulder, nudging her slightly. "Jen? Jenna? Come on love, time to get up."

Jenna grumbled and curled her body a bit beneath the covers. A second later came her voice, with just the slightest hint of an Irish accent. "Mmm...don't make me get up."

Will rolled his eyes, still smiling though at what was a fairly normal routine from her. "Come on now, you can't sleep all day."

"I can certainly try."

Will leaned back against the headboard, crossed his arms, and starred down at her. He continued starring, doing nothing else for several minutes until she finally pushed herself up into a sitting position, crossing her own arms in front of her bare chest. "Fine then. I hope you're happy."

He fought back the urge to laugh at her pouting, and instead leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Always when you're around."

He then slid out of bed, feet touching the cold floor. He stretched to his full height and as he did wished he had more warming him at that moment than just his undergarments. Looking over to Jenna he said, "I've got to start getting ready for work. Don't go back to sleep, alright?"

She sighed in defeat as she smiled up at him. "Oh very well, but don't take too long alright? Unless you want your breakfast to be cold again, that is."

He smiled back. "No guarantees, I'm afraid."

With the conversation effectively ended, Will walked around the bed and into the small adjoining bathroom, which was comprised of just enough space to fit a small shower, a toilet, and a sink. Removing his paltry coverings he stepped into the shower, turning the knob on the far wall to start the cold water flowing from the shower head. He made sure to step back to avoid being doused, then waited for the deluge to heat up.

Heating of the water was accomplished by a ring of metal that was fitted around the shower head and would pull excess heat from the surroundings, then use that energy to warm the water. It was just one of many mass produced items that used simple magic to make every day life more convenient. Will personally didn't much care for magic-in any form-but he did begrudgingly accept that it had its uses.

Once the water had reached an acceptable temperature he stepped into the flow and washed away the grime of the previous day. Once he was sufficiently clean he turned off the shower, dried off, and returned to the bedroom to get dressed. It was then that he put on the only thing he ever wore to work: The uniform of an I.O.M.E officer. In basic appearance it was similar to that of any given Police uniform, but as opposed to the blues and blacks one usually saw among ordinary law enforcement, the uniform was ash grey with red patches on the shoulders, elbows and knees. Along with the uniform itself Will strapped on a holster with a single six-shot pistol and pinned his badge to his chest. The badge itself was simple, consisting of a five point star surrounded in a ring that was engraved with "I.O.M.E." across the top and "semper stare contra umbras" across the bottom, meaning "forever standing against the shadows".

Now fully ready for the day ahead, Will left the bedroom behind and made his way through the apartment, passing the clock he so despised along the way. It stood against the wall in the hall that led to their front door, quietly ticking away as the large pendulum swung back and forth in the behind the glass door below the face. He only put up with having it because it was the only thing Jenna had left of her late parents and he had no desire to upset her, but there were days when he would like nothing better than to toss the damned thing into the middle of the street. It was too loud and too large for their dwellings, and it always went off at six in the morning and six in the evening, which wound up waking him up early even on his rare days off from work.

He shook his head as he walked past the uselessly oversized clock, pausing only briefly to see that the time was almost six thirty. As he continued through the apartment and approached the kitchen smells began to waft through the air, telling him of bacon and eggs. He smiled. Jenna didn't know how to cook many things, but what she did know she was exemplary at preparing.

Will walked through their den then turned a corner into the kitchen. In spite of being both kitchen and dining room there wasn't a much room to move. The center of the room was dominated by a simple wooden table with two chairs. One wall was taken up by cabinets and drawers while the other was home to a gas stove and oven as well as a large sink.

Will was able to see that the table was already set with a plate and silverware for each of them. There were two pans sitting atop the stove, one sizzling and one lightly steaming. Jenna stood over them, lazily pushing the food around the pans, humming to herself as she did. Will thought the tune sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Also familiar was the bright green dress Jenna wore. The hem and sleeves were adorned with white lace. The color overall stood in stark contrast to her hair but matched her emerald eyes perfectly.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Will crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, planting a kiss on her neck. She let out a squeak, startled enough to nearly drop the spatula she was holding.

Jenna gave a weary sigh and looked over her shoulder at him. "Must you do that every time my back is turned to you?"

Will chuckled. "No. Just until it no longer amuses me."

She rolled her eyes. "So I can expect it to go on for a while then?"

He shrugged. "Probably. If I may ask a question of my own: when will breakfast be ready?"

Jenna snorted, mildly amused by the change of subject. "Soon. Though I should tell you, it will go faster if you let go of me."

"Fair enough." Will gave her one more kiss-this time on her cheek-before disengaging his arms, releasing her. He then took his usual seat at their little table, patiently waiting for her to finish cooking.

A few minutes later she brought the first pan over and divvied up the eggs within between their two plates before doing the same with the pan that had been cooking bacon. She then settled into her own seat and they ate their breakfast in a familiar and comfortable silence. Some mornings they would talk to each other about their respective jobs, or just talk in general, but after nearly five years together they had grown to enjoy the moments when they could just be in each others presence.

Once they were done eating and the dishes had been washed and set out to dry, the two of them left the apartment, walking down the outdoor flight of stairs to the street below. After a brief kiss goodbye they went their separate ways, Jenna opening up the bookstore below their apartment that she owned and ran, while Will set off into the city, heading in the general direction of the I.O.M.E. office downtown.

Will's almost daily walk to work generally to him about half an hour to make, sometimes more if the weather was unfavorable or if there was more foot traffic than usual. He was lucky that day though, and managed to make excellent time in arriving at the building, which all things considered wasn't very impressive. It stood only two stories tall, and outside of being marked as I.O.M.E.'s building there was nothing to distinguish it from other structures nearby. But then that was the idea: to be generally unnoticeable and to be almost a facet of everyday life; in a word, unobtrusive.

In spite of the relatively early hour the inside of the building was already rather busy, which was itself out of the ordinary. Most times I.O.M.E. simply wasn't needed. Will's job was usually a lot of sitting around doing paperwork or waiting for something to happen. Even though many crimes involved some small use of magic-like using it to pick a lock or break a window-those cases could still be handled like any other. It was when things got more serious that I.O.M.E. would get involved. And there was little as serious as what had been going on for the last few weeks.

It had started out as what looked like a problem for normal police. A number of people had been found dead over the course of several nights, their bodies left in sometimes odd locations. It was originally though to be some sort of serial killing, but there was something off about all the bodies that had been recovered. They had all been marred by strange symbols that were burned into the flesh of the victims. Analysis of those had shown they were linked to some form of magic. That was what had gotten I.O.M.E. involved in the case.

They knew next to nothing about what was going on. They had no idea who was behind the killings though the running theory was there was some sort of cult behind it. They didn't know the purpose of the symbols either. Perhaps most puzzling was the fact that the bodies seemed to be appearing in a pattern that consisted of placement within three concentric circles around the city. The only other information they had-at least that Will knew of-was that since it had all started a total of fourteen people had been found in that mutilated state.

So, with all that going on, it was really no surprise that people were rushing about the office as though it were on fire. As Will walked across the central room toward his desk he was approached by his partner and friend Taylor. "Will! It's good you're here. The chief has just called a meeting to discuss our plan of action regarding to the cult case."

Will sighed. "A pleasant morning to you as well. And what do you mean cult? I thought that was just one theory about what's going on."

Taylor nodded. "It was until last night when we managed to catch one of them. Sadly we didn't get there in time to stop them, but thanks to the man we now have, we might be able to stop them from doing any further harm."

Will gave a solemn nod. "Right then. So what did we learn from this man?"

"It'll all be covered in the meeting. All of the officers are going to be there." Taylor set off through the controlled chaos of the office, expecting Will to follow.

Will sighed and went after Taylor. This was going to be a long day.

***

It was half an hour before all of the officers had gathered. They were all seated, waiting for the briefing to begin. At the front of the room they had squeezed into was Edgar Greer, the Chief of their branch of I.O.M.E. He was older than any of the other men in the room, approaching fifty, with more than enough gray hair to show it. He waited silently for a few more minutes, and once all eyes in the room were focused on him he began to speak. "Normally I would wish you all a good morning, but recent circumstances dictate that such a thing would be...inappropriate. All of you should be aware by now of what has been happening. In the last thirty days there have been a total of fifteen people have been found dead, including the most recent occurrence last night."

He continued on, going over the information regarding the pattern of the placement of the bodies throughout the city as well as the markings that had been burned into the victims' flesh. It was at that point that someone near the back of the room asked, "Do we actually know anything about these symbols? Are they actually significant?"

Greer shook his head. "Thus far our analysis has yielded little in the way of results. All we know for sure is that they were burned into the flesh through energy manipulation. We do know that the markings have no bearing on cause of death though, as all the victims thus far have been found dead due to a single knife wound through the heart. For all we know the symbols could be merely aesthetic.

Now though I would like to move on to the newer information that I have for you all. Since this began a body has appeared every other day, presumably killed the night before. Yesterday was--per the pattern--set to be the night of another incident. Luck was with us last night in that we were able to accurately guess where the deed would be done and--though we were regrettably unable to put a stop to it--we did learn several important things that will help us a put a stop to these events as a whole. Firstly, upon arrival it was very clear that there were multiple perpetrators, thus giving an at a glance validity to the idea that it was an organized group behind these events.

They scattered upon the arrival of our officers, and in the confusion we managed to take one of them into custody. We have gleaned several pieces of information from the man we captured over the course of the past few hours. Sadly he seemed eager to tell us--even proud--of what he'd been involved with. The group behind these events is some form of cult that has been committing these crimes because their leader has convinced them that once they've completed their work, they will be able to unleash some dark force upon our world, at which time they believe they will ascend to positions of ruler ship."

Will had been quiet through the briefing, trying to soak in as much of the information as he could. Now though he had questions he wanted answered. "I have a question. Two actually. First, I'd like to know what is meant by 'when they've completed their work'. Also--if we know--who is the person leading this group?"

Greer nodded. "It wasn't quite as easy to get that information out of the man we have in custody, but we do know. As far as the man in charge, the only name we were given was 'Silas'. Whether this is their leader's full name, or simply an alias, we don't yet know. As for completing their work...in two days time they plan to complete the patter of deaths they've created. Each of the rings in the patter consists of an odd number of deaths. The outermost was made up of seven, the middle made up of five, and the current innermost was formed of three separate incidents. Now they plan to have one last single killing--consisting of multiple victims--right at the center of it all.

Supposedly it will consist of a further five victims or as our informant described them 'sacrifices', all being killed at midnight. We're currently working on figuring out the most likely location where this event will take place so we can put a stop to it and hopefully capture the rest of the people involved."

Greer took in a deep breath, exhaled, and asked, "Now, are there any further questions?"

When silence came as the answer he gave a solemn sigh. "Very well then. You're all dismissed."

No one moved for a moment, the one by one began to stand and leave the room. Will was among the last out, Taylor falling into step beside him. "Well that was pretty cheery."

Will rolled his eyes. "Take it seriously, would you? There's a lot of serious shit going on and we can't afford to become complacent or nonchalant about it."

Taylor nodded. "I understand that. But ask yourself this: when have I ever taken anything seriously?"

Will sighed. "Never. And that's your problem. Not to mention why you've yet to advance in rank at all around here."

Taylor snorted derisively. "Hey mister Sergeant, just because I haven't been promoted like some people doesn't mean I won't be. Besides, you take this job too seriously anyway. It's not good for you."

"I take it seriously because it is serious. You take for granted that this job is relatively slow, but when we are needed it's never for a simple or relaxed situation."

They arrived at Will's desk and he sat down, turning to look up at Taylor, who had just taken a seat of his own on the corner of the desk. "I guess. You're still too serious about it though, or at least I think so. You can't deny that at least. I mean, what does Jenna think about how you deal with this job?"

Will sighed. "She doesn't like that it keeps me away from her some nights...but she's generally proud of what I do and understands why I take it seriously."

Taylor nodded. "Well good for you. Now if only I could find a woman like that for myself. Except maybe a brunette."

Will smirked. "Yeah, but what woman would want you?"

Taylor gave an irritated sort of smile "Funny."

"I thought so."

Taylor sighed. "Well if you're done insulting me, I think I'll change the subject now."

He was quiet for a moment then asked, "So how are things between you and Jenna?"

Will quirked a brow. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Why?"

Taylor shrugged. "No real reason. Just making conversation."

Will rolled his eyes. "Well, go find something to do. This is your job after all. You should be able to find something better to occupy your time with."

Taylor gave a somewhat sarcastic salute. "Yes sir."

Will rolled his eyes again as Taylor walked away, leaving him alone. He and Taylor had been friends for years, and had been involved in more than a few minor adventures in their time working at I.O.M.E., but Will still couldn't help but find his personality just a bit irritating. Will shook his head. It didn't really matter though. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.

***

The rest of Will's day at work went as days at the office usually did for him. There was some paperwork that needed to be done, and the occasional conversation with someone about some matter related to their current case, with most of the day being filled by mind numbing boredom. Yet even with that atmosphere, there was a consistent tense undertone to everything everyone was doing. Everyone was stressed already about all that had been going on, but that had nearly doubled since the meeting that morning.

Later in the afternoon, when the list of officers to be involved in the next night's operation was released, some people became all the more tense. Most of the officers selected were those who usually worked night shifts anyway, but there were a more than a few exceptions. When Will found that he would be involved he couldn't help but feel trepidation about it. His worry though wasn't because of the operation itself, but a result of the knowledge that he would have to tell Jenna that he would be involved in a potentially dangerous situation late at night.

As Will had told Taylor, Jenna was proud of what he did. But there was another side to that. She didn't like that it sometimes involved late night shifts, and more than anything she hated that it meant he was occasionally in very dangerous situations. In the past the two of them had had a few conversations about the possibility of him finding a less dangerous line of work. No matter how the conversation went though, it always ended with her being at least slightly upset with him for the next few days afterward.

All that taken together was why Will felt more trepidation setting foot in his in Jenna's apartment that night than he felt because of his job.

When Will opened the door the first thing he noticed was the unmistakable smell of dinner wafting through the air. When he entered the kitchen he could see Jenna was still in the process of cooking, which was good for him as it meant he had a bit more time to mentally prepare for the conversation they would be having over dinner. When she spotted him she smiled brightly and gave him a kiss in greeting and asked how his day had been, to which he responded that it had been alright. After asking the same of her and getting a similar response he excused himself to go change out of his uniform saying he would be back in a few minutes.

When he returned more casually dressed she was already seated at the table waiting for him along with their meal. He smiled and took his usual seat across from her as they dug into the meal. He allowed silence to dominate for a brief period before explaining his present work situation between bites. When he finished silence resumed for a few more minutes before Jenna set down her fork and crossed her arms in front of her stomach. "So, when will you be going in tomorrow?"

"Probably around eight."

She smiled softly. "Well, I don't like it, but at least I'll get to have you to myself for a while tomorrow."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly. Though, I was thinking I would take a nap before getting ready for work...since it'll be a long night."

"It's still better than nothing. Hey, maybe you could give me a hand at the store tomorrow. There's been a lot of dust building up lately and I haven't been able to keep up with it."

Will sighed. That was just like her to let something go until she couldn't handle it on her own. "Yeah, I suppose I could give you a hand."

She smiled. "Good."

The rest of their night passed in quiet comfort until they went to bed that night. Jenna was asleep almost immediately. Will on the other hand lay awake, wondering what the next day would bring. He had been involved in dangerous situations before, but never anything quite so serious. He wasn't even worried so much about himself as Jenna. The two of them had been together for nearly five years. Will couldn't help but wonder what she would do if something were to happen to him. He wasn't so narcissistic as to believe her world revolved around him, but he knew he was a major part of her life, just as she was of his. He sighed quietly. He knew worrying would do no good, but he also knew himself well enough to know that worrying was something he couldn't help but do. Eventually he fell into an uneasy sleep, his dreams haunted by the shadows of what could be.

Will woke the usual way the next morning with the clock's six am chorus. He woke Jenna, and proceeded to get ready as though it were a normal day, with the exception of keeping on civilian clothing, planning to change to his uniform before he left later. When he arrived at the kitchen he was surprised to see that as yet nothing was ready, but instead Jenna was standing over the stove, fiddling with it and apparently trying to get it lit.

When he walked in she sighed and looked over at him with a defeated sort of expression. "We're out of matches. I can't get the stove going. Do you think you could...you know...just this once?"

Will looked away from her, his brow furrowed. "Jen...you know how I feel about it."

She nodded. "I do, and I'm sorry. I wouldn't ask, but it's kind of our only choice right now unless you want to skip breakfast, or wait two hours for the nearest store to open."

Will gritted his teeth, trying not to look at her begging eyes. Finally after a moment or two he sighed and said, "Fine. But just this once."

She smiled apologetically. "Thank you."

He walked over to the stove and-after making sure the gas was on-held his hand out over the burner. "You might want to stand back."

Jenna nodded and took a step back. With her a slightly safer distance away, Will spread his fore finger and thumb so they were about two inches apart then began to concentrate. He focused intently on the space between the two fingers, pouring all his attention into what he was trying to do. After a few painfully slow seconds as small spark of energy appeared in the space, glowing with pulsing white light. A split second later the gas from the burner caught fire and Will yanked his hand back, barely avoiding getting burnt in the process.

Will stepped back, staggering slightly and leaning against the wall. "Can you...get the other one...lit now?"

Jenna nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

He gave a dispassionate nod in response before dragging himself off the wall to take his seat at the kitchen table. He had forgotten just how much it took out of him to do that. At least nothing had exploded.

Will had discovered at a young age that he had the ability to use magic. But after an accident where he had hurt another child while showing off the power, he had chosen to avoid using the ability as much as he could. For the most part he kept it secret, and as far as he knew Jenna was the only person besides his parents who knew what he could do. He was thankful that what he could do though wasn't very much. Since he had never received any training, he had never been able to get past the point of summoning that little spark, and even that wore him out.

He sat there quietly, recuperating as Jenna went about making breakfast, the usual pleasing aromas wafting through the air. Once a plate stacked with food was placed before him Will devoured it, determined to rebuild the energy he had lost on his spark.

An hour later he had gone from being seated in their kitchen to being seated behind the counter at Jenna's bookstore. She had made him sit there, telling him not to do too much after what she had already asked of him. He had insisted he was perfectly capable of helping around the shop in a more hands on manner, but she had been equally adamant that he simply sit.

He sighed quietly. Jenna had told him more than once that the store rarely received customers, so he wasn't surprised that he had nothing to do as she rushed around dusting and organizing the shelves. After a few hours had passed and both had done their fair share of sneezing Jenna finished with the last of the cleaning and pulled up a chair beside him. She smiled. "That honestly took less time than I expected. I guess now I don't really have anything to do."

Will chuckled. "When you told me business was slow down here, I didn't think you meant it was this bad. I don't think a single person has even stopped to look at the store in passing."

Jenna nodded sadly and leaned against him. "That's the way it always is. I guess people just don't care about books. I can't imagine why. There's so much to be learned from them, and so many stories to enjoy. Each one gives you a look into the mind of another person, and tells you something of their heart and soul."

Will smiled and draped one arm over her, holding her a bit closer. "I suppose they just don't have the same passion you do."

"No, and it makes me sad."

She went quiet then and he had nothing else to say, so for a while they just sat there in their embrace, content. The minutes ticked by in silence. Will was almost starting to suspect she may be dozing off when she asked, "Will...do you think our lives will ever be stable enough...to consider starting a family?"

Will hesitated to answer, considering his words carefully. They didn't have a lot of money, and certainly didn't have the room for children. While they both liked the idea, both knew they weren't in the best situation for such a thing. "I honestly don't know. I'd like to think maybe someday we'll be able to--in fact I hope we'll be able to--but I just don't know."

She sighed sadly. "I love this store...and I know you don't want to change careers...but we really couldn't support a family like this, could we?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think so."

Easily recognizing that what he was saying was offering her little to no comfort, Will added, "But who knows. Your business could improve, or I could get a promotion, and it may become possible then."

She snuggled up to him. "I hope so."

After a moment he said, "Maybe we should talk about something else."

She nodded then smiled tightly. "Okay, how about renewing the topic of the sword in our den?"

Will rolled his eyes, the corner of his lip twitching in mild amusement.

Hanging on the wall in their apartment's den, in a shadow box frame, was a hand crafted sword that Will had received as a gift from his parents on his eighteenth birthday. While he had no interest in actually using the weapon, he had been fascinated by swords and the like since he was very young, and he was rather fond of the single blade he had. It was hardly a collection, but it meant a lot to him. Jenna on the other hand didn't care for it much at all.

"Why should we?"

Jenna smiled sweetly. "Because dearest, it's very strange to have a sword hanging on our wall, and it serves no purpose."

He laughed at her attempt to coerce him. "Alright then, I'll take down the sword if you let me put that clock into storage somewhere and get one that's more appropriately sized for our apartment."

Jenna scowled. "Why should I?"

Imitating her tone from before he said, "Because dearest, it's loud and unnecessarily large, and it's strange to have it in such a small space."

She crossed her arms, still smiling but clearly less pleased. "Touché."

He laughed. "It would seem we've reached an impasse."

She gave a mock sigh. "So it would seem."

The rest of their time together in the store passed with them talking about whatever came to mind. They talked about the ups and downs of their jobs, which led to a conversation about what books Jenna had recently gotten for the store, and which ones she was reading herself. She suggested one or two for him as well. He didn't read as much as she did, mostly because he didn't have the time, but he said he would give them a look. At one point one other person did enter the shop, but after a brief period left without making a purchase, which left them alone once more, and left Will listening to Jenna rant for a few minutes on how much she hated window shoppers.

It was at around four that Jenna decided to close the shop for the day, as there had been no further customers, potential or otherwise. They returned to the apartment and Will settled down to nap for the night ahead, pleasantly surprised when Jenna snuggled up beside him.

They were woken by the clock chiming for six pm, and--after Jenna made a quick run out for matches to light the stove with--they had dinner a bit later than usual. Jenna then curled up on their couch with a book in her lap. Will decided to take another shower to clear any dust that may have fallen on him in the store.

Once he was clean and he had changed into his uniform Will walked out to the den to say goodbye to Jenna. He smiled softly when she came into view. She had dozed off, her book still sitting on her lap. He walked over to her and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead then turned and made his way out of the room. Just as he reached the door he heard softly from behind him, "Will?"

He turned Jenna was awake, looking at him with bleary eyes. "I didn't wake you did I?"

She shrugged. "I don't know...maybe...I'm not sure."

She yawned, and he smiled. "Well, I'm heading out now. I'll see you whenever I get back tonight. I love you."

She smiled back at him. "I love you too. And Will?"

"Yes?"

"Please promise me you'll be careful." She seemed almost teary eyed as she made that request.

Will nodded compliantly. "I promise."

Without another word he turned and walked out into the cold night, leaving Jenna alone to worry about his well being as he set forth into the unknown.