FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Snow fell silently in the dark clearing at the base of the mountain, a frozen over river providing the only light sounds of moving water under the thin layer of ice a bit away from where Max stood. A lit cigarette held in a black gloved hand with his face covering pulled down just enough to allow easy access. It was a new moon, causing the dim surroundings to cast in only starlight. “Any minute now.” The still lit butt was tossed into the snow with a final hiss as the ember was snuffed out by the fresh layer of powder. His gear clung tight to his body, covered in snow he felt the heat slowly be seeped from his body. “Eli’s gonna be pissed I won’t be as warm tonight. Oh well.”

The hiss that escaped his lips was quickly met by the telltale sound of a snowmobile slowly making its way past the snow covered trees and covered shallow hills. “There you are.” Appearing from the treeline the large wolf rolled into the clearing before the lights of the snowmobile cut off and Trevor Grey rose to his full six foot eight from the vehicle. His dark fur stood out amongst the pure white of their surroundings with his stark yellow eyes glinting in the low light. “For a moment I thought you wouldn’t show. I can at least say that you stick to your guns, or you just hate me enough.”

“Shut yer mouth. I don’t need any bullshit from a war criminal.” The wolf sneered, yellow and white teeth flashing in the low light between them. “Least of all a human one.”

An eyebrow raised on Max’s face as he questioned the wolf across from him. “You know that never made sense to me, your father is human. So why do you resent them, why do you hate us?”

Narrowing yellow eyes preceded his deepening anger. “Because he’s not my father. You’re all so weak, I don’t know what my mother sees in him.” He spat at the mention of his stepfather, the mere fact he was human seemed to upset him more than it should. “Smaller, slower, terrible eyesight and for that fact every single one of your senses are stunted compared to ours! How did you ever become the dominant species??”

Covering his face fully with the waffle stitched baklava and clear goggles Max gave a weak reply. “I don’t know, bigger brains I guess. Would explain why you thought kidnapping was a good idea.” With a heavy sigh Max looked down to his gear briefly before he pushed the issue he was dreading. “You get one more chance. Let them go and I’ll make sure that we’ll call off what we have planned. Trust me, you want that.”

“I don’t have them anymore.”

Max froze as he looked back at the man for a moment. A pit formed in his stomach as the words processed in his mind. His tone showed no emotion, no feeling or thought for what he asked in a single word. “Elaborate.”

“Bitch mother took over that whole thing. She’s probably coddling them more than their real mom, really you should have seen how mad she was with me when she found out that I took those brats. Hell the girl bit me during it but had to knock her in her pla-” A suppressed round rang out amongst their surroundings and whizzed past his ear and cut off his sentence.

“I know damn well you didn’t lay a finger on my god-daughter.” The nine mil sidearm was held in his tight grip to the point where the polymer frame creaked slightly. “You better choose your next words VERY carefully. Are. They. SAFE?” The last word was pressed through his clenched teeth and tight jaw, his thoughts flaring of any number of ways to break the man before him. To make him suffer before cutting his life off long after it was due.

“They’re fine now but you don’t really care. You wanted the fight with me! You never tried to confront me about any of this!” He was furious as he accused the man across from him of never trying to resolve the feud man to man.

Max didn’t care. He was fuming but the rational part of his mind screamed at him there was someone else that should be dealing with this piece of garbage. Holding his sights on the wolf he held down the coms button on his kit and spoke. “Ware, change of plans. Come to me, just found out something fairly interesting from the mutt on my end.”

-

Noah was looking out over the Gray ranch and overall the rudimentary blueprints stitched together seemed to be fairly accurate through the pair of nods adorned to his helmet. At least from an outside view. “How are you two holding up over there?”

His headphones buzzed to life with the sound of his wife’s voice, her normal jovial tone was replaced with ire and thinly veiled rage as she tried to joke with him. “Cold but you know nothing too bad for us, these winter coats we grew just make this our element. Oh and sorry about the shedding come spring, I know how it drives you a little crazy. How are you holding up?”

It was a question she already knew how he was going to respond, it would be short and to the point. Except he was full of surprises tonight. “I miss the south. The sun and sand at the beach and having cookouts in the dead of winter because it would be sixty degrees midday.” A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he continued. “I’ll be fine. We just need the go ahead from the solo element.”

“We’ll go on vacation when this is all over. I think we’ve all earned it, especially the kids and the new couple.” Chelsea looked out from her position over the Gray ranch, an eerie feeling of unease washed over her as she took in its details. “This doesn’t feel right, like we don’t know something.”

Noah rolled his eyes as the green glow of his nods illuminated just his eyes. “Sweetheart you’ve said that before and it turned out to be nothing.”

“If by nothing you mean the time that Michael was teasing that Doberman girl that turned out to be his first crush then sure, it was nothing. I just have a feeling that we don’t have the full story.” Chelsea’s voice was full of worry to the point that creased Noah’s brow. Over the years they’ve been together he learned to trust his better half’s instincts.

“They took our kids Chel, what more do we need to understand?” His voice was firm over the static filled line. Conviction solidified his resolve for what he was going to do. No quarter, no prisoners and no mercy. That was before his best friend came over the line.

“Ware, change of plans. Come to me, just found out something fairly interesting from the mutt on my end.” The air was dead for a good few seconds, the air seemingly becoming stale around the three individuals before one of them broke the silence.

“What’s our move then? Just sit and wait?” Jeffrey’s voice cracked as he looked at the husky woman next to him and called out over the radio as well. Making sure that Noah could hear his musing as well as Max.

“Have Chelsea talk to the head of the Gray family, the front door should work and trust me. You’ll be surprised by their response.” Max called back, the frustration and rage barely concealed by his even tone and slight static. “I need you here NOW Ware.”

“On my way, ETA nine minutes. Oh and Chel, listen to Max. I know when he’s being serious and I’ve only heard him like this once before.” With that the air was dead again as Chelsea listened to his hidden truck off in the distance spin up and peel away from his post. With him speeding away to meet with his brother in arms Chelsea stood and started walking to the front of the Gray property, ready to smite anyone that got in her way.

-

“You’re going to stay right there. Any movements and I waste you, no hesitation. Am I clear?” The pistol seeped any warmth from Max’s digits and left his fingers chilled to the bone. Gloves wouldn’t have helped in the negative temperature that Jackson was experiencing.

“I’m fine to talk?” The disgust was apparent in Trevor’s voice, ire mixed with disdain as he was held at gunpoint by what he perceived as a weaker foe. His muscles tensed under the layer of fur and thin clothes that covered his form, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Not immediately being shot at was the clearance he needed to try and gain an emotional upper hand. “I don’t get it, you all act so high and mighty because you can hold me at gunpoint? What do you think is going to happen? I get arrested and put away for a long time? Please, all I need is a few greased palms and a couple testimonies and I’ll be out. You on the other hand…I’ve been reading up on what you and your buddy have done.”

Max’s jaw clenched and his finger slowly dropped into the trigger well, his words starting to draw out his last nerve. “Keep talking, you’ll only dig your grave deeper.”

“Burning homes, massacres in the streets, hell you two were pretty instrumental in bringing a country to its knees.”

“Shut it.”

“So many civilians, do you remember them? Their faces?” Trevor’s face peeled into visceral sneer as he kept picking at the subject. It's mainly reptiles in the desert, isn't it? Is that why you’re with that slu-”

Another gunshots rang out that grazed the wolf’s ear causing a trickle of blood to stain his salt and pepper fur just below the new piercing. “I said for you to shut it. Next round goes somewhere more permanent.”

Trevor took a moment to pull himself together as he recovered from the pain and ringing in his ears. He chuckled as he stanched the bleed with his padded fingers letting the scent of blood seep into the air around him. “Yeah sure, just so you know I have a trick or two myself.” His movement was a blur as he tossed a cylinder towards the human across from him. A souvenir of the local police department that he swiped and decided this was the best time to use it. The spoon keeping the time fuse dormant sprang from the body and began the silent countdown. Then before Max could look away the searing light baked his surroundings in blinding light as the following boom vibrated his bones.

Max couldn’t see but moved all the same, he tried to recall how far the closest piece of cover was and began shuffling as fast as he could in that presumed direction. His ears were protected so he heard the shuffling of snow from behind him and spun around with his SBR in hand. Firing a few rounds in a sweeping movement he tried to keep the wolf at a distance as his vision cleared which seemed to work from the high pitched yelp emanating from behind him. He didn’t stop moving until his vision cleared and he could reach a bit of cover before he finally called back out. “Where’d I hit you? Center mass or extremity?”

“Big talk coming from a dead man.” A couple rounds impacted the felled tree Max was using as cover and was currently glued to. “You’re pinned and have nowhere else to run. What else could you do now? I knew humans were weak but you-”

“Let me stop you there, do you have any idea how bad of an idea it was to let me choose the meeting place?” The silence was his answer just before he let flash a small device in his hand outside of cover. The antenna was apparent as well as the large black lever affixed to the OD green body before it slid back behind cover. “Just remember, I gave you an out.”

A swift click sounded and a fraction of a second later a number of trees around them detonated around their bases. Homemade explosives tore through the bark and flesh of the trees causing them to split and splinter before screaming into the snow covered forest floor. One landing squarely on Trevor’s snowmobile, crushing it as if it were made of tin. Other trees fell harmlessly into the forest but a few fell into the clearing almost landing on the two feuding men. The shaking ground and shuddering air caused Max to freeze for a few brief moments as flashes of desert and sand rolled through his eyes, giving Trevor just enough time to make a move.

Quick footsteps through the crunching snow caused Max to roll out of his cover with his short rifle in his hands before a heavy cedar branch snapped through the air and collided with the rifle in his hands before contacting his chest. The aluminum buckled when it came into contact with the ceramic plate and the wood splintered. Every ounce of air was knocked out of the human’s lungs as he rolled back into the snow and the searing pain of his freshly cracked ribs fully breaking under the heavy strain.

“An out huh?” Trevor limped towards the man that rolled a few feet away and was currently trying to get his exasperated breathing back under control. His squinting eyes could make out two new blood splotches that the wolf was desperately trying to slow the bleeds from his stomach and thigh. “Even if I die you’ll be the one wishing for an out.”

The words never registered past the ringing in Max’s ears, the shock fully sinking in as the snow and air seeped the strength from his body. His blurry vision looked to the short barrel rifle beneath him and was met with twisted metal and clouding snow. Pulling his face mask down his body wretched as the pain stung his body and forced his stomach to relieve its contents as he crawled forward, staining the snow with bile. His world was spinning as he dragged himself forward away from the limping wolf and the snow slowed his movements more than he anticipated. He was thrown onto his back in a flurry of powdery snow by the towering figure before being straddled and a fist connected with his jaw.

His helmet was ripped off along with his eye protection leaving his head and face vulnerable to the heavy hits being delivered to it. Stars flashed in his vision as those powerful strikes landed leading Max to try and resort to the pistol on his hip while he was being hit. Four rounds were squeezed off into the wolf’s leg and lower torso which seemed to only make him more enraged as his claws dug into Max’s upper arm and shredded the muscles from his shoulder to his hand in one raking motion. His blood stained the snow in scarlet streaks and splotches as his arm gave under the visceral assault. Max’s scream was quickly cut off by another few punches, his mouth quickly filling with blood as his good arm tried to stave off the assault in vain.

“You’re stubborn enough that I know this won't get you and your friends off my ass.” His breathing was heavy and vision blurred from the blood loss he had already sustained. Max’s left eye was cloudy and swelling shut, leaving only his right still open with everything to him turning red due to his blood seeping in. Max welcomed the cold with one open eye, that sapphire marble staring back in defiance to the wolf above him. “What's one more body to bury?”

The wolf’s hands wrapped around the man’s throat, slowly beginning to apply pressure to his blood vessels and choke the life out of the human below him. Choking gasps left Max as he desperately reached for his pistol with his mangled hand as his other hand assaulted the wolf in any way that might cause him to let go. His clawing motions at his eyes or swing at his groin proved fruitless as the wolf stayed firm on his neck. Darkness crept at the sides of his vision before flashes of his memory of the positive memories of his life. Growing up in a middle class family, drinking with his friends in the army, Eli. He wished it wasn’t going to end this way, that he’d be able to spend more time with her and really make a life worth living with the scaled woman of his dreams. His body went limp as his consciousness slipped below the surface and Trevor continued to hold him down.

A bang and a flash heralded the arrival of Noah with a heavy bean bag round impacting the wolf in the dead center of his chest. All he saw was the wolf over a body and didn’t need any further explanation or reason to pull the trigger. Consciousness snapped back to Max as the wolf wretched into the snow. Sputtering coughs passed his lips as he tried to stop the pounding in his head to cease While at the same time desperately trying to tie a tourniquet around his dominant arm. “You good buddy!?”

Noah’s shout didn’t register in his ear the plastic windlace slipping in his fingers from his bloodied glove. Panic clawed at the edge of his mind as he continued to struggle through his strained senses and quickly dimming eyes. Consciousness would fade from him again and from the amount of blood he’d lost he knew he would perish in the snow in just a few minutes. He was becoming more desperate as he finally started to get the strap under some tension before the becoming call of Noah’s shotgun sang out to him again.

Another beanbag round struck the wolf in the back as he attempted to run from the scene. Knocking the wind out of him again before he even hit the snow to whimper into the powder around him. With enough pressure to stop his mangled arm Max attempted to sit up but his muscles and broken bones screamed at him and forced him back to the cold and frozen earth. Instead he opted to roll onto his side and call out to his best friend through gritted and bloody teeth. “He hit her!” Noah stopped moving but kept the shotgun trained on the wolf in front of him. “He hit Sarah!”

Max couldn’t see his found brother’s face but he knew exactly what look was etched across his features. Sheer uncontained rage and he was going to use it to confirm what Max had just said. Straight from the wolf’s mouth.