FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

In the darkness, I was sinking into a freezing cold ocean, slowly drowning.

There was no sound around me, except for the deafening screams of my own guilt.

No matter how hard I struggled to swim upwards, it was all in vain.

It was the collar.

The collar was too heavy, dragging me deeper and deeper into the abyss.

With fury, I gripped the collar tightly, shoving my fingers into the gap between the collar and my neck, pulling with all my strength. But it was useless.

I was born bound, trapped in chains, reduced to a series of numbers, compressed into a flat surface with no depth.

Like an object.

It felt like I had sunk to the bottom. That realization pushed me to try to lift myself up, only for me to understand once again just how powerless I truly was.

I sobbed, but in the deep sea, tears left no trace. Instead, more saltwater filled my mouth and nose, choking me. Countless bubbles escaped from my lips, and my lungs burned in agony.

Kneeling at the bottom of the world, I seemed to touch something. It was smooth, yet hard.

I lowered my head, bringing my snout closer. It seemed to be some kind of surface.

On the other side of that surface, blurry and indistinct, was... my own reflection?

I widened my eyes, pressing as close as I could, trying to see more clearly.

Finally, through the dim reflection, I saw a red fox, its olive-green eyes staring straight back at me.

In the next instant, it felt like something had yanked the collar around my neck, and I was pulled out of the water, the searing pain forcing me back to consciousness.

"...Looks like it's back to normal. Must've been a bad connection, huh?" The first thing I saw was the black and white Labradors, seemingly studying the terminal in their hands.

Before I realized I was tied to a chair, I first noticed the smell of burnt flesh in the air. Judging by the stinging pain radiating from my neck, it seemed that the commands set by 74258 had failed in the end.

"Ah, our Sleeping Beauty is awake." The white Labrador approached, a sneering grin of contempt on his face. "Comfortable enough?"

"Almost caught a cold," I mimicked his expression, glaring at them both with hatred. "I’m afraid I might have a ‘running nose’ soon!"

The black Labrador’s expression hardly changed, but I still noticed the slight twitch of his nose, wrapped in white bandages.

Before I could revel in my small victory, a jolt of electricity from the collar coursed through me, making my entire body spasm. The rough ropes binding my limbs dug into my skin.

"Hey, if you kill him, we won’t be able to handle it when the boss comes down on us." I vaguely heard the white Labrador’s voice. I lifted my head, trying to sit upright, just in time to see him take the terminal from the black Labrador.

They argued over something, and the black one shot me a hateful glare, clearly still holding a grudge for how I had broken his nose.

I sighed, not wanting to remind myself that the smell of burnt flesh came from my own seared skin. To distract myself, I studied my surroundings, hoping for any clue as to where I was.

At first glance, the room seemed bare, aside from the metal table in front of me, so I finished scanning it quickly. But when I realized I was sitting on a gridded drain cover, the fur on my back stood on end.

Behind the black and white Labradors was a prison door, made from the same transparent polymer material as the walls connecting the corridor. Occasionally, a guard robot would roll by, the heavy weapons mounted on its treads indicating that it was a high-end model, capable of taking on an entire well-armed tactical squad.

I had a rough idea of where I was—some kind of heavily guarded fortress, likely a base for the upper echelons of the pedigree House. Although I never had much hope of escape, this realization crushed even the tiniest sliver of it.

I clenched my fists, fighting against the despair gnawing at my mind. I couldn’t let myself be defeated like this. Every second of resistance, every moment I refused to submit, created a precious opportunity for something to change.

"Take it easy, Fox." The white Labrador sauntered over to me, sitting on the metal table. "If you burn through your energy too quickly and collapse right away, it’ll be a problem for us too."

I glanced at the weapons strapped to his waist, including several small knives.

"Staring like that, it’s pretty rude, you know." He licked his nose with a quick flick of his tongue, smoothly drawing out a serrated knife and placing it on the table. The sharp tip gleamed, reflecting a cold, deadly light. "And it makes me a little impatient."

The black Labrador chuckled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall, his expression brimming with anticipation.

"Alright then, how about a little appetizer to warm things up?" He pulled out his terminal, swiping it a few times before setting it down on the table. "Just so you understand the situation."

It took me a moment to comprehend what it was.

My blood froze.

"…In most cases, they’ll pierce through the chest. So when the boss smoothly, without the slightest deviation, had the stake drill out from the mouth, I was almost excited enough to clap," the white one was saying. I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying, his voice sounded a bit distant. "…Gamma-class is different, though. Hundreds of people, and with just a few hand gestures, it was all done."

On the terminal screen was 86138. His pale eyes were staring into the sky, a bloodied stake protruding straight from his mouth, dislocating his upper and lower jaws. The snow fox, completely naked, with his hands tied behind his back, had fur still as white as snow, standing in stark contrast to the scene. My gaze shifted downward, to where the stake pierced between his legs, with the end buried deep in the ground. The exposed part had dried blood stains from before.

I could vaguely make out that there were many more stakes like this in the distance, each with...

"...That Texas guy got his territory stripped and his whole family banished. A shame—I liked him, well, liked the jokes he provided. As for the Railroad station manager, turns out he’s 'untouchable.' Kinda disappointing," the white Labrador brought his face close to mine, a mocking smile on his lips. "Hey, you look like you’ve got something to say?"

I clenched my teeth tightly, forcing my jaw not to tremble any further. I spat my question through gritted teeth.

"How... did you know?" Was I trying to lessen my guilt? I wasn’t sure.

"A quick check, really. The morphine levels in Hunter’s blood were way past recreational use," the white Labrador shrugged. "Don’t tell me you didn’t know. All the products from plant factories are specially designed, with unique markers added to the final product. Just run a photon mass spectrometer, and you can tell exactly where it was grown."

Blood rushed to my head, and I felt the limbs bound tightly to me start to go numb. My vision blurred, and in the haze, I begged for my senses to dull, but everything remained too vivid. I could still hear the distant, piercing screams, and the low growl escaping my own throat. Instinctively, I wrinkled my nose, baring my fangs.

I didn’t care how pathetic it made me look. I couldn’t help it; the endless rage demanded release.

"Look at that expression! It’s perfect!" The white Labrador clapped his hands. "He’s trying to intimidate us!"

The black Labrador approached, a cold smile growing deeper on his face, exposing a single white canine. When he reached out toward me, I tried to bite him, but he skillfully dodged and slapped me hard across the face.

"That’s the spirit!" Dazed, stars dancing in my vision, I thought I heard the white one cheering joyfully.

The pain of having my head slammed against the metal table scattered the static clouding my sight. The echo of the impact rang through my skull as I felt a cold, hard object forced into my mouth.

My head was pinned down, and I felt the metallic pressure on my fang.

Realizing it was a pair of pliers, my fur barely had time to bristle before the excruciating pain surged from my upper jaw.

The Labrador held me tightly, leaving no room to struggle, though I doubted any struggle would have done more than worsen the pain. As the sickening crack of my fang echoed through me, I couldn’t hold back a scream. When the cold pliers were finally pulled out of my mouth, they were replaced by the warm taste of blood flooding my tongue, iron and salt overwhelming my senses.

"Wow, look at this!" Something bloody was held in front of me. From its shape, I could guess it was my fang. "Is this a piece of upper jaw? Man, your technique could use some improvement."

Before I could even recover from the horror of it, the pliers were jammed back into my mouth. I let out an involuntary whimper. This time, they gripped a lower fang. The dreadful scraping lasted longer as the pliers twisted, and finally, with a pain so intense it nearly drove me unconscious, the fang was wrenched free.

"It’s the root! You see, high standards really push you to improve, don’t you think?" The repulsive voice was a blur.

I wasn’t sure when I’d been let go, but I lacked the strength to sit up, collapsing against the table, feeling the warmth of the blood soaking into the fur on my cheek. I couldn’t stop sobbing, my throat throbbing faintly, suggesting I’d spent a lot of effort screaming, though I hadn’t even heard it myself.

Pain... it hurt so much.

"Any progress?" A new voice entered the conversation, its arrogance suggesting this was the boss. "Don’t overdo it. Interfering with the 'extraction' will waste more time."

"Don’t worry, boss. We’re being very careful," the white Labrador replied, his tone almost obsequious.

My ear was yanked, forcing my head up. It took a moment for my blurry vision to focus, letting me see who had just spoken.

It was a tall, slender golden retriever. His silver eyes gleamed with a dark hue, giving off a strange vibe. At first, I thought it was just a trick of the light, but when he stepped closer, I confirmed what was off about the golden fur—fine strands of gray hair were interwoven throughout, giving him the appearance of being lightly dusted with ash.

"I have a few questions for you. You should be able to answer them," the golden retriever said, glancing at the metal table before dusting off his sleeve and collar.

"Was it you... who did it?" Missing my largest tooth on one side, my words were slurred. "Why...?" A flash of 86138’s lifeless eyes staring into the sky crossed my mind.

"Does this seem like the time for you to be asking questions?" The golden retriever sighed, pulling out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbing near his nose as though holding back his temper. "I get it, hacking the territory subsystem is one thing. But breaking into the civil registry? That’s part of Central. Someone like you shouldn’t have been able to breach it."

I glared at him, determined not to give him the satisfaction.

"Who’s behind you?" the golden retriever continued, but I didn’t answer, and we just stared at each other.

I knew this was a losing battle. The only thing I could do was delay the inevitable as long as possible.

"Is it related to this guy?" The golden retriever pulled out his terminal, tapped a few times, and then displayed the image in front of me. "Texas didn’t report anything, and no one else has given me any useful information, so now I’m wasting my time on you."

On the screen was Adam’s head nailed to the wall. Rage welled up again in my chest, filling the emptiness. My jaw trembled uncontrollably, and I wanted to curse, but only broken sounds escaped my throat.

"What?" The golden retriever raised an eyebrow and leaned in, trying to make out what I was saying.

Seizing the moment, I mustered all my strength and spat a mouthful of bloodied saliva at his face. But the mixture of blood and spit hit an invisible wall before it reached him, splattering in midair. The pedigree’s silver eyes flicked toward the mess, and the thick liquid dripped to the ground.

"I take it back. My assessment was wrong." The golden retriever stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do as you wish."

"No problem, boss." The white Labrador bowed to the golden retriever, then turned to me with an exaggerated grin.

The black Labrador pressed down on the back of my hand, his pliers tapping idly against my fingertips.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe," the white Labrador hummed a haunting nursery rhyme. "Catch a fox by the toe, if he hollers..." He tilted his head, scratching his cheek in confusion. "I forgot the rest. Make something up."

The black Labrador clamped the pliers onto my middle fingernail, his warm breath blowing over the top of my head. He seemed to enjoy my reaction, not moving on to the next step just yet.

I didn’t want to show weakness to these purebreds, but my fear of pain made me tremble uncontrollably. My breath came in ragged gasps, and I could hear the sobs bubbling up in my throat.

I was so close to breaking. If the golden retriever asked me anything right now, I’d gladly tell him everything. Just to make the torture stop, I’d say anything. The only thing holding me back was the stubborn determination biting down on my own tongue.

Was Adam subjected to this same torment? How did he last for three months?

In the end, I was still being protected.

Shameful tears once again slid down my cheeks, warming the fur on my legs.

So, for Adam, for everyone, and for myself. I sniffed, lifted my rostrum, and met those eerie silver eyes, clearly conveying the one thing I wanted him to know.

Then, as if the pain pulled my very nerves along with it, an unbearable agony surged from the tips of my fingers. My uncontrollable screams echoed throughout the room.