FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Where is she?!" I demanded of the guards around the stronghold. Nothing mattered right now... except finding that girl. The answers I sought for, that I needed, lies with her. "Not a single one of you can tell me where she went?!"

"Ein, calm down man, we can't afford to-"

I turned and glared at Todd, raising my paw to point at him. "No, what we can't afford; is to lose that girl right now and that's the bottom line." My tail lashed out and sent a chair toppling over to the other side of the room. Suddenly, I felt a paw had grasped my shoulder and I immediately spun around to retaliate but stopped.

Duke gave me a sympathetic gaze. "Ein, listen to me... I know the situation is gravely serious but we can't lose our heads. Let's investigate her room so that we may find a clue to where she could have possibly gone."

After a few moments of letting my composure find itself again, I nodded. Both Todd and Duke were right, we needed to keep a clear mind on this one because Snowy is a valuable asset to us and the answer to what had happened to me. I proceeded to her room and immediately drew one solitary conclusion... there was some kind of struggle that had taken place. Picture frames were shattered upon the floor, her pillows were shredded as if an animal tore them apart, her mirror was cracked in multiple places, but one thing caught my eye and I knew then that she had to have been taken. Her favorite plush, named Jack, was torn in half as if two people fought over it.

"Whoa, looks like a tornado has been through here... what the hell happened?" Todd questioned as he entered the room. He took one glance around and I could see it in his eyes that he felt uncomfortable. "The air in this room, just feels... off."

I nodded and lowered myself to sit on the remains of the bed. "I don't get it... something must have happened to her but no one said they heard anything coming from her room."

He turned his head to glance around the room once more. "There are no exit points except the door as well, but no one saw anything either."

"A girl can't simply vanish, Todd..."

He gave me a skeptical expression. "You said it yourself, that she isn't whom she claims to be; that she might be possessed by some demon."

"I know I did but still..."

I bit my thumb and tried to recollect the happenings present before us. The strange markings, horns, glowing red eyes, and this sinister yet innocent personality, almost as if she took delight in toying with people. The girl was downright a mystery, if anything. My gaze traversed the room once more, trying to pick on something we possibly overlooked, but nothing stood out.

"Hey Ein, ya mind if I asked you a question."

"Go ahead."

Todd seated himself in front of me and scritched his ear. "The fit you had earlier... what exactly happened?"

With a deep sigh, I nodded and began to explain what I had witnessed; the ear splitting scream, the dark area, the unknown culprit who toyed with me, even where the spoon came from. Throughout it all, I could see his expression shift more and more with each addition to it. I began to suspect that he thought I was crazy, but then again it wasn't impossible...

"So the spoon that rolled out from under you, in the infirmary, came from this person in your vision?"

"It felt like more than a vision... I could feel the touch on me and even smelled his breath; it just all seemed vividly real."

He cupped his paw under his chin and began to recollect the events. "We find Snowy and bring her here with us; since then you have been succumbing to these odd headaches and having trouble sleeping, the entire compound has been feeling uneasy, and now mysterious disappearances and possible abduction... jeez what is this world coming to?"

A noise drew our attention as Duke stood in the doorway, smiling.

"Hey guys, I got something that I am sure is gonna help you out." He turned and began to walk out of the room, speaking over his shoulder as he made his way towards the resource center.

I glanced at Todd with a puzzled expression. "What is he so confident about now...?"

He merely shook his head and stood up, dusting himself off then shaking his tail out. "I dunno man but I guess, for now, it's our best lead."

With one swift move, he darted out of the room and left me within my own thoughts once more. I didn't want to believe Snowy was a bad person or that she had reason to do something of similar nature, but the odds were against her at this point. I turned and looked back at the wreckage laid out across the room; it seemed like someone could've been looking for something but what?

"Ein! Get over here ya slowpoke!"

I heard Duke shout out across the building and I quickly responded, following suit after him. Once I arrived in the resource center, I stopped and froze in place, completely taken aback by the sheer number of files lining the shelves.

"Good god you two; how much info does one army need?"

Duke snickered at the question and tossed a wad of paper at me. "You'd be surprised. This warehouse room contains all sorts of documents from medical records, to letters received by the capital and even some intercepted by the noble coalition. Everything in between is here as well; you name it, we most likely have it somewhere in here."

I raised my brow and smiled, "Perhaps, I'll take you up on that challenge one day, but for now we have more important troubles to worry about." I walked over to the desk that he and Todd were next to and placed my paws upon it, moving piles of books aside to clear a space. "You mentioned you had something that could help us; what is it?"

"Well, not something, but rather someone; two in fact."

"What...?"

He rolled his eyes at me and dropped a file in front of me. Within it contained two pictures; a young female and equally aged male, both canines with friendly yet firm expressions. I peered down towards the bottom of the paperwork but still couldn't identify whom the two were and how they were relevant. Before I could voice my question, Todd beat me to it.

"Um Duke, what's this have to do with Snowy? You saw how upset Ein was earlier and I'd rather not go through that again, so unless ya got something for us that will point in a direction of where to look or start, I think it best not to fool around."

The inverted serval reached up and smacked the back of Todd's head while shaking his own. "Well if you'd let me explain, I could tell you how this can and will help you two; now pull up a chair and let me do my stuff." He turned and looked at me with a contrite expression. "Sorry, forgot to mention that I dual as a medical officer and a bit of a research tracker on the side."

I tilted my head. "A what...?"

"It means, I keep track of people's records and use my connections to find the best individuals for the trade, whether it is for an assassination, information courier, military strategist, or even..." He pointed out the doorway towards Snowy's room. "...A detective specialist."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of possibility. "You mean you know someone who can help us track where Snowy might have gone to?"

He grinned and nodded, spreading the files out in front of me. "Everything on these two is here, including; known locations, specialties, names, tools of trade and methods, and most importantly a method of contact."

"Well what are we waiting for; let's get them here!" Todd reached to his belt to unhinge his radio but stopped when Duke placed his paw up to signal him. "Huh, what's up?"

Duke, pointed at the last page of the file and briefly explained a method of contact to us. We couldn't use a radio or any kind of communication device due to the possibility of interception, even a coded line was too risky. These two only responded to one method and were known to appear within one day's time of the signal's use, no matter where they might be.

"It's our best shot and we don't have any alternatives, unless you can think of something." Both Todd and I shook our head, to which Duke nodded. "Alright then, you guys know what needs to be done, in the mean time, I am going to call a close acquaintance of mine and bring her in on the case."

I looked up at Duke in response to the statement. "What's your friend's specialty?"

He walked over to a bin on one of the shelves and slid it off, then returned to the desk, setting it down. "Everything you need to know about her, is in this bin, if you want to sate your curiosity."

My eyes widened at the amount piled within the container. I looked up at him with a stunned expression all over my face. He chuckled and reached inside, pulling out a thick file and then handing it to me. It was nearly three times the size of the file for the two others...

"Why is this person's file so thick, sheesh..."

Duke turned and began to walk out of the room, glancing back at us with a mournful expression. "Because she's my sister and I vowed to protect her with my life."

A question popped into my mind but I was too hesitant to ask. Thankfully he must have caught on because he nodded and smiled, adding with a simple reply of 'yes' to answer me. It was then that he took his leave, leaving Todd and I to gather the necessary materials needed to create the signal for the pair of, what Duke referred to as, bounty detectives.

---

A near full day has passed since Todd and I laid out the signal for the two bounty detectives. The materials were easy enough to gather since it was a basic smoke signal but with the smoke being ruby red as if to paint the sky in blood. In the aftermath, I decided to take upon reading over the files of these two, so we might be prepared and know what to expect from them.

"Hey Ein, I think we got company, ya better get over here and check this out." Todd turned his head from the telescope and ushered me over with his paw.

I folded up the file and walked over to him, taking a glimpse into the scope. I could see something on the horizon, coming this way. I leaned back and opened the file, flipped through some pages until I found the photograph I was looking for. Once more I peered into the instrument and slowly began to smile.

"That's them, I recognize the emblem."

Todd glanced down at the file and then leaned in to look through the telescope. After a moment he nodded and smiled as well. "Eeyup, you're right. The color of the balloon is red and has the black MoonRose emblem on it as well." He took a step back as the skycraft came into a clearer view, turning and looking at me as if asking what to do next.

I chuckled and clasped the file to fold it closed then tucked it under my arm. "Well time to have an audience with our guests; you ready?"

He brushed off his jacket and ran his paw through his hair, lightly grooming himself to which I only shook my head and laughed. He jokingly jabbed my arm and gave me this mock serious expression. "Hey, I want to look my best and be presentable to these two; don't want to come off as a slob."

I rolled my eyes and started to head inside, giving one last jest of humor at him. I raised my arms and turned to him, giving a quick bow as I spoke in a proper accent to add to the scene.

"Ah yes, we must make a grand appearance for our guests of honor; the Mynx and the Snow, what a fine event this shall be my good man."

He laughed and fell back against the door frame to which I followed suit, nearly falling over a desk; enjoying a good laugh, something we hadn't experienced in a good long time. After a few moments, we both got our bearings before proceeding up the stairs to the flight deck, to meet our newfound comrades, in hopes of finally starting to make some progress in this complex riddle of a situation.

End Part One of Ch 4: An Invitation