FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sun had begun to shine through the thin leaves of the trees above them. The warm and mildly humid summer air filled the atmosphere around them like a blanket, and the inviting glow of the grass gave a nice feel to yet another day in the troubling life of the protagonists. It was 6:30 in the morning, and everyone was up, ready for the final three hours of the trip. Most of them grabbed a granola bar on their way inside of the van, but Eric and Matt were much too hungry. In fact, prior to leaving, they had hunted down another deer from the woods and had eaten it fairly quickly. Of course, it was not very appealing to their taste, but they had no other option.

The van sailed off of the dirt track and darted along the empty highway with the sunrise glaring at them from above. Xavier was back behind the wheel alongside his wife, with the kids once again occupying the center seats behind them. Unlike the night before, they were calm and were playing gentle games, lacking the cries.

Eric's upper back was still sore from his accident, but felt relieved after Matt explained what had happened to him - "berserk mode". The animal part of a TFR mind, which was much more powerful than its host's, had a tendency to occasionally grab control of the body when the human became vulnerable. Most people did not experience the phenomenon very often, - if not ever - but for those who did, it normally took a few days to tame it. The strange part of Eric's case, however, was the fact that his dragon comrade did not seem to have wanted to go berserk, as the name stated, but rather wanted to help Eric get to safety.

This filled a few gaps in Eric's long road of questions. When Eric's rage became too much for him to handle, he simply let the dragon take over, who transformed and made a coward out of Bob. The same explanation could be utilized in answering why he had randomly transformed later that day - the dragon simply wanted to complete the transformation for further use. On the other hand, it did not explain why it had waited over 12 years above the median age in order to do so for the first time.

Matt's head was bottled with numerous scenarios of the possible plans he might have needed to put in action for the United States part of their trip. After going to his old friend's house in Fargo, North Dakota to get their fake passports, he wondered if it would have been safer to access their small, closer and poorly secured airport in order to fly to an international airport near their position, possibly John F. Kennedy International in New York. If the police were to find where they were heading, however, they would know to look in an obvious place like Fargo's airport, which led Matt to consider going to Minneapolis, Minnesota instead. Although the most pertinent question still remained to have been how they would have even gotten to Fargo in the first place. Multiple solutions went through his head, such as stealing another car, - and risk getting into another chase with the police, further leading them closer to Matt and Eric - renting one, - however, they would need to find a car rental service first - and hitchhiking. All of the above were big possibilities which needed to be placed into consideration, further complicating things for Matt.

Both parents were silently thinking about their own fates after the trip. They wondered if the police would track them down and launch an investigation on them, forcing to reveal what they knew about their new friends. There was also the possibility where the two runaway vigilantes would try and steal their van, once realizing there would be no other method of transportation available. Both thought of numerous scenarios, some unrealistic, others very likely to happen, but the only way for them to have found out what would actually happen, was to continue driving and hope for the best.

Matt and Eric began to discuss about that night and the berserk mode a little further into detail about an hour in the day. Eric was still a little confused about the phenomenon and of the abnormalities in his case.

"So, technically, whenever I'm in danger, and I don't know how to handle it, I'll just have my dragon form automatically take over and do whatever it needs to do?"

"Well, it depends", Matt replied. "If you lack a way to come out of danger, then it might take over. But, you shouldn't rely on it very much, because normally this comes along with recklessness and lack of judgment. In other cases it won't even matter how much danger you're in; it might not take control at all."

"Well then, is there any way to control it?"

"I'm not sure. Some consciously unhealthy people say they never had any problems with the phenomenon, while other strong and focused people say that they're a constant threat to people because of it. It really depends on the person, as well as the species. However, you can try to bond with it. That way, when it does appear, you'll have a lot more say in what goes on and what doesn't. It's only been reported to have happened a few times though; most TFRs' animal sides never even attempt negotiation with the human. But you shouldn't really worry about this very much since it shouldn't happen too often. I'm guessing you'll be witnessing it for another week or so, and it'll hopefully disappear completely."

"So, it won't be much of a problem?", Eric asked, relieved.

"Probably not." He laughed. "Although, I would really appreciate if you quit jumping me with those glowing eyes of yours..."

Eric's eyes flinched. "What do you mean, glowing eyes?"

"What, you didn't notice your eyes were glowing?", Matt wondered with an edge to his voice, clearly implying Eric should have noticed. "It was sort of a demonic look - as if you came out of a horror movie or something."

"Huh. That's weird. Did you ever have any problems with berserk mode?"

Matt smiled. "Only once. I was trying to fetch supper when I was 16, and when I came back to my hideout there was this one guy wandering around it. I hid behind a tree and I didn't really know what to do. When I listened a little harder, I found out he was starting to search through my stuff, and for some reason I started to get defensive. My wolf side reacted instinctively to protect its territory, and the next thing I knew, I ended up chasing the guy on my four legs. Once I got a hold of myself, I stopped, seeing he was too frightened to come back, and moved my stuff to a different location, just in case he did."

"Didn't you ever wonder what had happened?"

"Of course. I always wondered about it, until I asked my tutor a few years later. Now, I'm explaining it to you. Ironic, isn't it?"

He was expecting a reply of some sort, or at least a snicker, but instead, Eric looked out his window, emotionless. It scared him knowing he would not be able to control his dragon side correctly, placing people like Matt in danger for no reason whatsoever. He seriously hoped it would simply become a temporary phase of his, but deep down, he knew it could pose a serious threat to the people around him.

...

Tom Benson was well in his 60s, tall, tanned, and very intelligent - intelligent enough to earn his spot in the head office of the CIA in a mere nine years. He had been divorced twice, and lived at home with his present wife in the state of Virginia. Highly praised by the government, he had been working for well over 10 years in his department.

The search for the dragon became very heated. Nearly 25% of all of the CIA's foreign investigation squads were in or around the city of Thunder Bay, searching for clues, witnesses, or anything linked to the case. The murder victim's family was questioned in hopes of being related with the assailants, but nothing was found of that sort. At 10 o'clock the night before, the groups began searching further outside the city, which were mostly occupied by lower density areas. Benson had flown from his headquarters that day to help navigate the search effort in a temporary building set up in downtown Thunder Bay. Unlike Parker's team, Benson's was very organized with top-skilled professionals leading the case, able to track very single development his team found, constantly updating objectives whenever possible.

"How much area have we covered now?", Alan queried, directing his question to no one in specific. An analyst at the front of the room answered.

"We've covered a total of around 700 kilometers, with about 100 of them being made in the last three hours. Since our target is 1500 kilometers, I can give you an ETA of 17:20. After that, we would have no other leads, and we would be sitting ducks until a new one surfaces."

"Perfect. I'm certain we will find something." He pointed out one of the analysts in front of him. "You. Order two search groups to cover the area a bit further west of our target area, just in case we don't manage to find anything. I highly doubt they have a car now, so they should be near."

The order was made to two groups who were originally covering residential areas around the crime scene, and they did not seem to have found anything. One of those groups was Echo, which consisted of 16 investigators from several locations across the United States. Each of them had obtained at least one degree in criminal justice and investigation, which qualified them as one of the best squads the CIA could get their hands on. The group's leader, Markus, had a keen eye for his job. He had over 20 years of experience, as well as several high ranks in various martial arts. He, along with the rest of his squad, was posted in a suburban area just off of the Trans-Canada highway, about 10 kilometers west from the scene. They had already marked two square kilometers as inconclusive, but still had several more to search. Inter-partner discussion was not forbidden in the search group; however, it was not recommended, since it could distract and possibly prevent a good lead from being discovered. Two of the searchers were one of the workers belonging to that group, but they were talking about the search itself.

"You know, the funny thing about this whole investigation, is that I was actually watching it unfold at home on the news around a half hour before I was ordered to fly here to take part in it. Isn't that ironic?"

His partner completely disagreed. "What's funnier is the fact that this dragon actually exists. Imagine what the world would be like if they took over - we'd be completely powerless to them. They would probably just kill us all off one by one."

"Well, I'm not too sure about that", he rebutted, followed by a laugh and a grin. "I mean, we have tanks and nuclear weapons three times their size, and what do they have? Fire? I don't think their scales would stop us for very long, if not at all. I'm pretty damn sure they wouldn't be able to brush off, for instance, a Fat Man, don't you think?"

"I really would not underestimate them. Besides, killing this thing would probably save us a whole lot of time and mone-- Whoa, hang on a sec." They both stopped to look at one of the tree-hidden houses in the residential area they were in. "Is that the car?" He began to yell toward his squad leader, who was several dozens of feet in front of him. "Markus! What was the model of the car we were looking for?"

"I think it was a 2027 Civic", the leader shouted back, all while walking towards him. "Why? Did you find one?"

"I don't know if it's the right year, but it's definitely busted. Want to go take a look at it?"

Markus was now beside him, all three of them looking at the black car sitting in the backyard. "Yeah, I think that's it. Good find."

They all made their way over through the forest road, which revealed to be the location of a large house. Toys were scattered all over the backyard, and a large porch greeted them to a sun-filled environment, with their suspect car giving the impression to have been parked quite recently on the lawn. The small group walked over to the vehicle, and concluded it was indeed the one they had been searching. The Civic had the correct license plate and the correct description; however, the location did not quite fit. Markus asked himself why someone would have simply dumped a wanted car in the backyard of a random house near a highway, perfectly viewable from the entrance. It did not make sense to him. In spite of that, he quickly reported the information to the headquarters, who received the message just as quickly.

"Sir!", one of Tom's analysts notified. "I've received a message from the Echo squad. They've notified us that they found the Civic used in the car chase a dozen kilometers west of the crash site. They're positive it's the one."

Benson smirked, glad they were getting somewhere. "Excellent. Get the address from them and notify me when you've got it." He paced eagerly around the room, watching the monitors flicker with information, before someone alerted him with what he wanted.

"Okay, they're located at 1933 Fraser Rd., Oliver Paipoonge. It's not very far from here."

"Alright, now get the information on the owners of the home. They could be linked to our suspects." A bit of keyboard tapping was heard for a few seconds, and then he proceeded.

"Mr. Xavier and Mrs. Julia Gordon. They have two children, have been married seven years, and own a van and the house. The husband has a job in engineering, while the mother is on her maternity leave. I see no relation with our suspect."

"Did you say she owns a car?"

"Yes, sir."

"Get its license plate number", Tom ordered, as he waited for more keystrokes.

"It's a gray 2031 Chevrolet Outback; license plate is V354-FMP."

"Perfect. Get their info tracked and look for a cell phone number, work number, credit card number, debit card number, and anything else we could trace them with." He pointed someone else out. "You. Contact the provincial transportation agency and the criminal justice department. Send them a warning to be on extremely high alert and on the lookout for this car. I want it found, and I want that dragon."

...

Entering the province of Manitoba with only two hours and a half left to drive, impatience began to grow in Eric and Matt's stomachs; sitting and waiting for the trip to come to an end killed them. They would be waiting another half an hour before finally driving off of the highway and cutting into an unmarked provincial road, where they would then travel 150 more kilometers through the forests and trees surrounding Angle Inlet.

Out of the blue, however, Xavier noticed a small complication - a construction warning sign, and later, many workers working on a newly paved road. This would normally not be a very big deal to them, but it seemed workers were stopping cars in order to inspect them. The simple solution was for Eric and Matt to hide until they got past the site. Julia gave them the idea of crouching in front of their seats to have their view blocked by the kids' seats, and to place the blanket she had used the night before in order to hide their selves. In spite of this, people would definitely suspect something suspicious, upon seeing a large hump under a pile of blankets.

As they approached the inspection spot, Xavier and Julia got nervous. A man soon walked up to their car and spoke in a very friendly manner. "How you guys doing today? Everything good?"

"Yeah, terrific, thanks", said Xavier in reply, clearly uncomfortable under the pressure posed by the duo in the back seat.

The worker took a quick glance inside the car and saw the adorable children sitting in their booster seats. He smiled, perhaps thinking of his own. "Alright, well I guess everything seems fine to me. Where are you both heading?"

Julia tried to reply in order to help Xavier ease up. "We're trying to get to Winnipeg to spend the day there, but at this rate we won't even get past this construction site by tonight."

"Alright I see. I guess you guys are good to--" The construction worker ceased his talking, and launched a glare toward the back of the vehicle. "Oh, uhh, would you mind telling me what would be under those blankets back there? I really need to know, for security reasons."

Xavier fought back a blush trying to rise across his rugged face. "Uhh, nothing, just food and su-supplies." He tried to seem as calm as possible, but he was not sure it was enough. Eric and Matt both had their eyes closed, trying to make the least bit of movements as possible, hoping the worker would have let it slide. The former, on the other hand, seemed reluctant as to whether the truth had been given or not; however, he quickly brushed it away once he saw the children's faces once again, who gawked at the stranger peering into their parents' window.

"Alright then, have a safe trip." He waved the children a little goodbye before walking off to the next car behind them, waiting for their own inspection. Xavier and Julia, relieved, asked Matt and Eric to stay on the ground until they completely left the construction zone. The two sighed, as they were glad to hear they had safely avoided yet another hazard in their trip.

Finally out of the area, they got up and exchanged a few words, most of them referring to the mistake Xavier made, and how stupid it would have been to have lost their cover over it. Ten minutes later, they finally took the first turn in a long time, to head off of the highway, and onto the provincial road leading them to Angle Inlet.