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Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Help

Marcus tried to pull Reis up, but his strength gave into the weight of the large wolf with each thrust. Still, he pulled and shouted for Reis to get up, his eyes filling with tears in frustration.

"For God's sake Reis, get up!"

Reis did not budge. He only lay there like a stubborn, motionless sandbag. It was as if he were asleep with his eyes wide open and looking into nothing.

Finally, after one last tug, Marcus gave up, collapsing on Reis's body. The tears in his eyes again stained Reis's uniform as he laid his head over Reis's chest. All he could do was keep his arm below his lover's head, preventing the precious cargo from touching the ground. "Please...fucking help us..." said Marcus in a tired whisper. It was the closest thing in his life, so far as he could remember, to a prayer.

"Please fucking help us..."

"Are you okay?" said a voice coming from behind the two of them. Marcus only repeated in a slightly louder whisper, "...fucking help us..."

Marcus could hear someone trotting around them until in his peripheral he could see two paws step in the neon light right in front of him; they were covered in red fur. As Marcus raised his eyes, he could see that these paws wore light blue, rugged jeans. And as he got higher, he could see a pair of arms whose hands were buried in the pockets of a half zipped leather jacket. Marcus could not tell if the stranger was wearing a shirt underneath his jacket because it was as red there as the fur on the rest of his body. But he could see that on the stranger's chest was a long gold necklace that shinned in the light as brightly as his sparkling green eyes. The stranger's face was somewhat obscured by the light transcending on it, but Marcus could tell that he was a dog and that he was... smiling... but in a way that was reassuring and, frankly, comforting.

"Are you two okay?" he asked again. His voice was a little wheezy and rasp, but it bore a subtle intonation of the California bayside. From where Marcus was kneeling, the stranger was towering.

Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he was already face to face with the strange canine who was now kneeling before them. And before Marcus could react, he could feel the gentle hand of the stranger brushing against the hand that he had under Reis's head.

"Come on. We gotta get him up."

"He won't move."

"Really?" the stranger lifted Reis's eyes up toward his, "Hey buddy. No excuse to sleep out here." The stranger raised his glowing green eyes up to Marcus, "On three. One, two...three!"

The two lifted Reis to his feet. Marcus had Reis's right arm slung over his shoulders while the mysterious canine had prompted up Reis's left arm with his tall body. Standing next to each other, Marcus could make out that the canine was as tall as Reis was though a lot thinner. But Marcus did not try to make out any more of the stranger's details until the three of them reached a stone bench, which was placed right outside the hospital entrance. Once they sat Reis down on the bench, Marcus took his place next to him, hugging onto his body.

"There man," said the stranger as he eagerly, but carefully, patted the side of Reis's face with the palm of his hand, "better?"

Finally, Marcus could make out all of the features of the canine standing in front of them. Turns out that beneath his jacket he was wearing a red shirt that was slightly redder then his fur, and the necklace that rested on it was of a pair of golden eagle's wings. His fur was rather scruffy, especially on his pinkish muzzle, which was still wearing a wide smile. Though Marcus did wonder in the back of his mind how anyone could be smiling right now, he was not angered by the stranger's kind gesture. His smile was trustworthy, it did not condescend nor appear to be fraudulent. It was just an offer of comfort. It was trivial, Marcus thought, to like a guy who whose name he didn't even know, but he couldn't help it.

"Thank you," said Marcus humbly. The stranger tilted his head a little to the side, making his eyes glisten more in the hospital light. His eyes were not hazel, they were pure shades of green and they revealed a kind of authentic esteem. His face was boyish, and retained a glow of youth, which made it hard to guess what his age was. But to Marcus, there was something about him that looked...

Shit! Why didn't I see it before?

But before Marcus could speak, the stranger had already presented his hand in front of Marcus's face, "Name's August LaFleur."

Marcus shook his hand. He had a tight grip but not one that was aggressive, only an outgoing spirit. "Gus?" was all that Marcus could say in a stunned whimper, as if rediscovering a long lost friend, which made him feel kind of stupid.

"So you do recognize me," said August with a wink, "Gus is my stage name. But I always preferred August. Not that it matters." Marcus could feel Reis's right arm stir as he put his hand out to August, which he enthusiastically shook. Then the cheerful canine leaned back as if to get a fuller view of the two on the bench. "You must be Marcus and Reis. My brother's told me all about you two. It's nice to finally meet you." The red dog's smile then sank a little as he gazed up at the hospital, "How's Joji and...and Alex?"

"Alex's is hanging in there. But I don't know where Joji went," said Reis. Marcus looked over and up at Reis, his mouth open in amazement. "He went to the school I think," said Marcus.

August turned his head to the left, looking down the same road that Joji had driven down earlier. Then he looked back to Reis and Marcus, "You two need a ride home?" he asked softly.

"Yea. We're stranded," said Marcus. Again smiling, August moved over to Reis, "You okay to walk, buddy?"

Reis nodded as he pushed himself off of the bench and rose to his feet by himself. Marcus popped up, getting ready to catch Reis if he fell again (even if he'd get crushed in the process).

As the two followed August's led, Reis whispered into Marcus's ear, "You don't have the van." Marcus was utterly astonished that Reis, who was hysterical only a few minutes ago, was now speaking calmly. But not to alarm him, Marcus answered plainly, "Karma got me at the airport and dropped me off."

It was only then that Reis noticed the bandage on Marcus's arm.

"What happened to you?" asked Reis commandingly.

"It's nothing to worry about, Reis."