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Come With me

A Drunken Wolf Production

"I'm sorry Koby. Your to sick to go outside."

"Koby, you have to stay in bed!"

The small black and white stripped tiger sighed flipping through the channels in his bedroom. Due to his heart condition slowly eating away his energy, he was bed ridden. Koby sighed and shoved the blankets off of himself climbing out of bed. The small tiger teetered a bit before catching his footing and tip toed towards the window. The last thing he wanted to do was get caught out of bed by his care taker Mrs. Sandtrap. The proud motherly badger was his only care taker after his parents died four years prior in a car collision with a company pick up truck. Thanks to the life insurance and the court settlements, Koby could have anything he wanted. Ironically the one thing he wanted was free and outside his bedroom window.

The tiger pressed his cold nose to the window marveling at the beautiful weather of the mid February afternoon. The fain sounds of birds chirping and the subtle whirl of the neighbors lawnmower only made him long for a breath of the fresh air. Mrs. Sandtrap was very protective when it came to his health and rarely let him open a window, much less frolic outside. The sun was still high In the sky and the only person visible was a little black wolf padding down the street as if he was in a hurry to get some where. Koby watched him wondering what it was like to have friends. Sure he had his care taker, but she wasn't the same as having a real friend. The tiger watched curiously as the black wolf stopped as if he had missed a turn some where and looked up right in Koby's direction. The wolf's eyes were bright red gleaming like two mesmerizing coals. Koby meeped and ducked down under his window pain gulping softly.

Koby waited a few seconds before sitting up and inching himself up and over the window sill. No one was standing there. Koby sighed and leaned an elbow on the panel and rested his head in his paw. He couldn't help but wish he had of opened the window and called out to the wolf. At least wave to him, instead of cowering like an infant. Nothing else of interest was happening on their lazy street of Tawny Drive. The only thing that caught his attention was the mail woman that came by everyday. Other than that and Mrs. Sandtrap, no one knew he existed. Koby slumped down and pressed his back against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. He rested his head on his soft pajama fabric and closed his eyes wishing he was healthy. The television shows made hanging out and goofing off at school seem fun. Even having horrible teachers and bad sack lunches wouldn't be a problem as long as he could be noticed.

"Dinner time Koby," Mrs Sandtrap called out from behind the door.

She knocked and came in carrying a small silver serving tray. The large badger smiled softly seeing Koby in his usual spot under the window sill. She moved quietly and sat down beside him nudging him playfully in the ribs.

"How about we order a movie and eat in the living room tonight?" she whispered lifting his small tail and placing it in the tiger's lap.

"That could be fun i guess," Koby mumbled back still feeling a bit pouty.

Mrs. Sandtrap picked up her tray as Koby followed behind her .

The next day rolled around just like the last one. Koby still had home school classes even though technically he wasn't supposed to live to see 16. He sighed sitting in the living room at the table filling out his times tables accurately with little thought. Under the care of his guardian, he had grown quite smart and found that he had a knack for literature and poetry. Mrs. Sandtrap allowed him to order just about anything he wanted from the local book stores and had amassed quite a collection. He had works ranging from Moby Dick, all the way to Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet. The small cat yawned and leaned against the back of his chair setting down his pencil. He had already finished the whole week's assignments and closed the book setting it on top of the others. His tail swayed behind him as he tried to think of a way to spend the rest of his afternoon. He scratched under his chin before deciding to go watch television in his room. Koby stood up, pushed his chair in, and walked out of the kitchen to the stairs. Right as he was about to climb them, he noticed the same black wolf from yesterday marching down the street. The small tiger quickly bolted up the stairs and pushed his bedroom door open with a grunt. Koby dashed to his window and squatted down watching as the wolf approached.

The black wolf once again was moving quickly like he had an appointment to keep. His little fluffy tail wagged behind him in an almost irate fashion. Koby grinned watching him wondering where he could be going that required him to rush. The black wolf made it to the side walk in front of his house then stopped in his tracks. The wolf turned and looked up eyeing Koby where he sat over head. The tiger took a deep breath watching the wolf where he stood underneath the setting sunlight. The pair stared at each other before the wolf checked his watch then took a step onto his lawn. Koby beamed from ear to ear quickly grabbing the lock and flipping it. He heaved the window up as the wolf padded over and stopped directly underneath.

"Hey, I've never seen you outside. Are you new here?" the small wolf asked looking up at Koby.

"No, I'm sick. So I'm really not allowed to go out of my room," Koby called back happy to be having an interaction with some one his age.

"Well that's no fun. Its a great day out here. When you get better you'll have to come with me. See ya later," the wolf called out waving a paw.

Koby sighed wishing there was a chance he would get healthy one day and be able to join the other kids outside or even at school. His doctors had already nailed home the fact that his heart condition was in-curable and the rarity of it made it such an under studied disease. Koby was tired of just watching life pass him by and wanted a chance at having a friend before he was to meet his maker.

"Hey! Hey, wolf. Wait," Koby yelled causing Mrs. Sandtrap to come climbing the stairs.

The wolf turned around and jogged back looking up again at the tiger.

"I'm not going to get better. I'm sick and I'll never be able to come out side and play with you. I'm Koby. You can at least know my name I guess," Koby mumbled as his bedroom door flew open.

"That's ok. I'll come visit you then. Every one needs a friend. I'm Morris by the way. Besides, I can't get sick," the wolf said proudly placing a paw on his chest like super man before turning and jogging off.

Koby chuckled and tried not to tear up as Mrs. Sandtrap came up and closed the window quickly locking it.

"What were you thinking opening the window Koby. What if you get sicker," the over protective badger warned wagging her index digit at him.

Koby smiled and shrugged his shoulders wiping his eyes.

"I don't care. I made a friend today. Plus, I'm already going to die. There's sort of nothing worse than that," Koby joked darkly.

"Don't say things like that. You've made it this long," she snapped out cuffing him on the ear.

The small tiger winced in pain before smiling and hopping onto his bed. He didn't care what Mrs. Sandtrap had to say right now. He was just happy some one noticed him.

The next day came and just as the little wolf said, he came jogging down the side walk towards Koby's house. The tiger was already at the window eagerly awaiting as Morris slid to a stop and padded up to his window. The small wolf was in the same black hooded robed he had been in every time he had seen him so far. Koby un flipped the window lock and raised the window up sticking his head out.

"Hey Koby. Nice day outside today," the small wolf said cheerfully.

The wolf's red eyes seemed so inviting as he stood smiling on the grass below looking up.

"It is, isn't it?" The black and white stripped tiger said taking a deep breath of air before sneezing softly.

Morris laughed and crossed his paws watching the tiger curiously.

"I hope I didn't get you into trouble yesterday," Morris added swatting at a passing butterfly that had gotten to close to his ears.

"I didn't get into trouble. Mrs. Sandtrap works for my family so we're ok," Koby responded with a chuckle.

The wolf grinned and nodded before ducking down.

"I'd prefer to come up though. From what I saw from a distance she seemed pretty scary," Morris laughed judging the climb up.

The vines that grew up the side of the house seemed pretty sturdy and with little trouble, the wolf climbed up and grabbed the window sill. He heaved himself up and rolled into the room looking up at the ceiling. Koby snickered into his paw before helping the bigger wolf up off the white carpet. Morris dusted himself off and looked around the room whistling.

"Phew, that was harder than I thought it be," the wolf grumbled looking at the minor scratches on his paws.

"Your a good climber though. I've only ever seen some one climb into windows on t.v.," Koby teased taking a seat on his bed.

"That was my first time doing it so we're even," Morris said dragging a digit tip over the books that lined the book case. "You must love to read"

"Books are my only way of getting out and imaging the world. T.v and movies are great, but a book lets your mind create more than what you can be shown on the screen," Koby concluded.

"Wow, I use to read. More of when I was a kid. Its been a long time," he added before sitting on the floor beside Koby's bed.

The pair became close friends quickly and every day at the same time Morris would speed walk down the block and up his sidewalk and climb into his window. The two would sit and talk idly and even play games on the computer Mrs. Sandtrap had bought him. The weeks seemed to go by with out a hitch and everyday Koby would speed through his lessons so he could watch his friend arrive. The wolf was so young yet had so many great stories and tales from all over the world. What ever the wolf talked about kept the tiger entertained for hours. After a while when dinner was served, their would be two sandwiches and snacks for them to enjoy. Koby was glad his care taker had excepted Morris with out any complications. As a matter of fact, Koby could have sworn he was feeling better in the wolf's company. He felt like he had more energy and was looking more and more forward to the next day. Before long the wolf was even allowed to come and go through the front door. Morris seemed clean and healthy enough so Mrs. Sandtrap allowed his guest with out problems.

Morris sat beside Koby's bed in his usual position and looked at his watch. The wolf smiled and stood up pulling his long hood over his head.

"I'll see you same time tomorrow," the wolf voiced stretching his back.

Koby nodded and stood from his bed. The pirate story Morris had told him had been particularly exciting. His heart was still racing from the way the wolf weaved his tale.

"I'll walk you out," Koby replied sad to see his friend go.

The pair quietly headed down the white carpet steps and to the door. Mrs. Sandtrap sat at the kitchen table quietly sipping tea and reading the newspaper. Koby was shocked that people still paid for those things. Koby opened the door and allowed the wolf to march out.

"Until tomorrow," Koby said waving a paw.

"Unless you want to come with me?" the wolf said smiling under his black hood.

The tiger chuckled and shook his head wishing he could.

"You know I'm sick Morris. I can't go with you silly," the tiger said shaking his head.

"Alight then. See you tomorrow."

The next day Koby woke up feeling groggy. His head throbbed softly and his body ached. Mrs. Sandtrap noticed his lackluster attitude during breakfast when the tiger didn't eat as much as he normally did. She didn't make a comment though and quietly cleaned the dishes away as the tiger moved to complete his studies. The equations still seemed easy enough but having to do word problems irritated his forehead. When would he ever need to know the time it would take Sam, Jerry, and Tom to fill a pool using the bucket and pool gallon size. Koby sighed and muscled through it eager to hear the end of Morris' story.

"Don't over do it Koby. You need your energy sweety," she coddled hugging the small tiger to her chest.

"I'll be fine Mrs. S, really. You worry to much," the tiger responded with a forced chuckle.

She sighed and ruffled his head fur before padding off out of the kitchen. The tiger finished up his studies and and picked out a good book to read until his friend would arrive. Being a RedWall fan, the wolf decided to do some light reading from "Salamandastron"one of his favorite epics to pass the time. It wasn't long before the door bell rang and the wolf was escorted up by Mrs. Sandtrap. The wolf waved back happily as Koby waved. Mrs. Sandtrap closed the door behind him and Morris returned to his spot at the side of the bed.

"Why do you always wear that same black robe?" Koby asked noticing the wolf never took it off.

"Its something my dad makes me wear. He says its like a uniform or something," the wolf started to explain.

Koby coughed for a second into his paw trying to clear his airway. He cleared his throat and smiled softly before wiping his muzzle.

"Sorry about that. I haven't been 100% lately," Koby said with a wide grin.

"Koby, your arm," the wolf said pointing at the splotch where Koby wiped.

His arm and the paw he had coughed into were covered in blood. Koby jumped off his bed, dashed out of the bedroom, and slammed the bathroom door behind him. The small tiger whimpered softly scrubbing the red out of his white stripes. After what seemed like forever, the small tiger returned slightly matted but clean.

"You okay Koby?" Morris asked standing up and padding up to the tiger.

"Yea, I think It's just a cold," Koby lied smiling softly and hopping up on his bed. "Lets finish the pirate story."

The wolf smiled and obliged sitting back down and starting again. After a while the tall motherly badger peeked her head in and listened to as the small wolf raised his paws high over his head to describe how tall a giant shark that attacked a ship was. She watched Koby smile and laugh as Morris explained how the pirate caught and made fish sticks out of it. The badger grinned closing the door back wishing the tiger had of met the wolf sooner. She retreated noiselessly down the hall way to prepare dinner.

"That was a cool story Morris. Its a shame you have to leave so early," Koby said with a sigh.

"You could always come with me," Morris said sticking his tongue out.

"Mrs. S would kill me. Heck, if the outside doesn't," Koby joked.

"Well, if you're sure," Morris said waving at the stripped cat before heading to the door. "I'll walk myself out. You look beat."

Koby waved watching the wolf leave with a sigh. He wanted so bad to go with the wolf and see the outside world. Now that the tiger thought about it, he couldn't remember a time he had ever been outside. Koby knew Morris would be back tomorrow. The wolf had become his closest friend and at the same time every day, he was there ambling down the street towards his house. Koby was so happy he had made such a good friend he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He over did it though and started coughing deeply hacking red into his paw. The tiger's eyes welled up as he ran back to the bathroom to wash away the blood and try hide his secret from himself.

His caretaker, always nearby, heard the sobs from the bathroom and stood ready to hold him once he was done. Dinner was finished and ready to go once her young master was finished. Koby came out of the bathroom still dripping looking devastated. Mrs. Sandtrap opened her arms and held him tight once he padded over. The small tiger cried into her chest sobbing softly and rubbing his face into her apron.

"I'm not ready to die yet. I just met my best friend," he whined as she hugged him tighter.

"You're not going to die Koby. You're just a little sick is all. Stay in bed a little more tomorrow and we'll see how you do," she said rocking him softly back and forth.

Koby knew better but the words made him feel better none-the-less. He wiped his eyes and smiled faintly trying to build up his confidence.

"Besides, Morris will be here tomorrow and he'll be sad if he can't see you," she whispered helping him up to his feet. "Lets go eat."

The next day Koby felt worse than he did the day before. His chest and back hurt but that wasn't going to stop him from seeing his friend. Koby did his normal routine of studies and headed towards the stairs. All of a sudden he felt dizzy, and as if the ground was getting further away from him. Then just as quick, the ground came speeding back as he blacked out.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Koby blinked groggily, then slowly sat up feeling a sharp pain in his head. His vision slowly came into view displaying the sterile white hospital room. The florescent lights above hummed softly as he tried to gather his bearings. Sitting against the wall in two chairs, Mrs. Sandtrap and Morris slept peacefully. The black and white striped tiger wiped his eyes free then rubbed at the back of his head. A brown coyote intern in blue scrubs noticed Koby was awake and slipped into the room and over to his bed.

"Well hello Mr. Soonberg. It appears like you're having complications with how your heart is processing the blood through your ventricles. Your tubes are so distressed there tearing and causing small amounts of blood to flow in other places. Hopefully Dr. Morgan can get you taken care of and sent on back home," the intern said brightly.

Morris sat up and broke into an instant smile upon seeing the tiger awake. He moved over to the side of the bed waking the sleeping badger.

"I heard you had a nasty fall. Hope you're ok now?" the wolf said grabbing his paw and clenching tight.

"Other than the I.V. pain and my head hurting, I feel ok," Koby mumbled closing his eyes softly as his head throbbed gently.

"Get some rest Koby and I'll see you tomorrow. I spent a lot of time watching you sleep and I have to go. Unless you want to come with me?" the wolf teased sticking out his tongue as he always did.

"I don't think I'll be going outside today Morris. Maybe next time," Koby said chuckling lightly.

"Alright then Koby, see you tomorrow," the wolf chirped out waving a paw and heading out of the room.

Mrs. Sandtrap smiled and made her way to the side of the bed as Dr. Morgan, a tall black panther in a white lab coat, strode into the room with his charts. The panther stopped at the foot of the bed and crossed his paws.

"I'm going to be frank with you guys. Due to the damage of the tubes your heart can't sustain your body's blood flow and its shutting down. That's the reason why you passed out yesterday. We'd like to do a vertical ventricle simulation tube. If the surgery is successful, you'll be able to get your blood flow perfectly fine. You won't be able to be heavily active, but you will be able to go out side and finally play," the doctor said taking a second look at the charts.

"I could be cured?" Koby chocked out in disbelief looking at his badger nanny.

"That's if everything goes accordingly Koby. We have a fine group of surgeons that I have full faith in. You'll be just fine," he finished re crossing his paws.

"That's wonderful Dr. Morgan. Koby that's good news," she exclaimed hugging him tight.

"So, when can I have the surgery?" Koby asked flatly.

"Right, we could have you in later today. The sooner the better though. With out the surgery you might last another few days," Dr. Morgan said handing Mrs. Sandtrap a consent form.

She quickly signed the guardianship approval and passed it back to the doctor.

"I'll schedule you and have my intern prep you for surgery. You're in good hands Koby," Dr. Morgan said before walking out.

Koby was so relieved he couldn't help but feel impatient. Being told he wouldn't live to see another year always hung over him like weight on his chest. Hearing he was going to live, lifted the pressure and made him feel free as a bird. Now he could start actually planning a life for himself. High school and then even college could be an option now that there was some way of treating him. After a few hours later, and some not-so-tasty jello, the small tiger was ready to be prepped for surgery. The coyote intern came down and described how it would feel to go under and other things he would have to go through. Koby wasn't scared in the least bit. He was so ready to get his life started that he had already outweighed the goods over the bads of the surgery. He had been placed in the standard open back gown, socks, and hair cap. The cap was a little much he thought since he didn't have a lot of head fur. After signing that he understood the anesthetics, he smiled and reached out for the big badger's paw.

The trio moved down the long white hall way winding through the inner workings of the hospital. After a while they stopped at a set of double doors and the intern smiled sadly.

"This is as far as you can go ma'am. Sorry," he apologized genuinely.

"I'm praying for you Koby. You'll do fine though," she whispered kissing him on the cheek and hugging him tight.

Koby could still see the streaks down here cheek fur from he crying she had done earlier.

"Hey, I'll be fine. I promise. You worry too much," he said patting her paw before the intern wheeled him away.

The small tiger closed his eyes and listened to the movements around him as he slowly moved through the double doors and through the rest of the hospital. He felt extremely nervous and the fact that he was practically laying naked on the table embarrassed him to no end. He tried to concentrate on how much fun he'd have with Morris once he was healthy enough to go outside.

"Here we are. Operating room 5," the coyote said wheeling him through the door where a group of other scrub wearing nurses and doctors were waiting. Koby opened his eyes and looked around watching them gather around him checking supplies and double checking charts. The head surgeon came in and everyone fell into place. Koby was lifted gently and placed on the operating table.

"Don't be scared fella. Your in the best hands in Memphis. I guarantee you wake up in one piece," the surgeon said smiling behind his face mask. A heavy set cheetah lowered a mask over his snout and gave a short, "Count back from ten."

10

9

8.......

Koby groaned feeling his head ringing, He opened his eyes and squirmed from the pain in his chest. Sitting in the same way he did at his house, Morris smiled up at him from beside the bed.

"Hey buddy. How ya feeling?" Morris chirped out.

"I feel like a truck hit me," Koby grunted holding his chest.

Dr. Morgan came into view outside Koby's room and could be seen taking a deep sigh before walking into the room. Mrs. Sandtrap sat up blinking tiredly.

"Hey Koby. Mrs. Sandtrap and friend. I've got bad news guys," the doctor started.

Koby gulped and twiddled his fingers as the doctor flipped through his chart.

"Due to the severe damage already done to your heart, we couldn't attach the new tubing. We did everything we could guys," Dr. Morgan said lowering his head in shame.

"I.. I don't understand. I thought.. I mean.. you said I'd be just fine," Koby yelled tears welling up in his eyes.

"Sometimes our bodies just aren't strong enough to cope with such a difficult strain on it. I promise you we did everything possible to buy you more time. I promise to make the rest of your stay here as comfortable as I can," he said as politely as he could given the circumstance.

"Wait. Are you telling me that's it?! You're done?" Mrs. Sandtrap yapped out angrily.

"No. If I'm going to die I want to do it a home. I'll be damned if I die before sitting in my front yard," Koby growled out trying to accept his fate..

"Koby, are you sure?" Morris asked with lowered ears and a crushed face.

The tiger coughed deeply before nodding softly with a smile.

"Yea, I've been dreading this for a long time now. Strangely enough I'm ready to get this over with," Koby said shrugging his shoulders.

The next day at the same time Morris came jogging up the block and down his side walk. The small wolf had been allowed to go through the back gate and in through the back door that normally stayed unlocked. The normally cheerfully badger was quiet and barely mumbled a "Hi" to the wolf. He climbed up the stairs and pushed open the door to the tiger's room. The poor beast was curled up in the fetal position taking shallow breaths. When Koby saw Morris he sat up happily and waved then coughed quickly.

"Hey buddy, were you ready to go outside today," the wolf asked cheerfully.

"Even though I've taken a lot of painkillers, I'm still really sore. How about tomorrow. I'll go to sleep extra early so we can go," Koby said with a weak smile."How about a story instead."

"Sounds like a plan. You need your rest," the wolf said trying to think of a story.

"Oooohh, I got a good one. Its long though," Morris said taking his usual seat beside Koby's bed.

"I've got all night. No plans here," Koby teased.

"You're so goofy. Try not to be that way. Here it goes," Morris said grinning from ear to ear.

Morris story was a good one. It had wizards and dragons that could spew snow as well as fire. He stopped right at a juicy part checking his watch. At the same time every night the wolf would stand up with a smile.

"We'll call it a night there and we'll pick back up on it tomorrow. I can tell you what happens to the white mage while we talk out side. Unless you want to come with me," Morris teased watching the sick cat cross his paws.

"Even on my death bed you tease me with that," Koby said darkly before coughing heavily into his paw.

"Fine, see you tomorrow," Morris grinned waving a paw.

Koby waved and watched the wolf leave the same way he had done for the last few months. He wished he had the strength to watch Morris come and go but he was just to exhausted. It felt like his body was fighting him and each breath sapped at his energy reserves. He closed his eyes and waited for tomorrow so he could see his best friend. With pain pills in his system it was easy for him to fall asleep. He dreamt of his parents and the only memory of them he had. It was faint but it was a fond vision of him playing at the park and building sand castles with his mother while his father watched from a park bench.

Mrs. Sandtrap had prepared a picnic and was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches in a basket as Morris knocked and pushed the back door open. She smiled softly holding up a paw as Morris waved. The black wolf climbed the stairs and pushed the door open waving to the tiger who waved back weakly. Morris smiled and shook his head.

"Come on Koby. We're going outside remember. Mrs. Sandtrap made us a picnic too," Morris said excitedly grabbing his paw and tugging.

Koby groaned and climbed out of bed wobbling onto his feet. The wolf pulled and Koby stumbled out of the room behind him. Morris chuckled causing Koby to smile as they teetered and heavy pawed down the stairs. Mrs. Sandtrap smiled wiping her eyes softly carrying the picnic basket with her. For the first time Koby was going out the front door and she wasn't fussing at him. It felt really weird, The tiger shielded his eyes from the warm sun and took a deep breath of the fresh air he had longed for so long to feel. Hearing the sounds of the cars pass and the birds chirp from the other side of the window was amazing. Mrs. S laid a blanket down and the trio sat down under the setting sun. The big badger passed out the food as Morris resumed his story from were he left off.

The story ended with a warrior triumphantly leading his small army to victory. Koby smiled and rested flat on his back enjoying the subtle breeze that went past. His breathing had grown more and more shallow. Morris slid over and lifted the cat's head and rested it in his lap.

"Hey buddy, I have to go," Morris said smiling down at the black and white striped tiger.

"Is it that time already? Stay a little longer," Koby whispered enjoying the feeling of finally being outside with his best friend.

"I have to go Koby. But you can come with me," he whispered softly into his ear.

Koby nodded gripping the wolf's paw tight.

"Ok, just for a little bit," Koby smiled taking one last breath.

Morris smiled pulling his hood over his head before taking Koby away.

Lonewolf- Always edit sober. Learned that the hard way. Hope you enjoyed!