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Chapter 2: Discovery

I looked around me, but yet I could see nothing. Everything around me was pitch black. I looked down at my paws, but I couldn't see them. I looked up once again and saw a faint light ahead of me. I slowly started walking towards it. When I got near, I stopped dead in my tracks. I saw what looked like my mother. She stared directly towards me with her fearful yellow eyes. I tried to run towards her, but it felt as if I was running through water. I then saw a man behind her, holding a gun. His evil smile pierced through the darkness. He pointed the gun at the woman's head. I tried to run faster, but I wasn't fast enough. The man shot the woman and just stood there smiling. The woman fell forward still staring at me as she fell down. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. As soon as she hit the ground, my voice finally rang out in a piercing scream.

I sprang up in my bed with a cold sweat. It was all just a dream, but seemed all too real. I fell back into my pillow, somewhat annoyed that I was still having these dreams. I put my paws around my head and squeezed slightly. I let out a deep sigh then looked at the time. The time was 6:58, two minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. I quickly turned off my alarm and stretched my entire body. As soon as I finished stretching, there was a knock on my door.

"Are you okay in there?" the voice behind the door said.

"Yeah, I'm fine Clyde." I replied "Just another dream"

I heard a small grunt and footsteps walking away from my door. Clyde was the officer who took me in after that night. I was a little surprised he still knocked on my door. I've had these dreams for over 10 years now, you think he would be used to it by now. I guess he's just being nice.

I rolled over in the bed and put my feet on the floor, all without opening my eyes. I walked towards my door to go and take a shower. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. After I got it to the right temperature, I stepped in. The warm water felt good against my fur, and I stood in that exact position for a good ten minutes. After wasting enough water, I decided to finish up my routine and quickly shut the water off. I stepped out of the shower, dried off, and returned to my room. I picked up my glasses from my night stand and put them on. I grabbed a pair of pants and a T-shirt from my dresser. After putting them on I looked in the mirror. I wasn't the most muscular guy in class, but I wasn't extremely scrawny either. My dark grey fur stuck out of my shirt a little bit, but that didn't bother me. My hair on the other hand was a mess. It likes to stick up in all directions after taking a shower. I patted my hair down to make it look somewhat presentable. I took another look at my face. The scar from over ten years ago was still visible. There was a white line that crossed diagonally on my face starting above me left eye. Thankfully, the fur on my face was white also, so it masked it up quite a bit. After making myself presentable, I sighed one more time and exited my room.

Today was the day that my parents were killed, which is probably why I was having the nightmare. It also happened to be my birthday, lucky me. I walked towards the kitchen and saw Clyde sitting down at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. I walked towards the kitchen counter and grabbed a banana, all while dragging my feet. I walked over to the table and fell into the chair. I saw Clyde's ears perk up slightly as I sat down. He scratched his head awkwardly and looked towards me.

"Hey, uh.. happy birthday Isaac." he said.

"Thanks Clyde." I said with little emotion.

We sat there together for a good fifteen minutes in silence. Clyde knew what this day meant to me and decided to be quiet. I finished my breakfast and started heading towards the door. I patted Clyde's shoulder with my handpaw as I passed him and noticed his tail wagged just slightly. I smiled a bit and walked towards the door and out of the house.

It was slightly cold outside today, but not cold enough for it to snow. I could still see my breath as I breathed out. I didn't mind the cold though, it actually felt nice. The cold air I breathed in felt good as it went down into my lungs. I started walking towards the high school. I already dreaded going to school, but today was just going to be worse. I wasn't in a mood to talk to anyone today, but I knew I was going to have to. As I approached the corner I saw a familiar figure standing on the sidewalk waving towards me. It was my good friend Quinn. Quinn was a black and white husky who was extremely energetic, all the time. I don't think there has been a time where he hasn't been excited about something. I walked towards him and tried to put a smile on.

"Hey Isaac! Beautiful day out today isn't it? On top of that, it's your birthday!" Quinn exclaimed.

"Hey Quinn, yeah it is really nice out today. And uh... thanks." I said.

Quinn smiled and put his handpaw on my shoulder. I tried to be as up beat as I could around him, but there are just some times where you can't fake it. It didn't take long for Quinn to notice I wasn't in the best mood in the world.

"Hey Isaac, I know today isn't the best day in the world for you, but it is still your birthday. There's got to be some good to come out of it right?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll try my best to not look like shit today."

"That's the spirit! Now I know you said not to get you anything but I couldn't resist. It's not much but I want you to have it!"

Quinn handed me a small box no bigger than my palm. I probably looked just as confused as I actually was because I had no idea what could have been inside the box. I opened up the present as saw a little game cartridge. It was a Pokemon game that was a little outdated, but I had never played it before.

"Quinn, how did you know I never played this one before?"

"Well... I may have peeked in your room the other day when you went to the bathroom. I noticed you didn't have it, and well I did and I've already finished the game so I have no need for it"

"Thanks Quinn. I'm sure I'll put good use to it"

"At least not this weekend though! We have the school dance coming up and I expect you to be there." he said as he nudged me.

"Oh shit, I completely forgot about it. I don't even have a date or anything."

"There's no need for a date! We'll just go with a group of friends, it's more fun that way anyways. No need to worry about slow dancing with your date, or making sure they are happy"

"I guess that's true. But do you have a date?"

"Yup! I asked Chloe last week or so and she said yes. But don't let that bother you, she knows a few of our friends anyways so it shouldn't be too awkward."

"Alright, but I can't promise you that I'll dance with anyone in particular."

Quinn smiled and decided to walk ahead towards the school. As he walked away I saw his black and white tail wagging back and forth. He actually looked kind of cute as he walked away. Wait... cute? Did I really just think that? I don't really think that one of my best friends is cute... do I? Well, even if I do think that, it's not like I can do anything about it. I'm pretty sure he is as straight as an arrow, just like 95% of the rest of the school.

"Why are you staring at Quinn like that?" a voice said behind me.

I jumped a little and blushed. That voice sounded familiar, but I didn't want to look right away because I could feel that my face was hot from blushing.

"Helloooooo... Isaac, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about some things and you startled me, that's all" I said as I turned around.

As I turned around I saw a friendly brown and black German Shepherd, my good friend Belle. She had beautiful brown hair that flowed down past her shoulders. Belle has been my friend ever since elementary school. She was one of the first friends I made after that night.

"Were you just blushing?" she said as she smiled.

"What! NO! I wasnt!" I lied.

"Yeah okay, well that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are coming to the dance this weekend with the group. I just talked to Quinn last night and he agreed to be part of the group with his date."

"Wow, not even giving me a choice? I see how it is. And besides I was already planning on it. Quinn and I were just talking about it."

"Well perfect! That makes my life easier. Now I don't have to force you into coming out of your room!" she said as she grinned again.

I rolled my eyes slightly as she said that last comment.

"Okay mister sassy pants, well if you're just going to roll your eyes forever I'm going to head off to class before I'm late. You should get going too."

She was right, we only had a few minutes before class was going to start. As Belle walked away I couldn't help but stare. I don't know why, but just looking at the way she walked made me smile a little bit. Did I think Belle was cute too? Well.. I mean she really is pretty cute, not to mention smart. I shook my head and realized that I needed to get going.

Class dragged on all day. I wasn't even paying attention to most of my teachers anyways. All I could think about was the dance this weekend and what I was going to do. I still needed something to wear, but I'm pretty sure I could figure something out. But the thing most on my mind was Quinn and Belle.

I really needed to figure out who I really liked. Belle herself didn't have a date to the dance. I could as her to be my date, but I think being part of a group would be more fun. And besides, what if she said no. It would make things extremely uncomfortable between us and probably ruin the dance. On the other hand, I thought Quinn was kind of cute too. He has a date to the dance anyways, so there's nothing to prod there. Also, I'm pretty sure he is straight so that would only make things awkward.

But what does that make me? Am I bisexual, or what... I've never really had a girlfriend, nor have I had a boyfriend for that matter. Why am I just thinking about this now? I feel like I should have figured this out a few years ago. I wonder what my parents would think at a time like this. Would they be okay with me being bisexual? I don't think Clyde would have an issue really, but would I really need to tell him? Maybe, eventually I will tell him, but I need to figure it out for myself first. I've heard stories where the parents of some gay students were kicked out for coming out to their parents, but not all. I don't think my friends would really care either. They'll probably just poke at me for fun about it for awhile then give it a rest.

I didn't even realize, but all this thinking made the day go by a lot faster than it should have. It was already time to leave and head home. Since Quinn had swim practice after school I usually walked home alone. I packed up my things and started heading home.

About halfway home I heard a few voices across the sidewalk next to me. They were a bunch of wolves. They were yelling, laughing, and were acting like complete animals. I mean, we are all animals essentially, but they could have a little more class than that. I tried my best just to ignore them and walked right by.

"Heyyyy faggot! Where you off to?"

"Yeah! Hey Mutt! We just want to talk! Won't you come here for a bit?"

I walked even faster and growled slightly at the word "Mutt". The term Mutt was used as a derogatory term for people like me, a mix breed. Most people keep their mouths shut about it, but there's always those few assholes. I could hear them running towards me to catch up to me. I just kept walking at my regular fast pace. I was almost home anyways. However, I was a little slow and one of them put his arm around me and onto my shoulder.

"Hey, I thought I asked to slow down? Don't you wanna talk for a bit?"

"No, not really. If I wanted to smell like ass for the rest of the day maybe I would, but I'd rather smell somewhat presentable before getting to my house"

Seriously, this guy smelled like he hasn't showered in weeks. He probably got done with some kind of practice of some sort not too long ago.

"Excuse me? No Mutt talks to me like that."

"Well, maybe if you showered I wouldn't have to now would I" I said annoyingly.

I could tell I really pissed him off there. I probably shouldn't have said that, but I was not in the mood for just taking the insults today. I could tell in his face that him and his posse were ready to start some shit, so I just kept on walking.

"Hey! I told you to stop!" he said as he grabbed my arm.

I stopped dead in my tracks and just looked at his handpaw that was grabbing my arm. I was seriously annoyed at this point. I looked up at his face and then back down at my arm. I didn't really want to start a fight in the middle of the sidewalk here, but I had to get away quickly.

"Let go of my arm"

"Or what? What is your scrawny ass going to do about it?"

"Oh nothing... this this."

I quickly kneed him in the groin and punched the arm that was grabbing my arm. I must have gotten a good hit because he was crouching down pretty low. I didn't have time to enjoy the fact that I just hit one of the wolves in the nuts, so I decided to make a run for it. It wasn't long before the whole gang was after me, but I was pretty fast. I ran as fast as I could to my house, which was only a few minutes away.

I must have sprinted for a minute straight before I saw my house around the corner. I hadn't looked back the entire time. I was more focused on getting to my house than making sure I was outrunning them. I finally reached the front door and opened it immediately. Thankfully I didn't have to unlock the door. Clyde must already be home. I slammed the front door shut behind me and locked it. I stood there with my back against the door trying to catch my breath. I could hear Clyde down the hall taking a shower. He must have just gotten done with work.

I looked outside the window next to the front door to see if they had followed me back home. I saw two wolves run past my house and kept going while one of them had to stop. The one that stopped was the one I hit earlier. He had to catch his breath it seemed like. As he regained his composure he looked up towards my house. His eyes locked onto mine for a second. As I got a better look at my attacker, I saw something familiar. He had some bright orange eyes and a little tuft of green fur sticking out of his jacket. Then it hit me. I finally realized why he seemed so familiar.

I quickly ran to my room and grabbed the box under my bed. I dug through the number newspaper reports until I found the one from ten years ago. My parent's attacker had those same orange eyes and that green-tinted fur. I stood there frozen holding the newspaper clip in my handpaws. I almost felt some tears beginning to well up, but I quickly regained my composure and stopped them. I put the paper away fell onto my bed. I was still trying to catch my breath from running before. I just needed to relax and clear my mind. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. I eventually started to doze off.

I opened my eyes slowly and noticed it was pitch black outside. I must have taken a long nap. I looked at the clock next to me, it was 9:00 I fell asleep for like 5 hours. I decided to get up and walk towards the kitchen. Clyde was watching T.V. on the couch with a beer next to him.

"Morning sleepyhead. You slept for awhile."

"Yeah I guess so. I didn't realize how tired I actually was" I said as I yawned.

"Well, there's some pizza on the counter if you want some. I ordered it not too long ago, should still be warm. Oh and you can grab a beer if you really want to. It is your birthday after all."

"Thanks Clyde, but I don't really enjoy the taste that much. I'll just stick with some water for now."

I grabbed myself some pizza and sat next to Clyde. "The Walking Dead" just came on and I decided to watch the episode. We watched the entire episode without really saying much, just a few comments here and there. The ending pissed me off because someone died, but I'll get over it.

"So did you have a nice day at school?" Clyde asked.

"It was okay. I couldn't really concentrate all that much today. I just had a lot of things on my mind."

"Is it because of the dance that's coming up this weekend?"

"Yeah, how did you know about that?"

"Isaac, I'm a cop remember? High school dances mean that there are drunk teenagers and others who vandalize. We kind of have to be on top of things"

"Oh... right. Well I'm not sure what I'm going to wear really. It's already been decided that I was going to go, but I really don't have any nice clothes. Or at least any clothes for dances"

"Well I would offer you mine, but they might be too big for you. You can try them on if you want to. Otherwise, if you want I can give you some money to go buy some clothes?"

"No, I wouldn't feel right if you paid for them Cly..."

"Nope, I insist. Plus it will be like a birthday present from me. I know you said you didn't want anything, but you said you are going to the dance so I insist."

I glared at him with a somewhat pouty face and sighed.

"Alright fine, but I'll try and keep it low. I don't have a date anyways so I don't need to impress anyone."

Clyde laughed as I said that. His laughter always made me feel happy for some reason. Maybe it was because he didn't laugh as much lately? I don't know. I'm probably looking into it too deeply like I normally do. Clyde reached into his wallet and gave me his credit card.

"Now like you said, don't go overboard. Just make sure you are buying just the clothes and not any video games or anything else."

"Yeah I know. Trust me, I don't think there are any video games out that I want anyways. So you shouldn't have to worry" I said as I smiled.

My happiness only lasted for a second. A large bang came from outside of our house. Clyde and I both stood up, but Clyde told me to wait. As he approached the door, a large rock flew through our window shattering the entire thing. I moved over to where Clyde was just incase someone was outside the window. We stood there for a few minutes in silence. After those few minutes we figured that whoever these people were had left. We stepped outside our house and looked at the wreckage.

So not only did they break our window, but the criminals vandalized our entire front yard. Our garage was spray painted with a red paint and spelled out the word "Mutt". I could see some eggshells on the ground near the front door where we stood. The loud bang probably came from the garage door as it had a huge dent in it as well. They must have used the same rock or maybe a hammer to dent it. To top it all off, they threw toilet paper rolls in our trees.

"Fuck" Clyde said.

"This is my fault Clyde. There were some guys after school and I might have started a small fight with them, but I got away. I really only hit one of them."

"No... you did the right thing. These hooligans didn't have to vandalize our house. We'll just have to clean it up, that's all."

"But what about the window? That's going to cost quite a bit..."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I have a lot of money saved up anyways considering I don't spend much of it."

"Well at least have your credit card back. You'll probably need it anyways and I'm not going shopping tomorrow."

Clyde took the card back and we started cleaning up right away. Clyde took care of the garage door while I got all the toilet paper out of the trees. As for the window, we really couldn't do much besides covering up the hole so nothing would get in.

After we were all done I jumped into my bed. Exhausted from all the cleaning I seemed to doze off immediately. Although my mind kept me awake. All I could think about were those glowing orange eyes. I couldn't help but think they were connected somehow. I am going to find out who this person really is. If I'm right, he might be related to my parent's attacker. Since I couldn't do too much about it now, I decided to let myself fall into a deep sleep. However, even the glowing orange eyes tainted my dreams.