In My Time of Need - Chapter 1
#3 of In My Time of Need
Chapter 1 of the new story! :D
It is time you furs! I have returned, and I bring with me gifts! Well, not Christmas gifts but you get the point. I am extremely happy to present to you all the first chapter of our brand new story! I was very pleasantly surprised at the response my first story got, so I figured let's do another one! I will be alternating between the two stories, uploading the first story one day and our new story the next. This will give me time to think out the next chapter of each story before it is posted, and you guys will have more to look forward to. But that's enough delaying, let's get on with the story! Hope you enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom of the page!
FYI: For those of you who haven't read the story #2 teaser I highly recommend going back and reading it as there is very important backstory that helps understand what's going on. :D
HEY READ ME! I posted a redo of this chapter in the same folder as this, so be sure to go check it out! I wasn't pleased with how this came I so I re-did it. ^_^
I sat alone with my back against the wall in the small 5x5 foot cell that I'd come to know as my home for the last three years. I winced slightly as I readjusted my position, the somewhat tender wounds on my lower back causing me pain.
I guess before I go any further I should introduce myself. My name is Nathan, or just Nate for short. I'm your average run-of-the-mill fox with these kinda cool looking blue eyes and some brown markings on my face. Nothing crazy but I like it. Not that I've been able to see my appearance any time in the last few years.
I've been stuck in this hellhole for since I was 14 with my brother Zachary. He was now the age I'd entered this horrid place and shared many similarities to my appearance with the exception of his missing markings and sharp amber eyes. But that's how it works with siblings I guess, the lookalike thing. He and I had been oh-so affectionately given experiment numbers, his being 431, leaving me to be-
"432. Rise and shine!" I heard a voice call from the other side of the cage. I sent a threatening glare his way and let a viscous growl tear through my vocal cords.
"Don't be like that, you know better." He said to me spraying me with a squirt bottle. This only agitated me further causing the growl to deepen even further. They treated me like a damned animal, which I technically was but that wasn't the point.
"It's time for exercise. Get up before I get someone in there to make you." He ordered, barely phased by my bared teeth and noisy objection.
I swallowed the growl back to the bottom of my throat and let it simmer as I slowly stood up from the stiff mattress that was my bed. Stalking towards the one wall that wasn't made of cement I put my hands through the small holes so the guard could handcuff me. He put them on a little tight as they dug into my wrists slightly, but I ignored the pain having felt much worse during my stay here.
Once I was out of the cell I was blindfolded to keep me from ever truly knowing where I was going. Having made this walk enough however allowed me to have a fairly good idea of where everything was. Eleven steps down this hall then a right turn followed by 27 more steps straight forward before I was met by the familiar scent of the training room.
I heard the door close behind me and I put my hands back through the slots in the door to have my cuffs removed. Once they were off I removed my blindfold and was immediately met by another warm body hugging me from behind.
I dropped the blindfold so I could turn to embrace the slightly shorter figure of my brother. The only nice thing that these monsters had done for us was allowed my brother and I time every day to see each other. It was originally arranged as a proposition from my caretaker and I; I agreed to be more cooperative during testing so long as I could see him daily. They were reluctant at first but caved much to our relief.
"Hey shorty. How you feeling?" I asked him.
"A little sore from yesterday but I'm okay." He spoke quietly.
I saw the numerous marks and nicks in his fur which caused the growl from earlier to resurface. I hated seeing him in pain, it drove me crazy being the older brother not being able to protect him. Especially after I promised mom... I shook the thought from my head.
"What about you?" He asked me.
"I'm okay. Definitely felt worse before." I chuckled dryly. He frowned at my statement but let it pass.
"So what are we gonna do?" He asked, light orange tail swaying slowly behind him. I pondered the question for a moment before giving him a very special look.
He recognized the look instantly and began backing away from me. Letting a mischievous grin crawl onto my muzzle I stalked after him.
"C'mere you!" I shouted laughing lightly. I grabbed him and began tickling him relentlessly, ignoring his pleading cries that were shrouded by his shrill squeals.
"Please Nathan! I can't breath!" He gasped out in between laughs. Finally relenting I let him sink to the floor so he could catch his breath.
"I hate you so much you know that?" He jabbed lightly at me. I slowly raised my paws up and wiggled them again, threatening to come after him again. His eyes widened as he quickly withdrew the statement.
"I mean I love you big bro! Please don't tickle me again!" He spoke quickly. I dropped my paws again.
"Love you too bro. I need to talk to you about something." I told him. He cocked his head and eyed me curiously wondering what I would need to tell him about.
"What about?" He asked me. I held up one of my pawtoes signaling "first" and then spelled out "letter" in sign language. It was something that our mother had taught us a long time ago and it came in handy time and time again.
He nodded in response still somewhat confused, but met my gaze attentively.
"Edna Said Crying And Pouting Establishes Terribly Oily Dandruff. And Yes Broccoli Eating Really Effectively Activates Yellowing." I said trying to find a word for each letter, winking once I'd finished.
I had to do it in code because there were security cameras everywhere that captured every word we said. Once he put the letters together his eyes widened once again and his muzzle dropped open.
"Really?" He asked me. I nodded in response holding a finger up to the end of my snout to signal him to stay quiet about it. He nodded his head vigorously.
"Don't get too excited, just because Edna said so doesn't mean it's true." I told him trying to throw off any suspicion of what we were talking about. Part of what I said was true.
Edna, who was our caretaker was the one behind the plan to break us out. She'd felt bad for us ever since we were captured and did her best to make sure we were taken care of. Even if it meant her being punished for our sake. I would never be able to repay her for what she's done but I couldn't help but smile at her kindheartedness.
I stood up and helped my brother off the ground as we began our daily "exercise". It wasn't much, just some laps around the room and a few pushups to keep our muscles from deteriorating. A loud buzzer rang through our sensitive ears telling us our time was up, and I hugged Zach again before he stepped to the door to receive his cuffs.
He stole once last glance towards me and I winked to remind him of the plan. He nodded subtly with a smile before he turned back forward to receive his blindfold.
"Let's go! Move it!" The human shouted in Zach's ear with a shove. We both simultaneously let out growls, mine much more prominent than his. The human made a very unwise decision when he smacked the back of my younger brother's head hard enough for him to see stars even with the blindfold on.
His pained yelp was enough for me to see red and my growl developed in my throat from threatening to ferocious. I could feel the hair on my back bristling as I spoke in a voice quivering with rage.
"Hit him one more time and I'll tear your throat out." I said quietly, gnashing my teeth at the guard. I reveled in the look of fear in his eyes as he led Zach away, and I angrily thrust my arms into the cuffs waiting for me.
I was surprised however to find that there were none there. Peering through the cuff holes I gasped as I watched the guard outside crumple to the ground. The door swung open and there stood the mighty Edna in all her glory armed with a stun gun in her hand and baton at her hip.
"Shhh, come on we have to hurry." She whispered to me. I nodded, surprised but happy nonetheless at her sudden appearance.
"We have to get Zach." I whispered back.
"I know. I just saw the guard leading him back to his cell." She said.
"Alright let's move." I told her. I followed her as I still wasn't completely sure where I was going, having always been blindfolded inside the building. This didn't stop me from soaking in every detail of the building, looking for all possible exits in case something went wrong. This distraction caused me to nearly walk into Edna when she suddenly stopped, and she held a finger up to her mouth telling me to stay quiet.
I nodded and she pointed around the corner. I slowly moved beside her and saw Zach in his cell. "Can you get his attention? We need him to be ready to run as soon as possible." She instructed me quietly. I nodded in response.
Sticking my two index pawtoes to the end of my muzzle I whistled high enough to where only his sharp fox ears would be able to pick it up. His eyes darted to our location, lighting up at seeing us free of guards.
Edna grabbed her set of keys that were strapped to her belt and quietly made her way to his cell. Zachary's tail waved rapidly behind him as the adrenaline began to kick in. Edna unlocked the cell and he bolted out towards me.
"Follow me!" Edna whispered harshly. We nodded and took off after her.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" I heard a guard shout behind us.
"Run!" I shouted as I took off in full sprint, Zach following me close behind. We ran past hallways following Edna the entire time, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
There were many guards behind us as we ran but there was no way they were going to catch us, we were far too- BANG!
I whirled my head around as I heard the sound of gunshots ringing behind us, and I gasped in shock as one just barely cleared my ear. They weren't shooting to slow us down; they were shooting to kill.
My heart began racing ten times faster than it was already as I silently prayed that a bullet didn't hit us. Those fears quickly came to life as I heard Zach cry out behind me. He landed hard on the ground as he held his leg in pain that had been rendered basically useless. My heart stopped as I watched the guards gaining on him.
I stopped cold in my tracks and immediately set out to help him.
"NO! RUN NATHAN! RUN! LEAVE ME! IF YOU COME BACK YOU WILL NEVER GET OUT! NATHAN PLEASE LEAVE ME!" My brother screamed at me.
His words pierced deep into my heart as I struggled to fight with the emotions flowing through me at the moment. My heart screamed at me to turn back to help him, but a small voice in my head whispered for me to leave him.
I could tell in his eyes he was desperately hoping I would keep going without him, so with that I sent one last sorrowful look towards him before I turned tail back in the direction Edna had gone.
I turned a corner sharply and saw Edna at the end of the hallway holding a door open for me. My heart race increased as I saw sunlight streaming through the door and I quickened my pace as a new wave of energy washed over me.
I sent a quick grateful glance towards Edna as I bolted out the door and almost fell down in shock as my paw pads met grass, something I hadn't felt in years.
I let my blunt nails dig into the dirt using it to propel me faster as I continued running. Tears flowed freely down my muzzle as I realized that I'd abandoned the one person left in my life worth living for, and the shame overwhelmed me for doing so.
Once my legs could simply take no more I simply let myself collapse to the ground, sliding slightly through the dirt with the leftover momentum from my dead run. I had no idea how far I'd run, but I quickly felt my consciousness slipping from me as I laid heaving on the ground, exhausted from the long term strenuous activity.
The last thing I saw was the rippling blades of grass in front of me before my vision went black.
And there you have it everybody! The stage is set for a very exciting story indeed, and I can't wait to write the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed! I am currently writing the next chapter of A Silent Soul which should be going up sometime before midnight, so stay alert for that as well. I'll talk to you guys again then, see ya! :D