FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Broken Pieces

Chapter Fifteen

By Roofles

“We’ll lure him out into the open and put him down.” Domino nodded at the sound plan. The wolf coming up with one before Logan did and was expecting the human to go along with him on it. Every other wolf back in the pack would’ve been eager to put down a tiger.

“No.” Logan shook his head.

“What do you mean no?” Domino growled, jowls lifting to flash fangs.

“We can’t just put the poor kid down like he’s some rabid animal.” Logan rolled his eyes. The wolf didn’t seem to follow.

“Hopped up as he is on that rabbit juice,” Domino said mocking the hares who’d done it to the tiger. “He might as well be a rabid animal! For everyone’s sake, not just our own, we should put him down. Who knows who else he’ll kill.” Domino snorted, covering his muzzle with a hand. Finding the whole thing amusing.

That hare bastard had tried to sick the tiger on them and ended up losing three of his men because of it while they made their escape.

“He’s a kid, Dom.” Logan gave him a look, trying to explain the situation to the wolf. Domino still wasn’t following.

“You’re point being…?” Domino narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out where the human was going with this. It hadn’t even occurred to the wolf to spare the tiger’s life.

“Yes, I know this is extremely dangerous. But it’s like what you said.” Logan just shrugged as if to say “it’s really your fault.”

“What did I say…?” Dom frowned not liking where this is going.

Logan lifted up his hand, looking at the self-inflicted wound he’d caused earlier to leave the trail of blood. Pulling out Domino’s switchblade, he pressed the sharp needle point tip against it, reopening it. A fresh trickle of blood oozed from the spot as Logan squeezed it out.

“I saved you before.” Logan cut himself and watched the red flow. “We can save him.”

“This is exactly why Clem told me to watch out for you!” Domino grumbled. It was too late to stop what Logan had done and the sent of fresh blood filled the air around them. If it had this kind of reaction for the wolf, Dom could only imagine what it was doing to the tiger who’d lost his mind.

“You said blood is a trigger?” Logan was already painting the side wall with it. Creating an arrow, not that he needed to do so. He just liked the idea of it as he left the marker for the tiger to follow behind them. The feline would stalk them, just out of sight, before pouncing when they’re backs were turned and necks exposed. “Let’s go,” Logan was already running for the next spot, and Domino kept pace with him easily.

“This place stinks,” Domino agreed. “I smell blood everywhere. Makes it hard to keep my head thinking straight. Fresh blood should work. Possibly…”

“How’d you find me then?” Logan asked and the wolf just smirked.

“Like I wouldn’t know what your blood smells like.” Logan didn’t take it as the compliment Domino had been meaning to give. “I almost flipped out when I first sniffed it. I thought they had hurt you and was dragging your unconscious, lifeless body down the hall.” The wolf just casually shrugged.

It was as if Domino had been expecting that result from the very beginning. His biased views of this place were sound if a bit… speciest.

“Gee, thanks.” Logan rolled his eyes as he skidded to a stop. Using the blood trail, they were already following, Logan just added more to it before heading towards the exit. “Give me some credit. I think I can handle a couple of man-whore bunnies.”

“I trust you,” Domino nodded. “These fuckers? I don’t. Can’t trust them as far as I could throw one, and I can throw one pretty damn far.” Domino snorted at the amusing thought of rabbit tossing. Just grab them by the ears, spin them around and chuck them underhanded into the river.

“They aren’t… weren’t, that bad before.” Logan frowned at the end, not wanting to admit how sour things had become for them. For everyone these past couple of years.

One thing had triggered another that had caused another; like dominos being knocked over. An amusing thought as Domino ran next to Logan.

Life was like a pendulum. When one side was in power? Eventually, it would swing back the other way. The predators, several years ago now, had been the cock of the walk on the streets and no one would mess with them. Thanks to their infighting and the gang war that broke out between the lions and wolves, they weren’t on top any longer.

And that pendulum was beginning to swing back the other way. Towards those who normally stayed out of the limelight. The most populated group in the entire world. Those who formed herds, colonies, and flocks. Sheep, rabbits, pigs, cows, and others usually seen as livestock or cattle; easily shepherd one way or another.

Were now the ones ending up in charge.

It was only thanks to their innate inability to deal with direct conflict that tended to put these people in working man roles rather than within the top brass of companies. Some would even freeze up when put into that spotlight. Like a pair of headlights flashing, they’d seize up, body stiffening and, at times, faint. Deer and goats were notorious for such a thing happening on live television.

Something most predators thought was hilarious to watch. There were numerous videos online of a group of predators jumping a prey species and recording what they did after. The harassment was a time-honored tradition; something Logan hadn’t been proud of participating in when he was younger.

It had been amusing, harmless… until it wasn’t.

As things began to sway towards the other side, Logan thoughts began to change as well. To those behind the scenes. Barnes was just a nobody in the end. A single hare that thought he could play at this game. Unlike the others… The ones holding the string to that pendulum. Directing the way, it swung, and the way people’s views blindly followed along with it; how the media and society swayed and flowed along with that motion, their attention focusing where they directed it to go.

Sheep willing to follow.

Logan already knew who next to interrogate after this. Having a nagging suspicion since the start. If they survived this, that was.

“These guys have always been loony.” Domino said and Logan laughed before he realized he hadn’t been making a joke. “They live underground half their lives. Makes them go crazy, I swear.” Domino shook his head. “That kind of thing? Living in fear every day of your life? It does things to you… in your head.” He tapped the side of it with a clawed finger. “Fear breeds hate. Hate breeds violence. And violence breeds retaliation starting the vicious cycle over again. An eye for an eye makes the world blind.”

“Huh,” Logan said, and Domino lifted an eyebrow. “I just didn’t think you’d be so… philosophical.”

“Well….” The wolf’s ears perked suddenly, and he looked down a side hallway, body going rigid and stiff as he sensed something the human couldn’t.

The wolf stopped, placing a hand in front of Logan. He motioned with his muzzle and Logan didn’t need to see the flash of orange to know the tiger was closer than they’d expected. Running around on all fours made it far easier to catch someone than Logan had expected.

An uncomfortable shiver ran down the humans spine and he tried to will the fear away as he pointed where they should go next.

“Barnes office is just up ahead,” Logan explained as he quickened his steps. “It’s small as fuck but it’ll be the best place to lock him in while we try to figure out how to subdue the guy. These bastards should have tranqs around here somewhere we can get our hands on.”

“Tranquilizers?” The wolf asked.

“Long story,” Logan waved it off for the time being.

“Ah,” Domino nodded. “Was worried you wanted me to wrestle the bastard.” The wolf flashed his fangs as if hoping for the chance to get his arms around the neck of a tiger. Logan was sure Domino wouldn’t stop until the tiger did; stop moving, permanently.

“What? Want to get matching scars?” Logan winked, thumbing over his shoulder at his back. Domino didn’t find it as amusing as Logan did, the human putting on airs for him. “We just need to make sure he doesn’t head into the main room. It’ll be a blood bath if he gets out into the public.”

“Those sick fucks prob’ get off on that.” Domino laughed thinking of the blood play that took place in The Red Rooms like these. Even back at his old club, they had a room designated for the sick practice.

Domino would never admit that the thought of it was alluring, and he’d die before ever saying so in front of Logan.

“Here,” Logan was already pulling open the door as the two felt, rather than saw, the presence of the tiger turn the corner behind them. “In, in, in!” Logan practically dove into the room with Domino on his heels.

It was as uncomfortably small as Logan remembered it being and was already making his way over the large desk that took up half the room. He planned to slide underneath it when the tiger pounced. Domino ducked behind the door as the previous guard had done so, holding the door open until the tiger was inside. The two would make their retreat after they got the feline inside.

At least, that was the plan.

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Logan laid out on the desk as if it were a platter and he were the succulent meal being served on it. Squeezing the cut on his hand, he flicked stray drops of blood forward towards the open door.

Logan tried to appear strong in front of Domino, but the wolf could smell the trickle of fear as the human sweated nervously at the stupid idea he’d come up with. Logan already regretting it as he saw those black stripes.

Slitted cat-like eyes stared at him from the end of the hallway as the tiger, on all fours, stalked towards them. His body was low to the ground, fur rising up as sharp nails dug and tore the carpeted floor apart with every step the jungle predator took towards him. Heavy steps with large hands and feet displacing the weight evenly as it hunted him.

It was hard to distinguish him from a wild animal and Logan, for a split second, could see the resemblance. It was a miracle that something like him, like the tiger, like Troy… could’ve fit into society in the first place.

“Pspspspsp,” Logan continued to make whatever sounds he could to capture his interest. Maybe it’d have been best not to be so open about it, but he wasn’t sure how to lure a man that was like a wild animal into the room without using his body.

It worked on everyone else, why not now?

Domino rolled his eyes as his partner pulled down the corner of his shirt, flashing some skin now as if that’d help things.

It crossed the hallway with three bounding leaps before stopping in the doorway, sticking only just its head inside. Logan tensed, unable to deny the fear he felt inside as beads of sweat trickled down the nape of his neck. The tiger was larger than he’d expected it to be on all fours and, taking a step forward, Logan was beginning to think this was a very bad idea.

Logan inched towards the back of the desk, planning to slip down the other side when it pounced and crawl underneath the desk to freedom. It was a stupid plan. The only thing he could come up with on the split-second notice. It just had to take another step or two and then they’d have him locked in here…

Then it stopped.

One of it’s round ears lifted up and turned towards the side hallway. The one that led back to the main room. The tiger’s head lifted and turned as the noise from the main room began to increase as another show started up on stage.

The tiger scented fresh blood and turned.

“Shit,” Logan was a second too late as it turned around, stalking towards the sound and fresh smells wafting in from the entrance. “No, no, no!” Logan jumped forward and grabbed at empty air as the tiger’s tail vanished around the corner. “Dom!” He shouted and the wolf was hot on his heels as the human chased after the tiger.

….

Troy wasn’t sure what was happening. His mind was gone, and he was filled with this rush. A rush he’d never experienced before. It was like being high and on several different kinds of energy drinks mixed together. A buzz that came with over indulging on alcohol with his friends back at the dorms.

He couldn’t recall their faces in that moment. Troy couldn’t even remember his own name.

His heart was pounding so quickly, it hurt. Threatening to burst from his chest. His nails extending on their own free will. Extending farther than he had ever tried to before with them. The skin around the base began to bleed and he didn’t even feel it. His tongue licked over fangs, cleaning that wonderous taste from his teeth.

Hunger. Hungry for more. Wanting this rush to fill him. To drown in this feeling. It was exhilarating and Troy had never felt so alive before.

He didn’t want this rush to stop, even if he could. The smells were sharper, the sounds crisper. Everything popped and had more life to it. Colors were more vibrant. And the smells. The smell of this place was driving him wild. He was lost in the drunken haze that washed over him feeling both aroused and hungry and wild and free.

Free…

The words was like an aphrodisiac on his lips. He tasted blood. It’d been so long since he’d done the forbidden practice of sampling fresh blood. He and the others in school had snuck out late one night and hit up one of the Red Bars downtown. It was a grungy, filthy place but it also was where his friend, Claude, had told them where they could get their fix.

He wondered, then, what Claude’s blood would taste like on his lisp. Had the warmth would spill down his throat and fill the emptiness inside. But not fully, no. It could never sate this endless hunger consuming him.

Troy had never liked the stuff. Not at first. Not like this. This was another level. Where that stuff left him craving more, unable to find the high he’d been chasing. This. This was another world. His world and he was on cloud nine as he stalked into the room filled with people.

Meat. That’s all he saw. He hadn’t had a taste of real meat in… years. Unable to afford the ridiculous prices even before they spiked. Living off the fake meats that the school provided them. It didn’t fill him as he needed it too. It kept him alive… but not free.

Not like this.

These weren’t people. They were meat. Fresh meat with warmth pumping through their veins. He could taste their scent, hear their hearts beating in his ears. Everything was tinted red… or was that just his vision? It was impossible to tell. To know. And in that moment, he couldn’t care as his body carried him forward.

The screams that filled the room were so satisfying to hear. It was like he’d been deaf his entire life until then. Until he heard them. Breaking free from this cage he’d been forced to be put inside. That society had placed him into. Born a tiger, die a tiger.

Now, he could live as one.

He swiped and there was a loud thud as a body hit the floor. More screams. More satisfaction. He wanted to roar as fangs bared, claws wet from a fresh kill, Troy turned on his next victim. His next meal. His next plaything.

There were so many. Rabbits and hares, a stray coyote that had wandered in here. Into his territory? Yes, his. Everything. This place. He would mark it, spray his smell all over the walls as he feasted on the bodies. Stalking towards the next of his victims; no, not victims. This was just how things were. How they always had been.

How hadn’t Troy been able to see that? The strong survive and the weak fed the strong. They were just game for him, nutrition for his body. Nothing else. They were nothing. He was king! King of the jungle and he would feast.

Troy lowered himself towards the floor, on all fours, it felt natural. It felt right. His eyes were dilated, and they burned. His eyes burned in the best kind of way. Hunching down, the tiger prepared to pounce. To feel the air rush past him, to see the frightened look on their face as his muscular body took them down.

Weak, pathetic, helpless before him. Troy would savor the next kill. And he-

The deranged thoughts came to a crashing halt as the crystal glass cup shattering on the side of his head. His forehead bled and the blood dripped into his eyes.

Turning everything redder than it already was.

Turning sharply towards it’s source, Troy snarled at the human standing there. A human? Such a small, furless, clawless, fangless creature was trying to stop him? Look at him there. Small, weak, helpless. Just like the others. Troy could smell their fear. He must be terrified! They all were beneath him, under him. He was king. King of this stone jungle!

And he roared at them, roared at the human for showing such insolence against their king!

The human flung another glass, keeping his attention. The tiger easily dodged the second and third cup, along with the ashtray that followed. If he wanted to play? Troy could oblige him with that. For however long a human could last against an apex predator in their prime.

A snarl sent the human running behind the bar, like the coward he was. He stunk. Stunk of fear and something else the tiger couldn’t place his nose on just yet. He had nothing to fear. Troy was the strongest on here!

Leaping up onto the bar’s counter, Troy bared his fangs as he strode forward. Chasing after the human at a leisured pace. Enjoying the hunt. He chuffed in amusement, a laugh that didn’t even sound like his voice.

Troy paused, if only for a briefest of seconds. He tried to speak but no words came out. Only guttural growls that weren’t his own. Taking that second, Troy began to feel it. Feel the burning inside. His body felt like it was on fire, being eaten away from the inside out. He cried out in pain but the only sound that ripped from his throat were strange feral sounds.

He needed water. He needed something to drink… then his foot stepped forward.

He’d taken a step before he’d known he’d done the deed. Troy’s body was moving and there was nothing he could do to stop himself even as he yowled in pain as a chair smashed against his side, throwing his heavy bulk and weight onto the floor.

Sprawled out there as people screamed. They weren’t screaming in fear any longer, they were screaming at him. Yelling at him. Hitting him. Throwing things at him and Troy could recall it.

Every moment of his life like that. People throwing things at him. Talking behind his back. Hitting him before running off. Laughing. Laughing as they threw paint on him to “hide those ugly stripes.” Mocking him, teasing him, picking on him.

Of a father who told him to be stronger. Of a mother who was ashamed her child couldn’t stand up for themselves.

A spiraling decline from that blissful high that had taken him, and, with it, the pain returned. The pain of that chair hitting him. The pain of blood dripping from his forward. One his legs felt funny, and he couldn’t move it properly. It was facing the wrong direction, and the tiger couldn’t even cry out in pain as another guttural roar tore through his throat at the man who’d hit him.

A wolf sprang up from hiding, the source of that other smell, and, holding one of the bar stools, smashed it against his side. Again, and again the wolf brought it down on his body. Keeping Troy splayed out onto the floor, like a rug. A tiger rug that the wolf was beating the dust out of.

He hadn’t been able to correct his fall. Something was off. His movements were off. He wasn’t behaving as he should. His cat-like reflexes were sharp and quick, but his limbs wouldn’t register to his movements as if fighting against every reasonable, logical thing to do.

The wolf was on him before he could get up and he waited for fangs to bite down on his neck. To break his spine and kill him for such folly. Just like a true predator, a tiger, would do…

The wolf hadn’t.

They’d placed another stool over his body, using the legs and the combined weight of their body to keep him from moving. Trapping him there. His body thrashed wildly, kicking out as savage cries left his throat raw and scratchy as they tore out of him like broken shards of glass. Horrible sounds that made his claws dig into the floor until the base of his nails bled, threatening to rip the nails out from his fingers. His fangs snapped out, jaws searching for anything to latch onto.

There were others there. Rabbits? A human? Troy couldn’t understand. His brain wouldn’t let him as the human talked quickly with the rabbits behind the counter.

His words didn’t register. Troy couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. It was alien and foreign and it only infuriated him further. It only made him thrash harder, desperately trying to break free, making the wolf curse several times as he threatened to break himself to get out from under the wolf.

These things weren’t people! He couldn’t understand them. They were animals! Monsters! Everything was closing in; his breathing grew heavy. Did they lights dim or was it just his vision? The red was pounding in his ears, in his eyes, in his body.

Troy cried out and all they heard were the feral sounds of a wounded animal.

And as he tossed the wolf off, jumping back to all fours, he turned to look into the crystal-clear sheet of glass around the front of the bar. It was lined with gold trimmings. Had to be worth a fortune. It wasn’t that, though, that caught the tigers eye.

It was his reflection.

Wild, feral, untamed. His fur was sticking up, smeared with blood. His fangs were bared and his eyes… those eyes weren’t his. Those weren’t his mother’s eyes. Black slitted pupils with intense yellow eyes that could’ve been glowing. That reflection wasn’t… him.

It was someone else looking back and the tiger couldn’t breathe. Everything was closing in; tighter and tighter it squeezed his body from all sides…

It left him dazed and confused as someone moved above him.

Following the movement on instinct, the tiger watched as the human tossed the wolf something and before Troy could bite their wrist, the wolf had stuck him with whatever it had been. A large syringe emptied into his thigh and the tiger bit at the hand that quickly retreated.

The wolf backed away, leaving the syringe there as they watched the tiger turn on him. Huffing, panting, and drooling… Troy turned on the one who’d hurt him. Only to feel another sharp jab in his other side. The tiger spun to watch the human retreat. Another syringe was in his thigh and the tiger couldn’t feel his hunches.

His legs were growing numb, and his breath was heavy.

Troy wanted to curse. To roar. To yell, to plead, to cry and beg as it began to dawn on his feral mind. Even an animal understood when it was going to die.

To live as a tiger, to die as one. A predator was a predator. And a tiger? A tiger couldn’t change their stripes, no matter how hard Troy had tried…

“Do you have a AED here? A defib?” The human said and Troy slumped to the floor. His mouth was foaming. He could taste… something metallic. Was it blood? It was far more putrid than he remembered it being… not as sweet.

Was it his own blood?

Was… was he dying? Was this how he’d go? Was this how tigers, predators, like him went…? Everyone working together as he… he… he…

Was all alone…

“What do you need that for?” A rabbit was thrown against the back of the bar, breaking several of the expensive bottles stashed there. The human held them up, glaring into their eyes.

“There’s enough sedative to put down a fucking bull elephant. If his system can’t handle it, his heart could stop.” The human was yelling, and Troy couldn’t understand as he laid there in a pool of his own vomit.

Ah, he realized too late. Watching from the corner of his eye as the human grabbed something underneath the counter and skidded over the bar to join them. The wolf was there, watching the entire time. Staring at him, waiting for the tiger to try anything as this human crouched down next to him.

“Easy. Just breathe if you can still hear me…” His voice was warmer than he thought it’d be. Troy didn’t understand, though, why it sounded so sad. “Just stay with me…”

Troy liked that. Wanting to stay there as a breath rattled from his chest and out his lips. The numbing sensation was spreading through his body, crawling up from his legs to sink into his chest. It was making it difficult to breathe. Difficult to think…

“Logan,” Domino said, and the human was yelling at him to shut up.

Something hit Troy’s chest. Pushing down on it several times.

“Dammit, not again. Fuck! Not again!” The human was shouting as he pushed down on his chest. With half-glazed eyes the tiger watched as the human bent down before him.

Their lips met and Troy wanted to return that kiss as Logan breathed into his mouth. He didn’t mind the blood. The vomit. The spittle or.. or his fangs. The human didn’t mind that his tongue was scratchy unlike others.

Didn’t mind that the tiger was a predator, a carnivore and that had tried to kill him minutes before.

It was a strange sensation, unlike the drug dying from his system. To be accepted, in the end. How cold this world was, how cruel it could be. To give a glimmer of hope as Troy’s breath began to die as the light in his eyes dimmed and his pupils relaxed.

“Call Shadow,” this human, Logan, was already ordering the wolf around. The tiger would’ve laughed if he could’ve moved. “Tell them it’s an emergency!” The human turned back to him and began pushing down on his chest. “His heart is still pumping but…”

Something wet hit Troy’s face and the tiger didn’t understand. They were indoors. It couldn’t rain inside. So why was it?

“Just stay with me,” the human continued to say as he pushed down on his chest. “Dammit, I’m connecting him up.” The human fumbled with something, and more rain fell onto Troy’s face as Logan began shaving the spots needed to apply the pads.

“I got this side,” the wolf said and this human, Logan, thanked them as he nodded several times.

“R-right, thanks. Thanks!” Logan grabbed the other razor and quickly thinned Troy’s chest fur until he could find the skin. Applying the twin pads of the AED, Logan motioned for Domino to get back. “Don’t touch the body while it scans.”

“Scans for what?”

“To see if he needs a shock.” Logan wiped his face off. “Once he’s stable, we’ll move him to the car. I gave him a shot of adrenaline. He seems young, healthy… I’m sure he’ll survive. He has to…”

“Right…” The wolf didn’t seem pleased by this. Especially when the machine beeped, and the human went for his arms.

“We need to hurry,” Logan started for his arms and grunted, trying to lift the heavy tiger up. “Dammit, I can’t… fuck, why can’t I? I’m not strong enough.” And Troy understood those words.

People used to mock him for how strong he was. How quick and agile he was born to be. They were envious of his size; his strength, and they hated him for it. For what the tiger could do that they couldn’t. This human hated himself just as much as Troy hated being born a tiger…

“I got the front, just get the back.” The wolf said and Logan eased Troy back down before going for his legs.

“Thanks,” he said again and the wolf’s ears folded back as the two clumsily lifted the tiger’s body and began carrying him towards the exit. “Once we get him in the car, we’ll head for Shadow’s place. Don’t fucking move,” the human snapped at the three rabbits behind the counter. “You fucks can clean up after we’re long gone!”

The wolf snapped his jaws, and the rabbits froze up on the spot as they began to haul the tiger’s body away.

“You think a dog can help?” The wolf snorted and the human ignored him.

“Shadow worked for Reese. If anyone can help, it’s them.” The human insisted and, once more, the wolf backed down. Following the humans orders as they got out of there.

Domino practically dragged Troy up the steps and gave the front guard a single look. Logan apologized to them before carrying Troy’s legs up behind them. Troy’s ass was still dragging on the ground but neither of the two, struggling to move the several hundred-pound tiger, complained about that as they stuffed him into the back seat of the tiny car.

Those on the street seemed to go out of their way not to look at the trio as the human got behind the wheel and the wolf climbed into the passenger seat. The car listed towards his side from their combined weight.

“I swear to god, Dom. If you flip my car!” Logan warned as he sped off, cutting into traffic and making for the exit within The Burrows.

Lights passed by. Troy could barely see street lamps whizzing past overhead. It was like he was flying. Or falling. Lying there, helpless, drugged up and both conscious and unconscious of it all as he drifted in and out of it.

“Keep using the mask,” Logan ordered the wolf who was squeezing the rubber tube. Troy hadn’t even noticed the elongated mask they had put over his muzzle. “Slow and steady. Just keep it going. Keep him breathing until we get there…”

“Right. Right.” Domino grumbled.

Troy’s eyes closed and was jolted awake as someone yelled.

“Shadow!” The human was shouting again, and the tiger only barely comprehended that they had gotten to their destination. He’d been so out of it; Troy didn’t even realize when they opened the door and his front slid out and hit the concrete.

Pain didn’t register. He just felt numb as the two of them carried the tiger’s body up the steps into the cruddy, run-down apartment. The canine waiting for them at the top of the steps was a rough collie and they didn’t even offer a paw to help out as the two struggled to carry the tiger inside to get treated.

It looked like a mortuary. Several tables had white cloths over them. Some were clean, others not so. The smell of blood made Troy sick to his stomach and he turned over on the spot and hurled out his guts.

“I’m not cleaning that up.” The dog just said, walking past the two who fumbled to pick Troy back up. Troy was at least thankful when they hauled his body over to one of the clean tables and placed him up on it.

“We got him here as soon as we could. I might’ve broken like…. All the traffic laws.” Logan gave a weak shrug and a forced smile.

“What seems to be the problem?” The rough collie was smoking now and neither of the two told them to put it out. “Party too hard?”

“Drugs.” Logan was panting, sweating as he bent over with a low groan. “I think I broke my back. Dude is fucking heavy…”

The rough collie stuffed a hand into their overcoat and pulled out a bottle of pills. They flicked it at the human who quickly caught it.

“Take two of those and don’t call me in the morning.” The canine just said, and the wolf growled at them.

“This isn’t a joke!” Domino snarled.

“Who said I was joking?” This person, Shadow, just gave him a look. “What kind of drugs did our striped friend take…? He’s not…?”

“No, no he’s not… him.” Logan said. Troy wondered who he was talking about. “It was some kind of street drug. All yellow liquid gold looking, and it was dropped in his eye and…” The human stammered out. The wolf cut him off.

“Primal. The Burrows bastards overdosed the guy on it. Forced him to take some. Never seen it have this kind of an effect though. They might’ve cut it with something else.” Domino just shrugged, clearly at a loss. The wolf could care less if the tiger survived.

At least they could figure a few things out after using Troy as a test subject for this new drug cut with something else.

“Primal shouldn’t leave you… sedated.” Shadow mentioned, jabbing the tiger in the arm with his lit cigarette. Logan jumped over to put out the spot as the rough collie lit up another cigarette. “See? No reaction. That’s not P.”

“No, no. He was on the stuff. Went freaking feral!” Logan tried to explain. “So, we, uh, jabbed some sedatives into his ass.” The human shrugged as if it was the most logical thing to do.

Shadow just gave him a look. “It’s always the ass with you, isn’t it?”

“How the fuck did you know they had those behind the bar?” Domino growled, glaring at the human as he got on him about it.

“They always keep some kind of tranqs around when dealing with preds.” Logan shrugged again. “How else are you supposed to get your clients off your staff without just putting them down?” He tried to laugh but it didn’t register properly even to Troy’s ears.

“Would’ve been easier on my back if we did,” Dom groaned as he stretched out.

Shadow ignored the two as he pulled out a penlight and shined it in one of Troy’s eyes. He did it to the other, moving the light from and onto the eye several times.

“Eyes aren’t acting up,” Shadow muttered as they went around to check on Troy’s pulse. He matched it with his own, using his other hand. “Irregular heartbeat but that’s a given.” One test after another the collie quickly ran, never taking his cigarette out as he went around the tiger’s body to inspect each and every spot. Asking questions only when they felt it was necessary.

The other two stayed off to the side until Shadow barked at them.

“Don’t just stand there,” and the two began running around the large empty room grabbing things for Shadow to use. “I am far too hung over to deal with this shit so early in the morning.”

“It’s six o’clock.” Domino pointed out and got a backhanded slap to the arm from Logan.

“Just listen to the nice doggy.” Logan ordered and Domino growled.

Troy was already going out again before they stabbed him with something else.

“Why’d we bother with this again? Reese won’t like to get a bill to save some… tiger.” Domino spat to the side.

“He might know something?” Logan offered as he finally took a seat nearby, keeping an eye on the tiger. “And he’s just a kid, Dom. He doesn’t deserve this… I mean, fuck! Look at him!”

“You think this sick fuck doesn’t know what kind of place that was?” Domino growled. Logan couldn’t answer him, and the wolf cursed again. “Fuck.” Domino’s growl turned into a vicious snarl, turning away. The wolf kicked a table out of his way and made a mess. Shadow just rolled their eyes.

“I’m adding that to your tab.” The collie said as they hooked Troy up to an IV.

The last thing the tiger heard was the wolf, grumbling to himself, “why’d it have to be a tiger…? Fuck.”

Troy couldn’t comprehend what that meant as his eyes closed. The last thing he saw was the human watching him, sitting there nearby and it would be the first thing he saw, several hours later, when he woke up.