The Tormented Soul
Mark took his seat for class, late once again. Few others in the class took notice and Mr. Tilley was busy writing notes on the chalk board at the front of the room. He hated being late at all, but really for only two major reasons. Until recently his only reason for hating it was that he truly enjoyed his first class, philosophy. Though that had all changed when he met Kara for the first time.Kara was an angel in mortal form. Her lithe feline form was perfect and Mark knew even before talking to her that she was an athlete just by looking at her. A single serendipitous moment had orchestrated their meeting one afternoon when she had approached him for help with philosophy. Mr. Tilley had actually been the one to suggest it, but that hardly mattered to him now, He had been given the chance to talk to someone who he would never have otherwise. With that, Mark had begun tutoring her after school whenever she wasn't busy with track meets. Mark never thought he could talk to a girl like Kara. She wasn't hugely popular or anything, but was certainly more known that Mark was. She competed in the high school track team and was an excellent runner he had learned. Her snow white pelt was perfectly matched by eyes as blue as a cloudless afternoon. And as if her beauty wasn't enough to behold, her personality and friendliness was in stark contrast to the other girls who had such beauty. She had been nothing but nice since his first awkward conversation with her. At the first few session Mark stuck strictly to studying and tutoring her. Mark never went out of his way to try and talk to a girl at school and being forced to talk to one as wonderful as Kara had baffled him. He had loved philosophy even before being able to take the elective in high school. Mr. Tilley understood this too, which is why he had told Kara that he would be a good tutor. During one tutoring session a couple of weeks later, the question finally popped out regarding her current boyfriend. Mark had expected her to say that she was already seeing someone. She was too beautiful not to be taken already. He was even more surprised when she asked if Mark was interested in her as a girlfriend. The question had made him choke momentarily until she had giggled at his sudden discomfort. Mark's usually forlorn appearance was instantly reversed that day. Tutoring Kara had become more like a date every time afterward and when she was busy with track he would instead watch her compete."Mark, don't forget to see me after class. Don't think I missed you walking in late again." Mr. Tilley's voice was calm despite the implied consequences to come. "Yes, Mr. Tilley." I was used to being singled out for this, but it never stopped the couple of others from making the typical comments and sound effects.Mark spent most of the class with his attention fixated on Kara, but otherwise class finished without any other interruptions. The other students filed out of the room leaving him alone with Mr. Tilley after a moment. Mr. Tilley took his seat behind his desk while gesturing for Mark to come up to his desk. He knew the coming speech all too well at this point and prepared himself. Mr. Tilley exhaled in a way that suggested he was tired of talking to him about being late. "I understand your situation, but don't think for a second that you are going to be let off the hook completely. If you can not make it to my class on time, then I will be forced to fail you and remove you from the class. This class is not a requirement to graduate and would make it easier for me to have you kicked out of it."All he could think about was how much Mr. Tilley didn't know. Being bussed in from another school district was only part of the reason he was late so much. No matter how much he wanted to say something, he couldn't do it without risking everything he had. Mark waited for Mr. Tilley to continue and made sure to look appropriately apprehensive about the coming consequences. "Since I can't have you stay after school, you will instead write a paper for me due at the end of next week. You will pick a famous philosopher from the 18th century and write two pages on how they effected modern thinking and morals." Most students probably would have balked at such a thing, but the assignment would almost be enjoyable compared to being stuck after school. Mark loved to study history and philosophy, so this assignment would be comparable to him playing games. Regardless of how easy the assignment would be, it was still a punishment. "I'll get it done.""I have no doubt you will. You're a good student, Mark, you'd be better if you could just get here on time. Now get going before you force me to write you a pass."
Kara was waiting outside of the classroom as Mark exited. "I guess being brought in from another school district has its advantages," she said with a sly smile. She had clearly been listening in on at least part his conversation with Mr. Tilley. "It would be a shame if he made you stay late and miss my meet after school today." "I won't be able to either way. I need to get home right after school today."Kara began walking to her next class as she spoke, "Getting picked up early again?""Yeah, my dad." He wasn't getting picked up and certainly not by his father."Ah, the illusive father you have yet to show me off to. I'm sure your father would be proud to see how his 'lil wolf is dating the hottest girl in school." Kara feigned exaggerated gestures flaunting her beauty as she walked. "There won't be time today unfortunately," telling half truths and lies made Mark hate himself sometimes. Kara was far too nice and trusting to be left in the dark like this. But in his opinion, the truth would probably scare her more than the lies hurt."Okay, see ya tomorrow then?" Kara's tail brushed his thigh as she turned to leave. Kara didn't often tease him in such a way, but he assumed it was in an effort to cheer him up."Of course," Mark waved as Kara entered the room.Mark had one more stop to make before he ditched school early. He made his way to Kara's locker and slipped a note into the open slot near the top. This little hobby of his started shortly after they became friends. Kara had loved it so much when he dropped the first note into her locker that he couldn't help but keep surprising her with more notes sporadically. As he walked down a long hallway toward the exit as others moved quickly between classes. Mark couldn't help but feel bad for deceiving Kara. But as it was with Mr. Tilley, he would lose everything if something went wrong. The only thing that mattered to him was making it a couple more years or at least to graduation. Then he could take his little sister away with him forever. The bell rang again, signaling the start of the next class. Mark kept going however and exited through the side door of the school. It was a long walk home, but he knew it beat going to the inner city school that he normally would attend. His high grades and a state incentive allowed him to attend a school in a surrounding district to allow him a better chance at a great education. Or at least that was what he was told when they offered to let him into the program. The only problem the school had with him was his attendance.Mark wasn't to blame for that entirely though. His whole life was a mess from the start and whenever he looked back at it he was amazed that he made it this far. At an early age his real father had left his mom, just after his sister was born. The combination of his mom's increasing drug problem and the premature birth of his sister was probably too much for him. The man who considered himself the father now was a drug dealer his mother met years ago and now basically lived in the house whenever he wanted to. The combination of these two absentee parents left Mark to watch over his sister, Sophia. He often left school early like this to get home to his sister to make sure that she was safe. Sophia was always left at home with his mother, but her drug habit left her in varying states of semi-consciousness or drug induced comas. Sophia's developmental problems left her unable to attend a normal school. And without parents who cared, it was up to Mark to more or less tutor her when he had the time. His little sister was everything to him. Without her at home, he would have ran away a long time ago. But he wasn't stupid. If he tried to run away with her now he would be found and eventually put into a group home. He couldn't let himself be split up from his sister like that, so he had decided a long time ago that he would finish school and then take her away with him.
Mark arrived home after a few hours. He knew right away from the cars parked outside the house that his sister and mother weren't alone in there. He hoped that that hyena bastard wasn't in there, but knew it was futile. The paternal drug dealer and some others he didn't know were all in the main room with his mother who looked half a corpse already. At first they didn't seem to notice him enter the house and he tried to quickly make his way up the stairs to find his sister. But even that was too much to hope for when one of the people he didn't know called out to him. "Hey boy, come try some of this," the serval woman coughed out a laugh as she held a rolled cigarette out to him. Ignoring her as best he could, he again tried to get to the stairs before another voice cut in. "Hey you little shit! Don't be rude, come say hello to our guests." Mark wanted nothing more than to avoid turning around, but knew there was no escape now that he had been put on the spot."Hello."The serval laughed again, falling back on the couch as if saying hello was the funnies thing she had ever heard. There was nothing he could do but wait for the inevitable as he stared at the floor."Mark!" he looked up right away to see his sister standing at the top of the stairs looking down at him. Mark looked at Sophia, silently willing her to go back to her room while he returning some of her smile. He knew the hyena squatter took a sick enjoyment in humiliating her."Oh! I forgot that little 'tard was up there. Be a good boy and bring her down here, me and the gang need a good laugh.""Her name is Sophia," Mark knew this was the start of it and that there was no stopping it. "Don't talk to me like I'm as dumb as she is, I know her name!"Mark gave one last look up the stairs to see his sister now sitting at the top landing, waiting for him to come up. He swallowed as he moved back into the main room to confront the hyena. "Leave Sophia alone." The hyena placed a tinted bottle on the table in the center of the room and stared at Mark. Mark looked down to stare at the floor, slowly building the courage he needed. The other sitting next to the cackling serval finally spoke up, "Hah, you goin' soft? Letting that whelp tell you what to do?""Go get that little bitch and bring her here, now!" The hyena was grinding his jaw, Mark could hear it as if it were right next to his ears."No." Mark looked up to meet the hyena's glare. Before Mark could register it happening, the hyena was on his feet and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. With little effort the hyena threw Mark to the floor, smacking Mark's head against the center table as he fell.Mark tried to stand up right away but was hit in the back by something hard and fell to the floor again. He knew better than to fight back now and had learned to take the beating until the bastard got too tired or bored to continue. Mark wasn't sure what he was being hit with as he curled up to cover his head and chest. Whatever it was was sure to leave him very sore for the next few days though. Through it all, Mark did his best to keep from making a sound, robbing the hyena of any satisfaction from hearing him yelp. Mark was certain the beating continued for several minutes before someone else spoke. His mind was too occupied holding back both the tears and yells of pain to hear the initial words, but noticed right away that the beating had stopped. "Every time with you! I have half a fucking mind to end your miserable life and leave your body with that junkie mother of yours!" The voice seemed distant, but he knew it was hyena talking over his prone form. "Lets get the hell out of here, 'dis kid killed my buzz." Mark peered over his arm that had been covering his head to see the other two leave. He received another hard kick to his lower back before the hyena dropped something on his head. The hollow sound of the glass bottle hitting his head was followed by footsteps leaving the room. Mark rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling while he tried to swallow the pain. A small part of his mind was almost sad the bottle hadn't broken during the beating. The thought almost made him laugh out loud as tears finally started falling from the corners of his eyes. Once he gained control of himself again he stood up, pain shooting through his back as he did. His mother was still passed out on the corner of the couch as he left the room to go up the stairs. Sophia was still sitting there waiting for him as he came up. He put on the best smile he could and followed Sophia to her room to spend some time with her as she skipped ahead of him.
The morning was cool even for autumn as Mark made his way inside the school. He had rushed out of the house this morning and failed to look in a mirror. He had actually arrived at school on time this morning and made his way to class as he tried to brush his matted fur down with his hand. "Hey you!" Kara playfully grabbed his shoulders from behind as he was walking. Pain shot through where she grabbed him, the bruises still felt fresh even though it had been two days. "I missed you the last couple days, where've you been?"He did his best to hide any sign of pain, "Got a little sick, probably something I ate.""Ya, hate when that happens. You didn't miss much." Just being near Kara made him feel better. The pain he felt with every step before was like a faded memory as he watched Kara. She was almost skipping with excitement as they made their way to class."By the way, I loved the letter you left me." Kara smiled, "I didn't know that one though. Hear my soul speak; The very instant that I saw you..." She skipped a beat as if letting him finish the quote from the letter."The very instant that i saw you, did my heart fly to your service," Mark finished the quote without having to think. "I wish I could say that I was the one who wrote that," Mark felt his face heat up as he finished talking."It was beautiful either way," Kara leaned in and kissed him quickly on the cheek. They walked hand in hand down the hall, Kara talking about how her latest track meet went while he was away from school. "But, I am free after school today. I was really hoping we could get together then. I could really use your help." Even though he knew it would mean walking home again, he still opted to stay with Kara. "Of course," Mark couldn't help but smile. Kara seemed really eager to meet with him after school. Mark began to wonder if she would be so eager if she knew more about him. Outwardly he wasn't anything to brag about. There were dozens of other wolves like him wandering around the halls and all of them took better care of themselves than Mark was able to. He was lucky that he was able to wash his cloths at all, but they were all faded and thin from years of use. Mark had yet to tell her about the worst things though.His life was not the great life that Kara was used to seeing. She may have understood that he lived in the city, but Mark doubted she truly understood what that meant for him. His sister was born by his drug addicted mother. His real father had left them and he never really knew the man. His sister and him lived with an abusive drug dealer who Mark provoked constantly to keep him off his sister. Mark didn't resent her for it, but how could she really understand any of that? The rest of the day dragged on normally. He managed to stay out of trouble and didn't even get harassed by the teachers for missing two days of school without notice. Only about two years left before he would be able to graduate. Even if he failed to do that, he was sure he could still get a job to support his sister. But there was still the one problem he couldn't figure out how to solve with his plan, how to bring Kara with him. Until the start of the school year he had only planned for his sister and himself in this future. But now that Kara had entered his life, he wanted nothing more than to take her with him when he left. How could she understand though? To her, he might be just some high school boyfriend she will forget after graduation. He was sure she wasn't so shallow but feared that outcome all the same. With more than a year left to worry about this stuff, Mark tried to bring his thoughts back to the classes at hand. There would be plenty of time to consider these options later.After his last class, Mark made his way to the library. Kara was waiting for him already by the time he got there. Her books already spread out on a table as she was busy working on homework from another class. The library was empty except for the elderly librarian behind the desk at the entrance. Kara had taken a desk near the back of the room and looked up as she saw Mark enter. "It's about time," she said, her voice loud in the otherwise silent room. "Yeah, sorry, had to get the work I missed from my other classes." Mark took a seat next to Kara at the table. "What class is that? Eh, trigonometry, math makes me ill.""Don't go getting sick on my homework," Kara moved to cover her papers while giggling softly. "Not all of us can be literary geniuses.""I wish, I just like the subject. Writers and philosophers have so much to teach, even after death.""Like the ones who give you all those wonderful quotes you use?""Yeah, like that," Mark looked into Kara's eyes and felt the urge again to tell her everything. She would understand, she had to. He loved her, it was the only way to explain the feelings he had for Kara. "Kara...""I..." Kara started to speak at the same time as him and both of them stopped. "Go ahead.""No, you, I insist."She smiled a little before looking around briefly and then back, "I wanted to show you something I found here." Kara stood up to walk to the book shelves in the back corner. The shelves were littered with barely touched books which at a glance seemed to be thick volumes of outdated encyclopedias. There didn't appear to be anything worth reading here and it made him wonder why they even kept the books if no one bothered to use them. "What did you find that..." Kara grabbed Mark and turned him slightly to face her as she came in close to kiss him. The act left Mark wide eyed and surprised. He remained somewhat rigid as she embraced him. Kara broke the brief kiss and smiled again, "I wanted to show you that." She spoke in a hushed voice.Mark's whole face felt like it was burning. The abruptness of Kara's embrace and the fact they were in the library made his heart beat faster. "We could get in trouble doing that here."She pulled tight against him, forcing him to suppress a wince in pain as she did. It lasted only a second before he melted into her arms. Was this what it felt like to be loved? His ears fell flat against his head as he leaned in against her shoulder. "I know a better place if you prefer," Kara almost whispered the words into his ear. He was too caught up in the suddenness of it all to even begin to think clearly. He didn't want the feeling to end. His arms came up to hug her back. Kara pulled just enough to look into his eyes, "it's the end of the week, no one is sticking around to study. Unless, you are uncomfortable with this." There was no hesitation as he leaned in, taking the lead this time and kissing Kara. He tilted his head slightly to kiss her more deeply as they both closed their eyes. Time lost all meaning while their lips remained locked together. Mark couldn't care less about being caught now.He pulled away slowly and opened his eyes to look at Kara. Her blue eyes looked back at him expectantly. Mark had never been with another girl before, but there was something about her at that moment that made him want to lose control and take her there in the library. Restraining his rush of hormones he took a deep breath. Kara smiled back at him, seeing the barely contained lust in his eyes. "Perhaps we should find a more secluded place. I happen to know the perfect place, it isn't too far either."
The perfect place she had in mind was her home. Kara's parents were out for the night and that left her home alone. Most of the journey to her home was spent in silence as they held hands. Her dexterous tail occasionally brushing the back of his legs in a teasing manner. Mark's thoughts were consumed by the sudden advance in their relationship. He had never had a girlfriend before and therefore was still new to what he expected would be next. As they entered the house they quickly discarded their bags near the door and ran up the stairs to Kara's room. Kara had pulled him into her room and started where they left off at the library. She closed the door behind Mark and locked it. He didn't need anymore convincing at this point as he was pulled willingly toward her bed.Kara removed her shirt and stood near the end of the bed. Mark could only watch as she kicked off her pants leaving her nearly nude. "This is my first time, but I think you need to take your cloths off as well for this." Shaken from his reverence he began to fumble with his own shirt. As soon as his shirt was off Kara moved to help him with his pants. She prevented Mark from touching them as she slowly undid the button, feeling the swell of his pants as she tenderly worked the pants off from him. Mark almost lost his footing as Kara groped at the bulge in his underwear. Kara had knelt down to get level with his waist as she traced Mark's swollen member through his last bit of clothing. Her gentle touch was like nothing he had experienced before. She didn't wait long before pulling down his remaining piece of clothing to reveal his pulsing canine shaft. Kara looked up as if asking for permission to touch it and without actually waiting for a response she went to work. There was only so much that he could do for himself when he felt the need. Mark would have assumed Kara's touch wouldn't be that much different from his own, but he was far from right. At first she had run a finger down the length from the top to the swollen base. He had to brace himself against one of the bed posts as he felt a rush of pure pleasure. The anticipation of this moment left Mark ready to pop even before Kara had really started doing anything.Mark couldn't even manage to look at her anymore as his eyes closed on their own in carnal bliss. He could feel her hand grip his member and the warm wet feel of what he could only assume was her tongue. His hips bucked forward a little uncontrollably when her tongue licked the tip. Kara's tongue had a strange combination of rough sand paper and silk like smoothness. Her tongue gently pulling on the engorged flesh while massaging the base with her hand. It was all he could do to not orgasm with each stroke and he could feel the flesh of his knot swell as he neared the edge. Probably realizing how close he was, Kara took the shaft into her short muzzle. She carefully worked her jaw to avoid scraping her sharper teeth against the sensitive flesh. Mark felt a hand grab his rear while the other moved to grip his knot. That was all it took to send him over and he bucked his hips a little as the first wave of his orgasm took over. The hand on his ass gripped tighter to hold him somewhat still while he gave short thrusts with each jet of semen that filled her mouth. Mark could feel the suction from her mouth as she seemed to be sucking more of the stuff out of him as he came. After a few quick thrusts into her mouth though, he was finished. He let out a long breath as he realized he had been holding it from the start of his climax. The world finally came back into focus and he looked down to see Kara still suckling on the tip of his slowly fading erection. She finally let go of him and licked her lips, "hm, not as bad as they say."Mark felt embarrassed that he had finished so quickly, "Sorry, I just couldn't hold back anymore," He said. He felt a little awkward after the rush of his orgasm faded. Kara stood up and started to remove her undergarments, "Don't feel bad. Heard others say the first time is always quick. That's why we did that before the good stuff." A mischievous grin crossed her face as her panties hit the floor and she pulled me onto he bed."The good stuff?""Oh yeah. Don't think I don't want a little love too." Kara gave him a small kiss as they settled on the bed. "Though, I certainly don't need kids of my own yet, so here."Mark didn't see where Kara pulled it from as she handed him a condom. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense," he hardly noticed until now that he was ready to go again as he put the rubbery sleeve over his erection. Kara's arms wrapped around him when he finished and she pulled his head into a deep kiss. Mark could lose himself here with Kara. Whatever worries of the outside world he had had melted away in this very room. Even the pain of his bruises became nothing more than faded reminders of a life he couldn't remember as he lay over Kara. He wanted this perfect moment to last forever, but knew it was futile to wish. He was staring into her eyes as his mind wondered, leaving her waiting for him. "Are you okay?" A flash of genuine concern crossed her face as she spoke."Everything is perfect."
Mark woke up still curled up behind Kara with one arm draped over her side to hold her close. Even sleeping he wasn't able to let go of her. He slowly moved his hand over the soft white fur as he breathed in her scent. Just the smell of her made his body stir. He glanced over her head to look at her clock near the bed. Mark was surprised to see that he had slept through the night with her, though the morning light through her window should have been enough to tell him that.The slight movements he made caused Kara to let out a soft moan as she slowly awoke. He supposed that all great things had to come to an end at some point. He could see the corner of her eye move as it opened just before she turned her head a little to try and look back. "Mornin'," she said quietly. "Good morning." She took his hand in hers and held it against her chest."After all that happened last night, you wake me up by poking me in the back?" Mark didn't have to look to know she was smiling as she referred to his erection rubbing against her. "Sorry, I can't help it.""mm, it's okay. My parents are probably home though, so I can't really take care of that for you." He had completely forgotten about her parents and became worried about being caught here with her."They don't care if I'm here?" He knew most parents would literally throw a guy out if they had spent the night with their daughter like he just did."Not really, plus they attended some party thrown by my dad's work. They were probably drinking and maybe even doing the same thing in there room as we did last night." She said the last part in a wistful tone. "I suppose if you are worried about it you could go.""Kicking me out?" He said jokingly"Never," She pulled his hand up to nuzzle against it. Despite all the desire he had to remain with Kara, he knew he had to get home to Sophia. The thought of Sophia being alone last night in that house made him slightly anxious. "I would love to stay Kara, I really would." He was on the verge of spilling it all out right there, but choked as soon as he finished saying that much. "It's fine. I can't exactly lay here all day either, there's a practice later that I need to go to. Do you need a ride home? I do have my license you know.""No, I can get back on my own, thank you though." Why couldn't he just tell her? Every time the thoughts rose he choked on the words, unable to even show her the house he lived in. He moved to get dressed. Kara watched as he did, seemingly holding back her own series of questions."Mark," Kara looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. "I think I love you." He stopped moving for a moment to look back at her, the intensity of her words clear by her dour expression. "But I don't know anything about you really.""I know I love you, Kara. I knew the from the first note I dropped in your locker." He swallowed hard as he forced himself to tell her, "You are so great to me, I didn't want to ruin it by telling you too much," he hesitated again before finally speaking. "I don't have a father. My mother is constantly pumping drugs into her system and does little more than occupy the same space while wasting away." He looked down at the floor as all the small lies he told to her poured out as truth finally. "I have a little sister, who I love more than life itself. I would give everything up right now if it meant she could have a chance at a normal life like this," He waved his arm to indicate all the things that Kara most likely took for granted. Mark didn't feel mad about anything she had over him or his sister. "There are drug dealers and others who use my house as a place to meet. The man living there 'with' my mother is the worst one." Mark could feel the heat rising in his face. A rush of pent up emotions threatened to drop him to his knees. Kara waited in silence as Mark continued to tell her everything he had wanted to for so long. "Until I met you I thought it would be easy to just pick up and leave as soon as I finished school. I would have ran away with my sister and made sure I could be the father she never had. You changed everything for me and for the better." His eyes began to tear up as he continued to look down and avoid whatever expression Kara may have been wearing.He continued pouring his soul out to Kara, "I haven't told anyone because if anyone said anything they would take Sophia away from me. Now that I have met you, they would take me away from you too." He didn't see her move toward him from the bed, but felt her touch his shoulder to hold him. "I have wanted to tell you all this for so long but feared that you would hate me or worse, just stop talking to me." "I had no idea, I just thought... I don't even know." As Kara hugged him he felt bad for putting all of this onto her. He never wanted to burden her with all this information at once, but he could see that she was beginning to wonder why he hid so much from her. "I could never hate you for something like that. I wish I had known, maybe I could help you through this somehow." Mark sniffed a little as tears continued to well up in his eyes, "You have helped me so much already. I didn't want to put this all on you and I didn't want to scare you by showing this side of my life. I love you Kara, but I don't know what I would do if I lost Sophia." Kara held him tight against her in a motherly embrace. Slowly petting his head to comfort him as he spoke. There was little else to tell her at this point and he felt an odd weight lift from his mind even as tears flowed steadily from his eyes.Kara and him stood there for a while as he cried out the pent up feelings. As great as the previous night had been, he was just as happy with having someone he loved there for him now. "Mark, if you ever need anything you just tell me. Even if it is just a shoulder to cry on," She whispered in his ear. "I want to be here for you. You don't have to live your life all bottled up like this." She pulled her head back a little and wiped the fresh tears from his face.
Mark left in the early afternoon. He had remained long enough to finish letting everything out to Kara and let his tears run out. Kara had once again tried to give him a ride home, but he refused, insisting that the walk home would give him time to clear his head. He could see that she hated letting him return to the house that tortured him. Nothing had changed however, he still needed to be there for Sophia even if he wanted to be with Kara just as much. As usual, his walk home was long and uneventful. He sorted out the things he told Kara in his head, running through ways to tell her more about how he wanted to take her with him when he left. Or that he still planned to leave as soon as he turned eighteen and finished school.His usual route home was nearly a straight line from the school, only having to cut through a couple of spots to get where he was going. The transition from the nicer outskirts of the city to the inner city that he lived in was quick. There were empty warehouses and small run down shops along the way. The clutter of garbage on the sidewalks occasionally blew into the rusted chain link fences and got stuck, adding to the decrepit appearance of the inner city. The street he lived on was no better. Homes in similar disrepair lined both sides of the street. A couple were empty with boarded up windows and doors which were pulled open by homeless or other unsavory types. Graffiti covered several of the homes, empty or not. Small patches of grass grew between the garbage that collected in the front of each yard, trying to survive in the little pocket of hell he called home. Mark finally came up to his home and was somewhat relieved to see that there weren't any vehicles parked by it. He slowly walked up to the door and went inside, hoping that the abusive hyena wasn't in there. The interior was dimly lit as usual. A combination of old curtains and dirt caked windows prevented most of the light from entering.He spotted his mother still sitting in the same spot he had seen here in when he left the previous day. Her frail form barely moving with each shallow breath. She wasn't very old but much of her fur was turning bright gray from lack of nutrition. Some was missing all together in spots where she had likely scratched hard enough to damage her skin. There were several used needles laying on the table in the center room, next to a pistol and several empty bottles. The gun belonged to the other in the room, the hyena was sleeping soundly on a chair near the table. Fortunately, him coming home did not wake the bastard from his sleep. Seeing the pistol laying there instantly reminded him that Sophia could have easily grabbed it if she had come downstairs. He hated guns solely for that reason and loathed seeing them brought into the house. Mark moved quietly to go up the stairs and find Sophia. She was usually awake by now and playing in her room. Sophia's door was partially closed when he got there, he listened for her for a moment before opening the door all the way. Sophia was laying on the floor where he set up a pad as her bed. Only the tip of her tail and a leg hung out from the bottom of her blanket as he approached.He quietly walked over to her so that he could uncover her head. As he pulled the blanket back he found her looking at him already. Sophia's eyes were blank, as if staring at something behind him. Somewhere in his mind he knew why but refused to let the thought to the fore, as if it would make the reality he was looking at more real. Mark brushed a hand gently across her face, letting his fingers slip through the fur on the back of her head. He could feel his hand trembling as he brought it back to him matted with cooled blood. Looking behind her still body, Mark could see a small pool of blood which had soaked into the floor and pillow her head was resting on. The force of his emotions collided in an instant, rage and hate being the most prominent of them. He gathered her small body into his arms and held her tight with no less love than he had held Kara just this morning. There were no tears as he held her so tight that she would have been in pain if she were still alive. Mark's muzzle was clenched tight as he fought with the reality that he held in his arms. All his worst fears coalesced into one.Through the blur of rage he spotted a familiar object, a tinted bottle laying near her bed. "He did this to you, didn't he?" Mark tightened his grip on Sophia, one hand holding the back of her broken head. "I told him to leave you alone." Mark held on to Sophia for several minutes as tried and failed to work through building rage inside him. Mark gently set Sophia back on her bed and closed her eyes. He could barely think as he went out of the room and down the stairs. The pounding of his heart drowned out any thoughts or sound as he moved into the living room and picked up the pistol. Mark noticed as he looked at the weapon that there was a spot of blood on the bottom of the grip. The hyena had struck her in the head with the end, hard enough to crack her head open. He never had used a gun before, but had seen enough television to know how it worked. Pulling back the slide on top he could see there were bullets loaded into the magazine and slowly let it go forward again to feed one into the barrel. He couldn't find a safety on it and assumed it didn't have one. The thing felt too big for his hand but still fit well enough for what he was going to do.The hyena was still sleeping as Mark walked up to the chair he was sleeping in. Mark stared at the creature in front of him which served only to enrage him further. This thing before him had taken the greatest thing in his life and slept soundly still. Mark pressed the muzzle of the weapon against the hyena's head as he slowly stirred from his sleep. The yellow eyes of the hyena stared up at him after a second. Mark could almost see the words forming in the hyena's mind as he saw the pistol pushed against his head. "I told you to leave her the fuck alone," Mark said through clenched teeth.Whatever word was about to come out of the hyena's mouth was cut off by the sudden explosion from the gun in Marks hand. A small spray of blood had come back on him, but he hardly noticed. The hyena's eyes were instantly blank, just like Sophia's. Mark stood close to the corpse of his sisters' murderer as though he might suddenly awaken and beat him again. His hand started to tremble as the latter feelings of unfathomable sadness consumed what was left of his rational mind. Mark dropped to the ground and curled up as he began to cry in earnest. The one thing he loved most in the world was gone and the pain ripped through him. He could do nothing but lay there weeping while his comatose mother lay there undisturbed.
Kara pulled up in her father's car to the house listed on the return address. She slowed as she approached the address and saw what must have been half the city's police force set up outside. Slowing down, she saw a stretcher being taken out with a black body bag laying on top. She could clearly see the address she was looking for marked near the front door to the house as it swung open once again to bring out a second, smaller body bag. She tried not to think of who's bodies might be inside or what could have happened, only hoping that one of them was not Mark. There were several other neighbors around the police tape, looking in at the macabre scene within. The outside of the house was in disrepair, just as most of the neighborhood was. Kara understood why Mark had always politely refused to take her to his house. The area was very run down and she knew just by looking at the surroundings that without the police so close she might have been scared to even be here. She had never met any of Mark's other family members and he only recently told her about having a younger sister. Kara was beginning to put the pieces together as she gripped the letter in her paw a little tighter. Her heart stopped as she saw the partially open body bag that came out last. Mark's head was visible from the top of the bag, gazing at the cloudy slate sky as the coroner brought the body out. Kara lost control at that moment and moved away from the police line, still clutching he letter in her paw. She had assumed the letter was Mark leaving like he had alluded to last week. Kara's eyes welled up as the true meaning of the letter became apparent. Dropping to her knees near her car, Kara was too weak to stand as she gripped harder to the letter as if it would fly away if she let go just a little. Tears rolled down her face and dropped to the ground from her short muzzle to stain the broken asphalt. She wanted to scream, to hate Mark for leaving her like this and for not letting her help him. In that moment she opened the letter again to read it, hoping there was some hidden message that she missed. Something that would have let her reach him in time to help. But unlike the first time she read it, it left only the vague promise of his demise. To my dearest Kara, Recent changes to the life I live have, forcefully, made me take drastic actions which I can not take back. I wish that you remain hopeful that I am better off now, though I have left you when our love had only just bloomed. Fate has conspired to bring me to this point after so many years and has cruelly denied me the possibility of ever showing you how much I truly loved you. I must humbly request that you protect whatever precious memories you have left of me.I had lied to you about who I was and will, even now, regret having waited so long to let you into my life. Though, I pray you understand that I was a child more sinned against than sinning as I know the stories you hear will say otherwise. I know it will be hard, but I hope you will find it in you to understand and forgive me some day. Eternally yours, Mark