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R&M Ch. 2:

Retaliations

A log cabin sits in the woods of Montana, twenty miles from the nearest town. In that cabin lives a couple. Malichi and Raelina had been dating for about three years now, but this is their first year to live together. They had been through so much lately; two near break- ups and a lot of smaller fights, all over petty subjects. But no matter how bad their fights, their love never once faltered.

Standing six foot ten, he towered over anybody his age. The eighteen year old white wolf had a good six inches to a foot over the others, he was even the tallest of his family by one and a half feet, second only by his dad. Though he was on the heavy side when he was born, he only weighed 195 lbs. And still looked like a twig. On a normal day, his coarse, snow white fur stood on end since he was always on edge for no particular reason. From time to time, he would comb his jet-black hair, but he left it alone more often than not. Malichi had a very calm demeanor, though he could get quite verbal. He was raised, oddly enough, that if words don't solve the problem, or if a weapon is pointed at him, he has all rights to do whatever he deems necessary.

His lover, on the other hand, stood a bit shorter at 5' 9". She was three months older than him, but he was more mature. The brown fox was always on the slim side, weighing in at 190. She spent some of her free time brushing her beautiful brown fur, though when she was around Mal, she fluffed out her tail. Her golden red hair never went unnoticed, she always had a brush or comb on paw. Raelina's attitude was as calm as Malichi's, but she was a bit more physical. They didn't move in together until Mal and Raelina's father got into an altercation, and her dad lost the fight due to a gunshot to the chest. The confrontation occurred five months earlier in April.

* * * *

The week was like any other; Raelina's parents bitching at her for no reason at all, Malichi's mom cursing him for not getting the trash out on time. Their troubles came daily, but they melted away when Raelina stepped off her bus and into Malichi's loving arms. That Wednesday afternoon was what started the whole thing between Malichi and Johnny, Raelina's dad. Well, the two have been going at it since Thanksgiving. Because of that, Johnny said that Malichi and Raelina couldn't see each other anymore, but that wouldn't stop them.

It was any other Wednesday. The only difference was that there was end of course testing and that her church was holding a young women's activity at the local Tasty Freeze, which Malichi lived not even a block from. To try to keep her dad from finding out that he was still dating her, Malichi hid in the bushes behind the restaurant until her dad was out of sight. Her church members said nothing as the two embraced each other with pure, unbidden love. Their meeting went like any other date with the occasional hug and kiss. It went off without a hitch, until her dad decided to show a few minutes early and caught Malichi hauling ass on his bike, leaving. On their way to Johnny's house (Raelina didn't like to think of it as "home", that was with Malichi), Johnny ranted and raved at how she disobeyed him. He was cussing her out as if it was the last words he'd be able to say. When she got to her "house", she got even more of an ear full from her mom, Jennifer. Raelina was the type that loved attention, especially Malichi's, but not the kind she received from her parents. This constant negative attention was slowly wearing her down and causing her to slowly give up, it was finally starting to hurt.

"Hey, Baby," she called him around 9:30 that night, in her voice; he could tell she'd been crying.

"What's wrong, Darlin'?" he asked starting to get concerned.

"The normal shit. Johnny and Jennifer bitchin' at me 'cause you were at Tasty Freeze," she choked out between sobs.

"That's it! I'll be there in a few. Just stay in your room 'til I get there. Love you bye," he hung up before she got a chance to try to stop him. He threw on a shirt, grabbed his keys, jumped in his truck, and painted the side of his house with mud when he dumped the clutch. He called her back while he was on his way to her house, "Leave your phone and just grab a change of clothes," he said when she answered.

"What's goin' on? What are you doing?" still choked by sobs.

"I'm gettin' you outta that house. I'm tired of hearing you like this, I can't stand it!" he replied." I'm comin' down your street now, be waitin'." Once her house came into view, Malichi stepped on the clutch and parking brake (to lock the rear tires), cut the wheel to the left, and swung the rear end around so that the passenger side door was on Rae's side of the road and open. As soon as the truck stopped, she jumped in, and they were rolling. Malichi didn't want to give her dad the chance to do something stupid. Raelina slid over in the seat towards her lover and clung to his arm. When they turned the corner on to his street, Raelina saw the ruts he left and the mud on his house.

"You must have been pissed when you left to get me," said the no longer crying vixen.

"Very! And I still am, just not as much," he answered. He parked the truck with a rut between the tires. The two got out and headed for his room, passing his mom's room on the way. His mom watched the two walk by and gave them five minutes before knocking on his wall to call him into her room. "I'll be right back," he said while his lover curled up on his bed, drifting off to sleep.

"Why is she here?" his mom asked monotonously and without looking at him.

"A shit load of bull was goin' down with her parents and I finally got tired of it and got her out," he whispered calmly.

"You know-"

"-That I have to fix the yard and clean the house off? Yes I know," he cut her off.

"Okay, just so we're clear!" His mom was oddly alright with the situation. She never really cared what her boys did as long as they explained themselves, either before or afterwards, and she didn't get pulled into it. She shared no resemblance with Malichi save the snow-white fur and ice blue eyes.

Malichi softly padded back to his room where his lover was asleep on his bed. 'Man, how was I able to get the hottest vixen in school in my bed? Damn, I'm lucky!' he smiled to himself as he pulled the covers back, climbed into his bed and cuddled up to his lover. The clock at the foot of the bed read 10:00 pm in sky blue digits. Time to sleep.

Gunshots sounding from all around him. "Is that all you got mother fucker? You can't even hit me?! Eat some lead!!!" he screamed. Malichi was in an open field holding two .357 magnums. The person on the other end of the barrels was none other than Johnny. Bang! Bang! Two shots but only one of Mal's pistols recoiled. The other came from Johnny's twelve gauge shot gun. Both males were hit, but only Johnny fell. Malichi's bullet hit him square in the chest with enough force to knock him backward. The wolf only got a grazing shot in the arm. The burly fox had just enough life to squeeze his trigger one last time, this time catching Malichi in the hip, spinning him around and forcing him face first in the grass. The loss of blood sent his world spinning, but a loud thunk brought him into reality. Dazed and on the floor, he looked around his darkened room, trying to get his bearings. In the dimly, moon lit room he made out three figures; a tower that was his entertainment center, his large dresser, and a box he recognized as his bed. Something was off, the top of his bed rose and fell, rose and fell repeatedly. A sharp, throbbing pain in his hip quickly drew him away from the shape on his bed. He hobbled to the bathroom, remembering he was just in a gunfight with Raelina's dad. He dropped his jeans expecting to find gushing blood. To his relief, he wasn't bleeding, but the pain was still there. Limping back to his room, events from earlier in the day came back to him. He realized that the figure in his bed was his lover, the one him and Johnny got into the gunfight over.

"Five a. No use in trying to sleep. Might as well make breakfast," The young wolf yawned, heading for the kitchen, pain throbbing in his right hip as he put pressure on it. Trying to be quiet, he stayed away from the electric mixer and used a whisk instead to make the pancake batter. The smell of buttermilk pancakes woke everyone up and they poured into the dining area. "You're first, Baby. How many do you want?"

"I'll take two, light on the syrup, please," she answered drowsily.

"It's on the table." Once the pancakes were done cooking, he flipped them onto a plate and handed it to his lover. He did the same for the others, his mom and brother.

That day and the next felt odd to him. 'Calm. Too calm. Shouldn't her dad be after us?' he thought to himself when Johnny didn't show Thursday or Friday looking for them. But he did. Upon Malichi's pulling out of the school's parking lot on Friday, he noticed that a bright red Suburban was following him. Malichi tried losing him in the maze of city streets, but when that failed, he hopped on the interstate and headed north. Since his truck was lighter, he was able to open a gap between him and his chaser, but it didn't last. Once they were outside of the city, the cunning wolf got off the freeway and hit the back roads.

"What's going on?" asked a frightened Raelina.

"Looks like your dad found us," Mal answered looking in the rear view.

"He's not my dad. Not anymore."

"Okay then, Johnny's following us," he corrected his previous statement. The pavement turned to gravel as the vehicles sped down the street towards a field surrounded by trees. Once the entrance to the field had shown itself, Malichi floored the gas and shot through the narrow gap, too narrow for the SUV. Demonstrating his superior "car control", Mal did a forward J-turn, reversing his Ranger's direction. "Stay in the truck!" he said. Malichi reached under the driver's seat and produced two .357 magnum pistols. Stepping out of the SUV, was Johnny with his twelve gauge pump action shotgun. "De ja vu," whispered Malichi.

"What?"

"N- nothing, just a dream I had Wednesday night. Hopefully it's not the same outcome." Just as Raelina was going to ask him about his dream, a loud report reverberated in the dense trees surrounding the clearing. "Time for me to go." Holstering his pistols in his pockets, the brave wolf stepped out of his Ranger, his eyes locked on his stalker. He walked half way between the vehicles then stopped and motioned for Johnny to join him. "So, this is how we're to settle this, Johnny?" Malichi growled at his oppressor.

"Where's my daughter?" the red fox growled back.

"She's not your daughter anymore. Not with the way you treat her. She's a livin', free soul; not a damned slave like you've been treatin' her!" Mal howled in response. The tension rose between the two until Johnny put the barrel of his shotgun to Malichi's chest. Wrapping one arm around the muzzle of the gun and going for his own, Malichi spun the fox around with a relatively small amount of force. One pistol to Johnny's head, the other to his back. "If you wanna play that game, we need to go somewhere else, I'm not letting anyone else get hurt." Controlling Johnny with his pistols, the two males walked away from the trucks, and Raelina. Once they were far enough from the trucks, Malichi tripped Johnny, then hauled ass to get some distance. Johnny just dropped to his knee, brought the gun to his shoulder, aimed, fired. Malichi tripped on a tree root not a moment too soon as pellets from the shotgun whizzed by his ears. He soon got back up, enraged. Gunshots sounding from all around him, Johnny faster than he thought. "Is that all you got mother fucker? You can't even hit me?! Eat some lead!!!" he screamed. Bang! Bang! Two shots but only one of Mal's pistols recoiled. The other came from Johnny's twelve gauge shotgun. Both males were hit, but only Johnny fell. Malichi's bullet hit him square in the chest with enough force to knock him backward. The wolf only got a grazing shot in the arm. The burly fox had just enough life to squeeze his trigger one last time, knocking Mal's pistol out of his right hand. Malichi walked over to Johnny, with labored breathing. He clicked his tongue twice.

"You just thought you could get away with treating her like a slave. This is what you get." Malichi stepped over his dying oppressor and headed back for his truck. He hollered for Raelina to grab his first aid kit in the glove box.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"Let's just say that you won't have to worry 'bout him anymore," he answered while bandaging himself up.

"You killed him?" she shrieked.

"Not yet, but he's gettin' there. I need you to move the Suburban so we can get out."

"O.K."

The Suburban was moved and they were on their way to Cabot. To pass the time, they talked about the dream Mal had Wednesday night. He told her that it was basically a premonition to what happened only a few moments earlier.

"So, is that why you were limping into the bathroom that night?"

"Yeah. With my imagination, my dreams feel like reality. Most times, I can't tell the difference."

"Why didn't you tell me when you had it?"

"Didn't want to worry you."

"'Kay. Now what are we gonna do?"

"Well, since I've got fifty grand saved up from my work in the rail yard, I thought we'd move out."

"Where do you have in mind?"

"Somewhere in the country; Montana, maybe. I don't know." They spent the next couple of weeks getting their belongings together. Two weeks before school let out, Malichi had found a beautiful log cabin deep in the woods of Montana, and once he finished all the financial dealings, it was theirs and they had their stuff ready to move. First, the two went and looked, then got a U-Haul truck and moved in. But before they left, Mal cleaned the side of the house and fixed the ruts like his mom asked of him.

The cabin he found was made from a mix of Oak and Cyprus wood, and had three bedrooms, with a porch that went all the way around it. It came fully furnished. It sat deep in the woods of the heart of Montana, surrounded by Oaks, Cherries, Gums and any other kind of hard woods. The trees stretched on for miles in all directions and reached for the sky as if they had no limit as to how high they could go. In late spring to mid-summer, the smell of honey suckle would bathe the air in the late afternoon, a smell that neither could get enough of. Malichi chose it because of three reasons; one, it came with a 200 acre plot of land, so there wouldn't be anyone close enough to bother them. Two, the scenery was spectacular; during the fall, the leaves would change from green to beautiful golds, reds, and browns, bathing them in a rainbow of colors if they took a stroll in the woods, and three, simply put, they both liked living in the country.