Calling Cards Chapter 5: Lost in grief
#6 of Calling Cards
(Warning: There is M/M furry goodness here so if you're a minor then don't get caught. Otherwise enjoy and give feedback, 'cuz more feedback helps with the muse. Happy reading. Meep!) As Rachel held the limp form of her murdered father, she felt completely helpless. It was like twelve years ago when she witnessed her twin brother die right in front of her eyes. The scenes were the exact same. Blood trickled out in a tiny river, the crimson sticky substance matting the fur of both the dead squirrel and his grieving daughter. The thick scent of death hung in the air around Treejumper's Bar, the place in complete disarray due to the ransacking of various furs. She could taste the bitter saltiness of her tears as they made their way down her muzzle. Grief wracked her body ad she stood up, trembling violently, bringing the lifeless body of her father with her. She placed his corpse on one of the few right side up tables, and closed his eyes with a sweep of her paw. Noting that the injury that ended his life was a sword wound, her eyes jumped to where his naval sword used to hang over the bar. Rachel zeroed in on the blank space and, still crying, took out her cell phone. She dialed in a number and looked out it. Realizing she misdialed she tried again, this time verifying the correct number. She brought the trembling phone to her ear as the other end started to ring. "Hello," a gruff voice said on the other end of the line. Rachel choked on her tears as a hiccup escaped from her throat. "M..m..r. Welles," The squirrel asked trying to hold back her tears to sound legible enough for Welles. "Rachel?" Welles said, trying to discern the voice. "Rachel Denia? What's wrong? Are you in trouble?" the fur's voice said, full of urgency and concern. "I..its papa," Rachel spluttered between sobs. "Cajin?!" the gruff tone of Welles came through sharply, alarm sounding in his voice. "What's wrong with him? Is he in the hospital?" "N.n.noo, he he he's dead." Welles heard the eighteen year old squirrel breakdown on the other end of the line. 'Shit' he thought mentally. "Listen Rachel; don't; call the police. They cannot be trusted. I'll send someone from D.C to pick you and your father's body up. Stay there until he arrives." Welles disconnected, and the squirrel couldn't bare to look at her loving fathers body anymore and fell to the floor with her bushy tail covering her eyes as she sobbed uncontrollably, another victim of the Vices indiscretion.
- * A buff looking snow leopard creeped stealthily through a suburban home. Without a shirt on, the feline's well trained physique stood out against the flat stucco walls which the snow leopard was sidling against. The house was eerily quiet and the feline felt dread in the air as his heart erupted into a flurry of rapid beats for no apparent reason. He was scared. He didn't know why, but he knew there was something bad up ahead. He had seen this house before somewhere, but he didn't know where. The house seemed almost alive with all the moaning, creaking and groaning that came from the walls. The feline's head peered around the corner and his line of sight went past a kitchen into the connecting living room where another younger snow leopard lay in a heap on the floor. The older feline abandoned all rationale as his heart plummeted to his stomach. Dashing to the fallen body, he screamed out "Dannniiel!" When he arrived at the body he turned him over to check his pulse. Empty eyes stared up at him, void of emotion and life. The younger leopards jaw hung slack, his visage frozen in an expression of agony. For some odd reason, the older feline felt like he knew this corpse, and he started to cry. However, a motion behind him caught his attention and he turned around, his heart going a mile a second. He stared into the golden eyes of an angry white wolf, tears burning their way down the lupine's muzzle. The wolf raised a paw and accusingly pointed at the leopard. "It's all your fault," the wolf screamed through the sobs. "You couldn't save him. You let him die. You should have known. You should have done something. It's your fault he's dead." The leopard shook his head, not able to answer the maddened wolf before him. Was the lupine right? Was the death of the young feline his fault? The leopard felt sick to his stomach as he turned around to view the corpse, only to find that the younger feline was standing up, a gash on the left side of his throat coated with dried blood. The same blank stare and agonizing expression were plastered across his face as he cried out. "Brother, what have you done to me. Why didn't you save me?" The older feline replied, "I'm sorry, I didn't ... I couldn't have..." The younger feline burst into flames as he slowly moved towards the older leopard, his arms stretched out in front of him. The older feline tried to step back but the wolf came up behind him locked him into a full nelson. He could smell the rancid breath of the lupine as he growled into his ear. "No rest for the wicked, Mark. Sooner or later, everyone must surrender to the reaper." As the blazing corpse was nearing the petrified feline, a raspy wicked laugh echoed through the house, and the building combusted into flames. The evil cackling continued in the source of that awful jovial sound was revealed when a floating otter head emerged from the flames to view the scene amidst the flames. A scar ran down his left eye, a milky white orb hidden beneath a half closed eyelid. As the otter's head grinned a rotten toothy smile the flaming corpse fell on top of the older feline and --- the phone rang. Mark Harrison sprung from his slumber, his heart pounding into his rib cage as his arm still twitched from the fear of the nightmare he just had. He rolled over on the hotel room bed and managed to grasp the ringing phone as he looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. 1:34 Wondering who the hell would be calling him at this ungodly hour he brought the phone to his ears and managed to mutter a groggy "Harrison" into the receiver. "Harrison! It's Welles" the German Shepherd's crisp and alert voice registered in the feline's head. "I have a favor I'd like to ask of you, to be carried out immediately. You help me out and I'll make certain that not only will you get into the FBI but you will take the lead on the Gabriel Hawkins case. Am I clear?" That caught Mark's attention, and now fully awake answered with a simple, "What do you need me to do?" "I need you to return to your hometown and escort a young charge back up here." "Yes sir." "Harrison," the canine's voice rang through with urgency, "This is an urgent matter that must be dealt with utmost discretion. I need you to pick up a young female squirrel and her father's from Treejumper's bar in your hometown. The police cannot be trusted to handle this matter and so I leave it to you to guard her safely until she arrives in D.C." "Treejumper's bar? I'm familiar with that establishment. Did you say body?" Mark asked hurriedly scribbling down the information on a small notepad. "I'll fill you in on the details when accomplish the objective. It should take you about an hour and a half to reach Destiny and time is of the essence. The squirrel's name is Rachel Denia." "Understood sir. I'm on my way," the snow leopard replied, slipping on blue jeans and a polo shirt. "Very good Harrison. I expect great results."With a click, the German Shepherd ended the conversation leaving the fate of the mentally unstable squirrel in the paws of the new recruit. He was confident that the snow leopard was capable of handling the situation. Mark Harrison hurried from his hotel room and sprinted down four flights of stairs, his nightmare completely vanished from his thoughts. "Rachel Denia," Mark thought. "Where have I heard that name before?" He tried to probe his mind for the answer as he exited the building towards the location of his beat up 93 Mustang, but was unable to remember where he had heard the name Denia before. He arrived at his car, which he had nicknamed Cassidy, and sped off into the endless void of darkness that surrounded him.
- * Mark Harrison wasn't the only one to have nightmares that night. Matthias tossed and turned, the queen sized bed providing enough space so he didn't fall off. Every time the young white wolf had drifted off to sleep since the tragedy, the only thing that plagued his subconscious mind were nightmares revolving around Daniel and his parents. He kept reliving their executions in his mind, watching their expressions of shock and torment slip away as their lives faded into oblivion. He kept seeing the visages of delight and ecstasy upon the bastards responsible, having the images of the one eyed otter and the young beagle burned into his memory. He wouldn't forget their jeering faces as they snuffed out the flames of life from his closest loved ones. He moaned in his sleep, crying out unintelligible words as over and over again they died in front of him. The nightmares always ended in a burst of flames then he would wake up. This time was no exception. A flash of fire and the wolf awoke, covered in a cold sweat. Matthias turned over on his side, plumping up the pillows and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. Unfortunately, now that he was awake, his mind was racing with countless thoughts. He swallowed some spit that had been building up in his muzzle and realized that he was parched. Deciding that he couldn't get back to sleep, he rolled out off the mattress and landed on the ground. He quickly searched for his clothes and with not too much effort managed to put them on in the pitch black chamber. He hobbled over to the doorway and after groping about, found the handle and creaked open the door. Instantly, the shards of crystal around the chamber reflected the light coming from the tunnel hallway, illuminating the room. Leaving the door ajar, Matthias ventured down the underground hallway, hoping to sniff out the location of food and drink. The lupine navigated the crystal lit tunnel checking every room on either side of the pathway. After entering various storage chambers full of gadgets, ropes, an arsenal of handguns and automatic weapons, a cache of razor sharp knives and filing cabinets brimming with papers, Matthias crept into an enormous underground chamber. The room was so vast that the wolf couldn't see the earthy walls on the far side of the cavern. The ceiling was 11 feet off the ground, creating a feeling of enclosure in such a vast and ample space. Set up all around the dimly lit chamber, an obstacle course ran the perimeter of a deep natural pool. The obstacle course consisted of a nine foot climbing wall, barbed wire trenches, infrared laser attachments, a rock wall that ran horizontal instead of sideways, and two platforms spaced ten feet apart. Why on Earth a subterranean obstacle course existed, Matthias had no idea. He ventured closer to the setup and inspected the equipment. The climbing wall was made of treated wooden planks, none of which were bent or warped. The planks were screwed into two standing wood beams and propped up by a series of wooden supports. On the trenches, the barbed wire was tautly strung 18 inches off the ground and Matthias figured that it was meant to be crawled under like in the boot camp training. More wooden beams supported the infrared laser beams which were mounted at different levels. Strangely enough, the infrared was visible to the eye which Matthias couldn't explain. The rock wall was 10 feet high and ran 30 feet. There were paw holds all along the wall. The wolf knelt down and crawled towards the deep pool which resembled more a small lake than a suburban swimming pool. He leant over the edge and peered into the unfathomable depths of the dark blue water, which reflected the radiant crystals spattered across the cavern walls. As Matthias gazed at his furry reflection, his golden eyes decided it was time to play a trick on the emotionally crippled lupine. Instead of seeing a white furred wolf, Matthias' eyes registered a blue-white furred snow leopard with a mischievous grin plastered on his jovial visage. Suddenly, as if the dam restraining the young wolf's devastated feelings crumbled, Matthias collapsed in an onslaught of tears, shaking with grief as he finally realized that Daniel would no longer be in his life. As the 18 year old wolf sobbed and whimpered, the image of the feline in the water rippled out of existence as Matthias' tears crashed into the water below him. Huddling himself into the fetal position, one more small whimper escaped from the lupine's muzzle as he lost all will to make any more sounds and fell into an uncomfortable sleep, his hunger all but forgotten and his visage drenched in his tears.
- * Elsewhere in the subterranean estate, unaware of the young wolf's breakdown, the two thieves were in their third round of fucking. Being former lovers, the raccoon and the jackal occasionally hooked up just to sate their base sexual desires. Heaving with exhaustion, Leon locked his muzzle with Shadow's and as their ribbons of flesh entwined, the raccoon pressed his nude body up against the jackal's muscular form. As the two lovers moaned in sexual bliss they grinded their groins together, grunting in pleasure. Leon's member popped out of his sheath, and even though he had already climaxed twice, his 6 and ½ inch bright red shaft sprang to attention. Shadow broke the kiss and glanced down at the protrusion poking him in the pelvis. The jackal smirked as he grabbed the sensitive coon cock in his black paw, causing a moan to escape from Leon. "My my," Shadow whispered into the coon's ear as he tightened his grip on the throbbing meat. "Look's like someone's needed this for quite some time, eh?" Leon was unable to respond as he had tilted his head back, panting and moaning from the attention his coon hood was receiving. Keeping up his blissfully tight hold on Leon's cock, Shadow circled around the raccoon kneeling on the bed until he was behind him. As he started pumping the meat in his paw, Shadow leaned his muzzle down to the ringtail that was wagging in front of him and with his other paw held it out of the way. Once Leon's tail was no longer guarding the coon's rear entrance, the jackal was able to admire his handiwork from the first two rounds. What he saw was a puffy pink pucker, sore from abuse, with seed still leaking from it and trickling down to the coon's furry sack swinging below. As Leon was moaning in ecstasy, he felt a damp velvety ribbon of flesh flick at his sore tail-hole, easing the pain a little. Again the wet fleshy ribbon reached out and coated the raccoon's pucker in a thick saliva paste. The raccoon moaned faster as Shadow pumped harder and circled his tongue around the sore hole. Finally, not being able to resist the taste, the jackal stuck his tongue into Leon's entrance and pushed it past the first ring. Flicking his tongue in and out and probing the inner depths of the coon's bittersweet treasure trove, the jackal finally hit the spot which made Leon loose his load onto Shadow's bed sheets. Leon collapsed onto the bed sheets covering his stomach fur with his own seed in the process. He rolled over to reveal that his fur was splattered with both his and Shadow's seed from the onslaught of pleasure with the lovers engaged in. Shadow smirked at the mess the two furs made. "Hmmm. Perhaps we should clean up so we don't reek to bad in the morning." Leon glanced down at his cum coated body and nodded in agreement. With agility and nimbleness belying his sexual exhaustion, Leon leaped out of bed in a cartwheel flip, sticking a landing on the floor. "Right. Why don't we go and take a shower then. Perhaps we could have a little more fun." Leon started to make his way through a side chamber door but the jackal held him back and pulled him close. "I've got a better idea. How's bout you and I take a little skinny dipping?" Shadow suggested as he guided the coon out the main chamber door and down the hallway. Leon giggled and hugged the jackal as they made their way down the tunnel. The two lovers came to a halt in front of the open door that led to their destination. "Strange," the jackal mused, "I don't remember leaving the Crypt open. It seems our mutual friend couldn't wait to get started with his training." As the two made their way through the door the first thing they saw was the collapsed form of Matthias lying near the poolside. Breaking their embrace, Leon scurried over to the young wolf, with the jackal right behind. Apprehensive, the coon checked the lupine's pulse and breathing. Finding everything was normal he gently shook Matthias awake. As the young wolf opened his eyes, he saw the naked forms of Leon cradling him and Shadow standing over him, a mixture of amusement and exhaustion in his eyes. The young wolf quickly realized where he was and what had happened and his breakdown started all over again. He sobbed and moaned as he trembled, not caring that he was humiliating himself in front of one of his friends and a complete stranger. He was given over to despair and grief and wanted to just fade into oblivion. "Matthias, what's wrong?" Leon asked, concern rising in his voice. "Matthias, please calm down. We can't help you if we don't know what's wrong." "It doesn't matter," Matthias replied between sobs. "There is nothing you can do to help me. I'm sorry. I should never have come to you for help. I was wrong to think that revenge was the answer. Killing the bastards who slew Daniel won't bring him back. Nothing will. I should just fade into oblivion. Just fade away..." "Awwww. Isn't that sad," the jackal's voice echoed through the cavern, a cold and callous bite filling his tone. "The puppy has lost his pwecious kitty and wants to die." Matthias wiped his tears away from his eyes as he looked up at the jackal. "How'd you...sniff...know?" The jackal's callous red eyes leered down at the broken wolf sprawled on the floor. "How'd I know? I am a thief. I know things. It comes with the territory. But let me tell you something. If you don't want to be a thief, then there's the door." Shadow gestured to the open doorway, anger spreading across his face. "Go and die in whatever way suits you, but get your sniveling hide out of my sight." With that the black furred jackal turned around, ignoring Matthias completely. The lupine picked himself off the floor, tears falling silently as his dejected form started walking towards the exit of the cavern. Leon made a plea to the clever jackal. "Shadow, please reconsider. You know he has nowhere else to go. He needs us. He can't do this on his own." Shadow snapped back, "If the puppy doesn't want to grow up then there is nothing I can do to help him. I bet all his life others have given him everything he wanted on a silver platter. I wager that he has had everything decided for him." To Matthias the jackal replied, "Welcome to the real world kiddo. You alone have to make this choice. What do you believe? Are you ready to die because you lost your first love?" The wolf stopped in his tracks and turned back to face the cunning thief. Looking down at his footpaws, Matthias meekly replied, "I dunno." "I dunno?" the jackal scathingly mocked. "I ask what you believe and you reply with I dunno? Pssh. You are worthless. I heard from Leon about how you are at the top of your Hashtin Saido class, so I figured you were made of tougher stuff. Guess I was wrong." The jackal walked over to the slumped lupine and prodded him hard in the shoulder. "What's the matter? Not going to fight back? Hmph. You are nothing; a pushover." The jackal prodded Matthias harder forcing the wolf to take a step back. Not getting the response that he wanted Shadow decided to use his last resort. "And I bet that your feline was just as weak as you." Matthias' head jerked up at that and stared into the jackal's red eyes as Shadow continued. "Yeah, that's right. You heard me. You boyfriend died because he was as pathetic as you. Probably gave the same response to the furs who killed him when asked if he wanted to live. 'Idunno'. If he wasn't strong enough to fight back he didn't deserve to live." Matthias' eyes turned cold as his lips curled. "Don't you ever talk that way about Daniel. He was a gentle and decent fur. Twice the fur which you'll ever be." Leon, sensing the growing tension and the jackal's plan, crept out of the chamber, leaving the unchecked emotions of the wolf in the jackal's capable paws. "Oooh, did I touch a nerve?" Shadow replied, silently wishing he didn't have to insult the deceased leopard. "So you care about your dead kitty, huh? But you obviously don't care about him enough. He probably doesn't mean anything to you, does he? I mean he up and dies and then you decide its better if you died?" "Don't insult him," Matthias whispered, a spark of life back in his voice. "Don't you ever insult..." "Or what?" Shadow interrupted. "Or you'll fall down and cry. Oh I'm so scared. You are just as pathetic as your kitty was. You will end up like him soon enough. A pitiful corpse with nothing more to offer but more tears." With a snarl, the wolf leapt at Shadow, who moved deftly aside as the wolf tumbled onto the cavern floor. Matthias scrambled to his feet and charged the red-eyed thief, claws extended. Shadow swept Matthias out from under his feet and he landed on the floor. As Matthias stood up again, he lost sight of the jackal who faded into the dimly lit environment. "What's the matter?" Shadow's voice echoed throughout the cavern. "Why are you fighting? I thought you wanted to die?" "I am going fuck you up," Matthias growled as he looked around for the source of Shadow's voice. "Come out and face me." "Okay," the jackal's voice came from right behind the wolf. Matthias performed a spinning hook kick but made no contact. "Emotions cloud your judgment. Right now your eyes are clouded with grief, and that blinds you from the truth. Which is why you can't beat me." An uppercut to the wolf's jaw knocked Matthias onto his back. Before the lupine could move a black foot paw slammed down on his chest, stopping him from standing. Golden eyes locked with red ones as Shadow asked, "You want to fuck me up, eh? And why is that?" "Because," Matthias replied as he grabbed the foot paw on top of him and toppled Shadow, "you insulted Daniel. And you are going to pay." Matthias brought his footpaw down to smash the jackals ribs but Shadow rolled out of the way just in time and faded back into the cavern's shadows. "What about those who killed Daniel? Do you really think they would be caught? Who's going to make them pay if you die, hmmm? Who gives a rat's ass about avenging him? His brother is a police officer who upholds the law. His parents are law abiding citizens. Neither would be able to give them what they deserve. But you on the other paw..." A jab to the wolf's gut followed by a snap kick to the wolf's muzzle sent Matthias flying through the air and crashing into pool. Shadow emerged from the darkness and knelt by the poolside. "You would be able to strike where others could not. If you were properly trained in the arts of stealth, combat and larceny you would be able to get close enough to exact your revenge." The wolf's head came to the surface and the jackal held out his paw. As the drenched wolf accepted it, Shadow asked "What do you believe?" Still in the water, Matthias replied with a grim face, "I believe in vengeance." "And will you do whatever it takes to get vengeance?" The golden eyes showed only determination and cold fury. "Yes." The jackal pulled the wolf out and clapped him on the shoulder. "Then we start tomorrow on lesson number one on overcoming grief." A rumble erupted from Matthias' stomach, bouncing off the cavern walls and ceiling. "But first, let's get you something to eat."
- * It was 2:45 when the black Mustang screeched to a halt outside Treejumper's Bar and a snow leopard hurriedly exited the vehicle. Making sure his gun was loaded, Mark Harrison slowly approached the door to the bar. Upon opening the door, his eyes fell to the devastation that lay about. Without delay he hurried over to the table with the lifeless form of Cajin sprawled on it and the sleeping squirrel on the floor beside it. When he saw the female squirrel he was charged with escorting, memories of the past stirred up in his mind, and he realized where he had heard the name Rachel Denia before. Before being moved to homicide he worked on the streets and had been the first officer to arrive at a hit and run twelve years before. Thomas Denia had pushed his twin sister out of the way of a speeding car, sacrificing his own life to save his sisters. The car never slowed down and the driver was never caught. The twin sister was traumatized by the affair and Mark had suggested in his report that she might need therapy, but her father opted to not treat her fragile mentality. Mark always wondered what became of her. Now he knew. Gently shaking Rachel, Mark whispered, "Hey, Rachel, wake up little one." Rachel twitched and then leapt out of her sleep nearly hitting the ceiling as she landed in a fighting stance challenging the intruder that would dare to trespass on her sanctuary. "What do you want? Why have you come here?" she demanded Mark put his paws in front of him in a sign of peace replying, "Whoa now, take it easy. James Welles has asked me to escort you to Washington D.C." Breaking her stance Rachel replied, "Sorry. I..I just...." She glanced at her father and cringed, skewing her glance to the far side of the room. "Could you give me a moment to gather my possessions?" "Sure. I'll be outside waiting in my car. Come out when you are ready." With that Mark picked up the wrapped form of Cajin Denia and carried him to the back seat of the car, leaving the young female squirrel to stew in her own juices. "It's alright Rachel," a voice came from behind the bar. "This fur will take you and father to Mr. Welles, and you'll be safe there." A male squirrel, around the age of 17, walked out of the back bar wall and to Rachel's side. "You can trust him, I'm sure of it." Turning to the male squirrel she asked, "But how do you know Tommy? I mean papa's just been killed. It could've been by the leopard who's come back to finish the job." Tommy smiled and thumbed his nose, "Listen sis, I've always been by your side since we were young. I've always given you sound advice haven't I. Trust me when I say that you are safe with him." "Tommy, I'm scared." "I know, but I'll be with you. I'll never leave you." Mark Harrison walked back in the bar to see Rachel staring off into space. "Are you alright?" Rachel turned to address the snow leopard as Tommy faded into thin air. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She ran upstairs and threw her valuables together in a backpack and jumped down the stairs in a single bound which erupted a whistle from Mark. "Ready, Ms. Denia?" the snow leopard asked. Rachel made her way past Mark towards the beat up Mustang. She opened the passenger door and collapsed into the seat, the events of the night draining away the majority of her energy. Mark walked around to the other side of the vehicle and as soon as he sat in the driver's seat he noticed that the female squirrel was silently crying. Mark felt a cringe of empathetic pain for the poor young squirrel who had just discovered the corpse of her father. He all too well knew the grief of losing a family member, seeing as how he was still in the midst of agony over losing Daniel. He placed a paw on her shoulder trying to sum up words to comfort her, but thoughts of his brother stole his will to speak. He withdrew the paw and started to drive off towards Washington D.C, escorting two creatures; one dead and one alive. Rachel soon fell into an uneasy sleep, the darkness in her heart growing and consuming her ability to keep awake.
Matthias was jostled out of slumber the following morning and his golden eyes snapped open to see the masked face of his coon friend leering down at him. "L..leon? What's going on?" Matthias asked hesitantly. "What time is it?" The raccoon offered no response as he pulled the wolf to his paws and escorted him out the door. Once in the hallway Leon pulled out some sort of cloth like strap and tied it over the lupine's eyes. Matthias tried to struggle but the raccoon would have none of it and quickly tied the wolf's paws behind his back with another piece of cloth-like rope. Afterwards Leon guided the blinded wolf through the hallway and through a labyrinth of caves and doors. After what seemed like ten minutes of being led by the raccoon, the wolf was stopped in a cave and tripped by the crafty coon. Leon untied his paws and Matthias quickly ripped off the cloth masking his eyes. However the removal of the blindfold did not help as the cavern was pitch-black. A raspy voiced declared from somewhere within the depths of the dark cavern. "Young wolf, you have asked to join the ranks of thieves and walk the path of shadows. In order to do so, you will be trained in the four disciplines of thievery; stealth, dexterity, cunning and negotiations. However, before you begin the real training you must first pass a lesson in overcoming your grief. Otherwise your emotions will be your undoing." Two red eyes appeared in the depths of the darkness. "Let the lesson commence."