{"sf1_id":592355,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Out of Mercy","author":"Gruffy","words":12444,"posted_at":"2013-09-19T17:52:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Dark","Doberman","Drama","Explicit","Friendship","Gay","Love","M/M","Romance","Sci-Fi","SciFiSummer","Science Fiction","Violence (not In Yiff)","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/592355-out-of-mercy","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/592355","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=592355\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"Times change, but people rarely change. At some point in the future, more things that you could have ever imagined have changed indeed. But have people's hopes and dreams become anything more than they are now? Are the things we hold precious still so, and what is the ultimate difference between happiness and desolation? Scifi Summer story from Gruffy is here!","content":"\n \n \n \nArt by  Frosted_Fur \n Story by\n Gruffy \n Some plot\nconcepts and original characters by -Frosted-Fur , as per his request.\n \n \n \nHehhey!\n \nThis story is my\nentry to the Scifi Summer Contest here on SoFurry, and besides that, it also\nserves another purposes - this story is a trade for  Frosted_Fur who was\nkind enough to draw some art of Gruffy, and in return, I promised to write him\na dark story about love in difficult times...so here we go! I've put a lot of\nwork into this one, and I hope that you'll enjoy the end result - I am very\neager to hear your comments! \n \nAs always,\nremember that all votes, faves and watches will also help others to find these\nstories to enjoy as well!\n \nHave an\ninteresting read!\n \n \n \n \n \n*\n \n \nThe tower block\nwas high enough that you could see beyond the wall. \n \nYou could even\nsee the sea, if you looked really carefully, squinting your eyes carefully,\nMarkus had learned while gazing out into the distance beyond the cragged\nwasteland that laid between the city boundaries and the great sea beyond. If he\nturned his eyes to the right, he could see the beginnings of the evening glow\nfrom the algae pools that spread across the valley inland from the city. \n \n\"It's what your steak's made of, darling,\" he could\nhear his mother croon, tousling the wolf's silky head furs with the most\nadoring of pats while the little tyke Markus played around on his pad, trying\nto connect the bouncing dots with the minimum amount of connections. A brain\nteaser game, they told them, it was good for the young ones, to take their mind\naway from all the things that were happening. We have to think about the\nfuture, after all.  \n \nThe Public\nInformation Network hailed it as a wonderful show of ingenuity to battle the\nfood problem, the gushing documentaries spoke with a clear, clerical voice of\nconfidence. The sunlight that once charred our fields into nothingness now fuels\nthe most efficient agricultural system ever devised. And it even\nself-illuminated when the night fell, thanks to the nifty genetic makeup of the\nalgae that formed the topmost layer. It would start glowing, and its light\nwould in turn feed the lower levels, the species engineered to thrive in the\nelectrochemical twilight produced by the mutant seaweed that created the\nsurface of the artificial hydroponic lake.\n \nMarkus squeezed\nthe handle of the pistol more tightly in his palm and blinked. The glow from the\npools seemed to linger on beneath his lids. The wolf had to blink a couple of\ntimes before he forced himself to look over the sea again.\n \nCould he see the\ntrail of the ship still? Could he see it if he could squeeze really hard? \n \nThe trigger felt\nalmost delicate under his calloused fingerpad, a remarkably flimsy way to\noperate such a device. The metal felt warm, just like the metal under his other\npaw, resting on the top of the balcony, did, under his palm. The curfew was\nalready on, he knew, for an hour already, an hour or so. The last train from\nthe work compounds had arrived while he had watched, on that very same spot,\nstopping on a station after station to unload their weary loads before moving\non along their maglev tracks. He could follow the track easily,  a pearly white gash in the otherwise\nweathered, dull cityscape that littered his field of vision, when he looked\ndown. 16th floor was nothing compared to the behemoths he knew\nlingered just beyond the horizon, but for now, the sun was setting, and he\ncould not look directly enough to even try.\n \nHe couldn't\nfollow the ship, either. \n \n\"You have consumed 80% of your daily electricity\nquota, Markus Browler. You have one hour, fifteen minutes of subsidized electric\npower left for consumption at current rate. Please be productive with your\nremaining time.\"\n \nThe HomeBox\nspoke with a soft female voice, something that didn't quite remind him of\nmother...not that...not a motherly voice, something else...authoritarian and\ndangerously soft at the same time.\n \n\"Who would like to like to light the Candle of His\nGracious Children today?\" \n \n\"Me! ME! MEEE mmeee Sister pick meeee!\"\n \nHis paw flying in the air, waving, just like everyone\nelse, towards the dusty ceiling with its fan and the openings of the always\nhumming filters. Sister Agnes would close her eyes and then move her paw in\nrandom, waving a big finger poking out from the sleeve of her robes as she'd\nmake her blind choice.\n \nA squeal.\n \n\"He wants Markus to light it today!\" the nun's voice,\nsonorant, soft, with authority.\n \nHis cheeks burning when he felt the eyes of his peers,\nwatching the slim wolf with eyes brimming with envy as he walked over to the\nlectern where the Sister had placed the candle, the small electric lighter at\npaw, ready to be given to the wolf.\n \n\"With His blessing, you shall bring His Light to this\nclassroom for today, Markus.\"\n \n\"Amen,\" the wolf whispered as he accepted the lighter\ninto his paw. It felt so warm after having been in the nun's paw. Or maybe it\nwas just his own paw being hot. It was hard to decide.\n \nThe lighter functioned with a soft click and allowed\nhim to create a flickering flame onto the thick white wax candle, one of the\nbig ones that were blessed by the Chaplain at the assembly every week, to be\ntaken into the classrooms where they would burn each day. \n \n\"AMEN!\" they all declared, as the light was lit.\n \nMarkus wasn't\ntoo worried about the HomeBox's message. He had a couple of fuel cells lying\naround, more than enough to keep the jury-rigged lights and computer working,\nshould he decide so. Depending on the subsidized electricity from the Unified\nGrid was not something he'd concerned himself with for years now, not after\nhe'd gotten unto his own paws. He could take care of himself. He could do it.\n \nHe could do\nwhatever the hell he wanted.\n \nHe took his\nfinger away from the trigger and let the gun simply rest in his paw. The deep\nbreath of air brought the acrid stench into his buds, deep within the wolf's\nlong grey muzzle. Furs usually attributed it either to the great waste water\ntreatment plant on the outskirts of the town, or to the Great Rest Crematorium,\nits glimmering smokestack another landmark that the wolf could spot with his\nsmall visual tour of the city below. He had to crane his head a little for\nthat, though, causing his neck to crick like it did if he kept it in a single\nposture for too long.\n \nHe wondered if\nthere was a balcony or a deck or whatever on the ship, somewhere Tyrel could\nstand and watch. He'd clutch the railing and lean over it, perhaps, doing his\nbest to spy what would be visible on the other side of the increasing expanse\nof sea separating the ship from the city. The sea would glimmer and undulate\nunder the wind, and it'd be fresh there, flowing in from the sea, not from the\ndirty city.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"Isn't it just lovely, darling?\"\n \n\"I praise the Lord for His kindness in giving us\nthis!\"\n \n\"Oh look,\nMarkus, look, there's even a slide out there, on the Unity hall yard! You're going\nto make so many friends there!\"\n \nMarkus blinked\nand looked at the squat grey building with its great neon cross on the top, and\nthe words \"ASHTON TOWN RESETTLEMENT GRACE ZONE UNITY HALL\" emblazed below it in\ngolden letters on a sign. A few cubs were playing around on the carousel and\nthe swings, all perfectly clean and supervised by the two black-robed nuns\nstanding serenely on their watch post.\n \n\"Aren't we lucky\nthat we got one so close to the Unity hall?\" Mom's paws pressed onto the wolf's\nlittle shoulders, covered in the striped cloth of his favorite shirt, his arms\naching from carrying the two little suitcases that contained his belongings.\n \n\"And the K-Mart\nand the Church!\" dad grinned, his tail positively wagging.\n \n\"And the train\nstation!\" mom added.\n \n\"And that!\" \n \n\"Your first real\nhome, Markus, oh, imagine, you're going to be living just like your dad and I\ndid when we were your age, darling!\" mom gushed.\n \n\"Did all houses\nlook the same back then, too, mom?\" the little wolf blinked, looking carefully\nup and down the street, both sides of it lined with identical white houses, two\nwindows on the front each, and a black door adorned with a big white cross\nacross the middle.\n \nMom squeezed\neven harder.\n \n\"Hahahah, well,\nsome of them did...but ours weren't this nice, surely...\"\n \n\"They're only\ndifferent in that there's not really grass here,\" dad observed, \"we used to\nhave a lawn.\"\n \nThat was a new\nword. It made Markus' ears perk, and he looked at dad, his prematurely graying\nfurs and the cheerful expression that seemed to contain a hint of something he\ncouldn't really recognize, not with his gentle little eyes.\n \n\"What's a lawn?\"\nMarkus asked.\n \n\"What a silly\nquestion,\" mom shook her head.\n \n\"Oh well it's\nwhat we used to call the green grass growing outside our house, Markus,\" dad\nsaid, \"we used to run around in it, and play in it, and roll in it...\"\n \nMarkus could\nonly feel hard black tarmac under his own sneakered paws. That didn't feel like\nsomething he'd like to roll in.\n \n\"Oh boys always\nbeing boys, Bless you!\" mom chuckled, rubbing Markus' shoulders.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \nMarkus couldn't\nreally imagine what it had been like for Tyrel, those early years. They'd\ntalked about everything they could think of, often in soft whispers full of\nlaughter, in bed illuminated only by the shimmer of a tiny battery powered\nlantern that was just enough to make their eyes gleam in the dark. It'd been so\nexpensive...even when solar-powered gadgets were really the only ones around to\nrely on.\n \nWarm breath over\neach other's cheeks...\n \nThere had been\ngrass, he was pretty sure he remember that. Trees, too, in the biodomes that\nwere big like...what was the word for a city square with plants in it? A park?\nThe city did have a park, an old wall of red bricks that surrounded a\nshantytown, and a sign told that the place was called Dentonville Park, and\ncommemorated some old mayor or something. Markus was pretty sure that wasn't\nwhat Tyrel had meant with a park, though. Something where you could roll in the\ngrass and play, he was sure that was what it meant to be.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"Here, I brought you something from the District,\" the\nDoberman's tongue lolled out of his muzzle as he approached, tail swinging,\nclutching an aluminum-colored shoulder bag close to his side.\n \nMarkus had been sitting by his workbench, eyes almost\nhurting after he had spent so much time staring through the loops and the\nmagnifying glasses at the old-fashioned, antique electronic circuits that it\nreally was not just a proverbial sight for the sore eyes to look at something\nthat wasn't green and had soldering iron marks on it. \n \nThe lithe\nDoberman felt wonderful in his arms and smelt better when he pressed his neck\nagainst his muzzle, breathing in the boy's smell. His paws rubbed up and down\nthe softly rumbling male's back, feeling similar sounds coming from him as\nwell. \n \n\"You big\nsmuggler,\" the wolf spoke, not unfamiliar with such activity in  the least.\n \n\"You big bad\nwolf...\"Tyrel murmured, his muzzle dipping up, eyes expectant.\n \nMarkus' paws\nmoved onto the Doberman's waistline and cupped his butt into his paws. He hoped\nhe wasn't staining those shiny clean pants with anything that might be left in\nhis fingertips...he hadn't thought about wiping them before rushing at the wolf\nwho seemed to bring so much warmth into the room.\n \n\"Uh hum...\"\n \n\"Huh hum...\"\n \nThe canine even\ntasted different from anyone else he had ever kissed, Markus thought vaguely\nwhile they touched each other's bodies, paws gripping each other with a gentle\nneed that could easily be pushed further, should they desire. If it wasn't for\nthe hard box between their hips, they could have made for such lovely\ncontact...perhaps he could've pushed it to the side with his knee and use his\npaws to pull the wolf flush with his body...feel his warmth...give him his own...\n \nTyrel's paws\nmoved gently down his back, then up again, one over his arm, to touch the wrist\nthat was squeezing the Doberman's butt.\n \n\"I have to show\nyou first...\" the Doberman murmured, a playful smirk on his lips.\n \n\"It better be\ngood,\" Markus teased.\n \nThey parted, but\nonly a little so that the canine could open the snap top of his bag. A strange,\noddly familiar, yet different smell wafted into Markus' nose. He inhaled\ndeeply, trying to separate this beautiful scent from that of the dog.\n \n\"You mentioned\nyou hadn't had one in years, so...\"\n \nIt was perfectly\nred, shiny, unblemished, simply fantastic in the Doberman's palm, it simply\nlooked out of place, and so damn beautiful that it seemed like a shame that it\nwas something meant for an act as mundane as eating.\n \n\"You didn't,\"\nthe wolf shook his head softly as he admired the forbidden apple on Tyrel's\npaw.\n \n\"Only for you,\"\nthe Doberman smiled almost innocently.\n \n\"You're\nridiculous,\" the wolf breathed.\n \nThe canine\ngrinned, prompting a chuckle from the wolf.\n \n\"Drugs, books,\nmedicine, art, electronics, cybernetics, \nbios, I'd understand them all...but a damn apple...\" Markus shook his head\nmildly.\n \n\"What else can I\ndo?\" the Doberman pouted softly, looking at the wolf with his gleaming, gentle\neyes, \"you told me seriously that you only ever had squash...\"\n \nMarkus almost\nsmiled at the memory.\n \n\"In small\nstriped plastic packets with a picture of Jesus on them and the text that read\n'Strength and Health through the Power of\nHis Love and Mercy'\" the wolf recited easily. \"Refugee camp food.\" \n \nTyrel lifted his\npaw and deftly pressed the glowing orb of the fruit against the wolf's lips.\nMarkus' eyes widened when he gave an impromptu kiss for the cold, smooth, wet\nskin of the fragrant object in his Doberman's paw.\n \n\"Love food now,\"\nthe Doberman murmured. \"Just taste it.\"\n \nMom would mix it\nwith water and serve it from little red plastic cups...to make him grow into a\nstrong and healthy young wolf...\n \nHe smelled the\nDoberman now, but also, the sweet scent of the strange object pressing against\nhis lips, its flavor and fragrance...intensifying when he suddenly felt his\nopening teeth prick the skin and cause juice to leak over his tongue. Tyrel\nstill held the fruit in place, and the wolf's eyes opened with surprise when\nthe sweet liquid registered for him. His tail automatically wagged.\n \nTyrel pulled the\napple away and observed the little bite marks with a lascivious grin, before he\nlet his tongue slip out of his muzzle and lap over the marks, as if to taste\nMarkus on the sweet fruit.\n \n\"Hmmmmm....\" the\ncanine rumbled.\n \nTyrel coaxed him\nto take an actual bite. The chewing of the forbidden fruit into a squash of his\nvery own making filled Markus' muzzle with sweet juice. The Doberman watched\nhim with keen eyes, and his smile widened when the wolf simply couldn't resist\nit any further, and devoured the fruit until everything there was left for him\nto do was to lick the last remaining drops of juice from his fingerpads.\n \n\"That's just...\"\n \nThe kiss that\nfollowed was so damn sweet. The sex, ending up into a sweaty, steaming tangle\non the bed, satisfying another kind of hunger, so that they could lie in each\nother's arms.\n \n\"That was such a\nsilly risk to take, you know,\" Markus murmured, stroking the dark-furred male's\nback as they lay curled on the wolf's small bed, knees touching, a blanket to\nkeep the chill away. \n \nThe automatic\ndarkening of the windows had slowly subsided with the weakening sunlight, and\nonce the clouds settled, they could see the hint of the glowing lights and the\nalgae fields that provided a kind of a ghostly halo that attempted to breach\nthe windows - one of the few things that actually worked in this old house.\nMaybe it really was foolproof, Markus had often thought, seeing the windows do\ntheir work, quietly, and gently. It gave him an odd little feeling of\nsatisfaction. \n \n\"I'm already a\ncriminal, it's not like it matters anymore, does it now?\" the Doberman sounded\nalmost dismissive, as he moved a paw to rub the wolf's fuzzy arm in return. \n \n\"You might lose\nyour permit,\" Markus noted, quirking his brow.\n \n\"They're bought\nwith money,\" the Doberman replied, \"infringements can be paid away. A few\napples is hardly counts for true prosecution.\"\n \nThe wolf's ears\nflicked sharply.\n \n\"APPLES?\" his\nvoice grumbled.\n \nThe Doberman\nsnickered.\n \n\"Well you were\nso busy with your paws all over me that you didn't check the rest of the bag...\"\n \nMarkus was\nalmost tempted to jump out of the bed in his naked glory and rummage through\nthe silver bag lying near their discarded clothes, but that'd mean losing the\nlovely contact they had at the moment, and he wasn't that greedy for...fruit in\nplural. He wrapped his arms around the slim creature instead and squeezed him\nclose, feeling him, smelling his precious, masculine scent.\n \n\"You wily\ncreature,\" he said, \"what do they teach to you back in the Districts?\"\n \nMarkus kissed\nthe Doberman's temple, to drive in the message. The Doberman simply wrinkled\nhis nosepad.\n \n\"To obey His law\nand to do the bidding of those He has bestowed with his Wisdom.\"\n \n\"With His\npower,\" Markus didn't have to be nudged to remember the creed, the nuns had\nmade sure of that.\n \n\"And I'm having\ndamn too much fun breaking His law to care...\" the Doberman rumbled hotly against\nthe wolf's lips. \n \nMarkus was sure\nthat the apples could wait.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"You have consumed 85% of your daily electricity\nquota, Markus Browler. You have one hour of subsidized electric power left for\nconsumption at current rate. Please be productive with your remaining time.\"\n \n\"Fuck off,\nSister Agnes,\" the wolf muttered at the disembodied voice coming through the\ncrack between the open glass doors. The reactive glass was still mostly tinted\nto keep the UV rays away, and he was sure that he'd gotten more than his fair\nshare himself, but it didn't really matter. Forget the DNA cures and the cybernetics\nand the health insurances they advertised for such reasonable rates on the\nCo-Prosperous Network. He had his cure right there, waiting in his palm. \n \nThe ship had\ngone. Surely by now they'd picked up maximum speed on the turbines and were\nmaking something like a hundred knots. They liked going fast, simply because\nthey could.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"Why do we thank God for every meal, children? Why do\nwe give so much grace for the simple nourishment that fills our bellies?\" \n \nThe lioness was speaking from behind her lectern,\nthose big eyes scanning the cubs sitting behind their little desks, pads at ready\nto see if anything would be highlighted on their Scriptures while the nun\nspoke. \n \nThe questions\nweren't even meant to be answered. Not a single paw was raised towards the\ncanvas ceiling. They had learned their lesson early on.\n \n\"We thank God\nbecause so many of us till starve, children. So many of us have abandoned God\nand in their thirst and hunger they have committed so many sins that they are\nnow quite unacceptable in His eyes. You blessed children are under His grace.\nHis grace comes in many forms, and for you, precious children, it comes in the\nStrength and Health packets that feed you and your families. He brings\nsustenance for your bodies so that you may commit yourself to worshipping Him\nwith your souls. By learning your Scriptures and by learning your skills, you\nmay serve Him on the earthly kingdom as you will serve Him on the heavenly\nkingdom that is to come. Through your work, and your dedication, His will be\ndone.\"\n \n\"His will be done!\"\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"What are these, mom?\"\n \n\"Oh...\" mom blinked as she studied the row of colorful\npackages Markus was pointing at with his stubby fingers, \"oh that is...biodynamic\nalgae cereal, yes, it is something you eat with breakfast.\" \n \nThe little wolf\nblinked and looked at the identical smiling raccoons on the packages, about his\nown age, each holding a small bowl in their paws, filled with something\nbrownish floating in a puddle of white liquid. A few cartoonish angels oversaw\nthe grinning cup from the edge of a puffy cloud above the text that Markus couldn't\nyet read.\n \n\"Cereal...\" Markus\ntried out the new word.\n \n\"You must try it\nout!\" mom took the packet and placed it into the cart. \"Now that we live in a\nGrace zone, there are so many new different things to eat!\"\n \nMarkus kept\nlooking at raccoons.\n \n\"Is that milk\nyou eat it with?\"\n \n\"Of course!\" mom\ncheered. \"The cans are on the next aisle, I think...hmmm...\"\n \nMarkus watched\nmom study the glowing signs above the towering shelves and wished he could read\nalready.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"I don't\nunderstand how you can eat this stuff, you know,\" Tyrel poked at the yeast\npatty on his plate with his fork. The substance seemed so hard that the spikes\nof the fork barely sunk into the yellowish disk that sat on the plate\nsurrounded by a little bit of greenish mint sauce and a big scoopful of Mapple's\nCompound Starch Concentrate, the powder having been mixed with water and heated\nto make a strange thick porridge to go with the yeast steak. Markus had almost\nconsumed his own meal by now, while watching the Doberman play with his own\nfood.\n \n\"I'd take you\nout for a meal but the food is the same everywhere,\" the wolf was smiling wryly\nas he enjoyed the Doberman's presence, and the gentle brilliance of his shiny\nfurs in the light of the solar-charge lantern that cast its glow into the room,\n\"the same mush they sell at every SSP store.\"\n \n\"Every Sunday at\nChurch, we collect for the great SSP fund,\" the Doberman replied, eyes curious\nat the discolored food on his plate, \"we are told it is our holy duty to help\nthose who are poor and deprived of even the basic means of livelihood.\"\n \nMarkus almost\nlaughed. He snorted instead.\n \n\"Deprived by\nthemselves in the first place, mind you,\" the wolf spoke without ire to the\nDoberman, who definitely didn't count as one of them, despite his clothes and\nhis suspicious attitude towards the food, \"at least they don't go as far as to\ntry to starve us. I suppose they need the manpower for the factories.\"\n \n\"I'm starting to\nunderstand why I never see any fat furs here,\" the Doberman replied.\n \nMarkus scooped some\nof his white mush from his own plate and made a show of eating it slowly,\nalmost enjoying the non-taste and licking his lips o get the flaky bits away. \n \n\"It keeps hunger\naway, it's what it does,\" the wolf said, \"calories for the body, starch to fill\nthe tummy.\" \n \n\"I like your\ntummy,\" Tyrel smiled, \"it's cute.\"\n \n\"Well that's a\nfirst,\" Markus said.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"Here comes the fuckshit train,\" the alcoholic\nsquirrel spat out a dirty blob from between his discolored teeth, the stinky\nfluid landing only about a foot away rather than anywhere near the convoy of\nshiny black cars that buzzed past their vantage point.\n \n\"Vergers?\" Markus questioned, trying to appear\nnonchalant and leaning against the old brick wall while the black, cross-marked\ncars moved past.\n \nThe squirrel\nfolded his arms across his chest and made a dirty face.\n \n\"Worse,\" the\nmessy-furred male growled, \"tourists.\"\n \nThe wolf made a\nface.\n \n\"You gotta be\nfucking joking!\" the wolf grumbled, unable to believe such a ridiculous\nstatement coming even from someone who probably had trouble remembering where\nhe slept each night.\n \nThe squirrel\nlaughed.\n \n\"You really must\nbe new here kiddo,\" the squirrel shook his head, \"fucking hell...\"\n \nThe last of the\ncars had moved past, and beyond the concrete barriers, the big, massive steel\ngates were gliding shut while the armored Vergers stood sentry at their posts.\nMarkus looked to the right and watched the cars disappear down a street corner.\n\n \n\"So what do you\nmean exactly?\" Markus asked.\n \n\"The fucking\nfurs from the District is what I fucking mean\" the squirrel gave him a scowl\nthat was missing at least one of the big characteristic buck teeth. \"Coming\nhere to feel good about themselves watching us from the cars and sometimes\ngiving out money or food or Scriptures or whatever they think is gonna make us\nfeel better about our sorry fucking asses.\"\n \n\"Well I wouldn't\nmind some free food or money,\" Markus replied, \"is there anything I\nparticularly have to do to get their attention?\"\n \nThe squirrel\nspat again onto the graffiti-stained concrete beneath their paws.\n \n\"Whatever you\nthink makes for the best sob story,\" the squirrel growled. \"Fucking\nmotherfuckers.\"\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"You have consumed 90% of your daily electricity\nquota, Markus Browler. You have forty-five of subsidized electric power left\nfor consumption at current rate. Please be productive with your remaining\ntime.\"\n \nThe gun had once\nbeen shiny - he'd seen enough contraband pictures of times long past to know\nwhat they were supposed to look like, held in the paws of scowling agents or...what\nwas that word...cow...boys? Hmmm...they hadn't been bulls...though everyone wore a\nfunny hat... His fingerpad caressed the rounded part, the one that gave a name\nfor this old-fashioned weapon. He'd never seen one back in the Grace Zone, that\nwas for sure...the Vergers there were black uniforms with white collars, armored\nweave shirts and carried batons instead of the carbides he'd seen on the\nVergers that roamed the streets of Mercy. \n \nYou almost never\nsaw magelectrics on the black market, and hence, the weapon he had managed to\nacquire had an antique feel to it. Bullets were hard to come by, but Markus had\nlearned that often the threat of their use was as effective as letting out a satisfyingly\nloud bang. The Verger guns only made a sound that was like a tired wheeze, and\nthick vapor would blast from the ports on either side of the long\nsuperconducting barrel. \n \nThe laser\npointers...the trackers...\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"Make sure Markus won't get out of bed!\"\n \n\"Oh, Ian!\"\n \n\"Hurry!\"\n \nNoisy steps,\nwhispered voices, the screeching of car tires, it was not a surprise that the\nsmall wolf opened his eyes. Whatever light came through from the outside\nthrough the self-darkening window was enough so that he could see the outlines\nof the familiar pieces of furniture, the window, and the door, smoothly closed\nnow.\n \nMarkus let his\nears perk as he listened some more, curious for the noises.\n \nThe door opened\nsuddenly, and he knew first by scent that mother was there.\n \n\"Oh baby...\"\n \n\"Mom?\"\n \nMom kneeled by\nthe bed and put her arms around the little boy, squeezing him close to her\nchest.\n \n\"He protects us from temptation and from sin.\nHe is our shield and our sword. He is our shield and our sword. He absolutes us\nfrom our sins. He absolutes us from our wrongdoings. Wickedness be gone. His\nwill be done. He protects us from temptation and from sin. He is our shield and\nour sword...\"\n \nMom's breathing\nwas hard and made Markus' chest feel damp and warm. Mother felt so tense, it\nmade him feel even scarier than the sounds of muffled bangs and yells from the\noutside.\n \n\"DON'T MOVE\nANYWHERE!\" father yelled.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"What happened here Markus?\" \n \nFour boys were on their little bikes, parked near the\nUnity hall and looking across the street where one of the identical white\nhouses looked different from the rest. \n \n\"I don't know,\nTom,\" Markus squeezed the handlebars of his bike and gave a solemn look at the\ntiger whose curious eyes were still fixed on the house and the strange dark\nstains on the pearly white walls. The door was covered in a sheet of plastic\nthat had been put into place with yellow tape that said 'KEEP OUT!'. Markus was\nkinda proud that he had learned to read that much yet. The Sisters had praised\nhim for it, too. He'd gotten to light the candle again. \n \n\"Don't those\nfoxes live there?\" another boy, a bear, mumbled.\n \n\"Yeah, they did,\"\nthe rat replied eagerly. \"Mom said they moved away suddenly.\"\n \nThe three boys\nlooked at the rat in the striped shirt.\n \nMarkus had never\nheard of anyone moving away. He'd only ever moved once, from the tent into the\nGrace house, and that had been two years ago.\n \n\"Where?\" the\nbear wondered. \n \n\"To a District\nmaybe,\" the tiger offered. \"I heard that sometimes if you pray really hard, a\nwhite car comes to pick you up and takes you to a huge white house in a\nDistrict where you and your family can live like in Heaven.\"\n \nThe rat laughed.\n \n\"That's just\nsomething they tell to babies\", the\nboy accused.\n \nThe bear looked\nat him indignantly.\n \n\"Moms don't\nlie!\" \n \n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n \nMarkus didn't go\nthere on that day, but the next, one, after another breakfast of runny SSP\nporridge and flakeychips, he put on his coat, left his hovel, and set for the\nstreets. He had his sunglasses on, but didn't bother with the wide-brimmed hat\nthat was so much preferred by most, since it was quite the cloudy day for once.\nThey'd been nice glasses once, full hookup to Public Information Network and\nall, but there were no public signals in Mercy to find. Now the glasses only\nserved the purpose of keeping harmful light away from his eyes while keeping\nthings looking mostly natural. The old pavement was quite quiet now that the\ntrains had come and taken the working population to the work compounds outside\nMercy. What was left were the remaining population of wretches, the elderly,\ntoo stubborn or poor to live in a Grace Zone, and the likes of the wolf in\ntattered camouflage suit, sitting on the pavement with one leg poking out, and\nthat was as many as he had. Markus rounded the beggar quickly and hurried his\nsteps - watching it wasn't going to change it, he knew, and he hadn't fetched\nhis SSP rations yet, so he didn't even have anything to give. The wolf looked\nlike he'd preferred a bottle of vodka to the yeast sticks.\n \nVodka.\n \nAnother new word\nhe'd picked up lately, the name of that burning liquid that'd been covered in\nchemistry classes as \"ethyl alcohol\" and nothing more. He'd bounced his molecules\non his study pad and gotten a cheerful \"Well done!\" from the Deacon Brother\nserving as the classmaster for that particular lesson. A lion with a huge mane.\n \nFunny how memory\nworked sometimes, the wolf thought.\n \nHis effort to\nmake his own vodka had not succeeded yet - he needed something with higher\nsugar content to produce the initial brew, and so far he had learned that the SSP\nporridge didn't contain enough carbs for proper fermentation into alcohol. His\nstill might've needed some work too...something to keep the temperature more\nsteady...\n \nHe needed\ncommodities. \n \nMaybe a bit of\ngood grace would befall on him, he thought with a dirty smile.\n \nHe could already\nhear the commotion, coming from somewhere beyond the towering, crumbling\nbuildings. The number of furs talking towards the Grand Mercy Cathedral was\nincreasing, too, and became more varied while Marcus continued on his way. Elderly\nfurs, some walking paw in paw to support each other, mothers with cubs, workmen\nout of commission, easily indicated by the looks of determined desperation on\ntheir muzzles. Markus knew that sometimes the bosses came from the plants to\nhire a few paws for a day or two. \n \nThe opportunity\nwas not something he was interested, however. The drunk squirrel's words echoed\nin his mind as he kept on walking, stomping on his old sneakers.\n \n\"They come here to fucking feel great about themselves\nthose goddamned motherfuckers!\"\n \nThat sounded\nlike a spectacle Markus didn't want to miss. The increasing thrum of noises and\npawsteps made it sounds he might, however, and he hurried, trying not to knock\nanyone over.\n \n\"PRAISE OUR LORD WHOM LOOKS UPON US FROM HEAVEN!\nPRAISE OUR LORD OF MERCY AND HOPE!\"\n \nMarkus' ears\nflattened as he heard the familiar words booming off loudspeakers somewhere\nahead. There was already a crowd, he gathered as much, when the street widened,\nand the large sign hanging from some old metal poles above the street that held\nodd colored lights...no longer working, of course...the sign announcing that this\nwas the Cathedral Square.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"When did you lose your faith?\"\n \nThe Doberman smiled and nudged the wolf's belly with\nhis knee. \n \nThe bed was comfortably crowded.\n \n\"Why do you think I ever did?\" he murmured, a\nfingertip coming down to tease the wolf's nosepad. \n \nMarkus snorted.\nIt felt good, in a funny, weird way. It made his whiskers itch.\n \n\"It just doesn't\nseem to go well with....our type,\" Markus replied.\n \n\"Sodomites?\" the\nDoberman spoke the word with what sounded almost like pleasure. \n \n\"That's a good\none, too,\" Markus commented. \"I'm more familiar with 'condemned', I think. The\nReverend at our local church liked that one. It's what reads on my chip, too.\"\n \nTyrel picked the\nwolf's paw gently onto his own and brought it up to his lips. The Doberman gave\nthe other male a smile over the wolf's knuckles before he planted a little kiss\nagainst his fluffy wrist.\n \n\"It also says\nthat you're...\"...peck...\"lovely...\" peck...\" delicious...\" peck... \"...unique...\" peck... \"musky...\"\npeck...\n \nMarcus chuckled,\nwriggling his fingers. The Doberman nuzzled his paw softly.\n \n\"Hmmmmm...\"\n \nThe wolf swung a\nleg over the Doberman's and gave his back a soft pat with his free paw. He let\nTyrel keep on holding onto the one he'd picked out as his favorite for now.\n \n\"What does yours\nsay?\" the wolf mused. \"You have them, right? I've seen what the Vergers do at\nthe border station, it's not different from what they do here during their\nrandom sweeps.\"\n \n\"Implanted at\nbirth, yes, of course,\" Tyrel replied with a soft shrug. \"Like we all do.\"\n \nMarkus rubbed\nhis paw slowly along Tyrel's spine, making the Doberman rumble with delight.\n \n\"So what does\nyours say?\" the wolf asked again.\n \n\"All sorts of\nlittle things,\" the Doberman replied softly. \"Health information. Personal bank\nbalance. Visitation permit rights. Piety classifications....\"\n \n\"That's so\nboring,\" Markus chuckled. \"I like mine better.\"\n \n\"I certainly do,\"\nthe Doberman husked against the wolf's paw.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n \nThe courtyard in\nfront of the towering Mercy Cathedral, the only building in the whole city that\nhad any semblance of actually having been kept up for the past 50 years or so,\nwas packed today, as Markus suspected, it always was, when this charade was\nbeing performed. The swarm of furs stood packed behind a small fence, only\nabout three feet high, while along its inner side, Vergers stood in their black\nuniforms, darkened faceplates and guns cocked against their hips, the long muzzles\nalmost touching the ground by their booted footpaws. The black luxury cars had\nbeen parked next to the church in a way that made Markus snort with derision -\nwhat kind of a show of respect was that?\n \n\"HIS GRACE ABSOLVES YOUR FILTHY SINS AND YOUR\nWEAKNESSES SHALL BE FORGOTTEN IN THE GREATER KINGDOM OF HIS HEAVEN! REPENT AND\nRECEIVE HIS BLESSING FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF THE FUR KIND, AND LET HIS WILL BE\nDONE!\"\n \nThe source of\nthe booming voice remained a mystery, but it was loud, Markus knew as much, his\nears almost flat against his skull. The commotion from the furs packed near the\nfence was more than enough to drown out most of it. The number of voices, all\nyelling, moaning, groaning, yelping at once mad Markus' ears hurt. It was\ngetting a bit too crowded for comfort, too, with furs jabbing his sides as\neveryone tried to get closer to the fence.\n \nHe needed a\nbetter vantage point.\n \nMarkus began to\nmove through the crowd diagonally, pushing slowly through them as he tried to\nfind some kind of a line of sight towards the fence and the action going on\nthere, wishing to witness what the squirrel had told him. Someone almost\nstomped his tail once, bringing out a dark growl from the wolf, whom continued\non his way. \n \n\"IN HIS NAME, YOUR DEGENERATION SHALL BE HEALED, YOUR\nHEART SHALL BE PURE AND YOUR SINS WILL BE REPENTED! YOU WILL REPENT! YOU WILL\nFIND HIS LOVE IN YOUR HEARTS AND ABANDON YOUR WICKED WAYS, THE WAYS THAT\nBROUGHT YOU HERE!\"\n \nMarkus snorted\nto himself. As far as he learned, the only wicked thing most of these furs had\never done was being poor.\n \nFinally, the oppressive\nswarm parted long enough that he could catch a glimpse, if only for a few\nseconds, of what was going on. He could see the Vergers again in place, guns at\nready, and standing between them, a lioness, clad in all whites, was busily\nhanding out plastic bags to the paws that reached out for her, over the fence. Markus\nwatched a desperately outstretched paw receive one of the bags, and the lioness\nsmiled the kind of an empty smile he always associated with the likes of the\nnuns at school, or the Brothers at the Unity hall. The lioness drew the cross\ninto the air in front of her before another plastic bag was handed to her by a\nfox, clad in all grey, and the same process was repeated...the lioness handing\nout her bag to someone in the crowd, giving her...blessing...and again...\n \n...until Markus\nwas showed to the side and the swarm once again became too thick to really see\nthrough, still too far away from the center of the action that he could do\nanything but see endless necks and more desperately reaching paws.\n \n\"HIS GRACE AND WISDOM SHALL BE UPON YOUR HEARTS AND\nABSOLVE YOUR SINS!\"\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"Attention, attention, attention. This is a Public\nInformation Network update.\" \n \nMarkus barely\nflicked an ear has he heard the shrill tone that always preceded the strange,\nslightly mechanically speaking, if masculine voice, now coming out of the\nHomeBox instead of its usual Sister Agnes tone. \n \n\"Degenerate activity has been detected in the southern\nsections of Mercy City. Curfew is now in effect throughout Mercy City while the\nHoly Verger Service deals with detected degenerate activity. All citizens must\nremain at their present location. Anyone found by the Verger Service without\nvalid identification of cause will be removed into a Verger processing facility\nfor further questioning and penitentiary action. Do not leave your homes, and\npray for your safety and your souls. This disruption will be handled\neffectively. Safety for Mercy. Safety for our souls. His will be done. This is\na Public Information Network update concerning citywide curfew. Degenerate\nactivity has been detected...\"\n \nMarkus caressed\nthe smooth metal of the trigger. A good riot sounded fun. Almost.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"Number 547 slash 661 slash 21 slash Beta slash Gamma,\nenter!\"\n \nThe Verger on\nhis side gave Markus' arm a shove.\n \n\"Move forward,\ndegenerate,\" the faceless, masked figure spoke.\n \nThe wolf shuffled\nforward, paws still cuffed behind his back, wearing the clothes he had been\nwearing when the Vergers had taken him...just an ordinary T-shirt, pants and\nsneakers, his most comfortable clothes that were dirty and worn after having to\nkeep them on for days in his cell.\n \nA pair of\nsliding doors opened automatically upon their approach, and the Verger walked\nhim into  dark room, with chair located\nto the middle, and a long table with five figures in full clerical regalia\nsitting behind it. Transparent computer screens displays text that he couldn't\nread backwards, not with his tired eyes, not now that he still felt confused\nover the events of the past days. \n \n\"The degenerate\nis here,\" the Verger announced.\n \n\"Sit,\" spoke the\nfur sitting on the middle of the group, a grizzled bear, whom did not lift his\ngaze from his display.\n \nThe Verger\nnodded sharply towards the chair, upon which Markus then sat, quietly, and\ndefinitely uncomfortably, with his paws still tied behind his back.\n \n\"You are Markus\nBrowler, citizen number five four seven slash six six one slash twenty-one\nslash Beta slash Gamma?\" another fur, a German Shepherd, questioned.\n \nMarkus nodded,\ntiredly. He was almost glad for the darkness of the room - the lights in the\nwaiting area had been too bright for him after days in the tiny room that could\nonly be described as a cell. He felt hungry, too, and thirsty. There hadn't\nreally been too much food given to him.\n \n\"That it is\nmarked as positive self-identification, and it has been confirmed by his chip,\"\nthe third fur, a leopard, commented.\n \n\"Markus Browler,\"\nthe bear grumbled, \"you have been found to be a sufferer of the biological\ndegeneration of sodomy as per the standard procedure. The procedure has been\nconfirmed by the three attending physicians who confirm that both the primary\nand the repeat tests were positive for biological degeneration.\"\n \nThe young wolf\nstared at the five furs with confusion and indignation. He couldn't believe\nwhat they were talking about.\n \n\"I've...I've never\ndone anything wrong...\" he muttered, \"I've...I've never done...anything...\"\n \n\"This council\nrecognizes the impossibility of biological or behavioural rehabilitation of the\nbiological degeneration of sodomy and extends its greatest wish for mercy from\nthe Almighty,\" the bear continued, still not looking at the wolf sitting in\nfront of him.\n \nMarkus growled.\n \n\"What the fuck\nare you talking about?\" the wolf snorted, using the dirtiest word he had ever\nheard whispered at schoolyards.\n \n\"SILENCE!\" the\nGerman Shepherd barked.\n \n\"Be quiet,\ndegenerate!\" the Verger's paw closed around an aggressive-looking electric\nbaton on his hip.\n \n\"Due to your\ncursed biological condition, Markus Browler, this council has no choice but to\nrevoke your Grace status permanently, effective immediately,\" the bear spoke in\na monotonous voice, \" as per the article five oh seven oh three of the Code, you\nare also hereby declared unfit for normal society, and as per the Degenerate\nAct, you are also to be relocated to the nearest Mercy Zone for re-education.\"\n \nMarkus' tired\nmind barely understood what was being said.\n \n\"Minimum\nsustenance and amenities will be provided as per the Mercy Act, as our holy\nduty to take care of those who are unable to follow the correct path,\" the bear\nmuttered, \"you will be processed accordingly upon your entry into the Mercy Zone.\nOnce you have arrived there, you will receive further information.\"\n \n\"I...I want to go\nhome...\" the wolf panted, dread growing in his chest.\n \n\"This decision\nby the council will be permanent and as per the Holy Law, it cannot be\nchallenged. This council extends its mercy upon you, Markus Browler, and hopes\nthat you will find some kind semblance of peace for your tormented body and\nmind, before Our Father takes you home and deals with you in ways that are not\nopen for us, for we are not partial to His mystery.\"\n \n\"But...but...what\nabout my family?!!?!?\" the wolf stood up explosively, eyes wide, panting,\ntense.\n \n\"This council\nhas announced its ruling and considers this case to be closed. Please escort\nthe degenerate to the holding area to wait for transport to the Mercy Zone.\"\n \nThe Verger\nclasped onto Markus' arms.\n \n\"Come on, condemned,\nshow some respect to those you disgust with your wickedness!\"\n \n\"I'M NOT WICKED!\"\nMarkus growled. \"I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG, I HAVEN'T -\"\n \n\"Remove this\ndegenerate from this council right now,\" the German Shepherd ordered.\n \nA sharp pain\nlashed out from Markus' hips and he could feel his body tense when all the\nmuscles in it suddenly locked themselves in what seemed like an endless spasm. His\nback arched and his teeth clenched together. \n \nHe could taste\nblood.\n \nHe only saw\nwhite.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \nThe place didn't really have a name...it was mostly just\ncalled a place, really, by those who wanted to go...so that's why Markus, too,\nonly called it a place. It made it seem safer, too, somehow, if you only talked\nabout a place, and didn't mention any names, let alone location. You entered\nthrough a door in a secluded alley, and it had a sturdy metal door. You could\nalmost believe that the tracking drones couldn't see there. \n \nAlmost.\n \nIt was an\nunhealthy-smelling place, even by Mercy standards, Markus had learned early on.\nThere was smoke in the air, the product of stimulants, hypnotics and various\nother chemicals consumed with various devices that could be used for inhaling\nthings, and having to tip-toe past passed out individuals was nothing uncommon\nwhile entering the place. The counter was always packed with furs sitting with\nglasses filled with coloured liquids that contained Markus' new favourite  substance, ethyl alcohol, and none of it\ntasted like the wine that had been served on the communions. \n \nThe wolf adopted\na stern look as he stomped in, dirty sneakers, long coat, safety brought to his\nsenses by the feeling of the barrel of his revolver resting against his hip. He'd\nhid it in his pants, that and the knife strapped around his ankle, he was quite\nsure he could deal with any unwanted attention even with a dark look from his haughty,\ntortured eyes. \n \nFunny thing was,\nhe didn't even want to scare anyone, not really. This was supposed to be a\nplace for relaxation, also in ways that didn't involve lying semi-conscious on\nthe floor mumbling about seeing various things that even the Book of\nRevelations hadn't imagined.\n \nMarkus quietly\nwalked over to the counter and called the barkeep's attention by rapping the\ntop with his claws. His other paw pushed into his coat, to bring out a small\nplastic bag which he placed onto the counter under the careful stare of the\nbadger's beady eyes.\n \n\"It looks like a\npiece of crap but it has two working memristors,\" the wolf spoke, business as\nusual, \"that enough for a drink and opening the back door?\"\n \nThe badger\nsnatched the bag and opened it quickly, to pull out a slightly fried-looking\ncircuit board. His stubby fingers turned it around and fiddled with the\ndelicate elements on the board, briefly, giving it a tap, his brow rising and slowly\ngoing down as worked.\n \n\"Alright,\" the\nbadger declared, closing the bag and putting it under the counter, \"that ought\nto be fine. Terms apply. Name your poison.\"\n \n\"I only drink\nafterwards,\" the wolf grunted. \"The door, please.\"\n \nA couple of furs\nsitting half-collapsed by the counter chuckled at the wolf's comment. The\nbadger pressed a hidden button under the counter, which operated an electric\nlock on a door by the counter, to allow admittance into an unseen part of the\nbuilding.\n \n\"Behave yourself\nthere.\"\n \nMarkus didn't\nbother to answer, he simply walked through the sliding door that closed behind\nhim once he was in the corridor. It was dimly lit, and a glowing \"EXIT\" sign\nadorned the very end, where another door was located, but beyond that, there\nwas nothing else to see. Other senses were more stimulated, however. The walls\naround him weren't really walls at all, only old green tarps hung from poles to\ncreate private cubicles, and did nothing for the sounds that echoed into his\nears. The musky air was doing its thing, too, making Markus' heart race, his\ncheeks flushing. \n \nThe rules were\nsimple. If you found an open cubicle and it was empty, that was yours. If\nsomeone was there and the tarp was in place, you could ask if you could join. \n \nHe had rarely\nbeen turned away. \n \nThe wolf's heart\nhammered as he began to walk forward, slowly. He could see three open cubicles,\neach representing a chance to...to feel alive for only a little moment, without\nfear and worry about how to earn money for his \"voluntary\" donation to the\nHighest Authority.\n \nThe first\ncubicle held a lion, sprawled on a filthy-looking mattress and looking out with\nglassy eyes that made Markus simply step past the doorway as quickly as\npossible. Drugs were out of the question, he decided and moved away before the\nlion could call for him. Thankfully, he did not. The next opening wasn't much\nbetter...the indifferent-looking, smoking fox hardly looked like a charmer.\n \n\"Hey!\" the fox\ndid manage, even if all he could see by then was the tip of Markus' tail\nflicking past the doorway.\n \n\"Just my luck,\"\nthe wolf muttered. He'd hoped for something nice today, something that didn't\nfeel quite as desperate as...as something like the fox...there was one more...one more...\n \nLike all the\ncubicles, it was dimly lit, but what struck him first was that the bed actually\nhad a real sheet on it...a real, white sheet, spread over what must've been a particularly\ndirty mattress, and sitting on that sheet was a canine, wearing some of the\ncleanest clothes he had seen in ages. The brown-furred Doberman had been\nsitting with his muzzle resting against a propped paw, and the arrival of\nsomeone to his doorway caused him to look up, ears perking.\n \nMarkus stood\nquietly on the doorway and looked into the little cubicle, trying not to listen\nto the heated pants and moans coming from behind the flimsy wall of rustling\nplastic that separated the Doberman from whoever was on the other side. \n \n\"Hello,\" the\nDoberman murmured, his voice awfully soft.\n \nThe wolf didn't\nknow what to say, really. The Doberman had clear eyes, such clean clothes...even\na clean bed...such a contrast to the frayed plastic of the wall and the dirty\nconcrete floor. He was even smiling.\n \n\"You can come in\nif you like,\" the Doberman said, \"it's not much of a bed, I know but...\"\n \nHe patted the mattress,\ngently, causing it to make some tortured noises.\n \nSomewhere in the\nroom, someone let out a sound not too different from a loud, deep moo.\n \nMarkus shook his\nhead briefly and took the step inside, his paw reaching to pull the tarp on the\nold, clattering rings over the pole to close the doorway. It was a bit like a\nshower curtain, he thought lamely, as he turned to look at the Doberman again.\n \n\"Come sit here,\"\nthe dog murmured.\n \nThe wolf strode\nover, his coat flapping behind him before he settled onto the excessively squeaky\nmattress. The Doberman was still smiling, an oddly calm expression in this\nbuilding where you most often either saw lewd grins or angry scowls. It puzzled\nMarkus, made his stomach clench in a way that seemed to be unrelated to the\npounding of his heart or the other kind of intense feeling even lower down. \n \n\"Would you like\nto have something to eat?\" the Doberman spoke, paws reaching for a silvery bag\nthat rested on the floor by his paws.\n \nMarkus just\nstared, incredulous to what he'd just heard. The Doberman snapped open the top\nand retrieved a colourful package.\n \n\"Here,\nchocolate,\" he said, \"I know you don't get much here so I thought...\"\n \nThe wolf shook\nhis head, staring at the pretty wrapping that had some of the maw-watering\nbrown substance sticking out of it.\n \n\"What is this?\"\nhe asked. \"What are you doing?\"\n \n\"Having fun,\"\nthe Doberman replied, \"and I like chocolate, and I'd like you to have some,\ntoo.\"\n \nAlarm bells were\nringing inside Markus' head as he stared at the sweet treat. Maybe it was a\ntrick...he'd heard of rumours of furs being drugged and their organs being\nstolen, or just having all of their things stolen...he'd learned not to accept anything\nfrom strangers...practically the first thing he ever learned.\n \nThe Doberman\nsnapped away a piece of chocolate from the bar and popped it into his muzzle.\nHe didn't chew immediately, instead, it seemed, preferring to let it melt onto\nhis tongue. He wouldn't stop smiling.\n \n\"Hmmm...it's\nreally good...I hope you'll have some.\"\n \nMarkus watched\nhow the chocolate bar was put back into the bag, which was now left open. The\nDoberman rubbed his own chin and grinned.\n \n\"It's really\ngood,\" he smiled. \n \nMarkus gave the\nfellow canine another puzzled look. He seemed so...calm...so...different, somehow,\nstrangely so, definitely not someone you'd expect to meet in a seedy bar's fuck\nbox row...almost...almost like someone you'd never even meet in Mercy...\n \n\"I'm called\nTyrel,\" the Doberman extended his paw. \"What's your name?\"\n \nThe sudden\npoliteness was almost too much to handle. Markus almost leaped up and left the\nroom without another word, but staring at the offered paw that was almost the\nsame colour as the chocolate previously offered...he...he just couldn't move.\n \n\"Does it even\nmatter?\" he asked.\n \n\"You can lie if\nyou want to,\" the Doberman murmured, leaning closer to the wolf.\n \nHe even smelled\nof chocolate, or at least his breath did.\n \nHe tasted of\nchocolate, and a hint of the sweetness even spread into his own muzzle, when\nthe Doberman's slippery tongue penetrated his lips and began to explore his maw\nwithout any further word of resistance from the stiffly standing wolf. Nerves\nscreamed of pleasure, and his tail began to wag, out of control...and a warm\npressure closed down on him.\n \n\"I'm quite\npartial to these inside me,\" the Doberman murmured against his cheek in a warm\nbreath, \"would you like that? Would you?\"\n \nAnother squeeze,\nmaking him moan and grunt.\n \n\"I think you\nwould...\"the Doberman slurred dangerously, gently, \"you're strong...I like that...and\nyou're new...aren't you...?\"\n \nMarkus wasn't\nsure what was being said...but he knew what was to be done. \n \nHe pushed the Doberman\nonto the bed, growling deeply.\n \n \n*\n \n \n \n\"So who are you, really?\" the wolf asked. \"Where do\nyou come from?\"\n \nThe Doberman winked.\n \n\"Does it really matter?\" he said.\n \n\"You're in my\nhome,\" Markus gestured at the drab walls of the room, high in the tall old\nbuilding, \"at least where I come from, you usually show that bit of respect to\nyour host.\"\n \nThe Doberman\nlying on his bed chuckled.\n \n\"Then you're\nreally not from around here, Markus,\" the canine smirked. \"But you've been here\nfor a while.\"\n \n\"Six years,\" the\nwolf replied. \"Ever since they relocated me here from the Ashton Town Grace\nZone.\"\n \nIt felt like 60\nyears. It felt like another world, so far away. The actual physical distance he\ncouldn't even pinpoint. There were no maps, and there had been no windows on\nthe transport. He wasn't even sure how long it had taken on a train. Hours,\nmaybe, days..it didn't matter. Nobody passed the walls. Nothing could be seen\nbeyond them except the sea, the work compound, and the algae fields.\n \n\"How did it\nhappen for you?\" Tyrel asked.\n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"Markus Brower?\"\n \nThe young wolf looked up from his study pad and\ntowards the door of the classroom, where the Brother supervising the class now\nstood with a Deacon, the latter dressed in dark blue.\n \n\"That's me,\" the wolf spoke.\n \n\"There are furs\nhere who would need to talk to you,\" the robed Brother spoke. \"You can leave\nyour things here, you'll get them later. I'll take care of them.\"\n \nThe wolf nodded\nand stood up.\n \n\"Yes, Brother.\"\n \n\"Come on then,\"\nthe Brother said, \"Class, continue your reading. This will not disturb our\nclass.\"\n \nMarkus could\nfeel every eye upon him as he walked over to the door, where the expressionless\nDeacon stood. The Brother closed the door into the classroom and left the wolf alone\nin the hallway with the tall stallion. The horse passed a scanner over the wolf's\narm and studied the readout briefly before giving him a curt nod.\n \n\"You are Markus\nBrowler, and you must come with me.\"\n \n\"Is something\nwrong, sir?\" the wolf asked in his most respectful tone.\n \n\"That remains to\nbe seen,\" the stone-faced horse said. \"You must come with me to the Faculty.\"\n \n\"What's going\non?\" Markus questioned, tensing now.\n \n\"Come with me,\nor I will have to ask Vergers to assist me in extracting you, Mister Browler,\"\nthe stallion grunted.\n \nThey went\noutside, and the stallion asked him to sit into a black car parked by the\nschool. The drive was uneventful and only took a few minutes. The stallion was\nsilent throughout, and even after they'd driven into an underground parking lot.\nTwo Vergers stood by there.\n \n\"Please step out\nof the car, Mister Browler.\"\n \nMarkus obeyed,\nthough warily. The two furs in black, armed with batons hanging from their\nhips, were wearing face masks with reflective visors.\n \n\"Markus Browler?\"\n \n\"Yes,\" the wolf\nsaid.\n \n\"Come with us.\"\n \nThe two furs\nwalked him into an elevator, and a short ride later, they entered a corridor\nwith drab grey walls and a white tiled floor. A few echoing steps took them\ninto a small room, where furs wearing protective masks and white uniforms stood\nin place. The Vergers remained by the door as one of the furs in white stepped\nover and ran a scanner over his arm, presumably to read his chip.\n \n\"Positive\nidentification of Markus Browler,\" the Rottweiler said. \"Please remove your\nclothing. You may leave it here and it will be taken care of.\"\n \nThe furs on his\nneck spiked up. He had no idea what was going on...this didn't feel like a\nsurprise physical for the school, not with the Vergers and a Deacon involved...let\nalone furs in masks and gear...\n \n\"What's going on\nhere?\" the wolf asked tensely. \"Is something wrong with me? I've got all my\nhealth certificates in my chip.\"\n \n\"They check out,\"\nthe Rottweiler replied through his white mask. \"Now, please get undressed so\nthat we may proceed.\"\n \n\"Uh...okay...\"\nMarkus replied.\n \nHe waited for a\nmoment, before he realized that despite his best intention, these furs were not\ngoing to leave the room. \n \n\"Am I not\nsupposed to...?\"\n \n\"Undress, now,\"\nthe Rottweiler repeated his command. \"You are to be supervised.\"\n \nThe wolf decided\nthat any further resistance would be pointless. He saw no option but to shuck\noff his sneakers, pants and T-shirt, for which another nameless white-dressed\norderly provided a plastic box to put them into. He felt damn vulnerable,\nstanding there once he'd put his underwear into the box and stood in front of\nfive furs, fully naked. He shivered.\n \n\"We will proceed\nnow. Please follow us.\"\n \nThe furs in\nwhite and the Vergers led him through a door into a dark room that contained a\nhigh-backed chair, a work station full of glowing computer screens, and several\ncameras placed throughout the room. Markus saw himself on the monitors lining\nthe walls, from different angles, even, and felt even stranger than before.\n \n\"Please sit onto\nthe chair.\"\n \nMarkus stepped\ncloser, his paws folded over his groin for even a modicum of modesty, tail\ntwitching behind him. As he approached the chair, he realized that its armrests\ncontained what could only be restraints. He tensed, and stopped.\n \n\"What is this?\"\n \n\"Sit down,\nmister Browler,\" the Rottweiler barked out.\n \n\"But I don't...\"\n \n\"Sit, or these\nVergers will help you to,\" the Rottweiler replied, his ears flattening, the\nonly real gauge of emotions that Markus could see with the mask on.\n \nShivering still,\nthe wolf settled onto the cold, unpadded chair. The white-clad technicians\nstepped over and put leather restraints over his arms and his ankles, tying him\nin place. He looked from side to side, starting to feel almost panicky now that\nhe was so unsure what was to happen...only with tales of horror and whispers in\nhis brain, when the technicians worked, unspeaking, and moving again towards\nhim.\n \n\"We will place a\nfew electrodes and we will begin,\" the Rottweiler spoke.\n \nSomething was\nsprayed on his chest, some stuff that quickly removed his hair, he realized, as\nsoon as the prickling stuff was wiped off and he saw his own fur on the tissues\nused for it. Little plastic pads were attached to different parts of his chest,\nand much to his horror, the same treatment happened again on his head...his\ntemples, forehead, the sides of his head...those same pads being placed there.\n \n\"Is this some\nkind of an experiment?\" Markus groaned. \"I haven't volunteered for anything.\"\n \n\"That is not a\npoint we have to discuss, Mister Browler, in fact, there is nothing to discuss,\"\nthe Rottweiler replied. \"Attach the bloodflow sensors and we'll begin.\"\n \nOne of the\ntechnicians approached with two ring-shaped items in his gloved paws. Very soon\nMarkus realized what was going to happen with them.\n \n\"What the hell?\"\n \n\"Silence!\" the\nRottweiler growled.\n \nMarkus tensed\nwhen he felt foreign, rubbery fingers place the rings around his testicles and\nhis dormant sheath - the feeling of fingers other than his own there, the first\ntime he ever felt such a thing, bringing such odd sensations to his body that\nhe could do nothing but sit still and gape with surprise...at his own face,\nvisible on the screens. \n \n\"What's going on\nhere?\" the wolf groaned.\n \n\"We're ready,\"\nthe technician who had handled his genitals, nodded towards the Rottweiler.\n \n\"Begin\nrecording,\" the Rottweiler ordered, \"and begin the standard series at this\nmoment that is marked into the log.\"\n \n\"Starting up\nnow,\" a voice belonging to someone Markus couldn't see replied.\n \n\"Just look\nstraight ahead, and we'll do the rest,\" the Rottweiler commanded.\n \nMarkus blinked,\nhis heart hammering madly as he stared at the large display screen in front of\nhim. It was showing his own face for now, the wide eyes, the scared expression...before\nit turned black for a moment before text appeared.\n \nSTANDARDIZED\nSEXUAL RESPONSE TEST 576-A\nCYCLE ONE \nNORMAL RESPONSE\nINITIATION TEST\n \nThe text floated\nin his field of view for only a few moments before it was replaced by an image\nof a young vixen, dressed up in an outfit he had never even imagined....a tiny\nskirt and a little shirt and holding some strange fluffy objects in her paws...looking\nat the camera with an open muzzle and her tongue poking out of her muzzle. Markus\ngave the image a puzzled look. \n \n\"What is this?\"\n \n\"No speaking\nduring the test!\" the Rottweiler growled.\n \nThe image did\nnot linger for long. A female wolf appeared next, standing in a similarly odd\npose, smiling for the viewer. The next image showed the same wolf girl, but\nthis time only wearing underwear, sitting on a bench with her legs spread wide\nso that Markus could see her panties. The wolf let out a surprised gasp.\n \n\"What...\"\n \nThe image\nflashed and became even more explicit...the wolf straddling the bench, back\narched, looking at the camera with open lips and a deep look...and while Markus\nstared, the next picture came to be and even the remaining clothes were gone. The\nwolf had returned to her previous pose, too, and this time he saw something\nthat he'd only seen on a school biology book...and only briefly, of course,\nbecause you weren't supposed to dwell on such things.\n \nThe pictures\nwere coming faster and faster...wolves...foxes, canines of all types, felines, even\na voluptuous wolverine, everyone naked and more erotic than the previous, committing\nacts that Markus wasn't even sure he could name...touching themselves...making faces...\n \nSTANDARDIZED\nSEXUAL RESPONSE TEST 576-A\nCYCLE TWO\nNORMAL RESPONSE INITIATION TEST\n \nThis text was\nfollowed by even dirtier images...this time, the females weren't alone...no...there\nwere males involved, now, too, doing things to one another that no diagrams in\nbiology book had ever explained...touching...doing things Markus had been told he\nwould not be ready to do before marriage...told that so many times...his body...his\nheart racing suddenly, and he could feel heat and firmness in his sheath,\ngrowing from seeing all these things for the first time. \n \n\"Activation is\nin the lower range,\" the disembodied voice said, \"1.7.\"\n \n\"Let's carry on,\"\nhe Rottweiler said, \"run it all through.\"\n \nSTANDARDIZED\nSEXUAL RESPONSE TEST 576-A\nCYCLE THREE\nABNORMAL\nRESPONSE INITIATION TEST\n \nMarkus' brain\nbarely had the time to register the text before the screen came alive with\nimages of the kind he had never dared to even contemplate...males of so many\nspecies, first dressed, then in an increasing state of undress, until they were\nall looking at him...sultry...handsome...tempting...beckoning his eyes to look at their\nbeautiful bodies, their warm furs, their...God...their penises, on display when the\nimages became more and more graphic...boys, men, touching themselves...showing\nthemselves off...\n \nHe was rock hard\neven before the display announced the beginning of a \"CYCLE FOUR\", and the\nimages that came next had him panting even through the fear that gripped his\nvery soul, as he saw his most secret dreams come true in front of his very\neyes, immobile and etched into his memory. \n \n\"Activation is\nover ten point six now,\" the mysterious voice commented in a droning voice,\nagain, while Markus stared at an image of a snow leopard wrapping his paw and\nhis muzzle around a stallion's huge organ.\n \n\"We know enough,\"\nthe Rottweiler barked. \"Finalize the recording and shut down this filth. Let's\nget the Vergers in here and begin processing.\"\n \nMarkus was still\npanting.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"A porn test to see what kind of sex you like...wow....\" Tyrel\nshook his head briefly. \n \n\"They took me to a cell from there,\" Markus spoke in a\nlow voice, \"I don't know how long exactly...then they told me that I'd been\ncondemned for my...biological crime...and off to Mercy it was.\"\n \nTyrel wrapped his\narms around the naked wolf and squeezed him tight. \n \n\"And you never\nsaw your parents again? Anyone?\"\n \n\"Why would they\nlet me?\" the wolf replied through a tight throat, now that the story had been\ntold. \"They told me that nobody would even want to talk to me again, knowing\nthat I was a condemned degenerate.\"\n \n\"Not even your\nparents?\"\n \n\"I don't even\nknow what they told them,\" the wolf replied.\n \n\"Damn...\"\n \n\"Maybe they told\nthem that I died or something,\" the wolf flopped himself down onto the bed, \"I've...stopped\nthinking about it.\"\n \nTyrel nuzzled\nagainst his chest, seeking the wolf's heartbeat. Markus put an arm around him\nand gave him a squeeze.\n \n\"You don't\nreally sound like it, though,\" the Doberman observed.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \n\"You have consumed 95% of your daily electricity\nquota, Markus Browler. You have fifteen minutes of subsidized electric power\nleft for consumption at current rate. Please be productive with your remaining\ntime.\"\n \nMarkus let out a\nhollow chuckle.\n \n\"That'll be more\nthan enough,\" he muttered to himself, as he lifted the gun to check the barrel\nfor the rounds.\n \nSomewhere below,\nthe siren of a Verger car wailed.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n \nMarkus stood in\nthe alley and paced impatiently, back and forth, bouncing on his heels and then\ngoing the same way again. The booming preaching echoing from the Cathedral\nSquare sounded even more hollow from here, he noticed, wryly, as he kicked away\na half-crumbled drink can and watched it bounce off the brick wall.\n \nIt'd been two\nweeks since Tyrel's last visit and he was anxious to see the Doberman again...touch\nhim...hold him...listen to his stories...maybe eat whatever nice he had brought for\nhim this time...that cheeky dog...doing all these things for him...bribing the guards\nto do his personal little mercy missions...the boldness....\n \nThe wolf rumbled\nsoftly to himself and walked near the end of the alleyway so that he could peek\ndown towards the Square. The swarm of furs hoping for freebies frothed only\nnearby...he wanted to be no part of that. He had his own special meeting, his\nspecial visitor to receive...it'd been too long. \n \nHe wasn't\nexactly privy to the full process involved, but he knew that soon enough, the\nDoberman would appear from the door of a white building near the Cathedral, beyond\nthe fence...how he'd gotten there apparently involved an underground tunnel used\nby the Verger service to move in and out of town. The nondescript door could\nalmost be seen from the mouth of the alley...if only it wasn't for these\ndesperate furs, for their bag of clothes or Bibles or some more of the same\nstupid shit that was sold in every grocery store in the city. \n \nOff with that,\nhe thought. Tyrel always brought something good from the District, and they\nwould get their stomachs full...between, before, or after doing some other fulfilling\nactivities. \n \nThey must've\nbeen there already...the droning preaching was already going on...\n \nYes...\n \nThe non-descript\ndoor had just opened...if he stood on his tiptoes, he could see...yes...the door\nopening...and there was the Doberman...clad in his usual neat grey, without any\nmarkings on it, the even more familiar silver bag flung over his shoulder...already\nsmiling that mysterious smile.\n \nMarkus' tail\nbegan to wag. His heart leaped with delight at even seeing the Doberman,\nwalking down those little steps before he could make his way through the crowd.\n \nThe Deacons\nappeared on the doorway in the timespan of a blink, and the Doberman was hauled\nthrough the door and the door was closed...as if he had never even stood there.\n \nMarkus wasn't\nsure how long he stood there, frozen in place.\n \n \n \n[...]\n \n \n\"Seen it happen,\" the squirrel declared after a long\nbelch that followed a deep chug from the murky bottle Markus had showed into\nhis paw in the hopes of bribing some information out of the mouthy bastard, \"oh\nyes...\"\n \n\"What is it?\" the wolf panted, \"what do you mean?\"\n \n\"He got revoked,\"\nthe squirrel tried spitting, but the ethyl alcohol was already doing its trick,\nand he only managed a drizzle that flowed over his chin and drip-dropped onto\nthe dirty concrete. \"Sometimes even those furs get caught doing something they shouldn't\nbe.\"\n \n\"What are they\ngoing to do to him?\" the ache in his chest had spread to his throat and made it\ndifficult to speak.\n \n The squirrel didn't display any emotions. \n \n\"Depends on how\nmuch money he has on him, of course,\" the squirrel opined, his paw so limp by\nnow that he was almost pouring the content of the bottle down onto the\npavement. \"He might get lucky...or not...who knows?\"\n \nMarkus stomped\nthe ground, growling deeply.\n \n\"I have to find\nsomeone who knows...I have to...\"\n \n\"Good luck with\nthat kiddo,\" the squirrel grumbled.\n \nMarkus hated the\nfeeling of tears burning in his eyes.\n \n \n \n*\n \n \n \n\"You have consumed your daily electricity quota,\nMarkus Browler. Electric power will now terminate. You are eligible for another\neight hours starting at 8 am tomorrow. Please sleep well now. God be with you.\"\n\n \nThe sun had almost\nset, and now the sky was starting to darken. The rousing fanfare the HouseBox\nplayed as it announced that the loser called Markus Browler could not get any further\nelectricity that night barely made the wolf's ears flick.\n \nThe roll was\nfull. \n \nThe wolf's stern\neyes squinted as he tried one final time to catch sight of the ship going away.\n'\n \nNot even a\nglimmer.\n \nWell, this was\nit, he thought, as he lifted the gun one more time.\n \n\"Time to go\nhunting,\" the wolf muttered to himself, swivelled on his footpaws, and headed\nfor the dark interior of his apartment.\n \nI'm coming for you, Tyrel.\n \n \n \n*\n \n \n \nThank you for\nreading my story! I hope you had an interesting read, and hopefully you feel piqued\nenough to leave a comment, perhaps - I sure enjoyed myself, going to these\nlengths and depths for the very first time. \n \n \n \n"}