{"sf1_id":8140,"sf2_id":"rnaMz9Ln","title":"Down In The Dumps","author":"Alex Reynard","words":54811,"posted_at":"2005-11-28T19:21:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Compassion","Cub","Rat","Skunk","Wolfox"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/8140-down-in-the-dumps","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rnaMz9Ln","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=8140\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Down In The Dumps  \nby Alex Reynard  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*  \nAuthor's Introduction:  \nWere you ever fascinated by trash as a kid? I definitely was. When I was little,  \nI'd always wander around with my head down, checking out anything lying on the  \nsidewalk. I'd peek in trash cans. I'd pass by dumpsters and wonder what was  \ninside. Every now and then, I'd get lucky and find something truly interesting,  \nsome little toy that someone had either lost forever or just tossed away. I'd  \nclean it up and cherish it. Oftentimes just the fact of finding the thing lying  \nthere for me to discover was what made it so special for me.  \n  \nI've also always loved flea markets, trade centers, resale shops and things like  \nthat. It's for largely the same reason. There's just something about rooting  \naround in other people's junk that captivates me. I love used stuff. I love going  \nto the flea market and finding some wonderful thing that catches my eye instantly  \nand practically begs me to buy it.  \n  \nCase in point; about two years ago on eBay I saw a little mouse plushie that  \nenchanted me. She had a little pink ribbon around her neck, a tiny heart sewed  \nonto the sole of her left foot, and the sweetest look in her eyes. Also, her fur  \nwas a pretty sea green: the color of watermelon bubblegum, although even that  \nisn't a good comparison. I'd never seen that particular shade of green before. It  \nsuited the little mouse perfectly. I unfortunately didn't have an eBay account at  \nthe time, so I had to sigh and pass her up.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; About a month ago, I'm at my favorite local flea market. This place is perfect.  \n(There's another one I went to a lot as a kid, but that one's gone all  \npretentious now, calling itself an 'antique fair', and the people are all snobs  \nand the prices are ludicrous.) The Community Trade Center is, as Brodie Bruce  \nonce aptly remarked, a 'dirt mall'. This is people bringing in their old, dusty,  \noccasionally stinky, crap and selling it for pocket change. Every time I come  \nhere, I find something great. Those pics of the little Abigail pencil topper I  \nposted? I found her in an overflowing box of happy meal toys from a vendor in the  \nparking lot, and bought her for a dime. There's also a guy in a black cowboy hat  \nwho looks like Woody Harrelson who has a booth bursting at the seams with toys.  \nHe's my usual supplier for my other life's passion: Transformers! Damn, I love  \nthem funky li'l robots!! One time he had this huge collection of \\_literally\\_  \nseven or eight hundred dollars' worth of Beast Wars figures, nearly all of them  \nin perfect condition with all their little weapons and doodads, all in a single  \npackage deal of fifty bucks. Me and some other collector split it down the  \nmiddle, $25 each, and by sheer kismet everything I already owned was just what he  \nwanted and vice versa. It took three boxes just to haul my share away. This was a  \n\\_Mutha\\_Fuckin'\\_Miracle\\_, people. This is why I love flea markets.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Anyway, the day I'm talking about, I'd just bought a clever little cheap plastic  \ndinosaur transformer knockoff from the toy guy for a dollar. I was just about to  \nleave, when I caught a flash of green out of the corner of my eye. Yup, it's the  \nlittle mouse. She's just how I remember her. I ask to buy her without hesitation,  \nand to my utter joy the man says she's only 50 cents. She's a bit dusty, but  \nthankfully she doesn't have that 'smoker's house' smell that's been on some of  \nthe other plushies I'd bought there. In fact, she's in nearly-new condition.  \n  \nI took my little green mouse (whose name is Rosie, I soon discovered on the 'net)  \nhome, gave her a bath, and have been cuddling her ever since. She sat on my lap  \nor on my shoulder the whole time I was writing the last book of \"Ghost Story\",  \nlike my own personal muse. I love her dearly.  \n  \nAnd now that I think about it, a large number of my plushies have come from this  \nsame flea market I'm talking about. Or from other places like it, or off eBay.  \nThe vast percentage of my plushies are used, and I love them even more for it.  \nThey're my diamonds in the rough.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; My point is that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Our culture throws so  \nmuch stuff away, and so much of it is something that might be beautiful and  \nspecial to someone else. I see people tossing toys out by the curb, and I always  \nfeel a slight pain in my heart from wondering if the kids in that house realize  \nthey're throwing away their memories. I once heard this feeling described as  \n'Velveteen Rabbit Complex'. I find that incredibly apt.  \n  \nSo over time, I developed just a little bit of a garbage fetish (though to be  \nhonest, it's more of an interest than a true fetish). I looked around on the net  \nto see if I could find anything else on this subject, and mostly what I unearthed  \nwere tales of submissive dudes wanting their mistresses to tie them up and stuff  \nthem in garbage bags. Not exactly my cup of tea.  \n  \nI did eventually find a few stories and pics of what I was after; furs playing  \naround in trash just for the fun of it. Just for the fun of doing something  \nthat's kinda naughty. More than merely an indulgence in something yiffy, it can  \nalso be an act of rebellion against the unwritten rules of mundane society. We're  \nall supposed to be clean and presentable all the time. We're supposed to scrub  \neverything in our environments with painfully artificial-smelling chemicals, and  \nthen even paint our own bodies with the stuff. What about the sheer mindless joy  \nwe all felt as kids at making a big ol' mess? Can that feeling be recaptured?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; This story came from thinking about questions like that. So be forewarned, the  \nfollowing tale is a little stinky. You may want to bring along a clothespin for  \nyour nose. Some rubber gloves might not hurt either. Though I hope that if you'll  \ngive this story, and these characters that I've created, a chance, you'll find  \nthat there's something underneath its otherwise unhygienic surface. Brush off the  \ndirt, and you'll find something I've put my whole heart into.  \n  \nIn essence; I think that sometimes stuff that just looks like ordinary garbage  \ncan hold amazing surprises if you don't mind getting your paws a bit dirty while  \ndigging through it.  \n  \nThis story goes out to anyone who's ever gleefully gone dumpster-diving or trash-  \npicking.  \n  \nAnyone who's ever lovingly cuddled a stained, dirty, ripped up stuffed animal.  \n  \nAnyone who's ever found their heart's desire at a flea market for less than a  \nbuck.  \n  \nAnyone who's ever looked upon something, or someone, that everyone else considers  \nugly, and then decided for yourself that it's beautiful.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; After all, Charlie Brown's christmas tree just needed a little love...  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \n\\*part 1\\*  \n  \n\"Hey fuckhead!\"  \nJustin's eyes slammed shut. He gritted his teeth. His three huge brothers  \nbarged into his room and surrounded him. He'd thought they'd be at football  \npractice all day.  \n\"What'cha doin', mutt?\"  \n\"My homework,\" he lied.  \nOne of them snatched up the paper he'd been writing on. If any of them had  \nthe slightest idea how to read, he might have been worried.  \n\"What the hell is this?\"  \n\"Lemme see it!\"  \n\"It looks like some kinda poem!\"  \n\"Poetry? You fucking fag!\"  \nJustin felt like he was going to crush his own teeth to powder from  \ngrinding them so hard. His entire body was tense. It took every ounce of control  \nto keep from snapping back at them. That would have been suicide.  \nThe three wolf jocks chuckled cruelly at their scrawny younger brother. He  \nwas getting mad again, which amused them to no end.  \n\"You a poet, fag?\"  \n\"Writing poems to yer boyfriend?\"  \n\"It's for school!\" Justin finally burst out.  \n\"Bullshit! They never make any of us write poems!\"  \nHe whipped around in his chair and glared at the one who'd last spoke. It  \nwas barely worth the trouble to tell them apart anymore. \"That's because you're  \nall too stupid to write your own goddamn names, much less anything anyone else  \nwould want to read!!\" he snarled.  \nOh fuck. That was stupid. He was really in for it now.  \nThey grinned ferally.  \n\"Whoa! The faggot strikes back!\"  \n\"Someone's got a smart little mouth.\"  \n\"Someone's gotta get punished for that smart mouth.\"  \n\"Someone's gotta get that mouth washed out good!\"  \nHe scowled, mostly to himself for letting them get his temper up again.  \n\"Please. Not again...\"  \n\"Oh, I think he knows what we're gonna do!\"  \n\"Little cocksucker probably likes it.\"  \nResigned to his fate, Justin gave no resistance as the three of them lifted  \nhim straight out of his chair and carried him roughly out of the room and onward  \ndown the hall. It was his own fault for letting them provoke him. The best thing  \nnow would be to just go limp and wait until it was over.  \nGiggling like a pack of demented hyenas, the three wolves dragged their  \nbrother into the bathroom.  \n\"Who's gotta go?\"  \n\"Me! I drank a shitload of pop before the game!\"  \n\"Go, man, go!\"  \nThe tall one, that was Royce, was grinning like a madman as he pulled down  \nhis fly. He whipped out his cock and started pissing into the toilet.  \nHolding Justin's shoulders were Greg and Dave; the fat one and the thin  \none, respectively.  \nJustin was, of course, the short little skinny-as-a-twig one. He sighed in  \nmild annoyance. This wasn't the worst of his brothers' games, not by a long shot,  \nbut it was pretty damn humiliating.  \nRoyce finished up and forgot to zip himself up again, so caught up was he  \nin the thrill of the moment.  \n\"Now dunk 'im!\"  \nOn that signal, Greg and Dave easily upended their little brother and  \nforced his head into the toilet bowl.  \nIt was filthy, cracked, and hadn't been washed in months. Justin kept his  \neyes and mouth shut as tightly as possible. One time he'd gasped for breath and  \nsome of the piss had gotten in his mouth. He'd had to brush five times before the  \ntaste was gone. He could hear the echoes of his three brothers laughing like this  \nwas the funniest thing ever to happen in the history of the world.  \nOne of them said something, distorted by the water, and then someone  \nflushed. It was definitely a relief. Justin had always been somewhat worried that  \nthey'd be too dumb to remember that part one of these days, and he'd drown to  \ndeath in a toilet full of wolf piss. Wouldn't that be a fun thing to tell Saint  \nPeter?  \nWhen the water was gone, Justin sucked in a much-needed gulp of air. His  \nbrothers released him suddenly and he fell hard on the floor. He bashed his chin  \non the rim of the toilet. It'd probably ache for the rest of the day now.  \nThey were laughing like they were on drugs. Justin wrung out his fur on the  \nfloor and thought of all the things he wished he could say to them if only he'd  \nbeen bigger and stronger and crueller than them.  \nDave snatched him up by his collar.  \n\"You learn your lesson, shitsucker?\"  \n\"Didja have fun?\"  \n\"Wasn't that hilarious?\"  \nJustin rolled his eyes. \"Yes. Ha ha. You guys should have your own TV  \nshow.\"  \n\"Yeah, we should!\"  \n\"We could get someone to run a camera, and just torture you all day!\"  \n\"We could call it 'The Punt The Mutt Show'!\"  \n\"We'd be rrrrrrich! Rrrrrrich beyond our wildest dreams!\"  \nThere followed another round of frenzied hysterical laughter.  \nDave let go of him, and Justin figured this was his best chance to make an  \nescape. He ducked out of the bathroom and zipped as fast as possible down the  \nhall.  \nIn the kitchen, he paused to catch his breath. He wiped off his fur as best  \nas he could on a mostly-dry dishtowel. He poked around in the cupboards for a  \nbit, searching for something to eat, but there was nothing appealing, as usual.  \n'Gee, I wonder where it could possibly have gone to,' he thought sarcastically.  \nHe walked out through the livingroom, kicking away all the beer cans and snack  \nfood wrappers in his path.  \nMom was splayed out on the couch like a giant slug from a '50s horror  \nmovie. One fat arm was draped across her stomach, looking like it had melted  \nthere. She grimaced when he walked in front of the TV. \"Where the hell are you  \ngoin'?\" she demanded.  \n\"Outside,\" he spat back, not even looking at her.  \n\"Fine. Just get back before supper,\" she mumbled, then added loudly, \"And  \nyou and your brothers better stop making so much god damn noise playing in  \nthere!\"  \n\"Okay, Mom,\" Justin grunted as he slipped out the door. Under his breath he  \ncursed bitterly, \"Thanks for coming to my rescue, you fat ugly bitch.\"  \nHe slammed the screen door behind him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nJustin's family was, to put it mildly, fucked-up.  \nThey lived in a falling-down house in a rural little town called Flat  \nStone, somewhere in the lost shadows of the suburbs of some big famous city  \nJustin had never been to. All around were trees and trailers and brown grass and  \nrusted trucks. It was a town of poverty, where 90% of the people you ran into  \nwere either drunk, stupid or psychotic, or some lovely combination of the three.  \nThe weather never got anywhere colder than warm, not even in winter. Most of the  \ntime it was hot enough to nearly kill you. At least it felt that way, and  \nsometimes you wished it would.  \nMom had been fat and ugly, and a bitch, for her entire life, Justin  \nguessed. She was drunk approximately a hundred and ten percent of the time. Her  \nlife was her couch, her television and her snacks. She got up three or four times  \neach day to fix a 'meal', or to go to the bathroom, and Justin suspected  \nsometimes she didn't even get up for that. He knew for certain she'd never gotten  \nup to defend him from his brothers. So long as they weren't actually murdering  \nhim with chainsaws, she made it clear through her attitude that she honestly  \ndidn't give a shit what they did.  \nDad was a shadow. He might as well have been a figment of Justin's  \nimagination. There were only two places he ever went: The Factory and The Bar. If  \nyou noticed that 'the house' was not on that list, you are very observant.  \nJustin's dad showed up at the house about as often as Santa Claus. When he did  \nput in a surprise cameo appearance, most of the time it meant that at least one  \nof them was going to be beaten up.  \nRoyce, Greg and Dave were basically the spawn of hell. They were the result  \nof vigorous fucking shortly after (and before) Mom and Dad's marriage. In fact,  \nthey were barely nine months apart. Justin guessed Mom must have been drinking at  \nleast as much as she did now when she'd been carrying them. Sometimes it seemed  \nlike they functioned as a single hive mind; one brain shared between the three  \n(and maybe that was too generous). Their programming instructions were simple:  \nSeek Out Little Brother. Destroy.  \nJustin had wondered probably since birth if he was adopted. He was  \ndifferent from the rest of them in every way. Dad was a solid brick wall of  \nmuscle. Mom was an ocean of flab. All his brothers were big in some way or  \nanother. He, on the other hand, was small in almost every way. Short. Skinny.  \nScrawny. Runt. Pushover. Wimp. Chewtoy. Dirt.  \nThe other big difference between Justin and his family was, he was smart.  \nMaybe not the kind of smart his teachers at school wanted him to be, but smart  \nanyway. He was wise beyond his years in the ways of the grown-up world. He'd been  \ntaught by his cruel life hundreds of hard lessons in trust and pain. He was a  \nflawless liar, a fairly decent escape artist, and not too bad of a thief either.  \nAt school he did his best to avoid trouble, though that was like Sisyphus  \npushing that bigass rock up the hill. The faculty all thought he was a little  \nsociopath. Even when he wasn't cheating on tests, or sneaking food from the  \ncafeteria, or taking paper and pencils and other school supplies out of the  \nwastebaskets because his mother never bought him any, no one ever even gave him  \nthe chance to be good. If something broke, he was blamed. If something went  \nmissing, he was blamed. He was looked upon like some kind of vermin. A sewer rat.  \nIf it wasn't for the fact that he'd kept his grades up beyond anyone's  \nexpectations (mostly just to piss his teacher off, of course), he was sure he  \nwould've been expelled a long time ago.  \nWhat no one had ever bothered to realize was that he \\_had\\_ to be this way.  \nIt was a matter of survival. Natural selection, motherfucker. Living in a family  \nas repulsively deranged as his was, the only way to stay sane was to outthink  \nthem. He had to be sneakier than all of them put together. More devious, more  \ncunning, more alert, more paranoid.  \nJustin had given up on his family a long time ago. He remembered being a  \nlittle pup, always picking dandelions for Mom, or asking Royce if he could play  \nball with him, or walking to school with Dave, or watching TV with Greg. And yet  \nno matter how many times he tried to be a good boy, tried to win some tiny table  \nscrap of attention or affection, he'd been kicked away. Tossed aside. Thrown away  \nlike trash.  \nNowadays he would spend recess sitting in a little crawlspace under the  \ngymnasium stairs, watching his brothers play sports out on the field. He'd stare  \nat them, wishing somehow he could achieve telekinesis just by wanting it hard  \nenough. Just to make one of them drop the ball. Just to trip one of them up. Just  \nto make one of them break their leg. Just a little...  \nHe didn't mind hating them; he didn't feel guilty about it. They hated him  \neven more, so at least it was fair. His father hated him even worse. Whenever his  \nfather showed up, Justin made himself as inconspicuous as possible. Otherwise,  \nhe'd show up at school the next morning with bruises so bad they showed through  \nhis fur. And his teacher would scowl at him because she thought he'd been  \nfighting with other kids.  \nWhy did his father hate him so much? That was an easy one to answer. Since  \nhe was so much younger than his brothers (the youngest, Dave, was still three  \nyears older than him), he figured that he was probably a mistake. Maybe Dad  \nhadn't pulled out in time. Maybe Mom had mixed up her birth control pills with  \nbreath mints (Hah! Like she'd ever eaten a breath mint in her life!). Whatever  \nthe reason, his father had always glared at him, ever since he was little, like  \nhe was a stranger in the house. And his mother averted her eyes, as if she could  \nmake her youngest son go away forever if she could only ignore him long enough.  \nBut the truth of the matter was something far worse. A year ago, the secret  \nhad come to light. Justin didn't know how his father found out, but when he did,  \nthe whole family found out too. His roaring voice shook the walls of their flimsy  \nlittle home.  \nIt seemed that Mom had not been entirely faithful to Dad. Several years  \nbefore, she'd had an affair with a fox. They'd been sleeping around behind Dad's  \nback for months. When she had found out she was pregnant, she'd called it off and  \nhoped desperately that her husband would think the baby was his. The night the  \ntruth finally came out, Justin's father beat the shit out of every one of them.  \nAnd Justin had gotten it double.  \n(Justin had wondered later why Dad hadn't just divorced Mom then and there.  \nBut the answer was laughably obvious. They were both just too dam lazy for that.  \nAll the court dates and screwing around with lawyers? It was so much easier to  \njust take out their anger on their bastard halfbreed son.)  \nThe news explained a lot. Justin really didn't look like a wolf anyway. He  \nwas not only skinnier than the rest of them, but also more lithe. His features  \nwere sharper. His arms and legs were more wiry. His scruffy grey fur had a  \nbrownish, rusty tinge to it, and his paws and feet were a deep dark brown.  \nAnd, strangely, Justin even felt happy when he found out the truth. It  \nmeant that he was really only \\*partly\\* related to these people. His brothers were  \nonly half-brothers. His father was now just some guy. And somewhere out there  \nthere was a fox that had provided half of his blood. He obviously couldn't have  \nbeen the sharpest knife in the drawer if he'd wanted to screw Mom in the first  \nplace. But maybe it explained Justin's intelligence, and the other parts of him  \nhe kept hidden away, guarded fiercely from his family.  \nOut of all this small-town tragedy, the saddest part was that Justin simply  \ndidn't want to be like this. He didn't want to be seen as a sneaky, smelly little  \nthief. He wanted friends. He wanted someone to talk to. He wanted someone to hold  \nhim, and kiss him, and tuck him into bed at night and tell him a story. He wanted  \nall the things normal kids had.  \nSometimes just thinking about all this stuff would bring tears to his eyes.  \nThat was another reason he liked his secret place under the gym stairs. It stank,  \nand was full of dirt and flakes of rust, but at least he knew no one could see  \nhim there. If he needed to, he could hide himself away in there and curl up into  \na ball to cry.  \nJustin had another secret place though.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nBehind the house there was a patch of wild forest, a smoothly arcing strip  \nof shady trees and cool, leafy greenery. And beyond that was the town dump.  \nIt was Justin's favorite place in the whole world.  \nEvery chance he got, Justin would slink away from the house, away from his  \ncrazy family, and head for the dump, accompanied by his trusty backpack. He'd  \ntrek through the woods and come out on the edge of a massive valley filled almost  \nto the rim with an incredible panorama of junk.  \nEveryone in town came here to drop off their garbage. There was no regular  \ngarbage pickup in Flat Stone; it was way too small a town for that. So once a  \nweek, or sometimes once a month, depending on each individual comfort level of  \nhaving reeking bags in the backyard, the various households in the community all  \npiled their trash in the back of their pickups and trucked it on down to the  \ndump.  \nOnce the little wolffox arrived at the dumping grounds, he delved in with  \nthe zeal of an archaeologist. To him, this wasn't just trash: it was buried  \ntreasure waiting to be unearthed.  \nIt was amazing some of the things he'd found. Mostly he looked for toys and  \nother items that would interest a boy his age. Surprisingly, there was usually  \nquite a lot of perfectly good stuff tossed out with the trash every week. He'd  \nrip open the big plastic trash bags and root carefully around inside. He'd  \nlearned long ago to get a feel for the bags first; it had only taken a couple  \nbags of dirty diapers to teach him that. If instead he felt hard plastic corners  \nat odd angles, that usually meant something interesting. He'd found plenty of toy  \ncars, even a few that turned into robots. There were action figures and books and  \neven stuffed animals, which Justin had a special affinity for.  \nYears before, he had stumbled one day upon a big black metal footlocker  \nhalf-buried in the forest floor. After giving it a thorough cleaning-out, it now  \nserved as his treasure chest. After a full day's excursion to garbage paradise,  \nthe satisfied young canine would fill his backpack with his new prizes and hide  \nthem in the footlocker.  \nLater on at night, when everyone else was asleep, he'd sneak out the window  \nand go back to the woods for his latest discoveries. He'd sneak them into the  \nbackyard and run the garden hose over them, washing them off gently and  \ncarefully. Often, the only thing wrong with his new toys was that they were a  \nlittle dirty. Once they were cleaned up, they looked good as new.  \nThe next day, once they were dry, Justin would hide away his new  \ndiscoveries in the footlocker and secure them inside with a big, sturdy  \ncombination lock he'd bought from the hardware store. He wasn't stupid. These  \nthings meant more to him than his own life. He wasn't about to chance someone  \nelse stumbling upon them and taking them away.  \nThere was a big reason he didn't dare keep his treasures in the house  \nthough: his brothers. They'd smash everything he owned for the sheer pleasure of  \ncausing him pain. And if they ever found out that he still liked to play with  \nstuffed animals, they'd beat him up even more than they already did (which would  \nrequire rather a lot of effort, actually).  \nBut Justin \\_needed\\_ his plushies. They helped keep his softer side alive.  \nEvery now and then as he went through his neighbors' castouts, he'd tear open a  \nbag and see a cute furry face looking back at him. He'd feel a connection forge  \nin his heart, a kinship of sorts. He felt like he'd also been thrown away by  \nthose who should have loved him and taken care of him.  \nOne of his favorite toys was a plush mouse he'd named Rachel. He'd found  \nher in amongst a bunch of baby things in a bag that had probably belonged to the  \nGarrisons. (That was another thing about trash-spelunking; after a while you  \ncould make an educated guess as to which junk had been whose. If he'd been after  \nblackmail material, Justin could have owned the whole town.) The small stuffed  \nmouse was encrusted with old food and other stuff he didn't want to think too  \nhard about. But as soon as he saw her, her shiny plastic eyes looked back at him  \nand he felt a connection. Those sad eyes seemed to call out to him, 'Save me. I  \ndon't want to be trash.'  \nBy the light of a crescent moon, he'd tenderly washed her off with the  \nhose. He worked his fingers in deep, cleaning away years' worth of grime. He took  \nher back to the footlocker and put her in a special hidden spot nearby where the  \nsun would fall on her and dry her off.  \nWhen he returned the next day after school, she was clean and soft. Her  \nexpression seemed much happier now. Under all that dirt was a pretty plush mouse  \nwith warm grey fur and a little red nose. Her paws, tummy and the inside of her  \nears were white. She was smiling now. Justin felt like maybe she was grateful to  \nhim.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nBranches snapped and leaves rustled under his paws as he made his way  \nthrough the forest. He really, really needed to visit his plushies today.  \nIt was sunny and hot out as usual, which was good. His fur was already  \nstarting to dry off, but he'd probably still smell like pee later on. God, but  \nhis brothers were assholes.  \nOff in the distance was his beloved treasure trunk. He hurried over and  \ntwisted in his combination. The lid creaked as he lifted it. Inside were all his  \ntoys, all patiently waiting for him to come and play with them. A sweet, happy  \nsmile came to Justin's face, and for a moment he seemed perfectly content. Here  \nwere all the things he valued. All the things he had rescued.  \n\"How are you today, Rachel?\" he whispered to his plushie. He picked her up,  \nran his fingers through her fur, and gave her a hug. \"Didja miss me?\" He kissed  \nher on top of her head.  \nThe little wolffox gathered his other plushies in his arms. He sat down,  \nleaning against the warm metal side of the box, and arranged his plushies in his  \nlap. He sat them so that they were all facing him, looking like they were ready  \nto listen to whatever he had to say.  \n\"My brothers suck. They did that toilet thing again. Mom didn't get off the  \ncouch to help me out, of course. But I didn't get in any more trouble at school  \ntoday, at least. There was a quiz on the solar system. I aced it. That stuff's  \neasy. Oh, and yesterday Jeri found that necklace she lost, the one she 'knew' I  \nstole from her. Dumb girl! Like I want some little plastic necklace that probably  \ncame out of a gumball machine! She spent the whole day Monday crying to the  \nteacher, telling her I stole it! Mrs. Robertson probably would have spanked me if  \nshe could've gotten away with it without losing her job. She sent me to the  \nprincipal anyway. Then they tried to make me confess. Ha! I never broke! They  \nthreatened me with all sortsa stuff! Said they'd give me detention for a week. I  \ntold 'em I didn't do it and there was no way they could prove I did. And  \nyesterday Jeri looks in her desk and there it is! She never even lost it, it was  \njust under some books! Man, did she get red! She told the teacher she found it.  \nAnd Mrs. Robertson said I didn't have to do detention anymore. She didn't  \napologize to me though.\"  \nHe paused, and he sighed.  \n\"That would've been nice. If she'd said she was sorry.\"  \nHe felt his eyes start to water. He hunched over and pulled all his stuffed  \nanimals closer. He buried his muzzle in their soft fur. They were always there  \nfor him.  \n\"I love you guys,\" he said softly. His tears landed on their fur. \"I love  \nyou so much. Thanks for listening. I love you. I love you.\"  \nHe sat and rocked back and forth. He hugged his little friends tight,  \ngiving them all gentle little kisses.  \nThis was the one time he was able to be tender. The one time he could let  \nhis guard down.  \nHe liked being gentle. He liked saying nice things to his plushies and  \ngiving them hugs and kisses. Whenever his family threw their worst at him, he'd  \ncome out here and vent his frustration on his plushies. But not by hitting or  \nkicking them. Never! The very idea was disgusting to him! Why would he hurt his  \nplushies? He loved them! He'd gone through so much trouble to rescue them and  \ngive them a new home. Whenever he'd had a rotten day, he would come out here and  \ntalk to them. He would tell them all about it, getting everything off his chest  \nwhile they listened silently. In fact, the worse he felt, the more loving he  \nacted towards them. So what if they were only cloth and stuffing? Justin couldn't  \nthink of them like that. They were his friends, and they trusted him. He'd never  \ndo anything to hurt them.  \nWhen he was feeling calmer, Justin put his plushies back in the trunk. He  \nsurveyed his collection once more. Then he leaned in and patted his plushies on  \ntheir heads. \"Goodbye, guys. I'll see you later. 'Bye. I love you.\" He hesitated  \na moment, then closed the lid and locked it.  \nJustin turned away and walked off towards the dump. There was no way to  \nknow what would show up from day to day, so he'd learned not to bother expecting  \nanything. Some days it'd be nothing but pizza boxes and used tissues. Sometimes  \nhe'd find neat stuff all over the place. One time he'd found an entire comic book  \ncollection that someone's mom had thrown out. Most of them were dumb 'steroid  \nusers in tights'-type titles, but there were certainly a few that deserved  \nkeeping. The rest he took to school and left by the littler kids' part of the  \nplayground. He put a small sign on top of the stack that said: 'Free! Take One!'.  \nIt had made him feel good. After all, he more than anyone knew that one fur's  \ntrash is another fur's treasure.  \nJustin arrived at the lip of the valley that led down to the huge trash  \npile. He smiled and took in a deep breath. He'd never told anyone before, but  \nhe'd actually gotten to like the smell of the dump. Yeah, it was stinky. But it  \nwas an interesting, multi-faceted kind of stinky. A stinky that hinted at  \npossibilities.  \nThe little wolffox started down the sandy slope, headed for the place where  \nall the new stuff usually got dropped off.  \nHe'd just climbed up the ridge by all the smashed cars when he saw  \nsomething lying in the trash that he'd never seen before.  \nHe had no idea his life was about to change forever.  \nLying on a pile of garbage bags was a dead girl.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 2\\*  \n  \nJustin screamed.  \nThe girl sat straight up. \"Shit! What the hell!?\"  \nImmense relief swept through Justin. He felt like he was about to crumple  \nlike a paper doll. \"Oh my god!\" he panted. His heart was whizzing around like a  \nracecar. \"I thought you were dead!\"  \nThe girl looked to be a little older than him, but not by much. She was a  \nrat. Her fur was a very pale grey, nearly white. Her hair was chocolate-brown and  \nmessy. Her tail was long, furless, and looked like a worm. She was wearing a  \nwhite T-shirt and dirty, scuffed blue denim overalls. Her muzzle was long and  \npointed, ending in a bubblegum-pink nose. She had prominent buckteeth that were  \nactually kind of cute.  \n\"Well why don't you check first before you scream like a grandmother and  \nscare the poop out of people?\" the ratgirl asked curtly.  \nJustin skidded down the side of the ridge towards her, kicking up sandy  \ndust behind him. \"Well, geeze! You're laying there on a bunch of garbage bags. I  \nthought someone killed you and dumped you here.\"  \nShe stood up. She yawned and scratched herself. \"Nope. Just taking a nap.\"  \n\"On a bunch of garbage bags?\" Justin asked, puzzled.  \nShe looked at him as if that should have been obvious. \"Yeah. So? I like  \ngarbage.\"  \nJustin smiled in a lopsided way. \"Actually, I do too. But not as a  \nmattress.\"  \nShe grinned and laughed. It sounded like steam from a rusty teapot, but in  \na nice way. She waded carefully towards him through the pile of black plastic  \nbags. She stopped in front of him and abruptly put out her paw.  \nUp close, Justin realized she was about a head taller than him.  \n\"I'm Lena.\"  \nJustin arched an eyebrow, then hesitantly shook her hand. \"Uh, why were you  \nsleeping on trash bags?\"  \n\"Tell me why you're here first,\" she snapped crisply.  \nGiven that this girl seemed like she could probably beat him up if she felt  \nlike it, Justin decided to keep on her good side. \"Um, well, I like to come here  \nevery now and then and look through the junk. Sometimes I find toys 'n books and  \nstuff...\" he confessed.  \nShe crossed her arms and 'hmph'ed at him like a queen unamused by a  \ncommoner's crime. \"You're stealing MY garbage?\"  \n\"What do you mean \\_your\\_ garbage?\" Justin spat back angrily. \"I've never  \neven seen you before! I've been coming here for years! And it's not stealing  \nanyway. It's as much mine as anyone else's!\" This was his one special place. He  \ndidn't care if this girl was bigger and tougher than him, he was \\_not\\_ going to  \nlet anyone take this away from him.  \nShe grinned smugly. \"It's my garbage 'cuz my dad owns the dump now,\" she  \nsaid triumphantly.  \nThat kind of struck down any argument Justin could have come back with.  \n\"Uh...\" He thought about it for a second. \"Wait, he bought the dump?\" he asked  \nincredulously. \"Why?\"  \nShe smiled, showing off her ratty teeth in a 'wouldn't you like to know'  \nkind of way. \"Doesn't matter. He owns it, and that means I do too. So no one gets  \nto root through my garbage without my permission!\" she stated regally.  \nJustin paused to reassess the situation. She was grinning too much. He  \nsuspected she was just playing with him. \"Okay then, Miss Trash Princess, may I  \nhave your permission?\" he asked cunningly.  \nShe burst out in a big smile. \"Sure!\" she squeaked. And with that, she  \ngrabbed him by the shoulders and tossed him lightly onto the pile of trash.  \n\"Waaaaah!\"  \nA moment later, she jumped on the pile too. A bag burst, spraying TV dinner  \ntrays everywhere. \"Eeew!\" she said with a grin.  \nJustin turned himself over and just stared at the weird girl. She was lying  \non her back, arms tucked behind her head, looking pleased as punch. \"You never  \ndid tell me your name,\" she said out of the blue.  \n\"Justin,\" he replied quietly, as if ashamed of it.  \nShe smiled at him. He noticed she had long, silvery whiskers that bounced  \nwhen she smiled. \"Hi Justin.\"  \n\"Hi. Um, was it Lena?\"  \nShe nodded. \"So, are you gonna help me search through all these trash bags  \nfor fun stuff, or are you just gonna sit there?\"  \nHe stared at her. \"You really...? I mean, you want to look through garbage  \nwith me?\"  \n\"Uh huh. I've never met anyone else who likes trash like I do. I'm pleased  \nto meet you,\" she said in a sweet tone.  \nJustin blushed. He'd been too busy being slightly frightened of this girl  \nto realize that she was, in fact, a girl. \"Um... I'm glad to meet you too.\" And  \nactually, he was. He'd never met anyone else who liked trash either.  \nThey smiled at each other for a moment, slowly coming to the realization  \nthat they were kindred spirits.  \nLena looked down. \"Oooh, I found something already!\"  \nJustin looked over. \"What?\"  \nShe threw a wad of greasy paper towel at him.  \n\"Hey!\"  \nShe giggled.  \nAnd that was how Justin met Lena.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nThe two kids played in the trash for hours.  \nThey became friends almost instantly. It was bizarre, Justin thought. He  \n\\_never\\_ made friends with anyone this quickly. Then again, he never really made  \nfriends, period.  \nHowever, divulging that you enjoy trash-picking is something you don't  \nusually admit to others, not even someone you trust. It was a bad, dirty,  \nshameful thing. At least, that was how others saw it.  \nBut the two of them openly shared an undeniable love for trash, so there  \nwas no way either of them could possibly ridicule the other for it.  \nBy having this strange secret interest in common, it put them on perfectly  \nequal ground. Friendship came easily.  \nAnd as the two of them wandered about through the pile of bags, ripping  \nthem open like christmas presents, chatting happily the whole time, they realized  \nthey had a lot of other stuff in common too. They were both smart, enjoyed the  \nsame type of books and movies, loved pizza, hated zucchini, and shared a dozen or  \nso more small similarities.  \nThey were different in many ways too. Lena said she lived with just her  \nfather, and that she loved him dearly. On the subject of family, Justin merely  \nsaid that it was something he'd rather not talk about. And they left it at that.  \nThe brunette ratgirl said that her dad had bought the land the dump was on,  \nand that he'd replaced the old guy who'd been running it for years. Justin was  \nhappy to hear it. The 'old guy' was an ancient, foul-tempered German Shepherd  \nwith no teeth and no heart. He had scowled like a bird of prey at everyone who  \ncame to the dump to drop off their stuff. He took the gate fee from everyone by  \nsnatching it roughly away, as if he thought the whole town was trying to cheat  \nhim. Justin was certain that if the old fart had ever caught him dump-diving, he  \nwould have called the cops in a heartbeat, or simply chased him down and beat the  \ncrap out of him. Thankfully, the old dog was also lazy, and Justin had never seen  \nhim leave his post at the front gates unless he had to take a whiz.  \nThe young wolffox made it quite clear to Lena that the thought of that old  \nfart losing his job just tickled him pink.  \nLena had a similarly low opinion of the man. She said he'd fought with her  \nfather every step of the way over the property rights, and that her dad had been  \nonly too happy to give him the boot when the land became his. She said that she  \nand her father were now living in a little cabin just on the other side of the  \ndump's main gate, and that they'd just moved in a few days ago.  \nThat explained why Justin hadn't seen her before. He asked again why her  \ndad wanted the dump in the first place, but the little rat was tight-lipped. She  \nmerely smiled, as if she was keeping one hell of a secret. Maybe there was gold  \nin them thar garbage mounds, Justin ventured. She said he was \\_way\\_ off base.  \nAs far as the garbage went, it was a pretty good day for both of them.  \nLena found three dolls, a few spotty paperback books, an unopened box of  \nsnack cakes (\"Hey, they're still in the plastic wrap! They'll be okay!\" she had  \ninsisted), a broken ceramic elephant, one tiny plastic shoe, and an assortment of  \nbottletops, which she said she collected.  \nJustin found some books too, plus an action figure that looked like either  \na ninja or some kind of evil henchman, two metal cars that were only slightly  \nstepped on, an activity pad with most of the pages un-crayoned, a baseball card  \nand a spool of white thread. (He wanted that to fix up some of his plushies with,  \nbut he didn't tell her that.)  \nThey also found plenty of other, smaller things. Stuff that deserved a  \nsecond look, but that they probably wouldn't keep. Candy wrappers with jokes  \nprinted on them, shiny pieces of unknown broken objects; stuff like that.  \nAltogether, it was a happy, relaxed and fun way to spend an afternoon.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nWhen all the trash bags had been thoroughly searched, Justin and Lena  \nlooked up and noticed that the sun was going down.  \nBoth of them were rather smelly by now, but neither of them minded.  \nActually, Justin thought Lena's sweaty girl-smell was kind of interesting. What  \nhe didn't know was that she felt the same way about his own wolfy boy-odor.  \nTheir clothes had numerous spots and splotches, largely due to the fact  \nthat they'd been tossing icky stuff at one another for laughs all day. Nothing  \ntoo gross though; they were only playing after all. An orange peel: fair game. A  \ndirty diaper: hell no.  \nLena bent down and gathered her findings up into a convenient plastic  \ngrocery bag. \"So, do you come here every day?\" she asked.  \n\"No, sometimes I can't get out of the house. I come here usually three or  \nfour times a week if I'm lucky.\"  \n\"Well that's okay. I'll be here most of the time if you want to find me  \nagain.\"  \nThey stopped what they were doing, falling silent, and looked at one  \nanother for a moment.  \nThe sun was starting to set, painting the sky with candy pinks and savage  \noranges. The wind blew lightly through Lena's wild and uncombed brown hair. She  \nlooked at him with wide, dark-olive-green eyes.  \nJustin realized that yes, he did want to find her again. He wanted to meet  \nher here again and again, every day he came. He had finally found someone he  \ncould talk to. Someone who, much as he still loved his stuffed animals, could  \nactually respond back.  \nAnd she was cute, too.  \n\"I'd like that,\" he said, and smiled.  \n\"Me too,\" she said. She smiled too. Her whiskers bounced. \"Can you come  \nhere tomorrow after school?\"  \n\"I'll try my best.\"  \n\"Okay.\"  \nThe sky was growing darker now.  \n\"Um, see you later,\" Justin mumbled, wanting to say something a bit more  \neloquent and not knowing how.  \n\"Okay. 'Bye Justin.\" She turned away and gave him a little wave.  \n\"'Bye Lena,\" he called back.  \nHe'd just turned around again, when she shouted, \"Oh! I almost forgot!\"  \nHe turned around. \"What?\"  \nA rolled-up dirty sock flew and bonked right into his forehead.  \n\"Bullseye!\" Lena said triumphantly.  \nJustin grinned. \"You're a jerk!\"  \n\"Thanks!\" she said back, and ran off for home.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 3\\*  \n  \nJustin had gotten home that night just as 'dinner' was being prepared.  \n'Dinner' could barely be called that. Reheated macaroni and cheese from the night  \nbefore, milk that was starting to turn, and a pawful of pretzels. (Justin guessed  \nthat that was supposed to be their vegetable.)  \nHis three asshole brothers were busy talking about some basketball game  \nthat was on later that night, so thankfully they didn't bother him much. Everyone  \nhad long since gotten used to Justin coming home smelling like trash, so they  \ndidn't even notice. And considering that Mom smelled like beer and farts, and his  \nbrothers all carried a stench that was a combination of sweat, underwear  \nskidmarks and, occasionally, weed, the fact that they passed over a bit of dump-  \nreek was hardly surprising.  \nImmediately following 'dinner', Mom took back her eternal position on the  \ncouch; head lying on the armrest, right foot snug between the cushions, right arm  \ndangling on the floor, left hand clutching the remote as if it was trying to  \nescape. Sometimes Justin wondered how come she hadn't just frozen like that  \npermanently.  \nHis brothers sat on the floor in front of her, ready to watch some b-ball.  \nSoon the livingroom was filled with the sounds of sneakers scooting, crowds  \nshouting and announcers yammering, occasionally punctuated by cheers and boos  \nfrom The Dipshit Trio.  \nJustin had become very, very good at sneaking out of a room without being  \nnoticed. He did so as soon as he'd cleaned his plate and was soon back in his  \nroom. Well, it wasn't actually his. He had to share it with the three  \nneanderthals. But at least he had his own bed.  \nHe wriggled under the bed and pried up the loose floorboard with a  \nscrewdriver. His family would be engrossed for hours, so it looked like he had  \nsome time alone.  \nIn a dusty little recess beneath the floor, Justin had hidden his few  \nattempts at poetry. He had never actually set out to be a poet, since even he had  \nto admit that his brothers were right about it being kinda faggy. However, he  \nhadn't yet managed to convince his brain of that. Every now and then a poem would  \njust come to him, and it would nag at him until he wrote it down.  \nSometimes it was just a page full of scribblings about how much he hated  \nhis family. But not that often. Usually inspiration came in the form of odd  \nlittle moments and happenings that he thought were worthy of remembering.  \nFor instance, the one he'd been writing earlier, the one that had been so  \ncruelly mocked and ripped to shreds by the three philistines, had been about  \nsomething he'd seen on the bus to school that morning. Despite the fact that the  \nweather was sunny and clear, he'd seen a woman standing on the corner wearing a  \nrain slicker and carrying an umbrella.  \nShe was standing beneath its dome, smiling, looking as if she knew exactly  \nwhat she was doing. She seemed so confident, Justin half expected it to suddenly  \npour down rain before the bus reached school.  \nThe fact that it \\*didn't\\* start raining seemed almost more surprising than  \nif it had.  \nAs soon as Justin got home, he scribbled a few lines down. His first draft  \nwas lying on the floor in tatters, so he got a fresh sheet and started again. It  \nflowed a lot better this time. Justin actually found himself thanking his  \nbrothers for destroying the first one.  \nHe knew he wasn't a good poet, but he didn't care much. It wasn't like he  \never expected to get published, or even wanted to. This was something he did  \nbecause something inside told him to. Some part of him wanted him to write out  \nthese little vignettes.  \nRhyme wasn't important to him, or number of lines. It was all about how the  \nsentences \\_sounded\\_. They had to flow correctly before he was satisfied. He  \nweighed each line like composing music. It had to sound right, and it had to  \ndescribe how the event had felt. Not so much what had actually happened, but how  \nit had felt.  \nHe finished up, titled it 'Invisible Shower' and hid it under the  \nfloorboard with the rest.  \nSmiling, he got out his homework and lost himself in it until it was time  \nfor bed.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nAll through school the next day, Justin was in a daze.  \nThe schoolwork was easy as taking a crap, so that wasn't a problem. Justin  \nfinished the worksheets in swift contempt and set them aside while everyone  \nelses' pencils were still scratching about.  \nHe kept thinking about Lena. He really hoped he'd get to meet her again  \nlater. He'd had a lot of fun with her the day before.  \nThe young ratfemme was different from every girl he'd ever met. For one  \nthing, she wasn't afraid to act like a boy if she felt like it. She didn't mind  \nswearing or play-fighting or getting dirty. Yet at the same time, she was still  \ncomfortable giggling over girl stuff. Justin would've passed over those dolls  \nshe'd found without a second thought, but she had gushed over them like they were  \nmade out of gold. And he didn't mind either. She was cool about the stuff he  \nliked, so he felt it was only fair for him to be cool about the things she liked  \ntoo.  \nAnother thing he liked about her was the fact that she didn't take one look  \nat him and then decide to treat him like slime. That was the reaction he got from  \nbasically everyone else at school. Even when he'd meet someone for the first time  \nand try to at least be polite, they'd take in his appearance, and his smell, and  \nsneer at him like they wished he'd just hurry up and die.  \nSo what if he only had two pairs of pants and he had to wear 'em each for a  \nweek until Mom made him do laundry? So what if every one of his T-shirts had a  \nhole in it, or a stain or two? So what if he smelled exactly like someone whose  \nhobby was scrutinizing the contents of trash bags? Was that any reason to treat  \nhim like he wasn't even alive?  \nApparently, he realized, it was. He'd overheard enough mumbled comments to  \nknow that he was the school's resident 'smelly kid'. He was the untouchable.  \nOther kids didn't even make fun of him most of the time, they just left the room  \nor tried to act like he wasn't there.  \nBut Lena had been friendly to him right from the start. He guessed she'd  \nprobably been the 'smelly kid' at her school too. As he'd noticed the day before,  \nthey were on perfectly equal ground, and they both knew it. They were two of a  \nkind. Being jerks to each other wouldn't even have made sense.  \n\"\\*Mister Dalton\\*!\"  \nJustin's head snapped forward. The teacher was giving him one of those 'how  \ndare you daydream in my class' looks.  \n\"I asked you a question!\" the trim, well-dressed marten said in her usual  \nsnippy tone.  \nMrs. Robertson did not like him. Which he supposed was forgivable,  \nconsidering that he didn't have any respect for her.  \nHe smiled blithely at her. \"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something more  \nimportant than what you were talking about.\"  \nIf any other kid had had the balls to say that to a teacher's face, it  \nwould have gotten a full house of giggles hidden behind paws. Instead, the rest  \nof the class just looked away in distaste.  \nMrs. Robertson was not pleased. \"I asked you how many moons Mars has,\" she  \nsaid sharply, hoping to catch him off guard.  \n\"Two: Phobos 'n Deimos. Got anything harder than that?\" he asked suavely,  \ntossing her a shit-eating grin.  \nThe teacher was not about to lose face to a student she considered little  \nbetter than a maggot. \"Allright then, Mister Dalton...\"  \nHe really didn't like being called by his last name. He suspected she knew  \nthat.  \n\"...name all of Jupiter's moons.\" She grinned in triumph. She had his ass  \nnow.  \nJustin grinned even wider. \"Io, Ganymede, Elara, Carme, Amalthea, Metis,  \nPasiphae, Europa, Leda, Sinope, Himalia, Adrastea, Ananke, Thebe, Lysithea and,  \ndrumroll please, Callisto!\" he rattled off at lightning speed.  \nMrs. Robertson's face went slack with disbelief, then turned into an ugly  \nsnarl. If looks could kill... She didn't even know half of those herself!  \nHe smiled innocently. It wasn't like she could punish him for giving a  \nright answer. It was her own fault for not realizing he liked astronomy.  \nShe glared at him a bit more, daring him to make some smartass remark she  \ncould use to punish his little ass for.  \nJustin said not a word. He'd thought about asking her if she wanted him to  \nname all the asteroids in the Oort cloud, but that would have been pushing it.  \nNever give your enemies anything they want, he'd learned. Never make it easy for  \nthem to punish you. Sometimes the best revenge is keeping your mouth shut and  \nletting your adversary tear their hair out.  \nFinally, Mrs. Robertson turned away with a little growl and went back to  \nher lesson.  \nHe'd have to keep on his toes the rest of the day, but as long as he could  \nkeep from doing something dumb, he knew he'd won.  \nHe felt incredibly proud of himself.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \n\"Hi Lena!!\"  \n\"Justin! Cool! Good to see you again!\"  \nThe little wolffox had zoomed off the bus, told Mom he was home, dropped  \noff his homework and fled the house like it was on fire. He even bypassed his  \ntreasure chest, but he did remember to call out a hello to his plushies as he  \npassed.  \nHe'd looked around the dump for a while, hoping she hadn't been just  \nteasing him the day before. Eventually he'd spotted her in the Auto Graveyard,  \nbent way over the open hood of the shell of some little foreign model.  \nJustin rushed over to meet her. He was glad to see her twice over; glad  \njust to see her of course, and also glad that she'd been telling the truth the  \nother day. He'd been betrayed by a few other 'friends' in the past. But he was  \nalready mostly sure he didn't have to worry about that with Lena.  \nToday she was dressed in jeans and a bright yellow shirt with some college  \nsports team's logo on the front. \"I thought you said sports were boring,\" he said  \nas he arrived by her side.  \nShe looked confused for a second, then realized he was talking about her  \nshirt. \"Oh? Yeah, I just like the color of this one. Found it in a bag of old  \nclothes back where I came from and it fit me, so I kept it,\" she explained.  \n\"Maybe I should wear it inside out?\" she mused to herself.  \n\"Where'd you used to live?\" Justin asked.  \n\"Not far from here. Another city called Pine Bend. It was a lot bigger than  \nthis place. Dad worked at the landfill there.\"  \n\"He must really like trash.\"  \nShe grinned, as if in on a secret. \"You have no idea.\" She turned back to  \nwhat she'd been looking at before he'd arrived. \"Oh, hey, lookit this.\"  \nHe stood beside her and tried to see what she was seeing. It was just a  \nbunch of rusty car guts to him.  \n\"What do you think the likelihood is of me being able to get this engine up  \nand running again?\" she asked conversationally.  \n\"Somewhere between zero and diddly-shit,\" he replied automatically. Then he  \nwinced. \"I mean, are you good with engines? I didn't know. I'm sorry-\"  \nShe smiled and gave him a little shove. \"You were right the first time,  \nstoopid. This engine's dead as a doorknob. I might be able to save the flywheel  \nand the transmission housing though. The rest's a buncha shit.\"  \nHe was rather impressed (though he thought the word she meant was  \n'doornail'). \"Do you know a lot about cars?\" he asked.  \nThe little rat nodded proudly. \"Dad and I have a car we fixed up called the  \nFrankenmobile. He bought it for, like, a dollar off some guy's lawn and we spent  \nabout six months putting new parts in. I loved running around in the old dump  \ntoo, so he gave me a list of parts to look for. I figured I'd start today  \nscouting for any new stuff here.\"  \nJustin chuckled. \"Good luck finding anything but pickup truck parts. I  \nswear, there's like a law around here that says people can only own pickups.\" He  \ngestured towards the foreign model they were currently inspecting. \"The cops  \nprobably confiscated this one and torched it.\"  \nLena laughed. It was right in his ear and really loud, but he didn't mind.  \n\"Naw, ours is some old four-door sedan. It's ugly as hell but it rides smooth.\"  \nShe brightened suddenly. \"Now, the Green Beast's the one that's really  \nimpressive! I've gotta show you her sometime!\"  \n\"We've got a station wagon,\" Justin shamefully admitted. \"It stalls most of  \nthe time. We don't have a name for it.\"  \n\"Maybe I could come over and fix it?\" she offered cheerfully, obviously  \nexcited by the idea.  \nJustin paled. \"Are you kidding? If my dad ever saw a girl working on his  \ncar, he'd punch your lights out!\"  \nLena started to laugh, then realized he wasn't kidding. \"Seriously?!\"  \nJustin nodded. \"He loves that stupid car. He won't let anyone else touch  \nit. But he never tries to fix it! He just swears at it and calls it girls' names  \nwhen it won't start.\"  \nLena looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or be horrified. She  \ndecided instead to change the subject. \"Anyway, that reminds me. I wanted you to  \nmeet my dad.\"  \n\"Okay,\" Justin said. From her description yesterday, he sounded like a nice  \nenough guy.  \n\"Come on! He's over at the front gate!\" She ran off, and Justin noticed  \nthat her jeans, and her overalls the day before, hid a pair of wiry, powerful  \nlegs. It was almost impossible to keep up with her. She scrambled and jumped over  \npiles of trash like she'd been born for it. All Justin could see of her big bare  \nfurless feet were flashes of pink.  \nShe stopped every now and then to let him catch up. She grinned at him. He  \ndefinitely wasn't a lazy couch potato like Greg, but she was sure making him look  \nlike one.  \n\"You're acting like you've never run through a dump before!\" she called  \nover her shoulder teasingly.  \n\"Shut up!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nAfter having traversed a good deal of the dump, they finally made it to the  \nfront gate. Justin was a bit winded, but Lena looked peppy as ever. She jogged in  \nplace for a little bit. \"Slowpoke,\" she teased.  \nJustin decided to wait until he got his breath back to reply to that.  \nAt the side of the main gate was a little shack that looked like a  \ntollbooth. The incoming fursons gave the guy at the window three dollars and then  \nthey were let in to get rid of their trash. At the moment, Justin could see a  \nlittle bit of the man sitting inside. Not much more than his pant legs, as he had  \nhis feet propped up on the desk, but enough to be sure that the old German  \nShepherd truly was gone for good. 'Bon voyage, you paranoid old poop', Justin  \nthought.  \n\"Hey \\_DAD\\_!!!\" Lena blasted out at an impressive volume. \"Come see what I  \nfound in the garbage the other day!!\" She turned around and blew a little  \nraspberry at Justin.  \nHe shrugged. \"Well, it's true,\" he had to admit.  \nThe door of the little booth opened up, and the man who stepped out made  \nJustin do a double take.  \nFor starters, he'd expected another rat, like Lena. This guy was a skunk!  \nHis glossy black and white fur shimmered in the hot afternoon sun. His giant  \nbushy tail swayed lazily behind him as he walked.  \nHe was wearing an ocean-blue button-down shirt, khakis, and tan work boots.  \nOn his head was perched a cowboy hat that no one but a tourist or a newcomer  \nwould actually wear, and on his pink triangular nose was perched a pair of round  \nwire-frame bifocals.  \nHe was tall like a saguaro, lanky and sun-hardened. His body looked like it  \nwas made entirely of vertical lines, except for his round, warm face. He smiled  \ncheerfully when he saw the two kids. He looked like a perfect combination of  \nintelligence and hard work.  \n\"He's a skunk!\" Justin noted.  \nLena laughed at him. \"I'm adopted, ya fuckin' retard!\" she said playfully.  \nJustin glared at her, but he was grinning. \"Asshole.\"  \n\"Fuckface!\"  \n\"Shitsucker!\"  \n\"Nipplehead!\"  \nJustin stopped cold. \"Nipplehead?! What the hell is a nipplehead!?\"  \nLena shrugged. \"I don't know! It just popped out!\"  \nThe skunk grinned as he loped up. \"Well, you two seem to be playing  \nnicely.\"  \nLena jumped up on him and hugged him so hard she nearly toppled him over.  \n\"Daddeeeee!\" she squealed. She pointed at her wolffox friend. \"This is Justin. He  \nlikes garbage too!\"  \nThat wasn't the best way in the world to be introduced to someone, but  \nJustin figured that in this family it wouldn't matter. He put out his paw for a  \nshake. \"Hello, sir,\" he said politely.  \n\"Well 'hello, sir' back to you too,\" said the skunk. He took Justin's paw  \nin both of his and gave it one strong up-and-down pump. \"Adam Tellavasco. Pleased  \nto meet you.\"  \n\"Justin Dalton. But I don't like my last name.\"  \n\"Okay. Just Justin then.\"  \nJustin nodded. He liked the guy already. Aside from seeming pretty cool, he  \nwas talking to him respectfully, like he was another adult. Justin couldn't  \nremember the last time any other grown-up had treated him that way. And he was  \nkind of a handsome skunk too. The little wolffox blushed a bit when he realized  \nhe'd thought that.  \nLena released her father and started making little patterns in the sand  \nwith her toeclaws. \"Anyone do any dumping today yet, Dad?\" she asked.  \n\"A few people.\" He looked across the dump, pointing off to the side. \"Over  \nthere. Two guys so far. One of them had a whole truckload. Looked interesting.\"  \nLena grinned in delight. \"Cool!\"  \nThe tall skunk turned to Justin. \"Lena was telling me about you last night  \nat dinner. You like looking through trash too?\" he asked, but in a very gentle  \nvoice so Justin would know he didn't disapprove of such activities.  \nJustin was a bit embarrassed anyway. \"Well, yeah. Sometimes.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco patted him on the shoulder. \"Hey, nothing wrong with that!  \nI've been stomping around in garbage most of my life. I'm an amateur  \ngarbologist.\"  \nJustin arched an eyebrow in a 'you gotta be kidding me' way. \"That is \\_not\\_  \na real word.\"  \nAdam looked melodramatically offended. \"It is too!\"  \n\"Really?\"  \nMr. Tallevasco made a little 'trust me' gesture with his paws. \"Swear to  \nGod. I'm a garbologist. I study garbage. You'd be surprised at what you can learn  \nabout a furson if you root through their trash.\"  \n\"I bet I wouldn't,\" Justin said with a bit of pride. \"I've been dump-diving  \nhere for years now. I know plenty of stuff about people. Heck, if I wanted, I  \ncould probably rip a lot of people off. Dummies leave their bank numbers in plain  \nsight sometimes.\"  \nAdam was a tad startled. \"That's not exactly what I meant, but I'll  \nacknowledge we're in the same field. I'm talking more about garbage as a form of  \nsociology. Did you know that most of the stuff archaeologists know about ancient  \ncivilizations, they get from looking through dead people's trash?\"  \nJustin thought that was kind of interesting. \"Really?\"  \nLena was off doing her own thing; she'd heard this plenty of times before.  \nAdam crouched down in the dusty road beside Justin, his paw on the boy's  \nshoulder. \"Believe it. When you think about it, it makes sense. People from past  \neras would throw their trash in big heaps, just like this dump here, and it'd get  \nburied and preserved long after all their buildings and culture were gone.  \nHundreds of years later, some guy stumbles by, sees something sticking out of the  \nground, calls an archaeologist, and presto! Just like a time capsule!\"  \n\"That's pretty cool!\" Justin said. \"So someday after we're all dead, a  \nbunch of future fursons, of maybe their robots, will uncover all this junk?\"  \n\"Exactly,\" the bespectacled skunk concurred.  \n\"And they'll probably conclude we were all a bunch of drunken rednecks,\"  \nJustin deadpanned.  \nAdam snorted with laughter and nearly fell over. \"I hate to say it, but I  \nthink you're right, my lupine friend.\"  \nJustin rather liked being referred to as 'my lupine friend'.  \nMr. Tallevasco stood back up. He removed his silly hat for a moment to  \nscratch between his ears. Justin noticed that his hair was pure white, like his  \nstripes. \"I also dabble a bit in the occult, but they're two completely different  \nsubjects.\"  \n\"Oh yes, totally unrelated!\" Lena joined in.  \n\"Indeed. Completely and utterly unrelated.\"  \nThe two of them grinned and chucked at one another, obviously enjoying some  \nin-joke that Justin didn't get. Maybe he'd find out eventually, but he didn't  \nwant to be rude and pry into it now.  \n\"You two want some snacks before you go off treasure hunting?\" Mr.  \nTallevasco asked.  \nSnacks? He was actually being offered snacks? Now Justin knew he \\_really\\_  \nliked this guy. \"Sure! Thank you very much!\" he said enthusiastically.  \n\"Me too, Dad!\" Lena added.  \n\"Okee-doke. Come on in where it's cool and shady. I got some pop in the  \nmini-fridge. I think there's some of those little cake things left over.\"  \nJustin wondered if they were the allegedly-just-fine snack cakes Lena had  \nfound in the trash the day before. He followed the rat and the skunk into the  \nlittle shack, noticing that this was the first time he'd ever been inside of it.  \nIt looked pretty much like a tiny little office. There was only one chair,  \nso two of them would have to stand. There was a short wooden desk, clean and  \norganized. Justin guessed it wouldn't stay that way much longer. At the back was  \na little fridge and above it was a corkboard covered in notes, schedules, and  \nrather a lot of pictures of Adam and Lena together, always smiling brightly.  \nThe big skunk cracked open the fridge and it whined in protest. He tossed a  \ncan of cola to Justin. It was so chilly he nearly dropped it. Another can went to  \nLena. \"Cheers,\" said Justin. He bumped cans with his new friend and they both  \npopped their pull-tabs.  \nIt was good and cold, which was a nice relief on a hot day like this. Lena  \ntook a long gulp, then held the can to her forehead for a while before rubbing it  \nup and down the length of her long furless tail.  \n\"Snack cake?\" Adam asked, holding out the box with a few slightly-squished  \nones still in the bottom. He took a seat in the big, broken-in leather desk  \nchair.  \n\"Are those...?\" Justin started.  \n\"Yes, and I was right,\" Lena cut in. \"They're fine! As long as the  \nwrapper's intact, it's not like any germs can get in. Besides, they cram these  \nthings fulla preservatives anyway.\"  \nAdam nodded, already nibbling on one, which was melting a bit in his paw.  \n\"That's true. I've heard these things have a shelf life of twenty years or so.  \nKind of strange, isn't it, to eat something that'll outlive most housepets?\"  \nThat was certainly a weird observation. \"Well, okay,\" Justin said bravely.  \n\"You guys are eating 'em and you're not dropping dead.\"  \nAt that, the skunk and the rat could not resist making overdramatic gagging  \nnoises and slumping over.  \n\"Ha ha ha,\" Justin said, and took the last one.  \nThey grinned at him.  \nAnd actually, the cake was not bad.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 4\\*  \n  \nAs the days progressed, Justin and Lena swiftly and effortlessly became  \nbest friends. Soon Justin couldn't imagine life without her. She gave him a  \nreason to be happy. Life was no longer just hiding from his brothers, getting  \ndisgusted stares from his classmates and being picked on by his teacher. His  \nsecret, solitary act of pleasure; exploring the dump, had become something  \nshared. It was so much better now.  \nSure they'd occasionally have squabbles, but never any fights. They called  \neach other filthy names constantly, but that was only playing.  \nAbout the only thing they ever got into any real arguments about was over  \ntrash finds. Sometimes they'd discover something that both of them wanted.  \nEventually it was decided that \"whosoever touches it first shall become rightful  \nowner\" would be their ironclad rule, no bitching allowed.  \nAlthough if the loser still wanted the disputed object badly enough, they  \ncould always try to barter for it. That became a fun activity all on its own.  \nThey found it was as much fun looking for stuff the other furson would like as it  \nwas searching for their own goodies. It was like going christmas shopping every  \nday.  \nOne such situation came up out of the blue about a week after Lena and  \nJustin first met.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThe black plastic bag ripped satisfyingly under her paws. Lena gasped in  \ndelight at what she'd uncovered. A goldmine! Some fed-up mother had gone through  \nher kid's closet and thrown away everything in sight. The little ratgirl called  \nher wolffox friend over to explore it with her.  \nThey both reached in, grinning, and pulled the bag wide open. \"Cool!\"  \nJustin exclaimed, as he noticed a little robot figure. It looked quite sinister,  \nwith snapping pincers and a missile launcher on top of its head. Justin poked at  \nit, and a little red piece of plastic shot out and bonked right into his  \nforehead. \"Sweet! It's still got the missile!\" Finding a toy like this with all  \nits parts and weapons was a miracle!  \nLena was looking through some stuffed animals. \"Oh, these are cute!\"  \nJustin looked up, and noticed Lena holding a medium-sized fox plush with  \ncarrot-colored fur and a green hat and sweater.  \nFor some reason, he felt his heart go out to the little vixen. She was  \nadorable, and he knew right away he wanted her to cuddle with. But Lena had  \ntouched it first. How could he get it back from her without looking like a big  \nsissy?  \nLena noticed him staring at the fox. \"Um, I guess I'll keep these. If you  \ndon't mind,\" she said slowly, not sure if she was misreading his expression.  \nJustin blushed. He trusted her, but this was still very conflicting. He was  \nsupposed to be a tough guy. Sneaky and devious. Cool and collected.  \nAnd yet he still played with stuffed animals.  \n'Then again,' a little voice spoke up, 'Lena's comfortable with being  \nboyish sometimes. Do you really think she'd make fun of you if you wanted to be a  \nlittle girlish?'  \nWith great courage, Justin haltingly said, \"Actually, um... I'd kinda like  \nthat fox you're holding.\"  \nLena looked down at it. She'd seen in her friend's eyes that the plushie  \nmeant something to him. She kinda liked that. She'd had many experiences where  \nshe'd found a stuffed animal and make an instant connection with it. Something  \nwould click, and she'd want to cuddle it right away, even if it was old and  \nsticky and its seams were popping loose. She was happy to know that Justin could  \nfeel the same way too. \"Well, you know The Rule,\" she said with a little smile.  \n\"You've gotta trade me something for her.\"  \nJustin looked around, trying desperately to spot something good enough.  \nShe giggled. \"Oh, how 'bout that gum wrapper?\" she pointed out.  \nJustin looked up, and saw in her eyes that she knew how he felt about the  \nplushie, and that she didn't mind. She was giving it to him to make him happy. He  \nsmiled warmly at her, passing along a silent 'thank you'. He picked up the  \nwrapper and handed it to her.  \nShe gave him the fox and took the wrapper. \"Ooh, I'll treasure it forever!\"  \nshe gushed. They both laughed.  \nJustin held the fluffy plush vixen in his arms. She was perfect. She was  \neven in good condition; no stains, no missing patches of fur. Just one little  \nloose seam he could easily sew up. The fox's shiny plastic eyes were happy, as if  \nshe knew she'd found the right owner. Justin gave her a little hug.  \n\"Awwwww,\" said Lena.  \nJustin blushed.  \nShe smiled at him. \"It's okay. I like plushies too. I don't think you're a  \nbaby or anything.\"  \nFeeling a bit more confident, Justin gave his new fuzzy fox friend a kiss.  \nHe felt really happy. He looked up at Lena. \"Thanks. My life sucks a lot of the  \ntime, and it's nice to have something soft to hold, you know?\"  \nShe nodded, understanding perfectly. \"Do you give yours names?\" she asked.  \n\"Oh, of course,\" he replied without hesitation. \"Who doesn't?\"  \n\"I thought so. Only fursons who really care about their plushies name  \nthem,\" she said sagely.  \nJustin froze. A terrifying, impossible thought had suddenly occurred to  \nhim. 'No. Never. Not in a million years...' It was out of his mouth before he  \ncould stop himself. \"Do you wanna go see something in the woods?\"  \n\"Mmmmmaybe. What is it?\" She noticed how nervous he looked. \"Is it  \nsomething secret? Something special?\"  \nJustin was trembling all over. He weakly managed to nod. A large part of  \nhim was screaming not to do this. It was his freakin' Treasure Chest, dammit! No  \none was supposed to know about it but him! Never, ever, ever!!!  \nLena got to her feet. \"Wanna go now?\" From the tremor in his eyes, she  \nguessed that this was something he'd only have the courage for if they did it  \nright away, while the idea was fresh. If she let it wait till later, it probably  \nwouldn't happen at all.  \n\"Um, I guess so.\" He gathered up all of the day's finds in his backpack,  \nmindful to keep Lena's stuff separate in a plastic bag. He stood up and looked at  \nher, feeling awkward.  \n\"Where do we hafta go?\" she asked, her green eyes wide with curiosity.  \nHe pointed in the general direction. \"Over there, past all the cars. I know  \nwhere it is. Just follow me.\"  \n\"Okay.\"  \nJustin shouldered his backpack and started leading the way.  \n'You colossal idiot!' part of him screamed. 'You can't show her the secret  \ntreasure chest! Turn back now before it's too late!'  \n'Shut up! I already told her I was gonna show her something,' another part  \nreplied.  \n'Show her a tree! Show her a rock! Anything but the footlocker!'  \n'Why not? She's not gonna laugh, or try to steal anything. She's my  \nfriend.'  \n'You \\*think\\* she's your friend! Are you really gonna trust her with the  \nbiggest secret you have?'  \n\"Fuck you,\" he muttered under his breath. \"Lena's cool. I'm not gonna be a  \njerk about this.\"  \n\"Did you say something?\" Lena called out from behind him.  \n\"Just talking to myself!\" he shouted over his shoulder.  \nJust from the look on his face, the young rat could tell that her new best  \nfriend was really worried about showing her whatever it was he was going to show  \nher. It was probably something he'd never let anyone else know about before.  \nLena sighed sadly. It reminded her of the secrets she was keeping from him  \ntoo. She honestly didn't know if she would ever feel comfortable telling him,  \neven though she'd been considering the idea for a week now. Maybe she'd never  \nfind anyone she could tell...  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThe two little ones walked along in silence for quite some time before they  \nreached the slightly rusty black footlocker. It was partially buried in the dirt,  \nand camouflaged by a pile of tree limbs.  \nLena was confused. \"It's a box. It's a big black box,\" she said flatly.  \n\"Well, there's stuff inside it, ya moron,\" he kidded.  \n\"Oh. That makes sense.\"  \nJustin kneeled down in the soft, cool earth. He tossed the tree branches to  \nthe side and was about to start fiddling with the combination lock. He stopped  \nand looked uneasily at Lena. \"Hey. Um... Could you become really interested in  \nsomething over there right now?\" he asked her.  \nLena understood. She turned around. \"Oh look! Some trees!\" she exclaimed.  \nJustin was still too nervous to laugh, though the way she'd said it was  \npretty funny. He quickly spun in the combination and popped the lock off. \"Okay,  \nyou can look now,\" he said.  \nLena knelt down on the ground beside him. The forest around them was cool  \nand calm. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves and the occasional tweet of a  \nbird. \"What's in it?\" she asked in a hushed, eager tone.  \nJustin put his paws on the sides of the lid. He hesitated and bit his lip.  \nHe turned to Lena, feeling almost like he was about to cry. \"Um... Look, this is  \nreally personal stuff. I've never shown anyone this before. This is like baring  \nmy soul to you, so be cool about it, okay?\"  \nHis slightly brusque tone did not offend her. Rather, she knew exactly what  \nhe was feeling right now. She leaned closer and gave him a sudden hug. \"It's  \nokay. I won't laugh, or whatever you're worried I'll do. You're my best friend,  \nJustin.\" And with that, she gave him a little kiss on his cheek.  \nJustin looked at her with wide eyes. Surprise had completely replaced  \nanxiety. \"You kissed me,\" he said flatly.  \nShe blushed, not sure if that had been the right thing to do. \"Yeah...\"  \nHe smiled suddenly. He touched his cheek where she'd kissed him. \"Thanks.\"  \nShe smiled too. \"You're welcome.\"  \nJustin hesitated for a second, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek  \ntoo.  \nLena giggled. The little rat's tail flicked happily.  \nHer whiskers had tickled! Justin gave her a beaming smile. All at once, he  \nfelt completely comfortable with showing her his treasures. \"Okay, here it is.\"  \nHe lifted up the lid.  \n\"Oh wow!\" Lena took in the sight before her. The box was full of toys! All  \nsorts of neat stuff, all of it cleaned up and well-cared for. Everything was  \norganized into cardboard boxes. Action figures, Legos, trading cards, toy cars,  \nrobots, a stack of paperback books (one of which had a rather dirty-sounding  \ntitle), and a small collection of stuffed animals.  \nJustin felt his cheeks get hot when her gaze fell upon his plushies.  \n\"They're cute!\" she squeaked. She reached in to pick one up, then abruptly  \nstopped herself and looked to Justin to see if it was okay.  \nHe felt a little alarmed, but was relieved to see her stop and ask him for  \npermission. \"It's okay.\"  \nThey both reached in and got out the plushies, sitting them on the ground  \nbeside the box or on their laps.  \n\"What are their names?\" Lena asked.  \nJustin pointed to the foot-tall purple skunk she was holding. \"That's  \nViolet.\" He went in a circle, pointing out each of his beloved plushies in turn.  \nA handsome brown fox with extremely lifelike eyes: \"Alex.\" A plump skunk that was  \nactually a large hand puppet: \"Melissa.\" A seated squirrel the color of smoke:  \n\"Sandy.\" Another fox, this one with yellowish fur and a happy smile: \"Kit.\" A  \nblack-furred mouse with blue eyes in a red top hat and vest: \"Sammy.\" A little  \nblack bat with velvety wings: \"Serena.\" A donut-shaped, lying down vixen with a  \nwhite face: \"Amanda.\" A pudgy grey mouse with white paws and a red nose: \"Rachel.  \nShe's my favorite.\" And finally a white mouse in a slightly tattered adventurer's  \ncostume: \"And this is Ruthie.\"  \n\"Wasn't she on some cartoon show?\" Lena asked.  \n\"I think so. I found her at a flea market,\" Justin said.  \nLena noticed that all the plushies but Ruthie and Sammy were nonevs,  \nmeaning 'non-evolved'. They looked more like wild animals instead of civilized  \nfursons. She noticed two things that all of them had in common though: One, they  \nall had very expressive faces. Some of them had gentle smiles. Some of them  \nlooked a little sad, as if they needed someone to come pick them up and give them  \na hug. And Two, they were all obviously very well taken care of. They all had  \nclean, fluffy fur, and she even noticed a few that had clumsy but loving attempts  \nto patch up their ripped seams.  \nThe little ratgirl smiled warmly. She gathered all of Justin's plushies up  \nin her arms and gave them a great big hug. \"I'm very pleased to meet you all!\"  \nshe said with a giggle.  \nJustin felt something wondrous in his heart. He'd shared his most closely  \nguarded secret with someone, and it hadn't been scary at all. It hadn't  \nbackfired. In fact, seeing Lena cuddling the plushies that he loved so much,  \nseeing them all sitting on her lap getting hugged, made Justin feel happy and  \ncontent inside. He was glad she was enjoying his plushies. He liked being able to  \nshare them.  \n\"Remember the one in your backpack,\" Lena noted.  \n\"Oh,\" said Justin. He slipped his pack off and unzipped it. He fumbled  \naround inside for a bit before bringing out his new little vixen in her green  \nsweater and hat. He gave her a happy hug.  \n\"And what's her name?\" Lena asked. \"A lot of times when I get a new  \nplushie, even if they don't have a tag, they'll tell me their names right away.  \nI'll just look at them, and I'll know.\"  \nJustin grinned. \"Hey, that happens to me too!\" He looked into the pretty  \ngreen eyes of his new fox. \"Felicia,\" he said at last, and with finality. \"Her  \nname's Felicia.\"  \nLena reached over to pat the little fox on the head. \"Hello, Felicia. I'm  \nsure Justin will take good care of you.\"  \n\"I will,\" the wolffox boy assured. He gave Felicia a kiss, and then sniffed  \nher. \"Hey, neat. I won't have to wash her off. She doesn't smell bad at all.\"  \nOut of curiosity, Lena sniffed the plushies she was holding. \"These ones  \nare all stinky,\" she declared.  \nJustin looked worried for a second. \"What do you mean? Did something spill  \non them?\" he asked worriedly.  \nShe giggled. \"No, silly! They smell like you! Stinky puppy smell!\"  \nJustin grinned and gave her a little foxish bark. \"I do not stink!\" Then he  \nthought about it. \"Well, okay. I guess I do. But you stink too,\" he said  \nplayfully.  \n\"Really? Oh goody! Do I smell like stinky trash?\"  \nJustin nodded. \"Uh huh. And you have your own special smelly rat smell.\"  \nShe grinned brightly and hugged his plushies. \"Thank you! You smell like  \nstinky garbage too, Justin!\"  \nHe chuckled. \"Thank you too.\" Among the both of them, that was certainly  \nnot an insult in any way. In fact, the more he thought about it, calling each  \nother stinky like garbage was kind of a compliment.  \n\"You stink, Lena,\" he said tenderly.  \n\"You stink too, Justin.\"  \nAnd oddly enough, they'd both said it just like saying 'I love you'.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 5\\*  \n  \nThe screen door slammed behind him with a loud clatter. \"I'm home!\" Justin  \ncalled out.  \n\"Don't slam the goddam door,\" his mother groused from the couch.  \n\"Sorry,\" he said automatically, without meaning it. \"Um, I'm gonna be going  \nover to a friend's house for dinner tonight, is that okay?\" His voice was guarded  \nand hesitant.  \nShe looked up from the television. Her sagging, puffy face held nothing but  \nsuspicion. \"Since when do you have friends?\" she asked cruelly.  \nJustin winced. 'Ouch.' He straightened up. \"A new kid moved in. I've known  \nhim for a while now.\" He'd decided it would be a lot better if no one knew his  \nnew friend was a girl. His brothers would undoubtedly call him a fag, but at  \nleast they wouldn't really mean it. God knew what kind of sick mind games they'd  \nthink up if they found out he had a girlfriend-of-sorts. \"He invited me over to  \nhis place tonight.\"  \nThe whale of a wolf regarded her son with beady eyes like broken bottle  \nshards pressed into bread dough.  \nJustin kept his mouth shut. She was waiting for him to crack, to admit that  \nhe wasn't telling her the whole truth. He wasn't going to let her intimidate him  \nthis time. Knowing that Lena was waiting for him gave him strength. It was  \ninteresting for him to realize that it was easier to stand firm when you were  \ndoing it for someone else that you cared about.  \nFinally she grunted and looked away, starting to stare again at whatever  \ninsipid talk show was on at the moment. \"Fine. Go off and do whatever. You're  \nprobably going to go get in trouble, aren't you? Well, don't expect me to bail  \nyou out if you do something stupid and get caught.\"  \n\"Thank you,\" he said with a little nod. \"And I'm not gonna do anything  \nbad,\" he added softly. He wished she could just maybe try a little bit, just  \nonce, to not think the worst of him.  \nShe was silent as stone.  \nJustin turned to leave, when she spoke up suddenly.  \n\"I'm lockin' the doors before I go to bed. So if you're not home by then,  \nyou're out of luck,\" she mumbled.  \n\"Okay,\" said Justin. Normally her attitude would piss him off, but today it  \njust saddened him. He shut the screen door gently behind him as he left.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nLena was waiting for him in the woods behind the house. \"Did she say yes?\"  \nshe asked, not sounding very hopeful.  \nJustin shrugged and smiled. \"Stop the presses. The lard-beast actually  \ndidn't give me too much shit about it.\"  \nLena did a little jump of happiness. \"Great!\" She was dressed in her  \noveralls again today, along with a powder-blue T-shirt that read \"Fuck  \nEverything\" in dainty cursive script. (She told Justin it was the only shirt  \nshe'd ever bought in store, because she liked the philosophy so much.) She also  \nhad a pink scrunchie in her hair, making a kind of almost-ponytail out of her  \nterminally messy locks.  \nJustin was clad in jeans and a black shirt with \"Ah Boo Dee Boo Dah\"  \nprinted on it in red block letters. Neither he nor anyone at school knew what it  \nmeant. He suspected it was a band name.  \nWith warm afternoon sunshine on their shoulders, the two friends wandered  \noff unhurriedly, talking casually about whatever popped into their heads. They'd  \ntake a while to partake in their favorite pastime at the dump, then head over to  \nLena's house afterwards for dinner. Justin was looking forward to finally seeing  \nwhere she lived, and getting the chance to find out what actual cooked food  \ntasted like.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nA few hours later, they both had sweaty fur, dirty pants and not much to  \nshow for it. Justin had made out better than Lena, but overall it was a mediocre  \ntrash day. A nicely-painted rubber pencil topper shaped like a dinosaur was the  \nmost exciting thing he'd found.  \nIt didn't matter though. He was happy enough just to spend time with Lena.  \nHe felt a sort of giddy pleasure at just knowing that she liked him enough to  \ninvite him over. He'd never been asked over to a friend's house before. He really  \nhad no idea what the procedure was. He just hoped he'd have a good time and not  \ndo anything embarrassing.  \nBrushing the schmutz from their paws and pant legs, he and Lena headed out  \nof the dump. The front gates were chained and padlocked when they finally got  \nthere. The collection booth was empty. Adam had quit for the day and was already  \nhome starting on dinner.  \n\"So, what's your dad gonna cook?\" Justin asked as they turned left at the  \ngates and headed into a patch of trees.  \n\"I dunno. Something tasty. He's a good cook,\" Lena said, sounding quite  \nproud of him.  \n\"My mom's never cooked anything tasty in her life,\" Justin replied with a  \nwry grin. \"At my house, if it doesn't come out of a box, it doesn't end up on the  \ntable.\"  \nLena chuckled. She did not have to ask why Justin had never invited her  \nover to his house. The fact didn't bother her at all. In fact, it made her glad.  \nIt showed her that he cared about her enough to want to keep her hidden and  \nprotected from his family, like his footlocker full of treasures.  \nThe two of them stepped out of a cluster of trees and came upon a modest  \nlittle wooden house. Two stories, plus a front porch and an expansive yard. The  \nwalls were painted cola-at-the-bottom-of-the-glass brown, with sky blue window  \nshutters. Justin thought the place looked cozy and friendly.  \nThere were various bits of trash and toys littering the front yard, along  \nwith an ugly brown four-door sedan. One of its doors was orange. \"The  \nFrankenmobile?\" he guessed.  \nLena nodded. \"Good, you remembered!\" Then she grinned from ear to ear and  \ntugged on his arm. \"Come on back behind the house! You've gotta meet the Green  \nBeast!\" she said excitedly.  \nShe had never exactly explained what kind of car the Green Beast was.  \nJustin guessed it was probably A: green and B: rather large. He was rather  \ncurious about it, since she'd always sounded so proud of it. He followed her  \nthrough a grove of tall, tickly weeds on the side of the house to the backyard.  \nHe stopped dead in his tracks. \"Holy shit!\" he shouted with a grin.  \nSitting there, basking in the sun, was a garbage truck! An \\_enormous\\_  \ngarbage truck! A nifty older model too; probably several decades old. It looked  \nlike it had been fully restored. It was painted a bright, sparkling kelly green.  \nIt had loads of personality. The round headlights and broad grille seemed to  \nsmile at Justin and say 'Howdy!'  \n\"You \\_own\\_ a garbage truck?! Sweet jesus, that's cool!\" he exploded.  \nLena giggled, bounced over and gave the truck's front wheel cover a hug.  \n\"Meet the Beast! Dad bought her at a public auction years back when he was still  \nworking at the landfill. She really looked awful back then! He was the only  \nbidder and we got her for a tenth what she's worth. We've been fixing her guts  \nand spiffing up her paint job ever since. We've even done some custom work. Dad's  \ngot a crystal skull for the gear shift knob.\"  \nJustin walked slowly around the truck, eyes wide and mouth gaping open. His  \ngaze was reverent, as if in the presence of a great work of art. \"She's  \nbeautiful!\" he finally sputtered.  \nLena seemed to really appreciate him saying that. \"Thanks! I just love her  \nto bits. Dad's trying to work out a deal with city hall to set up a weekly trash  \ncollection. The Beast wants to get out on the road and do her job.\"  \nJustin seemed sad to hear that. \"But then all the trash'll get crushed  \nbefore we get a chance to go through it!\" he protested.  \nShe laughed at him like that was the stupidest thing he'd ever said. \"You  \ntotal dumbass! Dad would never do that! You know he knows I love trash-picking.  \nThe Beast's collection bin's so big, and this city's so small, Dad won't have to  \ncompact the stuff at all. It'll be like getting the stuff delivered right to our  \ndoorstep! And we'll never have to worry about being spied on while we trash-pick  \never again!\"  \nJustin's frown turned upside down. \"That's great!\" he said excitedly.  \n\"Wanna look in the back?\" Lena asked.  \n\"Sure!\"  \nThe two of them raced around to the Green Beast's backside. Lena was right;  \nthe place where the garbage would go was cavernous. \"Heloooo!\" he shouted, and  \nindeed there was an echo.  \n\"She's an extra-huge model,\" Lena explained. \"Made for some big city's  \ntrash collection, so she can hold a lot. She could hold a month's worth of this  \ntown's garbage. Dad could probably do two weeks' worth of rounds without having  \nto compact anything!\"  \nJustin looked around inside, scrutinizing all the moving parts, wondering  \nhow that huge blade came down and scooped up its cargo.  \n\"Wanna hop inside?\" she dared.  \n\"In this heat?\" he said incredulously. \"Fuck you! I'd burn my feet off!\"  \nShe gave him a sly 'you have no idea what you're talking about' look.  \n\"Trust me. Hop up inside. I'll even give you a push.\"  \nIntrigued now, and mostly certain that she wouldn't ask him to if it wasn't  \nsafe, Justin took hold of the edge of the collection bin and hoisted himself up.  \n\"No thanks, I can do it myself.\"  \nIn a flash, Lena had jumped up beside him. \"Me too,\" she said smugly.  \nHe stuck his tongue out at her. He lifted one leg over the side and stepped  \ninto the garbage truck's interior. He lowered his paw carefully, expecting the  \nmetal to be searing hot considering it'd been sitting in the sun all day long.  \nTo his surprise, the metal floor was nice and cool. He gingerly stepped all  \nthe way in, mindful not to bash his skull on the low-hanging blade. \"Wow! It's  \ncool in here. How'd you do it?\"  \nLena followed him inside. She walked around, her arms spread wide as if  \nshowing off a new house. The truck actually seemed even bigger now that they were  \ninside of it. It looked like they could host a party in here. \"A thin sheet of  \ninsulating foamy stuff over the old walls, and some new low-heat-conducting  \npanels over top of that,\" she described. \"She's like a fuckin' huge Thermos on  \nwheels. In the summer, it's always nice 'n cool inside. When it gets really hot  \nout, it's nice to come in here and lay down, have some lemonade, and read a good  \nbook.\"  \nJustin looked around in wonder. \"I didn't think it was possible...\" he  \nstarted, craning his neck around to get a good look up inside the turtle-shell-  \nshaped roof, \"...but I'm actually even more ashamed of my dad's station wagon  \nnow.\"  \nLena giggled.  \nAll of a sudden, Justin heard a loud 'thunk' and then a deafening whirring  \nfilled the truck's interior.  \nStartled, the young wolffox looked towards where he'd come in, and realized  \nthe blade was moving! Someone had started up the truck's compactor!  \nHe whirled around to Lena, panic in his eyes, and was further perplexed by  \nthe fact that she seemed totally calm! She walked over and took hold of his arm.  \nShe gazed at him with a very wicked smile.  \n\"Lena! The blade! We're gonna get crushed!!\" he shouted.  \n\"Exactly,\" she purred, then let out a long villainous laugh.  \nThe blade was coming closer and closer. The whine of the hydraulics made  \nthe floor vibrate. The sunlight shrank to just a thin blinding line under the  \nedge of the blade.  \n\"What the fuck is going on here?!?\" he howled.  \n\"You're trapped!\" Lena said melodramatically. \"Trapped in my Garbage Truck  \nOf Doom, and there's no escape!\"  \nJustin flattened himself against the back of the bin, watching that  \ngigantic heavy wall of metal inch closer, closing in on him like a venus  \nflytrap...  \nAnd all of a sudden it just stopped.  \nThere was at least four feet of room left between him and the blade.  \nLena fell over on the floor laughing.  \nJustin finally realized that they'd been completely safe the entire time.  \n\"You bitch!\" he screamed at her, starting to laugh too. \"You complete bitch! You  \nalmost gave me a fuckin' heart attack!\"  \nShe could barely talk, she was laughing so hard. \"Th-the look on your f-f-  \nface!!\" she sputtered and rolled over on her back, cackling wildly, her legs  \nkicking in the air. \"Her bin's so big, the blade doesn't go all the way back. Did  \nyou even stop to think that I'd get squished too?\"  \nOkay, yeah, on hindsight that was kinda obvious. Justin tried to look  \nfurious at her, but it was hard to bite back giggles. He'd been had, and there  \nwas no use denying it. \"Allright, it was funny. You scared me so bad I'm gonna  \nhave to wash my pants now. Ha ha,\" he deadpanned.  \nLena sat up and grinned like a hyena. \"Number one or two?\" she asked  \ncutely.  \n\"Both. And a little of number three,\" he replied.  \nThat totally knocked her out. She fell over laughing again.  \nBy now the blade had begun to return to its original position. As it  \nlifted, Justin could make out a figure standing there at the opening.  \nOnce the hydraulics stopped and the Beast was once again dormant, Lena's  \ndad crawled up inside. \"Hello, Justin!\" he called out with a smile. \"Sorry if I  \nscared you too bad. Lena made me do it.\"  \n\"It's true,\" she said matter-of-factly. \"I held a gun to his head 'n  \neverything,\" she kidded.  \n'Of course,' Justin thought. 'Someone had to have been operating it from  \ninside the cab.' \"You have a really strange way of welcoming guests, Mr.  \nTallevasco,\" he said, putting out his paw for a shake.  \nAnother hearty up-and-down pump. \"Actually, you're the first one besides me  \nand th' ratgirl here to see the Beast's interior. Ain't she a beaut?\"  \n\"She is pretty damn cool,\" Justin admitted.  \n\"Did Lena tell you about my plan to start up a weekly trash collection?\"  \nAdam asked.  \n\"Mm-hmm. Sounds like a good idea.\"  \n\"If you like, once the city commissioner makes his decision, which should  \nbe any day now by the way, I'll let you ride with me in the cab sometime,\" he  \noffered.  \nJustin perked up. \"Really? Sweet! Thank you!\" He gave the lanky skunk  \nanother, much more vigorous handshake.  \n\"How's dinner coming?\" Lena piped up. \"I'm hungry.\"  \n\"A few more minutes, sweetie,\" her father said. He tussled her already-  \nruffled hair. \"You two can come on inside the house if you like.\"  \n\"Okay. 'Bye Beast!\" Lena said, and gave the side of her beloved trash truck  \nanother hug.  \nAdam suddenly scooped her up under one arm and carried her with him out of  \nthe truck, making noises like a hungry bear carrying off a tasty lost girl scout.  \nLena giggled riotously and her tail swished about behind her.  \nJustin paused a bit, watching them leave.  \nThe moment struck him rather forcefully. Seeing Lena and her dad playing  \ntogether like that was like looking into an alternate dimension. He didn't think  \neither of his parents had \\*ever\\* called him sweetie.  \n\"Geeze, what a difference!\" he muttered in wonderment, then scrambled to  \nhop out of the truck and catch up to them.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nA wall of smell nearly knocked Justin over as he entered the house.  \nFood! Actual, home-cooked, not store-bought FOOD! It was like uncovering  \nthe Holy Grail!  \nHe stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway and just inhaled the odor. He  \nhad no idea what it was. Some kind of meat, maybe. He simply did not have any  \npoint of reference to compare this wonderful, mouthwatering odor to!  \nAs he stood there, he was eventually able to take a look inside Lena's  \nhouse. It looked tidy and clean inside. Someone else had probably lived here  \nbefore, but Lena and her dad had done a great job of making it look like new  \nagain. The furniture definitely looked lived-in, but everything was arranged  \nnicely. He noted the wide grey sofa, two tall bookshelves, and a curio cabinet  \nwhich was almost certainly filled with fascinating knickknacks. There was a great  \nbig rug on the floor with what looked like Indian designs woven into it.  \nJustin was about to step inside, when he caught his reflection in the  \nplexiglass middle section of the screen door.  \nHe was a mess. He'd never really noticed it so acutely before. His clothes  \nwere dirty and worn-out. His fur was matted, scruffy, and encrusted with sweat  \nand grime. He looked, and probably smelled, like he hadn't taken a bath in weeks.  \nThe young wolffox felt suddenly very ashamed of himself. His tail hung down  \nbetween his legs. He didn't want to taint this pretty house with his filthy  \npresence.  \nMr. Tallevasco came over and saw him standing there. \"You want milk or soda  \nwith...\" He stopped in midsentence, noticing the pain in his young guest's eyes.  \n\"What's wrong?\" he asked gently.  \nJustin didn't know how to respond. \"Um...\" He averted his eyes. \"Your house  \nlooks really nice,\" he said finally, almost in a whisper.  \nMr. Tallevasco was about to thank him, when he realized that the little  \nwolffox had really meant something more: 'It's too pretty for a smelly loser like  \nme to deserve to set foot in'.  \nJustin closed his eyes and looked like he was trying hard not to look like  \nhe was about to cry.  \nFrowning with concern, the tall skunk knew he couldn't just let Justin feel  \nthis way. He reached out, grabbed the little wolffox under his armpits, and  \nbodily lifted him into the room. \"There,\" he said happily.  \nJustin looked about in surprise. \"Why did you...?\"  \nAdam kneeled down to the boy's eye level. \"Justin, I'll bet a lot of people  \ntreat you like dirt because of how you look, huh?\" he said softly.  \nJustin nodded.  \n\"I'm not going to treat you like that. I promise. I look at you and I see a  \nsmart, friendly, polite kid who makes my daughter smile when she talks about  \nyou.\"  \nJustin's lip trembled.  \n\"I look at you the same way I look at that big gorgeous dump I spent so  \nmuch time and energy to purchase. Everyone else sees a huge pile of smelly trash.  \nThey don't give it a second's thought. I see something wonderful. I see acres of  \nfree stuff to wade through and explore. Lena sees an everlasting source of  \ninteresting bags and boxes to root through to find all sorts of cool stuff.  \nHidden, special stuff. So what if it's a little smelly, or dirty? Wash it off,  \ngive it some care, and it'll sparkle.\"  \nJustin could not keep his stony composure a second longer. He let out a sob  \nand fell forward into Mr. Tallevasco's open arms. He shuddered and cried on the  \nskunk's broad shoulder.  \nAdam patted the boy on the back and held him tight. \"It's okay, Justin.  \nLena's been telling me about your family. She said she didn't think you'd mind. I  \nthink it's just horrible that you have to come home to a place like that every  \nday. You're a good kid, Justin. Anyone who says different is a blind idiot.\"  \nThe little wolffox's whole body shook as he cried even harder. The fabric  \nof Mr. Tallevasco's shirt was getting soaked with tears.  \n\"And considering that I'm a skunk, and that I grew up in a small town like  \nthis where the other kids would throw rocks at me and call me the most awful  \nnames you can imagine, you can believe me when I say I'll never, ever make fun of  \nyou or look down on you because of how you look or smell. I would be the worst  \nhypocrite in the world if I did.\"  \nJustin smiled warmly. He felt like he was having a heartquake. He barely  \nknew how to respond to this. Being treated with respect was one thing. Having all  \nthese nice things said to him, things no one had ever said to him before, and all  \nof them at once, he had no idea how to handle it. He felt like he was about to  \nshatter like glass.  \nAdam gave him a strong pat on the back. \"Come on. I made some meatloaf and  \nmashed potatoes. You can have as much as you like. I'm happy to welcome you into  \nmy house, Justin. You're my guest.\"  \nHe stood up and took Justin's paw in his own.  \nJustin managed to wipe his eyes on the sleeve of his trembling arm. He  \nlooked up to Mr. Tallevasco. \"Thank you so much.\"  \n\"It's okay,\" he said warmly. \"You looked like you were way overdue for  \nsomeone to say something nice to you.\"  \nJustin smiled weakly, his heart still fluttering, as the two of them walked  \ninside to where dinner was waiting.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 6\\*  \n  \nLena abruptly belched the word 'fuck'.  \nAdam and Justin both laughed out loud.  \nThe meal was over, and Justin considered it to be the single greatest feast  \nhe had ever eaten. He'd had four slices of Mr. Tallevasco's meatloaf. He'd had to  \nwork really hard to keep himself from just devouring it like he was starving. It  \nwas so \\_good\\_! Hot, meaty and juicy! Seasoned perfectly, with little green olives  \non top for decoration. (Mr. Tallevasco said that slices of green pepper were a  \nmore traditional garnish, but that Lena loathed them.)  \nThe mashed potatoes were amazing too. They were \\_actual\\_ potatoes! Potatoes  \nthat had Come Out Of The Ground and were then Peeled and Mashed and Cooked! Not  \nFrom A Box!! The very concept alone was astonishing to Justin. He was sure he'd  \nprobably never be able to eat that instant crap again for the rest of his life.  \nHeck, even the green beans, which he normally hated as much as Lena hated  \ngreen peppers, were tasty. Apparently it had something to do with the fact that  \nMr. Tallevasco actually knew how to cook them, whereas his mother just tossed the  \nfrozen kind in a pan and proceeded to burn the shit out of them every single  \ntime.  \nMore than anything though, what affected Justin most was the simple fact  \nthat he was sitting at a table eating dinner and nobody was fighting or scowling  \nor threatening one another. They were all just talking pleasantly and enjoying  \ntheir food. Justin knew for certain that they really were glad to have him here,  \nthey weren't just doing this out of pity.  \nIt reminded him conversely of the time when he'd been in second grade and  \nhis teacher had decided to make him her 'fixer-upper' project.  \nShe had told him how very, very sorry she was that he had to come to school  \nin such raggedy clothes, and how his mother obviously didn't know how to properly  \nbathe him, and other 'you poor baby' crap like that.  \nEven at that young age, Justin knew better than to put up with that  \nattitude for long. Her compassion was all sticky-sweet and substanceless. She  \ndidn't care about him as a furson. She wanted him to be her little pet. She  \nwanted to give him a good scrubbing and turn him into a perfect gentleman. It was  \nall about her own wants.  \nOne morning, she'd been in his face, smothering him in baby talk, and he'd  \nsimply decided that enough was enough. With no warning, he lashed out and bit her  \nnose as hard as he could. Being just a seven-year-old, he really didn't have much  \njaw power, but the sheer shock value of the act was more than enough to do the  \ntrick. His teacher had screamed and shoved him away, calling him a horrid little  \nmonster.  \nAfter that, she'd watched him like he was a rabid dog off its leash. He'd  \ncertainly put a stop to her little mind games.  \nJustin stopped his thoughts, and pushed that memory aside.  \nThat was then and now was now. Now he was sitting here with a belly full of  \ndelicious food. Now he was sitting across from his best friend who he'd trusted  \nenough to show her his Treasure Chest. Now he was in the home of a man who'd  \nshowed him more genuine kindness in five minutes than he had ever received in his  \nentire life.  \nAdam noticed that Justin was staring down at his plate with a cloudy  \nexpression. He worried that the young canine might be mentally beating himself up  \nagain. \"Justin? Yoo hoo?\" he cautiously spoke.  \nThe wolffox's head sprang up. \"Wha? Oh, sorry. Just thinkin' about stuff.\"  \nHe smiled brightly. \"That was the best meal I've ever eaten!\" he declared  \nforcefully.  \nThe bespectacled skunk smiled. It looked like the kid was doing okay after  \nall. \"You're very much welcome!\"  \n\"Told'ja my dad knows how to cook,\" Lena bragged proudly.  \n\"Hey, after the junk I gotta eat day after day, I wouldn't mind eating some  \nescaped mental patient's cooking. Eating stuff that's actually well-made is  \nalmost too much!\" Justin kidded.  \n\"I'll take that as a compliment, I think,\" Adam said with a lopsided smile.  \n\"It is, Mr. Tallevasco!\" he assured. \"I really am impressed. Thank you  \nagain for having me over.\" He turned to Suzy. \"And thank you too for inviting  \nme.\"  \n\"You're welcome,\" they said in stereo.  \n\"So, do you want me to help clean up the dishes?\" Justin asked.  \nMr. Tallevasco waved it away. \"Naw, that's okay. You kids go play or  \nsomething. I'll handle the mess.\"  \nJustin got up and started stacking his dirty dishes anyway. \"No, really, I  \nwanna help! Please!\"  \nThe skunk gave him a warm smile, then he turned to Lena. \"How come you  \nnever beg me to do chores?\" he asked rhetorically.  \nShe giggled. She turned to Justin, who was already gathering up her dishes  \nas well. \"'Cuz I'm not that stoopid,\" she kidded, crossing her eyes at him.  \n\"I'm not stoopid, I'm just a heck of a lot more polite than you,\" he  \ncountered smartly with a little 'so there' grin.  \nOut of the blue, she leaned over in her seat and smooched him on the cheek.  \n\"I know. I'm just a total jerk, aren't I?\"  \n\"Oh, absolutely!\" he readily agreed.  \nAdam hid his chortles behind his paw as the two of them continued to  \ngleefully insult each other while they cleaned up the table together.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; After the dishes had all been washed and put away through a cheerful team  \neffort, Lena showed Justin her room. Despite having moved in less than a month  \nago, the place was already a complete pigsty. It was the total opposite of the  \nserene, tidy livingroom. She'd made a little sign to hang on the door: BEWARE OF  \nRADIOACTIVE WASTE.  \nJustin, of course, thought the place looked great. There was neat stuff  \nstrewn all over the floor and overflowing out of the closets. You could hardly  \nwalk anywhere without stepping on something. Rude posters adorned the walls.  \nDirty underwear and socks could be seen laying about shamelessly.  \nLena bounded across the room, instinctually knowing where to step, and  \njumped up onto her bed. She bounced a bit and told him to come join her. She  \nchuckled at his valiant, but ultimately doomed, quest to cross the room without  \nstepping on anything hard and pointy.  \nOnce they were both on the bed, Lena pointed out a huge mound of plushies  \nthat was almost as big as she was. She said that she'd found nearly all of them  \nin the trash, and all the rest were from flea markets and yard sales. She said  \nthe town that she'd left had had flea markets everywhere. Being the packrat that  \nshe was (no pun intended), she adored places like that, and so did her father.  \nThey went to three or four every week. Lena said that pretty much everything in  \nthe house was either used or garbage-picked, and she sounded very proud of that  \nfact. \"It's good for the environment, too,\" she noted. \"We're recycling.\"  \nJustin was content to just sit and listen as she gave him the grand tour of  \nher room. He sat and hugged her plushies as she showed him all sorts of strange  \nand interesting things she'd collected over the years. She seemed to remember  \nflawlessly where absolutely everything in the room had come from. Many of her  \npossessions held fascinating stories of how they'd come into the young ratgirl's  \npossession. She told of amazing coincidences, lucky finds, and valuable  \ncollectibles that she'd bought from clueless flea market vendors for fractions of  \ntheir true worth.  \nLena noticed that Justin seemed to have a particular fondness for a little  \nbrown bat plushie she said she'd found years ago at a yard sale for a quarter. As  \nshe talked, he petted the bat's fur and caressed her wings.  \n\"You can have her if you like,\" she said suddenly.  \nHe frowned. \"No way! She's one of yours. I couldn't take her!\"  \nLena smiled a strange, serene smile. \"Do you realize that out of all my  \nplushies, she's about the only one I don't have a real connection with? All the  \nother ones I clicked with right away, like we were talking about before. Her, I  \njust saw her lying there and bought her because she was cheap and cute.\"  \n\"Really?\" Justin asked in disbelief.  \nShe nodded. \"I've looked in her eyes a dozen times, and she's never told me  \nher name. I should have known it was because I'm not sposto have her. You are.\"  \nThe coincidence of it was powerful. Justin had felt drawn to the little bat  \nthe second he'd seen her lying amongst the other plushies. Her fur was the color  \nof chocolate milk. She had a little pink plastic nose and felt feet. \"I think she  \nlikes me, Lena. She's smiling.\"  \nNow it was Lena's turn to be surprised. \"You're kidding!\" She came closer  \nand studied the plushie. The little bat's mouth had been stitched in such a way  \nthat it eternally resembled a sad frown.  \nBut Justin had noticed that if he held her at just the right angle, he  \ncould see a trace of a smile. \"See, look.\"  \nLena could see it. \"Wow... I never noticed that before. That's it, you  \ntotally have to keep her now. She's chosen you.\"  \nJustin smiled. He looked into the little bat's calm dark plastic eyes.  \n\"What's her name?\" Lena asked softly.  \nJustin waited a second for it to come, and it did. \"Cleo,\" he said at last,  \nand with finality. \"Her name's Cleo.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nOnce the sun had set and the stars came out, Justin, Lena and Mr.  \nTallevasco retired to the porch. They sat in well-worn lawn chairs and slurped  \npopsicles. Cleo was tucked snugly in Justin's shirt pocket.  \nThe night was quiet, but not silent. Dozens of night noises surrounded  \nthem, becoming clearer if they listened closely. Crickets chirruped. Frogs peeped  \nand burped. The wind made the high grass sing. Somewhere in the distance, a  \nlonely pickup truck was heading home.  \n\"Thank you again,\" Justin said softly to Mr. Tallevasco.  \nThe skunk smiled. He reached over and ruffled Justin's hair a little.  \n\"You're welcome. And don't worry. I'm glad you came. You're one of the most  \npolite kids I've ever met.\"  \nJustin chuckled. \"That's funny. My teachers have all thought I was the son  \nof the devil.\"  \n\"That's 'cuz you are,\" Lena whispered with a giggle.  \nHe smiled casually back at her. \"With my dad, you're probably right,\" he  \nwhispered back.  \nShe snickered. \"Popsicle!\" she suddenly warned.  \nJustin caught it in his mouth just before it would have fallen off the  \nstick and stained his jeans. He crunched it up and swallowed, feeling the  \nartificially-flavored goodness cool his throat and trickle through his chinfur.  \n\"Thanks.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco seemed deep in thought. \"Your teachers, Justin...\" he  \nstarted, thinking about some of the rather unsettling school stories Justin had  \nrelated while they were eating. Unsettling not for how they portrayed Justin, but  \nhow they portrayed the people who were in charge of his education.  \n\"Hmm?\" Justin perked up.  \n\"Have any of them ever really treated you with any respect?\"  \nHe shook his head. \"Not really.\"  \n\"Have you at least tried to give them a reason to?\"  \n\"Oh sure,\" he said immediately. \"Every year, I tell myself I'm gonna be a  \ngood boy this time. I try to start out just sitting in the back, doing the work  \nand keeping my mouth shut. But by now everybody knows about me and I'm sure they  \nspread rumors about me in the teacher's lounge.\"  \nThe skunk nodded, as if expecting that. \"And can you honestly say that your  \nrespect for them only vanished when they showed they had none for you?\"  \nJustin thought this guy must be a mind reader. \"Yeah. I try not to get in  \ntrouble. I try not to start fights, but they always happen anyway. My temper gets  \nout of control sometimes. I get someone up in my face acting like I'm the scum of  \nthe earth, blaming me for stuff I didn't do, calling me names, and I can't take  \nit anymore. It's not like I get into fistfights or anything. I've punched a few  \nother kids, yeah, but never a teacher. Mostly I just insult them. I'm good at it.  \nI'm good at finding whatever'll piss them off the most and just stabbing at it.\"  \nHe felt a little ashamed to be admitting all this, but he thought that Lena and  \nher dad had both demonstrated aptly that they were trustworthy, and that they  \ndeserved his honesty.  \nMr. Tallevasco was quiet for a while. \"So, basically, your teachers don't  \nrespect you, then when you treat them exactly as they're treating you, they call  \nyou the son of the devil,\" he said slowly, as if piecing together a complex  \nphilosophical riddle.  \n\"Well, none of them have ever called me \\_that\\_, but they've called me loads  \nof other stuff. Monster. Sociopath. That Dirty Kid. Walking Disaster. I actually  \nkinda like that last one,\" he said, trying to sound as if those names really  \ndidn't hurt as much as they did.  \n\"So they treat you like that, and they expect you to just take it with a  \nhappy smile on your face, and then they're shocked and outraged when you don't.  \nHm...\" He stood up, stretched his arms, and lapped up the last of his popsicle.  \nJustin looked up at him.  \nMr. Tallevasco leaned in closer, gave him a caring, wise smile, and patted  \nhim on the shoulder. \"That doesn't sound very fair to me, now does it?\"  \nWith that, he turned and walked back into the house. \"G'night you two,\" he  \nsaid before the screen door squeaked shut behind him.  \nJustin sat quietly, slightly stunned.  \nLena scootched her chair a little closer to him, the metal legs thumping  \nhollowly on the wooden porch. She put her arms around the little wolffox in a  \nloose hug. \"My dad's a nice guy, huh?\"  \nJustin nodded silently. He looked up at the starry sky, a quivering,  \npeaceful smile on his face.  \n\"He's really good at making people feel better about stuff.\"  \nJustin turned to Lena. \"I envy you so much,\" he said suddenly, softly, and  \nwith all the sincerity in his heart. \"I'd give anything if your dad could adopt  \nme too and I could be your brother and we could be a family.\"  \nLena hugged him tighter. \"I'd like that too. You'd make a good brother.\"  \nJustin put his paw on her cheek, feeling the cottony-soft, almost-white  \nfur.  \nShe looked up into his eyes. Her whiskers bounced.  \nJustin leaned closer and softly kissed her on the lips.  \nLena flowed into the kiss with him.  \nThe night made soft noises all around them.  \nLena's popsicle was dripping onto her fingers, and she didn't care a bit.  \nShe didn't even notice.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nWhen Justin came out of the woods hours later and walked up to his house,  \nhe found the doors really were locked.  \nSo he just climbed in through his open window.  \n  \n  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 7\\*  \n  \n\"Oh, what now?\" Justin's mother grumbled.  \nHe was eating breakfast and she'd just gotten up to get the mail. His  \nbrothers had all left early for some sports practice thing. It was Saturday, so  \nhe didn't have school.  \nThe immensely fat wolfess waddled painfully back into the kitchen, ground  \nout her morning cigarette in the sink, and sat down heavily in one of the little  \nmetal chairs. She was clutching an official-looking letter in her fist.  \n\"What is it, Mom?\" Justin asked quietly. Then he scolded himself. It was  \nalways better to just keep his mouth shut, head down, and finish his cereal as  \nsoon as possible. If Mom was mad, she could easily turn it on him at the drop of  \na hat.  \n\"Some letter from the city,\" she said. \"God knows what they want from me  \nthis time...\" She roughly tore the envelope open with her pudgy fingers,  \nshredding it as if punishing it for bearing bad news. She extracted the letter  \ninside and perused it with a deep, disapproving squint.  \nJustin kept a close eye on her over the rim of his juice glass.  \n\"God \\_damn\\_!\" Mom shouted suddenly. She slammed her fist down on the table,  \ncausing milk and cereal bits to splash out onto the plastic tablecloth.  \nJustin didn't know whether to ask her what was wrong, or just sit there  \nwith his mouth shut and hope the news wasn't too bad.  \nShe looked up at him and pointed at the letter. \"Says here they're gonna  \nstart up weekly trash collection next Saturday.\"  \nJustin tried desperately to hide a smile. Allright! Mr. Tallevasco had won!  \nThe Green Beast would soon be on the prowl, and he'd get to ride in her! \"So...  \nwhy's that so bad?\" he asked his mother cautiously.  \nShe snorted derisively at him. \"Aincha got no brains, boy? This means  \nthey're probably gonna raise the taxes now! I'd rather just hand that old dog at  \nthe dump my three dollars and be done with it.\"  \n\"You'll save some money on gas,\" he noted, trying to look on the bright  \nside.  \nMom sat back in her chair, pondering that angle. She looked at him with a  \nlittle sneer.  \nJustin knew that look. It meant that he'd made a good point, but she was  \nhaving too much fun complaining to concede it.  \n\"When'd you get in last night?\" she asked, changing the subject.  \n\"About ten thirty. I'm sorry. I was having a good time.\" He slurped his  \nbreakfast faster. He wanted to get the hell out of the room as quickly as  \npossible before this turned ugly.  \n\"You and your new 'friend'?\" she said with a mirthless chuckle. \"I know  \nyou, boy. You don't make friends. You make trouble. If I hear you were out last  \nnight slashin' car tires or something like that, I'll get your father to whup the  \nshit out'you,\" she threatened, waggling her fat finger at him.  \nJustin kept his head down, not meeting her gaze, trying to look submissive.  \n\"I wasn't. I promise. We had some dinner and we sat on the porch talking about  \nstuff.\"  \n\"What's his parents like?\" She asked, thinking she might trip him up on the  \ndetails.  \n\"He's adopted.\" He caught himself just in time. He'd almost said \\*she\\* was  \nadopted. \"It's just him and his dad.\"  \n\"What's his name?\"  \n\"Adam Tallevasco.\" That was true, considering that she hadn't specified  \nwhich 'he' she was talking about.  \n\"He's in your class at school?\"  \n\"Nope.\" Actually, he'd never seen Lena at school. Maybe she just hadn't had  \nthe time to enroll yet.  \n\"Then where'd you meet him?\" she asked, sure she was about to catch him.  \n\"In the woods behind the house. We play there sometimes,\" he replied  \nwithout hesitation. He was thankful he was such a good liar. He tipped his bowl  \nup to his lips and sipped down the last of the milk. He wiped off the table and  \nwent to wash his dishes in the sink.  \nMom finally backed off. She still didn't fully believe him, but he was at  \nleast sticking to his story. \"Allright then. If you do have a friend, good. Maybe  \nhe'll keep you out of my hair in the afternoons so I can watch my shows in  \npeace.\"  \nJustin paused. Had that been a heavily disguised bit of motherly approval?  \nWell, probably not. But Justin decided to look at it that way anyway. \"I'm gonna  \ngo play outside now, mom.\"  \n\"Allright. Don't get in trouble.\"  \nHe walked past her, and on a wild whim, gave her a small hug.  \nShe looked up at him like he was on drugs.  \n\"See you later,\" he said over his shoulder as he bounced out the door.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThe news in the mail had perked the little wolffox up dramatically. He ran  \nall the way through the woods, grinning widely. He made it across the dump in  \nrecord time, leaping gracefully over piles of refuse like a wild gazelle.  \nThrough the window of the front gate booth, Justin spotted two pink-padded  \nbare feet propped up on the desk. \"Mr. Tallevasco!\" he called out.  \nA moment later, the side door opened. The tall, handsome skunk came out  \nwith his thumb marking his place in a thick novel. \"Justin! Hi! You're looking  \nchipper today.\"  \n\"I got the news about the trash collection,\" he said as he was ushered into  \nthe little office. Adam offered him the chair, but he politely declined with a  \nshake of his head.  \n\"That's good! They called me early this morning and said they'd already  \nsent out the notices. They agreed to just about everything I suggested! I wanted  \nto contact you about that, but I had no idea how to go about doing so.\"  \nJustin chuckled. \"Yeah, I can just see you knocking on the door: 'Hi! I'm a  \nstrange man who wants to know if it's okay for your son to ride around in a  \ngarbage truck with me all day long!'\"  \nAdam chortled. \"That would be rather awkward, wouldn't it? But you're here  \nnow, and so it's a moot point.\"  \n\"\\*Can\\* I ride with you in the Green Beast?\" Justin asked sweetly, turning  \non the cute-puppy-eyes and wagging his tail.  \nHe fuzzled the boy's hair. \"Sure! I already told you you could. My first  \nround's this coming-up Saturday morning. I'll be starting at about seven A. M.. I  \nworked out my route so your house is the first stop. If you get up early, you can  \nride along the whole way with me and Lena. You don't even have to worry about  \nmissing school.\"  \n\"Awesome!\" Justin beamed and rushed over to give the skunk a hug. \"Thank  \nyou so much!\"  \nAdam grinned. He liked seeing Justin so excited over something so simple.  \n\"Actually, I've got even more good news for you... Oh, wait a minute. Duck under  \nthe desk, will you?\" he said abruptly.  \nJustin was confused for a second before he noticed the sound of a pickup  \ntruck approaching. The dump \\_was\\_ open for business, after all. The lean young  \nwolffox quickly scooted under the desk and listened.  \nTires crunched on gravel as the truck skidded to a stop.  \nFootsteps.  \nA plump male voice. \"Where's Mr. Roland?\"  \n\"Oh, he retired,\" Mr. Tallevasco replied. Justin was getting an up-close-  \nand-personal look at his pant legs. \"I'm the new trash guy.\"  \n\"It's the same price as before, right?\" whoever it was asked cautiously.  \n\"Oh sure. Three dollars, please.\"  \nRustle of bills in a wallet. \"There ya go. Well, welcome to town,  \nMister...\"  \n\"Tallevasco.\"  \n\"Tabasco?\"  \nChuckle. \"Ta-luh-VASS-co! I get that all the time.\"  \nAnother chuckle. \"Allright then. I'll just get this dropped off and be on  \nmy way.\"  \n\"Have a good day!\"  \n\"You too!\"  \nFootsteps walking away. Engine starting up. Tires whining as they pulled  \nthe truck forward.  \nMr. Tallevasco bent over and peeked his pink nose under the desk. \"Now,  \nwhere were we?\"  \nJustin crawled out. \"You said you had some more good news for me.\"  \n\"That's right.\" The skunk was still thumbing his place in his book, and  \nholding three wrinkled bills in his other hand. He looked about for something to  \ndo with them, then applied some Gordian Knot thinking and just marked his place  \nwith the three dollars.  \n\"Whatcha reading?\" Justin asked.  \nMr Tallevasco held the cover up. \"It's some scary novel. More of a  \nthriller. I've read other books by this author, and this one isn't his most  \nimpressive. Good characters though.\" He sat down in his chair again and put his  \nfeet up. He sighed contentedly. \"I love this job. I get to sit on my butt for  \nseven hours every day, just reading, or making out the grocery list, or playing  \nwith Lena...\" He tossed Justin a smile. \"...or talking with friends.\"  \nIt was a small thing, but Justin felt rather pleased to be called a friend.  \n\"Okay, the good news. Back to that. Important stuff,\" said Adam.  \nJustin listened eagerly, his tail wagging.  \nAdam took his feet off the desk and swiveled his chair to face the little  \nwolffox. \"I was thinking last night. You want to ride with me in the Beast,  \nright?\"  \n\"Right.\"  \n\"And you don't mind playing in stinky garbage, right?\"  \n\"Not at all,\" Justin said with a smile.  \nThe skunk gave him an appraising look. \"Do you mind a little hard work?\"  \n\"No sir. I do most of the chores around the house.\" He flexed his bicep. \"I  \nlook small, but I've got good endurance,\" he boasted He wondered if this was  \nleading up to what he thought it might be leading up to.  \nAdam smiled. \"How would you like to be my Assistant Trash Collector? You  \nhave to admit, it'd be a bit boring just sitting in the passenger seat while I go  \nabout my rounds. Lena always helps out too. Before we came here, she used to help  \nme unload the trucks at the landfill. You could help me out slinging the bags in  \nthe back and lifting heavy stuff.\"  \nJustin was about to give him a very enthusiastic yes.  \n\"Hold on a second there,\" Adam stopped him with an extended index finger.  \n\"Let me sweeten the pot. You help me out for the day, and do a good job, and I'll  \npay you ten dollars.\"  \nJustin nearly fainted. \"You're shitting me!\" he said with a look like he'd  \njust won the lottery.  \n\"I shit you not,\" the skunk said with a straight face.  \n\"Ten bucks a week! Wow!\" Justin shouted, obviously thrilled. \"I've never  \neven gotten an allowance! I don't know what I'd even spend that much money on!\"  \nMr. Tallevasco clapped a sturdy paw on the boy's shoulder. \"Don't get too  \nexcited. You'll earn that money if you accept my proposal. A lot of those bags  \nare heavy as heck, and you'll have to be heaving them all day in the hot sun. I  \nguarantee you'll sweat more than you've ever sweated in your life. Take my word  \nfor it; I started out driving a truck to pay for college.\"  \n\"You went to college? That's cool. I'm not sure if anyone in my family even  \nknows where one is,\" Justin joked. \"Wait, I take that back; my brothers watch  \ncollege football all the time.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco grinned. \"Yup. Got a master's degree in the biological  \nsciences, and I ended up teaching classes alongside my old prof.\"  \nJustin was really impressed. \"You were a professor? Damn! That's really  \ncool. And it explains why you're so smart.\"  \nAdam was highly pleased by the compliment. \"Well, thanks, but merely being  \na teacher is no guarantee of intelligence,\" he said modestly. \"We had some old  \nfarts that were totally out of their minds and no one could fire them because  \nthey had tenure. And I'm sure some of your own teachers are not exactly founts of  \nwisdom either.\"  \nJustin grinned and rolled his eyes in a 'tell me about it!' fashion.  \n\"So, will you accept the job? I'll even put you down as 'Vice President In  \nCharge Of Waste Material Removal Services'.\"  \nJustin laughed. \"I'd rather just be your assistant. And yeah, I'd love to  \nhelp you out! I'll really work hard. You'll see! I promise!\"  \nAdam ruffled the boy's hair again. \"Great! Glad to have you on the team.  \nAnd don't worry; it's not all bad. It won't be anywhere near as gruelling as my  \nold route in the city. And it'll be the three of us working together. Just be  \nsure to bring a water bottle; you'll need it.\"  \n\"Do I get a uniform?\"  \n\"I don't think the city would be too happy paying for one,\" Adam said. \"But  \nyou can have some of my old gloves. And I'll see if I can find you a hat. Do we  \nhave a deal?\"  \n\"Hell yeah!\" the little wolffox said brightly.  \n\"Then let's shake on it.\" Adam put out his paw, the colors of his fur  \nmaking him look like he was forever wearing white gloves.  \nJustin clasped his grey-brown paw to Mr. Tallevasco's and gave a firm  \nshake. He was grinning ear to ear.  \n\"Oh, and I've got some more good news for you!\" the skunk said suddenly.  \n\"Really? What? You're gonna adopt me and take me away from my dumb family  \nforever?\"  \nBehind his glasses, Adam's eyes looked bittersweetly at him for a moment,  \nas if to say 'If I could, Justin, I would without hesitation'. \"Well, it's not  \n\\_that\\_ exciting,\" he admitted. \"I just thought that a little celebration was in  \norder, what with the city agreeing to my proposal. Me and Lena were going to go  \nout to eat tonight and then take in a movie. You're perfectly welcome to join  \nus.\"  \nJustin stood there speechless. He didn't know if he could possibly keep  \nsmiling for so long. He was worried his lips would just fall off after a while.  \n\"...I don't know what to say! Thank you! I'd love to come along.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco rolled his chair a little closer and leaned over to give  \nJustin a very paternal hug. \"Glad to hear it. You know, Justin, I'm really glad  \nwe met. Honestly, Lena talks about you all the time. She was really worried and  \ndepressed when we first moved here. She thought she wouldn't make any friends.  \nSometimes she'd just go out in the dump and lie on the trash bags for hours.\"  \n'Well, that explains that,' Justin thought, thinking back to how he'd first  \nmet her.  \n\"I'm grateful to you for being such a good friend to her, Justin,\" Adam  \nsaid sincerely. \"I love my daughter more than anything, and I love seeing her  \nhappy. For all the happiness you've given her, and me, I'm so very grateful to  \nyou.\"  \n\"Thank you, or you're welcome, or whatever,\" the young canine said quietly,  \na warm smile on his face. He gave the big skunk an extra squeeze. He realized  \nthat if Mr. Tallevasco really could become his new dad somehow, that he couldn't  \nthink of anything that would make him happier.  \nAdam eventually broke off the hug with a series of macho pats on the back,  \njust to keep the tender moment from spoiling their masculine image.  \n\"So, um, where is Lena?\" Justin asked.  \n\"She's in the house, probably watching cartoons. Why don't you go give her  \nthe news? Tell her about your new job.\"  \n\"Okay!\"  \n\"Help yourself to anything in the fridge, if you like.\"  \n\"I already had breakfast, but thanks.\"  \nAdam picked up his novel again. \"Righty-o then. I'll get back to my book; I  \nwas at a good part when you showed up. We'll probably leave for the restaurant  \naround five. Do you want to just stay over here until then?\"  \n\"Yeah, I...\" A thick dread suddenly descended upon him. \"Oh crap! At some  \npoint I'll have to tell my mom I'll be gone for the evening!\"  \nJustin looked so suddenly scared, Adam knew he had to do something about  \nit. He leaned in closer again, lowering his voice as if revealing a dark secret.  \n\"Justin, call her up and lie to her,\" he said firmly.  \nThe little wolffox was rather shocked. \"What!?\"  \n\"Lie. Tell her you're invited over for dinner again. Tell her you're going  \nto hitchhike to the mountains. Anything. Just make sure you're free and clear for  \ntonight.\"  \n\"Why?\"  \n\"Because, Justin,\" Adam said seriously, \"you deserve this. You deserve for  \nsomething nice to happen to you. And your mother sounds like someone who'd snatch  \nthat away if she knew, just to spite you. Don't let her. Now, normally I'd never  \nadvise someone to lie to anyone else, especially a family member, but in your  \ncase I feel comfortable making an exception.\"  \nAgain, there was that concern for him that felt so different and new,  \nJustin had no idea how to handle it. \"Allright, Mr. Tallevasco. I will. Thank  \nyou.\"  \nAdam leaned back in his chair again. \"It's allright. I'm just looking out  \nfor you. It seems that post's been vacant for too long. Now go keep Lena company.  \nShe'll be happy to see you.\"  \nJustin nodded, and gave him a little salute. \"Aye aye.\" He gave the skunk a  \ngrateful smile and darted off for the house.  \nMr. Tallevasco returned to his novel, but he could no longer concentrate on  \nit. He was smiling sadly, wondering how in the world life could be so mean to a  \nnice little kid like that...  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 8\\*  \n  \nJustin had an absolute blast that night.  \nHe'd watched cartoons with Lena until noon, chatting with her and drinking  \npop and nibbling on toaster pastries. Then they went out and played in the  \nbackyard for a while. They played a predator-and-prey version of hide and seek,  \nwith Justin chasing Lena through the trees, growling menacingly, then pouncing on  \nher and tickling her senseless. Then it was her turn, and she'd growl and chase  \nhim for a while.  \nAround three, Justin finally got up the courage to call him mom. He kept it  \nas simple as possible. In a casual tone, he said he was at his friend's house and  \nwanted to stay for supper again. To his surprise, Mom allowed it right away. She  \nsaid his brothers were all going to a birthday party for one of their football  \nteammates, so she was glad to have the house to herself for an evening. Justin  \nthanked fate, thanked his mom, hung up the phone, and tackled Lena to the floor  \nin an explosively happy hug.  \nAfterwards, they went to the dump for a while and scouted around. Among  \nother things, Lena found some little plastic circus people, and Justin found  \nseveral handfuls of trading cards and a baseball cap with 'Plumber's Union'  \nstitched on it (which he thought he'd have fun thinking up filthy euphemisms for  \nlater on).  \nThere was an hour to go before dinner, so they decided to clean up a bit  \nand look presentable. Lena went in the house to take a shower. Justin went to the  \nbackyard, made sure no one was watching, then stripped down to his tighty-whities  \nand stood under the garden hose for a while. He found that amusing when he  \nthought about it for a bit; usually after a successful dump-run, it was his  \nlatest finds that he'd wash off with the hose!  \nHe dried himself off with a huge fluffy beach towel that was hanging on a  \nnearby clothesline (Lena had assured him it was there for just such a purpose).  \nThen he put his clothes back on and went to admire the Green Beast for a bit  \nwhile he waited on Lena.  \nSince the dump closed an hour early on Saturday anyway, Mr. Tallevasco was  \nready and rarin' to go promptly at five. He found the kids sitting in the back of  \nthe garbage truck, admiring the day's spoils from the dump.  \nThen they all piled in the Frankenmobile and headed off. Justin was rather  \nsurprised by how smoothly the ugly thing ran. Lena was right about her and her  \ndad having fixed up the engine good as new. He also thought it was apt that he  \nwas riding in a car that looked like a pile of crap on the outside, but had a  \ngood strong engine under the hood. He thought it made a nice metaphor for  \nhimself.  \nThey got on the interstate and drove for quite some time. Justin hadn't  \nbeen out this way in a long while. He and Lena made fun of some of the billboards  \nthey passed.  \nLena had chosen the restaurant. It was a slightly classier than average  \nfast food franchise called Arnie's. She said there were bunches of them where she  \ncame from. Justin had never even heard of them.  \nHe scanned the menu for a while, not sure what to get, and what might be  \ntoo much. Mr. Tallevasco told him he could feel free to order anything he wanted.  \nSo eventually he decided on a mushroom and swiss burger with curly fries and a  \nchocolate milkshake. Lena got a huge order of onion rings with her burger, and  \nthreatened to waft her bad breath at him all through the movie. He told her if  \nshe did, he'd wait till she wasn't looking and pee in her popcorn. The guy behind  \nthe counter looked rather grossed-out. Mr. Tallevasco bit his tongue to keep from  \nlaughing.  \nThe food was hot, messy and delicious. There were only three burger joints  \nin close proximity to Justin's house, and Arnie's beat them all hands down. And,  \nto make the evening even better, Justin had noticed that one of the kids in the  \nfamily sitting across from them had discarded his kid's meal toy in disgust, and  \nwhen the family left they forgot to throw out their garbage. When no one was  \nlooking, Justin casually snatched up the toy. It was some character off a girl's  \ncartoon show, but he was perfectly aware of that beforehand. Lena had been  \nwatching the same show earlier that morning, so Justin offered her the toy as a  \nfriendly gift. She liked it a lot and gave him a big hug in return.  \nAs they drove to the theater, they took a wrong turn and ended up having to  \ngo down a side street and come around the theater from the back way. When they  \ndid so, Lena and Justin immediately spotted two huge dumpsters enclosed in their  \nown little walled-off nook. They both admitted to each other that it would be fun  \nto go jump in them.  \nThe theater was the size of a small country. It seemed to have eight  \nthousand million screens. The ceiling was ridiculously high. The air reeked of  \npopcorn. There were so many people milling around, buying tickets and snacks,  \nJustin thought that if he got separated from Lena and Mr. Tallevasco, he'd  \nprobably wander around looking for them for days until he died of starvation.  \nSince the only movies he'd ever been taken to were sports flicks his  \nbrothers had wanted to see, Justin was really looking forward to seeing something  \nthat was more up his alley. Mr. Tallevasco informed him that they were here to  \nsee a great big bombastic sci-fi adventure flick. He said he'd seen a review for  \nit the day before that had called it 'the most entertainingly trashy film of the  \nyear'. The skunk had taken it as an omen.  \nThey got a huge popcorn to share between them and went to find their seats.  \nJustin looked at all the movie posers they passed, noticing that almost all of  \nthem were for sequels and remakes. Not surprising.  \nThe theater had stadium seating, which Justin had never encountered before.  \nThe trio easily found three seats together, near the middle, not too far and not  \ntoo close to the screen.  \nThey all settled in, sounds of popcorn-chewing-people all around them, and  \ngot ready for the movie.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nTwo and a half hours later, Justin walked out feeling like he'd just been  \nspun around in an industrial clothes drier and then punched in the head.  \n\"That movie kicked \\_ass\\_!\" he declared.  \n\"Yeah!\" Lena agreed. \"I didn't think they could fit that many special  \neffects in one movie!\"  \n\"Those robots were so cool! I hope they make toys out of 'em.\"  \n\"They make toys out of every movie that comes out anymore,\" Mr. Tallevasco  \nsaid.  \n\"What'd you think of the movie, Dad?\" Lena asked.  \n\"Ehh... It was exciting and well-directed, but the script borrowed heavily  \nfrom a lot of other films. And the main character was badly miscast.\"  \nJustin thought that was a fair critique. Even though, in his limited  \nexperience, he thought it was the best movie he'd ever seen in a theater.  \n\"I liked the alien with all the tentacles,\" Lena said. \"He was actually  \nkinda cute.\"  \n\"Was he computer animated, or a big puppet?\" Justin asked.  \n\"It's impossible to tell anymore,\" Adam remarked.  \nLena dug around in her mouth, trying to extract a particularly tenacious  \npopcorn hull that had decided to take up residence.  \nThey all hopped back in the Frankenmobile to head on home. Mr. Tallevasco,  \nhowever, had one more stop in mind.  \nHe drove out the same way they'd come in, past the back of the theater. He  \nlooked around cautiously, checking to see if anyone at all was watching. Then he  \npulled slowly over alongside the two dumpsters and came to a stop. He turned  \naround to the backseat, where Justin and Lena were already giving him puzzled  \nlooks. \"Okay, quick, jump out.\"  \n\"What?!\" Lena squeaked.  \n\"I heard you say you wanted to play in the dumpsters. Go on, before someone  \nsees us!\" he said with a wild grin.  \n\"You're kidding!\" the ratgirl said disbelieving.  \n\"Nope. I saw a hardware store a few blocks down. I'm going to go get some  \nlightbulbs and stuff. I'll be back in ten minutes tops and I'll give the horn a  \nlittle honk as I pass by. Go, quick!\"  \n\"Daddy, you're a total nut!\" she said happily. She leaned over the seat and  \nkissed him. \"Thank you!\" She popped open the door and she and Justin skedaddled  \nout.  \n\"Ten minutes. I promise,\" Adam whispered to them. \"Have fun!\" he called out  \nthe window as he drove off.  \nJustin turned to Lena. \"Your dad is insane.\"  \n\"Yeah? Who's the one that wanted to play in a trash dumpster in the first  \nplace?\"  \nHe grinned. \"Okay, you got a point.\"  \nWith that, the two veteran garbage-explorers hoisted themselves up and slid  \ninto the lesser-full of the two dumpsters.  \nJustin landed on a pile of bags filled with popcorn and drink cups. They  \nwere crinkly and sticky, and smelled like a carnival food court baked in a giant  \noven. \"Eeew!\" he whispered, but he was grinning. \"This is the most disgusting  \nthing I've ever done!\"  \nLena started bouncing on the big clear trash bags. They were very colorful;  \nyou could see all the candy wrappers and popcorn bags and nacho trays. \"Yeah, but  \nit's fun! It's messy and dirty and stinky and naughty and fun!\"  \nJustin had to agree. The very fact that this was so wrong was what made it  \nexciting. He dug his claws into a bag and scooped up a handful of popcorn to toss  \nat her. \"It is fun!\"  \n\"I'll give you a quarter if you eat some of that popcorn,\" she said with an  \nincredibly devilish grin.  \nJustin could not pass up the challenge. \"Make it fifty cents.\"  \n\"Allright, but you have to eat five whole kernels,\" she negotiated.  \nThat was fair. He gathered five good-sized popcorn pieces in his paw. His  \nrational brain insisted that this was incredibly stupid. The more childlike part  \nof him was, by now, just spinning around saying 'wheeee!'.  \nHe popped the corn in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. \"Ta daaa! Now pay  \nup!\"  \nShe grinned sweetly. Her little ratty buckteeth glinted in the moonlight.  \n\"I don't have any money!\"  \nHe slugged her on the arm, but not too hard. \"You are such an asshole! I  \ncan't believe it!\"  \n\"Ouch!\" she said while giggling. \"It's your own fault! You knew I was an  \nasshole and you trusted me anyway!\"  \nThey giggled together, then immediately stopped when they heard the sound  \nof a door creaking open.  \n\"Oh shit! Hide!\" Lena squeaked in a whisper.  \nAs fast as they could without making any noise, they grabbed up bags of  \ntrash and piled them on top of themselves. It was stinky and sticky, but a lot  \nbetter than having to explain to a theater employee why they were in here.  \nAn acne-ridden teenage fox dragged another full bag of cinema snack  \nremnants behind him on the concrete, leaving a gleaming soda trail. He was  \nsinging some pop song to himself, and his voice was terrible.  \nLena and Justin were completely terrified, and at the same time they were  \nclasping their paws to their muzzles to stifle hysterical laughter.  \nThe teen lifted the lid and slung the garbage bag inside, never even  \nlooking in the hidden kids' direction. The bag landed on the two of them with a  \n'whumph'. The fox let the plastic lid slam shut and then walked back inside.  \n\"I think my heart just stopped,\" Justin deadpanned.  \nLena let out her suppressed laughter as they both crawled out from under  \nthe trash bags. Both of them now had soda running down their legs. \"Oh, hey, I  \nwanted to ask you something,\" she said abruptly.  \n\"If I know why you're such a spaz?\" Justin supplied.  \nShe tossed an empty box of jujubes at him. \"No, you fuckbrains! This is  \nserious!\"  \nJustin sat up. \"Allright. I'm listening.\"  \nLena hesitated. \"Um... It's about your Treasure Chest.\"  \nJustin cocked an eyebrow. \"Yeah? And...?\"  \nLena tried to muster all the sincerity she could while standing waist-deep  \nin garbage under a three-quarter moon. \"Well, I keep thinking of it sitting out  \nthere in the woods. I know you've got it padlocked, but I keep worrying that  \nsomeday some hiker or a camper or just some guy's gonna come along, dig it out  \nand take it with him. All your stuff will be gone forever! All your plushies!\"  \nThe fact that she was obviously truly worried about his stuff made him  \ndecide that she really was serious about this. They kidded each other so much  \nthat occasionally it was hard to tell. \"Okay, yeah. That could happen. What do  \nyou think we should do about it?\"  \nHer eyes were wide with worry that he'd freak out at her suggestion. \"I was  \nthinking that maybe tomorrow me and Dad could come over, and we'd all dig it up  \nand take it over to my house. So I could take care of it and keep it safe, you  \nknow?\"  \nFar from being freaked out, Justin was floored by the thoughtfulness of her  \nsuggestion. He stood up, as much as that was possible in their current location,  \nand gave her a sudden hug. \"That's a great idea! Thank you! I've always wished I  \nhad a safer place to keep my stuff!\"  \nLena was very relieved. \"Oh good! I was really worried you would think it  \nwas a bad idea.\"  \n\"Why would I think that?\"  \n\"I dunno. Maybe if it was important to you to keep it there in the woods  \nfor some sentimental reason?\" she guessed.  \n\"When it comes to my plushies, I'd never let sentimental stuff get in the  \nway of protecting them,\" he assured.  \nLena was glad to hear it. \"There's a little toolshed out behind the house.  \nWe could put it in there, and you wouldn't even have to come inside to check up  \non it. Even if we were asleep, or not home or something.\"  \n\"You'd trust me that much?\" he said with surprise.  \n\"Of course,\" she replied, as if that was obvious. \"It's your stuff.\" She  \ngrinned. \"And I know you wouldn't just hop in the Green Beast and take her for a  \njoyride while you were there.\"  \nJustin thought that made for an interesting mental picture. \"I can see the  \nheadlines! 'Local Boy Goes On Mad Garbage Truck Rampage!' Actually, wouldn't it  \nbe cool to see a garbage truck in a high-speed police chase?\"  \nShe laughed so hard she snorted. \"An ice cream truck would be even better!  \nCan't you just see some guy hangin' out the window, pelting the cop cars with  \npopsicles?\"  \nAt that, both of them snickered like idiots.  \n\"Hey, we haven't looked in the other dumpster yet!\" Justin realized.  \n\"Well, what are we waiting for?\"  \nAnd so the two of them had lots of fun and got extremely messy until they  \nheard a car pull up and a soft horn toot.  \nAdam had planned ahead, and had bought a plastic tarp for the backseat.  \n\"You kids have fun?\" he asked, as two grinning furry heads popped up over the  \nside of the dumpster.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nThe next morning, Justin had the good fortune of waking up before everyone  \nelse. The sun was barely up. His brothers were still conked out from the night  \nbefore. And if his suspicions were correct, judging from their breath, they'd all  \nbe waking up with hangovers soon. Like he was going to stick around for that.  \nHell naw.  \nThe little wolffox slipped gracefully out the bedroom window with a pencil  \nin his pocket and some paper in his backpack.  \nDeep in the woods, he came across his beloved Treasure Chest. He gave it a  \npat. \"Guess what? You're going to be moved someplace safe!\" he said to his  \nplushies as he undid the lock and lifted the lid.  \nJustin cleared away some leaves and sat down beside the footlocker. He  \nreached in and gave each of his plushies a kiss.  \nHe took Cleo out of his pocket. He hadn't gotten a chance to put her here  \nsince Friday night. It had been nerve-wracking, keeping her literally at his side  \nthe entire time since then. He shuddered at the thought of what his brothers  \nwould do to the little plush bat if they found her. They'd probably snatch her  \nfrom him and then flush her down the toilet!  \nBut no, that hadn't happened. He had successfully hidden her from them. He  \nhad protected her. \"This is Cleo, everyone,\" he whispered to his other plushies.  \nHe petted her soft fur tenderly as he laid her beside Rachel and Felicia.  \n\"Welcome to my little family, Cleo. You're such a pretty bat. I love you. I  \npromise I'll always keep you safe, all of you.\"  \nHe got into a comfortable position, leaning against the side of the  \nfootlocker. He opened his backpack and got out the paper. He laid it on top of a  \nhardcover book from inside his Treasure Chest. He felt inspired this morning, and  \nthought he'd try a little poetry.  \nMorning dew sparkled on the grass and leaves. Birds called out their  \nmelodic warnings to one another. As the new morning came alive all around him,  \nJustin was not surprised that his pencil wanted to talk about Lena. His  \ncomposition was exceptionally free-flowing today. There was no structure at all.  \nHe just wrote down everything he could think of about her. Her hair, her feet,  \nher ears, her tail. Her eyes, her smile, her laugh. Her kindness, her loyalty,  \nher wit, her energy and her tenderness.  \n'I love you, Lena', he wrote.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nSeveral hours later, he'd filled a few pages, read most of a paperback, and  \nwas now bored out of his skull.  \nOn the drive home last night, Lena had told her dad all about her idea to  \nmove Justin's secret hiding place, and he'd been all for it. Adam said there were  \nshovels in the shed and plenty of room there for a footlocker. He'd told Justin  \nto come by the house around noon and they'd all march off into the woods together  \nto rescue his stuff to its new location.  \nHe glanced at his watch. It was nowhere near noon, but he was sure they'd  \nbe up by now. They wouldn't mind if he came a little early, he thought.  \nJustin packed up his poetry, said goodbye to all his plushies, and secured  \nthe footlocker's lid. Then he set off across the dump to Lena's house.  \nThe dump was calm and silent. A few birds flitted around, pecking at the  \nbags. But otherwise everything could have been a postcard. Justin didn't think  \nhe'd ever seen it so peaceful.  \nThe front gate was locked when he got there, since the dump was closed on  \nSundays. Justin followed the chain-link fence for awhile until it petered out in  \nthe trees. Soon he could see the top of the Green Beast in the distance.  \nHe heard Lena laugh. As he got closer, he peeked around a tree and saw that  \nshe and her father were having a picnic breakfast in the backyard.  \nBut when he looked closer, he noticed that the only food was placed in  \nfront of Mr. Tallevasco. Lena was sitting in front of a pile of nasty-looking  \ngarbage.  \nThat was odd.  \nLena and her father were talking, but he was too far away to catch what  \nthey were saying.  \nThen Mr. Tallevasco reached into the pile of trash, and pulled out a broken  \nup, headless plastic doll. He held it out to Lena. With a smile, she opened her  \nmouth, and he slid the doll in. He pushed it all the way inside, and Lena  \nswallowed it in one gulp.  \nThe fur on the back of Justin's neck stood straight up.  \nHe had \\_not\\_ seen that.  \nLena's paw hovered over the small pile of trash, deciding what to choose  \nnext. She selected a sardine can. She gave it a long lick, inside and out, then  \nslid it into her open mouth and easily down her throat.  \nOh fuck, he was \\_not\\_ seeing this!  \nNext up was a squashed milk carton. Lena chewed on it a bit and then gulped  \nit down as well. Her father watched, smiling pleasantly, as he sipped his coffee  \nand took bites from a bagel. Then Lena ate some filthy, raggedy beanbag plush  \nwith most of its stuffing spilling out. She sucked out the tiny plastic pellets  \nlike jelly from a donut.  \nJustin was biting his knuckles to keep from screaming. He was biting them  \nso hard they bled. His mind could not comprehend this sight. His brain would not  \nbelieve his eyes.  \nLena held up a dirty sock and slurped it down like a strand of spaghetti.  \nThere were no words for the horror, the surreality, the disgust that Justin  \nwas feeling. It was all made so much worse by the fact that she was \\*smiling\\*!  \nAnd her father was sitting there smiling too, as if nothing out of the ordinary  \nwas happening!  \nThen Lena picked up a used diaper that was practically dripping with filth.  \nShe opened her mouth wide.  \nJustin wanted to look away more than anything else in the world. He wanted  \nsomeone to hit him in the head with a baseball bat. Anything at all to make his  \neyes stop watching this.  \nThe little ratgirl happily chewed the plastic of the disposable diaper,  \nnibbling it into her mouth bit by bit, then she swallowed it whole and sighed  \nwith satisfaction.  \nJustin tore himself away and ran off in the opposite direction. He stopped  \nby a tree, sunk to his knees and got the dry heaves. If he'd had anything for  \nbreakfast, it would have been coming up right now. He retched and retched until  \nhis throat burned and he could taste blood.  \nWhat the fuck had he just seen?!?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 9\\*  \n  \nAt noon, Lena skipped happily out the front door, hoping to meet Justin  \nhalfway at the dump when he came over. To her surprise, he was sitting there on  \nthe porch in one of the lawn chairs.  \nHe was staring off into space as if the world didn't exist.  \n\"Hey smelly,\" she said pleasantly as she walked over.  \nJustin slowly looked up at her.  \nLena stopped cold, her smile vanishing in a heartbeat. Her best friend was  \nstaring at her as if he'd never seen her before and he couldn't even understand  \nwhat he was looking at.  \nJustin did not speak a word. He couldn't.  \n\"What's wrong?\" Lena squeaked out in a tiny voice.  \nThe wolffox continued to stare, still trying to comprehend the image that  \nhad lingered in his mind for nearly two hours now. That disgusting, horrifying  \nimage that had nearly ripped his sanity to shreds.  \nLena took a step closer. \"Justin...? You're kinda scaring me...\"  \n\"I saw you eating garbage this morning,\" he blurted out emotionlessly.  \nIt was as if the words were a magic spell to turn the young ratgirl to  \nstone. Her body stiffened in place. Her face froze in an expression of deep  \nshock, as if someone had just punched her in the kidneys and the pain hadn't  \nkicked in yet. She turned and fell back into the other lawn chair.  \nJustin kept starting.  \nFor a long moment, the only sounds were the birdcalls wafting in the  \nmorning breeze.  \nAnd then, without warning, Lena began to cry. She buried her face in her  \npaws and cried with her whole body, bawling like a little baby, or like someone  \nwho had just watched a loved one die.  \nJustin hadn't expected this. The horrible image in his mind was put aside  \nfor a moment as he watched this girl, who just a few hours ago he'd seen as his  \nbest friend, weeping so forcefully it looked like she might shatter into pieces.  \nThe little rat's body rocked and shook, as if an electric current was being  \npumped through her.  \nLena looked straight up to the heavens with closed eyes and sodden cheeks.  \n\"I-I... I d-do-don't w-want it to end!!!\" she suddenly wailed.  \nMr. Tallevasco had heard his daughter's pitiful cries and immediately  \ndropped what he'd been doing. He slammed the screen door aside and came rushing  \nout onto the porch. \"Lena! What's the matter?!\" He ran to her side, dropped down  \non his knees, and put his arms around her. He noticed Justin's blank stare. \"What  \ndid you do to her?!\" he growled, and it was the first time Justin had ever seen  \nhim angry.  \n\"It's n-n-not his f-fault, D-Daddy...\" Lena managed to convey through her  \nsobs. She hugged her father desperately. \"H-he s-saw us this morning.\"  \nDawning comprehension filled the skunk's eyes. He looked up suddenly to  \nJustin, his mouth falling open as his ability to speak simply disintegrated.  \nFor several agonizing minutes, the three of them were frozen like that. The  \nmoment had made them statues. Justin stared at the rat and the skunk as his  \nthundering, conflicting emotions clashed inside him and rendered themselves null.  \nLena buried her face in the fabric of her father's shirt, her cheeks crimson in  \nshame and heartbreak. Adam stared at Justin; the moment he'd dreaded had come  \ntrue, and all his plans for dealing with it had instantly turned to ash inside  \nhis mind.  \nFinally, it was Lena's soft whimpering sobs that broke through Justin's  \nemotional tempest. Those pitiful sounds reached their way to his heart. No matter  \nhow grotesque the images were, this sound reminded him that he loved Lena, and  \nshe loved him, and he owed it to her to listen to her explanation.  \nSlowly, softly, he spoke. \"I saw you eating trash, Lena. Why were you doing  \nthat? \\_How\\_ were you doing that?\"  \nThe tearful young rat looked up at his voice. His words were without anger  \nor revulsion, just an intense need to know and to understand.  \nJustin tried to calm his heart and soften his gaze. Lena's eyes were red  \nwith tears.  \n\"Justin?\" she asked, in a cracked, wet voice.  \n\"Yes?\"  \n\"Do you think we could still be friends if... If you knew I wasn't a real  \ngirl?\"  \nA frozen shiver streaked up Justin's spine. What in hell did she mean by  \nthat?  \nLena looked up to her father's loving face. \"I have to show him,\" she said,  \nas if asking permission.  \nHe nodded solemnly. It was the only way to begin to explain it.  \n\"Look,\" Lena told Justin simply. She closed her eyes and tried to find her  \ncourage. She lifted up the front of her T-shirt, exposing her bellybutton. She  \nheld her shirt with one paw, and with the other she poked one finger into her  \nnavel, then another.  \nJustin watched in rapt, surreal fascination as Lena stretched her  \nbellybutton wide enough to drop a golf ball in.  \nShe tucked the edge of her shirt under her chin, then reached down with her  \nother paw to pull her stomach hole even farther, until it was wider than she  \ncould even open her mouth. The impossibly gaping orifice dripped with a thin,  \nmucouslike slime that was the color of weeds. A fetid, rotting smell wafted from  \ndeep within the cavity.  \nJustin got a whiff of it and immediately covered his nose. It smelled like  \nthe entire dump had been compressed into Lena's belly. \"What \\_are\\_ you?!\" he  \nshouted.  \n\"I'm garbage,\" she admitted sadly.  \nShe had not meant it metaphorically. The inside of her stomach was a dark,  \nmarshy green, with oddly shaped unidentifiable lumps inside that reeked of  \ndecaying trash.  \nLena \\*was\\* garbage.  \n\"H-how?!\" Justin stuttered. \"I mean, what... But you're...\"  \nMr. Tallevasco reached over to steady the boy's shaking paw, which had a  \ndeath grip on the arm of his chair. He was glad when Justin didn't pull away. \"I  \ncan try to explain, Justin, but you have to be willing to accept my answers even  \nthough they're impossible,\" he said, trying hard to sound calm despite the pain  \nhe was feeling for his beloved daughter.  \n\"I'm looking at something impossible already,\" Justin said flatly. \"Could  \nyou put that away, Lena?\" he asked, sounding a little queasy.  \n\"Oh, okay,\" she said quietly. She extracted her paws, and her bellybutton  \nsnapped back to normal like elastic. She let her shirt down and held onto her  \ndaddy's arm.  \n\"Justin, do you remember when we first met, out by the front gates? How I  \nmentioned that I was into studying the occult?\" Mr. Tallevasco asked.  \nJustin nodded.  \n\"It's actually not just a hobby. It's something I'm deeply involved in. And  \nI don't mean witches and ghosts. I'm talking about things no one in the modern  \nworld has ever heard of. Invisible forces that are all around us.\"  \nAdam fixed Justin with an intense, penetrating gaze. \"Would you believe me  \nif I told you that emotions are like energy? Like electricity? That strong  \nemotions can accumulate within objects over time, and that those objects can  \nbecome like charged batteries?\"  \n\"I don't know,\" Justin answered truthfully.  \n\"It's true, I promise you,\" Mr. Tallevasco said sincerely. \"It's something  \nthat everyone sees and no one notices. You were telling me how your father's car  \nstalls all the time. Does he swear at it?\"  \n\"Constantly.\"  \n\"There you go. His angry energy has built up inside the car, and it keeps  \nit from running properly. It's like it's all filled up with some kind of  \ncorrosive chemical.\"  \nOddly enough, Justin did not have much trouble believing that.  \n\"Here's another example; your stuffed animals, and Lena's. I've studied  \nthis emotion/energy connection for many, many years now, and what all the books  \nsay and what all my studies have shown is that love creates the very strongest,  \nmost vibrant energy deposits. When you cuddle your stuffed animals, when you talk  \nto them and tell them you love them, you are pumping them full of your love. It  \nstays there and grows. Instead of being corrosive, it's like a super strength  \npotion. It makes it so that you become even happier when you're with them. Even  \njust the sight of them warms your heart.\"  \n\"You mean, the more I love my plushies, the more loveable they get?\" Justin  \nasked. The very notion made a startling amount of sense.  \n\"Yes, Justin.\" Mr Tallevasco nodded. \"You're taking to this well. I'm glad  \nto see that.\"  \nJustin was quiet, just trying to listen and take it all in. He wanted to  \nunderstand now. Before, after he'd seen what he'd seen, a large part of his mind  \nhad told him to simply run away and never, ever think about Lena again. But that  \nwas as impossible as it was inconsiderate. He was glad he'd forced himself to  \ncome back to her house. Now his horror had finally subsided, leaving a painfully  \nacute curiosity behind.  \n\"This energy affects people too,\" said Mr. Tallevasco. \"Some fursons even  \nbelieve that while our souls are our own, they grow and are shaped by the  \nemotions of the people around us. It's almost like the saying 'you are what you  \neat': nurturing emotions nourish, and cruel emotions corrode.  \n\"Except sometimes, the opposite happens. If someone is fed nothing but hate  \nand negativity, then that furson will, most of the time, grow up to be hateful  \nand pessimistic themselves. But like in your case, Justin, you've taken all that  \nhorrible bad energy and grown stronger from it. You've wrung what tiny little  \ntrickles of affection were possible from the emotions you were surrounded by, and  \nworked hard to keep the cruelty from overtaking you. It's often people like you  \nwho have the brightest, most caring souls of all.\"  \nJustin blinked a bit. That was a way of looking at things he'd never  \nconsidered before, and he felt warmed by Mr. Tallevasco's compliment.  \n\"I've studied and experimented with this emotional energy for almost my  \nwhole life, Justin. I first learned about it from an incredibly old book I found  \nat my local library. It was written by some old, mad recluse who was completely  \ninsane and completely brilliant at the same time. The concept fascinated me, and  \nit still does. I spent so long studying the phenomenon, that eventually I could  \nactually see it.\"  \n\"See it? How?\" Justin asked.  \n\"Well, 'seeing' is not quite the right word,\" the skunk clarified, \"but  \nit's close. Certain objects just look... \\_different\\_ to me. Some are sharper, or  \nfuzzier, or completely out of focus. Some have colors that seem unnaturally  \nbright. Some draw me closer, and some push me away. I can tell right away how  \nmuch energy is stored in almost any given object, and what kind of energy it is.  \nFor instance, Lena's plushies almost glow they're so full of love. I'm sure yours  \ndo too.\"  \nLena smiled softly. She could see as he did, and she knew it was true.  \n\"I was in college when it started, and eventually I came to the realization  \nthat garbage often has a much, much higher concentration of energy than regular  \nobjects.\"  \nThat was interesting. \"Why?\"  \n\"Well, if you think of objects as batteries for this energy we're talking  \nabout, think of them as circuits too. With most objects, the energy that flows  \nin, flows out too. It's a cycle. When an object that holds a lot of emotional  \nsignificance is thrown away, suddenly there's no outlet for that energy anymore.  \nIt stays locked within the object, and even builds up over time.\"  \n\"Like a water balloon,\" Justin mused.  \n\"Very good!\" Adam gave the boy's paw a pat. \"So I went to a landfill to  \ntest my theory. It was an incredible experience. I nearly passed out, went blind  \nand went crazy all at once. It was staggering! It literally knocked me off my  \nfeet!  \n\"The entire dump was pulsing, rippling, \\*breathing\\* with energy! Hate and  \nlove, all of it mixed together. It took me hours before I could even look  \ndirectly at anything. It was like staring into the sun, or directly at a  \nlightning bolt.\"  \n\"Wow...\" Justin said breathlessly.  \n\"So as soon as I could, I got a job driving garbage trucks. On my route,  \nI'd study the trash. Over time it got so that I could see right through the bags  \nhow many charged-up objects were inside. It was fascinating stuff. I started  \nhanging out at the landfill all the time.\"  \nThe skunk paused to remove his glasses and wipe them off on the edge of his  \nshirt. Justin noticed that there were tears in his eyes.  \n\"One day, I saw an incredibly bright object off in the distance,\" Adam  \ncontinued, beginning to waver slightly. \"I walked through the trash to see what  \nit was. I'd never seen a single object that carried so much energy before. It  \nlooked like a tiny star, fallen to earth.  \n\"As soon as I reached down to touch it, I \\*knew\\* what it was. It was like  \nan electrical shock. Suddenly, the knowledge was right there in my brain. This  \nwas someone's soul, and somehow it had become garbage.\"  \nJustin looked at Lena, beginning to understand. She nodded slowly, looking  \nback at him with her scared, sad green eyes.  \n\"I went home and read through all the books I'd collected on the subject. I  \nmade some calls to this small group of other occultists I met with occasionally  \nwho believed the same things I did. I eventually arranged a meeting with a man  \nwho was older than my own great-grandfather, and who knew more about this subject  \nthan anyone. He may have even been the one who wrote that book, I don't know.  \n\"Anyway, he told me exactly what to do. He said it only happened rarely,  \nbut sometimes a furson would be cast so completely aside by life and their loved  \nones, that their soul, instead of ascending to the next world, would compact  \nitself into a tight, protective ball and be stuck on Earth in a state of  \ndormancy. He said there was a ritual to give these souls life again.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco paused. His heart was pounding. He'd never told anyone but  \nLena about this. It took all his strength to say these words that any sane furson  \nwould think were the ramblings of a lunatic.  \n\"It was Lena,\" said Justin.  \nAdam nodded again. \"Yes. It was her soul. I went back to the dump and found  \nit again, lying in the same place, still pulsing like a beacon. It was a tiny  \nsphere of pure energy; no bigger than a marble, but it was heavier than lead. I  \ngathered up a huge pile of trash that was composed entirely of items that were  \nhighly charged with love-energy. I started the ritual. It took a long time. I had  \nto cut my own palms open and give my blood to this lost soul, who I knew nothing  \nabout. The blood was necessary as a binding agent, to link the soul back to the  \nworld of flesh again.  \n\"After a while, the garbage began to melt and bubble, like it was under  \nintense heat. I watched the soul's brightness flicker, getting duller and then  \nsuddenly becoming blinding.  \n\"When I dared to look, Lena was lying there, perfectly reborn as she was  \nwhen she'd died.\"  \nLena was crying again, but now it was tears of love for her father. She  \nremembered that night well; her second first birthday.  \n\"She looked up at me, and she asked me who I was,\" Adam said as a lone tear  \nrolled down the coal black fur of his cheek.  \n\"And you said, 'I guess I'm your dad now',\" Lena remembered.  \nThey both paused for a while for Justin's sake, to let it all sink in and  \nsettle. The young wolffox boy sat back in his chair, starting off into space,  \ntrying to deal with all of this. If it was true, it meant that his entire world  \nhad widened. As preposterous as Mr. Tallevasco's story of emotional energy had  \nbeen, Justin found that it was nearly impossible to disbelieve. His heart and his  \nvery instincts latched onto it; they'd known much longer than him that this was  \nall real and true. It was a deeply rooted subconscious knowledge. Something every  \nwaking mind glimpsed at its edges, but could not normally see the whole of.  \n\"I'm garbage,\" Lena said again, and this time her quiet voice held a small  \nspark of determination. She was tired of feeling ashamed of what was inside of  \nher, and she was going to finally stop. \"My body is made of garbage. That's why  \nyou saw me eating it this morning. It's just like breathing or eating food or  \ngoing to the bathroom. It's something I need to do to stay alive.\"  \n\"What happens if you don't?\" Justin asked with gentle concern.  \nShe bit her lip. \"I'd rot,\" she said simply.  \nJustin's imagination supplied all that her frightened tone had suggested.  \nHe saw in his mind the bubbling, melting mass of garbage she'd been born from,  \nand wondered if that was what she was in constant danger of turning back into  \nsomeday.  \n\"That's why we moved,\" Mr. Tallevasco said. \"Lena needs to eat garbage with  \nhigh levels of emotional energy. Our landfill eventually ran out, and there  \nwasn't enough coming in to crate a stable balance. We needed to find a new place  \nthat was rich in high-energy garbage. It was like looking for a gold mine. I'd  \nbeen doing a survey of dumps and landfills in the surrounding area, and this one  \nwas practically lit up like a christmas tree. I had enough money in my accounts  \nto purchase the land. It was an easy choice.  \n\"You'd be surprised at what kinds of objects store that kind of high energy  \nwe were looking for. A lot of times, all it takes is for that object to be  \nhandled by someone in a very strong mood. Someone buys a can of soda while  \nthey're furious at their spouse; that fury seeps into the can and stays there  \nafter it's thrown away.  \n\"But what Lena needs most are objects that someone's cared for. Love energy  \nis nourishing and sustaining. It endures. Trash full of angry energy can satisfy  \nher only a short while.\"  \nJustin thought about that, and then an awkward smile came to his face.  \n\"Like junk food,\" he quipped.  \nAdam stared at the boy for a moment, and then chucked.  \nJustin laughed too.  \nLena felt hope suddenly flood into her heart. Justin was smiling. He was  \nlaughing! Maybe he could accept her after all.  \n\"That's a very apt description,\" Mr Tallevasco said. \"I'm surprised I never  \nthought of it before.\"  \n\"So, do you understand now?\" Lena asked Justin tentatively.  \nHer eyes were wide and filled with desperation. Justin realized now that  \nthe reason she'd started crying so hard earlier was that she was sure that he'd  \nhate her once he discovered her secret. He'd see her as some kind of monster. He  \nwas almost certainly her first best friend ever, and she didn't want to lose  \nthat. She didn't want to lose \\_him\\_.  \nThat image of her swallowing a diaper came to his mind again, and he  \nshuddered. But his heart beat down the revulsion he felt. Would he stop being  \nfriends with someone if a medical condition forced them to eat through a tube? Or  \nwhat if they'd they lost their legs in a car accident and had to spend the rest  \nof their life in a wheelchair? Or if they were paralyzed? Or incontinent? Or  \ndying of cancer? Or AIDS?  \nOf course not. He couldn't turn his back on a friend under those  \ncircumstances. He'd be a horrible furson if he did.  \nHe reached down and shifted his chair closer, then suddenly leaned over and  \ndrew Lena into a startlingly heartfelt hug. Tears streamed down his cheeks. \"It's  \nokay, Lena. I love you. You're my best friend! I don't care what you are! I care  \nabout \\*you\\*!\"  \nLena burst into tears as well and held her wonderful friend tightly to her.  \n\"Oh Justin...!\" She squeezed him and cried all over his cheekfur and kissed him.  \nShe could not believe this was happening. For weeks now, ever since she'd  \nallowed herself to make friends with this boy, a voice had been nagging her that  \nher secret couldn't stay hidden forever. He'd find out one day, and then he'd run  \naway and never speak to her again. As she'd grown to care about Justin more and  \nmore, the fear of that moment had grown stronger and more crushing every day. And  \nnow that moment had come. And it had passed.  \nHe was hugging her. He said he loved her.  \n\"Justin... You're the best friend I've ever had. You're the best furson  \nI've ever known...\"  \n\"I'll never hate you for what you are inside,\" Justin whispered tenderly in  \nher ear. \"Everyone else hates me for what I am on the outside. I'm not gonna be  \nlike them. You've never treated me like they do, like I'm disgusting and  \nworthless. I'm not gonna be like that to you either. I couldn't live with myself  \nif I did.\"  \nHe kissed her pretty, furless pink ear.  \n\"You're the best furson I've ever known too, Lena. Why would I hate you,  \nwhen we're so obviously supposed to be together? Look at us! Could there be any  \ndoubt you were supposed to meet me? We're exactly alike!\"  \nLena gasped softly at the revelation. It was true. In her heart she knew  \nwithout a doubt it was true.  \nAnd as the two of them hugged, Mr. Tallevasco was stunned speechless by  \nwhat he was seeing. Not, however, because he had any doubt that Justin would  \naccept Lena for what she was and continue to care about her. He had more faith in  \nJustin than that.  \nBut because the energy of their souls was doing something he'd never seen  \nbefore. It was looping and spiralling and snaking back and forth, entwining and  \ndancing to and fro between their bodies. It was like fireworks, or a swarm of  \nbutterflies, or an endless field of wildflowers in bloom.  \nIt was the most indescribably beautiful sight his eyes had ever beheld.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 10\\*  \n  \nThe two young furs hugged silently for quite some time.  \nEventually, Lena looked up and told her father that she wanted to talk to  \nJustin alone for a while.  \nHe nodded, respecting that this was the time for them to pick up the pieces  \nof their friendship and do what they could to try and put them back together  \nagain.  \nLena led Justin by the paw off the porch. She took him behind the house to  \nthe Green Beast, which looked like it was sitting there waiting patiently just  \nfor them. Lena hopped up into the back and put out her paw to help Justin climb  \ninside too. He got a sudden idea, held up his index finger to say 'wait a  \nminute', then ran and got the big fluffy beach towel. He tossed it into the truck  \nand climbed in after it. He and Lena spread it out, sat down together, and got  \ncomfortable.  \n\"So... Um...\" Justin started, without having any idea \\*where\\* exactly to  \nstart.  \n\"Ask me anything you want,\" Lena said right away. \"I mean it. Don't think  \nabout it or worry that it'll upset me. Just come out and say it. I know how bad  \nit must have scared you to see me eating my weird breakfast. I want you to feel  \ncomfortable about me again, Justin. If you think we can, I want us to be friends  \nagain like we were yesterday.\"  \nHer caring, and her desperate need to be cared about herself, reached out  \nto Justin's heart. He leaned over and hugged her again, softer this time, as if  \nshe was one of his plushies. \"We \\_will\\_ be friends again, Lena. You want it, and  \nI do too. I can't see any reason why we shouldn't be.\"  \nShe let out a tiny squeak of wordless relief and joy.  \n\"We just have some stuff to talk about first, you're right,\" Justin said.  \n\"Whatever you need to know,\" she readily assured. \"And thank you for not  \nbeing all scared of me. I've always been afraid to have friends before, 'cause I  \nthought when they found out, they'd hate me,\" she admitted, looking down at her  \npaws.  \n\"I don't hate you! I promise!\" Justin said fervently. He nuzzled her gently  \nwith his moist canine nose. \"When your dad explained it, I thought about; would I  \nhate you if I found out you were sick? Like, if you got some disease, or got in  \nan accident? And you had to stay in the hospital for a long time with tubes  \nstickin' out of you, pissing into a little bag all the time? If that happened,  \nand I turned my back on you, I'd be the biggest asshole in the world.\"  \nShe smiled at his caring, then smiled for a different reason.  \nHe caught the glitter of naughtiness in that smile. He rolled his eyes.  \n\"Allright, you can say it...\"  \n\"I thought you already \\_were\\_!\" she burst out amid giggles.  \nHe laughed too, and they both felt another wave of relief. If they could  \nget back to teasing one another, they'd be fine. Their teasing, at its heart, was  \nabout trust. If one of them said something like that, the other one knew for  \ncertain that they didn't really mean it. And that was precisely why it was funny.  \nLena was overjoyed to see Justin really, truly smiling again. \"But no,  \nseriously; I'm really, really glad you're still being nice to me, Justin. And  \nthat being sick thing you just said, that's exactly what it feels like for me.  \nIt's just like having some really weird disease. Except when you're sick, people  \ncan understand that. They feel sorry for you and bring you flowers. I felt like I  \ncouldn't ever tell anyone about what happened to me. I felt like if I told  \nanyone, they would think I was some kind of monster and they'd try to get rid of  \nme.\"  \nHe nodded in understanding. \"That must've been really hard on you all this  \ntime.\"  \n\"Years and years,\" she said simply, her voice only hinting at how long  \nthose years had seemed.  \n\"Lena... Um...\" he began to ask.  \n\"Ask it,\" she urged, tugging on his arm. \"I told you. Whatever it is, just  \nask it.\"  \nHe took a deep breath, and let it out slow. \"Allright. Lena, um, how did  \nyou die in the first place?\"  \nShe gasped softly.  \n\"I mean, if your soul wound up in the dump, and that guy your dad talked to  \nsaid that that only happened when 'life and loved ones turned their back on you',  \nor something, then...\" He trailed off, worried a bit that this was too big, too  \npainful, of a question.  \nLena got quiet for a moment, as if she was arguing with someone inside  \nherself. She seemed to come to the decision that she was not going to fear her  \nmemories any longer. \"I used to be a street kid,\" she said.  \n\"My mom was a junkie. She used all kinds of drugs, especially that shit you  \nstick in your arm with a needle. We lived in a cardboard box most of the time.  \nSometimes we stayed for a while in a shelter, when we were lucky, or in empty  \nhouses or at the bus station. Mom was gone most of the time, trying to scrape  \nmoney together for more drugs. I was cold and sick a whole lot.  \n\"I don't hate my Mom, and I still wish sometimes that me 'n Dad had been  \nable to find her again. She wasn't mean to me. She just didn't know how to be a  \nmom, that's all...\"  \nLena shook her head, as if clearing away cobwebs. \"I don't remember hardly  \nanything of those days. Some of it's because I just don't want to. And some of it  \nis because, um...\" She stopped and tried to fit what she was thinking into words.  \n\"I guess it's like, if the same damn thing happens to you every day for years and  \nyears and years, then there's no memories to make. I'd get up, try to find some  \nfood in the garbage cans, and wait for mom to come home. That was it. What's  \nthere to remember?\"  \nJustin gave her paw a soft squeeze. \"I'm really sorry...\" And here he'd  \nthought his own family life was the worst ever. He felt a little ashamed of that  \nnow.  \nLena cupped his paw in both of hers, and returned the squeeze. \"It's okay.  \nIt's over now. If there's one thing I do remember, it was my last day.\"  \nShe shuddered, just for a moment, as one solitary sob escaped her. \"I was  \nin my favorite alley, looking through the trash bags. It was my favorite because  \nthere were five different restaurants all around, and they all dumped their trash  \nin the same place. I could almost always find something to eat there that wasn't  \ntoo gross.  \n\"Then this man came up behind me.\"  \nShe trembled like a leaf.  \n\"He grabbed me, and he started pulling off my clothes. I tried to scream,  \nbut he had a knife and he held it right in front of my eye. He never said  \nanything. He just threw me over on the pile of trash and... And then he raped  \nme.\"  \nJustin let out a gasp of shock and pulled her close. He gently nuzzled her  \ncheek. \"Oh my God, Lena... I'm so sorry.\"  \nKnowing that Justin cared about her so much was like a brightly burning  \ncandle in her heart. She felt almost silly now, for thinking he'd ever abandon  \nher.  \nShe had to go on with her story though, now matter how icky it felt to  \nrelive it. \"The guy fucked me really hard, but it wasn't for long. He squirted  \nhis shit in me, then he picked me up and just threw me across the alley into a  \ndumpster. Luckily I landed on some soft bags. He walked over and looked in at me.  \nI didn't move. I thought if I looked dead he'd just go away.  \n\"Finally, he left. I just laid there in the trash crying for a long time. I  \nremember the trash bags were actually kind of comfy, and I burrowed down in them  \nand pulled them on top of me like blankets to keep me warm.  \n\"He'd thrown me away like trash after he'd used me. I felt like trash. But  \nit wasn't like I was ashamed of myself. I just thought that life had treated me  \nlike trash for so long, I should just go ahead and accept it. I snuggled into the  \nbags and said 'I'm garbage', and it was almost comforting.  \n\"Then the garbage truck came along. I knew if I didn't get out of the  \ndumpster, I'd be tossed in the truck and get compacted. But then I decided that I  \ndidn't mind if that happened. I was garbage, after all, and garbage gets crushed  \nand taken to the dump.  \n\"The truck picked up the dumpster, and it lifted me way up in the air and  \ntipped me in with all the trash. I actually laughed; I wasn't scared anymore. I  \njust accepted that this was what was supposed to happen to me.  \n\"The first time the truck compacted the garbage, I got a little scared. But  \nthere wasn't much in it yet, so it just kinda squeezed me a little.\" Lena brushed  \naway the tears from her eyes. \"It was like the truck was hugging me, trying to  \ntell me it wouldn't be so bad to get squished.  \n\"It pushed a little harder next time. Then even harder, again and again,  \nuntil I lost count. Then one time I got crushed and it just knocked the wind out  \nof me and I passed out.  \n\"The next thing I knew, I was looking up, and Dad was looking back at me.\"  \nJustin nuzzled her softly. He kissed her cheek, her ear and her hair.  \n\"Lena... You're not garbage. Even if you really are inside. You're only garbage  \nif no one cares about you and just tosses you away. I care about you, and I want  \nyou to stay right here with me.\"  \nShe sniffed back her tears and gave him a few kisses too, tickling him with  \nher long whiskers. \"Thank you.\"  \n\"Wasn't it kinda weird for you though?\" Justin asked. \"I mean, you die in a  \ngarbage truck, then all of a sudden some strange guy's looking at you?\"  \nShe shook her head. \"It wasn't weird at all. Not even a little bit. I took  \none look at him, and I knew he'd saved me. He told me later that he'd cut his  \npaws and given me his blood, but I already knew he'd done something like that as  \nsoon as I woke up. See, he really is my dad. He gave me life. He's my dad and I'm  \nhis daughter.\"  \n\"...I guess so. And you told me you were adopted!\"  \nShe smiled. \"Weird, huh? It's actually sorta like both at the same time.\"  \nLena paused to stretch her legs. She'd been sitting in the same position  \nfor a while now and they were falling asleep. She stretched, and wiggled her long  \npink toes. \"Dad's been so good to me. He had no idea who I was when he brought me  \nback to life, but the first thing he did when he saw me laying there was he took  \noff his shirt and wrapped me up in it so I wouldn't get cold. He took me home in  \nhis car, and when we got to his place he gave me a nice long bubble bath. I  \nremember that part the most; him rubbing me all over with the washcloth. Getting  \nmy fur nice and clean. I'd never felt anything like it before.  \n\"After that, I said I was hungry. First he gave me some of his old baggy  \nclothes to wear, and then he took me to the kitchen. He fed me all sorts of  \nstuff. We sat at the table and talked for hours.  \n\"When I got sleepy, we went to bed together and he held me in his arms all  \nnight long. I'd never felt so safe.\"  \nJustin briefly wondered what that would be like; feeling safe in the arms  \nof a parent.  \n\"It took Dad a while to figure out that I needed to eat garbage,\" Lena went  \non. \"After a few days living in his apartment, he was feeding me all sorts of  \nstuff, and I was still hungry. Then he made the connection between my 'aura' and  \nthe garbage's.\"  \n\"'Aura'?\" Justin asked.  \n\"That emotion-energy he was talking about; how he sees it. I saw some lady  \non a talk show a long time ago, saying she could see people's auras. I thought  \nthe word fit pretty good. When Dad looked at me, I didn't give off the same  \n'vibe' or 'scent' or whatever as normal people do. My energy looked like the same  \nenergy coming from stuff in his trash can. So he fed me a bit of trash, and I  \nliked it! I sat there on the kitchen floor and he fed me the whole bag of  \ngarbage!\"  \nLena's exuberance over the memory made it more comic than puke-inducing.  \nThe image of a happy little ratgirl gulping down the entire contents of a trash  \ncan was rather funny, in an absurdist way. Justin smiled lopsidedly. \"But it's  \ntrash! Doesn't it taste awful? How can you stand it?\"  \n\"You know, it's weird, but it actually tastes good!\" she said. \"It's hard  \nto describe. Like if I eat an old boot, it still tastes like a boot, but I enjoy  \nit anyway.\" She thought for a bit about how she could possibly explain it to him.  \n\"Hey, are there any foods you really hated when you were little, but now you like  \nthem?\"  \nHe nodded. \"Yeah; peas. I used to roll them into my lap when Mom wasn't  \nlooking and then flush them down the toilet. Now I don't mind 'em at all.\"  \n\"Exactly!\" Lena said. \"It's the same thing with me and garbage. I changed,  \nand I like it now. If you put some garbage in your mouth, it'd taste the same as  \nit would for me, but my tongue just likes it for some reason.\"  \nIt was a bit of a roundabout explanation, but he thought he understood.  \n\"So, what're your favorite 'foods' then?\"  \nShe licked her lips, thinking about all kinds of yummy trash. \"Plastic  \ngrocery bags are nice, but they're not very filling. House keys are like candy.  \nPizza boxes, little porcelain statues, smashed-up toys; those are all pretty  \ngood. Stuffed animals are just about the best. They make me feel nice and warm  \ninside. And sneakers! Old stinky sneakers! The more beat-up and nasty the  \nbetter!\" she said brightly, describing them as if they were the greatest taste  \nsensation ever.  \n\"Sneakers!?\" Picturing her chomping on one was a little stomach-turning.  \n\"They're \\_fantastic\\_,\" she assured. \"Of course, that's just me. I know it  \nmust gross you out. In fact, if you really can't stand the idea, I'll keep on  \nwaiting 'till you're gone to eat that stuff. I don't want you to be  \nuncomfortable.\"  \nJustin considered it. \"Oh, I don't know. You shouldn't have to go to all  \nthat trouble. I mean, I already know that you do. Yeah, it was pretty unpleasant,  \nseeing you eat a diaper this morning. But that was mostly because I didn't  \nunderstand what was going on. If you need to eat trash, I can deal with it. It  \nmight even be interesting to watch.\"  \n\"Interesting \\*because\\* it's so gross?\" she inquired.  \nHe nodded. \"Yeah. Sort of.\"  \n\"I heard Dad call that a 'train-wreck fascination' once. He was talking  \nabout people slowing down on the freeway to stare at car accidents. He said  \npeople are just wired like that; sometimes their eyes wanna look at stuff even  \nwhen their brains think it's nasty.\"  \nThat made it sound like he was just some rubbernecker. \"Well, okay. You're  \nright, it would be like that a little. But another reason I wouldn't mind you  \ndoing it in front of me is so I could get used to it. You said you didn't want me  \nto be uncomfortable around you. I don't want that either. If I watched you eatin'  \nsneakers and pizza boxes every now and then, it probably wouldn't affect me much  \nafter a while.\"  \n\"Okay, I understand. And that's very thoughtful of you,\" she said with a  \nsmile and a quick kiss on his nose. \"So next time we go out rooting through the  \nday's trash, I'll snack on some of the stuff and you can tell me if you're okay  \nwith it, or if it gets too weird for you.\"  \nThat sounded reasonable. \"Allright then.\"  \nShe grinned suddenly. \"Hey, wanna see something really weird I can do?\"  \nHe arched a wary eyebrow. \"How weird?\"  \n\"Just watch...\" She lifted up her shirt again.  \n\"Are you gonna do that bellybutton-stretching thing again?\" he worried.  \n\"That kinda made my skin crawl.\"  \n\"No, trust me,\" she reassured. As she stared down at her tummy, she gave a  \nlittle grunt, sounding almost as if she were going to the bathroom.  \nHer stomach bulged.  \nThen her bellybutton widened and something began to slide out of it.  \nJustin watched in eye-popping disbelief as a transforming toy robot emerged  \nout of his best friend's stomach.  \nIt had a bit of goo on it, but otherwise it looked just fine. Lena wiped it  \noff on the edge of the blanket, then handed it to the stunned little wolffox.  \n\"Here!\" she said brightly.  \nThe toy dropped into his paws, and he just stared at it as if it had  \ndropped out of the sky. Finally his lips worked again and he sputtered, \"What the  \n\\_Fuck\\_?!?\"  \nShe giggled. \"Don't get all freaked out! If you'd found that in the dump,  \nyou'd be jumping up and down in joy. That's a cool toy! I knew you'd like it.\"  \nShe paused, as if something had tickled her. \"Waitaminnit, I think I've got his  \ngun in here too...\" She concentrated, and then a little silver-colored plastic  \nweapon spat out of her navel. \"Oh good.\" She handed it to him too.  \n\"How in the name of fuck did you do that!?\" Justin yelped, torn between  \nbeing seriously weirded-the-hell-out, and actually rather impressed.  \nShe smiled proudly. \"I can remember absolutely every single piece of  \ngarbage I've ever eaten. It's like an encyclopedia up in my head. Don't ask me  \nhow I do it though, I have no idea. It's all just \\*there\\*.\"  \n\"And you can just... burp it back up at will?\"  \n\"Uh huh!\"  \nHe ran a paw through his hair. \"That is just... I don't know what that is!\"  \n\"Well I think it's cool!\" Lena declared. \"And it's really handy, too. If I  \nwant something, and I know I've eaten it, I can just make another one.\"  \nJustin shook his head. \"You're going to have to go into a little more  \ndetail on this. I still don't get how...\"  \nShe tried not to get frustrated. This was second nature to her, but totally  \nnew to him. She tried to keep that in mind. It would be like if she suddenly had  \nto use urinals from now on: she knew of their existence, but they were completely  \nforeign to her. \"Okay, okay. Basically, it's like this: I eat something, it gets  \ndigested, just like you. Now, regular food just goes on through me into the  \ntoilet, like you too. But garbage... It's like I take the energy from it, but the  \nthings themselves are left behind. Like when you eat fatty foods, the fat cells  \nstay in you.\"  \n\"Okay, I understand that,\" said Justin. \"We did a thing on food and the  \ndigestive system last year at school. The pancreas, the spleen, the duodenum. All  \nthat stuff.\"  \n\"Good. So, here's the weird thing; If you eat lots of fat, you get a big  \nbutt. But I eat all this garbage, and it stays inside me, and then it's like it  \njust vanishes! I've eaten probably a couple hundred garbage truck's worth of junk  \nsince I got reborn, and it's all still there. Yeah, whenever I eat a hamburger it  \ncomes out as a turd the next day...\"  \n\"Bit too much information,\" he cautioned.  \nShe blushed. \"Sorry. But you get the idea. Dad says it violates some  \nfundamental law of physics. He says I'm like a black hole. Matter goes in and  \nwhere it ends up, nobody knows. Maybe I'll just blow up one day and spread a  \ngajillion tons of garbage all over the whole town!\" she said with a chuckle.  \nJustin was starting to get it. \"So, even though the stuff's digested, if  \nyou want it again, you can un-digest it?\"  \n\"That sounds about right,\" she agreed.  \nJustin looked down to the transformer in his paws. It looked like it turned  \ninto a black sportscar. And, yeah, it was indeed a pretty cool toy. \"Thanks,  \nLena. That was really nice of you. Freaky, but nice,\" he kidded.  \n\"You're welcome. Actually, I've got whole piles of stuff inside me you  \nmight like! Toys are usually really high in love-energy, more than just about  \nanything else, so I eat a lot of them. I already got their energy, so they're  \njust sitting there in my... wherever the stuff goes.\"  \nJustin chuckled at the image of her spitting out a huge pile of toys, and  \nhim checking each one to see if he was interested in it. \"Okay, that might be  \npretty cool. So, why don't you just get rid of all of it then?\"  \nShe rolled her eyes. \"Duh! Because it might come in useful someday! Hey,  \nyou're glad I kept that thing, aren't you?\" she asked, indicating the robot in  \nhis paws.  \n\"Yeah, but that's not what I meant. If you're worried you might blow up,  \nwhy not just spit it all out? Like letting air out of a balloon before it pops.\"  \nShe thought that was a fair question. \"I've thought about that, but part of  \nme, like an instinct, thinks it's supposed to stay in there for some reason. Like  \nvitamins, or something. And I'm not really worried I might blow up. Don't take me  \nseriously all the time!\" she chided.  \n\"Hey, this is all new to me! I don't know \\_what\\_ to take seriously! You  \ncould tell me you can pull trash bags out of your ass and I wouldn't know if  \nyou're kidding or not!\"  \nShe fell over backwards laughing. \"No, I can't do that!\"  \n\"That's a relief!\"  \n\"Oh, but you know what I can do?\" she popped up and asked with the type of  \neager smile that suggested it was something really delightfully gross.  \n\"...What?\" he asked, not sure he wanted to know.  \n\"I like to do a little 'spring cleaning' sometimes. Inside me, I can kind  \nof shift things around. I'll get together a lot of stuff I know I won't need for  \nanything later; soda cans, candy wrappers, diapers, stuff like that.\"  \n\"What exactly do diapers taste like?\" he interrupted.  \n\"Not bad. Chewy with a creamy center.\"  \nJustin grimaced really hard. \"Eeeeeuuuww!\"  \nLena smiled proudly. It was quite an achievement to gross out a boy, and  \none who'd spent most of his life in a garbage dump too! \"Actually, the worst part  \nabout them is knowing what they are. I just close my eyes and pretend they're  \nsomething else. Anyway, I get together this big pile of stuff I don't need, then  \nI can just puke it all up at once! It comes out of my bellybutton in this huge  \nfountain!\" she described with gusto. \"One time I did it, and the pile I made was  \neven taller than I was!\"  \nJustin was stuck between wanting to go throw up and laughing his tail off.  \n\"You are the most disgusting furson I've ever met!\"  \n\"Why thank you!\" she said flirtatiously.  \nHe snickered.  \nAll of a sudden, they were both startled by a series of quick knocks on the  \nside of the Green Beast. Mr. Tallevasco showed up a second later holding two  \nglasses of lemonade. \"Geeze, I can't tell you how happy I am to come out here and  \nfind you two laughing!\" he said with a wide, relieved smile.  \nLena and Justin took the cool drinks from him gratefully. \"Thanks, Dad!\"  \nLena said.  \n\"How are you doing, Justin?\" the bespectacled skunk asked sympathetically.  \n\"I mean, this is a lot to have to deal with in one day.\"  \n\"I think I'm mostly okay with it,\" Justin said calmly. \"It's kinda weird  \nand gross, but Lena's my friend, so it's not that hard to deal with.\"  \nLena leaned over and rubbed her shoulder on his, giving him a happy 'thank  \nyou' smile.  \nJustin thought of something else. \"And, y'know, living with my family, I've  \nhad to get used to weird shit happening to me all the time. It's just a part of  \nthe daily routine. I come home from school, and I have no idea what'll happen  \nwhen I walk in the front door. Maybe nothing. Or maybe Mom'll scream at me for a  \nwhile. Maybe my brothers will dunk my head in the toilet for the three-thousandth  \ntime. Maybe my Dad'll be there and he'll smack me around for an hour or two.\"  \nLena and her father both cast sympathetic glances at him.  \n\"But it happens. It's scary, but you learn how to deal with it. You learn  \nhow to react quicker. When something fucked-up happens, you identify it, accept  \nit, and figure out how to get out of it as fast as possible with the least amount  \nof bruises. I guess, in a way, I'm almost grateful to them. Something like this  \ncomes up with Lena, and I'm just naturally wired to go 'Okay', and move on.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco smiled at the young wolffox in a way that was both proud of  \nhim and sad for him. \"It must take a lot of courage to live like that.\"  \nJustin shrugged. \"I don't know about that. Mostly it's just a matter of  \nhaving to. If I didn't get like this, I'd probably be a coma vegetable, or worse,  \njust like my dumb brothers.\"  \n\"I've never met them, but I'm sure you're not anything like them at all!\"  \nLena told him firmly and lovingly.  \nHe smiled warmly at her. \"Thanks. That means a lot.\" He was about to take a  \nsip of his lemonade.  \n\"Wait! Stop,\" Lena said.  \nJustin looked at her, puzzled.  \nShe concentrated, made a little grunt, then reached down and pulled  \nsomething out of her bellybutton. She reached over and deposited in his glass a  \nlittle red paper umbrella.  \nShe clinked glasses with him. \"Cheers!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 11\\*  \n  \nJustin spent the whole afternoon talking with Lena, asking questions and  \nfinding out all sorts of fascinating things about her condition. The more she  \ndescribed it, and the more details came clear, the less frightening and strange  \nit became. Justin was actually starting to think it was all pretty cool.  \nAnd also, in a strange way, none of it was really surprising to him. Some  \ntiny part of his instincts had 'sensed' something odd about Lena from the very  \nfirst time he'd met her, but the sensation was so small he hadn't paid any  \nattention to it. So, whereas some other furson might have gone stark raving mad  \nif they'd found this out about a friend, Justin was much more interested than  \nafraid, even from the start.  \nIt occurred to him later that his surprisingly easy tolerance for Lena's  \ncircumstances probably had a lot to do with his own family. They were all  \nperfectly normal, at least physiognomy-wise, and they all scared the living hell  \nout of him. Lena was kind and pretty and funny and the best friend he'd ever had.  \nWho cared if she ate a few used paper towels every now and then?  \nWhen it came down to bare bones, he simply knew he felt safer with a trash-  \nmunching ratgirl who'd come back from the dead than with his own parents. A \\_lot\\_  \nsafer.  \nAs the sun was starting to go down, Justin said goodbye to Lena and her dad  \nand trotted off back home. It would be best to eat dinner with Mom and the three  \ngorillas for the next few nights, lest they get suspicious.  \nWhile he poked at his half frozen/half burned TV dinner, Justin kept  \nthinking about Mr. Tallevasco's meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and wondering how  \nhe could possibly force down the glop in front of him.  \nIt also occurred to him that in all the hoopla of discovering Lena's  \nsecret, he'd completely forgotten what he'd gone over there for in the first  \nplace.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nWhen the school bus let him off in front of his house the next day, Justin  \ndidn't even bother telling his mom he was home. He darted straight off for the  \ndump.  \nHe looked for Lena a while, but she was nowhere to be found. It seemed she  \nwasn't in an exploring mood today.  \nUndaunted, the little wolffox continued on to the little brown cabin past  \nthe woods. He swung around back for a moment to say hi to the Green Beast (who  \nseemed, as always, glad to see him), then came around the other side of the house  \nto the porch and knocked on the front door.  \nLena answered the door in purple shorts and a pale yellow tanktop, holding  \na TV remote.  \nJustin blushed; she looked \\_really\\_ cute!  \nShe looked surprised to see him. \"Oh! Hi Justin! Come on in!\"  \nInside, the sounds of after-school cartoons wafted through the air like a  \ndemented symphony. On the screen, a badly animated cat and mouse were attempting  \nto beat the shit out of each other, with predictably zany results.  \nLena plopped down on the floor a few inches from the screen. She picked up  \nthe bowl of popcorn she'd been snacking out of and handed it to him. \"Want some?  \nAfter friday night, I've been craving more of this stuff.\"  \n\"You didn't get it out of the same dumpster, did you?\" he kidded, and took  \na pawful.  \n\"Nope,\" she said, grinning. \"If I did, I'd have to give you fifty cents  \nevery time you ate some!\"  \n\"You never did pay me,\" he said with a mock-scowl.  \n\"Oh, yeah...\" She dug around in her shorts pocket a bit, then emptied out  \nthe contents on the floor: a blue plastic wallet, a small pile of coins, a foil  \nrainbow sticker, and a gummi worm. She handed him two quarters. \"Here ya go.\"  \nHe politely refused. \"Aw, it's okay. I didn't really mean it. You keep it.\"  \nShe shoved the coins back at him. \"No way! I dared you and you accepted, so  \nyou earned the money. I'm a rat of my word,\" she insisted.  \nShrugging, Justin pocketed the change.  \nLena took a sip from her soda. \"So, what brings you over here? Wanna go to  \nthe dump?\"  \n\"Actually, I was thinking about what we were supposed to do yesterday.\"  \nLena paused as if struck by a tiny bolt of lightning. She turned and gaped  \nat him. \"Really?!\"  \n\"I guess so. Why not?\" he said. \"I mean, if you don't want to...\"  \nShe stood up in a flash and put her paws on his shoulders. \"Are you  \nkidding? I'd love to help you move your treasure chest! I just can't believe  \nyou'd still be okay with me doing that.\"  \nHe was rather puzzled. \"Well, why wouldn't I be?\"  \nLena growled kiddingly. \"Boys are so dense!\" she shouted, then suddenly  \nnuzzled noses with him. \"You dummy. I thought you'd be all not wanting to because  \nof what happened yesterday.\"  \nJustin was still puzzled, and he didn't think he was being dense. \"I don't  \nsee why. I mean, we talked it out and I thought we were okay with everything,\" he  \nsaid sincerely.  \nLena took a moment to just regard him with wonder. \"Wow, you really mean  \nit. You're not just being nice to me...\"  \n\"What? What!? Why should I be upset?\"  \n\"Because,\" she said with a tap on his nose from her forefinger, \"I've been  \nlying to you the whole time we knew each other. I was keeping my deep, dark  \nsecret from you and I thought for sure you'd feel like you couldn't trust me  \nanymore.\"  \nHe still looked, and felt, confused. \"Nope. I don't feel like that a bit. I  \nunderstand why you wanted to keep it a secret. It's no big deal for me. There's  \nstuff I haven't told you about me yet, and that's just because I haven't gotten  \naround to it. I still trust you, Lena. Keeping a secret's a lot different than  \nlying.\"  \nShe hugged him, and felt a little dumb for thinking he'd have reacted any  \ndifferent than this. \"You're not dense, Justin. I'm sorry. You're just a really,  \nreally nice guy.\"  \nHe nuzzled her ear. \"It's okay. I'm sure you never expected anyone to find  \nout your secret and then be okay with it.\"  \n\"Yeah,\" she agreed. \"It's almost freaking me out how quickly you're  \naccepting all this!\"  \nHe smiled. \"I guess I just don't see any reason not too.\" He patted her  \nforearm. \"So, you wanna go grab some shovels, head off to the woods and dig that  \nbig sucker up?\"  \nShe gave him a bright grin. \"Sure!\" She flicked the television off without  \na moment's hesitation.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nAs luck would have it, they not only found two strong, sturdy shovels in  \nthe toolshed, but Lena also remembered that they had a wheelbarrow in the  \nbasement. The two of them went downstairs to retrieve it, and Justin noted that  \nher basement was spooky and cool enough to make a haunted house out of during  \nHalloween. Lena took that as a compliment.  \nTogether they lugged the huge old-fashioned wheelbarrow up the stairs. It  \nwas a rusty dull green, with wooden handles and a little fat rubber tire in  \nfront. It looked plenty big enough to move the footlocker.  \nThusly armed, they headed off for the woods behind Justin's house.  \nThey took a small detour by the front gates to check in with Lena's dad.  \nMr. Tallevasco also seemed quite pleasantly surprised that Justin was still  \nwilling to entrust them with his greatest treasures. The plaid-clad skunk said he  \nwished he could join them and add his strong back to their team, but  \nunfortunately he was still on the job. The two little ones said they didn't mind,  \nand that they'd have fun doing it by themselves anyway. It would be an adventure.  \nMr. Tallevasco wished them luck, and gave them each a (store-bought) snack cake  \nfor the journey.  \nThe terrain of the dump was way too bumpy for a wheelbarrow, so Justin and  \nLena took the long way around. As they walked, they talked about some of their  \nrecent acquisitions from the trash, and other lucky finds. Justin mentioned that  \nlast thursday at lunchtime he'd found a whole untouched brown paper lunchbag just  \nlying there in one of the big rubber trash cans. When the bell rang and no one  \nwas looking, he'd stealthily hidden it in his backpack. Despite being on the  \nschool's free lunch program, it was always a good idea to grab food when it was  \navailable, he explained. He never knew when he'd get it at home after all.  \nAs the rat and wolffox continued on their journey, they also inevitably  \ngave each other rides in the wheelbarrow. Justin found that Lena had amazing  \nupper-body strength and could run like a horse. She raced him through the woods  \nso fast he was scared stiff they'd crash into a tree at any moment. It was, of  \ncourse, highly entertaining.  \nEventually they arrived at the half-buried footlocker. Justin paused to  \nsimply take in the idea that it would no longer be there after today. \"I'll miss  \ncoming out here,\" he said softly.  \n\"We don't have to do this, if you don't want to,\" Lena said comfortingly,  \nher soft paw on his shoulder.  \nJustin took a deep breath and washed his sentimental thoughts away. \"No,  \nI'm okay. This was my special secret spot where I could be alone with all my  \nstuff. I've been coming here for a long, long time. I'll miss it, but you're  \nright; my stuff isn't safe here. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm really  \nsurprised my brothers never stumbled onto it. I guess I'm just lucky they're too  \nold to come out here and play around in the woods anymore.\"  \nShe gave him a comradely one-armed hug. \"Well, we'll make sure they never,  \never find it now!\" she said brightly. She jammed her shovel into the soft, dark  \nearth. \"Let's get to work!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nOver the next few hours, the two of them dug and dug until all their  \nmuscles were sore. The footlocker wasn't buried very deep, but it was anchored  \ninto the ground quite tenaciously. They ended up with a chubby ring of piled-up  \ndirt encircling their excavation site.  \nThankfully, the sun wasn't too scorching that afternoon. It was mild out  \nfor a change. There was even the occasional much-welcomed cool breeze.  \nThe sounds of shovels crunching into soil, and dirt raining down in heaps,  \nfinally gave way to the tune of two very tired sighs. Justin and Lena sat down in  \nthe dirt, back to back, and took a breather.  \n\"We did it,\" Justin panted.  \n\"Yup,\" Lena huffed.  \nFor a while, that was all the speech they were capable of. They sat and  \ntook deep breaths, feeling the sweat rolling down their fur and the sensation of  \nthe blood flowing through their tingling muscles.  \n\"And now we gotta heave that big fucker up into the wheelbarrow and drag it  \nhome,\" Lena grumbled.  \n\"Wheeee,\" Justin said with oodles of sarcasm.  \nThey waited a while longer until they thought they could actually move  \nagain. Lena got up first, and held out a paw to help heft Justin up to his feet  \ntoo. He was starting to realize that Lena was in much better shape than he was.  \nIt was a bit embarrassing to be weaker than a girl like that. But then again,  \nthat kind of attitude was what had made his brothers such chunky, muscleheaded  \njerks in the first place.  \nOnce it was free of the bonds of the soil, Justin found that the footlocker  \nwas actually lighter than he'd expected, even with it still full of stuff. He'd  \nimagined it weighing half a ton or so. Thankfully, his imagination had blown it  \nso out of proportion he found he could easily deal with the reality of it. He and  \nLena 'heave ho'ed a bit and slid it into the wheelbarrow with a satisfying thud.  \nThe trip back to Lena's house took a lot longer than the trip from there.  \nAside from the task of having to lug the heavy wheelbarrow, they were both a lot  \nmore tired-out than they realized.  \nAt first they'd hauled the wheelbarrow in shifts. That had worked okay  \nuntil their shifts started getting progressively shorter and shorter as their  \narms got tired quicker.  \nAs they took a much-needed break under a weeping willow tree, Justin had an  \nidea. Once they felt rested and were ready to carry on again, each of them took a  \nhandle apiece in both paws and carried the wheelbarrow together. Sharing the  \nweight was much better. Soon, they were making much faster progress home.  \nThey arrived in Lena's front yard as the sun was setting, turning the trees  \nto black silhouettes against a tangerine peel sky.  \nMr. Tallevasco was on the porch waiting for them, having closed up the dump  \njust a few minutes earlier by chance. Seeing that the two kids looked like they  \nwere both about to drop dead on the spot from exhaustion, he swooped in and took  \nthe wheelbarrow from them and trundled it back around behind the house. He  \nreturned to find the young furry duo splayed out on the cool grass, panting  \nheavily, but smiling from the satisfaction that they'd realized their quest at  \nlast. The tall skunk gathered them both up under his arms like bales of hay and  \ntook them inside. He plopped them down on the couch (Soooooo comfy after all that  \nwalking!) and went to get them some ice water. Justin promptly dumped half of his  \non his face and the other half on his feet.  \nWhen they'd rested enough, Mr. Tallevasco offered to drive Justin home. The  \nyoung canine was in a quandary. He knew his feet would hurt like hell if they had  \nto walk all the way back home, but he also didn't want to risk any of his family  \nseeing Lena's dad dropping him off. A compromise was struck when the bespectacled  \nskunk offered to drive him most of the way there and let him off far enough from  \nthe house that they wouldn't be spotted together. That sounded good, and Justin  \nagreed.  \nThere was still one more thing he had to do before he could leave though.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nNow the sky was a soothing blue-purple. Justin, Lena and Adam walked out to  \nthe backyard where the Treasure Chest was still waiting patiently in the  \nwheelbarrow.  \n\"Thanks for letting me keep this here,\" Justin said to Mr. Tallevasco.  \nThe lanky skunk gave Justin's shoulder a pat. \"I'm happy to. You can come  \nover whenever you like and check up on it. It's worth it just for me to know  \nyou'll sleep better, knowing your treasures are safe.\"  \nJustin shook his paw gratefully, then turned and gave Lena a hug. \"And  \nthank you for helping me drag the damn thing all this way!\"  \n\"You're welcome. But if you decide all of a sudden you want it back where  \nit was, I'll cream you,\" she threatened cutely, waving a teasing fist in his  \nface.  \nHe chuckled. \"I'd have to be a complete idiot,\" he assured. He looked  \naround and took notice of the modest little toolshed, standing out in the yard a  \nlittle beyond where the Green Beast slumbered. It was pained a pleasing shade of  \neaster-candy blue. Justin thought it looked like a fine place to hide his loot.  \nWith Mr. Tallevasco's help, he hefted his Treasure Chest out of the  \nwheelbarrow and together they dragged it across the lawn. Lena ran ahead and held  \nthe door of the shed open for them. They laid it down on the smooth wooden floor  \nand Justin nudged it into an aesthetically pleasing position in the corner.  \nThe shed was much bigger inside than it seemed. There would be plenty of  \nroom for Mr. Tallevasco's tools, and for him and Lena to both come in and sit and  \nlook at his collection.  \nJustin smiled contentedly. It had really happened. From Lena's suggestion  \ntwo days ago, to now. And here it was; his beloved footlocker, full of his most  \ntreasured possessions, now in its new home. He would never have to worry about it  \nagain. No more fretting about the tortures his brothers would inflict upon his  \nstuffed animals if they ever found them. No more having to sneak back and forth  \nin the middle of the night.  \nHe gave the big black box a loving pat. \"There. You're safe now,\" he  \nwhispered to his plushies inside. \"I'll come visit you all the time. I promise.\"  \nHe walked out and shut the door behind him. He looked up to Mr. Tallevasco.  \n\"I'm ready to go now.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nJustin's mother nagged him a bit for coming home late and missing most of  \ndinner, but he barely heard her. He offered to wash all the dishes and that  \nseemed to assuage her.  \nThe young wolffox stood at the sink as he scrubbed and looked out the  \nwindow to the bright white moon above.  \nHe couldn't imagine a safer place for his plushies than with Lena.  \n'I just hope she doesn't get hungry and eat them someday!' he thought, and  \ngiggled.  \n  \n  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 12\\*  \n  \nBright and early next Saturday morning, Justin was waiting nervously on the  \nsteps in front of his house.  \nMom was still asleep, and the Three Horseman Of The Apocalypse had already  \nscarfed down a messy breakfast and left for football practice. There was no one  \naround to watch him tag along with Mr. Tallevasco, but he was still worried  \nnonetheless. His heart was filled with the nameless dread of what would happen if  \nhis family ever found out about his friendship with Lena and her dad. He had no  \nspecific worries, just a certainty that whatever happened, it would be really,  \nreally bad.  \nHis ears perked up at the sound of a growly but well maintained old engine  \ncoming closer. Then, way down the road, the Green Beast approachethed.  \nJustin jumped up and grinned as it arrived in front of his house. Worries  \nwere forgotten in an instant.  \nLena popped up and leaned out the passenger side window. \"Good morning!\"  \nshe shouted sweetly.  \n\"Hey, Lena! Hey, Mr. Tallevasco!\" The young wolffox's tail was wildly  \nwagging.  \nLena's dad came around the other side, looking very official and  \nresplendent in his garbageman's uniform. It was just a hat and a loose-fitting  \ngreen jumpsuit with an embroidered nametag over his pocket, but it looked great  \non him nonetheless. His huge bushy tail swayed proudly behind him. He filled his  \nuniform with the pride of a man who loves his work.  \n\"Hey there, Justin!\" Mr. Tallevasco called out. He walked over and patted  \nthe boy on the head.  \nJustin lifted up the two bulging black trash bags that had been sitting at  \nthe curb. \"Here ya go,\" he said as he handed them ceremoniously over to the tall  \nskunk.  \nAdam chucked them in the back of his beloved trash truck and smiled fondly.  \n\"Her first trash pickup in years! You can tell she's happy; listen to her motor  \npurr!\"  \nIndeed, the Green Beast's engine did sound uncannily like the contented  \nrumblings of some giant prehistoric cat.  \n\"Let's get out of here before my mom sees me,\" Justin suggested.  \n\"Good idea,\" Mr. Tallevasco agreed. He ran back around to the driver's  \nside. Lena held her door open for Justin and he hopped up beside her.  \nThe inside of the Beast's cab was quite impressive. Everything was shiny  \nand polished. Justin liked all the old-fashioned looking controls on the  \ndashboard, and the gigantic black steering wheel. The seats were glossy black  \nfaux-leather. They were roomy and very comfy. A pine-scented air freshener hung  \nfrom the ceiling (mostly as a joke), and a few pictures of Lena were tucked into  \nthe top of the windshield. And, just as Lena had said, there was a translucent  \ncrystal skull on the gear shift lever that glistened liquidly in the sunlight.  \nAdam pointed to it. \"Picked that up at a yard sale once for six dollars.\"  \nThe skunk stomped the gas pedal, and the Green Beast gave a joyful roar and  \nstarted out on her second maiden voyage.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nSince the whole town of Flat Stone was very rural, there were often long,  \nwoodsy stretches between houses. In fact, it was almost half a mile to Justin's  \nnearest neighbors. It left them all plenty of time to talk.  \n\"This is the coolest truck I have ever been in,\" Justin declared.  \n\"Thanks!\" Adam called out over the thrum of the engine. \"Me and Lena both  \nworked hard to get her back in shape. Remind me later and I'll show you some  \npictures I took when we first bought her.\"  \n\"It was awful!\" Lena said sorrowfully. \"She'd just been sitting in some  \nparking lot for years getting rusty. The city hadn't been taking care of her at  \nall! Seeing her like that was like finding a kitten with a broken leg on your  \ndoorstep. We had to rescue her!\"  \n\"You sure did a good job then!\" Justin said. \"She looks brand new!\"  \n\"Thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of work,\" Mr. Tallevasco said  \nwith a happy sigh. \"Every second's been worth it. Some guys might buy some old  \nmuscle car and fix it up in their garage, or maybe even snatch up some sleek, hot  \neuropean model that can go three times the speed limit on the freeway. But how  \nmany people have their own customized vintage garbage truck?\" He grinned proudly.  \n\"The Beast's unique, and that makes her special!\" He gave the dashboard a proud  \npat.  \nMoments later, they arrived at their second stop of the day. Six white  \ntrashbags and a broken-up coffee table lay there at the curb, ripe for the  \nplucking. Adam, Lena and Justin all hopped out and tossed everything inside,  \ncareful not to be too rough with the bags. After all, who knew what fascinating  \ntreasures lurked within?  \nAs they drove off, they noticed a toddler waving excitedly at them from his  \nlivingroom window. Adam gave the horn a toot. Justin was sure it made the little  \nguy's day.  \n\"Ooh, yeah. Just remembered.\" Mr. Tallevasco popped open the glove  \ncompartment. \"Got somethin' for you,\" he told Justin.  \nJustin grinned as he was handed a pair of nice thick rubber gloves (Lena  \nwas already wearing a pair herself, along with her favorite overalls), and a  \nbaseball cap on which Mr. Tallevasco had carefully printed in permanent marker:  \n'Official Garbageman's Assistant'. \"Wow! Thanks!\" Justin said with a grin and a  \nwagging tail. He put on the hat and gloves and admired them in the side-view  \nmirror. He thought he looked very professional now.  \n\"How come I don't have a hat?\" Lena whined playfully.  \nAdam gave her a one-armed hug. \"You never asked for one, sweetie.\" He  \npaused, and thought a bit. \"Actually, you two would look cute with matching hats.  \nI'll get right on it after supper tonight.\"  \nLena consulted her inner encyclopedia of trash. \"Actually, I think I can  \nwhip something up right now...\" She concentrated, and Justin watched as a bulge  \nappeared in the front of her overalls. She reached inside and came out with a  \nblank cap just like Justin's. She put it on and looked satisfied. \"There!\"  \nThe weirdness of her being able to do that was almost completely gone now.  \nJustin even envied her a bit. After all, how cool would it be to carry around a  \nhuge storehouse of stuff, and be able to retrieve anything you wanted whenever  \nyou felt like it?  \n\"How's it look?\" she asked him, as she adjusted the cap to fit comfortably  \naround her big ears.  \nJustin stroked his chinfur thoughtfully, like an art appraiser. \"Pretty  \ngood. But it doesn't say 'Official Garbageman's Assistant' like mine!\" he added  \nsmugly.  \nLena 'hmph'ed. \"I'll fix that then!\" She grunted a bit, and the front of  \nher overalls protruded again. She reached in and pulled out a magic marker. \"A-  \nha!\" She pulled off the cap and tested the tip on a bit of scrap paper that had  \nbeen lying on the dashboard. \"Nope. This one's dry,\" she said disappointedly.  \nAfter a few more stops, there were about a dozen or so dry magic markers  \nlying on the floor of the Green Beast's interior. Adam was doing his best to  \ncontain chortles at his daughter's plight.  \nShe tried another one. Finally, a mark! \"YES!!\" she bellowed, nearly making  \nher father steer off course.  \nJustin fell over laughing.  \n\"Okay, next time we stop, you make my hat like Justin's,\" Lena told her  \ndad.  \n\"Will do, sweetie.\"  \nThey stopped a minute or so later and picked up another pile of bags. One  \nof them looked like it might contain some dolls and stuffed animals, so Lena was  \nexcited about that. She tossed it in the back and looked forward to finding it  \nagain later.  \nAs Justin tossed in the last of the bags (and realized that, yes, he was  \nstarting to sweat already), Lena sat on the edge of the collection bin and  \nwatched while her father dutifully made her hat official.  \nHe handed it back with a sheepish grin. \"Sorry, honey. It ran out of ink. I  \ncould only do the initials for now.\"  \nLena scowled at the hat which now read: 'O G A'. \"Darnit.\"  \nJustin grinned. \"If you really want to, we can swap hats for now.\"  \nShe jumped down and walked over to give him a quick smooch. \"That's okay,  \nbut it was sweet of you to offer.\"  \nJustin blushed.  \nThe next few hours were some of the most enjoyable Justin had ever spent.  \nThe work was occasionally tough (like that giant curio cabinet that was so damned  \nheavy he was sure he'd be having nightmares about it for weeks), but mostly it  \nwas just tossing bags in the back of the Green Beast's hungry maw. That was  \nsomething Justin would have gladly volunteered to do anyway, just for fun. And on  \ntop of that, he was actually getting \\_paid\\_ for this! It was like being paid to  \neat donuts, or to sit around watching TV!  \nSeveral people came outside to meet them. Mostly it was just to say hi to  \ntheir new garbageman; get a 'feel' for the guy, or to voice their opinions of the  \nnew trash collection idea in general.  \nSurprisingly, Justin's Mom turned out to be very much in the minority with  \nher opinion. Most people they talked to thought the new service was a great idea,  \nand welcomed not having to drive up to the dump every week. One woman even  \noffered them a plate of cookies!  \nThe best part of the job though was just being with Lena and her dad. The  \nthree of them talked about all sorts of stuff, told jokes, told stories, and just  \ngenerally got to know one another even better.  \n(One thing Justin finally got around to asking was why he'd never seen Lena  \nin school. She laughed and told him that the explanation was blindingly obvious.  \nSince she'd just suddenly popped back to life years ago, there were no official  \npapers that said she was Mr. Tallevasco's daughter. They couldn't possibly enroll  \nher in school without arousing undue attention. And since Adam was a former  \nteacher anyway, he'd just been home-schooling her all this time. Once it was put  \nlike that, Justin realized it made a lot of sense, and he felt a little silly for  \nnot figuring it out himself.)  \nAll day long, Justin did his very best to be helpful. Most of the time, the  \nwork flew by like nothing. Despite the fact that a lot of people had saved up  \ntheir garbage for the first day they wouldn't have to haul it away themselves, it  \nwas mostly just the standard bags and cardboard boxes. Nothing too heavy or  \ncumbersome. Justin definitely thought he'd rather spend a \\*dozen\\* days slinging  \ntrash than have to dig up and move another footlocker.  \nThere were relatively few problems from the people along the route either.  \nThere were however, a few misunderstandings. At least three people had to be  \ninformed that the city didn't allow Mr. Tallevasco to pick up bags of lawn  \nclippings (for whatever bizarre, bureaucratic reason), and one nearly-hysterical  \nwoman wouldn't shut up about recycling bins.  \nIn fact, the only furson who'd been downright rude was a fat fellow in a  \n'wifebeater' tanktop who had swore rather colorfully at Mr. Tallevasco when he'd  \nbeen told that he'd have to haul his giant tweed-covered couch to the dump  \nhimself because it wouldn't fit in the back of the truck.  \nOtherwise, the people they met were all nice. Lots of people came outside  \nto stare in amazement at the Beast, and many mothers commented on Justin and  \nLena's cute matching hats.  \nAt noon they took a break and went by a small local eatery for lunch.  \nConsidering they were all quite sweaty and smelly by now, they knew if they ate  \ninside they'd probably asphyxiate the other diners. Being courteous fursons, the  \ntrio decided that that wouldn't be polite. So Adam went in and quickly ordered  \nsandwiches for everyone, asking the waitress to please bring the food out to  \nwhere they'd be sitting outside. That worked out fine, and they all sat on a  \nshady bench together and shared a pleasant meal, not minding each other's stench  \na bit.  \nLena and Justin both got grilled cheese, and found out they both considered  \nit their favorite. Afterwards, they just tossed their trash in the back of the  \nBeast, picked up the restaurant's garbage from out back (by far the smelliest and  \nsquishiest of the day), waved to the waitress, and departed.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThe day got hotter as it progressed. By two thirty, Justin's shirt was as  \nsoaked as if he'd gone running through the rain. Thankfully though, the Green  \nBeast pulled around a corner then and he saw that their next stop was also their  \nlast. They'd completed an enormous circle and ended up back at Lena's house.  \nAdam parked the Beast in her usual place in the backyard. She idled down  \nslowly, sounding quite content. Adam jumped down from the driver's seat onto the  \ncool grass. He stretched his back, cracked his knuckles, then checked his watch.  \n\"Wow, I didn't think we'd be finished until at least three! We made a good team!\"  \nLena and Justin scampered out too. \"I'm gonna go get some water!\" Lena  \ncalled out as she ran into the house.  \n\"Bring me some too!\" Justin shouted back. He approached Mr. Tallevasco.  \n\"So, did I do a good job?\"  \nThe tall skunk looked very pleased indeed. \"You did a \\*great\\* job, Justin!  \nYou were extremely helpful! I don't know how we could've gotten that damn curio  \ncabinet in the back without your help!\"  \nThe curio cabinet had been the undisputed low point of the day. They'd had  \nto go into the woman's house to get it, since she was too old and frail to drag  \nit to the curb, and had found it to be about seven feet tall and at least four  \nacross. It was made of hardwood and lead glass, and it weighed, approximately,  \nsix billion tons. And since it split in two, and both halves fell within the  \ncity's size limits, they had to take it.  \n\"I know!\" Justin agreed. \"What was that thing made of, titanium?\"  \n\"Who knows? All I'm sure of is that I'm really going to enjoy backing the  \nBeast up to the ravine by the west side of the dump and watching that sucker  \ntumble out and smash to bits at the bottom,\" he said with a devilish grin.  \nJustin kneaded his hands like a supervillain. \"Yes, yes! Revenge of the  \ngarbagemen! Ha-ha-haaa!\"  \nAdam joined him, and they sounded like a chorus of Frankensteins.  \nLena returned with three dripping glasses, wondering what all the maniacal  \nlaughter was about. \"Are you two allright?\" she asked guardedly.  \n\"Oh, we're just talking about destroying that damn curio cabinet,\" Justin  \nexplained.  \nLena lit up like a lightbulb. \"Count me in! Do we have any sledgehammers,  \ndad?\"  \nAdam took his glass and shook his head sadly. \"Unfortunately no. But we are  \ngoing to drop it off a cliff.\"  \n\"Sweet!\" Lena did a little jump for joy. Water droplets went everywhere.  \nMr. Tallevasco guzzled his water in seconds. \"Well, I'm gonna go inside and  \nput my feet up for awhile,\" he informed the kids. \"Looks like you two have plenty  \nof time to play in the garbage before Justin has to get home for supper. Have  \nfun!\" He turned to walk away.  \nJustin looked worried for a second.  \nThe bespectacled skunk turned back around with a grin. \"You didn't think I  \nforgot?\" he asked Justin playfully. He pulled out his wallet and presented the  \nboy with a crisp ten dollar bill.  \nThe excited little wolffox accepted the bill reverently, never having been  \ngiven so much money at one time in his life. He spontaneously hugged Mr.  \nTallevasco. \"Thank you!!\" he shouted.  \nAdam gave the obviously ecstatic boy a pat on the back. \"You earned it,  \nJustin. You did an outstanding job today. I'd be happy to have you come along  \nwith us every Saturday from now on.\"  \n\"I'd love to!\" Justin said immediately.  \nLena came up behind him. \"Whatcha gonna spend it on?\" she asked, pointing  \nto his new bill.  \n\"I have no idea!\" he admitted truthfully.  \n\"Let's go look in the trash!\" the energetic little ratgirl said as she  \ntugged on his sleeve. \"I'm sure it's gonna be a good day today! We're gonna find  \nall sorts of cool stuff!\"  \nJustin thanked Lena's dad once more for the money, then ran off with Lena  \nto explore the day's loot. Mr. Tallevasco went back in the house, popped a cola,  \nand settled in to numb his brain with some daytime TV.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nLena was completely right twice. First, when she'd said that her dad  \nwouldn't have to compact the trash. They'd picked up the whole town's garbage and  \nthe Beast still didn't look like she had a full stomach. She could have easily  \ngone another few miles or so. The piles of bags were all spread out like a  \nsmorgasbord before the two kits, inviting them to come on in and discover their  \nsecrets. And now they had a nice cool place to look through everything, instead  \nof having to stand outside in the dump in the hot sun.  \nSecondly, she was right when she said it was going to be a good day for  \ngarbage-picking. As it turned out, it was one of the best days either of them  \ncould remember. It was an absolute trash bonanza. Both of them wound up with  \narmfuls of loot.  \nLena rediscovered the bag of dolls and plushies and tore it open to find  \nthat most of them were just her type. Either some young woman had decided to get  \nrid of all her old toys that she'd outgrown, or some frantic mother had just  \ngiven up trying to get her kids to clean their room and bagged everything in  \nsight. Within the bag-o-plenty, Lena even found a plush wolf that reminded her a  \nlittle of Justin. She connected with it immediately and gave it a big hug.  \nJustin's major find came in a bag full of otherwise ordinary garbage. At  \nthe very bottom of a sack filled with the usual paper plates and junk mail, he'd  \nfound a small assortment of transformer robots. Three of them were in perfect  \ncondition, and two others were just missing an arm or a foot, and still in  \nplayable condition. Lena even told him that she had a whole pile of spare toy  \nbits somewhere in the black hole of her tummy, and she might have some limbs that  \nwould fit his new acquisitions.  \nA little later, while Justin was looking through a collection of dusty  \ncrime novels with intriguingly lurid titles, Lena made another discovery. This  \none made her mouth water; a pair of raspberry-colored ladies' high heels. Shoes,  \nfor whatever reason, were often very potent repositories of emotion-energy, and  \nthus quite nutritious and pleasing to the palate. This pair in particular looked  \nespecially tasty.  \nJustin noticed her looking fondly at them. \"Um, are you gonna eat those?\"  \nhe asked cautiously.  \nShe nodded. \"I was gonna... If you don't mind.\"  \n\"Allright. I'm curious now. Go ahead.\"  \nGlad that he had given her his okay, Lena put the first shoe in her mouth  \nand nibbled lightly on its toe. \"Mmmmmmm!\" she said. She chewed it a bit more,  \nthen popped the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed.  \nJustin watched her neck bulge oddly as it went down. \"Doesn't that hurt  \nyour throat?\" he asked with concern.  \n\"Nope. I'm stretchy, I guess.\" She started gnawing on the heel of the other  \nshoe. It was easy to tell she was enjoying her snack.  \n\"So, uh, what does it taste like?\" he asked. This was grossing him out  \nconsiderably less than he thought it would. It was surreal, yes, but more  \nfascinating than frightening.  \nLena gulped down the shoe and let it meet its mate in her stomach.  \n\"Delicious! Leathery on the outside, silky on the inside,\" she said with a  \nsatisfied smile.  \n\"See anything else that looks tasty?\" Justin asked.  \nLena looked around and spotted what was left in the bag of plushies. She  \nselected one that resembled a cartoon character she didn't care for. \"Sorry, li'l  \nguy, but you're my lunch!\" she said predatorially, and popped it in her mouth.  \nShe chewed with gusto, enjoying the feel of the fluffy stuffing spilling out into  \nher mouth before she swallowed.  \nJustin watched her with a slight fog of unreality surrounding his head. He  \ncouldn't believe he was actually watching Lena eat a plushie. He looked around at  \nthe trash surrounding him for anything else she might like. \"Uh... how about this  \nold sock?\"  \n\"Not right now, but I'll save it for later,\" she said as she took it from  \nhim and stuffed it in her pocket. Then she squeaked, and suddenly looked at him  \nwith a broad smile. \"Justin! You offered me a sock!\"  \n\"Yeah. You're welcome,\" he said, a little startled by her overjoyed  \nresponse.  \n\"Yes, and thank you for that, but I'm excited because you're okay with  \nthis! You weren't just saying you were to make me feel better!\" she clarified.  \n\"Well, sure. I think I'm starting to get used to it. Just don't eat  \nanything too nasty, and I'll be fine. No diapers.\"  \n\"No diapers; I promise,\" she said solemnly. \"But could you hand me some of  \nthose army guys over there?\"  \nJustin turned around and noticed a tiny platoon of plastic army men he'd  \ncompletely overlooked. He scooped them up and handed them to her.  \nShe immediately popped a medic in her mouth and started chewing. \"Mmm!  \nThese guys are like candy!\"  \nTo Justin's surprise, he was actually getting into this. Seeing his best  \nfriend so happy made him happy too. \"Anything else?\"  \n\"I'm okay for now,\" she told him. \"But thank you so much for being cool  \nabout this.\"  \n\"You're welcome. If I see any more old shoes, I'll let you know.\"  \nLena giggled, and her whiskers bounced.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 13\\*  \n  \nFrom then on, life was pretty darn terrific.  \nJustin went over to Lena's house to play almost every day after school.  \nThey romped through the dump, shared their toys, had long conversations, and just  \ngenerally did best-friendly type stuff.  \nOne day, Justin arrived to find Lena sitting in the backyard next to an  \nenormous pile of interesting trash. Just as she'd said, she'd 'burped up' an  \namazing amount of stuff from her own internal trash dimension that she thought  \nhe'd like. Just on first glance, Justin noticed all sorts of things he was wild  \nabout. He gave Lena a supercharged, tail-wagging hug for her generosity. They sat  \nin the grass together and looked over all the neat stuff, with Lena spinning  \nstories about where it had all come from. In addition to toys, books and  \nplushies, Justin found plenty of parts and accessories which had a good chance at  \nmatching up with some of his other toys that were missing limbs or weapons. And  \nas she discovered more specifically what sort of things Justin liked, Lena was  \nable to 'burp up' even more goodies for him.  \nJustin was also getting along great with Mr. Tallevasco. The little wolffox  \ndid his very best to repay the kind skunk's generosity in any way he could. He  \noften volunteered to help with household chores, and loved lending a paw in the  \nkitchen. On the occasions when he thought he could get away with staying over for  \ndinner, the meals tasted even better for knowing he'd helped create them.  \nA week passed, and bright and early the following Saturday, Justin was on  \nthe job again, his 'Official Garbageman's Assistant' cap perched proudly on his  \nhead. They did their rounds even quicker than last time, and after Justin and  \nLena had played in the day's trash for a while, Mr. Tallevasco took them out to  \ndinner at Arnie's again and surprised them with another movie.  \nBy now, Justin had twenty dollars hidden carefully away in his little  \nhidey-hole beneath the floorboards under his bed. He'd thought for a long time,  \nand had finally gotten an idea about how to spend it. He would wait until next  \nSaturday when he'd have thirty bucks total, then treat Lena and her dad to  \ndinner. Just thinking about it made him happy. After all, he got plenty of toys  \nand books from the trash, why would he need to go to a store and buy more? This  \nway, he'd be able to pay back a little of their generosity and it would make him  \neven happier than just buying something for himself.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nIt was Wednesday, and Justin was on the bus coming home, trying to choose a  \nrestaurant in the area that wouldn't be too formal or too expensive. One that  \nwould be just right. He stared out the window, lost in his own little world.  \nHis bubble popped when the bus' doors opened and he saw his three brothers  \nsitting on the front steps waiting for him. He stepped boldly off the bus onto  \nthe curb, already tensing himself for whatever mayhem they had planned.  \nThey grinned maliciously at him like a pack of wild jackals.  \nThey had to be planning something, but Justin was determined not to let  \ntheir idiocy ruin his day. Whatever crap they had in store for him this time,  \nhe'd take it stoically and then just shrug it off like he always did.  \nBut as the bus pulled away, Justin looked across the yard and noticed  \nsomething that made his blood run cold.  \nHis father's car was parked in the driveway.  \nHe had come home from work early.  \nThis was \\_not\\_ good.  \nShaking badly, but trying his best to stay brave, Justin approached his  \nbrothers.  \n\"You are in so much fucking trouble.\"  \n\"Dad's gonna kill you.\"  \n\"Wish we could watch.\"  \nJustin sneered defiantly at them.  \n\"Wanna know why?\" Royce asked as he leered closer to his little brother,  \nhis fangs glinting with exuberant drool.  \n\"Not really, no,\" Justin said flatly.  \n\"Whoooah! He's a tough little fucker!\"  \n\"Not scared of daddy at all, are ya?\"  \n\"Ha!\"  \nRoyce reached out with his wiry arms and roughly grabbed the front of  \nJustin's shirt. \"I'm gonna tell you anyway, you little pukeface. See, I was at  \nlunch today, and one of the guys on the squad asked me if it was my little  \nbrother who was riding around with the new garbageman.\"  \n'Oh fuck,' thought Justin.  \n\"So I'm like, what the hell? And he said his mom saw you out riding along  \nwith that goddam skunk like you were best friends. Said you even had a cute  \nlittle hat! What the fuck was that all about, huh?\"  \nJustin's jaw was trembling in fear. Not of his brothers, no. Of his father.  \nBecause if they knew, he knew, and that's why his car was parked outside now and  \nwhy Dad was almost certainly sitting inside waiting for him. \"I-It's just a job.  \nHe's paying me to help him,\" he explained in a tiny, dry voice.  \n\"Oh, we already know. That's why we told Dad. He is really pissed at you.  \nHe is seriously gonna put you in the hospital this time, you little shit,\" Royce  \nsnarled cruelly.  \nThe other two guffawed like spectators at a public lynching.  \n\"So get in there! He's waiting!\" Royce clutched Justin by the back of his  \nneck and suddenly rammed him into the screen door. \"Oops! I forgot to open it  \nfirst!\" he said mockingly.  \nJustin heard his brother's braying laughter over the buzz of pain coming  \nfrom his nose. He thought it was starting to bleed.  \nRoyce swung the door open and hurled his brother inside. Justin landed in a  \npainful heap, cracking his right shoulder on the hard wooden floor.  \n\"Have fun,\" sneered Royce.  \nGreg and Dave giggled like harpies.  \nJustin got up slowly, keeping as much dignity as he could. He glared at  \nthem. For the briefest of instants, he wished with all his heart that he could  \nsuddenly find himself holding a big fucking gun with a lot of bullets in it.  \nHe shook that disturbing thought right out of his head. \"No.\" That was  \ngoing too far, even for dickheads like them.  \nJustin steeled himself, readying his body for all the pain he knew was  \ncoming, and went off to face his father.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nHe found him in the kitchen, seated in one of the little metal chairs. Mom  \nwas nowhere to be seen.  \n\"Get in here,\" Dad grunted.  \nJustin's father was pure wolf. His body was chiseled into a Godlike  \nsculpture of muscle from decades of hard labor at The Factory. Every inch of his  \nbody was crisscrossed with scrapes, scars and burns. His muscles were taut slabs  \nof steel. His biceps were thicker than Justin's waist. His fingers were fat blunt  \nsausages with claws.  \nJustin stepped into the room, feeling smaller and scrawnier than he ever  \nhad in his life.  \nHis father was perfectly quiet, just staring at him. Justin had never seen  \nthis before. Usually the old man just started in right away screaming and  \npunching.  \nJustin was terrified. He was suddenly very glad he'd gone to the bathroom  \nbefore he'd left school.  \n\"Do you know what your brothers told me?\" Dad slowly asked, stretching out  \neach syllable to the maximum tension.  \n\"Yes sir. I think so,\" Justin answered meekly.  \n\"Is it true? You've got yourself a nice little job and you didn't tell me?\"  \nJustin nodded.  \nThe huge wolf's neck muscles tightened. He looked ready to punch through a  \nbrick wall.  \nJustin took a deep breath, trying to stand perfectly still and straight and  \nnot quiver.  \nSlowly, painfully slowly, Justin's father reached into his shirt pocket and  \npulled out two ten dollar bills.  \nInside his head, Justin screamed in rage.  \n\"Do you know what these are, boy?\"  \n\"That's my money,\" Justin growled.  \nWith a sound that reverberated throughout the house, Justin's father  \nbrought his giant fist down hard on the tabletop. It was a miracle it didn't  \nsplinter into bits. \"YOUR money?!?\"  \n\"Yes sir,\" Justin said as calmly as he could. \"I worked for it. I earned  \nit.\"  \n\"You don't know shit about working,\" Dad snarled. With that, he tore both  \nbills in half, right down the middle, and let them flutter to the table.  \nJustin opened his mouth, but shock kept him from uttering a word.  \nThe old man grinned with cruel amusement at his fake son's reaction. \"You  \ndidn't earn a god damn thing.\"  \nA bolt of anger surged up through Justin's throat. \"That was mine!\" he  \nscreamed.  \n\"NOTHING'S YOURS!!!\" the huge wolf roared back.  \nJustin shut his mouth. He was still trembling, but now it was out of sheer  \nfury. His father had been in his secret hiding place. What had he done with his  \npoems?  \n\"You don't own anything in this house, you understand?\" Dad spat. \"This  \nhouse and everything in it, including your ass, is mine. I work for a living. I  \nsweat my fucking ass off all day long so your fucking mother can buy food to feed  \nyour ungrateful fucking mouth!!\"  \n\"Fine! Okay!\" Justin shouted back. \"So what's wrong with me doing the same,  \nhuh!?\"  \nDad grinned as if Justin was hopelessly retarded. \"What's wrong is that you  \ndon't even have the sense to do it right, you god damn little faggot. Normal kids  \ngo out and get paper routes. They don't play around in other people's fucking  \ngarbage!!\"  \nJustin was worried even more deeply for a second, until he realized that  \nhis father had just used that as an expression. He didn't think his dad knew  \nabout his trips to the dump. At least he desperately hoped not.  \n\"And I wouldn't even be so pissed off about that,\" the huge wolf rambled  \non, \"if you at least had the sense not to work for some stinkassed goddam skunk!\"  \n\"What!?\" Justin burst out, sure he couldn't possibly have heard that right.  \n\"You dumb shit! What the hell is wrong with you? You got wax in your ears?  \nCan't you understand a single fucking thing that comes out of my mouth!?\"  \n\"I heard fine!\" Justin spat defiantly. \"I mean, what's so bad about Mr.  \nTallevasco being a skunk?\"  \nHis father reeled as if hit in the face. He clenched his eyes shut and  \nswore under his breath. \"You really are the stupidest fucking kid in the world,  \nyou know that?!\" he brayed.  \nJustin glared hatefully at him, wishing the old fuck would just have a  \nheart attack and die and leave him alone for good.  \n\"Skunks are the lowest fucking animals God ever created! I can't believe I  \nhave to \\_tell\\_ you this! They stink for a reason! It's to let everyone else know  \nto keep away from their dirty fuckin' asses!\"  \nJustin could not believe what he was hearing. \"You racist motherfucker!!\"  \nhe exploded without thinking.  \nDad seemed to take the insult as a compliment. \"You're damn right I'm  \n'racist', if that's what you call being smart about the kind of degenerate,  \nunclean filth that walks around on two legs among us decent people. And you're  \nalso damn right that I fucked your mother! I fucked her a whole lot of times, and  \nI pumped her full of three sons that I'm actually proud of.\" He stood up and  \nleaned menacingly over the table. \"But I never fucked her when she had you, you  \nlousy goddam bastard!!\"  \nJustin instictually backed up against the wall.  \n\"Oh, you're scared of me now? Finally doing something smart, huh?\" Dad  \ntaunted as he came around the table and approached the shaking little halfbreed.  \nJustin scanned the kitchen, looking for the best way to run away quickly,  \nor, as a last resort, to spot something he could use as a weapon.  \nThe massive wolf loomed over Justin like a vengeful pagan god. \"You need to  \nlearn a lesson, boy. You need to learn about what kind of fursons God meant  \ndecent people like me and your mother to associate with.\"  \nJustin could not contain an insolent laugh at the total insanity of that  \nstatement.  \nDad slapped him once, razor quick, across his mouth. \"I know why you're  \nstanding up for him,\" he said low and mean. \"Has he been touching you? Huh, you  \nlittle faggot? Is that why you ride around in his little truck? Does he make you  \nsuck his cock, boy?!\"  \nThat did it. That crossed all the lines that had ever been drawn. Justin  \ncouldn't stand it a second longer. The beating was coming anyway; it didn't  \nmatter what he did anymore. \"You sick fuck! Of course not!! Mr. Tallevasco's a  \nbetter man than you'll ever be! He's smarter than you too! He went to college, he  \nused to be a professor! Or do you even know what that means, you dumb fat fucking  \nasshole!?!\"  \nDad said nothing, he just simply brought his fist around and punched Justin  \nhard enough to nearly knock him through the wall.  \nJustin slumped to the floor as a shower of cracked paint rained down upon  \nhim. The back of his head had indeed put a massive dent in the wall behind him.  \nHis head felt like it had suddenly filled with blood like a balloon.  \n\"Get up!!\" Dad screamed.  \n\"Eat shit,\" Justin slurred. He realized one of his teeth was loose.  \nAn arm like a side of beef reached out and yanked the boy up in the air,  \nnearly snapping his neck. \"You think you're big enough to talk back to me, huh?  \nYou think you're tougher than your old man? You think I won't kill you right here  \nand now in this kitchen and let your mother mop the blood off the floor when I'm  \ndone?!?\"  \nJustin's collar was cutting off his air, but he still managed to croak out.  \n\"Try it. Have fun in jail, asshole.\"  \nWith a growl like a freight train, Justin's father hurled him across the  \nlength of the kitchen, sending him crashing into a stack of dirty dishes in the  \nsink.  \nJustin finally cried out as shards of glass and ceramic pierced his flesh  \nin a dozen places. He dropped off the counter and landed hard on the floor on his  \nside. His right shoulder made a horrible crunching sound. He didn't even have  \ntime to wonder if it was broken. His father swept the kitchen table aside with  \none gigantic paw and headed straight for him.  \n\"Up!!!\" he roared.  \nJustin coughed, and a perfect circle of blood dropped out on the tile in  \nfront of him.  \n\"UP!!!\"  \nJustin mumbled something.  \nDad bent over and grabbed the boy by the back of his head, his claws laying  \nopen the skin in four places. \"What the fuck did you just say?\"  \nJustin coughed again, and a tooth feel out onto the floor with a tiny  \nclatter. \"I said,\" he repeated with great difficulty, \"that I'm pretty sure I  \ncan't do that right now.\"  \nHis father threw him back at the floor. \"Fine. Stay there. You lie there  \nand you think about our little discussion. I'm going to go in the other room now,  \nand when I come back, you are going to clean up all this broken glass, you are  \ngoing to scrub this floor, and you are not leaving this house except to go to  \nschool for the next four months.\"  \nJustin didn't even have the energy to be shocked or angered at that. He  \nwatched sideways from the floor as his father stomped out of the room and his own  \nblood trickled down through his fur.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nAn hour later, Justin was still laying on the floor when his father walked  \nback in.  \nJustin had had time to check himself over. He was pretty sure the whole  \nsurface of his skin was now covered in one immense bruise. He was missing one  \ntooth, his shoulder was almost surely sprained, if not broken, he was bleeding in  \nmore places than he could count, and the back of his head seemed like it was just  \nsimply gone, transformed into a soupy mush of tissue over bone.  \nDad threw a broom and a dustpan at him. \"Get to work,\" he spat.  \nJustin barely managed to keep himself from cheerfully asking through his  \nbloodied grin, 'Will you pay me ten bucks if I do a good job?'  \n  \n  \nThat evening, Justin laid in bed with the lights off and listened to his  \nfamily eating dinner.  \nThat was another part of his punishment; he wasn't allowed to eat breakfast  \nor dinner for a week. The school lunch was enough, his father had said, to keep  \nhis skinny ass alive.  \nJustin would not allow himself to cry.  \nDespite the fact that his secret hiding spot had been violated and his  \npoems had been left in shreds all over the floor.  \nDespite the fact that his door was locked from the outside and his window  \nhad been nailed shut.  \nDespite the fact that he was in more pain than he could remember in his  \nlife.  \nDespite the fact that his blood was still oozing past his bandages and  \nstaining his sheets.  \nHe would not cry.  \nHe was not going to feel sorry for himself. He was not going to whimper and  \nmewl and let that fucking asshole win. He was not going to be broken.  \nMore than the pain, he felt a fiery rod of anger spiking up through his  \nstomach.  \nHe Had Had \\_ENOUGH\\_ Of This Shit.  \nHe'd taken it for so long. For years, he'd taken the insults and abuse, the  \npunches and kicks, and had just gone off to his room and slept it off. But that  \nwas before he knew what love and friendship and happiness really felt like. Hard  \nto believe it was barely a month ago when all he'd had was his stuffed animals.  \nNow he had Lena, and Mr. Tallevasco. They made him feel like he mattered, like he  \nwas a good furson. They made him feel cared about, accepted, and loved. They made  \nhim feel as if the rest of his shitty life couldn't hurt him anymore.  \nBut his father wanted to take that away. And that was unacceptable.  \nNo fucking way was he going to let that overmuscled racist fuckhead win!!!  \nWith a snarl of rage from between clenched teeth, Justin fiercely punched  \nhis pillow as hard as he could.  \nHe whimpered and tears came to his eyes as a dozen different pains flared  \nup again and clutched at his body like talons.  \nThe small boy trembled from the pain as he laid himself down again and  \ntried not to move.  \nHis body felt like it was a heartbeat away from splintering into tiny  \nshreds, but his mind had never felt stronger.  \nThis was it. He was not going to put up with his father's bullshit anymore.  \nHe was not going to be afraid of him anymore. He was not going to take his fatass  \nmother's insults anymore. He was not going to take his retarded jock brothers'  \nabuse anymore.  \nHe remembered Lena's T-shirt: 'Fuck Everything'.  \nThat was a pretty good assessment of how he felt at the moment.  \nJustin rolled over on his side, trying to keep pressure off his swollen  \nright shoulder. He tried in vain to get comfortable, but that wasn't going to  \nhappen.  \nEventually his rage simply burned him out, and he slept without dreams  \nuntil the next morning.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 14\\*  \n  \nThe next day, Justin's mother jerked him awake with a hard tug on his right  \nshoulder. Justin let out a high-pitched shriek of pure, white-hot pain.  \n\"Shut up, you little sissy,\" she said disgustedly. \"Getcher clothes on. The  \nbus'll be here any minute.\"  \nHis shoulder throbbed like a gleeful demon was chewing on it. Justin's  \nbrain swam up through the pain and realized he was awake.  \n\"Did you hear me? Get your skinny little ass up!\" Mom shouted at him. \"Or  \ndo I have to beat you worse than your father did to get you to obey me too?\"  \n\"Fine, fine! Give me a second,\" he grumbled. He sat up, still wearing his  \nclothes from the day before.  \n\"Change your clothes,\" she ordered with a nauseated grimace. \"You stink  \nlike blood and you look like you've been run over by a damn truck.\"  \n'I have,' he thought, 'its name was Dad', but he didn't dare speak it  \naloud. His mother waddled fatly out of the room and slapped the door shut behind  \nher.  \nThankfully, his brothers were nowhere to be seen. He was sure they'd feel  \nobligated to weigh in with their own taunts about his father's little lesson last  \nnight. That probably just meant he was gonna get it after school.  \nJustin slowly peeled his shirt off, wincing the entire time. His blood had  \ndried during the night and virtually \\_glued\\_ his shirt onto him. He whimpered and  \n'arf'ed in pitiful pain as he torturously removed his ruined shirt. He tossed it  \nover on the hamper, and repeated the performance with his jeans, which were  \nthankfully only slightly bloodied. 'Looks like I'm down to only one pair of pants  \nnow,' he thought with a sick grin.  \n'That's it. Good. Laugh about it. Don't cry. He doesn't deserve the  \nsatisfaction of you crying. You're stronger than him. Fuck all his muscles.  \nYou're stronger than him because you're a better furson than he is. Fuck him.  \nHe's not even your real father. Aren't you kinda proud of that now?'  \nJustin struggled into some new clothes and limped off to breakfast. He  \nhadn't noticed it the night before, but he'd bruised his hip pretty badly when he  \nwas thrown across the room.  \nThe Asshat Trio were grouped around the kitchen table, shoveling cereal in  \ntheir mouths, milk dripping down their chins like a clan of mountain ogres.  \nJustin was about to pull up a chair when Dave shoved him hard in the chest.  \n\"How hard did you hit your head, retard? Dad said no food!\"  \n'Oh yeah, right.'  \nJustin turned his back on their jeers and laughter and went to go stand by  \nthe door, waiting for the bus to come. He had to get the hell out of this house.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nMom watched him like a prison guard as he boarded the bus. \"And if the  \nschool calls and tells me you didn't show up, I'll send your father to find you!\"  \nshe called after him.  \n\"Yes, mommy,\" he shot back in an angry snarl. He stepped onto the bus, and  \nhe thought the doors closing behind him was the sweetest sound in the world.  \nThe bus driver, a fat, imperturbable raccoon, took one look at him and  \ncringed.  \n\"I look that bad, huh?\" Justin spat at him. He didn't wait for a reply, he  \njust stomped up the steps and took his seat, ignoring all the stares he was  \ngetting.  \nIt was probably the longest bus ride he could remember.  \n  \n  \nWhen the bus pulled up at school, Justin was the first one off, pushing  \nthrough the doors and barely even waiting for the raccoon to brake. He ran as  \nfast as he could with his limp. He wanted to reach his classroom before anyone  \nelse got there.  \nMrs. Robertson was seated at her desk as always. She glanced briefly up at  \nhim, and scowled in her snippy way. \"You're early, Mr. Dalton. That's unusual,\"  \nshe said snidely.  \nJustin walked over to her desk. \"Look at me,\" he demanded.  \nShe was about to give him a good tongue-lashing for using that tone of  \nvoice, but her words left her when she actually got a good look at her pupil.  \nJustin turned around once, mostly so the blood-black mess on the back of  \nhis head could press the shock even further. \"I need to ask you for a favor, Mrs.  \nRobertson,\" he said as politely as he could.  \nShe was speechless. This child belonged in an emergency room, not a  \nclassroom.  \n\"I need you to mark me down that I was here for the day. I know you don't  \nlike me much, and that's okay because I've been a real jerk to you, and I'm  \nsorry. But I can't be here right now. I have to get to someone who can help me.\"  \nHer jaw moved, but the marten could produce no words, only small squeaks  \nand gasps of disbelief.  \nJustin realized that she was looking at him now with the first traces of  \nsympathy he'd ever seen on her face. \"Please, I...\"  \n\"That's enough, Justin,\" she said softly.  \nAnd just like that, their feud was ended. It wasn't her tone that told him,  \nso much as the fact that she'd finally called him by his first name.  \nThe teacher got out her attendance sheet and marked him present. \"You were  \nhere all day. Now, do you need me to call anyone?\"  \n\"No!\" Justin immediately barked. \"Please, don't! If my mom finds out, my  \ndad is going to do even worse stuff to me when he catches me.\"  \n\"Your father did this to you?\" she spoke in an unbelieving, horrified  \nwhisper. Mrs. Robertson reached out a shaky paw to gently cup Justin's cheek.  \nShe'd never seen any of her students in such bad shape. It was heartbreaking.  \nJustin Dalton may have been a wiseguy and a perpetual pain in the ass, but no  \nchild deserved this.  \nJustin nodded. \"All I need from you is to just say I was here, that's it.  \nThank you so much for helping me. And I'm sorry for all the dumbass things I've  \nsaid over the year. I'm sorry I was such a jerk.\"  \n\"That's quite allright, Justin. I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive  \nme too. I was just as much at fault for our little war. But please, I feel like I  \nhave to at least call the police...\"  \n\"No!\" Justin insisted again. \"I'm gonna go hide in the bathroom for a while  \nuntil everyone's in class and I can sneak out without anyone seeing me. Then I'm  \ngonna go get someone who can help me. Don't worry. I'll be okay. But if you call  \nthe cops now, I won't have any time to get somewhere safe and ask for help.  \nPlease, just trust me.\"  \nThe sincerity and urgency in the boy's eyes was impossible to deny.  \n\"Allright. Go then.\"  \n\"Thank you,\" he said again. \"And if everything works out, I might be able  \nto get back here sometime after lunch.\"  \n\"Allright then.\" She leaned over in her chair and ever-so-gently hugged the  \nboy, as if he was as delicate as a soap-bubble. \"Good luck, Justin. And I'm sorry  \nagain for the way I've treated you. I didn't know...\"  \nHe hugged back, and even gave her a little nuzzle on her cheek. \"It's okay.  \nI forgive you.\" He pulled away, knowing the other kids would be coming in any  \nmoment now.  \nHe looked back just before he ducked out the door. \"Please don't tell  \nanyone...\"  \nThe door shut silently.  \n\"I won't,\" Mrs. Robertson promised to an empty classroom.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nA few minutes later, the first few students entered the room to find their  \nteacher sitting slumped over at her desk with her head cradled in her arms,  \ncrying.  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nAnother pickup truck pulled up to the front gates of the city dump. A pudgy  \notter in a white T-shirt approached the little booth.  \n\"Three dollars, please,\" Mr. Tallevasco said lazily.  \nThe otter looked worried. \"Um, Mister? I got somethin' to drop off, but it  \nain't garbage.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco sat up in his chair. His instincts suddenly sensed that  \nsomething was wrong. \"What is it?\"  \n\"Some kid flagged me down as I was passing by the school. Said he needed to  \ntalk to you right away, that it was an emergency. He's beat up pretty bad. I  \nthink he needs to get to a hospital.\"  \nThe otter didn't have to say a word more. The bespectacled skunk dashed  \nfrom his office. \"Justin!?\" he called out.  \nThe passenger door of the pickup opened, and a bloody mess of fur limped  \nout.  \n\"Oh my GOD!!!\" Mr. Tallevasco screamed. He was at Justin's side in a  \nheartbeat, his arms around the boy in a tender, gentle embrace. \"Fucking christ,  \nwhat happened to you, Justin?!\"  \n\"My dad,\" he replied simply.  \nHis silver-blue eyes welling up with hot tears, Adam kissed the boy  \ndesperately on top of his head. \"You're safe now. Justin, I promise you're safe.  \nYou did the right thing coming here. I'll protect you, I promise.\"  \nThe otter wandered over to them. \"You gonna be okay now, kid?\"  \nJustin nodded to him. \"Yes sir. Thank you very much for helping me.\"  \n\"You're welcome.\" He stood there for another moment, feeling incredibly  \nawkward. \"I hate just leaving you two here like this. Is there anything else I  \ncan do?\"  \nJustin looked straight into the man's eyes. \"You can swear to me you won't  \ntell anyone you saw me. I'd get in a lot more trouble if anyone knew I was here.\"  \nAnd he emphasized the word 'trouble' to mean; 'You think I look beat up now? You  \nain't seen nothin' yet.'  \nThe man nodded solemnly, kneading the bottom of his shirt in his paws.  \n\"Allright. I swear.\"  \nAdam tore his gaze from Justin. \"Thank you, sir. You can go now.  \nEverything's under control here.\"  \n\"Allright then,\" the man said warily. Keeping his eyes on the two of them  \nthe entire time, wondering what tragedy he'd stumbled into, and how much of it  \nhe'd helped to prevent, he got back in his truck and drove away.  \nJustin and Mr. Tallevasco were left alone.  \nMr. Tallevasco cradled the little wolffox in his arms as if trying to hold  \nin water from a sponge. \"Justin... Oh my god, I can't believe this happened to  \nyou. I'm so, so sorry. What happened? Tell me, please!\"  \nThe tall skunk seemed to be crying and panicking enough for the both of  \nthem. \"Calm down! Please! It's okay, really,\" Justin said.  \n\"It's not okay, Justin! What did he do to you? This- This is inexcusable!!\"  \nJustin lowered his gaze and stared at the sandy ground. \"You're right. And  \nI'm not gonna take it anymore. When I got home yesterday, I found out my dipshit  \nbrothers told him I was working for you. He tore up the money you gave me. And I  \nwas saving that up to take you and Lena out to dinner.\"  \nWords failed Adam upon hearing that. He could only hold Justin closer to  \nhim, his tears trailing down the boy's shoulder.  \nJustin nuzzled the soft jet-black fur of the gentle skunk's neck. \"Dad was  \nreally pissed, but mostly because you're a skunk. I never knew he was so much of  \na bigoted asshole. He said that you shouldn't be allowed to walk around with  \n'decent people', or some dumbass thing like that. Hah! If my dad's a 'decent  \nperson', I'd rather be a skunk anyway.\"  \nAdam kissed the boy lightly on his cheek. \"I'm glad to hear that, Justin,\"  \nhe said in a barely controlled whisper that was a single breath away from a sob.  \n\"I was the victim of a lot of prejudice as a kid. I guess I'm not surprised to  \nfind it here too. Thank you for seeing through all those lies.\"  \n\"And...\" Justin fought back tears of his own. \"And he accused you of  \nwanting to have sex with me.\"  \nAdam gasped and half-choked.  \n\"I stood up for you, and that's when he beat me up. He punched me, and then  \nhe threw me across the room into a bunch of dishes. He made me clean up all the  \nblood and broken glass, and then said I was grounded for four months and I  \ncouldn't have any more meals for a week.\"  \nThe first fires of righteous rage began to flare deep in Adam's gut. They  \ngrew and flashed brightly, slowly overpowering the sorrow and the shock. \"Justin,  \nI will never let him lay a finger on you ever again. I'm going to take you inside  \nwith Lena and then I'm calling the police. They are going to arrest him-\"  \nJustin suddenly and silently pushed him away.  \nAdam was stunned. \"What? Please tell me you don't expect me to just stand  \nhere and do nothing! I cannot let you go back home to that... that monster!\" he  \nshouted.  \nJustin looked up to him, and the deadly serious glare in his eyes froze the  \nskunk like a statue. \"Mr. Tallevasco, I agree with you. He's a monster, and we're  \nnot going to let him get away with this. But you're not gonna call the police. I  \nneed you to do something else for me.\"  \n\"What?\" Adam asked weakly, pinned like an insect under that fierce glare.  \n\"I want you to make me into what Lena is.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 15\\*  \n  \nJustin actually made it back to school before lunch. He wasn't hungry,  \nsince Mr. Tallevasco had given him a huge meal after he'd finished tending as  \nbest as he could to the boy's wounds.  \nThe little wolffox snuck back into the school building without anyone  \nseeing him. He decided to hide out in the library until lunch and afternoon  \nrecess were over. He figured no one would ever think of looking for him there.  \nAfter leafing idly through a book on space travel, Justin went back to  \nclass when the bell rang. As expected, none of his classmates were even aware  \nhe'd been gone, or at least they didn't seem to be. (Though he got plenty of  \nlooks once he sat down, oh boy did he ever...)  \nAs soon as he walked in, Mrs. Robertson fixed him with a heartbreakingly  \nworried stare.  \nHe smiled back to her, saying, 'Everything's okay now'.  \nShe sighed in grateful relief.  \nAnd later on in the day, she even gave him an 'A' on a quiz from the day  \nbefore that he knew he'd really only earned a 'C' on. Attached to it was a yellow  \nsticky note that read: 'I hope everything worked out. If you need to talk with  \nme, or need my help again, please don't be afraid to ask'. She'd signed it with a  \ntiny smiley face.  \nJustin realized he liked having Mrs. Robertson as a friend a lot more than  \nbeing her enemy. 'And all it took was me getting pulverized to a bloody pulp!' he  \nthought with an ironic little smile.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nHis mother was waiting for him when he got off the bus. She eyed him  \nsuspiciously, but he was pretty sure she didn't suspect a thing. Good. He'd been  \nkind of worried that the otter guy might have gone ahead and called the cops.  \nHe went to his room, and stayed there.  \n  \n  \nFor the next three nights, Justin went through a living nightmare. His  \nmother treated him like a criminal. His brothers ragged on him constantly,  \ncalling him vicious names, poking at his wounds, and trying to get him into any  \ntrouble they could think of.  \nThrough it all, Justin did not speak a single word.  \nHe did not speak when his brothers came back from dinner, patting their  \nbellies and describing in detail how \\_gooood\\_ it had tasted.  \nHe did not speak when Greg tripped him in the hall and made his nose start  \nbleeding again.  \nHe did not speak when his mother went on a half-hour diatribe about how  \nskunks, and rats too, were inferior creatures in every way to wolves, and that  \nJustin should feel ashamed for even talking to that disgusting garbageman, and  \nthat he ought to pray to God for forgiveness.  \nHe did not speak when his father came home unexpectedly for dinner Friday  \nnight and did his best to goad him into starting another fight.  \nHe did not speak when his father threatened to throw him out of the house  \nforever if he caught him speaking to Mr. Tallevasco ever again.  \nHe did not speak when his father shoved him.  \nHe did not speak when his father called him a faggot, and bragged about  \nripping up his poems.  \nHe did not speak when his father spit on him in disgust and stormed out of  \nthe room because Justin would not respond to his taunts and threats.  \nJustin just wiped the spit away and smiled.  \nTomorrow morning was his salvation.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nJustin awoke at five in the morning on pins and needles. Not just  \nfiguratively. Some of his injuries were finally starting to heal, and it felt  \nlike pins and needles were actually being poked into his skin.  \nHis brothers were still snoring thunderously away in their beds, sounding  \nlike an out-of-control monster truck rally.  \nHe got up and put on his one remaining pair of pants. In the pocket was  \nsomething he'd kept hidden the last four days, kept it more fiercely guarded even  \nthan when he'd brought Cleo home and waited to sneak out into the woods and hide  \nher in the Treasure Chest.  \nIt was something Mr. Tallevasco had given to him. He pulled it out and  \nunfurled it: a fifty-five gallon glossy black plastic trash bag.  \nHe lifted it to his nose and inhaled the sweet, clean odor of the plastic.  \n\"Helooo, ticket to freedom,\" he whispered to it.  \n  \n  \nSeveral hours later, the alarm clock went off with its usual annoying  \nelectronic drone.  \nGreg slapped at it until it shut up. Royce sat up, yawned, and picked his  \nnose. Dave tried desperately to conceal his morning erection.  \nIt took them all a few moments to realize that Justin was already up and  \nawake, and that he was walking around the room throwing things into a huge trash  \nbag.  \n\"What the fuck?\"  \n\"Why are you up so early, you little retard?\"  \n\"What are you doing?\"  \n\"I woke up early, so I thought I'd clean up the room a little bit,\" Justin  \nexplained tersely. He picked up a stomped-on fast food cup and tossed it in the  \nbag. \"I'm getting sick of you guys treating this place like a fuckin' landfill.\"  \nThat got their attention quickly.  \n\"Fuck you!\"  \n\"It's our room, you fuckin' cumstain!\"  \n\"You're one to talk, little mister garbageman-in-training.\"  \n\"Eat shit,\" Justin spat back. \"Don't blame me if you like wallowing in your  \nown filth and I don't,\" he said in his most annoying voice. 'Come on, you dumb  \nfucks! Take the bait!' he screamed in his head.  \nLike the predictable lummoxes they were, they did indeed take the bait.  \nHook, line and sinker.  \n\"Asswipe!\"  \n\"Disrespectful little prick!\"  \n\"Fuck you!\"  \nRoyce took the lead, as usual. \"You're so concerned about cleaning up our  \nroom, huh? I see one big huge piece of trash standing right here in front of me!\"  \n'Yes! Yes! Now, take this to its inevitable conclusion, you neanderthal!'  \nJustin internally cheered. \"Oh yeah?\" he replied at his snottiest. \"Where? I  \ndon't see anything!\"  \n\"You, ya stupid queer!\" Royce barked. With a beckoning wave of his arm,  \nGreg and Dave were at his side. \"You heard him, let's clean up the room!\"  \n\"Yeah! Let's take out the trash!\"  \n\"Bag the fag!\"  \n'Oh my, that was actually quite clever, Greg,' Justin mused as they all  \ngrabbed him and slung him into the big black trash bag. 'I am so glad you dumb  \nbastards can't see the grin on my face!' he thought triumphantly. He began to  \nstruggle theatrically.  \n\"Tie it up!\"  \n\"Hell yeah!\"  \nGreg and Dave held the wriggling bag steady as Royce tied the top in a  \nthick knot. \"There! Think you can get outta that, little bro'?\"  \n\"Ha ha ha,\" Justin said. \"Very funny. Let me out now.\"  \nThey cackled like madmen.  \n\"You've gotta be kidding!\"  \n\"Why the hell should we do that?\"  \n\"You'd just run to Mommy and tell her how mean your big brothers are!\"  \n\"Dad said you gotta stay in the house! This oughtta keep you here!\"  \nRoyce gave the bag a good kick. \"Try not to suffocate in there, little  \nbro',\" he said in a low, dangerous voice.  \n'Geeze, he really is a psychopath!' Justin realized. 'I feel sorry for  \nwhatever dumb cheerleader he takes out on a date.'  \nThe three wolves continued to laugh and high-five one another as they left  \nthe room.  \n\"Finally!\" Justin relaxed and got comfortable. He'd made sure to only throw  \nsoft trash into the bag, and was glad for that. They had tossed him in even  \nrougher than he'd predicted, and his shoulder and lower back were aching like mad  \nagain.  \nAs sounds of breakfast wafted through the halls, Justin found that he could  \nsort of walk on his butt cheeks. He backed up against his bed and leaned on it.  \nHe couldn't really stretch his legs out, but he was comfortable enough for now.  \nIn fact, in an odd way, it was even exciting being inside the big crinkly trash  \nbag.  \nThe first part of his plan was a complete success. He knew he could count  \non his brothers' almost Pavlovian cruelty. Their minds were so woefully simple.  \nBrother + Trash Bag = Brother In Trash Bag. \"Dummies,\" he said with a grin.  \nHe'd been thrown away physically. Thrown away just like garbage. That was  \nthe first part.  \nJustin waited patiently for fifteen minutes or so as his brothers ate and  \nleft for practice. He actually heard the 'whumph' of his Mom falling back on the  \ncouch into her eternal TV-watching position.  \nFinally, he heard tiny, dainty footsteps enter his room.  \n\"Can you breathe in there?\" Lena asked in a whisper.  \n\"I'm fine. Thanks for coming. I knew I could count on you.\"  \n\"Of course I came!\" she whispered as fervently as she could. \"Like I was  \njust gonna leave you here to keep on getting tortured by those maniacs!\"  \nHe smiled, and wished she could see it through the bag. \"It was still  \nreally brave of you to sneak in here.\"  \nThe little ratgirl leaned over to hug the big trash bag full of best  \nfriend. \"You're even braver, Justin. I really hope everything works out,\" she  \nsaid softly.  \n\"It will,\" he assured firmly. \"So, are you ready to take out the trash?\"  \n\"Always!\" she said brightly. She gave him another crinkly hug, then hefted  \nhim up in her arms. Then, more carefully than she'd ever done anything else in  \nher life, she attempted to sneak Justin out of his house without making a single  \nsound.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 16\\*  \n  \nLena was sweating bullets as she tried desperately to keep Justin balanced  \nin her arms while she eased the back door shut behind her with her bare foot. \"I  \nam so glad you're a scrawny little twerp!\" she whispered to him.  \nHe giggled a bit.  \nOnce they were safely out of the house, Lena bounded over to where Justin's  \nbrothers had already set out the rest of the trash. She sat Justin down  \ncarefully.  \nHe let out a huge sigh of relief at the feel of dewy morning grass beneath  \nhim. \"Cool! You did it!\"  \nLena smiled proudly. \"Sure did! Your mom never e-\" She cut off suddenly.  \nJustin wondered what had diverted her attention. \"Lena? What happened?\"  \nWhen Lena spoke again, she sounded furious. \"Your father is a fucking  \njerk!!\"  \nThat had come out of nowhere. \"Yes, I know,\" he said. \"And...?\"  \n\"Listen to this note he left on top of the trash! 'To our garbageman; Keep  \nyour filthy paws off my son or the next time I see you I'll kill you, you  \nstinking dirty god damned skunk. Signed; R. Dalton'.\" She let out a long growl of  \nrage.  \n\"That sure sounds like Dad, allright,\" Justin deadpanned. The note was  \ndisgusting, but he'd been through so much of his dad's bullshit already, it  \nbarely even fazed him.  \nLena gritted her teeth and stomped her feet. \"That fucker! That dumb racist  \nshitheaded cocksucker!!\" she fumed.  \n\"Go, Lena, go!\" Justin cheered her on. \"Call him all the names you want! He  \ndeserves it!\"  \nKeeping her voice down so as not to attract attention from Justin's mom,  \nLena let out a stream of truly creative expletives. \"That dick-gobbling  \nshitsucker! That ugly, smelly, brainless asshole son-of-a-fucker! That assraping  \nmotherfucking pukesack! That piss-drinking, ball-sucking, leg-humping ass-  \nbackwards aborted piece of worm shit!!\"  \nJustin was laughing harder than he had in weeks. Hearing his cute little  \ngirlfriend cussing out his dad so artistically was beyond hilarious. \"Stop! Stop,  \nLena! I'm laughing so hard I think my scars are popping open!\"  \n\"Shit! They're not really, are they?!\" she immediately asked, with real  \nconcern.  \n\"No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry.\" He giggled again, and the pain did spike up  \npretty hard. \"Ow! It does kinda hurt, but I'm so fucking happy right now, who  \ncares?\"  \nLena gave the bag a light swat. \"You had me worried, you sonofabitch!\" she  \nsaid with a chuckle.  \n\"Why Lena, you're absolutely right! I am the son of a bitch! She's inside  \nright now, sitting on the couch like a beached whale!\"  \nLena giggled so hard she actually farted.  \nWhen she'd composed herself again, she got out the rolled-up trash bag from  \nher own pocket and started to unfurl it.  \n\"So when's your dad showing up?\" Justin asked.  \n\"Pretty soon,\" she said as she started climbing into the bag. \"I told him  \nto wait at least twenty minutes after he dropped me off.\"  \n\"Okay, cool.\" Justin took a moment to reflect; things were moving so fast  \nall of a sudden. 'Wow, I'm really going through with this,' he thought to  \nhimself. He'd thought that at least some part of him would be scared, but  \namazingly he was high as a kite. He'd become almost light-headed with giddy glee.  \nIt didn't even matter that he was risking death. It had to be better than living  \nin this freakshow for a single second longer.  \nWhen Lena was snugly wrapped up in her bag, she skootched closer to Justin  \nand rubbed up against him. Their bags crinkled in a cute way.  \n\"I'm really excited, Lena,\" Justin told her softly.  \n\"Me too. But aren't you scared?\"  \n\"Nope. Not a bit. I was just thinking about that. Why should I be scared? I  \ntrust you and your dad more than anyone else on earth.\"  \nShe smiled gratefully. It felt good to know her friend had such faith in  \nher. \"Thanks, Justin.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nThey talked a bit more, until the rumble of the Green Beat's engine could  \nbe heard drawing nearer.  \n\"Oh boy!\" said Lena. \"Here comes dad!\"  \n\"Betcha fifty cents my mom comes out and yells at him,\" Justin said  \ncasually.  \n\"You're on!\"  \nAnd, predictably, just as Mr. Tallevasco pulled up, all fifty thousand  \npounds or so of Justin's mother came storming out the door on a righteous  \ncrusade. \"You sick pervert!\" she yowled. \"What the hell have you been doing with  \nmy son!?!\" she demanded.  \nMr. Tallevasco was the epitome of cool as he picked up the first bag and  \ntossed it into the Green Beast's gaping maw. \"Mrs. Dalton! Good morning! And in  \nanswer to your question, I've been paying him ten dollars a week to help me out  \non my rounds.\"  \n\"You know damn well what I mean! You dirty sick perverted deviant  \nbastard!!\" she thundered.  \n\"Tsk tsk, Mrs. Dalton!\" said Adam, pretending to be shocked. \"I assure you  \nI've done nothing but give the boy a chance at employment. I would think you'd be  \nhappy! Most parents are glad to see their children showing some initiative to  \nenter the job market.\"  \nMomma Dalton simmered and fizzed like a fried egg. \"I swear to God, you go  \nnear him again and I won't even wait for my husband to kill you! I'll do it  \nmyself!\"  \n\"How, ya gonna sit on him?\" Lena whispered to Justin. They both giggled  \nriotously.  \nMr. Tallevasco picked up one of the oddly-shaped, giggling trash bags and  \nlaid it down gently inside the truck. \"Is that a threat?\" he asked  \nconversationally, just like asking 'Is it going to rain this afternoon?'.  \n\"What, are you stupid? Of course it's a threat!\"  \nThe slick skunk picked up the other wiggling bag and placed it alongside  \nthe first. \"Oh, allright. Then I'm sure you must know that seriously threatening  \nto kill someone, and a city employee no less, is a felony that can land you up to  \nten years in prison.\" He'd pulled that number out of his ass, but it sounded  \ngood.  \nAnd it also did a good job of taking Justin's Mom down a notch. \"Get out of  \nhere and don't you never come back,\" she hissed like a poisonous snake.  \n\"Fine then. But since your abhorrent behavior today has forced me to ban  \nyour family from using the city dump, I imagine your house will soon be  \noverflowing with garbage you can't get rid of. Maybe you can start a compost  \nheap?\" he suggested cheerfully as he hopped up into the driver's seat. \"Toodle-  \noo, Mrs. Dalton!\" he called out merrily, and gave the Green Beast's horn a  \nfriendly toot.  \nJustin and Lena were too busy falling all over each other laughing to hear  \nMrs. Dalton's pitiful parting salvo.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\"You were great, Dad!\" Lena said proudly.  \nMr. Tallevasco had parked a quarter mile down the road and was now working  \nhastily to untie the knot imprisoning Justin within his trash bag. \"Thank you,  \nLena. I can't believe I pulled that off myself.\"  \nThe little wolffox took a huge gulp of air once he was finally set free.  \n\"Justin!\" the bespectacled skunk shouted as he hugged the boy. \"Are you  \nokay? Could you breathe in there at all?!\"  \n\"I'm fine! But you're squishing me!\"  \nAdam released him in an instant. \"Sorry! I'm just really relieved  \neverything went according to plan.\"  \nJustin nodded, feeling the same. \"And yes, I could breathe.\" He held up his  \npaw and showed off his little black claws. \"Built-in air hole makers.\"  \n\"Oh, okay. Obviously!\" Mr. Tallevasco said with a sigh of relief. He  \nclenched his eyes shut for a moment, as if trying to clear out a bad nightmare.  \n\"Honestly, I don't know how I got through that. I was seriously scared there,  \nJustin. Your mother is like...\"  \n\"Go on! Say it!\" Justin urged eagerly. \"Say whatever you want!\"  \n\"She's like some kind of unearthly demon!\" the skunk finally burst out.  \n\"The look in her eyes! I think she really would have killed me if she'd had the  \nchance!\"  \nJustin didn't doubt it. \"And isn't it sad that she wasn't angry because she  \nwas trying to protect me, but because she thinks all skunks are dirty pervs?\"  \nMr. Tallevasco shook his head sorrowfully. \"I should pity her, I really  \nshould, but I can't. Justin, your mother may be the ugliest woman I've ever met,  \nand I am not talking about her appearance.\"  \n\"Show him the note, Lena,\" Justin said flatly.  \n\"What note?\" Adam asked.  \nLena gingerly uncrumpled the little piece of paper and held it out to him.  \n\"You don't wanna read this.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco did anyway. His eyes widened as he scanned the words. He  \nfinished, and straightened up suddenly, his face a rictus of controlled rage. He  \nlooked as if he'd just been slapped violently across the face. \"Bastard,\" he said  \nsimply. That one word held more sheer fury than Lena's entire colorful tirade.  \nAdam wanted to spit on the note, drop it on the ground and crush it under  \nhis heel. But he restrained himself; it might become useful later on.  \nHe stared off into the distance, clearly screaming inside his mind all the  \nthings he didn't feel comfortable saying in front of children.  \nJustin reached out to take the skunk's paw. \"Hey, it's okay,\" he said  \ngently.  \nMr. Tallevasco looked back, and his eyes were kind again. \"Sorry if I  \nfrightened you a bit there. I just wouldn't feel right saying all the hateful  \nwords I'm thinking right now out loud.\"  \n\"That's okay, Dad,\" Lena said happily. \"I already did it for you.\"  \n\"That's true,\" Justin backed her up. \"Before you showed up, Lena called my  \ndad every swear word in the entire universe!\"  \nAdam smiled with an odd bit of parental pride. \"Now Lena, that's not nice,\"  \nhe said, without meaning it in the slightest.  \nLena giggled.  \n\"Well, hop on out of there and let's get started on our rounds, Lena. It'll  \nlook suspicious if it's just me out by myself today,\" Mr. Tallevasco said. He  \nheld out his paws, and the little rat took hold and jumped down.  \nAdam turned to Justin. \"You'd best stay hidden in here. If I'm seen with  \nyou at all today, God knows what could happen to me.\"  \nJustin nodded, understanding perfectly. And hiding out in the back of a  \ncomfy garbage truck all day wouldn't be that bad anyway.  \nAdam reached into his pocket and came out with something. \"I did remember  \nyour hat, though,\" he said as he plopped the 'Official Garbageman's Assistant'  \ncap down on the boy's head.  \nAnd for no reason at all, Justin just had to hug him all of a sudden.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 17\\*  \n  \nJustin popped the two quarters he'd just won from Lena into the slot and  \npunched in The Factory's number. He was in a phonebooth outside a small hardware  \nstore which was conveniently closed on Saturdays. Adam and Lena sat in the Green  \nBeast's cab, eating the lunch they'd just bought from the diner down the road,  \nand using the truck to shield Justin from view should any cars drive past.  \nThe phone rang a few times, then a gruff voice came on the line. \"Hello?\"  \nJustin tried to sound suitably frightened. \"I need to talk to Mr. Dalton  \nright away! Tell him his wife's in trouble! It's an emergency! Hurry!\"  \n\"Okay!\" the voice sputtered and set down the phone with a hasty 'clunk'.  \nJustin actually felt a little bad about tricking whoever-it-was like that.  \nAs he waited for his dad to speak up, Justin remembered one of the many  \nvicious things his father had said the night before: 'If I ever catch you talking  \nto that sick fucking garbageman again, I'll throw you out of the house forever!'  \nJustin grinned widely. Geeze, how absolutely perfect. He couldn't have hoped for  \na better choice of words.  \n\"What's the matter?\" came a sudden loud growl in his ear.  \n\"Wazzup Dad?\" Justin said casually.  \n\"Justin?! What the fuck are you doing calling me at work!? This had better  \nbe damned important! What's this emergency? Is your mother okay?\"  \n\"Oh, she's just fine,\" he said lazily. \"At least, I think she is. You see,  \nI lied. I snuck out of the house and I'm calling from a payphone.\"  \n\"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!!\" the phone roared.  \nJustin held it away from his ear and grinned even more. He could  \npractically \\*hear\\* the veins popping out in his dad's forehead!  \n\"When I get off work, I am going to beat that fucking disobedient streak  \nright out of your little-\"  \n\"Oh shut up, ya fuckin' pussy,\" said Justin.  \nDead silence for a few seconds.  \nThen, \"WHAT THE \\*FUCK\\* DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!?\"  \n\"I told you to shut up, you pansy-assed little faggot! Is that clear  \nenough, bitch?\" Justin said, a heartbeat away from falling down laughing. His  \nheart was thumping like a bass guitar. This was exhilarating!  \n\"You-! You god damn little...!! I swear to fucking God when I get home-!!  \nI'll-!!\"  \n\"Don't have a heart attack there, pops!\" the cocky young wolffox said  \ncheerfully. \"Your work buddies would need a forklift to lift your fat, dead ass  \noutta the factory!\" Holy shit! He could not believe he'd just said that! He was  \non a roll!  \n\"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!\"  \n\"Uh, that won't be necessary. Remember what you said last night about  \nthrowing me out of the house if I ever spoke to Mr. Tallevasco again?\" he asked  \ncasually.  \n\"YOU!! YOU!!!\" his father was reduced to roaring. By the sound of his  \nbreathing, he sounded like he was about to burst a blood vessel in his brain and  \ndrop dead any second now.  \n\"Well, guess who I said a great big 'hello' to when he came to pick up our  \ntrash this morning? We had a lovely little chat indeed,\" Justin said with a great  \nbig smile.  \n\"YOU HAD BETTER HOPE I NEVER FIND YOU, YOU GODDAMN LITTLE PRICK!!! I SWEAR  \nTO GOD I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL BREAK YOUR FUCKING LEGS OFF AND BASH YOUR  \nMOTHERFUCKING HEAD IN, YOU FUCKING LITTLE HALFBREED FREAK!!!\"  \nJustin smiled. He had completely lost all fear of this shouting, tantrum  \nthrowing, undoubtedly red-faced, pitiful little man. \"Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Bye now.  \nHave fun explaining to your co-workers who you were screaming all that stuff at.\"  \nThere was the sound of sputtering realization on the other end.  \n\"Have a nice day, Dad!\" Justin shouted and hung up.  \nImmediately, he fell down in the booth, laughing so hard he thought he'd  \ndie. He laughed and laughed and laughed and his whole body ached like hell, but  \nhe barely even noticed. He laughed until some of his wounds really did open up  \nagain, and blood came running down his back in tiny shivery trickles. Justin  \nlaughed like nothing else in the world mattered, or even existed. He was free. He  \nwas free! Free!! His father had thrown him out. Just like garbage. He'd been  \nthrown out physically, and now figuratively. Both halves were in place. \"I'm  \ngarbage!\" he cried out joyfully as his smile split his face and tears streamed  \ndown his cheeks.  \n\"Dad,\" said Lena conversationally, \"I think Justin's lost his mind.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; ~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 18\\*  \n  \nThe rest of the day blew past in a breathless hot daze.  \nAdam, Justin and Lena finished their appointed rounds with oodles of time  \nto spare. Justin had a ton of fun catching the bags tossed in the back of the  \nGreen Beast's hungry mouth, talking and joking with Lena and her dad, and just  \nfeeling free and unafraid at last.  \nWhen the day's work was done, Mr. Tallevasco parked in his backyard and  \ndecided to sit in with the kids while they rustled joyfully through the day's  \ntrash. Lena and Justin were more than happy to share their hobby with him. He  \nwent into the house first, got them all some tasty snacks, and then they started  \nin to explore.  \nJustin found all sorts of fun, gross things to feed Lena. Her unique eating  \nhabits were completely devoid of any uncomfortableness now. An empty yogurt cup,  \na cassette tape, a plastic doll head, some old underpants! It was like a game;  \n'Will Lena Eat It?'  \nHe also had lots of fun just enjoying his favorite activity with his two  \nvery best friends in the world. He found all sorts of neat stuff, but was barely  \neven keeping track. In fact, he was having more fun looking for things for Lena  \nand Adam. He found Mr. Tallevasco some novels and a paperweight for his office  \nshaped like a tiny mountain, and for Lena he unearthed a whole bunch of tiny  \nrubber cartoon characters that she loved at first sight.  \nLena surprised him by coming across a new plushie friend for him. It was a  \nsmall red fox, lying down with her pretty black paws stuck out in front of her, a  \nserene look in her yellow plastic eyes. Justin clicked with her immediately, and  \nsaid her name was Toffee.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nWhen the sun went down and the air became cool and sweet-smelling, it was  \ntime for the ritual to begin.  \nJustin and Lena both handed their bags of new stuff to Mr. Tallevasco and  \nhe sat them safely to the side. Justin decided to keep his new little foxie with  \nhim. It would be comforting to hold her once it started. And even if she did get  \nruined, he could always just pop her out of his bellybutton afterwards. That was,  \nof course, assuming everything worked out.  \nWith the solemnity of a funeral, Mr. Tallevasco held out the two fifty-five  \ngallon trash bags for Justin and Lena to step into again. They went in willingly,  \nwith hopeful smiles on their faces. Mr. Tallevasco tied them in nice and snug.  \nThen he stepped into the collection bin and placed them deep inside, ensuring  \nthat there would be a solid wall of trash all around them.  \n\"I love you both,\" he said softly to them, \"with all my heart.\"  \n\"I love you too, Daddy,\" Lena replied.  \n\"I love you, and I trust you, Mr. Tallevasco,\" Justin said earnestly.  \nThe bespectacled skunk smiled bittersweetly and carried on with his part in  \nJustin's plan.  \nHe stepped back out of his beloved trash truck and wiped the sweat from his  \nbrow and the tears from his eyes. To the side of the house, there was an enormous  \npile of garbage bags. The day before, he'd gone to the dump, piled them in the  \nback of the Beast and brought them here. Their purpose was to fill the truck to  \ncapacity. He wanted to make absolutely sure that the job would not be done  \nhalfway.  \nJustin and Lena huddled close together in their comfy, crinkly bags. They  \nheld on to each other as best they could. They giggled nervously as they listened  \nto the sound of more and more bags being hurled all around them and on top of  \nthem. They started feeling warmer, and the air was getting a bit thin.  \nWith tears now pouring down his cheeks, Mr. Tallevasco tossed the last bags  \ninto place. The pile wasn't all gone yet, but this was all he felt comfortable  \nfilling the truck with for now, knowing his daughter and her best friend were  \nsomewhere inside.  \nA large part of him insisted that he was mad for agreeing to do this.  \nCompletely insane. He was murdering them. He was murdering two innocent children.  \nThe tears kept on flowing like twin rivers as worry swirled around inside Adam  \nTallevasco and tried its best to eat him alive.  \nHe felt the strength leave his body, and he slumped over on the side of the  \ngarbage truck, crying harder than he had in decades.  \nAfter a long while, he was able to get himself under control. He sniffed,  \nand readjusted his glasses.  \nHe patted the Green Beast on her side. \"Take care of them,\" he whispered to  \nhis beloved garbage truck. \"Do your duty, but don't hurt them any more than you  \nhave to. You're a good Beast. Lena and I both love you, and I'm sure Justin does  \ntoo. I know you won't let us down.\"  \nMr. Tallevasco climbed slowly into the driver's seat, hesitated one last  \ntime, then reached out and punched the 'compact' button before he could stop  \nhimself.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nJustin let out an excited yelp as he heard the compactor spring to life.  \n\"Oh shit! It's really happening!\" he cried out, his voice a mix of terror and  \njoy.  \nLena hugged him even tighter. \"Don't worry, Justin! We'll be fine!\"  \nHe hugged her too. The thrum of the hydraulics was all around them. \"I'm  \nnot worried! I know everything's gonna be okay now! And we can be a family now  \ntoo.\"  \n\"You'll be the best brother ever,\" Lena said from the heart.  \n\"And you'll be the best sister.\"  \nThey could already feel the start of the pressure building.  \n\"Say it with me, Justin: I'm garbage.\"  \n\"I'm garbage.\"  \n\"I'm just stinky, dirty garbage, and I've been thrown away.\"  \n\"I'm stinky, dirty garbage, and I've been thrown away.\"  \n\"Garbage has to be compacted and taken to the dump.\"  \n\"Garbage has to be compacted and taken to the dump.\"  \nThe thrum of the hydraulics was now a roar. The whole truck seemed to  \nshake. Justin gently petted Toffee's velvety-soft fur.  \n\"I'm garbage, and this is what's sposto happen to me,\" said Lena.  \n\"I'm garbage, and this is what's supposed to happen to me,\" Justin  \nrepeated.  \nThe blade was coming relentlessly closer.  \n\"I love you, Justin,\" Lena said as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  \n\"I love you even more,\" he told her.  \nThe hydraulics whined tearfully as the Green Beast crushed and digested its  \nmeal.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nAdam Tallevasco sat on his livingroom couch with the TV turned off, staring  \nat the walls and waiting.  \nAs he'd expected, a pounding knock finally showed up on his doorstep.  \n\"Coming,\" he called out in a hollow voice.  \nHe opened the front door, having checked several times to make sure the  \nscreen was securely locked, and found The Big Bad Wolf huffing and puffing and  \nready to blow his house down.  \n\"WHERE THE FUCK IS JUSTIN!?!!??!!!\"  \nAdam actually stepped back a bit, the voice was so loud. He cleaned out one  \nof his ears with his pinky finger. \"I have no idea,\" he said flatly.  \n\"Bullshit!!\" Mr. Dalton bellowed. \"He's here! He has to be here, you sick  \nfaggot fucker!\"  \nMr. Tallevasco calmly held up the double-barrelled shotgun.  \n\\*SH-SHOCK\\*  \nIt's been said there is no sound in the world more instantly terrifying  \nthan the blood-freezing ratchet of a shotgun being cocked.  \n\"I'd appreciate it if you'd lower your voice,\" Adam said calmly.  \nMr. Dalton was momentarily struck dumb by the skunk's sheer audacity. \"You  \ncan't point that thing at me!\"  \n\"I can, and I am. This is my house, and you are a trespasser. I'm in fear  \nfor my life, and I have every right to shoot you dead if you step one foot  \ncloser.\"  \n\"Fuck you,\" the wolf spat, calling the skunk's bluff.  \nGracefully transferring the shotgun to his right hand, Adam reached into  \nhis shirt pocket and pulled out a miniature tape recorder. \"On this tape is a  \nrecording of your wife saying, and I quote: 'I swear to God, you go near him  \nagain and I won't even wait for my husband to kill you. I will do it myself'. If  \nI blast your balls off right here and now, I can simply play this tape for the  \npolice, show them the note you so kindly left me, and they will pat me on the  \nback and thank me for doing my job, which, if you remember, is taking out the  \ntrash.\"  \nMr. Dalton did not move an inch. His muzzle curled into an ugly, defiant  \nsnarl.  \nAdam put the tape recorder back in his pocket. \"Get off my property right  \nnow or I will kill you,\" he said emotionlessly. He lifted the gun's barrels and  \naimed directly between Mr. Dalton's eyes.  \nThe wolf took a small, hesitant step back.  \n\"Get off my property right now or I will kill you,\" the skunk repeated like  \na robot.  \nFinally, it got through to the wolf's brain that pride was less important  \nthan staying alive. The skunk was right; he had absolutely every reason and right  \nto shoot him. Mr. Dalton backed off and went swearing off to his station wagon.  \nMr. Tallevasco watched him carefully until he'd driven fully out of sight.  \nThen he went back inside, locked the door, unloaded the shotgun, put the  \ncartridges back in their little box, placed the shotgun in its case at the top of  \nhis closet, locked it up securely, took off his clothes, got into his pajamas,  \nlaid down in bed, and proceeded to stare up at the ceiling for four and a half  \nhours until he finally fell asleep out of sheer mental exhaustion.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n~~~~~  \n  \n  \n\\*part 19\\*  \n  \nAs the first light of dawn was breaking, Justin opened his eyes and yawned.  \nMr. Tallevasco burst into wild whoops of laughter. He danced around the  \ndump in a frenzied little polka of supreme relief.  \nLena reached over and hugged Justin with all her might. \"You're okay!!! I  \nknew it would work!!\"  \nIt took a few seconds to fully comprehend what was going on. One moment he  \nwas in the trash, then the compactor was roaring in his ears and it felt like he  \nwas being hugged to death, and now... \"Holy fuck!! It did work!!!\" he shouted,  \nand gave Lena a squeeze that nearly popped her eyes out.  \nAdam noticed the two of them hugging and dove in like a baseball player  \nsliding into home. He threw his arms around the two little ones and covered them  \nin a battalion of kisses.  \nJustin giggled from all the affection. \"We did it! I'm okay! I'm garbage!!\"  \n\"We're a family!\" Lena shouted.  \nMr. Tallevasco tenderly nuzzled them both. \"I love you! Oh, I love you two  \nso much! You're my son now, Justin! I have a daughter and a son! I couldn't  \npossibly be any happier!!\"  \nJustin joyously shouted and hollered as tears streamed down his cheeks.  \nTears of pure and absolute freedom.  \nThroughout the dump on that sunny Sunday morning, cries of joy filled the  \nair. Birds took flight. The warm sun glinted off the towering heaps of trash. And  \none exceptionally contented big green garbage truck purred happily as it looked  \non.  \nJustin looked around in wide-eyed wonderment as he beheld the dump as if  \nfor the first time. Crazy, swirling loops and spheres and curls of energy  \nfluttered and flickered throughout everything. Rage and love, all of it  \ncoexisting perfectly. It was magnificent, the most beautiful thing he'd ever  \nseen. The energy Mr. Tallevasco had described was real to him now as well. The  \ndump pulsed with energy, as if it was all one giant organism with a gargantuan  \nsilent heartbeat. Justin thought it might take a while to learn how to eat  \ngarbage, but he had no doubt he'd be well-fed.  \nAnd as he searched within his mind, he could feel his new little fox,  \nToffee. She had indeed given him all her energy, like a good plushie, along with  \nall the other trash he and Lena had absorbed. The back of the Green Beast was  \ncompletely empty.  \nLena looked down amid tears of laughter and finally noticed something  \nrather out of place. \"Justin!!\" she shrieked.  \nThe wolffox and the skunk looked at her in alarm. \"What's wrong?!\" Justin  \nasked.  \n\"Look!\" she said.  \nThey'd both been reborn nekkid as jaybirds, and when Justin looked down at  \nhimself, he gave a loud yelp of surprise too. While all of his injuries were  \nperfectly healed, leaving not a trace behind, it seemed something had  \nnevertheless come out not quite right. Where once was a hill, twas now a  \nvalley...  \n\"I'm a \\*girl\\*!!!\" Justin screamed.  \nMr. Tallevasco looked very worried indeed. \"Oh, geeze! Um...! Something  \nmust have gone wrong!\"  \n\"Obviously!\" Justin yelped, but he was starting to laugh now. The situation  \nwas so absurd, how could he not?  \n\"It's not so bad being a girl,\" Lena comforted. \"Besides, I'm sure Dad can  \nsort you out right again.\"  \nJustin shrugged. \"Okay, yeah. Being a girl might be kinda fun. And if this  \nis the worst side effect I get from escaping from my stoopid parents forever,  \nI'll take it!\"  \nAdam chuckled at the boy/girl's bravery. \"That's one way of looking at it.\"  \n\"Can we call you 'Justine' now?\" Lena kidded.  \nJustin shook a playful fist at her. \"Call me that again and I'll cream  \nyou!\" he kidded.  \nLena laughed out loud.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\\*Epilogue\\*  \n  \nSeveral months after his little brother had disappeared, Royce spotted him  \nstanding in line at the drugstore. \"Justin!!\" he screamed out urgently.  \n  \n  \nThe cops had been all over the place.  \nHe and his brothers had been questioned up and down, right and left, by  \nwhat felt like the entire city police force. As soon as Dave had let slip that  \nthe last time they'd seen Justin they'd tied him up in a garbage bag, they were  \nall pretty much completely fucked.  \nWhile they all denied ever taking that bag of trash out to the curb, it was  \nmysteriously nowhere to be found when they returned home. And as one snarling  \nofficer had so succinctly put it; \"He didn't just throw himself away, now did  \nhe?\"  \nThe police combed the town dump upside down and inside out, and even took  \nsamples from the inside of the city's lone garbage truck, but not a single trace  \nof Justin's body was ever found.  \nWhen the story finally hit the local news, suspicion alternately fell on  \nthe brothers, then Mrs. Dalton, then Mr. Dalton, and then seemed to randomly jump  \naround between all of them.  \nMatters were not helped when Justin's teacher, Mrs. Robertson, came forward  \nat last and told the police about the boy's condition when she'd last seen him,  \nand his strange requests of her.  \nMatters ware made even worse when several of Mr. Dalton's co-workers told  \npolice they'd overheard him that day loudly and violently threatening to kill  \nsomeone who could only have been his youngest son.  \nThe headlines screamed louder and louder. The rumor mills cranked out  \nsuspects left and right.  \nAdam Tallevasco was cleared as a suspect early on when he played the tape  \nfor the local cops and showed them the note. He also told the police of his  \nnighttime encounter with Mr. Dalton, which the police were eventually able to get  \nthe wolf in question to admit to.  \nThe skunk's charming little adopted daughter had pleaded heartbreakingly  \nwith the police to please find her lost best friend.  \nDozens of witnesses on Mr. Tallevasco's route came forward to say that  \nJustin had seemed perfectly happy and trusting of the garbageman, and several  \neven remarked on the boy's hat. Nearly all of them also remembered that the skunk  \nand the little girl were by themselves that day.  \nSo suspicion had once again fallen squarely upon the Dalton family's  \nshoulders. They were all taken downtown and held for questioning for days. None  \nof them confessed, and eventually all of them, even the stone-faced Mr. Dalton,  \nhad been reduced to pitifully crying heaps of fur protesting their innocence. For  \nlack of evidence, they were released.  \nThe police chief gave a statement to the papers that they were now pursuing  \nthe scenario that some out-of-town drifter had abducted the child. The case was  \ndeclared officially unsolved, which everyone knew meant it would remain that way  \nforever until some hiker stumbled across a skull decades from now.  \nMr. Dalton lost his job and was told by his boss that he'd be arrested  \nimmediately if he ever showed his face at the factory again. On the night of the  \nDalton boys' triumphant return to their school football team, fans from their own  \nbleachers had thrown cups and beer bottles at them and booed them off the field.  \nAnd with no more money coming in, the family had had to live off their savings  \nfor months. Which meant they had to cut back on non-essentials. Which meant that  \nMomma Dalton could no longer watch her beloved cable TV.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \nBut none of that mattered now. Royce was grinning ear to ear. Justin was  \n\\_right\\_there\\_! He could clear this whole mess up once and for all and the police  \nwould finally leave them alone and he'd get to watch Dad totally whoop the little  \nrunaway bastard's \\_ass\\_ when they got home!  \n\"Justin!\" Royce screamed again.  \nEveryone in the drugstore turned to look, including the little wolffox.  \nRoyce stopped dead in his tracks and nearly fell over.  \n\"Y-You're a girl!\" he yelped, as all his hopes drained out of him.  \n\"Yeah, so?\" the female canine replied.  \n\"Y-Y-You c-can't be a g-girl!!!\" Royce protested.  \n\"Want me to pull down my panties and prove it, you jerk? Go away!\" she  \nsneered snottily at him.  \nRoyce's head was spinning. He felt like he was about to throw up or pass  \nout. \"You look just like my little brother...\"  \n\"Thanks for telling me I look like a boy, asshole!\" she snapped. And with  \nthat, she sauntered away and flicked her tail at him.  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nLate one Friday night, Mrs. Robertson was sitting at home grading papers  \nwhen she heard a knock at the door. When she got up to investigate, she found a  \nshiny red apple placed carefully upon her doorstep.  \nShe bent down to retrieve it, and realized upon closer inspection that it  \nwas actually a fancy foil-wrapped gourmet dark chocolate apple, and that it was  \nsitting on top of a yellow sticky note.  \nThe note read: 'Sorry if you were worried about me. I'm fine! I'm safe, and  \nI have a new family now. But shhh! It's a secret! Don't tell anyone!'. It was  \nsigned with a tiny smiley face.  \nMrs. Robertson nearly collapsed on the stoop. She managed to waddle  \nunsteadily back inside and plop back down in her chair. She let out a long,  \nsudden sob, and cried and cried as relief filled her troubled heart.  \nThe apple, by the way, was delicious.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \n\"Your first sneaker,\" Lena declared, holding aloft a dirty, worn-out  \nrunning shoe that reeked of the crypt.  \nShe and Justin were sitting on the hood of a junked pickup truck (what  \nelse) in the dump under a full moon.  \nMr. Tallevasco had figured out weeks ago that Justin and Lena had simply  \nswapped some of each other when they'd been reborn, and now Justin could switch  \nback and forth between being a boy or a girl just by thinking about it. To Lena's  \ndelight, she found that she could do the same as well. Being a boy was really  \ninteresting, she thought. Though most of her reasons for feeling that way were  \ntoo naughty to mention.  \nFor now, they were back in their old bodies. Lena had prepared a sumptuous  \nfeast of garbage. Justin was finally ready to attempt eating it.  \nThe little wolffox gulped. \"Couldn't I try something a little easier first?  \nLike a paper towel, or a doorknob?\"  \n\"It's best to just jump right in,\" Lena advised. \"Now eat it, ya big dope!\"  \nshe said playfully as she suddenly shoved the shoe in his startled mouth.  \nJustin was absolutely horrified for a moment. Then his tongue started to  \nget used to the exotic footwear flavor. His expression slowly turned from shock  \nto pleasure. \"Mmmmm!\" He took the stinky sneaker in his paws and chewed it all  \nover before easily letting it slip down his throat. \"Damn, that was actually  \npretty good!!\"  \n\"I told you!\" she said with a cute giggle. Her buckteeth gleamed white in  \nthe moonlight.  \nHe chuckled and bumped shoulders with her. \"Okay, you were right. I  \nshould've listened to you.\"  \n\"And it didn't hurt going down, did it?\" she asked.  \n\"Not a bit.\" He licked his chops, appreciating the aftertaste, barely  \nbelieving he'd just swallowed a shoe and it had tasted better than pepperoni  \npizza. \"Got any more of those?\" he asked eagerly.  \n\"Oh, I've got all sorts of stuff!\" Lena said happily.  \nAnd then the dump was silent, but for the crickets and the tiny sound of  \ntwo young furs' tender kiss.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nThe End  \nfor now...  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*  \n  \n  \nAuthor's endnote:  \nI wrote this in Eight Fucking Days! I can't believe it!! And I thought writing  \n\"Ghost Story\" in thirty five was impressive!  \n  \nActually, I should say 'Eight Crazy Nights', since 95% of this was written well  \nafter midnight. I'm writing this right now at 5:21 A.M.! I'm a masochist!!  \n  \nBy the way, all the plushies in this story are real. They are all based off  \nactual cuddly stuffed animals I own, and they were all very happy to appear here.  \nI hope success does not go to their heads.  \n  \nAnd no, the movie described in chapter eight does not refer to any real movie.  \nThough it does sound like a lot of 'em, don't it?  \n  \nAcknowledgements:  \nI would like to thank Cheez-its, Cheetos, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew  \nCode Red, Guacamole Doritos and Pop-Tarts. I love you all. I couldn't have done  \nthis without you.  \n  \n  \n\"Down In The Dumps\"  \nStarted: February 5th, 2005 Finished: February 13th, 2005 Editing Completed:  \nFebruary 24th, 2005  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n"}