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Hello everyone. Welcome to the 7th chapter of what should turn out to be a lovely story. I am creating a bit of drama by not allowing you to see the story first, but I must give credit where credit is due. By now, you must all know and love that cuddly little ball of fur, ClydeFox. As an author myself, I give my respect to him in the form of this= *claps paws together* YAYZ!! TEH CLYDEH!.

Anyway, The Great Master of Writing, ClydeFox, aided me in the writing of this story. Do not give me all the credit! *bows* Thank you all. And now, onto chapter 7.




I had intended to question Klyde further about the mysterious number eight. However, the way he had reacted to even mentioning the number himself gave me second thoughts. I was, indeed, afraid of Klyde. He had proven to be a powerful force to be reckoned with; dealing pain and damage to anything or anyone who crossed him. I sat there on the couch, in a room of complete serenity, facing the roar of the storm that was swelling only a few inches from the tip of my nose. I stood up, my body almost lazily wanting me to return to my comfortable position and sleep forever. The intoxicating smells of the room had sickened me to a point where I had nearly collapsed. However, the scent of the flowers began to fade as I stepped toward the door, the smell of rotting flesh and dried blood once again filling the air. I grimaced before swinging the door shut, averting my eyes away from something on the floor that appeared to once be a man's hand. I turned away, leaving the room, and the scent that had once been so pleasurable fresh in my mind.

It was a few days later that strange things began happening to us. Klyde was no longer in the apartment for most hours of the day. He would leave early morning, staying out almost the entire day, only to return in the late hours of the night. He had always seemed tired or exhausted, not even eating anything before making his way into the bedroom and shutting the door; a soft thump would be heard, the sound of him hitting the bed. This state of such exhaustion made him incredibly irratible. Illia had asked to join him one day out of sheer kindness and she received a slap on her snout because of it. She fell to the floor as Ryudo and Kolt stood up. "What? What are you going to do about it?" Klyde boasted. I had not stood up, nor even acknowledged the situation. Illia had been foolish to think she could accompany Klyde. I had remembered him telling us not to leave the apartment, and I knew that if she asked, he would not let her. But, the though kept recurring in my head. I had been out of the apartment before, to the room of flowers. Kolt, Illia, and Ryudo had also been out of the apartment before. I had wondered, but not asked, what had happened that had brought the security down harder upon us.

I had been up all night, waiting for Klyde to arrive home. The clock in the apartment had read twelve forty-six, leading me to believe that Klyde would be home very soon. I was wrong. I continued to wait, through the deep hours of the night, until I began to see the sun shining from the horizon. "He...has not returned..." I said aloud, eyes still fixated upon the sun. I could not sleep if I wanted to. Klyde...I thought, what if he'd gotten hurt? I stood up, ignoring the rest of my sleeping friends and walked to the window, staring out at the ruined city. As if I were looking into the past itself, my imagination pictured the bustle and noise of the early morning in this desolate wasteland. I had envisioned cars, people, and so many different noises being lifted up out of this place and into my delicate ears. My paws pressed up against the cold glass, I moved in closer, focusing on the sights, smells and sounds. My whole body was in tune whit what had appeared to be the past of this place. Then, in an instant, everything seemed to dissapear into smoke as the door behind me opened. Klyde staggered in, barely keeping his balance. "I'm fine..." He paused to breathe, clutching his chest. I removed myself from the window and silently moved over to him. I pushed his paw away and noticed that underneath his fur, a deep purple bruise stood out plainly against his skin. "I..." He said, now coughing slightly, "I fell pretty hard. Any damage?" he had asked. At first, I had thought about a broken rib, but knew that something like that was fatal if anyone had to move anywhere. "It must just be bruised...are you okay to walk to the room?" I asked. He pushed me aside, knocking me over onto the floor and stepped past me, moving hastily into the bedroom and shutting the door. I lay there on the floor, no longer conscious at all, but dead asleep on the carpet, my fatigue getting the absolute best of me.

I woke late that day; the others had already been awake for some time. I had sprawled out against the carpet, my arms and legs spread out in all different directions. Sitting up, I scooted over to the couch and propped myself up aginst it, laying my head between my knees. I had awoken far too fast, I thought. My head pulsed heavily, making me almost dizzy to stand up. Ryudo had been the first to notice that I was awake and made his way over to me, placing his paw on my head from over the couch, almost surprising me. "What are you doing, Lokai?" he asked in a childish tone, "Got a headache, huh?" "I-it's nothing" I said, half-heartedly. The truth was, I knew that this headache was more then just a normal headache or a just-waking-up headache. It felt as if someone had been slamming my temple in a doorway. I stood up, dazed. Staggering back suddenly, I gained the attention of both Illia and Kolt as well. "Lokai?" They had simultaneously asked. I clutched a paw to my temple and shook my head carefully. "It's nothing. I just...stood up too fast is all." This excuse, I knew, would suffice. Kolt merely shrugged and Illia only took another second to stare at me carefully, then look away. Ryudo had already moved back towards the others, leaving me alone to sit upon the couch.

After only a few minutes of sitting there, staring at the ceiling, my head pounding rather heavily, Klyde's bedroom door opened. he had looked as if he had completely recovered in the brief night he had slept. He walked a few paces forward, our eyes all now fixed upon him, towards the window. He stared out, looking over the city, stretching and yawning at the same time. "Now..." He said aloud, "There is a matter of importance I must discuss..." He paused, scratching the fur underneath his chin. He scanned over us, looking at us each individually before continuing on to the next individual. "With you, Lokai." He said, pointing to me. He began walking over toward me, and as if it were an instinct, I stood up. However, it was not long before he had pushed me back over onto the couch, sitting carefully next to me.


"Ryudo, Kolt, Illia," He addressed them, "Have you all eaten?" They stared back, blank expressions on their faces. "Yes..." They all seemed to reply simultaneously. I had feared that Klyde had grown angry; their reply was monotonous, as if they had grown tired of his hospitality. Klyde, though, was not angered. He merely pointed towards his bedroom and calmly said, "Please go in. I must discuss something very important with Lokai." They obeyed and slowly proceeded towards the room. As the door closed, I knew that all three of them would have their ears pressed against the door, trying their best to listen in to whatever Klyde was saying. Klyde closed the door, walking casually back towards me. Was he...did he not know that they could hear him? Did he want them to hear him? Klyde sat down and leaned closer to me, nearly whispering into my ear. "Lokai. I need to tell you something very important." He said. It was so soft, I had barely heard it myself. I had, at that moment, wondered if the others could hear us at all. "Lokai...I needed to tell you...that your friend, Ryudo..." he paused, glancing at the door with a sinister glare, "...wets the bed." Suddenly, the door burst open, a very angry Ryudo being quickly restrained by two foxes. "Lemme go! I'll kill em! I'll Kill em!" Ryudo bit and scratched against Kolt and Illia, but was far too weak to overpower two full bodies. Klyde and I laughed from the couch. Even Kolt had said while trying to restrain him, "You know it's the truth...I mean..." Only for saying that, Kolt received a sharp blow to the head.


Only after a few minutes, Ryudo's anger had subsided and Kolt and Illia had stopped restraining him. "There now," Klyde said, "Same thing. Get inside." Slowly, almost hesitantly, they all retracted back into the large bedroom. Klyde rushed forward, slamming the door and removing a small key from his pocket. He quickly inserted the key, turning it at almost lightning speed, and locking it quickly. Running back to the couch, I only had time to see a toothy smile appear on Klyde's darkened face as I felt his arm grab me around my stomach area and jolt out of the apartment. "What the...?" I tried to ask, but the position I was in only left me with little air in my lungs. Klyde sped down the hallway and back to the stairwell, only this time, he did not go down. Quickly, he made his way up the many flights of stairs and near busted down a door that said "Roof". It was at this point that Klyde had near dropped me. I had only managed to hand upon my hands and knees, but I was, thankfully, alive. I stood up, starring now out towards the ruined city. It had a captivating view, staring now at all the tall buildings. The seemed so different among the many different smaller buildings that existed in the city. I had envisioned again, this time, what the buildings were like before this city became a ruin. But, the thought was pushed to the back of my had as my fur began to blow in the small, cool breeze that had been blowing from such a high altitude. I closed my eyes, letting the minuscule wind blow freely though my body. It was so refreshing, I thought. I felt at such peace.


"Hey, Lokai!" I heard from behind me. I turned on my heel to only barely catch what looked like a pair of gloves, only much heavier. As my eyes moved from the gloes back to Klyde, I saw that he had already dawned a pair and was fitting a beaner around a steel line. I traced the line with my eyes; It had led from the roof of this building to a shattered window in another. I stared at Klyde, back to the gloves, back to Klyde. He turned to look at me, his face filled with tumult and joy. "See you at the bottom!" He yelled courageously. He ran with the wire off the roof and hung from it above what appeared to be an endless drop over to the building. The gloves had released in time for him to roll into whatever was in the building. I dawned the gloves slowly, fearing for my life as I hooked up the beaner to the wire and slowly stepped towards the edge, my tail cowering in between my legs. I had learned something new about myself that day; I was deathly afraid of heights. I could hear myself whimpering aloud as I hovered about the edge. What if it breaks? I asked myself. What if I don't make it? But, I knew if I backed away now, I would only be a coward in Klyde's eyes for the rest of my days with him. I took a deep breath and jumped off the edge, curling up as I sped down towards the broken window.


I shut my eyes; the wind from my speed dried them out so quickly. But before I knew it, I had rolled onto a hard surface, painfully knocking my head aginst something hard. I had rolled from the window down a blackened hallway, no visible thing remained in sight. Even to my sensitive eyes and nose, my detection skills were severely decreased. I stood up, massaging the cash in my head. Moving my paw away, I had stared down, feeling something weird upon my skull. Blood had soaked into my paw's fur and could be felt slowly trickling down the back of my neck. I hesitantly wiped it away, looking at what had caused such distinctive cleavage upon my head. Feeling around in the darkness, I felt what appeared to be a desk and a chair. The desk was metal and as I ran my paw down the edge, I could feel that this had to be the area of my impact. I wiped more of the blood away and tried adjusting my sight to see what was happening around me. That is when I picked it up; the sound of air being moved at high speed and of metal clashing upon metal. I proceeded clumsily down a hallway, whacking more random things along the way. Arriving at the end, I had felt for the latch of a door and opened it and was suddenly bathed, again, in mid-day sunlight.

It seemed to be yet another abandoned apartment, only this time it was bare. The walls seemed to melt some sort of substance as it caught the glands of my nose, and immediately my nose scrunched. Batting away the stale odor, although not strong it was annoying, I proceeded to the source of the day; a shattered sliding glass door that led to a balcony. There Klyde stood over the rail, his ears flickering left and right as if they were beaconing something to come. Considering my state of dizzyness, I didn;t quite pick up what ever it was he was sensing. Then in an instant, he seemed to calm down as if he hadn't just crashed through a window. How he managed to make his breathing undetectable to me was beyond my grasp, but I sensed he was being over cautious now. He turned around and leaned back on the rail, resting his elbows behind him as he pulled out a match and began to chew at the end. Minutes seemed to go by although it was probably just seconds as I regained my breath and looked at him.
"Why did we just do that?" I asked, coming up from holding my knees. The match seemed to flick in his mouth as a smile came upon his face. Suddenly, it had seemed as if he was an entirely different person, his ears seemed less daunting upon me and his presence was that of a long lost friend as he spoke:
"Just wanted to get you excited, heh. I thought something a little close to a near death experience would cheer you up." his ears went off to the side as his face seemed warm and welcoming. I was a bit stunned, I admit. But after that toasty feeling ended I asked him. I scratched my head,
"I don't see why you put me through that. I mean sure my adrenaline spiked in my body, but I could have die-" I was cut off by Klyde's shadow looming over me, the outside brightness making his outline even darker. I flinched as I saw his arm raise. A light hearted chuckle came out from his voice as he petted my head, softly to the point where my face was completely red.
"You're a good boy, Lokai. You were very brave." he said in a father like voice. My ears went back as suddenly all my pain and stress was relieved. It felt good, amazing actually. To be honest, I haven't been physically comforted since I was a small pup. Hugs and pets never really came my way, I guess you could say. It wasn't long though before a crying whining puppy sound was picked up in my ears and I realized it was me. Embarrassed, I blushed hard and turned away, but my tail betrayed me as it wagged uncontrollably. Klyde smirked at me,
"If you really were going to fall, I would have caught you." I could feel that the blood to my face had reached it's max. When he was done petting me he waltzed back to the rail, his back towards me as he leaned forward and folded his arms upon it. "You know," he continued, "Things will only get harder from here. I've tried to separate you all from your ignorance of a care free life. It's time you all learned to grow a set." He flicked the match a few times. I could hear the pat pat pat sound it made in his black fuzzy lips as he looked out into the garden square beyond the railing. "If we're going to have revenge... you need to be cold in order to achieve that goal. But some times there's room for a little fun right?" He turned and smiled at me. I smiled readily at him, feeling the courage fill my body and tense my muscles. My good feeling, however, quickly lost itself when the sound of a battle cry echoed in my ear, along with the scratching of a machine and metal to metal. I blinked once before I saw the black chain snake in front of me, a hideous crescent blade with teeth leading it. the teeth spun madly inside the curve as it lunged through the wall behind us and towards Klyde, his back still turned.
"DODGE THIS!" A young but powerful voice said, suddenly barging through the shattered plaster was a black jackal. his black armless trench flapped in the wind behind him as his combat boots curled up in front of him and his arm extended out grasping a black and silver staff that was the source of the deranged looking scythe head. I turned as fast as I could.
"KLYDE!" I barked, but as I gazed at him he had already grasped the detached staff part of the scythe, in a flash step his body was out of the direction of the blade, and he let it Churn and vibrate in his paw.
"You know you really haven't learned yet have you Karma?" Klyde said with a straight face, his emotion completely washed away. The jackal landed heavily on his black combat boots as the ground from under me shook, and already I could feel his power. He stood upright, being as tall as Klyde as he tried unsuccessfully to tug his blade back from Klyde's grasp. Klyde sighed, "Fine, if you want to be whipped that badly I'll teach you again, even if I have to slam the lessen into your god damn temple over and over."


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And so ends chapter 7! I gotta say, the part where Klyde pets Lokai made me snicker in reality. My first thought: "Awwwwwe...He's not cold at all!" My second thought :"I'm hungry..."
Clyde: "You would say something that random >>; 1o1z"

See you in chapter 8!