Stray
#1 of Warmth
Stray
It was ten at night in Denver, Colorado. The rain was pouring down on the Mile-High city and the streets were all but dead.
*splash* *splash* *splash*
All but dead indeed; on the outskirts of the city a chase was in progress. Three men in their twenties were chasing a girl in her late teens.
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Kathy's Side
Species: Fur â€" German Shepherd
Age: 17
Eye Color: Brown
Fur Color: Tan and Black
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 143 lbs
"Damn it! Why are humans such assholes!?" Kathy said to herself as she tried to outmaneuver her pursuers. "What did we ever do to deserve this kind of treatment?" For all her life Furs have been second-class citizens of the world.
It was twenty years ago that Furs had revealed themselves to the humans. At first they were met with intrigue and fascination. Everyone thought humans and Furs could live together equally. That dreamed was shattered when many humans began to hate the Furs out fear, envy, and disgust.
It wasn't long until humans began killing the Furs. Although the Furs were more agile than the humans, they were no match for their weapons.
It took nearly a year before the governments of the world stepped in, but by then the number of Furs remaining had dwindled to that of an endangered species. Each country set its own rules regarding Furs.
The United States was actually one of the better countries for Furs; the U.S. allowed Furs the opportunity to become citizens, while some countries restricted many of their rights. Regardless of all this, it didn't change the opinions humans had towards them.
"They still treat us like animals!" she growled. Kathy was having difficulty trying to outrun the men; the rain was posing great difficulty by soaking her fur, making her heavier.
"Look boys! We're catching up to her" one of the men shouted.
"Shit!" she said. She saw an alley coming up to her right. "Maybe I can slow them down in there." She turned the corner and her face immediately turned grim. The alley didn't connect to the next street as she had hoped. She couldn't turn around now.
She quickly looked around and saw a fire escape ladder ten feet off the ground. "It's my only chance." Kathy started running and jumped up. With the extra weight of her fur she only caught on to the lowest step of the ladder.
The rain wouldn't give her a break though.
"NO!" she screamed as her paws slipped from the water-slicked metal bar. She fell ten feet and landed on her stomach. She turned around and saw the three men walking slowly towards her.
"Looks like the little doggy bitch has been cornered. What should we do with her boys?"
"Well, I've never done it with one before. I think this is the perfect opportunity." The man gave her perverted look.
"That's sick dude! You would actually fuck one of them!?"
"Oh please! Don't act like you've never once thought of it too!"
The other man was silent for a while. "Yeah, sure I have, but I never wanted to do it with one that was conscious."
"Fine! How about we just beat her into unconsciousness, and then rape her?"
"Fine, whatever, then we kill her."
The three of them walked closer to Kathy cracking their knuckles. She closed her eyes bracing herself for the beating she was about to receive.
*smack* *smack* *smack*
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Ryan's Side
Species: Human
Age: 18
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Blonde
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs
"Almost closing time Ryan."
"Alright Mr. Cox" Ryan said to his boss.
Ryan worked at a sporting goods shop. It was a good job for someone in high school. Most of his co-workers were his friends from school, and Mr. Cox was a pretty cool boss. The only thing Ryan didn't like about the job was working the afternoon-to-closing shift. It meant that he was always the one who had to take inventory and put everything back in its place.
"Man, I hate messy people. Is it really so hard to put something back where they got it from?"
When he was done organizing and finished the inventory, he got a smirk on his face. There was ONE advantage to working the night shift.
"Mr. Cox, I have the inventory here." Ryan gave him the clipboard.
Mr. Cox scanned through it. "Hmm. Looks like we have an extra wooden baseball bat. Well, Ryan, it looks like you've got another thing to take home." He was referring to the other times there had been something extra.
"Yeah, but this is the first item that has anything to do with baseball. How's a baseball player supposed to benefit from a football?"
Mr. Cox chuckled. Well, try not to get in trouble holding that in the streets."
"Will do sir. See you Monday."
"Take care, Ryan."
Ryan walked outside. "Wow, it sure it pouring tonight. Just my luck that the bus stop is a mile away, and I have no umbrella.
Maybe I can keep myself dry with my new bat" Ryan chuckled.
Ryan started walking down the street. He had no reason to hurry; the next bus wouldn't be arriving for another half hour. "At least tomorrow is the weekend; no school, no work, great time to play some games with my friends." Ryan started to smirk.
"I can see it now...
The score is tied; it's the bottom of the ninth, and Ryan's up to bat. The pitcher has a confident smile, he winds up and throws. *clank* It's a high fly, it's going... going... gone! Ryan has just given his team the win. The players on the other team are shouting:
"NO!" Ryan snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the scream.
"It came from up ahead." Ryan rounded corner. He saw three men run into an alley.
"What are they up to?" Ryan Walked to the alley and peered around the corner. There was someone lying on the ground and the three men were arguing amongst themselves. Ryan started listening in on their conversation.
"Fine! How about we beat her into unconsciousness, and then rape her?"
"Fine, whatever, then we kill her."
Ryan's eyes widened. He clenched his fists and walked into the alley. The men were cracking their knuckles getting ready for a beating.
"They're going to get one alright." Ryan held up the bat and swung down on the first guy. He hit him in the area where the neck connects to the shoulder. The man went down.
Not wanting to lose momentum, Ryan swung horizontally at the second man. They had begun to turn around at this point. The bat made contact with the second man's chest. The man felt the full force of a baseball player's swing.
The remaining man charged at Ryan. He threw a punch at Ryan's face, but Ryan ducked. He used his lowered position to swing up at the man's jaw.
"Son of a bitch" was the last thing the man said before dropping unconscious.
Ryan just stood, taking in what he just did. He looked at the bat. He had just knocked out three men with it. Not wanting to keep something like that he dropped it.
"What a waste of perfectly good bat" Ryan said as he regained his composure.
Ryan then remembered the person on the ground. It was then that he got a good look at the person he saved who was lying on the ground.
"A Fur, huh?" Ryan said to himself. He walked closer and asked "Are you alright?"
She opened her eyes and stared at him in the eyes. She was still scared.
"Did they hurt you?"
"No."
"That's good" Ryan said with a sigh of relief. He handed her his hand. She paused for a while before taking it. Ryan pulled her up. "So, what's your name?"
"...Kathy."
"Kathy, huh? My name is Ryan."
"Why?" Kathy asked. "Why are treating me like this?"
Ryan was taken aback by this question.
"Treating you like what? Did I offend you?"
"Why are you being nice to me? I'm a Fur, aren't all humans supposed to hate us?"
Ryan was silent for a second. "What's there to hate about you?"
Kathy let out a barely audible gasp. She was about to say something when *beep beep* *beep beep*
Ryan looked at his watch.
"Shit. Sorry for having to leave so soon but I only have ten minutes to catch the last bus home." Ryan turned around. "Take care of yourself" was the last thing Ryan said to her before taking off.
Kathy just stood there for a second. She saw the baseball bat on the ground and went to pick it up. She stared at it for a second and then took off in the same direction that Ryan went off to.
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What did you think? This is my first story.
Please give some helpful feedback and criticism.
I'm planning to make this into a series.
If the story does well, then I'll continue with the series.
More will be revealed then