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The sun rose above the wall, lighting up the city. I sighed peacefully, staring at the beautiful ball of fire rising above the skyline. My gray tail swished back and forth, my paws twitching a little bit. It was natural, for me at least.

A little backstory: I suffer from anxiety and I tend to get nervous. A lot. Even when alone, I'll be nervous about nothing in particular. I hated it, but it was easy to deal with. I made sure I stayed cool so my paw pads didn't get too sweaty. I was the only one in Uptown who willingly walked around shirtless, except in winter, of course.

"Hey, hybrid! You know you're not allowed up there!" Rolling my eyes, I jumped down from my perch on our rooftop. I did parkour in my free time, so I simply tucked my body in, rolling on the ground before I stood up in front of him.

"Hey Chief," I said with a smirk. He looked down at me. I only reached his stomach. I was far from average height, but my parents were to blame for that. Actually, I should blame love. A fox and a wolf, destined by true love to give birth to a hybrid. "Is there a problem?"

He sighed. "Dox, we go over this every day. You're supposed to be inside until curfew is over."

"Oh come on, Chief. You and I both know I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Even so, I must escort you home." He laid his enormous bear paw on my shoulder, guiding back to my house which honestly wasn't far. Every house was nearly identical, save for different paint schemes. Ours was a standard blue and white, two story home with a garage.

Walking up the driveway, I waved back to Chief. "See ya tomorrow!" He chuckled, waving back. Walking through the front door, I was instantly bombarded by my mother with questions. It was always the same. 'Where were you? Why did you go out during curfew? You're going to get in trouble one day.' Same old, same old.

She was where I got my fox like ears, tail and fur. Most likely where I got my anxiety as well. I might have enjoyed my little escapade, but it was also nerve racking. Why do I do this to myself? I thought. _Because it's fun. _Her red fur brushed my cheeks as she hugged me, sending me upstairs to change for school.

My father, on the other hand, was a large wolf. I could see why mom married him. Admittedly, he was handsome. From him, I got the color of my fur, which, ironically, was about fifty shades of gray. I also enjoyed super hearing, smelling and great vision. What I didn't like we're my large paws. They made the rest of my body seem too small.

He wasn't overly affectionate, like most wolves, but did ruffle my head fur a bit as I walked down the hall. "Your cousin give you any trouble?" he asked in a low rumble.

"Course not, dad. You know he wouldn't." Yeah, the Chief of police was my cousin, a distant one, but still family. He wouldn't let anything terribly bad happen to me, which is why he took me home after every sunrise.

Walking into my room, I lay on my bed, thinking if I had finished my homework the night before. With study hall first period, why bother? I heard my phone buzz under my pillow. I always left it behind when I'd go out.

'Saw you with the Chief, everything okay? ~Xavier'

Chuckling, I quickly replied. 'Everything's cool, just got home. ~Doxy'

Admittedly, Doxy was a childhood nickname I used to go by. It seemed fitting as my signature.

Sniffing the air, I caught whiff of myself and stuck my tongue. _Better hop in the shower. _Grabbing a pair of jeans and underwear, I walked into my bathroom. I loved the feeling of being naked, but wouldn't dare go out like that. Shirtless was good enough for me, not to mention legal.

As I washed my fur, my mind drifted back to the Wall, as we liked to call it. As far as we knew, it'd been around forever. My parents grew up with it, as did their parents and their parents before them. No one knew what was on the other side.

It extended far beyond the city limits, where some criminals were exiled to live the rest of their lives. High profile ones were sent beyond the wall. None had ever returned.

_The city's big enough, but why the wall? _I had had this discussion in class before. My history teacher told us this: 'There was a time before the Wall, where everyone roamed the Earth freely. One day, it was discovered that the Earth was dying. In order to save our race, the Wall was erected to keep out rising radiation. There was even a dome, though that had been taken down decades ago. All that remains now is the Wall. This is the safest place on Earth.'

If the rest of the world was, as I understand it, destroyed, then why the wall? What are they keeping out? _My eyes widened. _Or in?

"Agh!" I cried out in pain, furiously splashing water into my eyes. _Stupid shampoo. _Blinded by cleaning products, I slipped, falling flat on my back. I lay there dazed and in pain as the water continued running.

"Dox?" my dads voice called out. "Everything alright in there?"

"Y-yeah, dad!" My mind swirled as panic began to set in. Am I okay?

"Did you fall? Are you hurt?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"I'm alright, really." I tried to stand up and ended up groaning in pain. My head began pounding. How hurt am I? What if I need to go to the hospital? I hate hospitals! I whined involuntarily as a panic attack ran through my body. I started trembling, letting out short whined every now and then.

I could hear the door open, but my mind was buzzing with fear. How hurt am I? How bad is it? Am I bleeding? I looked to the ground. Oh good. _My ears stood straight up. _What if my blood is clear? Oh God! Why is it clear?

The shower curtain opened as I continued to tremble. A paw turned the water knob, shitting it off. I felt cloth wrap around me an I was lifted out of the shower. "You're okay, Doxy," my dads soothing voiced cooed. "You're fine, you're alright." He held me tightly in his arms.

My thoughts began to calm down as he stood there, rocking me back and forth. My muzzle was on his shoulder. My paws wrapped around his neck. "D-Dad?" I whimpered.

"No school today, bud," he whispered.

~~~

Staying home when I knew I could be out with my friends is the worst thing in the world. My parents went to work Downtown, so I was home alone and completely bored. How bored was I? Take a couch. Place a vulupine upside down on it. Drape his tail over the back lazily. Stick his tongue out.

That's what I looked like.

Flipping through the channels, I tried to find something decent to watch. I had left my phone upstairs and I was too comfortable (and lazy) to go get it. My ears perked as one particular news piece got my attention.

'Vincent McAcker has been sentenced to exile, outside of the Wall. Here was the scene as he was led outside."

An otter, who I assumed was Vincent, had his handcuffs removed. An officer had him by the shoulder and led him towards the Wall. Vincent was visibly shaking as the door, the only one on the wall, was opened. He looked up at the officer and gulped, taking one step outside. After a few more steps, he looked back at the camera as the door shut.

I stared in awe. What could be out there that everyone's so afraid about? Toxic chemicals? Radioactive beasts? As I pondered the worst, a knock at the door startled me. I glanced at the clock and smiled, realizing school had been let out.

Rolling off the couch, I walked over to the door and opened. "Hey Xavier!"

The lion smiled sympathetically, letting himself inside. "Did it happen?"

"Yeah," I sighed. We sat together on the couch. "Dad calmed me down. I heard him and mom discussing whether I should go back on the pill."

"Thst sucks, dude." The pill I was referring to would ease my nerves, but it also made me extremely drowsy and slow. I hated it. "But, hey, it's the first time in months. You just gotta chill out."

I scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You bring my work?"

He reached into his bag. "Yeah, yeah. Oh, you're essay has to be emailed by midnight if you want credit."

"Essay?" I stared at him curiously. "What essay?"

"The one that was assigned over a month ago? Ten pages on whatever historical topic you want?" I shook my head. "It's like half your grade. Did you really forget about it?"

Folding my ears, I dropped my head into my hands. "Ugh, I guess I did. Man, how am I gonna write a five page essay in-" I glanced at the clock. "Less than nine hours?"

He pat my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll think of something." I smiled at him. Xavier was the most gentle lion I had ever met. He was older than me by two years. At 15, he was wiser than anyone I knew. He was like the older brother I wish I had. He even told someone at the mall that I was his annoying little step brother. I looked up to him, physically and emotionally.

"Hey, listen, I've got to get going. Got work tonight." He gathered his things. "I'll call you later. Stay out of trouble."

"No promises!" He chuckled and let himself out. I laughed too, then glanced at the work he'd left me. You're a study hall problem. Let's get started on this essay.

~~~

Hours had passed. Dox was on the verge of passing out when he finally finished the grueling five page essay. "And... Done. Alright..." He yawned. He looked at the clock. "Ten minutes to spare. Okay, let's send this off and get to sleep." He was about to type in the email when he realized, he didn't know his teachers email.

Quickly pulling out his phone, he called Xavier. "Hey, what's Mr. Vipe's email?"

"Really, dude?"

"Just tell me," Dox whined.

"Fine, fine." He proceeded to tell Dox the email, although, because of how tired Dox was, he mistyped it. Not noticing, he sent it off, said goodnight to his friend, and drifted off peacefully into sleep.

Across the city, deep in the heart of Downtown, there was a creature lurking down the alley. This creature was furless, only spots of hair on its scalp, arms and legs. It walked into an abandoned building, disrobing and grunting.

Booting up an ancient computer, he sipped his coffee peacefully, about ready to turn in for the night when his email pinged.

"Dox?" he grumbled. "I don't know a Dox." Glancing over it, he realized it must have been a poor kids essay sent to the wrong email.

What intrigued him, though, was that it was about the Wall. The very same Wall he had managed to get inside of.

One excerpt read 'What has intrigued many for the history of our beloved city is this: What lies beyond the Wall? Are we truly safe here? We may never know the true answer unless someone successfully goes beyond our bored we and returns with information from beyond the Wall.'

He chuckled. "Kid, I don't think the world is ready for you. Neither are you ready for the world." He knew his email had been confused with a teacher at the local school and forwarded it. He hoped it arrived in time, for the child's sake.