Synopsis: Has there ever been that someone special in your life that you've wanted to get to, but never had the chance? Well, it seems like Jenga Harkdale may just have that chance.

Episode 5: Peaking
Everything is reaching panic levels. Too bad the government hasn't invented panic buttons yet.

Notes: Done in about an hour or so.

I tried to give more clarification to Evan's role in my stories through this one. If it's not too clear, he fills a sort of 'protector' role. He's like the glue that holds it all together. Without him in this story, it'd be like trying to build a house without anything to hold the pieces together.

Story:
Cupidit ac Patienti
Episode 5: Peaking

Pkow! Pkow! Pkow!

“Time!” Drez called. He holstered his pistol in one fluid movement.

“17.6. New record, Drez.” The panther grinned, punching the stopwatch on his bionic arm. Drez was the only guy he knew that could nail all the targets in less than twenty seconds.

Drez grinned, laughing. He surveyed the panther, who never ceased to confound him. He had an odd albino circle around his right eye. His right arm and left eye were bionic, powered by contraptions he had put together. Steam powered. Drez mentally snorted. Steam was so…unstable. The panther’s name was Tyme Epoch.

“Wanna try out the rifles?” Tyme gestured towards the other shooting boxes.

Drez shook his head. “Didn’t bring one.”

“I’ll let you use a model I’m working on. If it doesn’t break, it’s yours.” He leaped into the back room before Drez could respond, leaving the fox to glare angrily at the space the panther had recently occupied.

When he returned, Drez blinked at the contraption in his hand. It looked like an old-fashioned hunting rifle, but different. Where a bullet would normally be loaded, there was a revolver-like loading chamber. The scope was new, electronic. Where the stock met the barrel, there were two small canisters of blue fluid, attached by small tubes to the barrel.

“That thing can’t fire.” Drez immediately stated, provoking a grin from Tyme.

“Just try it out.”
So Drez took aim, looking down the scope, carefully setting the crosshairs. He held the gun loosely, not expecting much recoil from steam. After all, what could heated water do that normally propulsion systems couldn’t?

Pkow!! Clank! Thump!

Drez sprawled on the floor, dazed. The rifle lay beside him. He heard Tyme’s laughter. He looked around, slowly raising himself on his elbows.

“Shit.” He said plainly, starting to laugh.

“Haha!! You! You! Hahaha!” Tyme rocked back and forth, bellowing with laughter.

“Yeah, yeah.” Drez got up, grabbing the rifle. He set the stock securely under his shoulder this time, taking no chances. He fired off another round, aiming for the same target as last time.

Pkow!!

He was ready this time. The gun didn’t fly from his hand, and he didn’t land on his ass.

He bounced the gun in his hands gently. “I can keep this, right?”

Tyme nodded. “Yup. But I won’t make you a new one, so don’t lose it.”

Drez grinned. “I won’t. Now, I should get going. It’s late.”

Tyme glanced at the clock. “Yeah, I guess. Welp, you be careful, then. Don’t need your body carried down to the morgue as well. And you’ll be a ripe target with that rifle.”

Drez shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Night!” He rushed out as soon as he had his pistol, having the urge to take the shorter way home.

Jen paced when he was worried. Josh beckoned him to his lap, but he refused. Drez should be home by now. It was almost one in the morning. Evan had gone to search, but even that was taking too long.

Just when Jen was about to grab his own coat and run out to search, despite Josh’s pleas, the door opened.

“ - the fuck down! I can walk!!”

“If you mean you can hobble your way through the streets leaking blood, then yeah.”

Evan walked in, carrying Drez in his arms. A rifle was slung across his back. Jen immediately ran to them. Josh moved so Evan could set Drez on the couch. “First aid kit.” He ordered, the larger wolf going to do what he asked.

Jen walked over to inspect their wounds. Evan just had a slight cut on his cheek, and a few bruises; he’d be fine. Drez, on the other hand, was a bloody mess.

His shirt was gone. He had a cut across his right bicep, where he was leaking blood. The right leg of his pants had been ripped in several places, allowing Jen to see the massive number of bruised there. His right forearm had a jagged gash. He had a thick bruise under his left eye.

He grinned up at Jen as the wolf viewed him with horror. He coughed up a bit of blood. “This is what I get for goin’ out with a rifle on my back, ain’t it?”

Jen could only blink. Josh returned with the first aid kit, and Jen took it from him. He handed Evan some bandages. “Get yourself fixed.” He took the rest of the kit and moved on to Drez.

He dipped a cotton ball in disinfectant, then moved it towards the wound on his right bicep. “H-hey, I don’t need that!” The fox tried to move his arm away, but Josh held it in place. The fox gasped, gritting his teeth. Jen bandaged it up, then moved to his left arm, repeating the process.

Then he moved to his leg. He rolled the leg up to Drez’s pelvis, his breath hissing inward as he saw the mass of bruises on it. He held out his hand. “Gauze.” Josh rushed to get another roll. Jen spread disinfectant over the bruises, then covered them with bandages. He pulled Drez’s pants back down, taking a step back to survey his work. “Why your father ever let you have a gun in this day and age, I’ll never know.” He walked over to Josh, walking with him to the big wolf’s room.

Drez sat on the couch for a while. His roommates were worried about him. He didn’t know if that was bad or good. It seemed like he wouldn’t have time to decide, either, as Jen rushed from Josh’s room, hands to his head.

Drez leapt up, intercepting Josh before he could reach Jen’s room. “What did you SAY?!”

The wolf was taken aback at Drez’s vehemence. He stuttered. “I-I-I wanted to know why h-he never talked about his parents.”

Drez sighed deeply, rested a palm on his head. He rubbed his eyes. “Go back to your room.”

Josh blinked. “What? But-”

“Josh, look. You were only curious. His mom disowned him. His dad died when he was five. You didn’t mean to upset him, you only wanted to know things. Get some rest, I’ll handle this.”

Josh was shocked. He was sure the fox hated him. But he knew better than try to comfort Jen, without knowing how to. He nodded.

“Now don’t think I’ve gone soft on you. I still don’t particularly like you, but I’m willing to give you a chance. Prove to me you really care about him and his happiness.” With that, Drez slowly opened Jen’s door and vanished into his room.

Jen was a wreck. He was sobbing uncontrollably. Nobody had brought up his parents in years. It was painful for him. Drez slowly walked over to Jen’s bed, sitting down beside him. He put a comforting arm around the wolf, who immediately snuggled into him, making his shirtless chest fur soggy. He held the wolf with both arms, shushing him softly and rubbing behind his ears.

He heard noise from Josh’s room. The wolf was probably angry at himself. Then he heard Josh’s door open, close, then lock. The front door opened, closed, and locked. Then Josh’s jeep left, making little sound. Drez cocked an eyebrow, but was more concerned with Jen.

The little wolf cried into his chest for a while, at least for another thirty minutes. Drez hugged him tightly. When he stopped crying, he held him a little away, looking him in the eyes. “All better?” Jen nodded, sniffling. Drez hugged him again. “Good. Now you get some rest.” The two smiled at each other softly.

Drez got up, walking to the door. As he was about to leave, he said. “I’ll tell Josh you’re alright.” He walked to the big wolf’s room, only to find a folded note on the door:

For Jenga ONLY

Clear enough. Drez took it down, bringing it to Jen’s room. He walked in, sitting back on the bed beside the wolf. He handed it to Jenga. “I found it on his door.” He looked over Jen’s shoulder as he opened and read it.

Jenga,

I care for you, so I’m writing this. I’ve been lying to you from the start. I don’t love you. I’m with another man. I’ve taken my small things and left. I’ll be by tomorrow to collect the larger things. Please, don’t be there.

Josh

Drez blinked, then noticed that Jen was crying again. He took the wolf in his arms, cradling him to his chest, letting him cry into his already damp fur. The two sat like that for hours, Drez rocking the wolf back and forth. He nuzzled behind Jen’s ears, trying to comfort him.

He didn’t know what time it was when Jen stopped crying. He looked down at the wolf. “…done?” Jenga nodded, not removing his head from Drez’s chest. The fox nuzzled him softly.

For a while, they didn’t move. They were too comfortable like they were. But after a while, Jen spoke up. “He…he said not to be here tomorrow…but what can I do? None of us have anything tomorrow…”

Drez tilted Jen’s head up so he could look him in the eyes. “Well…” he began in a lilting voice.

Jen had to giggle. When Drez spoke like that, anything was funny. “Well, what?”

The fox grinned. “Well, I could always take a certain wolf,” he poked Jen’s nose playfully, “out for some air, hm?”

Jenga perked up, his tail beginning to wag. He smiled eagerly. “Really?”

Drez smiled lovingly at him. “Really.”