A wanted man pt 2
Sirens echoed throughout the city of Palpiateen as fire trucks responded to the scene on the highway. Black smoke rose into the air as James’s get away car burned, slowly turning into a mass of twisted steel and melted plastic. The highway was littered with car parts from when the charger detonated, sending those who had been in the chase scrambling for cover. As the fire trucks were pulling up, another explosion rocked the area as the fuel tank lit up. Flaming bits of car went flying though the air and landing all around. One blazing shard of metal was blasted through the gas tank of one of the patrol cars that had been in the road block set up to cut off James. The metal sparked as it passed through, causing the vapors inside to catch. The patrol car ignited, the trunk went flying through the air followed by the contents and spare tire. The suspension collapsed and the rear dropped to the ground. Those around were hit with bits of the car when it exploded. Several officers were hit with shrapnel in various parts of there bodies.
The squad of Dalmatian and Collie fire fighters pulled out hoses from the back of the trucks and hooked them up to the connections on the sides before racing the other ends into position to put out the burning hulk. They set up two hoses and began putting water on the flames. Meanwhile, John a buff German Shepard who had been involved in the chase, was looking over the scene. He was amazed and angered by what he saw. He was amazed at how well James was able to hold his own against the street patrol division of the Palpiateen police force and angry at how difficult it is turning out for them to catch one human. He returned to his patrol car just as police chief, Dakota came on the radio to get a status update.
“John what’s going on out there?”
“He got away,” John replied. “I don’t know how he does it but he is harder to catch than we thought. He is very resourceful, almost as if he can think on his feet. We might have to get assistance from division.”
“Report back to me. We will develop a plan from there.”
Just as John closed the door to his Dodge Challenger cruiser the radio came to life.
“Attention all units, we have a report of an officer in a foot pursuit of a suspect heading west on Clark street. Are there any and all available units able to respond?”
“Do we have a description of the suspect,” John replied.
“Suspect is reported to be human, white. 5’ 2”, 140 lbs. 16 years of age, we do not have a name at this time. Suspect was wearing a blue short sleeve shirt and blue jeans. The suspect took off after an attempted stop to check identification.”
“Put me on that call dispatch,” John replied.
He dropped the microphone, slammed the door and jammed his cruiser in gear. He pushed the throttle to the floor and his tires bit into the pavement, sending up a cloud of smoke. The spun around and heading down the high way, lights flashing and siren screaming.
Meanwhile, James was running for his life. He had escaped the crash unhurt but was now running again. Behind him were to officers, a Clydesdale and a Mustang. The two horses had tried to stop James to check to see if he had his collar on. But when he took off they gave chase. The two horses were built for speed. The Clydesdale and Mustang began closing in on James as the human ran in between innocent bystanders. James looked behind him and saw the two officers closing in fast. He looked around him and spotted an old fire escape on the front of a building. The ladder appeared to be low enough for him to try and jump for it but high enough that it would pose a challenge to the two officers.
“I hope you two aren’t afraid of heights.”
With that James took one final step and jumped as hard as he could. He reached out with his hand and hopped his luck would hold. He sailed through the air and then finally his palm slammed into the steel rung of the ladder. Using his momentum he shot himself up the ladder and onto the platform. Loosing no time, he turned and sprinted up the next flight of steps. The Mustang jumped up and pulled the ladder down with his weight before dashing up the ladder, followed by his partner.
“Dispatch, suspect is climbing up the fire escape of Tigress Clothing,” said the Clydesdale on the radio.
James ran up the last flight of stairs onto the roof of the building and then across to the other side. He jumped of and onto the roof of the next building, rolling as he landed to absorb some of the impact before getting back up and continue running. The two horses made the same jump as if it was nothing, landing with ease. James looked back and saw they were still behind him. Then looked forward again and saw a small cluster of plants growing in a roof top garden. Growing on the plants were tomatoes. James ran by the plants, grabbing two tomatoes before spinning around and chucking them at the two horses. Both vegetables smashed into their faces, forcing them to stop to clean the mess off. This gave James the time he was looking for. In the split second it took the two horses to wipe the mess off, he jumped over the edge of the roof and dropped into a dumpster four stories below. He dusted himself off and jumped out before taking off again, exiting the small alley before the two officers came to the edge.
“Where did he go,” said the Clydesdale.
“I don’t know Kevin,” replied the Mustang.
“Suspect lost dispatch. We lost sight of him, set up containment around our location. He couldn’t have gone far,” Kevin said over the radio.
“Who was that human, Mike,” Kevin asked.
“If I had to guess, I would say that it was James the rouge human,” Mike replied.
James ran out of the alley and into the open before ducking into another alley. He took cover behind a dumpster and hunkered there while he caught his breath. He leaned against the cool steel and chipping paint as he thought about his situation and possible solutions. The thought of going back to the police station scared him as he knew John would try to rape him again. Also getting caught by those two skilled officers scared him too. He knew he had to find someone who would be willing to hide him. He began to think of possible groups that if they existed in this society might be able to help him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard voices coming off the street.
“I’m arriving on scene dispatch.”
“Copy that John. Kevin and Mike made contact with the suspect earlier. They are still on scene. Their last reported position was on the roof of Tigress Clothing store.”
“John to Kevin or Mike, do you copy.”
“John this is Mike, we saw the suspect heading west. We lost sight of him when he threw produce at us.”
“Produce? He threw vegetables at you guys?”
“Yes and he got us in the face,” Mike replied.
“What did the suspect look like?”
“He was human and had no collar on or any identification tags. 5’ 2” and approximately 140 lbs,” Mike replied.
“That sounds like James, the one who caused the wreck on the highway. Did you see which direction he went?”
“No, he got away before we could reestablish visual contact,” Mike replied.
“I’ll head south and look. You and Kevin head east, he might and try to loop around.”
James peaked around the dumpster and spotted John standing in the alleyway entrance with his back turned. He quickly turned his head back and remained totally still. He listened very carefully as John began to walk away. As the footsteps grew fainter he carefully crept out from behind the dumpster and slowly stood up, as if making too much noise would draw the attention of John back and he would have to start running. James paused there for a moment to check his surroundings, making sure he was alone and that no one was watching him. Once he was sure no one was around he made his way out of the alley and into the open.
James strolled out onto the pavement and walked along casually. He passed by other furries, some with human slaves and some without. As he walked past those with human slaves, he noticed that some of the humans had looks of sadness or depression. He began to wonder what happened at the homes these humans lived in. Were they being abused? Were their masters’ treating them well or were they being treated like a dog? James pondered on these things as he walked down the street. He looked up at the blue sky and saw a flock of birds fly over. He stopped for a moment and watched, observing how the swirling mass molded into different shapes but always staying in one huge mass. James wondered if the birds ever thought that one was more superior to the others or if they thought that the others in the flock were equals.
James resumed his travel down the street, after a few hours of walking he entered a section of the city that appeared to have seen better, happier times. The buildings began to look abandoned. There were a few with all the doors and windows on the street level boarded up; some had gang signs sprayed all over them. By this time the sun had begun to set and the few street lamps that were working began to come on. James knew he had to find a defensible shelter soon or else he would be an easy target. He began to look around and spotted an old fire house. Making his way over he found the building to be in good condition. Looking around he found a fire escape ladder, his heart jumping for joy at the thought of having a safe place to sleep for once. He hurried over and suddenly stopped. Observing the ladder’s position in relation to the ground suggested that it had been deployed. James looked up and the building again, looking carefully at the building for any sign that the structure had suffered a fire. He stood there for a moment, thinking aloud to himself.
“Ok James, the ladder is down but there is no sign of this place ever having a fire. Someone has or is using this place for shelter. We better proceed with caution.”
Looking around at the ground he found a piece of broken pipe. Tucking it under one arm, James ascended the ladder up to the second story where he found an open window. Quietly he climbed inside and looked around. It was very clear the building had not seen service in years. Some of the wall paper had pealed off and pieces of plaster hung from the ceiling. A thick layer of dust hid the wooden floor which surprisingly had not warped or rotted away. Cautiously James began to explore the second floor, peaking into each door he came across. In one room he found a desk with some papers on it. James went inside this room which turned out to be an office. On the walls were plaques and framed pictures of what appeared to be of the crews who were stationed at the house during its time of operation.
James then moved over to the desk and looked down at the papers. There appeared to be some hand written notes and a newspaper article. James tried to make out the headline but it was difficult to see in the fading light. Looking around he found an old desk lamp and out of instinct turned the knob on the back. The light flickered then lit up, the station was still receiving power from the grid and this fact delighted James. Looking down again at the yellowed paper he saw the headline.
“Heroic station 14 due to close following deep budget cuts. Local neighborhood residences prepare to move in fear of reduced public safety.”
James reached down and pulled out an old wooden chair from under the desk and sat down to read the article more carefully. What he saw made his heart sink with sadness.
“Fire chief Shepard announced that due to reduced population in the city and the terrible financial deficit in the city’s budget he will be forced to close a number of fire houses across the city. On the list is station 14, one of the city’s most famous houses. Station 14 was credited with putting out a blaze which almost lit up an entire city block in 1951. Built in 1913 station 14 was commissioned on June 5th of the same year. The station was manned by only 15 fire fighters with four teams of horses. Since then the station had been upgraded to house the fire engines which replaced the sometimes temperamental horse teams. However, despite an impressive record, sadly station 14 found itself on the list of closures due to take effect this year. In response residences in station 14’s area of responsibility are putting up their homes for sale and moving out.
“We just don’t feel safe anymore,” said one resident. “Station 14 is a historic landmark and the only station out this way. Other stations that could take its place are also closing. I don’t feel comfortable having my family live here anymore.”
James slowly stood up from the desk and turned out the light. Turning around slowly, he exited the office and back out into the hallway. He walked down a little further and found a flight of stairs. He paused there for a moment, wondering if he should explore the rest of the house or stay safe on the second floor. His curiosity won and slowly made his way down to the first floor, being careful not to make too much noise.
At the bottom of the stairs he entered a large open area with light pouring in from the street outside through the windows on the fire house doors. Lockers lined one wall with an empty space separating one bank of lockers. To his right was a door that went into the station’s command center. James closed his eyes and imagined what it might have looked like back in the day. Images of 1960’s style fire engines parked in the garage, bright red trucks with shinny brass connections, fire fighters tending to their gear in between emergencies.
He opened his eyes and went into the command center and looked around. A large map of the city hung on the wall above a large desk. The map had red pins marking the location of hydrants and blue pins marking other fire stations. There were some other old pieces of equipment scattered on the various tables which were in the room, some covered with cobwebs and dust.
James exited the room and headed back upstairs to the second floor when he heard a noise. He froze there in fear, listening carefully for it again. He pulled the piece of pipe he had kept under his arm the entire time and slowly crept up the stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs he looked around the corner and listened again. He heard the sound of someone walking around. There was also the distinct sound of claws tapping on the wooden floor coming from above him. Looking around reveled a second flight of stairs which led to a third floor. James carefully began his accent up the stairs being as quiet as possible. As he approached the top he noticed a light coming from the hall. Staying in the shadows he left the stairs and crept toward the source of the light which was coming from one of the rooms. Hugging the wall he silently made his toward the room, raising the pipe above his head ready to strike.
James came to the doorway of the room the light was coming from and looked inside. In the room was an old bed with a worn mattress on one side and a fireplace on the other side. There was a fire in the fireplace and sitting in front was a figure. James moved to get a better look when his luck ran out. He stepped on a loose floor board which let out a loud creak. The figure turned and James jumped out into the doorway and let out a war scream at the same time the figure let out a scream of terror. James and the stranger stood their ground screaming until finally they quieted down. James looked at the figure and saw that it was a red dragon.
The dragon was very well built, very muscular with large wings which were folded against his back. The dragon was wearing a dirty shirt with holy pants. The dragon looked at him, one arm raised up ready to defend should James come and attack. The two of them looked at each other for a while in silence until finally the dragon spoke first.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
James lowered the pipe, realizing the dragon was not a threat and that he was not in any danger. James had not planned on encountering others in the fire house. Well he had but only those who were armed, and this dragon was clearly unarmed.
“I’m James, who are you?”
“My name is Razor. What the fuck are you doing in my fire house?”
“Your fire house? I didn’t see your name on the side of the building,” James shot back.
“Well I didn’t give you permission to come into my territory human,” said Razor, getting mad now. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for a place to live, what are you doing here?”
“I live here,” Razor shouted.
“Hey calm down, there is no need to get angry.”
“Calm down? You’re the one holding a piece of pipe in your hand.”
James looked down and then realized that being armed was not going to solve things. He tossed it down the hall and looked back at Razor.
“Sorry about that, things have been hard for me.”
Razor lowered his arm when James threw away the pipe. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Razor looked back into the fire and sighed. “I had a pretty good life until I opened my big mouth.”
James entered the room and walked over to Razor. “May I sit here to hear your story?”
Razor nodded and James had a seat on the hard floor.
“I came from a very rich family. My father is a developer and my mother is an advisor to the governor. We own lots of slaves,” Razor shuttered when he said the word slaves. “I hate that word. Humans aren’t slaves. They have a will of their own. Why can’t this world see that? Anyway, one day I told my father that I didn’t agree with how things are. I said that I don’t think humans should be slaves but have the right to be equals and partners with us. Well my father didn’t share this view and in a fit of rage threw me out of the house. All my family and my friends turned their back on me and left me to fend for myself.”
James nodded his head and sighed. “I had the same thing happen to me too. My parents didn’t throw me out though. I escaped.”
“Escaped?”
“Yes, escaped. When the change happened I was the only one of my family who wasn’t affected by it. My parents, however, were. At first they were the same. They loved me as if nothing happened. But then as time went on they began to change. They became dominant and mean. Then they began to…approach me.”
“Approach, you mean they tried to sexually dominate you,” Razor asked.
“Yes, but I escaped. I found a group of humans who also escaped and we formed a resistance. When the law was passed out leader came up with the idea of rising up and storming the capital. It was a foolish idea that got most of us arrested. I managed to escape.”
Razor listened to James’s story carefully. He felt sorry for him as James spoke. He had his whole world flipped upside-down and had to start all over just like him.
“For the last few months I’ve been running away from the police. Just trying to keep my freedom and survive.”
“Well James, it would seem that you and I aren’t that different. Um…maybe you should stay here for the night. Do you have some place where you can go? Maybe a family member or a friend?”
James shook his head. “I wouldn’t go to them. Chances are they all have been changed too. Besides, my face has been on TV so much that people will recognize me.”
“Well, perhaps we could work together,” Razor asked.
“Maybe, but usually do things on my own,” James replied.
“The way I see it James, you won’t stay free for long. Not without a master to lay claim to you,” said Razor. “You will be caught very quickly.”
James looked at Razor as if the dragon had insulted him.
“I think not! Have you seen the news? I was involved in two car chases and I managed to escape! I think I know how to handle things.”
“So where is your car now? Those bay doors down stairs haven’t been opened in years,” said Razor.
“It’s wrecked. It got totaled in my last chase.”
Razor smirked and gave James a smart look. “There, see. You lost one of your best tools. With a car you could have left the city and lived in the countryside.”
“Hey if that cop hadn’t hit me I would have escaped,” James shot back.
“Well as much as I would like to keep talking about how you have epically failed we should really focus on getting some rest.”
James let out a yawn and looked out the window at the night sky.
“What time is it?”
“I would guess 10 PM,” Razor replied.
“Well I don’t have a bed like you so I guess I’ll find somewhere else to sleep,” said James standing up, turning to the door.”
“Hold up James,” Razor arose and walked to the door. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
Razor left the room and walked down the now dark hallway. James waited in the room for Razor to return, listening intently. He heard what sounded like something metal being moved and then heard the sound oh Razor’s claws tapping on the wooden floor as the dragon walked back to the room. When Razor appeared in the doorway he was carrying a metal bed frame and mattress.
“It maybe old and a little creaky, but it’s still good.”
James looked at Razor as he entered the room and set the bed down, rolling out some sheets and putting a pillow down on one end.
“Why are you doing this Razor? Why are you being so nice to me?”
Razor looked at James and smiled.
“Because I’ve never thought about treating others poorly or being selfish,” Razor replied.
“Well thank you Razor.”
James lay down on the bed and curled up under the covers as Razor turned out the light. Razor looked at James and smiled before climbing into his bed, listening to the sound of the fire cracking in the fireplace.
(To be continued)
