As he approached the door, an angry growl coming from the darkest part of the alley caught his attention. A moment later Leroy stepped into the light. His ears were laying flat against his head and razor sharp teeth were exposed. Leroy was a dog furry, half man/half dog, a German Shepard to be exact. Not to mention the leader of a local gang of hoodlums.
�My sources tell me that you ratted my gang out to the cops.� Leroy growled.
�Honest law abiding furs have enough trouble being accepted into human society without punks like you robbing their homes in the middle of the night!� Ken shouted, although robbery was not what he turned Leroy�s gang in for.
�My sources say you squealed about the Juraski job, not some petty thefts. Well you little pussy you won�t have to worry about stuff like that anymore.� Leroy responded and popped out his razor sharp claws.
As Ken turned around and made a dash for the street, a sharp bolt of pain and a warm wet sensation ran down his back. But this only caused him to run faster down the abandoned streets of the small suburb. The pale moon and dim streetlight made it hard to tell where he was going. But all that mattered to him was staying ahead of Leroy.
Then up ahead a dark tree line appeared. As he approached the warning signs, informing citizens that the tree line is the start of macro territory, Ken quickly weighed his options.
He heard stories from those who claimed to visit and return from macro territory, although most who go there never return. They say it is just like anywhere else, only much bigger. Under the treaty, that separated macros from normals, if you enter macro territory you are fair game. However Ken knew that a macro would probably just crush him, a quick painless death. That was way more than he could wish for if Leroy caught him.
Ken dashed into the woods, and once a safe distance inside, stopped. The woods were dark and creepy. He could barely make out the trees much less anything else. The sounds of crickets chipping and owls hooting almost managed to drown out his pounding heartbeat. The underbrush cracked and snapped loudly under his paws as he moved around.
However the woods were not his primary concern at the moment. He gradually turned around and saw Leroy staring at him in the distance. Leroy stopped at the border and seemed to be trying to decide whether to cross it or not. Ken figured it would not be wise to stay behind and find out what Leroy decides, so he ran further into the woods.
After running for what seemed to be miles, he sat down for a rest. Ken was completely exhausted. It was time to take a rest. Hopefully if a macro came the tremors from its footfalls would wake him up.
Several hours later, the shattering sound of a flock of birds overhead woke him. Something scared them out of the trees. Then a loud whining in the distance caught his attention. It sounded like a wounded animal, but was louder than any animal he ever heard before.
The sky had turned from pitch black to a warm orange color. The sun would be up soon. The forest was now a mix of brown wood and dark green leaves. It was completely quiet, less the whining, and full of small animals.
As he struggled to make his way through the thick forest, Ken used his sensitive feline ears to follow the sound. It did not take long to reach the source. In a large open field was a macro.
Ken instinctively hid behind a tree at the edge of the field as his heart started to race. While trying to calm his nerves, he surveyed the scene. The macro was a giant cat furry. A beautiful female with dark gray fur and a silver streak that looked like it might run all the way down her back. A pair of shorts and t-shirt was all she was wearing. She was lying on her stomach in the middle of the field crying in pain, trying to reach for her left footpaw.
Ken�s heart was pounding frantically and his first impulse was to run away. However something deep down inside would not let him leave this magnificent creature here in pain. Since he was an EMT, helping those in need was his job. Besides he felt morally obligated to help if he could.
Carefully he started to work his way along the tree line carefully to the injured paw. He did his best to stay quiet and concealed while moving slowly. Once there, it was obvious what had happened. There was a large sharp piece of brown wood sticking out of one of the pads on her paw. It was a branch from the cazolla tree. The branches of this tree have thorns that contain a potent toxin. But in this case it looked like half the branch got jammed in a couple of inches into the paw.
�Who�s there.� A weak voice cried out. �Please help me.�
A lump formed in his throat as guilt stared to set in again. He couldn�t just leave her here in pain if he could help. So he walked up to where she could see him, making sure to stay out of arm�s reach.
�You stepped on a cazolla branch.� Ken said softy.
�But I can�t move my legs.� The macro responded hysterically.
�It�s the toxin in the tree. It paralyzed the nerves in your legs. I can pull the branch out of you paw but it will take several hours for its effects to wear off.�
�Please get that thing out of my paw.� The macro begged.
�OK, just try not to move while I�m back there.�
Ken walked back to the macro�s paw and looked up at it. The branch was stuck in her heal and their was some blood coming from the wound. Cautiously he climbed onto the sole. Then, grasping the branch with both hands, he pulled it out quickly and threw it to the ground. The macro let out a painful roar that echoed throughout the forest and she jerked abruptly. He fell back onto her paw and sunk into its warm soft pads.
Recovering from the initial shock, Ken got up and took off his coat. The coat had four deep gashes in it from Leroy�s claws. He got down on his knees and used it wipe as much of the remaining poison as he could off of her paw. The wound quickly sealed itself up and within a few minutes the bleeding stopped. There was nothing to do now but wait.
Ken walked back up to the macro to report his progress. �The branch is out now. You aught to be alright in a few hours.� He then turned around and started to head back towards the woods.
�Wait, please don�t leave me alone.� The macro pleaded. �I promise I won�t hurt you.�
Ken looked back at her. Macros are large, powerful, godlike creatures. Seeing one beg like this was something totally foreign to him. He knew her injury would heal in a couple of hours. But if he was still their when it did, she may have him for dinner tonight.
Yet his damn conscious kept bothering him. Giant or not, this young woman was in pain and scared. It would be cruel just to leave her here like this. Also he knew if he went home now Leroy would be waiting for him.
�Alright I�ll stay with you.� Ken replied and walked up to her muzzle. He figured there was only one way to find out if she was going to keep her word, to put himself into arm�s reach.
�What is your name?� The macro asked.
�I�m Ken.�
�I�m Jennifer, but my friends call me Jenny.�
�It�s nice to meet you Jennifer.�
�You can call me Jenny.� She said and smiled warmly.
�Alright Jenny.� Ken replied. He was starting to feel just a bit more comfortable around her. Now within arm�s reach, she could have easily crushed or eaten him if she wanted to. But instead, within an hour, he found himself resting comfortably in the palm of her hand. She was very gentle with him and never did anything threatening.
Over the next few hours Ken and Jenny talked. Ken told her about his life as an EMT working on an ambulance. He also told her about his problems with Leroy, he felt it prudent to explain what he was doing in macro territory.
Jenny told him that she was a college student and this field was her favorite spot to in the woods. She also admitted to him reluctantly that he was not the first �Tiny fur� she met. Unfortunately macros consider normals to be little more than pests and she admitted to treating them as such. That little fact did not make him feel any more comfortable but at least she was honest with him.
Despite their pleasant conversation sometime during the evening Ken fell asleep in Jenny�s hand. When he woke up she was gone. He wanted to dismiss the whole thing as a dream, but it seemed so real.
However before he could give it a second thought, an unpleasant rumbling from his stomach grabbed his attention. Ken hadn�t eaten anything in the past two days and his hunger apparently caught up to him.
Leroy couldn�t still be waiting for him at the boarder. It was time to go home. He could stop by the police station on the way back and report Leroy�s assault.
Ken started walking through the familiar woods. Within a few hours he could see the boarder just over the horizon. He was almost there and Leroy was nowhere in sight. Home free�
�I didn�t think you would survive this long you little pussy!� A familiar voice howled.
Ken�s ears shot straight back as he slowly turned around. There was Leroy and two of his henchmen; both also dog furs, just a few yards away from him. Leroy popped out his claws and started to walk towards him, preparing to pounce at any moment. Ken closed his eyes and began to whimper in fear, there was nowhere left to run.
Ken couldn�t move, he was totally frozen with fear. Then the paw started to lift in the air. Leroy�s flattened remains stuck to the dark pads of its sole. It swung over the heads of the other two dog furs and hovered about a yard above them. They began to whine at the site of their former bosses devastated body as blood rained down on them.
�Take a good look at your boss boys. If either one of you ever touches Ken again, I�ll do this to you too.� A familiar voice growled from above. �Now get out of here!�
Ken finally found the courage to look up at the paw�s owner. She was smiling warmly down at him.
�Jenny?� He asked.
�I�m sorry I left you back there Ken. You were asleep and I had to let my roommate know where I was. She would have sent the police looking for me.�
�That�s alright. You saved my life. Thank you.�
�Just returning the favor.� She replied while scraping Leroy�s squashed remains on a nearby tree.
After she finished cleaning her paw off, Jenny gently picked Ken up in her hand. He closed his eyes as she began licking the built up dirt out of his fur.
�I�m sorry if I scared you Ken.�
�It�s alright, I�ll live. Well at least now I will.� He responded with a smile.
Jenny finished cleaning his fur and took him to the border. While still sitting in Jenny�s hand, Ken asked �Will I ever see you again?�
�Well you know where I�ll be if you want to visit. I�m usually there every Thursday evening.�
Ken smiled and said �Alright then, I�ll come and visit.�
�You better because I don�t think your people will like me rampaging thought the streets looking for you.�
They both laughed and Jenny put him down in the middle of the street. He waved goodbye to her and started walking back to his apartment.
On the way home, Ken got to thinking about recent events. Just a few days ago all Ken could hope for was a quick painless death, now his future seemed a lot brighter. And all of this because of one act of kindness he showed to an injured macro.
Please note: I would like to acknowledge the classic fable "Androcles" by Aesop. Although I wasn't aware of this fable when I wrote this story, it was brought to my attention that both stories have a similar theme.
Special thanks to Brahma who brought this to my attention and Mtanga who found the fable for me.
The artwork contained on this page is copyrighted to Cerberus and has been used with permission.