Chapter 3: Nightmares

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Moving Along Chapter 3: Nightmares

A/N: Decided Atticus is gonna be a lot more dorky than ever before! Hope you enjoy!!

I sat in the back of the car with a wandering expression on my face. As I looked out the window, I thought about all the friends I'd left behind. Seeing their sad expressions while I drove further away from them still stayed in my mind a couple days into our move. I let out a long sigh.

"Oh, cheer up honey, it'll only be a year and then we can go back to our old house," My mom reassured me from the passenger seat. She had long black hair and stunning dark blue eyes.

"Yeah and in the meantime, I'm going to be stuck in a school where everyone already knows each other," I grumbled to the back of her seat. "Hard enough making friends, now I gotta do it in the middle of the school year.

"You'll make some new friends," My mother tried to reassure me.

"Your mother's right, Atticus," my dad added from the driver's side. He was an above average looking man with light Brown hair and gray eyes. "This is an opportunity for new experiences."

"I don't want new friends or experiences," I retorted. "Why do we even have to move?"

"Atticus, we've been over this. Your father got a wonderful opportunity that he had to relocate for," She explained in a short tone. "He'll be making a lot more money for us to live comfortably."

"Were we not making enough money before?" I snapped in an irritated tone.

"We needed more," dad said it like it was so obvious.

"For what?!" I demanded. "It's not like we were hurting for money!! Home's paid off, food's on the table, and you've still got me taking piano lessons!! Oh I'm sorry, you needed a down payment on your beach house we'll never end up using, my mistake." I slumped back in my seat, arms crossed.

"Don't take that tone with me young man!" Dad shouted, glaring over his shoulder at me. "Like it or not, we're staying here until I say otherwise you hear me?!"

"Oh please, don't even act like any of this has to do with me or my behavior!!" I shouted back, the heat rising in my face. "You both couldn't give two shits about me or my feelings!! Stop pretending like you ever did to begin with-"

"Atticus I-" Mom began to say something when a sudden flash of light interrupted her.

It all happened so fast. One moment, she was looking into my eyes, the next a force smashed into us from the right side. During our argument, we hadn't seen the oncoming car that ran a stop light. It crashed right into us, sending our vehicle careening off the road and rolling down a ditch. Glass shards flew everywhere sticking into my stomach and chest. When the car stopped, I was hanging upside down.

"Mom? Dad? Are you okay?" I asked through a red haze in my eyes. No answer.

I unbuckled myself, falling down onto the roof of the car. My parents were still buckled in, so they were hanging from their seats. Their arms dangled from where they were suspended. All I could see was their backs to me, so I crawled over to them.

"Mom? Are yo-" My heart stopped when I saw her. A giant piece of the windshield had impaled her through her chest. Blood was streaming from the wound at an alarming rate. I looked away in shock and saw my dad with his head twisted at an unnatural angle. What had just- this wasn't happening. It was impossible. My heart was burning with an intensity I didn't recognize. "No.....No way......Mom......Dad..... You can't be."

I could hear blood dripping from my mom's body. Every drop I heard made me sink more and more into despair. I felt like I was going to drown in it. My breathing got heavier as the sound made me lose the last bit of my sanity.

"No, dammit, no!" I screamed out, tears coursing down my face. "This can't happen, it can't! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh-"

"Hhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!" I woke up screaming with my face drenched in tears. I didn't know where I was and I didn't know who I was. I only knew that this pain was unbearable.

I heard the door open to the left of me, but I paid no mind. I was still crying and holding myself, hoping beyond hope the pain would go away. I was grabbed by two arms, then was pulled into a gentle hug.

The warmth I was pressed against felt so familiar. It was almost like being held by a soft cloud.

"Mom?" I asked aloud since it was the only person I could think of with such a gentle touch.

"Sorry little buddy, but no it's just me." A soothing voice spoke to me. "Tell me what's wrong. Do you miss your home?"

"Who are you?" I asked in the midst of my hysteria. "Ziro-...oh right. No, it's about my home. It's my-...my parents I- I lost them years ago and-" before I knew it, I was rambling incoherently while the wolf just listened intently. I don't even know if he understood half of what I said, but when I finished, he held me closer.

"I'm so sorry, little buddy." He rubbed the top of my head again and somehow it worked wonders with calming me down. "It's alright, I'll stay and make those nightmares go away."

He laid back down with me and I didn't fight his embrace. Though it took awhile, I finally fell back asleep. The rest of the night, I slept like a log unlike most nights back when I was human. When daylight filled the room, I yawned and opened my eyes, a little confused as to why I was being cradled in my sleep. It only took me a second to remember the events that transpired. I yawned again and laid back down into Ziro's chest.

It was nice to hear him breathe in and out. It was so soothing that I drifted off into slumber once again.

When I finally woke up again, I was being prodded awake. I groaned and turned over only to be suddenly yanked of of bed.

"Wake up sleepy head, we gotta go do stuff!" Ziro yapped holding me up half dazed.

"*yawn* what kind of stuff?" I asked, trying to keep my footing.

"Like I said before, we can't just let you walk around Fur City without being registered! You didn't pop in with any form of identification!" He answered. "So I'm taking you to a guy I know who can make you a UFA citizen."

"How?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"Don't worry about it buddy," He replied, ruffling my fur. "You feel better since last night?"

I hesitated, looking away from him. In truth, the pain was still fresh. I'd always hated myself and felt guilty about the last things I said to them. The last words they ever heard was their son telling them they only pretended to care about him. Even though I deserved that from them, it hadn't been true. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

"That's alright," He reassured me, putting his paws on my shoulders. "It always takes a long time to heal and move on when bad things like that occur. Feeling that way is ok as long as you don't let it define you."

I looked up at him. His soft grey eyes told me everything I needed to know. Perhaps Ziro really did have my back. It'd been a while since I had someone to look after me. It was nice. After I got dressed in some black jeans and a grey t-shirt, Ziro led me to the garage.

I was surprised to see that he drove a car that looked an awful lot like a fully loaded Camaro only the chevron symbol was a dog?? I felt my jaw drop and I looked at Ziro who was grinning like a beast. No pun intended of course.

"What exactly do you do for living to pay for something like this?" I asked very curiously.

"Never mind that, just get in," He said with a devious grin. Now I was even more curious.

I sat in his padded car, which was comfortable enough to sink into. Ziro started the engine and man it purred like a dream. When we backed out of the garage, I looked out the passenger window and gasped.

"Welcome to FurCity, my friend," Ziro smiled.

A/N: Troll powers activate and end this chapter! Nah but really I always have to stop myself otherwise I be making extremely long chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and vote to keep this book alive! Archer out!

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