Story - The Other
By - ©Sonik L. Fox
Date - 8/99
Rated - PG-13
About: This story is about a fox named, yeah you guessed it, Sonik. He starts off with a bad day and it gets worse.         Everything turns out in the end though.
 

Part 1
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     Just another normal day, however you like to define normal. Things have finally started to calm down after a hot and busy summer. It is always the summer where you're mind takes over and you change either a little or a lot.

     Foxes, like me are no big deal. The others always look at me with a small glimmer of contempt in their eyes. Especially those dumb rabbits. I have never had any anger toward them, but they still remember the old time, the old time...

 "Dude, don't you have to go to work or something?" Came a voice from the other room.

     I jumped out of bed, I forgot about the time! My pal Gref was the one who called this warning. Nice guy, even for a malamute. Quickly, I grabbed some clothes and ran out the door. Running by Gref, I quickly said good morning and ran out the door. I was moving so fast that I forgot I had a cup of coffee already in my hand.

     Jumped in the car, put the coffee down, put the key in, and turn. The car turned over but after the loud bang that followed the car stopped running. Well, this is great! The picky people at work are not going to be happy with my tardiness. The car was smoking and I didn't know how I was going get to work. Gref's car was in the shop and he worked in the afternoon. Darn! The only other thing for me to do is walk, I guess three miles isn't too bad. Then a loud boom of thunder sounded all around, the sound wave pounding my fur like a gust of wind. I jumped. Scratch the idea out of walking...

     My friend that works with me is always late; maybe she hasn't left yet. Thinking this, I ran back inside the moderate size apartment to call her.

     "Have'n a little trouble there pal?" Said Gref as he bit into one of those disgusting toaster pastries.

     "Don't ask." I said, and then dialing the cat's number.

     The cat I was calling was nice. A little on the 'dark' side, but nice. Always annoying me with sarcastic humor but always worried about hurting my feelings. My feelings have been broken to so many pieces my emotions can not be broken like that anymore. She always talked about what a nice fox I was. She had the hots for me and I thought that that was cool.

     "Hello?" She answered. She was home!
     "Yeah, hey Nieja. How are you? Well anyway, I'm stuck without a car and was wondering if I could catch a ride from you today to, uh, work." I said, still a little tired.
     "Sure, Sonik, that would be all right, I guess. We can be late together." Nieja replied.
     "Okay, you know where I live, see ya then!" I ended with the exchange of good-byes and now I got to sit back and relax for a second to wait for Nieja to arrive.

     "Don't drink you're coffee that fast! You'll be shaking like a leaf and dropping stuff." Gerf looked over his magazine to rebuke me.
     "Sheesh. By the way things are going so far this morning, I'm gonna need this coffee in my system as soon as possible." I said and leaned my elbow on the table.
     "I talked to Nieja last night when it got slow at work." Gerf mentioned quietly as if something was up. "She said something about having something really important to tell you." Gerf added."
     "Something serious to tell me, huh? hmmm." Now I knew that Gerf never joked around with me this way so I knew he wasn't trying to pull my leg. "Okay, well I hope it is nothing too bad."
     "I tried to get something out of her, but she wouldn't tell me." Gerf said.
     "Wait, how did you talk to her last night?" I asked curiously.
     "She called me dude. She was saying a lot of weird cryptic junk." Gerf said, "Be careful, dude, she always has given me the chills. Something is not right here." Gerf put down his magazine.
     "Oh, come on, she is perfectly harmless." I answered. "I know she has problems and all, but everything is fine. There she is now." I said as I glanced out the window.
     "Just, ya know, be careful." Gerf said sternly. "You are a really a nice guy, and well, she has something serious going on." Gerf said even more prominently.
     "Alright, alright. You worry too much." I said as I got up to go out the door. "I'll see ya later."

     I got in Nieja's car in the passenger side. She didn't look at me when I got in, she just looked forward in a blank stare. Wait a second, she wasn't dressed in work clothes! She had on black vinyl pants, a leather trench coat, and big black boots.

     "What is going on here, are you okay?" I asked being a little worried.

     Just then I heard the automatic door locks activate.

     "Today, when I got up this morning. My parents and my two sisters were both dead. Why they spared me is a mystery. They left a note, damn crazy rodents...they..::sob:: just don't get it...did nothing.." She sobbed and I could tell she was trying to fight the tears. "All the blood, they were dead...just for being feline. Why? Can you tell me?!?!" She began to scream. "This world is hell. I am ending it...and I'm taking you with me."
     "Okay, I'm really sorry about what happened, but lets tal.." I was cut off.
     "No, you are way to nice to have to live. That call to Gref was about me going to ask you out...that was what I was going to tell you…I love you Sonik…so you are going with me whether you like it or not." She said nervously she did not know what she was saying.
     "Now, listen to me..." I tried to explain.
     "Shut Up!" She screamed.

     She quickly stopped and pulled over. I new I was in big trouble, this was not good. I grabbed for the door lock to get out the door. I unlocked it and tried the handle, the child lock was on! NO! This is not good. She then, quivering, pulled out a small handgun. My heart was pounding in fear, I gripped the seat belt tightly. Oh God, not like this.

     "I'm s...sorry Sonik." She said sobbing loudly.

     She pointed the gun to my head, right in the middle. I should have wrestled it out of her hands right there, but I still would have been shot. I was quaking all over, my ears pinned to my head. I was about to die for some insane purpose, no....Bang...my eyes immediently went blurry. A loud ringing sound drowned all noise. Was like sweat, red sweat running down the front of my face down the muzzle. I felt extremely dizzy. I saw Nieja put the gun to her head, saw her pull the trigger. Too much noise to here the gun. ToO mUcH NoIsE, mAkE iT sToP! Everything faded out, couldn't feel myself fall to the seat on top of the grief crazed feline. Couldn't feel myself, was I moving? I feel like I'm falling....
 

Part 2
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     Everything was blackened, I could hear, feel, and see, nothing. I was a nice and good fox all my life, I guess I'm going to heaven now. I hit the ground, it was concrete. Ouch! I thought you couldn't feel pain after you died. Along with the pain of hitting the ground I had an unbearable headache. The whole in my head was gone.

     I lay there for a few minutes, then I decided to get up. I looked around but all I could see was a flickering light in the distance. It looked like fire. I walked toward it. When I got up to it I found out that it was a torch hanging on a stone wall. The stone wall was green with algea and lichen. The smell was starting to enter. It was damp, disgusting, and rotting smell.

     Wait a minute, heaven does not have complete darkness and rancid smell. I swallowed hard and began to fear. I was now more scared then when Nieja pulled out the gun. Poor girl, If she only would have listened to me. This is not heaven, and if it's not heaven then….

     A distant bellowing scream came from the distance. Oh, no. All the times I thought that I could get to heaven without God. I was so stupid. I should have listened to Gerf. He was a Christian and he always invited me to church on Sunday, why didn't I listen to him and go?! Oh God, please! I walked around aimlessly around the torch. The wall was moving, breathing. The mere sight of a wall breathing would make anyone run in the other direction and that is what I did.

     The lighting was now a little better where I could see now.  I looked up. I was now in a large room with a cathedral like ceiling that was really high. There were paintings on the top but they were too grotesque and dim to make out.  Huge pillars jetted up around me. It was also becoming warmer and warmer. Then I began to hear whispers, they grew louder and louder. It was driving me crazy. NO! I fell to my knees with my paws covering my ears. This couldn't be happening.

     Under me, the ground began to get softer and softer. I soon began to sink into the ground like quicksand. The heat was growing more and more now also. Just before the fur on my body began to singe I felt a paw grab mine which was now held high above my head in desperation. I was pulled out. Now I was back in the big room. There was someone here with me.

     "Sonik, you don't deserve to be here." Said the voice that sounded so familiar.

     I looked around to see a good friend who died of cancer a year earlier. I was surprised I even recognized him. His fur was almost burnt completely off. Scratches and scabs covered his body. This once beautiful brown bear was now an overgrown chihuahua.

     "Help me, how do I get out of here?" I asked in desperation.
     "Do you know where you are?" He asked a question in reply.
      "Sure I do." I said back, I wasn't stupid.
     "Then you should know that there is no way out. You are going to be here a very long time." He said sadly.  Pausing, he began, "Unless a miracle happens."
     "What kind of miracle?"
     "I've seen some mysteriously fade out, like they are returning to their body." He said. "This place is darkened, it's evil, nothing but pain and suffering…if only you could go back and warn others." He then said as he put his paw on my shoulder.
     "I am glad to see you again, though." I said, I didn't know what to say. I was dead, now I was going to rot in hell. What can you talk about without feeling worse then you already are.

     "Sonik?" Came a voice. A voice like it was coming from far off in the distance.

     "Did you hear that?" I asked my bear friend.
     "Hear what? There is a lot of strange stuff to hear around here." He said looking around.
     "It sounded a little like…"

    "Sonik, can you here me?" Came the voice again.

     "I heard it again!" I said staring at the bear.
     "What was it?" He asked
     "It sounded a little like Gerf, you know, the malamute." I said
     "You're fading!" He yelled in excitement. "Don't forget what I said."

     Before I could say another word the whole cathedral-like room burst with fiery light. Loud and chilling screams echoed all around. Demons and other strange creatures came running at me from all sides. There was no way I could get away. The first one came up, pushed the poor bear away, and punched me right on the muzzle. It almost knocked me over. How could a blow like that come from a skinny, ugly, red skinned, thing like that? Another demon jumped on my back, bit down on my ear and ripped it right off. The pain was overbearing. I fell to the ground. Two demons came up and worked on trying to take my tail off. While all this was going on I kept hearing Gerf in the background. The same time that was going on I was struggling like crazy to try to get the evil minions off of me. They knew that I was leaving, they wanted to keep me there.

     A large demon came up with large claws and cut my stomach open. I felt really sick. Just before I had the awful feeling of my intestines in my paws everything whited out. The pain was the worst I ever felt for one moment and the next moment I was laying in a hospital bed looking up at Gerf.

     My head was still hurting but it was like a paper cut compared to what just happened to me. There were bandages all over my head and I felt very confused. I knew one thing, I was extremely fortunate.

     "I can't believe it, dude. It's a miracle." Gerf said softly as he looked at me with his big caring blue eyes.

     I burst out in tears and hugged Gerf like I never hugged anyone before. Anyone would be happy to see anyone after being in hell. I cried the loudest I ever cried. Not because I was hurting, but because I was so happy to be gone from the place I was. The whole thought of being there the rest of eternity was now erased. I was free!

     "Gerf, I owe you a great big apology. You were right all along." I said barely able to get all the words out.
     "Everything is all right now, man. The doctors said it missed both parts of your brain by a hair." Gerf said as he began to let tears fall. "You are going to be fine, now get some rest."

     I nodded my head and laid myself down on the warm, white, fluffy pillow. Then I said a little prayer to God.