The Escapist

The floor beneath my paws is stone cold and chilling the fur under my body. The chains wrapped around my neck and bolted to the wall tell me every morning when I wake up, I am not home. No matter how much I dream I am in Kate's embrace at home. I am never going back home and she won't be finding me here. I am going to die here alone and no one will ever know what happened to me. No faces come into the light. Always dark when a small piece of meat comes slapping on the ground, new bucket of water sliding in (just enough to keep me alive) and clean up my mess.

Growling, showing teeth and barking doesn't do any good. The human is not intimidated by me. Matter of fact the man claims to own me; his pet on display in this prison. Showing me off to other humans through the bars; still hidden in the dark. Though I could tell some were actual children from their size staring at me. Again, nothing I do can make this human free me so after a long time of believing if I stay strong, the human will be in my jaws and be forced to let me go. But no... the human has stripped me of my pride, my sprinkle of bravery, what makes me a wolf and worst of all: my hope.

It sucks but I see no way of being free. One night after biting at the chain binding me, clawing at the bolts, scratching at the stone walls, I knew there was no point of going on. I stopped eating and drinking, becoming parched and starved, my ribs were visible on my body. Death was coming for me soon but before I went, I knew I couldn't have it ending without saying goodbye. Though Kate could have been 250 thousand miles away for all I knew. So the only way I could do it was the same way I coudn't see her in my early youth. I made a wish and went to see her in my dreams.

"Kate... we had some good times didn't we?" I spoke, nearing tears just as I started speaking. "Sometimes good and sometimes bad."

"We have," replied Kate, nodding her head. "And there will be many more when you come home."

I sadly shook my head. "No... I'm never getting out of here. It's why I brought you here tonight," I said motioning around the cell.

"What are you saying?" asked Kate, her face holding a shade of sorrow. "I'll always love you no matter where you are. Just hold on!"

"I want you to forget about me, Kate," I said clearly, tears now coming out of my eyes. "You can't love me when I no longer exist. I'm going to die here... forget about me."

"If this is real and you're not coming home, then I don't want to know!" Kate cried.

"I'm sorry."

Kate reached out a paw to my muzzle but I turned away from it and stepped away. Chain dragging across the floor behind me, I went to the corner of the room and laid down with my back behind her. Believing it was for the best that I didn't look back at her. That didn't stop me from hurting so badly. How much I loved her and was going to miss her... Goodbye Kate. Suddenly the sound of a door opening and shutting brought me back to reality.

I woke up finding myself in the same corner, hearing footsteps coming down, I knew it was the human again. He appeared in front of the bars and in the dark as always, I knew he was looking at me. Passing by the cell for a moment, to go and open another door but didn't hear being closed, he came back. Opening the door to the cell, he began whistling and that's when I noticed he had a shotgun in his hand. I don't have to be an Alpha to know what was coming. Due to starving myself, my body was hard to look at. Not something a human would show to their friends. I don't know where it came from or maybe resurrected at the sight of the gun, I instinctively growled as I got to my feet. Staying in the corner with my fur raised on my back, I wasn't thinking about anything else but that gun.

That's when he pointed the gun towards me and told me this... BANG!

I did it... I escaped.