It was very nearly midnight and most everyone in the neighborhood was asleep, as Henry Stokes, a stocky gray hyena, broke into someone's house and stole everything valuable he could find. He had been robbing houses all night, it seemed. He was exhausted. He hurried out the back door, where his friend Jayson was nervously waiting for him. Jayson was a dhole, a bit shorter than henry. He had bright orange fur like a fox except for his white belly, and his black snout and tail. He was wearing a purple tee shirt and tan cargo shorts. "Let's get out of here." Jayson's voice was barely a whisper. They could not afford to get caught. They traveled silently back to their home, a beat up camper parked in an alleyway between two buildings. They went inside and lit a few candles. They didn't have electricity, they couldn't afford electricity. The candles lit up the camper's yellow walls, revealing a few pictures and a mirror. It was almost cheerful, but neither of them noticed. They were too busy counting the money they had stolen. "Henry, we don't have enough," Jayson looked up and said, with worry in his voice. "Shoot. I have to go get more. If we don't have Big's money by tomorrow, we're dead," Henry replied. "You stay here and get some sleep. I'll be back before sunrise."
"Okay, but be careful, Hank." Jayson called Henry Hank when he was worried or excited about something. "I'll be fine, see you later. Get some sleep!" Henry exited the vehicle and made his way to a random neighborhood. He walked up to the first house and looked in. A huge bear was sleeping on a couch in front of a TV. "No thanks," Henry muttered to himself. "I choose life." He walked over to the next house. It looked like no one was home. He tried the front door, but it was locked. He went around the back. The back door was locked as well. He started to look around the house. "Aha. Looks like somebody forgot to close the window." Henry pushed the window all the way open, and pulled himself through it. He stepped down to the floor, pulled out a flashlight, and turned it on. He started to look around the kitchen he was in. There was a really expensive-looking gold watch sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink. He put it in his pocket. "Jackpot!" Henry said to himself with excitement. His excitement quickly turned to fear as he heard footsteps descending the stairs. Henry clicked his flashlight off and stood very still.
"Hello? Who's there? I know I heard someone down here."
Henry held his breath as the light in the other room was turned on. He turned toward the window he came through. If he could just get to it without making any noise…
Henry jumped and whirled around as the kitchen light was turned on. Standing almost directly behind him was a huge brown wolf, almost two feet taller than him. A wolf that didn't look too pleased.
"Who the heck are you!?" The wolf growled at Henry.
Henry didn't know what to do. He had never been in this situation before. He decided to back up to the window.
"Where do you think you're going?" The wolf stepped closer to him and grabbed his arm. He started to panic. Fight or flight. His body was screaming at him to do something. Too late, the wolf had started calling the police. "Wait!" Henry yelled frantically. He wrenched out of the wolf's grip and tackled him to the floor. The phone slid away a few feet. "Get off me, you crazy savage!"
The wolf was a lot stronger than Henry and after a minute of wrestling on the floor, he managed to flip on top of him and pin him to the floor. He grabbed the phone and started to call the police again. Disabled and exhausted, Henry only had one thing left he could do. He bit down on the wolf's arm. Hard. The wolf yelped in surprise and Henry forced him off and stood up. The wolf dropped his phone and stood up. He opened a drawer and pulled out a fox taser. Henry froze. "Back up. Don't make me use this thing on you."
The wolf moved forward slowly. Henry backed up. He was getting close to the window now. He thought about jumping through it and running, but the wolf saw him looking at it and moved between the window and Henry.
"Come on! I have to get out of here." Henry pleaded.
"No way! What if you took something? I'm not just gonna let you leave!"
Henry was frantic. He knew Jayson wouldn't be able to defend himself if Big went there and he didn't pay. He had to get around this wolf.
"Just get out of my way."
"Not gonna happen!"
Henry charged forward and the wolf pushed the taser into his gut. Henry fell to the floor and the wolf was on top of him again instantly. The wolf made a move to call the police.
"Hold on! Just listen to me. Please!"
The wolf stopped. "Alright, I'm listening. But don't try anything, or I'll bite you back."
"If I don't get back to my friend Jayson, there's no telling what they'll do to him."
"Who's they?"
"Jayson and me got into some trouble with a bad guy. We were supposed to pay him some money and we didn't and now he'll probably send some guys after us, only I'm not there and Jayson's gonna be completely outnumbered. You gotta let me go! Please. Jayson needs me."
"... Okay." The wolf shrugged.
"What, really?"
"But I'm coming with you. If you're lying about this, I'll turn you in to the police."
Henry grunted. Whatever, the more the merrier. Maybe this wolf could even help him out. Don't know how much use a wolf is against a bunch of polar bears though.
The wolf pulled Henry up off the ground. "My name is Kyle."
"… Henry." This is probably the weirdest way I've ever met someone, Henry thought.
"Nice to meet you, Henry. Well, considering the circumstances."