Hi again guys! First off, I wanna thank you guys for the faves and reviews, I really appreciate them and it helps greatly in keeping my motivation up to continue writing, so keep them coming. :) Notably, some things in this story are going to be a little different from Elite Shade's work, but I hope you guys, especially fans of The Door/Keyhole, will enjoy and appreciate it all the same. Anyway, onwards to chapter 2 of Eli's story, where things start to get a bit more interesting...
Eli woke up at 10 am. Dressing for the day in casual clothes, blue jeans and a lighter blue denim shirt with sleeves rolled up till his elbows, he made his way downstairs where he wasn't surprised to see his parents weren't there, having left earlier for work. While making himself a quick breakfast, he noticed a note on the fridge left by his mother asking him to buy a few groceries and other things for the house. Since Eli was unemployed, Judy and Nick would often ask him to fetch things or do chores and other tasks to help around the house, which he was happy to do, partly because it kept him occupied, and partly because he didn't want to be a useless burden on his parents, not that they would ever consider him such.
Eli didn't have anything else planned for the day, and he knew the trip to the supermarket wouldn't take too long, which gave him some time to have some fun and head to one of his 'special places'. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. Once finished with breakfast, he left home and walked to the nearest subway station, taking a train to Savannah Central. Once at his destination, he took a look around and enjoyed the living world around him. Much to Eli's fortune, at this time of day the streets were not as crowded as they usually were since most mammals were at work or school.
"Okay, now to find a nice, empty alleyway…"
A little bit of searching yielded what he was looking for. Eli entered the unoccupied alley and took one last look around him to make sure no one was around to watch, then faced the building at the end of the alley and readied himself. Immediately he broke into a sprint, running straight at the wall, but instead of crashing into it, he skillfully changed direction upwards, running a good ways up the wall, high enough to grab the window sill of the lowest window. Using the sill, he pulled himself up and climbed higher using the window frame and other gaps and cracks between the bricks that made the structure, until he could reach the sill of the window on the next floor, then climbing that until he reached the next floor window and so on, swiftly scaling the side of the building in fluid movements until he reached the roof. Now above street level, he took a deep breath of the cleaner air above the ground, feeling a rush of a very different kind of freedom and liberty that he could not feel when around others. Below, he was restricted by where others told him he could go and the paths were already set. Up here, however, he could make his own paths.
Peeking off the opposite edge of the roof, he could see the street below, with the various mammals walking about their business, none of them aware of the observer. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of superiority being above them like this. Scanning towards the center of the city, he found his target destination, then looked at the buildings around him to form a path to it. A nearby wire provided a way to cross the street, connecting his building and the one across. Eli had learned earlier that the wires were well insulated, thick and sturdy enough to carry his weight, and keeping his balance, he swiftly walked across to the other side. Most of the buildings in Savannah Central were very close to each other, and so did not produce any serious obstacles that Eli couldn't navigate as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, sprinting in between to gain the necessary momentum. Any buildings that were too far apart were reached by navigating using electrical poles, telephone poles, traffic lights, wires and trees. For higher buildings, he would merely jump to its side and latch onto a window frame or anything else he could grab onto, then climb up to its roof. In the sprawling urban environment, Eli's movements were as natural as a monkey in the trees. The intricate design of the city meant that almost anything could be used to navigate above street level. It only took someone to view the environment in that specific way.
Working his way up buildings that were getting taller and taller, he finally reached the roof of the tallest building in Savannah Central, located at the northeastern edge of the district next to downtown, where the skyscrapers truly started. This was one of his favorite spots to visit, perfect for some peace and quiet, to think or relax, or just to enjoy the unobstructed view of Savannah Central as Eli was doing right now as he sat on the edge of the roof. It still amazed him how easy it was to make his way here compared to when he first started doing this.
At age fourteen, Eli had gained an interest in climbing after being taught basic climbing during his time as a Ranger Scout. Even in his free time, he would practice alone, starting with simple obstacles and fences, then graduating to walls and other higher, larger obstacles. More than once he had ended up with injuries, the boy having to conjure up various excuses for his parents ranging from falling off his bike to an encounter with a bully and various other sports related accidents. Eventually his interest in climbing evolved into a fascination with freerunning, and with years of practice, he was able to scale buildings and traverse obstacles in a manner and with speed that no other mammal his size could. Of course, being human was a major factor here, as having extra digits and his natural body form gave him an edge here. Unfortunately he realized he had to keep his skill a secret from others, especially his parents. He knew how protective they were of him, even at this age, and his mother in particular would have a heart attack if she found out about his dangerous pastime. They had been worrying for his wellbeing ever since they adopted him. The last thing he wanted was to add another worry to the list.
DING!
Eli's phone chimed in his pocket, pulling him out of his train of thoughts. One look at the screen brought a smile to his face. It was a message from Big Mike, his long time mouse friend.
"Hey Eli! Me and Isaac just got extended lunch breaks today. Wanna hang out at our usual place?"
"Sure, love to! Be there in 20." Eli typed back.
Stowing away his phone, he spent a few moments taking a last look at the breathtaking view before descending down the side of the building to reach the next one, roofhopping to his destination.
Eli peeked out of the entrance to the alleyway he had scaled down to street level in. Satisfied that no one had seen him coming down, he walked out and joined the pedestrians on the sidewalk. It was a short walk to the nearby Snarlbucks, the designated 'usual place' as it was near to both Isaac's and Mike's workplaces. Entering the establishment, he looked around at all the tables, but didn't see his two friends. Looks like they hadn't arrived yet, so he took the initiative and found a table for the three of them next to the window with a view of the street outside. He didn't have to wait long, for shortly afterwards a coyote with the unmistakable figure of a mouse on his head entered the café. They scanned the place before spotting Eli already sitting at a table, waving them over.
"You know, for once I'd like to see you guys sitting here first." Eli joked, bringing the smaller coyote in for a friendly hug who returned it with happy wags of his tail. Mike on the other hand had to make do with a very careful pawshake with Eli's much larger hand instead as the size difference made hugging impractical.
"Sorry for the wait. Getting out of office during lunchbreak pretty much means trudging through a stampede." Isaac chuckled.
"Yeah, not to mention this goofball spent ten minutes trying to find me at our meeting place when I was just five feet away!" Mike chided as he stomped a hindpaw on Isaac's head which registered as little more than a tap for the coyote.
"Hey, it was crowded there! Its not that easy finding a mouse in a wildebeest herd you know!"
"If you had taken any longer, I'd have been a mushed up mousegum stuck under someone's hoof!"
Eli couldn't help but chuckle at their friendly bickering. Ever since youth the two always had been a comedic duo. The man offered Mike his hand to jump onto, transporting him to the table as they all sat down. An otter waiter arrived with menus to take their orders. After deciding their meals they returned the menus to the waiter who left to fetch their selections.
"So… been a while, hasn't it?" Eli started.
"Yeah, sorry about last week Eli. Things have been hectic at the office lately. Same as with Isaac." Mike explained, with Isaac nodding. "They got us working on a new operating system and the launch date is approaching fast, but theres still a lot of bug fixing and testing to be done. So you can imagine what they're putting us through."
Mike continued discussing the details of his work. The mouse had graduated as a software engineer, though also indulged in hacking as a side hobby, and shortly afterwards had found employment as a programmer with a major software company.
"Things aren't much different over at ZTECH. Theres been an increase in the demand of products and so they've got us working extra. But rumor has it that things are gonna cool down this week." Isaac added cheerfully, his face lighting up as though he remembered something. "Speaking of ZTECH, how'd the interview go yesterday?" he brightened up, his tail wagging in excitement.
"Not bad, but I didn't quite cut it. They were looking for guys with more experience."
"Really? A damn shame. Sorry to hear that buddy, we were really rooting for ya." Mike consoled, walking over to pat Eli's hand on the table.
"Yeah, me and the guys even had bets on whether you'd make it or not, heh… OW!" Isaac recoiled his paw and looked over to see that Mike had jabbed it with a toothpick from the nearby dispenser.
"That's not helping Isaac." He admonished. "Anyway, don't give up hope. New positions tend to open up at random. You're bound to find one elsewhere. We'll help keep a lookout for any opportunities too, and we'll let you know as soon as we find one!" Mike promised.
"You can count on us Eli." Isaac added.
"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. You're the best!"
It wasn't long after that their food arrived and the three dug in. The remainder of their time together was spent catching up with each other's lives, and eventually moving on to reminiscing about the good ol' days of their youth and all the fun they had, their time in the Ranger Scouts, their time in school, college and university. Mike and Isaac landed on the subject of one memorable event that all three had been present to witness back in high school, and had inadvertently become participants to. Eli remembered it all too well. Even though things had ended on good terms, that was not exactly one of his best days…
Five years ago…
"Did you know the answer to question twelve?" Isaac asked Mike, who was sitting on the coyote's head.
"Yeah, it was Moment equals Force times Distance."
"Darn, I got that one wrong!" Isaac cringed. "I hope that was the only one."
"What about you Eli? How'd yours go?" Mike asked the sixteen-year-old human accompanying them. The three teens were walking down the hallway to their lockers after just having finished with a surprise test.
"It was… okay, I guess. I'm pretty sure I might've scored enough to pass."
"Well I can already tell you guys I've aced it!" Mike confidently announced, much to Isaac's annoyance and Eli's amusement. Then again, as one of the smarter kids in class, he probably wasn't bluffing.
"Showoff." Isaac muttered as the three rounded the corner, and immediately froze when their eyes landed on the scene before them. Further down the hallway next to the lockers was a sturdy looking male elk apparently harassing a zebra student. Mason was a well known bully, feared by many medium and small sized mammals, and most tended to stay clear of him unless they wanted trouble. Even now, most students were avoiding the hallway they were in, except for a few who had no choice but to enter for whatever reason, and even then they made extra sure not to go close or even so much as look in his general direction.
"Come on guys, lets hang elsewhere. We'll come back later when its safer." Mike suggested. He and Isaac were turning to leave, but Eli noticed something peculiar about the bully's victim.
"Hey wait, isn't that… Lyla?!"
The mouse and coyote turned back and took another good look. "Hey you're right, it is her!" Mike realized.
It seemed Mason had taken a liking to the pretty zebra girl and was harassing her, probably forcing her into a relationship, but Lyla was having none of it, visibly expressing her disgust at his advances. Because of his shy demeanor, Eli was never one for confrontations, and would have happily left the hallway if it hadn't been Lyla there, but his concern for her wellbeing surpassed his fear of the bully, and he took a step in their direction before he felt someone grabbing and stopping him from behind.
"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?! Are you crazy?! He'll tear you apart!" whined Isaac as he clutched onto and restrained his human friend.
"Hey, Lyla's my friend too! I'm not gonna just stand here and watch him push her around!"
"Trust me, she'll come out of it just fine in one piece! Its you we're worried about! You go in there and you're gonna end up as swiss cheese!" Mike tried to reason. The mouse had already hopped off Isaac's head onto the floor and was trying to hold Eli back by pulling on one of his shoelaces.
"Let me go!" Eli demanded and broke free of their grasp. Mike had to let go regardless or risk being flung off to the other end of the hallway when Eli took another step.
"What was I thinking?! What the hell do I do? What if he ends up pummeling me?" thought Eli, but it was already too late as before he knew it, he was standing before the elk.
"M-Mason, that's enough." he commanded after gathering all his courage. Lyla was visibly surprised when she saw him, although knowing Eli's nature, her expression changed to one of concern rather than relief. The elk regarded the human with an irritated look, not the least bit happy for his courtship session being interrupted.
"Well well, if it isn't our resident freak. Whats the matter? Looking to get your face even more messed up than it already is?"
"She clearly isn't interested, Mason. L-Leave her alone."
This only aggravated the elk even more, and the mammal directed his full attention towards Eli.
"Oh? And are you supposed to be the hero whos gonna save his damsel in distress? That's either pretty brave or pretty stupid of you. You'll turn the other way if you know whats good for you." He threatened, but Eli didn't budge, staring him down instead. He was trembling slightly, all sorts of alarm bells ringing in his head telling him he shouldn't be doing this, telling him to retreat. He was already fighting an internal battle with his shy, fearful side.
"Didn't you hear me? Beat it furless!" he barked, this time shoving the human teen hard enough that he fell over on his back.
"Mason stop! Don't hurt him!" Lyla interjected. She couldn't bear the thought of Eli getting into trouble because of her.
"You keep out of this!" he snarled. Eli saw as Lyla was shoved aside, slamming into the wall. Something sparked deep inside him, something he hadn't felt up until now, something he never thought he would feel. The beginnings of anger, rage and fury, building up inside him. His fists balled and teeth gritted. He immediately pushed himself onto his feet and charged at the elk, smashing into him shoulder first and sending the animal stumbling back, colliding into the drinking fountain further back. When Mason recovered, he was staring daggers at Eli.
"You just dug your own grave, Hopps!"
This was it! Eli knew there was no turning back now as he watched the elk approach, his adrenaline pumping and instincts kicking in as he prepared to defend himself. Unfortunately, he was no fighter, and couldn't save himself from the first punch Mason connected to his abdomen, followed by another right on his face. Getting hit was bad enough as is, but the elk's hard hooves seemed to pack even more of a punch! It was enough to force Eli back down on the ground.
"Bet you're wishing you had claws and fangs right now, aren't you? Well when I'm done with you, you won't even have a recognizable face!"
Mason loomed over Eli, ready to deliver his finishing blows when suddenly he yelped in pain. Seemingly out of nowhere, Isaac had pounced on the elk and bitten his torso from the side. At the same time, Mike scurried his way up to the elk's face and began assaulting it as best as he could, both of them rushing to their friend's aid. Of course, the animal was much too large for the two of them to take down, but it served its purpose in distracting him long enough for Eli to recover. By the time Mason had pushed Isaac away and brushed Mike off of his face, Eli already had a punch flying his way, landing straight at the elk's face, followed by another on his gut, then another and another. Mason managed to shrug off the final punch and countered with his own that impacted squarely on Eli's chest, but he was able to duck and dodge the next one intended for his face, countering with a few more that sent the elk stumbling back. An exhausted Eli himself reeled a few steps back towards the lockers.
"That's it! No more playing around!" Mason yelled in fury, charging full speed at Eli, this time with his antlers bared, the edges dangerously sharpened. Now Eli understood what Mike had meant about becoming 'swiss cheese'! Having no other means of defending himself, Eli looked around and noticed he was standing next to an elephant student's locker, one with a larger, sturdier door… and it was ajar! Quickly, he grabbed the door, picked his moment and flung it open as hard as he could. The heavy door impacted the head of the charging elk, stopping him in his tracks and collapsing on the floor. He stared back at Eli with a murderous look. It didn't look like he was ready to give up.
"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH! BREAK IT UP!" came a voice that turned all heads present at the scene. It was the Principal, and he did not look the least bit happy with the scene before him. Some of the students had taken notice of the fight going on and must have notified him about it. The audience that had gathered to watch quickly dispersed, leaving only Mason, Eli, Isaac, Mike and Lyla behind.
"Mason, this is the final straw! I have had it up to here with your delinquency! Your parents are going to hear about this! In fact, I'm going to notify ALL your parents about this! Mason, Isaac, Michael, Lyla: all of you march straight to my office right now! Eli!..." the hippopotamus began, before noticing the boy's condition. "…see yourself to the nurse first, then my office."
Mike and Isaac exchanged somber looks with Eli before following the principal, while Mason gave him a 'this isn't over yet' glare before doing the same, followed by Lyla who turned around to regard him with a remorseful look as she left Eli alone with his thoughts.
Some time later…
Eli looked at himself in the mirror positioned in front of the medical bed he sat on, only now able to see the damage done. His eye had blackened where Mason punched him. Lifting his shirt, he could see other bruises from various other blows, still painful to the touch. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any bleeding or anything more serious.
"Here you go. Just hold this on your eye. It should help with the swelling." Chimed the gazelle nurse as she brought an icepack for Eli's black eye.
"T-Thanks."
"So, your checkup is done and I didn't see anything of concern. You're very lucky you didn't get any broken bones. And don't worry about the bruises, they should heal soon. All the same, I'd avoid getting into fights in the future if I were you."
"I'll be more careful."
"Good. Now I have some work I need to finish up. I'll be in my office just over there in case you need anything. As soon as you feel well enough, head over to the Principal's office, he's expecting you."
"Will do, miss."
With that, she departed, leaving Eli to rest and recover. The boy kept thinking about what the Principal would say to him. More importantly, he mentioned calling his parents. Would he really do that? What would they say? The last thing he wanted was to disappoint them. How would he explain his actions? Would they believe him? The sound of the door opening caught Eli's attention, looking over to see it was Lyla, wearing the same concerned expression from before.
"Lyla? W-What are you doing here?"
"Hey Eli. Just came to see how you're doing." She gasped upon seeing his face. "Oh, your eye! Its not looking too good."
"Its just bruised. It'll get better, don't worry about it." He assured. It seemed to calm Lyla down a bit. "Didn't you get called to the Principal's office?"
"Yes. I already spoke with him. He's really mad about what happened. I explained the whole thing to him, and he's let me off with a warning, but he's already called Mason, Mike and Isaac's parents… and yours too." She finished grimly, the news sending a wave of dread through Eli's body.
"Eli… I'm so sorry… I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean for this to happen… I didn't mean to get you in trouble…"
"Its… not your fault Lyla. Mason shouldn't have bothered you like that."
"You know… you didn't have to do what you did. You got yourself and your friends hurt. It really wasn't necessary. Mason would have probably left me alone after a while."
"I… I just couldn't stand by and see him forcing himself onto you like that. M-Maybe if I hadn't come around, he might've done something worse…"
Lyla merely stood there, going over his words, staring at her unexpected savior, and a smile began forming on her lips.
"Well, in any case… thanks Eli…" she smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. The gesture left the boy stunned momentarily. By the time he regained awareness, he only caught a glimpse of Lyla's tail as she left the room.
"You're… youre welcome…" he said absentmindedly as he stared at the empty doorway, stroking his cheek where she left her gift, now reddened with blush.
Later…
Eli patiently waited as he sat on the bench in the empty waiting room, occasionally looking over at the nearby door with the frosted glass window. The letters on the window read 'Principal's Office'. Sounds of a conversation could be heard coming from the office beyond. The loudest voice was the principal's, besides which two other familiar voices were heard. It seemed like there was quite the heated debate going on in there, and it had been going for a while, even before Eli's arrival. The principal had already dealt with Mike, Isaac and Mason and their parents, and now it was Eli's turn. A while later, the door opened.
"Yes sir, don't worry. It won't happen again." Judy called back as she left the office.
"It certainly wouldn't if you didn't enroll jerks in the school in the first place." Nick criticized snarkily, shutting the door behind him. Both the fox and the rabbit were in uniform, having been called while at work. Luckily they were not on patrol, but it still didn't make it any easier to ask the chief's permission to come here. In a rare occurrence, as soon as his eyes lay on the waiting Eli, particularly his injury, Nick's expression dropped to a genuinely deeply concerned one, while on the other hand the color on Judy's face drained as she gasped and covered her mouth with her paws. It looked like she was about to scream.
"Uh… heh… h-hi mom… dad…" Eli smiled sheepishly, the guilt plainly visible beneath it.
"OH MY GOSH! ELI! YOUR EYE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Judy rushed over to her kit, hopping onto the bench beside him and turning his head to face her so she could examine his injury. She pulled out her handkerchief and licked it to dampen it a bit before dabbing it on Eli's black eye.
"I'm… I'm okay mom, don't worry. Its just a bruise."
"Just a bruise? JUST A BRUISE?! You're lucky its only a bruise! It could have been a lot worse! Eli, honey, what were you thinking picking a fight just like that?!"
"I didn't start it mom! A friend of mine was in trouble, and I had to help her out!"
"You should have just called a teacher or the principal!"
"But… but I…"
"No excuses Eli! The principal has been kind enough to give you the rest of the day off to recover. We're gonna drive you home and then we have to report back to the station. Now come on." She finished sternly, stepping off the bench and marching out of the room.
"You sure you're okay buddy?" Nick asked as he walked up to his son, who nodded in response. "Well, don't take it too hard, your mother's just worried about you. Frankly, seeing that eye of yours had me worried too." He patted Eli's knee, the two of them eventually following after Judy.
"I heard you gave that Mason guy a clobbering?"
"W-Well… I tried."
"I saw him leaving the principal's office just before we went in. Looked like you did quite a number on him. Thats pretty impressive! Didn't know you had it in ya." Nick nudged the boy's thigh with an elbow, attempting to lighten the mood. Eli shyly looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.
The drive home was uneventful. There was an unusual silence in the cruiser. Neither Eli nor Nick said anything for fear of angering Judy more. Now that Eli thought about it, he couldn't recall seeing his mother this upset before, especially at him. As soon as Judy cruised into the driveway of their home, Eli gathered his things, opened the car door, stepped out and made his way to the front door.
"Eli, wait!" Judy called out from behind. Eli looked back to see her stepping out of the car and coming over to him. She gestured for Eli to kneel, which he obediently did, after which she stepped up and hugged him tightly for a few moments, followed by a kiss on his forehead.
"Sweetie… I'm sorry for scolding you earlier. I was just so worried about you. When I heard you had been involved in a fight, I was so afraid that you might be seriously hurt, and I couldn't bear the thought. I guess I overreacted a bit."
"No, I understand mom. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to make you worried about me. I'll be more careful from now on."
Judy smiled at this and hugged her kit again before letting him stand up. "Feel better?"
"Mmhmm!" Eli responded with a nod and a smile before being startled by a noise coming from the direction of the cruiser.
*CLICK* "There, that looks like it'll be worthy of the family album, dontcha think?" Nick grinned, examining the picture he had just taken with his phone.
Okay, so this chapter is a bit long, but I couldn't find any way to shorten it without making it feel incomplete. Hopefully its not too overwhelming for you guys. Anyway, see you again in the next chapter!
