Chapter Eight

Three days before our scheduled return home, tragedy struck. The skies were clear of the clouds that dotted them the past few days, and the new snow on the ground glistened. It was the warmest it had been our entire vacation so Hiiro, Roland, and I stepped out of the hotel to take a walk around the city.

Duo was waiting for us as usual, but for some reason he seemed twitchy today. He kept looking around us, instead of playing with Hiiro. And more than once I could see shadows darting around in the alleys. At one point another Stray – this one with creamy hair, pale skin, and stormy grey eyes – barked sharply at us. Duo barked back just as sharply and the other Stray left.

"He says that's Solo's older blood brother." Roland said when Duo started chattering. We moved on and I pushed the thought of the mean-looking Stray out of my mind. Duo became more playful and the mood seemed to lighten.

We reached the usual turn around location – a coffee shop – and crossed the street. A chill shot down my spine as we stepped onto the curb and Duo tensed. A low growling sound resonated from the large alley. Hiiro tensed and his ears pinned. Beside me Roland froze.

A large, well-built Stray came into view. Dark hair hung limply in his face, which was riddled with scars, and torn ears were stuck foreword boldly. Cold yellow eyes met mine and fangs were bared. I took an involuntary step back. Duo began to chatter at the Stray, but his body was tense and seemed ready to spring.

I watched in mounting horror as the Stray snapped his jaws at Duo's chattering. Hiiro took up a fighting stance beside Duo, but I couldn't find it in me to tell him to back off. A quick glance around showed empty streets. Then Duo growled something and it all happened at once.

The Stray threw himself at Duo with a fierce snarl but was knocked out of the air by Hiiro, who had leapt from his spot beside Duo. I watched, frozen, as the two tumbled across the snow. Then I was hit from the side and crashed into the snow. Once I regained my breath I looked up to find Roland standing protectively in front of me, blocking me from a second Stray.

I was frozen, and could do nothing but watch as Roland engaged the new Stray in a savage fight. There were more growls and soon I noticed Duo also fighting a Stray, and several more were watching from the sidelines. They noticed me as well, but before they could move there was a howl.

I admit that by now I was terrified. The Stray from earlier, Duo's friend, had entered the fray along with several others. Blood, fur, cloth, and skin flew as the Strays battled around me. I edged over to one of the large garbage bins and made scrambled to the top.

The fight lasted no more than ten minutes, although it seemed like hours. Roland fell under the Stray he was fighting. Many more fell under their opponents. Hiiro had been pushed out of the way by Duo's friend, and was now battling a smaller Stray that fell seconds after I spotted them.

When it was over, Duo's friend stood over the one who had initially attacked. All fighting stopped, and four Strays took off into the alleys. The remaining Strays were either dead, injured too badly to walk, or part of the victorious pack.

As I recovered from the fright, the pack vanished into the alleys leaving Duo and Hiiro standing by Roland's body. Hiiro was weaving where he crouched, and had his head lowered. I could see blood dripping onto the snow. Duo wasn't much better off. And Roland….

I leapt down and shakily ran over to the trio. I fell to my knees beside Roland, breathing a sigh of relief when I noticed he was still alive and breathing. But he was injured badly. "Where's the nearest vet?" I gasped. Duo pointed shakily behind me. I scooped Roland into my arms and spun around.

I ran down the street as quickly as I could without hurting Roland further. I could hear Hiiro and Duo struggling behind me, but I couldn't slow down and didn't until I found the building labeled Vet.

I burst into the room, and must have startled the receptionist. She let out a screech before taking charge and leading me back to a clean room. The on duty vet rushed in seconds later and pushed me aside.

"What happened?" He asked harshly.

"We were walking…..some Strays attacked us…." I panted, dropping into the sole plastic chair.

"Damn Strays and their damn territory battles." The man cursed, using a wet cloth to clear the blood off Roland's chest and neck. "You're the tenth person here in three weeks because of them. The damn catchers don't do their duty…. Is he it?" I blinked.

"It?" I repeated.

"In the attack." It dawned on me then.

"No. My other Pet Hiiro was there too. He's in the waiting room, or should be. Him and one of the Strays that helped us."

"Are they critical?" The vet was now poking and prodding, cloth in hand. Roland twitched on the table.

"Injured bad, but not critical I think. Roland is the worst off." I said softly. I was silent as the vet worked. A blood sample was taken and analyzed while he began cleaning the wounds. When the results came back he stopped all work and turned to me.

"What? Why did you stop?" I asked wearily.

"Has he been behaving abnormally?" He asked. I frowned. "Has he been lethargic, lost any weight, become sick recently or frequently?"

"He has been more subdued than normal. And he has lost some weight." I said. "As for being sick….only once. He had a cold before we came up. Why?" The man sighed.

"He has the Feline Leukemia Virus." I froze. "He hasn't had it for long, and it's entirely treatable."

"So what's the problem?" I asked.

"In the condition he's in, he probably wouldn't survive treatment and we can't NOT treat him. It'll kill him." I hunched bonelessly in the chair. "It might be more humane to put him to sleep now and spare him the suffering."

"I…I…You're sure there's no way?" The man shook his head sadly. I pushed myself up and stumbled over to the table and cringed. Roland was white as a sheet. The wounds from the fight stood out against his skin. There were deep puncture marks from bites, claw marks, and it looked like his opponent had taken a good bite out of his throat. "There's no way to pull him through this, then treat him when he's stable?"

"By the time I stabilize him and keep him that way, with the state he's in the virus will have worked through his system. He's just too weak." I sighed and nodded. Then I gently placed my hand on Roland's head. He didn't even stir. "He's slipping. What do you want me to do?"

"I…Put him out of his misery." I said, tears in my eyes. I heard the vet rummage around, and then he was in front of me. He gave me a sympathetic smile. I let out a harsh breath and wiped away a few tears as he injected Roland with a clear liquid. "It's okay buddy." The man readied his stethoscope. "Good boy. You protected me. Thank you. Good boy."

"He's gone." I lowered my head. "I'm sorry. Do you want a minute?"

"See to Hiiro and Duo?" I asked quietly. The man left a sheet on the counter and retreated. I shakily removed Roland's collar. His body was cold. "I'm sorry boy." I covered his body with the sheet and left the room.

Hiiro and Duo were in the waiting room when I stepped out, not budging from their chairs for the doctor. Hiiro saw Roland's collar in my hand and gave a weary, questioning mewl. I put the collar in my pocket.

"Come on boys, up. I know you're tired but the vet needs to see to you." I said wearily. Hiiro mewled again and I lifted him up, careful of his wounds. Duo hung his head. "You too Duo. Come on." He looked up in surprise and….understanding. He knew what the collar meant.

Blood tests were done, and they thankfully came back negative although Duo's showed his need for all of the shots. I nodded for them to be given. Time flew as the pair were cleaned, treated, and bandaged.

I paid the bills and signed for Roland's body to be shipped back home to Noin. He would be buried in the cemetery not far from home. I gathered Hiiro up in my arms and headed back to the hotel.

Without even thinking I stopped Duo from disappearing like usual and instead brought him up for the rest of the day and the night. As they curled up, I lay back on my bed. I had some serious considering to do…

TBC

One more chapter.

The virus mentioned is a real virus, but for the purposes of my fic it is a virus that is very hard to treat. According to various sites it is actually really simple in real life to treat.

Strays:

Strays also tend to dislike humans either because the were abused or abandoned by them. Most only tend to stay out of a humans way, but some attack.