Coming Home

Burning and aching pains stirred Rick from his deep sleep, he rose to find himself wrapped in a blanket with no shirt on. He looked around and focused his vision. "Where the hell am I?" he wondered.

His fur was clean; his arm was wrapped in gauze with a pressure pin on it. He stood up on the bed where he laid. His side burned something horrible.

He pulled the blanket off his chest and examined the strange blue plastic on his chest. "What the hell?" he said. He pulled off the blanket entirely and then stood up slowly. He looked at the windows and saw the soft white light enter. "Gah! It's so bright." he thought shielding his face with his arm.

He then walked towards the large round window. The room was large and decorated with pictures.

There was a picture on a frame that caught his attention. He walked over to the picture and examined it. He stared in amazement as the picture revealed the wolf he had helped hugging someone, him.

The wolf in the picture hugged Rick as they sat on a bench facing the city's dock. He saw himself in the picture, smiling and giving the wolf a kiss on her cheek.

"That's me... Who was I?" he asked himself. He them looked around the entire room.

"This is...my room. When I knew her...but when did I know her? Why am I here?" he thought confused.

He began to have a headache. "Why can't I remember anything!" he yelled. The door to the room then opened, in walked a strange shaggy brown dog in a lab uniform that bore the Militaria Emblem shield on his shoulder and chest.

"Rick sit, you can't be moving" he said. "Where am I?!" he asked backing away raising his arm as to defend himself.

"Your home." he answered. "I've never been here..." he said to the man as he backed into a corner.

"How do you know me?" asked Rick. "I'm a friend of Cassandra, she called me here to help you" he answered.

"That name, it sounds familiar.." he thought. "But why?"

"Who is Cassandra?" he asked confused. "She's the woman you fell in love with" he said smiling. "No" he said holding his head. "Why don't I remember anything?"

"Don't believe me? Here take a look" he said holding out a small envelope to him.

Rick took it and eyed the man suspiciously "what's this?" he asked. "Read it." He replied walking away.

Rick opened the envelope and read the letter:

I love you my heaven. I will never leave you alone. I cannot explain my love to you through words but through my actions. It pains me to see you far away from me. You and I will always be together. If we ever part, you and I will never lose our love for each other. Goodnight my love. I'll see you again soon.
Yours truly
-Rick Daygger

As Rick finished, he noticed he had a tear running down his cheek. He couldn't understand why.

He felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening to him.

"Take your time Rick. You've been gone for 15 years. There's much to remember." he said turning around to leave.

"I need to leave." Rick said wiping the tear from his eye. "You can't, too much movement and you'll risk hurting yourself," he said concerned.

"Please lie down, wait till you can move safely" he urged him.

Rick ignored the man and walked towards a small table near the bed that had his pair of boots.

The man began to raise his voice, "please sit down!" Rick ignored him. Within a matter of minutes he was ready. The man stood blocking the doorway. "Move or you will regret it." said Rick. The man nervously shuffled out of the way.

Rick still had thoughts flooding his head. All he wanted was to get away and get air. He wanted away from there. The more he denied it, the more unreal it all seemed to him.

He walked down a small hallway which split into two directions. He didn't know where to go, so he chose to go left. He held his arm to the wall as he walked down the hall as he held his head, attempting to ease the pain.

He found his way to the stairs and out of the building and to the street. As he closed the black metal gates that blocked the street behind him, he saw the wolf from the previous night run towards him from down the tree lined sidewalk. Her long black hair flew behind her as she ran right towards Rick.

"Rick! Where are you going? You can't leave again!" she cried out.

"Again?" he thought confused. She then caught up to him and put her arms around Rick. He simply held his arms at his sides. She then began to cry, "You promised you would never leave me." she said through tears.

He just stood there, feeling confused by a slush of emotions he felt at once. "I'm sorry, but look; I don't know you." he finally said. Then the girl looked at him, tears in her eyes. "How can you have forgotten me? After all that you and I meant for each other?" she said crying even more.

Rick then backed into the dark corridor away from the eyes of the people in the street for privacy.

"Please don't cry, I didn't want to hurt you, I'm sorry" he said. "Why can you remember me?" she cried. He sighed then took a deep breath, "I barely know my own name," he said to her.

"Who did this to you?" she then said. "Huh?" he responded. "What do you mean who?"

"it doesn't matter Rick, I love you, you're my life, and I thought I'd lost you forever" she said looking at his eyes.

She then pulled Rick to her and gave him a kiss on the lips. Rick was surprised and wide-eyed and yet it felt right, it lasted for a few seconds, the unexpected kiss was then broken by her.

"That's how I gave you our first kiss." she said holding him even tighter.

Rick then felt his world fall apart around him. His mental stability then gave way as he collapsed to the ground.

"Rick!" said Cassandra trying to catch Rick with all her strength.

She was slightly smaller than Rick and wasn't able to hold him, so Rick collapsed on her. She wouldn't care less. The love of her life returned whether he knew it or not, she embraced him and held him as if was the last day of her life.

She rested his head on her chest while she hugged him as best she could. "It's okay Rick, you're found your way home".