Hello again! Because the chapters are so short, I can post about three at a time. Let's get this show on the road!

I hated many things.

The silence was one of them.

Because they never came close to my cage. Ever. After the caretaker had beaten it into every head in the orphanage what a monster I was, they stayed clear of me.

But what was so terrible about the silence? I don't really know. It was just so loud. It deafened me. It made me realize that I was really and truly alone in my life. I had no one. No one. I knew deep down that no one would ever come for me. Never.

I did many things to keep the silence at bay. I hummed little tunes I made up to keep it away from me. I scratched my claws against the brick walls of my cell, and on the hard wood of the door of my cell. Anything.

But the silence always won in the end. There was no defeating it; only postponing it. It hung back, maliciously smiling at me while I made noise, waiting for me to lower my defenses. Then, when I could make no more sound, it swooped down on me. It wrapped me up, smothered me, blinded me.

Yes, I hated many things.

And the silence was one of them.

But I hated the ones who knocked worse.

Sometimes, when I was in my cell, some kids would come. I don't know why they came. Did they slip away from the caretaker's sight? Or did that evil sheep know? Did she turn a blind eye to my suffering?

They would pound on my door.

"Hey freak!" they would shout through my door.

I wouldn't say anything back. I'd only cover my ears with my paws, and tightly shut my eyes, trying to count in my head just so I could focus on something else. Anything else.

One.

Two.

Three.

"Hey, freak! Don't you hear me talking to you!?" the leader would shout. The leader was the loudest one. He was also the meanest one. Why do the loudest and the meanest become the leaders? Why?

Four.

Five.

Six.

Then, they would stop shouting and they would pound their fists on my door, making it rattle and shake.

Clack, clack, clack!

Seven.

Eight.

Clack, clack, clack!

It was getting difficult to count now. My brain started to roar with anger, but I tried my best to keep it bottled up.

Nine.

T… ten.

Clack, clack, clack!

E...elev...elev-

CLACK, CLACK, CLACK!

I couldn't take it anymore. I let my roar loose from my maw, letting it bounce off the walls of my cell and into the whole orphanage. I knew the whole orphanage would hear it. But I didn't care anymore. I just wanted them to stop. Why didn't they stop before, before they made me roar like that? I didn't want to. So why did they make me?

Still roaring, I ran up to the door and slammed my clenched paws on it with a wham! I could hear the mean kids whimper and scurry away.

Yes, I hated the silence.

But I hated the ones who knocked more.

Have a nice day!