The Story of a Lonely Wolf Chapter 23: Always Alone

"Ok just one more stitch and… there," Drake said as he finished the work on Toboe's leg.

"So, is he good to go now?" Sara asked as she watched Drake.

"Well besides the treatment for his lung infection and recovery from his wounds. I'd say so. He won't need anymore surgery if that's what you mean," Drake replied happy with his work.

"So is he going to be ok?" Sara asked.

"Well he's not out of the woods yet. We have to make sure his lung infection gets better first. If it gets worse it could eat away at his lung and still kill him," Drake replied as he removed his gloves and walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

"I see," Sara replied. "Well, Hige and the others have been waiting along time. Do you think it would be alright if they saw Toboe now?"

"Well yes if they're still awake," Drake said looking at the clock. "It's 9:30 in the morning. They haven't slept all night. They could have fallen asleep in the waiting room."

"I'll go see," Sara replied and headed out to the waiting room.

"Alright," Drake replied as he washed the blood off his hands and arms.

"Hey guys?" she said as she entered the waiting room.

"About time," Hige said as he saw her walk in.

"Good news, you can see Toboe now," Sara said with a smile.

"Is he ok?" Kiba asked as he sat in one of the chairs. Josh was fast asleep next to him leaning on his chest. He said he was going to stay up till they got to see Toboe, but sleep finally won him over.

"Well he will need some additional treatment, but Drake said he should make a full recovery."

"That's cool," Hige said with a smile and looked over at Tsume who was standing over by the window. "Looks like all your worrying paid off."

"Right," Tsume replied with a smile. Usually he would think of something mean to say, but under the circumstances he'd let Hige's remark slide.

"There is one thing though," Sara began.

"What is it?" Cassi asked.

"He has a lung infection. He will need some follow up treatments if you want him to live though this."

"Man…" Hige said with a sigh. "Little kids... I knew they were nothing but trouble."

"Can we see him now?" Tsume asked.

"Oh yes, just come on back to the back room," Sara replied as Tsume, Hige, and Cassi followed her. It took Kiba a little bit longer because he had to pick up Josh. He knew Josh was tried so he decided he'd just let him sleep and carry him back there.

"Hello again," Drake said when he saw the group come back in the room.

"Hi," Cassi replied with a smile as Hige was trying as hard as he could not to laugh at Toboe. He looked so funny having his chest, neck, and right front leg shaved and if that wasn't bad enough, they put a cone on his head so he couldn't lick his stitches.

"When will he wake up?" Kiba asked as he entered the room with Josh asleep in his arms.

"In an hour I'd say," Drake replied.

"Can we leave when he does? No offence, but I'm not much for hanging around with a bunch of people like you," Tsume said.

"After he wakes up I want to make sure he can walk on his leg. If not we may have to put some pieces of metal in the bone so it can heal," Drake said.

"I thought you said he was done with operations," Sara said in annoyed voice.

"Well I didn't think about it until after you went to get them."

"Put metal in his leg?" Tsume asked.

"Yes," Drake replied, "Sometimes a dog's leg is too badly damaged to repair on its own. So we give it a little help by taking two pieces of metal and put them on his leg. One on the front side of his leg and one on the back side. Then once that's done we take some screws and screw them into the bone and that helps the shattered bone pieces heal and the two halves of the bone fuse together so it can heal properly."

"Great…" Hige said as he put his hands in his pockets.

"I don't think he'll need it, but I'm just going to tell you so you'll be ready for it if we end up having to do it."

"Well what do we do for an hour?" Tsume asked as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest.

"Just wait I guess," Hige replied as he kneeled down beside some of the cages and looked at the sleeping animals inside.

/Flashback/

"Come here, Toboe," Tim said as he kneeled down on the floor and reached out his arm.

"Tim, where did they take Granny?" Toboe barked and ran back to Tim.

"Looks like you have nowhere to go now, huh?" Tim said as he patted Toboe's soft brown head. "Wanna come home with me boy?"

"What?" Toboe asked in confusion. "But I live here… what do you mean?"

"Hmm let's see," Tim said as he looked around the room. "I need a rope or something to put around your neck. There are leash laws you know," he said with a smile and walked into another room.

What? But... I live here with Granny…. Toboe said to himself as he was still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Here we go," Tim said after 10 minutes of searching, "This will work," he said as he brought in a clothes line. He bent down next to Toboe and tied it loosely around his neck. "Come on, Toboe," he said and stood up.

"But I live here," Toboe said as he looked up at him. "Granny and I live here."

"Come on boy," he said as he gently pulled on the rope, but Toboe wouldn't budge from his spot. "Are you going to make me carry you?" Tim asked with a smile.

"But we live here. Why are you making me leave? And why did they take Granny?" Toboe asked still staring up at Tim's friendly face.

"Alright I can see you're going to make this hard on me," Tim said as he bent down and picked up Toboe the same way he had done earlier.

"But wait!" Toboe barked as Tim picked him up and carried him outside and down the porch steps.

"It's alright," Tim said in a cool voice as he began walking home.

"But I don't live with you," Toboe said as he struggled a little, but not much because he knew it didn't do any good.

"Ready to walk yet? You're heavy," Tim said as he walked down two streets and put Toboe on the ground. The area they were in was quite different then most areas in the cities. It was somewhat the same. The houses were very close together, but they had yards for the children to play in instead of just sidewalks and streets.

"How do I get back home?" Toboe asked as he looked around. He didn't think Tim had carried him very far, but he had no clue where he was.

"Come on boy," Tim said as he gently pulled on the rope again.

"Will you take me home tomorrow?" Toboe asked as he looked up at Tim.

"Now I get your attention, huh?" he replied with a smile. "Come on."

"Oh… ok..." Toboe said giving up the fight. He didn't know what else to do. Granny was gone and he didn't know how to get home and what if those men and flashing lights came back? He knew Tim wouldn't let anything happen to him so he thought it would be the best thing for now.

"That's a good dog," Tim said as Toboe walked next to him and down the street. "Don't worry boy. I'll take care of you."

"What?" Toboe asked as he looked up at him confused. He still didn't know what was going on.

"Hey give me all your money," a male voice was heard coming from one of the nearby alleyways.

"What?" Tim asked as he looked to where the voice came from.

"Didn't you hear me, man? Give me your money," the voice said again and a teenage boy in black jeans and a white tank top covered by a black coat said as he appeared from the alley.

"Sorry kid, but I don't give out money," Tim replied as he continued walking.

"I'm not joking man," the boy said and walked in front of Tim.

"I don't have any money," Tim replied as he pulled out all his pockets. He didn't have his wallet with him.

"Come on, man. Give me your money," the boy replied his voice becoming angrier and angrier.

"Look kid, I just showed you that I didn't have any."

"Give me your money!" he said in an outraged voice and ran at Tim.

"I don't have any you little punk!" Tim yelled as he dropped Toboe's leash and the boy grabbed his arms and the two men began to push each other around the street.

"What's going on?" Toboe asked as he watched them fight. He had no idea what was happening or why it was happening. He didn't know what to do so he just stood there and watched until he could figure out something.

"Get away!" Tim said as he tried to push the boy off of him.

"I said give me your money!" the boy replied jumping on him again.

"I don't have any!" Tim said as he pushed the kid off and then punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Alright man, you asked for it!" the boy yelled and quickly got to his feet.

"All I asked for was for you to leave!" Tim replied. He too was now getting angry.

"Take this!" the boy yelled as he lunged at Tim. Tim readied himself to push the boy down again.

"Stop this now boy," Tim said as the boy got close to him then pushed his right arm into Tim's left side.

"What was that?" Toboe asked as he watched Tim call out in pain. "What did you do?" Toboe barked as he ran at the boy. What's that? Toboe asked himself as he stopped and saw the boy pull a sharp, shiny, sliver thing out of Tim's side. The shiny thing was covered in what looked and smelled like blood.

"I told you man," the boy replied with a smirk as he watched Tim slowly sink down to the ground clutching his wounded side. "Now how about that money," he said as he knelt down next to Tim who now lay on the ground.

"Get away from him!" Toboe snarled. He had no clue what had happened, but he knew the sign of blood was bad and he wanted to protect Tim.

"Cool down dog. I'll leave in a minute," the boy said as he searched through Tim's pocket, a pool of hot red blood was spilling all over the cold concrete.

"Leave now!" Toboe snarled again baring his fangs. He wasn't going to hurt the boy. He couldn't. Granny always told him it was wrong. Toboe thought this would be a good way to get him to leave. He could scare him off.

"Dang dog, you sure like to complain," the boy replied in a calm voice as he searched Tim's pockets. He wasn't afraid of Toboe. He knew if Toboe attacked him all he had to do was stab him with the knife that he had stabbed Tim with.

"I said get away!" Toboe growled. He was in no mood to mess with this jerk, plus there was something very wrong with Tim.

"Come on man, where's the cash?" the boy asked as he searched through Tim's pockets a second time. He didn't want to believe Tim had no money. That was crazy. No one ever left their house without any cash on them.

"I mean it!" Toboe snarled. He was beginning to get worried. Why won't he leave? Isn't he scared of me? Toboe thought. He continued barking furiously, but kept his distance from the boy. He didn't want to get stabbed with the knife.

"What's going on out there?" a woman asked as she opened her front door. She was a young woman, 23 or so. Toboe and the boy guessed she had been woken up by Toboe's barking and came to see what was wrong because she was dressed in a pink nightgown. "What are you doing?" the woman asked as she turned on her porch light. Her eyes where overcome by horror as she saw Tim lying on the ground. She then screamed and ran back into her home. They saw the lights of her living room flash on.

"Dammit," the boy said. "Dog, you made a scene."

"You did it yourself," Toboe replied with another growl.

"Damn dude, where's your freaking money?" the boy asked becoming very annoyed. He wasn't sure what the woman was planning to do, but he knew if Tim did have any money on him he had to find it fast.

"Tim, get up!" Toboe barked.

"Shut up dog!" the boy yelled angrily. He was clearly getting tired of the wolf's nonsense.

"Tim!" Toboe barked again. He was now getting very worried. The color had left Tim's face and it looked as if he'd stopped breathing.

"Shit!" the boy yelled as he heard police sirens. "The bitch called the cops!" he said and ran off into the alley he had come out of.

"Good, he's gone," Toboe said with a sigh of relief as he walked over to Tim and began licking his face. "Ok Tim, you can get up now, he's gone," Toboe said as he continued to lick the lifeless man's face. "Come on, Tim. It's ok now. Get up," Toboe said with a whine. "Come on, this isn't funny," Toboe barked. His voice was upset and confused. "Get up!" Toboe barked louder as the sirens got closer. It's those men again! Toboe thought as fear overtook his eyes. The blue and red lights had returned and the noise pounded in his ears. "Get up Tim, they are coming!" Toboe barked now in a panic. Oh no… Toboe thought as the lights got very close. He couldn't help it. He just couldn't force himself to stand in the cold street any longer. He had to get away from the lights that overtook everything in the area. "I'll be back when they leave, ok?" Toboe assured Tim then ran off to hide in the bushes of a nearby yard. He found it quite lucky to be this area. There were bushes to hide in here. Most places didn't have yards or bushes just dirty cold concrete.

"Over here!" Toboe watched as the woman who had called the police came out of her house. She now had a black robe on over her pink nightgown. She stood barefoot on the sidewalk as four police cars and an ambulance pulled up around the area.

"What happened here?" a man asked as he got out of the first car. Toboe recognized this man. It was the leader from before.

"I don't know really. I just heard a dog bark and I came out to see what happened. Then I found this and called you. There was a teenager here, but he ran off when he heard the sirens," she replied as the leader took notes in a black notebook.

"Looks like he's a goner Sir," the man who drove the ambulance said as he checked Tim's wrist for a pulse.

"Hey, isn't that the mail man from the last case?" another officer asked as he shined his flashlight over Tim's body.

"Hey yeah, you're right," another officer replied.

"Man, this is the second body we've found tonight," the leader said with a sigh as the ambulance driver and another cop went to get the body bag from the back of the ambulance.

"Just a bad night," one of the officers replied as they laid the body bag next to Tim.

"It's that bag again," Toboe said as he watched from his hiding place. "Are they taking Tim away too?"

"Well come on boys, let's take him back and get to the paperwork. I want to go home. My wife is waiting for me," the leader said as they put the bag into the back of the ambulance and put the finishing touches on their notes. "Thank you very much ma'am," he said as he shook the woman's hand then headed back to his car.

"Thank God the day is done, huh?" the cop in the car next to the leader's car said as they both opened their car doors.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get this over with. It's been one hell of a day," the leader replied as he shut his door and started up his car. Toboe watched as the other cars started up then followed after the leader's car.

"No wait!" Toboe cried as he ran out into the street after the last car. "Don't leave me! Please!" Toboe howled as he chased after the cars. "Please come back! Don't leave me! Don't leave me here alone!" he cried as he got farther and farther behind. After 10 minutes of chasing and almost getting hit by three cars Toboe finally gave up the chase and sat in the cold lonely street staring down the empty road. Why? Why did they leave? They took everyone away. I'm alone. Why? How come everyone I meet leaves? Why? Why am I always alone? Toboe asked himself as he sat in the lonely street not knowing what to do next. He didn't really care. He just wanted his friends back. He didn't want to be alone.

/End Flashback/