Chapter 19: Anger and Helplessness

"LET US OUT DAMN IT!" Durham barked as he pounded on the door.

"Please, we want to see Collot!" Miguno said in desperation.

"Would you two stop it," Jack said in an exasperated tone.

It was the morning after Collot's attack and all the students were locked in their rooms. After what happened the prior night, Principle Gon put the school on lockdown, making it impossible to enter or leave the dorm rooms. This of course, didn't go over well with a certain group of worried canines.

"How can you be this calm?" Legosi growled. "Right now our packmate, our brother, is in the hospital and the guy responsible is running free! We should be out there finding the bastard and tearing him limb from limb!"

"Amen!" Durham yelled.

While his roommates were arguing, Voss was thinking of what he could do as well as how to keep the peace. It wasn't easy for the mute fennec however thanks to his friends ignoring him.

"I know how you feel, I really do," the yellow dog said in an attempt to calm them down. "Believe me when I say that I despise the fact that this asshole is still running around free after attacking so many of our friends. I also hate feeling useless. But if we keep making a scene, things will only get worse for us."

"If they didn't want us to make a scene, they would've let us out so we can go check on Collot!" Durham snarled.

"Damn it Durham! Do you think you're the only one who feels that way?! You really think I'm not wracked with guilt and worry?! Legosi and I leave for one night and look what happens!" Jack yelled with tears in his eyes.

Everyone paused, taken aback by the labrador's sudden change in tone. It was almost as if their normally mild mannered packmate had a second personality.

"Listen! I want nothing more than to castrate the bastard that hurt Collot. I want to tear his heart out and force him to watch as I devour it! I want to race to the hospital and throw myself on to Collot's bed, and pray to any god that's listening to keep my friend from dying! I even want to take back what was easily the greatest night of my life with the wolf I love if it meant stopping this from happening in the first place! But I can't! I can't do any of that and I hate it!"

Jack immediately fell to his knees following his outburst and started crying all over again, his fur gaining more stains from his tears.

Everyone looked at each other before lowering their heads, their ears folded back and their tails dropping in shame. It was true that Legosi and Collot had a special bond, but for Jack, Collot was like the older brother he never had. It should have been clear that he'd be taking what happened the worst. Yet instead of being there for him, they were caught up in their own anger.

"Jack…" Legosi whispered, feeling guilty and not noticing his fur returning to normal.

"Damn it!" Durham growled in frustration as he punched the wall. "...You're right. I'm… I'm sorry."

Sigh "Why does it have to be this way?" Miguno asked as he slid down the wall opposite of Durham. "I mean, what is this guy after? First he eats Tem, then he mutilates Els, and now he's mauled Collot. I'm glad two of his victims survived, but none of this adds up."

"If he was giving in to his predator instincts, then he would've been trying to eat them too. But he didn't, even though he had the perfect opportunity to. I can buy Collot fending him off and scaring him away, but Els? She would've been eaten for sure."

"What's more, none of them have any connection to each other. Sure, Tem and Els were in the drama club, but Collot's an outsider. It doesn't make sense. And if this guy was giving in to his carnivore instincts, why go after Collot at all? Sure, he's no elephant, but he's a large carnivore who would've been able to fight back. I just don't see the connection at all."

"Maybe there is no connection," Legosi suggested. "I've read that carnivores who go savage don't think logically and run on pure instinct. For all we know, the three of them could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Somehow, I don't think that's the case," Jack said softly after gathering himself. "It's true that Collot throws off that pattern of attacks happening in the Drama club, but what if that was the point?"

"What do you mean?" Durham asked with a cocked head.

"What if the animal responsible attacked Collot in order to throw the police off, in case they started to suspect the carnivores in the drama club? Or worse, what if they attacked Collot because they somehow found out that we were digging around? If that's the case, then we might be in more danger than we realize."

The others looked down, contemplating the labrador's words. If what he said was true, then everything had become a lot more difficult.

"So… what do you think we should do?" Miguno asked. "We can't exactly ask any of the adults for help, we can't get our friends involved, and there's hardly anyone we can trust."

"Maybe… Maybe there is someone," Legosi said cryptically.

"You know someone?" Durham asked.

"Well I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I could always ask Dr. Gohin."

"That quack from the black market? You can't be serious! I know you've kept in contact with him in case you ever had an episode, but how could he help us?"

"I know it sounds far-fetched, but Gohin might be our only option here. Sure, he's stationed in the black market and it wouldn't make any sense for him to know what's going on here, but I'm sure he can at least point us in the right direction."

"Do you really think so?" Jack asked, still trying to keep as calm as possible.

"He's our best bet right now. He knows carnivores better than anyone I know. He might have an idea of what carnivore was responsible for giving Collot those kinds of wounds."

"I guess we don't really have much of a choice then," Durham said with a sigh. "Still, I don't like the idea of you going by yourself. The fact that he's so close to the black market already makes him suspicious. Combine that with how he treated you the first time you met each other and you can bet your tail he's on my shit list."

"So what, are you gonna go with me?" Legosi asked in a skeptical tone as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well duh, I figured that'd be obvious."

The wolf shook his head.

"No, I can't bring you. Gohin is all about control and given how hot headed you are, you two would butt heads long before we learned anything. On top of that, he isn't shy about using his more… 'extreme' methods on high schoolers."

"All the more reason why you shouldn't go alone," the coyote barked. "Hell, I still think you're an idiot for wanting to work for him."

"I know you do, you never shut up about it!" Legosi growled.

"Would you two calm down?!" Jack barked as he stood up, getting in between the two. "Look, it doesn't matter right now seeing as the whole school is in lock down. If they won't even let us see Collot, then I doubt they'll let us go into the city, especially if where we wanna go is close to the black market."

The two larger canines stared at the labrador, then at each other and let out a collective sigh. They were so caught up in their argument that they forgot their predicament.

"It's bad, I know, but we need to wait until they think it's safe to go outside. Of course, that's not even considering that they might just send us home and shut down the school."

Everyone's eyes became as wide as dinner plates. In all the confusion, they never even thought about that as an option.

"Do you… do you think they'll send us home after this?" Miguno asked.

Jack looked down in defeat, his ears folded back and his tail lifeless.

"They might not have a choice. This has been the third attack this year. It's clear the school can't keep us safe anymore. Until the police can catch the carnivore responsible, we may have to find a different school to attend."

All the canines' ears and tails fell back in sadness. Cherryington wasn't perfect and this year sucked about as much as it could, but it was still their home and where all their friends were. They loved the school and everything it provided. It wasn't much, but it was theirs.

Just the thought of leaving it all behind for parts unknown terrified them all to their cores. This was their territory, where they felt safe, and now they could lose that too. Just when they thought their morale couldn't sink lower, Jack spoke up once more.

"Then there's what happened with me, Arthur, Legosi, Oscar and the dog gang."

The other's flinched at that.

"Between the attacks, and the fact that there was an actual gang at this school, there might not be a lot principal Gon can do. What's worse is that I was shot by someone in the gang, which would automatically deem the school unsafe. I hate to say it, but it's basically guaranteed that the school board will shut down Cherryton high."

As soon as those words left the yellow dog's mouth, Legosi turned and punched the wall, leaving a fist sized dent in it.

"Damn it! Why did this have to happen?!" Legosi snarled, his fist still embedded in the wall. "Everything! We're losing EVERYTHING because of one mother fucker!"

Seeing his mate on the brink of exploding, Jack walked over and wrapped his arms around Legosi from behind. He felt his boyfriend tense up at the sudden touch and felt Legosi's tail stiffen as it brushed against his leg.

After a moment of hugging his mate, Jack heard the wolf's breathing become more steady. The labrador then let out a sigh of relief as he noticed Legosi's shoulders relax and his fur falling back into place.

"Are you ok?" Jack asked, keeping a firm grip on his lover.

Legosi put a hand over Jack's before letting out a sorrowful smile.

"I can't say that I am," Legosi answered sadly, but honestly. "But… I can at least say I don't feel like breaking something anymore."

Jack let out a small chuckle.

"For now, I think that's good enough."

After giving Legosi a nod, Jack released his hold only to immediately be wrapped in another embrace when Legosi turned around. He looked up and gazed into the wolf's tiny pupils.

Before the labrador could say anything, Legosi licked his forehead before pressing his nose against the top of Jack's head. He then took a long inhale, allowing his mind to enjoy the soothing effect of his mate's scent. The warmth he felt from the yellow dog was enough to melt away the pain he felt.

Jack was like a second sun. Warm, bright, and full of life. Something that could banish the darkness from even the deepest corridors of the wolf's mind. Why the hell it took him so long to realize this, Legosi would never know. If he had to give a reason, it would probably be because it just felt natural. Always being around Jack was never something he had to think about, it was just always that way.

Meanwhile, Miguno and Voss were having their own conversation using sign language. They figured that if they were gonna be left out, they might as well think about what they could do.

So Voss, it's obvious that we can't just sit here and do nothing, but they won't let us go either. Did you think of anything?

Sorry Miguno, I haven't. It hasn't even been a day and already everyone's getting cabin fever. Not that I blame them. If they'd just let us check on Collot, I'm sure the others would behave.

You're not wrong about that big guy. We're his friends, we should be allowed to see if he's ok. I mean, is it really so hard to get us a chaperone?

I don't think they can, even if they wanted to Miguno. They probably need every last faculty member keeping an eye on everyone. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they even got the cleaning staff to help.

Makes sense Voss. Still, if we don't do something soon, those three are ganna tear each other apart long before the criminal does.

You're right, that's why I think it's time for specialty Miguno.

My specialty?

Yea, your specialty… Chuckles

Miguno's eyes widened before he let out a huge grin. He quickly got up and headed over to his bed to get things ready.

While Miguno and Voss started their own plan, Durham was staring at Legosi and Jack in shock. His eyes were the size of dinner plates, his jaw was hitting the floor, and his tail and ears had shot up. The reason? He was watching two of his best friends make out like they were the only ones in the room and what's worse, he was getting a nose bleed.

As the coyote watched the two break away, he noticed something in their eyes. There was a certain hunger there that he'd never seen before. That's when he saw Legosi move his muzzle to Jack's floppy ear. The wolf whispered, but Durham was able to hear it.

"Jack, I love you so much," the large wolf said as he gave his mate's right buttcheek a subtle squeeze. "I want to be with you. To show my love and forget all this, if only for a moment."

Jack's moan was the final straw. Durham fell back with a massive nose bleed, his eyes two blank white circles. The coyote wasn't by any means a pervert, but even he couldn't help the thoughts that ran through his mind after seeing all that. What's more, there was a part of him that wanted to partake in what they were doing.

Legosi gave Jack one last hug before finally stepping away and allowing them both to calm down. That's when he saw Durham on the ground. His eyes widened in shock before he ran over to help his friend.

"Durham! What's wrong? Why are you bleeding? Can you hear me?!" the wolf said with concern as he tried to wake Durham up.

After a moment, Durham began to stir. He blinked a few times before he saw both Legosi and Jack standing over him.

"W-What happened?" the coyote asked in confusion.

"We don't know," Jack answered. "You suddenly just passed out."

The labrador took out his handkerchief and handed it to his packmate.

"Your nose is bleeding. Not a lot, but you should use this to clean and hold it."

Durham, who remembered what he saw, blushed as he took the handkerchief. He quickly cleaned himself before grabbing Legosi's outstretched hand and stood up.

"Sorry about that," the medium sized canine said sheepishly.

"It's alright," Legosi answered kindly. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, I'm alright."

"Hey Ladies, over here!" Miguno suddenly shouted, getting everyone's attention.

When they turned to their hyena friend, their eyes widened in complete shock. Standing in front of them was Miguno, but he was dressed like a giant banana

"What the-?" Durham asked in disbelief.

Miguno took out some maracas and started singing and dancing.

"It's peanut butter jelly time! It's peanut butter jelly time! Where ye at, where ye at, now let you go, let you go!"

At the end of the song, Legosi, Jack, and Durham were on the floor laughing their asses off.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man Miguno! HAHAHAHA! Where did you get that?" Durham asked in between laughs. "Now I- HAHAHAHA- remember why we used to call you chuckles!"

Legosi could only laugh, his mouth so wide open that his sharp teeth were clear for all to see.

"HAHAHA! Miguno! You're a riot!" Jack managed to wheeze out while clutching his stomach.

"Heh, works every time," Miguno said with a proud grin.

After about ten minutes of calming down, Miguno changed back into his usual clothes. He was happy to see everyone feeling better despite the fact that it still doesn't solve their problem.

"So, are you guys feeling a bit less tense now?" the hyena asked with a soft smile.

"Yea, thanks Miguno," Jack said with a wide smile. "Though, I guess we should give you your old nickname back. It's been a while since you made us laugh like that."

"You really know how to cheer us up Miguno," Legosi chuckled. "Or should I say 'Chuckles'.

"You know, you really are a bastard," Durham said with a smirk. "It's impossible to be angry when you're around."

Miguno gave the coyote a teasing grin and a wink.

"You're just upset because I won't let you act like a hot headed asshole."

Durham responded in the most mature way possible. He stuck his tongue out.

Before anything else could be said, Voss jumped on the table and stomped his foot, getting everyone's attention.

Hey guys, now that we've all calmed down, let's think about our next move.

The others looked at each other. They may have been feeling better, but they were still stuck. They couldn't leave, they had no information, and there was still a crazed carnivore on the loose.

"Well, I have one idea," Miguno said after raising his hand.

"What is it?" Legosi asked.

"Well, what if we lift Voss up to the vent?" the hyena said as he pointed to the air duct in their room. "He should be just small enough to crawl through. He could use it to exit the room and figure out what's going on. If not that, maybe we could lower him down from the window."

Everyone's eyes widened at that.

"Miguno, did you just come up with a brilliant escape plan?" Jack asked.

"And here I thought he was just a clown," Durham barked.

"You jerk!" the hyena growled.

"What did you say?" the coyote snarled.

"Stop it!" Legosi said sternly, stopping another fight before turning to Voss.

What do you think Voss? Can you handle it?

Leave it to me Legosi. I may be small, but I'll do anything for you guys. We're a pack and we don't leave anyone behind.

Legosi smiled. He nodded to the fennec fox before turning to the others.

"Alright guys, we have a plan. So let's get to work."

"RIGHT!" the others howled.

Legosi got to work unscrewing the air vent's lid. While he did that, the others got to work getting Voss ready. They gave him a small bag that held the fennec fox's phone, charger, a flashlight made for small animals, and Miguno's slingshot.

Ok, it looks like we have everything," Jack said as he packed everything. "Legosi, are you almost done?"

As soon as he said that, the air vent's lid came off.

"Yea, all ready over here," the wolf answered.

"Ok. You ready Voss?" the labrador asked.

Voss nodded. He picked up the bag and climbed up to Legosi's shoulder. With a final nod to the wolf, Voss jumped into the air vent.

"Be careful out there Voss," Jack called out worriedly.

"It's all up to you big guy, so don't let us down," Miguno said in a cheerful tone.

"If anyone can do this, you can," Durham said with a smirk.

"Good luck Voss, we're all counting on you!" Legosi said reassuringly.

Voss heard all of them and was filled with determination. He was gonna show everyone that even a small, deaf, fennec fox could make a difference.