Happy Saturday everyfur! I'm sorry about my absence yesterday but we're back today for the next chapter of our newest story In My Time of Need! Lots of emotion this chapter, something I love writing with and I'm very pleased with how this chapter turned out. And hey we finally get to see Zachary again! And I know you're like "WHAAAA" right now so I'll wrap this up so you can get to the chapter! Hope you enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom of the page! :D

P.O.V. Change: Zachary (approximately a day and a half ahead of Nathan & Co.)

I swore under my breath as I was nearly thrown from my seat once again, the truck had been making sudden stops for the last five minutes, jostling me from my thoughts. I was alone in the back of the vehicle, Edna had been led away from me as we loaded up.

I worried slightly for her but I was more worried about where they were taking me. Every time I asked a question about where we were going they would tell me “it won’t matter later.” I was sore everywhere, my leg hurting the worst of all, and the constant stopping was doing nothing to help me now that my pain medications had worn off.

I wasn’t sure how long we’d been riding but it had to have been multiple hours at the least. I braced myself this time timing the stopping of the truck, and I leaned back to be ready to be thrown the other way when the truck started moving again. Only the truck didn’t move again.

I heard the sounds of doors slamming and I shielded my eyes from the sun that blasted through the doors of the now open back of the truck. The feeling overwhelmed me as it had been the first time in longer than I could remember since I’d seen the sun.

A shadow stepping into the back with me blocked some of the sunlight, and then it all faded when the blindfold came over my eyes. I sighed deeply as I was helped roughly out of the truck, my leg still immobile for the most part. Two strong hands gripped me as I was essentially carried somewhere.

I didn’t struggle as I feared being hit again but the urge was there as I was brought into a building. Hearing the door shut behind me the blindfold was removed and I took the opportunity to take in my surroundings. The building was somewhat similar to the lab, only a bit nicer inside.

I could hear the moans and cries of other occupants in the building which was comforting yet worrying at the same time. I was led passed multiple cells before we came to a stop at an empty one.

The guards brought me inside and sat me down on the cot before exiting and leaving me to my own devices. Back to square one I thought. Not soon after I was left in the cell the guards returned.

“The doc wants to see you, he’s been waiting all day to get his hands on ya.” One of the guards said menacingly. My ears flattened in fear as his statement, and this time I did struggle against their grips as they led me down the hallways, causing a great deal of pain to my leg.

They escorted me into a room where I was shackled to a table and left alone. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and my gaze flicked around the room fearfully. My head shot in the direction of the door as it opened and my breathing increased as a man in a white coat entered with a female assistant. He reminded me of the old doctor somewhat, only this one was slightly taller and looked more menacing.

“Well hello there young man, I’ve been waiting for you as I’m sure you’ve been told.” His voice had a slight accent on it, although I couldn’t quite point out what it was, but it was foreign. I could only stare fearfully as my body trembled, my tail making its best attempt to curl underneath me.

“Don’t look so frightened, you won’t even remember any of this in a few moments.” He continued, flicking a needle with his blue gloved hand. “You’re going to feel a little pinch and you’ll be better in no time.” He informed me bringing the needle towards my neck.

I struggled mightily against the restraints, my survival instinct taking over. The assistant made a poor decision by trying to hold my head away so I couldn’t lunge at the arm with my jaws, so instead I took it out on her. I latched my canines into her forearm, wincing at the taste of blood in my mouth.

She screamed in pain but in my momentary distraction a pinch on my neck made my blood run cold. I released her arm and whimpered loudly with my teeth bared at the doctor, feeling my mind become hazy. Not the sleepy kind of hazy but more… confusing?

I felt my body relax as the serum quickly ran through my veins, my rapidly beating heart moving it across my body. The needle retracted and I stared blankly ahead of me, struggling to remember why I was even on the table in the first place. I glanced at the nurse, brow furrowing in confusion as she was tended to by medical staff.

What happened to her? I wondered. Turning back to the doctor I cocked my head at the grin he gave me.

“What? What’s so funny?” I asked him, feeling the haze fade from my mind.

“Nothing important. Tell me, do you know this person?” He asked as he held up a photo. I squinted my eyes slightly to glance at the picture. It was a fox who couldn’t have been much older than me, and as I racked my brain for names none came to mind.

“No… I don’t think so.” I said hesitantly. His grin grew wider at my statement.

“Good.” He muttered under his breath.

P.O.V. Change: Nathan

The growl tore through my throat before I could stop it as the dark brown paw of Andros came down over his son’s muzzle, knocking him to the ground. The heads of the two shepherds turned my way, surprise and anger covering the face of the older male while fear and shock rested on the younger shepherd’s features.

“This is a family discussion, I would recommend that you stay out of this.” Andros barked, teeth bared slightly at the group standing in the cave’s entrance. Aubrey and Jasmine both backed away hesitantly, the rabbit pulling me with her, but I dug my hind nails into the soft rock of the cave.

“Nathan come on, this is none of our business.” Aubrey whispered harshly to me but I ignored it, letting the growl rumble in the back of my throat threateningly.

“I’m fine Nathan, go ahead. I’ll come talk to you later okay?” Baron told me, lifting himself unsteadily off the ground. The statement elicited a snarl from his father but Baron refused to meet his father’s glare. I gazed at him hesitantly but upon seeing the reassuring look in his eyes I nodded and left with the two girls.

I had to suppress the immediate urge to go back as Aubrey led me out of the cave, getting one or two stern looks from her when I resisted. We walked back to the fire pit and I sat down heavily onto the stump once again, keeping my eyes on the entrance of the cave. My sensitive ears were able to pick up the sounds of raised voices but I was unable to make out any of the words.

“Nathan he’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Aubrey told me doing her best to calm me down.

“Is this a regular thing around here? Does this happen often?” I questioned her. A small amount of concern flashed across her features before being replaced by uncertainty.

“No, nothing like this. They’ve had disagreements sure but I’ve never seen Andros actually put his hands on him.” She said quietly. I was quiet for a few moments before I spoke again.

“It’s just something that I’ve developed from having to protect and take care of Zach for so long. I’m just so defensive of my friends and when I saw Andros hit him it just set something off in me…” I trailed off.

“Baron’s tough, he’ll be okay.” Jasmine said confidently which helped me slightly. I sent a thankful smile her way which she returned. We sat in the cold silence for a number of minutes, watching the fire as it crackled.

The way the flames danced around was almost mesmerizing and if it weren’t for the sounds of footfall crunching through the snow I would have gotten lost in the show of fire. Glancing up my hopes were dashed when I saw it was only Roy again. Sighing I turned my gaze back to the flames. I missed the worried glances of the others seated around the fire.

“Nathan, I need to see you for a moment.” A voiced called from behind me. I recognized it as Dendra’s as I stood up and made my way through the snow to the medicine tent. She let me inside where it was surprisingly warm and I sat down on the cot.

“I need to check your ear wound, bare with me for a couple minutes.” I nodded at her as she tugged my ear slightly.

“Ahh good, a scab is forming. That ointment is working well, I’ll be sure to use it more often in the future.” She commented as she did a quick one-over on the rest of my wounds which were all healing nicely as well.

Sighing deeply I stared at a blank point in space, various thoughts swimming through my mind and I didn’t even resister that Dendra had asked me a question until a boney hand rested on my knee.

“Sorry I’m a little distracted right now, what did you ask me?” I shook my head slightly as I met her eyes.

“I asked how you were holding up but judging by your reaction it’s not as well as I would like. Is there anything you want to talk about?” She questioned me.

“Not necessarily, just a lot on my mind right now and I’m trying to sort through it.” I answered quietly.

“Well what’s worrying you the most right now?” She asked.

“My brother, I’m worried about him.” I replied.

“Okay, what else?” She continued.

“I’m worried about Baron as well.” I responded. She straightened up at my answer.

“Oh? What’s wrong with Baron?” She asked curiously.

“He and his father got into an argument Andros’ cave and he knocked Baron to the ground. I just had a protective spell come over me like I do with Zach, I couldn’t control it.” I told her.

“Why do you think that happened? Does it only happen to people you know?” She questioned further. I was silent for a few moments before I spoke.

“It usually only happens to people I care about; family, really close friends, y’know.” I answered honestly, retaining my blank stare into nothing in particular.

“I see. So you consider Baron to be a close friend of yours then?” The lemur asked.

“He’s been nothing but nice to me while I’ve been here, I don’t even know how to thank him.” I said quietly, feeling my thoughts slowly coming together once again.

“I’m glad to hear that, Baron is very kind-hearted and loyal. He told me while you were still sleeping how worried he was that you wouldn’t wake up. He’s a very kind soul and you should consider yourself lucky to be good friends with him as he can struggle to open up to people sometimes.” Dendra informed me. I smiled at the description of the dog I’d only known for a couple days, it summed him up pretty well.

“Yeah, couldn’t be happier to have him as a friend. Everyone’s been nice to me; Aubrey, Jasmine, you, I’m just so thankful and I just have no idea how to even start repaying you all.” I told her, gazing at her as if she held the answer to all my problems which to this point she had.

“All that I ask of you is that you stay true to yourself Nathan. Don’t let anyone here try to change you into something you don’t want to be, myself included. You’re a very bright young fox, and I’d hate to see you go sour on me. Can you do that for me?” She asked me, gazing expectantly. I processed her words fully before nodding at her. She smiled at my response.

“Good. You’re free to go, tell Jasmine I need to see her please.” She told me as I walked to the entrance of the tent. I paused to glance back at the gray furred lemur.

“Thanks Dendra.” I told her.

“You’re very welcome Nathan.” She replied with a kind smile. I walked out of the tent and watched Roy sitting on one of the stumps near the fire talking with Aubrey. My snow crunching as I approached them alerted me to my presence, turning to face me.

“Where did Jasmine go, Dendra needs to see her.” I asked the two.

“One sec. JASMINE!” Aubrey shouted across the camp.

“What?” The faint call of the white furred tiger sounded from the other side of the camp.

“DENDRA NEEDS TO SEE YOU!” Aubrey shouted back. My ears rung painfully from the shouting.

“Okay!” Jasmine called back.

“All done!” Aubrey said cheerfully.

I chuckled slightly at her, “I’m gonna go lay down for a bit, just need to sort some things out.” I told the pair. “I’m fine, I promise. I just need a little bit of time to think.” I added upon seeing the rabbit’s worried look.

I departed in the direction of my tent, shaking some of the snow from my feet as I stepped inside. I plopped heavily onto the small bed, closing my eyes so I could better get an idea of what I needed to sort out. Evidently I was more tired than I thought as I was shaken awake. I opened my eyes tiredly, but the sleepiness quickly began fading as I stared at the brown furred face leaning over me.

“Hey listen, I’m really sorry about earlier. I didn’t want any of you guys to have to see any of that.” He said quietly as he sat down on his cot. Once my vision had completely focused I took note of the slight swelling of the shepherd’s muzzle.

Reaching out tentatively with a paw I gently caressed the swollen area. He winced slightly but didn’t pull away, and I was shocked when he actually tilted his head and leaned into the touch. I wasn’t sure what to do so I pulled my paw away and gazed at him curiously. He looked slightly disappointed as I drew away.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.” I whispered quietly. He shook his head with a small smile.

“He doesn’t like how much time I’ve been spending with you. He thinks that I’m getting too distracted by you-“ He paused to hold up a paw at the growl that had been slowly making process up my throat, “-but he’s not necessarily lying about that.” He finished. The growl dissipated immediately as I let his words sink in. I cocked my head slightly at him, trying to find the meaning behind his words. “It’s okay if you don’t understand, I haven’t completely come to terms with it either so I’m still a bit puzzled myself.” He added. I nodded my head slightly.

“He doesn’t hit you like this often… does he?” I asked hesitantly. The shepherd was quiet for a moment before he sighed.

“It’s happened before, but he’s never hit me as hard as he did today. But I guess I was asking for it, I got him pretty worked up.” He chuckled dryly. The growl that I’d managed to subdue for the most part erupted at the statement.

“Baron he has no justification for hitting you, period!” I shouted quietly.

“Nathan it’s okay-“ I cut him off, getting up off the cot.

“It’s not okay Baron! It’s not okay! It’s not…” I choked off as I felt emotion begin to overwhelm me. The shepherd stood up as well, pulling me closer to him. I collapsed into his chest, body trembling due to something other than the cold this time.

We sat down on his cot, my face buried into his collarbone area with one of his arms wrapped around me. It was certainly an awkward moment when Aubrey poked her head in to check in on us. I glanced up, eyes overflowing with tears, noting that the sun was now setting. I was surprised I’d slept that long considering how much sleep I’d had that last couple days.

Baron shook his head gently at her at which Aubrey nodded her head and left the tent leaving us alone once again. Feeling confused and uncomfortable now I pulled myself from the shepherd’s grip. He was reluctant to release me but he did nonetheless as I crawled onto my cot facing away from him.

I missed the depression that overtook his features, ears falling helplessly against his head and tail tucking as he exited the tent. I could only cry myself to sleep as the thoughts that I thought I had conquered reigned supreme once again in my disorganized mind.

P.O.V. Change: Baron

I sent one final miserable glance the fox’s way before exiting the tent. I knew I would be doing more harm than good my going back to try to comfort him now that he was uncomfortable with my presence, so I found a seat near the fire.

I had many different emotions flooding my senses at the moment; grief for my friend inside crying himself to sleep, helplessness because I couldn’t help him, anxiety for the mission tomorrow, and resentment for my father for causing this mess in the first place.

Wanting a distraction I made my way to the food tent to grab my hunting bow and quiver. My knife was still in its place on my waist as I walked off into the slowly encroaching darkness. My vision quickly adjusted to the dusk lighting, but my ears did all the work as I listened for any movement.

The rustle of grass a few yards away made me freeze in place. I drew an arrow from my quiver and drew the string back ready to fire. My face scrunched up and just as I was about to release my arrow the large hare turned towards me, staring directly at me.

My concentration faltered and as I stared into the lightly glimmering eyes of the rabbit I exhaled roughly and dropped my bow. I didn’t even care about the rabbit anymore, the only thing I could think about was the person I’d abandoned in the tent alone to fend for himself.

I felt so helpless because as much as I wanted to help him I was afraid to scare him away any more than I had already. I could only gaze at the full moon looking for the answers to the questions that only one person could answer.

And that's all I have you all tonight! Quite an interesting chapter for me to write I must admit, introducing a couple of the different storylines this story will be following. Very interesting indeed... :P

I'll go ahead and let you all know (for those of you who read this if not I'll still be putting out an update) I won't be uploading tomorrow once again unfortunately. I have the rare opportunity to go watch my cousin play down here in sunny Tampa, Florida. Not everyday you get to see a family member play a game in the NHL, can't wait but I'll miss you all dearly tomorrow! I'll see you all again on Monday for the next chapter of Silent Soul, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Have a good night! ^_^