Shattered Memories, Chapter 2

“WHTHHLL!?!” Maddox attempted to yell from behind the tape, but whoever had put it on had put it on tight. He tried to punch his assailant, but his paws had been tied up behind his back, too.

“What did I say about struggling?! Now shut up and stay still!” The voice muttered, followed by two beefy arms picking up and carrying him out of the car. Maddox continued to struggle in his bonds, which resulted in him getting dropped on the pavement and cutting open his arm, blood barely staining his golden fur red.

“MFFUP!” He screamed, but no one heard. Once again the arms scooped him up and continued to carry the young fur to who-knows-where. Maddox carefully listened to his kidnapper’s footsteps, which suggested they had walked off the street onto grass – what if he was going to be held for ransom? What if his parents were super-important and this guy had a grudge against them? What if they were secret agents? What if he was a secret agent without his knowing? Maybe he was some government super-weapon –

Okay, Maddox angrily said to himself. Now you’re just reachin’.

By now the fur had carried Maddox inside a building with hardwood floors. Judging by the echo the guy’s footsteps made, the house was empty. Maddox’s heart was racing at a million miles an hour, his mind slowly wandering back to the idea of him being an agent when his attacker stopped.

The kidnapper proceeded to hurl Maddox through the air, where instead of landing on the floor he bounced off a mattress. This was followed by a chorus of laughter and the sound of high-fiving from nearby. Just as Maddox began to think that he was being kidnapped by a troupe of deranged runaway clowns, his blindfold was ripped off. The scene that lay before him left him pissed.

His dad had been the one to carry him in and take his blindfold off. His mother and Grant were behind him, still laughing from their little joke. He was lying on a soft mattress in the middle of what looked to be their kitchen. Maddox began to snarl angrily from behind the duct tape, much to the delight of his family.

“Whoo- ahahahahaha!! Look at our poor little guy!” His mother giggled. “Oh, dear, take that tape off - I want to hear what he’s saying!”

With a swift, satisfying rip sound, the duct tape was off.

“-AND WHAT THE HECK POSSESSED YOU TO PRETEND TO KIDNAP ME I OUGHTA SUE YOU ALL YOU’RE SUCH FREAKING SONS OF–“

His father slapped some tape back onto Maddox’s muzzle before he could finish. Maddox, his fury boiling inside him, noticed that his brother had a video camera and was taping his humiliation! His mother and father, still hooting and hollering, were busy removing his bindings on his arms and legs. Finally, after maybe half an hour, Maddox calmed down enough to allow his parents to remove the tape from his mouth. He got up off the mattress, rubbing the gash in his arm.

“Oh geez, what happened?” His father worriedly asked.

“YOU dropped me, you old fart!” Maddox retorted.

“MARK!” His mother yelled. “Why were you so careless??”

“Well, geez, sorry for trying to give everyone a good laugh!”

“You could’ve crippled our son!”

“HEY!” A young voice yelled from the entryway. “Will you two please stop fighting? It was my idea; I take responsibility for what happened. I apologize, Maddox.”

Maddox glared at Grant, who was looking at him shyly from behind the camera. Maddox slowly got up – wincing a couple times from the pain that shot through his arm – walked over to his brother, and slugged him in the stomach.

“MADDOX!” His parents yelled in unison.

“But he started it! He’s probably gonna put that on his Furbook and embarrass me! C’mon!!” His plea was met with a stern look from his parents. “You know what, whatever…” Maddox then grabbed the mattress – he now noticed it was his – and carried it up to his bedroom. Grant and his parents heard a door slam, which echoed throughout the house.

“Well,” Mark stated matter-of-factly, “I guess that’s that. Grant, go apologize to your brother (“but I already did!”) and take him to the mall – you two need to get uniforms for school!”

Grant ran up the stairs and knocked on his brother’s door. “Hey, Maddox, I’m really sorry about what I did…”

“Jerk -face.”

“…and mom wants us to go to the mall to get uniforms.”

“Leave me alone.”

“I’ll buy you a game?”

“Pour cement up your crack.”

“Let you beat me up?”

“Rather jump off the roof.”

“Try to find you a girl?”

The door was thrown open and Grant was shoved aside by his older brother, whose tail was wagging like mad. “Why didn’t you say something? Let’s go!”

Grant, suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea, ran after his brother.