The Two-Tailed Fox

Part One

How long has it been since I was left alone here? I always ask myself that question, but I was too young at that time to remember anything. I'm only six and a half years old, and yet I'm trying to fend for myself here on Westside Island. If it weren't for these two tails, I'd probably be living a normal life right now, but I guess it's just the luck of the draw. My name is Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Puny Two Tail…

"Ugh… I hope I can get some food today…" I say to myself. "Maybe someone actually put something uneaten in one of the trash cans." It's disgusting, yes, but I haven't eaten in two days. As I walk down the street, looking side to side for food, I get pelted by strings of offensive comments. "Whatcha looking for now, homeless fox?" mocks a young yellow hedgehog. "Aww, do you want food?" He holds out what's left of a hot dog, and my mouth starts to water as my legs uncontrollably move me toward it. As soon as I'm about to grab it, he pulls it away and shoves the whole thing in his mouth. After he swallows, he chuckles and walks away.

My stomach growls at me to get some food in there. "Shut up!" I quietly exclaim to it, even though I know it won't. Why do I have to be bullied by everyone? I just wanted something to eat! All I've eaten in the past week are two cheeseburgers… Well, make that a cheeseburger and a half. One of the burgers was already half-eaten, but I digress… I resume my walking, once again looking high and low for something even partially edible, but instead of finding that, I find myself near the Westside Island Amusement Park.

The amusement park always looks amazing, but there's one thing that keeps me from going in there every time. "All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times," says the sign in front of my face. This time, however, I notice something else written messily under the main message. "This means you, Two Tail!" it reads. I immediately recognize the handwriting. "Rascal…" I say quietly. Andrew the Fox, better known by his nickname, Rascal, is the neighborhood bully around here, and I'm usually his victim. He and his cronies, Jacquelyn, aka Jack, and Robert, whose short name is Robb, are all ten years old.

I'm about to walk away when someone picks me up by my tails. Without even looking, I know who it is. "Oh, h-h-hey… Rascal…" I'm always careful not to call him Andrew. It never ends well when I do. As he turns me around, he says, "Hey, Two Tail. You look especially scared of me today." It's true, I'm usually scared of him, but I guess the fear must be showing in my eyes this time. Through those eyes, I see Rascal's brown eyes looking directly at them. I drop my gaze to avoid more eye contact and see his black vest and blue jeans covering much of his brown fur. "Were you trying to get into the amusement park? I thought we told you a thousand times: No freaks allowed here. Just for disobeying that, I think I'll have to punish you." Oh, boy, here it comes! He punches me square in the nose and winds up for a second one when I hear a female voice ask, "Rascal, are you already beating up on him? Why didn't you wait for me and Robb?"

Rascal drops me onto the ground, making me get covered in mud. I try to brush as much of it off as possible as I look at the female that just spoke. Of course, it just happens to be Jack, and Robb is standing next to her. Jack is a red cat with a black jacket, black jeans, and sunglasses on, and Robb is a black rabbit that isn't wearing anything besides shoes and gloves. Robb may be a rabbit, but I learned a long time ago not to underestimate him. I rub my nose as Rascal replies, "Sorry, Jack. I wasn't thinking." Jack sighs and responds, "Yeah, because that's a first," and slugs him hard on his right arm. Rascal immediately starts rubbing his arm and exclaims, "OW!"

I know I shouldn't say what I want to say, but I have to! "Can't take what you dish out, can you?" I ask mockingly. I instantaneously cover my mouth. I can't believe I said that! "What did you just say, Two Tail?" I stutter as I try to say, "I'm sorry, Rascal! I didn't mean it! HONEST!" He walks up to me and lifts me up by the white whiskers on my face. "I think," he starts as he clenches his gloved left fist. "you need to learn your lesson!" He punches me straight in the stomach right after releasing me, which sends me flying through the air for about a second before I once again land in the mud a few feet from the sidewalk.

Robb and Jack walk over to where I lie and kick me twice each as I try to hold back the vomit that was being forced up by Rascal's punch. "You never learn your lesson, do you, Puny Two Tail?" inquires Robb rhetorically. Jack laughs eerily before she mockingly says, "I wonder how hard he hit you. Oh, wait, you'd probably be able to figure it out. You are a geek after all." All three of the bullies laugh as Robb grabs me by my tails and carries me along with them. They start walking toward a park, where a large number of children have already gathered. Great… Now, here comes the public humiliation stage of the bullying.

"C'mon, Two Tail…" says Rascal. "It's time to play 'Freak versus Trash'!" Oh, no, this can't be good. One look at the grin on Rascal's face tells me that this won't end well for me. Within a few minutes, we reach the destination, where there sits a trash can underneath a tree branch. "You wanna do the honors, Rascal?" asks Robb as he hands me to Rascal. He takes both of my tails, one in each hand, lifts me up to the branch, and ties me to it loosely with my tails.

The horrendous stench of the garbage beneath me triggers my gag reflex as Rascal begins to speak in his rather unintimidating voice. "Well, now that we have little Miles tied to that branch, who wants to play 'Freak Versus Trash'?" The crowd of kids goes into an uproar before Rascal continues. "Okay, the rules are simple. You give us a dollar, and you get to whack Two Tail three times. The first person to hit him hard enough that he falls in the trash wins and gets three dollars."

I see a white dog walk up to me. As I look at him, pleading with my eyes for him not to do it, he takes a stick from Jack and whacks me in the stomach, near the spot where Rascal had punched me earlier. It hurts… a lot, but I try to be tough and take it like a man. After two more harsh blows, his dollar is up, and it's passed onto the next person. I outlast about ten people, but I can feel my tails starting to loosen up, and next, a blue cat comes and hits me on the stomach with enough force that I start to gasp for air, and as I do, my tails untie, and I fall into the disgusting vat of waste below me. I can hear everyone laughing as Robb puts a lid on the can.

I can feel someone carrying me somewhere, but I can't tell where, then the trash can is set down on its side… on a hill. I feel myself rolling down it, getting woozier with each rotation of the can. Finally, it comes to an end in about thirty seconds when it hits a tree, which it strikes with enough force that it sends me flying out. Then, I can't hold it in anymore, and I lose what was left of food in my stomach. Even if it weren't for the spinning, the stench of the trash alone may have induced that anyway. Everyone at the top of the hill laughs even harder as they see me vomit. Those kids have a sick and twisted sense of humor, if you ask me.

I lay there for about an hour or so, crying from the effects of today's bullying. Why does this have to happen to me? Why did I have to get this birth defect? Having two tails doesn't seem like a necessarily bad thing. So why, then? This question will probably never be answered. I get up and start walking away when I see a blue hedgehog that looks about thirteen years old pass by. He stops for a second after he makes eye contact with me. "Wait a second…" he starts. "You're that fox that Rascal was bullying earlier, aren't you." I sigh and respond, "Yeah, and so what if I am. Are you gonna laugh at me? Are you gonna make fun of my tails?"

The hedgehog shakes his head. "No." He then holds out two chili dogs, which I initially assume is to mock me, but then he says, "Go, ahead. Take them. I was gonna eat 'em, but I heard about how you don't get much to eat, so here." I'm a bit reluctant to take them, as I've never been offered anything honestly. However, instead of waiting for me to take them, he places them in my partially open hands. He smiles at me, then exclaims, "Well, see you later. Gotta speed, kid!" Without saying another word, he runs off to the southeast at what I swear are supersonic speeds. I didn't even get to ask his name…

I don't even remember when someone was last that generous to me. I look at the food in my hands, trying to grasp that it's real. I then slowly take a bite of one of the chili dogs, savoring it. After I swallow the first bite, I quietly say a thank you to that blue hedgehog. I sit down by a tree and eat the rest of the two chili dogs. So there is good out there. Who would have known?