The constant deafening sound of barking made Fox's ears twitch as he was shoved into a large cage beneath several smaller, crazed demons.

I swear I'm not going to be able to hear if I stay in this place for very long.

After suffering in the noise for nearly an hour, the two men that had original caught him walked through the solid steel door across the room. The animal control officer had his catch-pole in his hand while the police officer held handcuffs. Yeah, both of those things aren't going to do you two any good this time.

Unless they planned to move him with the pole, and it would take a hell of a lot of luck to get him snagged in it a second time, the tools would be useless.

"Alright, kid. Time to shift and deal with the consequences of your actions. You've had long enough to cool off and think about what you've done." The policeman said as he reached for the little mechanism that opened the cage.

Fox watched him push one small bar down while he lifted the other up, effectively unlocking the large cage he'd been shoved into earlier. Before the door could even be opened, however, Fox snarled and lunged for the man's fingers through the bars. The animal control officer slammed the door shut just in time for it to relock before Fox hit it. He did manage to swipe his paw through the bars, however, and land a good scratch on the policeman's wrist before he could jump away.

"Little bastard!" The policeman yelled as he shook his bleeding wrist. "You think that you're just going to get away with acting like a feral animal? If you don't shift within five days, or give us a very clear sign that you have ever been human, then you'll be euthanized and your brain will be analyzed for rabies. That poor girl is getting those terrible shots right now because of you, and now I'm going to have to go get them, too."

Then get going. I warned her not to touch me repeatedly, and I clearly showed you both that I don't want you near me, either!

The animal control officer stuck his catch-pole through a small opening that was clearly meant for it. Fox latched onto the pole and thrashed it harshly until the man managed to finally break it from the grip his little, but strong teeth, had on it. He was quite proud of the marks he managed to leave on the annoying device as both men took steps away from him.

"Let's just go for now. He can stay here overnight and decide what he wants to do." The policeman said as he headed for the door.

The animal control officer nodded and leaned his catch-pole against the far corner, then stepped out of the room after turning the lights off. Normally, Fox loved being in the dark. It calmed him and, even though some animals couldn't see that well at night, his vision was quite good.

But there are no stars here... and no moon.

The darkness that used to bring him comfort only brought with it anxiety that was quickly amplified by the continuous raucous barking from the small room he was in, as well as the roaring from the larger dog kennels just beyond the door to his right.

Don't freak out.

Fighting his nerves, Fox gave himself a good shake, then inched over to the little lever latch that he'd watched the man undo. Okay. Just focus and you'll be out of here in no time. He thought as he carefully sat back on his haunches against the bars of the cage, then reached out both of his paws.

To his surprise, the latches were much harder to move than they had appeared to be when the man had unlocked the cage. He managed to get the one that needed to be depressed after about ten minutes of trying, but the one that needed to be lifted, and at the exact same time, was much harder to do.

Darn paws. Come on.

He knew that he'd be able to do it easier if he had more weight to his body, but the few tiny mice he'd managed to catch the past few weeks hadn't done him much good. He was just about to give up and allow his aching paws a rest when he finally felt both latches give way at the same time. The door swung open abruptly from him leaning against it, but the action caught him by surprise, which in turn had him fumbling. His arm got stuck at an odd angle between the thinner bars that held the locking mechanism, twisting it painfully as the door came to a stop. It had dragged him on the floor a good ways before he managed to free it. When he put it back down on the floor to help support his weight, he winced and limped.

Perfect. Just what I need today.

Looking around, he located a small clock on the wall that told him it was around six. I need to get out of here and start hunting or I won't have anything to eat, again. The thought had his stomach growling quietly. It had long since given up the idea of having daily meals, but it wasn't above begging if he was actually thinking about food.

I've been trying. It's not easy once it gets cold.

Walking over to one of the two large doors, Fox tilted his head one way, then the other. There was no way he'd be able to get out without someone opening the door for him. Making noise won't do any good. I can barely hear myself in here. He moved around the room, considering different plans, and discarding them as impossible just as quickly as the ideas came to him.

He was just turning toward the door again when a flash caught his attention in an upper corner. A camera? His left ear flicked as another idea settled in his little brain.

Jail break, anyone?

With a wolfish grin he bounded over to the rows of cages and began unlatching them. Thankfully, all of the dogs in the room were tiny, and after a growl or two, didn't have enough balls to try and fight with him. They did, however, make a hell of a lot more noise as they began to run around and tussle with each other, piss on everything, and flat out cause destruction.

While the dogs did what he needed them to, Fox hopped up onto the counter next to the entrance door and waited. It took a bit, likely because of the time, but when he saw a light suddenly turn on in the other room, he ducked against the wall and crouched down. Moments later the door was swinging open... and he was darting out of it.

The landing sent a shock of pain through his damaged left arm, but he refused to hesitate as he forced himself to run toward the front door. Another animal control officer was in the middle of walking through it, and even though she tried to grab him, his snarl and slight shift of direction let him slip between her fingers.

Freedom!

He quickly made his way down the street, then across a second one before disappearing into a residential neighborhood. It was no surprise that he didn't hear anyone following. The group of people that had responded to the ruckus he'd caused would have more than enough on their hands to deal with and wouldn't be able to come after him so quickly.

I'm sure they'll be keeping their eyes out, though.

Grunting quietly, Fox slowly limped through a heavily-planted backyard, then hopped over a privacy fence and into a slightly less busy one. There was a small hammock between two medium sized trees off to one side and a row of bushes planted along the back. Several plants struggled in a garden bed that had clearly not been tended in some time, though he figured that the cold wasn't helping, either.

Fox was just about to head into the next yard to look for somewhere to sleep, since he knew that hunting wouldn't do him any good with his aching left arm, when he noticed a large cardboard box settled up on the back porch.

Hmm? Could that be...

He quickly but quietly made his way up to the small shelter, the tip of his tail flicking as his mouth salivated at the scent wafting from the box. Hell yes. He carefully passed the small empty saucers meant for kibble and water as he inched closer. The second the small cat huddled inside of the makeshift shelter lifted its head, Fox lunged. He wasn't a fan of hunting cats since they always tended to catch him with their claws before he could completely immobilize them, but thankfully the one inside the box had been half-asleep, making the kill nice and easy.

I love when people leave out dinner for me.

Fox gratefully curled up on the towel inside the box and got busy working on his meal. It had been a long time since he'd eaten a decent portion of meat, and he wasn't wasting any time stuffing his face. He was so distracted that he didn't hear anyone approach until a man was kneeling in front of the box.

"Hey there, Minnie, you finally want to come in tonight?"

Fox immediately stopped chewing on the mouthful of meat he'd been working on and shrank to the back of the box.

That voice sounds uncomfortably familiar.

"Minnie?" The man asked as he leaned over and peered inside.

Uh... meow?

"You!"

Before Fox could react, the box, along with himself, was being picked up, flipped over and carried somewhere. He fumbled for footing as the remains of the cat fell out, but was so focused on trying to stay upright himself, that he didn't notice the man's large hand reaching into the box until he was firmly scruffed. Of course, that only triggered Fox to try and swing around and claw him, but the guy seemed ready for that this time, too. He tightened his grip and started swinging and shaking him around like a rag-doll, effectively making Fox's struggling useless.

"You little bastard. It's not good enough that you bit a child and attacked me, along with those officers. You just had to kill and eat my cat, too?" He growled as he promptly threw Fox onto a a carpeted floor.

The second he could, Fox bolted. He wasn't exactly sure where he was right at that moment, but he knew that he had to get away from the man. It didn't take him long after stumbling to a hiding spot in the open dryer in what he could only assume was a laundry room, before he realized that the man had carried him inside of his home.

Why?

His racing thoughts paused when he heard footsteps coming closer several minutes later. When the man knelt in front of the open dryer door, Fox let his hackles rise and growled in warning. He was still shaken up, though, so while he was warning the man to stay away or risk getting bitten, he was also hoping that the aggression would make him think twice about getting any closer. He didn't want a conflict. He just wanted to calm down a little bit.

"If I wasn't so sure that you were some smart ass kid just out to piss people off, I would slam this door shut and let you go for a ride." The man hissed angrily, making Fox growl louder.

It didn't have a collar on and was outside! How was I supposed to know that it was your pussy.

Granted, he probably would have tried to eat it, anyways. Just the remnants of the taste from the small feline on his tongue had Fox's stomach growling just as loudly as his mouth. He pinned his ears back when the man ran his fingers through his own hair, then sighed and sat back against the wall a few feet away.

"Why won't you shift and talk? I'm not a fool, I can tell that you are part human. There's no way a fox would have such an attitude." He said as he eyed him, but stayed where he was.

Thankfully, after a few moments of tense silence Fox was able to calm himself down enough to take some deep breaths. He hadn't realized that he'd been shaking and struggling to get in air for some time.

"You know that I have to call the police, right? You bit that girl, and me, and you also killed my cat. Those aren't things that you can just walk away from because you refuse to shift back to your human self."

Fox scooted a little farther back in the dryer and lifted his left foot just enough to relieve some of the pain from having put weight on it. He figured that the man would call the police, and due to his stupid stomach, he'd killed the guy's cat and was now trapped in his house. The man was just opening his mouth to speak again when a small beeping sound started up from the other room.

"I'll be right back." He said as he got up and walked out of the room, giving Fox a much needed break from his angry glare.

I need to find a way to get out of here before he comes back and shuts me in this dryer until the cops come.

The thought didn't settle well with him at all as he carefully hopped out of the machine and limped back into the hallway. Now that he wasn't running strictly on instinct, his nose was greedily picking up the scent of cooked meat. It had been so long since he'd managed to steal any kind of cooked food.

Even though he knew that the man would be in the kitchen, he still let his feet move him until he was glancing inside of the medium-sized room. Unsurprisingly, the guy was moving slices of what looked like beef from a sizzling hot frying pan to a plate, then adding some sort of vegetables from a tray that had clearly been in the oven.

Fox's stomach rumbled loudly at just the sight, drawing the man's unwanted attention.

"Not a chance. You already had dinner." He sneered at the same time Fox felt his stomach do a little flip inside his chest.

Being jerked around had definitely made him dizzy, but he'd hoped to keep down what little he'd managed to eat of the man's precious pet. Unfortunately, the reminder of the small bits of food resting in his belly had it churning until he hunched over and threw it up.

Darn it. I just wanted something to eat.

Fox didn't even bother trying to look at the man he knew would be livid at him for throwing up his cat on his kitchen floor. He tried to straighten up enough to run away again, but a wave of nausea had him staggering, and when he put his meager weight on his left paw, it refused to hold. Flopping to the floor, he gave out a quiet whine and closed his eyes, willing the room to stop spinning.

It did, finally, but only because his consciousness slipped away.