Sharks Out There

When the children played happily in the school grounds, they never assumed for a second that danger could lurk within their sanctuary. It started in the school parking lot when a tall, menacing black panther and his portly raccoon companion took another hit off of their crack pipe and further infiltrated cub territory. They parked their white cargo van illegally in a spot reserved for teachers. Neither of them had children attending this school, Springwood Elementary. In fact, the Mississippi plates on the van indicated they belonged nowhere within fifteen hundred kilometres of the school.

No authority figure noticed their presence. They walked through the school grounds un-harassed, patrolling for prey. Hunger drove these two vagrants. The sights of these vulnerable children ignited a deep innate desire within them. Free access to ripe picking grounds meant these foreigners could pick and choose whatever they wanted, within reason. Reaching out and grabbing any cub would have alerted school patrols immediately. To remain behind the veil of ignorant childhood bliss, they had to strike at prey wandering too far from the herd.

The panther led his obese, undershirt wearing, denim clad ‘coon partner. They skirted the perimeter of the schoolyards, careful not to alert anyone. It was a beautiful early summer day. The school year squirmed to a close, and all the bouncing cubs diverted short attention spans away from reality. With no eyes turned to their paths, the panther and raccoon duo continued to survey.

“Oh, that there is a nice one,” the black feline remarked to his partner.

“Yeah, but that lil’ girl there sure is perrty.”

“Too bad they is so close to the school.”

“I’d scoop ‘em all up if they was all wanderin’ idiots!”

“We’ll fin’ one, Thomas. Rest assured.”

“We always do, Dominic. Huh huh huh.”

Snakey fingers ran through the chicken-wire fence at the boarder of the school grounds. Regardless of their drug-influenced gait, both Dominic and Thomas took a purposeful path through the perpetual gardens of innocence. The panther wore a moth-eaten white suit, leather boots with spurs, and a desperado style hat. He trotted forth like a camel approaching a desert oasis, and his raccoon friend lumbered close behind. At this point, they decided to cut a diagonal route across the yards. This path put them on an indirect intercept course with a young rabbit boy approaching a large oak tree, all by himself.

Following close behind his long-time friend, Thomas wasn’t quite as inebriated as the black panther, but he was still flying higher than a kite from all the pot he’d partaken of on the trip here.

This latest venture into the land of little boys and girls had been Dominic’s idea. The raccoon was perfectly content to tag along though. He had a fancy for diddling with little boys, but rarely had he ever been able to get close enough for some fun. With his buddy, however, they’d been able to snatch up cubs left and right over the last few years. Normally they’d have their fun and move on, relying on threats to keep their victims compliant, but this time Thomas wanted something different.

The rotund raccoon followed his more fit companion with a lilting gate. He may not have been as hammered as the tall feline, but he was getting distracted by figments of his imagination popping in and out of the visually enhanced landscape around him. Much as he was enjoying himself, navigation was a bitch.

On their trip through the bushes skirting the edge of the school yard, the portly raccoon was the first to spot the rabbit separating from the flock. He didn’t say anything initially until he was certain it wasn’t a hallucination, but once he was sure, he stopped suddenly and slapped Dominic’s shoulder.

“Dom, check it!” he whispered loudly. “Lil’ critter 3’oclock. Man… I fuckin’ love rabbits.”

Thomas could already feel a discomfort in his tight denim trousers as he watched the innocent little white rabbit with black-tipped ears, walking away from the school yard. He looked quite upset, but not as much as he was going to be.

-------

The first day back to school after a long weekend had been horrible for Jake. It started quite unceremoniously with Lyle causing trouble on the bus coming into school. As usual the woodpecker torment him with words first, laughing at every short-coming the rabbit had. After that, it got physical.

First, Lyle very nearly tripped him into a puddle, which he only narrowly avoided thanks to his friends Chris and Mitch, who immediately took up position between him and his assaulter. But they couldn’t always be around for him, so come the next encounter, alone in a hallway, Jake was greeted with a faceful of locker several times before he was shoved inside one and sealed in. That had been the most uncomfortable 20 minutes he’d ever had to endure.

Eventually a teacher let him out, but Lyle hadn’t been finished with him. When recess finally rolled around, the woodpecker went too far. While Jake played merrily with a ball he’d retrieved from the bin, Lyle had crept up behind him and pantsed him in front of his friends and several other kids.

Fortunately for the mortified buck only his shorts had made it past his knees before he could retrieve them, but it still exposed his Ducky Rogers themed underwear, which unleashed a chorus of laughter from everyone involved. Derogatory quips were blurted left and right, mostly concerning the childish nature of his interest in the cartoon and how it was for little babies.

That had been the last straw. While Jake’s friends sought revenge against the fleeing woodpecker, Jake ran away with tears in his eyes, struggling not to cry until he was well away from the ridicule. He moved quickly across the large grassy field, tugging on his shorts as he went to make sure they were well secured, and by the time he reached his final destination, he was crying out loud.

Jake dropped to his knees just shy of the old oak tree he normally sat under to draw and be alone. He was crying quite loudly now, express his grief for all the unfair punishment the bullies at this school put him through. The buck crawled over to the tree and sat down next do it, wiping his eyes as he sobbed unhappily, completely unaware of the two individuals standing nearby in the bushes.

Instantaneously, Dominic’s gaze zoned in on his partner’s fancy. Through glossy, yellow, bloodshot eyes, the panther analyzed the prey, and his eyes narrowed to fine slits. Already, he lurched up ready to pounce, and even his claws extruded. His dried tongue lapped all around his chops in a futile effort to moisten his parched maw. Pulling his senses through his mind-chemical haze, he managed to rationalize that he needed to get close to the bunny over yonder – within striking distance.

To help bring his partner back to reason, Thomas caught up with Dominic and walked close beside him. The intentions in his tainted raccoon brain brought him down from his ghanja and adulterated cocaine high. Thomas wanted this crying rabbit boy. His excitement became evident by the denim tent rising from his crotch. With such a terrible resolve in mind, he whispered his plans to the panther.

“Dang, he look so good! Real girly like, but a boy just the same. We gonna catch this one, right?”

“Oh, you better believe it! An’ y’know...I think we can keep him.”

“So, Dom, we ain’t going after no more then?”

“Naw. Naw I think he’ll do just fine. Whatta you think?”

“Huhn…Yeah. Yeah, he’s perfect. I fuckin’ want him so bad already!”

Now, with their target identified, both predators conjured their hunting tactics. Dominic scanned for a potential escape route. He was the more proficient driver, and his lighter frame meant he could wrangle the van better. Although, his physique also made him better suited for sprinting after and abducting prey compared to his tubby ‘coon friend. On the other hand, the panther very much looked like a predator. Thomas at least looked somewhat more approachable. They had this issue before when children would run away from Dominic screaming. Lucky for the panther, he always managed to chase down his victims, but that was only when he went after one kid in a given area. The raccoon can and has gotten close kids before grabbing them. Plus, he had a way with calming crying children even as he violated them.

“I think you need to take this one, Tom. Real quite like. We don’t want him runnin’ back and causin’ a kiddie stampede.”

“Don’t you worry none. I’ll git ‘im.”

“Countin’ on ya, brother. I’ll get the van, drive up that alley way over yonder, and wait for you.”

“Gotcha. Let’s do this!”

The black panther headed, at times uneasily, back to the school parking lot. Meanwhile, the raccoon continued his approach, very casually, to the unsuspecting buck by the tree.

Thomas had gotten close enough to hear the little boy’s stifled sobbing as he hugged his knees to his chest in front of the tree. The sound of a crying cub was music to his ears, but if he had any hope of coaxing this little buck into his arms, he’d have to play it sooth.

Although not looking a pretty picture with his stained wife-beater shirt and scuffed denims slacks, the raccoon was very good at putting on an outward appearance of false concern; at least when he wasn’t high. Even now he was still struggling to stand upright without swaying. A few minutes had to be taken so Thomas could correct his posture and clean up his outward image. If he wasn’t careful, the kid would run away the second he saw him.

By the time he was ready, he peeked around the tree to see Jake was still seated at the base of the tree. His crying had died down to sniffling as the little eight-year-old rabbit pored over a sketchbook sitting in his lap. Drawing always helped the cub to feel better, but he still couldn’t help thinking about what had just transpired.

He was well into his activity, shuddering with contained sobs when he heard someone approaching behind him.

Whatcha drawin’ there, kid?” Thomas asked nicely, keeping his distance for now.

Jake jumped and turned around sharply, shifting position to distance himself a little from the sudden intruder into his private zone. He spied the raccoon warily as he stood there looking casual with his paws in his pockets. Aside from looking a little zoned out, the adult didn’t seem all that threatening. In fact the ‘coon was smiling and looking worried.

“Shhh-shhh, it’s alright, son, nobody gonna hurtcha,” the raccoon reassured, muttering in the back of his mind “yet, anyway, heheheh…”.

“W-who are you?” Jake asked quietly, sliding back a little further to sit himself upright.

“Name’s uh… Carson,” Thomas lied, a usual tactic to keep cubs from tattling on him when they were let go; there wouldn’t be such a scenario this time, but he still liked the idea of feeding the cub false information. “Was just passin’ by an’ I heard yeh cryin’? Somethin’ wrong?”

“N-no, I mean…” Jake mumbled, clutching his sketchbook to his chest. “I was just…”

“A bully, right?”

“W-what?” Jake squeaked. “No, no, it was—”

Thomas chuckled lightly, wobbling a little as he stood, trying to conceal his uncertain posture and he dark intentions for the boy. He could already tell this cub was a keeper. He’d never seen a bunny so off-put by his manufactured demeanor.

“It’s a’ight son, I can tell. I won’t tell no one, kay? Wanna tell me wut happened?”

Jake lowered his gaze in defeat. “It was… he-he pulled my shorts down… in f-front of everyone.”

Who did?” Thomas inquired, even though he didn’t really care; all he could think about was the mental image of this kid having his drawers removed against his will; he would have fun messing with the cub’s sensitive nature.

“Lyle… h-he’s a woodpecker an’… he picks on me every day,” the cub whimpered, tears filling his eyes again.

“Oooh, now, now, now, keep them tears inside, lad,” Thomas said coming a little closer and kneeling down.

When the raccoon came closer Jake immediately slid back several feet, still wary of the older man. He had a good reason, though, and he really shouldn’t have let it get this far, but he really wanted a shoulder to cry on.

“I-I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers,” Jake explained quietly, clutching his sketchbook tightly.

Damn, this kid had been taught about stranger-danger. And more importantly, actually implemented what he’d learned. It was a stumbling block, but if Thomas timed it right, he’d still be able to snatch the kid up without drawing any attention.

“A’ight, a’ight, I respect that, kid. We cin keep it simple. Y’got a name? Yeh already know mine, so I reckon it’s only fair,” he said, testing the cub.

The boy looked down in thought, considering it for a moment. Carson had already given his name in introduction, and Jake had been rude by not offering his own name, but at the same time, he wasn’t supposed to talk to people he didn’t know, especially adults. That was his parents’ golden rule. That was only for scary looking people though, right? Carson didn’t look mean or dangerous. A little grungy maybe, a bit like a hobo, but his eyes gleamed with kindness.

“J-Jake. My name’s Jake,” he answered nervously.

“Jake, huh? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet’cha, Jake,” Thomas said with a slight slur as he held out a paw to shake.

The raccoon watched as Jake stared at his outstretched paw. He could imagine the cub’s inner process of deciding whether it was safe or not. All it would take was one minor miscalculation and the bunny would be his. And it came sooner that Thomas expected. Jake’s paw slowly lifted to accept the paw-shake, but just as they were both about to make contact, the school-bell rang.

The cub jerked his head to the side, looking relieved by the excuse to vacate the area, but Thomas suddenly panicked. If he didn’t act now he’d lose his chance. Before Jake could retract his arm, the raccoon lurched forward and grabbed it, taking the rabbit by surpise as he was thrust into the grown-ups chest.
 
What are you—let me go! HELP!” Jake shrieked before Thomas could clamp a paw over his muzzle.

His prize immediately twisted and flailed in terror, screaming into his captor’s paw as Thomas hoisted the boy up off his feet. The raccoon looked around panic-stricken, holding a struggling bunny cub against his chest as he searched for his companion’s vehicle.

It took Thomas a few seconds to spot the alley Dominic had pointed out earlier before he jerked around and bolted with his captive still kicking and flailing. Jake had dropped his sketchbook in the process, but the raccoon was in too much of a hurry to snatch up the evidence. He had to hurry before the sounds of struggle drew unwanted eyes.

Dominic hurried back to the van as quickly as his shaky legs would allow. Just as he arrived, though, an adult came out of the school and approached him.

“You there! What are you doing here?”

The inquiry sobered the panther up instantly and gave him the oomph to get behind the wheel like an eagle strike. He ignited the engine, put the van in gear, and sped off with his claws firmly gripped on the steering well. The adult had an unwelcomed shower of gravel, thus eliminating the chance of him noticing the van’s foreign plates. Dominic raced out of the parking lot and into the alleyway alongside the school grounds. Completely out of his previous high, he drove deliberately and with total competence.

In a matter of seconds, he reached the part of the dirt road directly perpendicular to the oak tree where Jake was spotted. He was surprisingly precise in bringing the van to a sudden halt at the right point. This gave Thomas the shortest possible amount of distance between himself and his getaway. Additionally, the rising dust cloud clearly signalled to him where to find his partner. Dominic hopped out, engine still running, and threw open the rear doors.

“C’mon, c’mon!!!” He urged his raccoon partner who ran to the vehicle with their prize in hand.

Thomas’s progress occasionally became stifled. The thrashing rabbit very nearly got away more than once, and even got his feet onto the ground for a moment. Each time, the fat predator had to stop to again restrain and readjust the buck in his arms. Screaming, Jake made it unmistakable he would not allow himself to be taken easily. His bucking legs were just about enough to throw out Thomas’s back.

“Hold still, lil’ critter!”

Dominic just about rushed to aid Thomas. The raccoon’s slow escape from the scene of the crime put precious minutes against the duo. Both of them risked seeing their hunt go down in flames. Lucky for both of them, the portly procyonid practically threw himself in the back of the van. His panther partner quickly slammed the doors behind him and flew back into the driver’s seat. After a fireworks display of flying gravel, the white van chewed its way through the alley.

Present in an unfamiliar town, Dominic didn’t have any clear idea where to drive. He just knew he had to somehow get back on the highway. The alley exited onto a residential road, and the panther drove at an illegal speed through the neighbourhood.

“Don’t ya know where yer goin’ there, Dom!”

“I ain’t been to this crazy canuck town before. Shit, these here roads gotta get back to the hiway somehow.”

Abrupt turns sent Thomas and Jake bouncing through the cargo space as though both of them got put into an industrial washing machine. Without the luxury of stillness, Thomas struggled to restrain his captive.

“Shuddup an’ hold still I said! Git over here…”

The predatory duo stocked their vehicle with flattened boxes and an array of nylon and plastic straps. Thomas tried desperately to restrain the panicking bunny boy with the items available to him. It was bad enough getting tossed around and losing grip of the buck at several turns, but the screaming had both adults worried someone would hear. All it took was a concerned citizen to summon the police. Dominic kept his eyes on his mirrors, frantically searching for a police cruiser in pursuit. So far, the sleepy streets stayed clear allowing for a clean get away.

“Shut that varmit up!”

“I’m tryin’ but ya keep bouncing us around.”

Finally, with all his bulk, the heavy raccoon tackled Jake to the floor of the van, knocking the wind out of the lapine. Grasping the thrashing buck by the upper body, Thomas pulled back and righted himself onto his bottom with the poor rabbit pressed tightly close. Next, he wrapped a long nylon cord around Jake’s forearms while keeping the buck in an uncomfortable bear-hug. Just as he successfully bound the boy’s arms, the screaming started up again. Thomas put a paw over Jake’s mouth, and cried out in pain when the frightened bunny bit the meat on one of his fingers. Furthermore, the rabbit, with his powerful hind legs, kicked against the side panels and caused both himself and his captor to fling backwards. Again, he slipped from the raccoon’s grasp.

“Daw, shit! Mutha fuck…”

“Tom, git him restrained quickly! We is almost on the main road now.”

Through with playing games, Thomas lunged at Jake and managed to seize one of the bunny’s ears. The downward pull brought Jake down to his side on the floor, and the grungy raccoon sat down on his hips. As the van left behind residential streets and got back onto the main road, the ride became smoother which allowed Thomas to work faster. With the plastic zap-straps, he successfully bound Jake’s legs. He also put zap-straps around the buck’s wrists, further ensuring the rabbit couldn’t fight back. Finally, he grabbed a big wad of industrial plastic wrap nearby, stuffed it into Jake’s mouth, unbuckled and removed his belt, and secured the plastic wad in a crude gag by using his belt.

“Aw shit, there is the hiway! We’re gonna make it…we’re gonna be alright.” 

Dominic again searched his mirrors to make sure no cops followed behind him. As before, his trail stayed clean. He slowed his speed down to a more reasonable, inconspicuous rate. Up ahead, he saw the exit onto the main highway leading back to the US.

“Wooo! Yeah-hoo! We fuckin’ did it!”

“Nice, Dom. Right on.”

“Once we is outta town, I gotta pull over somewhere…somewhere quiet like, y’know.”

“Yer right, Dom, we best be getting rid of all the crank in case them boarder folks search our person.”

“Hopefully they don’t search the back there. We’ll set up them boxes when we pull over.”

“Heh, maybe we won’t get rid of all the shit…maybe we should share with our new friend here.”

“Huh huh, yeah! Anything we don’t smoke, we toss.”

The raccoon nodded in approval with the plan. He laid down on the floor next to the whimpering bunny, almost spooning with the boy. Muttering and drooling, he started running uninvited fingers through soft white bunny fur.

“Mmmm, so soft…can hardly wait until the real fun begins!”

Terror gripped Jake’s heart as a simple conversation had quickly transformed in a nightmare. The raccoon had gripped his arm so tightly, wrapping the cub in his beefy grip, and no matter how much he struggled he just couldn’t get away. He could barely comprehend what was happening, it all felt like a dream. What he did know though, was this ‘Carson’ was a bad person, and he had to escape and call for help.

The trip from the tree to the raccoon’s pick-up point was as much a struggled for the ring-tailed bandit as it was for Jake. Screaming at the top of his lungs into his fleshy muzzle and thrashing as violently as his eight-year-old body could muster, he’d managed to almost free himself numerous times, but Thomas had done this before, and all of his attempts to escape were thwarted.

There was a glimmer of hope when someone had called out, drawing the attention of Jake and his captor, but the sudden revving and reckless driving of a white van broke the focus. The buck still screamed for help, but his only hope for rescue was lost in a cloud of dust as the poor boy was carted further and further away from his school, fighting for his life in the paws of his kidnapper.

It wasn’t long before Jake was thrown bodily into the back of the same white van that had interfered. The cub watched in horror as a black panther encouraged the raccoon as he was man-handled against his will.

You shouldn’t talk to strangers, Jake. The cub renewed his struggling with a terrified vigor, twisting and squirming as Thomas threw him against the floor of the van. There’s bad people out there, and some of them will want to do bad things to you.

As the van squealed around tight corners, driving dangerously, Jake and his captor were tossed around roughly, giving the buck several opportunities to struggle free and cry for help as loud as he could, but every time the raccoon fell on top of him again, desperately trying to grapple with the boy’s flailing limbs and he called out to his partner in crime and berated Jake for trying to escape.

His heart pounded painfully in his chest as the frightened cub squealed and cried as Thomas fought with his little body, but suddenly the raccoon dropped onto him like a ton of bricks, forcing the air from the rabbit’s lungs is a raspy gasp. The shock of the impact stunned him long enough for the kidnapper to bind his arms, but Jake quickly recovered enough to scream hoarsely, begging for help.

“HEELP! S-SOMEBODY HELP ME!” He squealed, still kicking and squirming with his legs, but now it was a losing battle.

His cries were quickly stifled, but the buck bit his offending paw in retaliation. He followed up with a wild kick that freed him for a moment but before he could take advantage of it, Thomas grabbed him painfully by his long ears and jerked him to the floor. It was all over now. The raccoon finally regained control and all Jake could do was twist and squirm in protest as he cried, begging to be let go.

Instead, Thomas tied him up securely, ensuring each limb was incapable of movement before finally jamming a wade of crumpled up plastic unwillingly into the buck’s mouth and sealing it shut with his grungy belt. By now, Jake had been struggling in close contact with the ‘coon for so long, he could distantly pick out his disgusting, musky smell from all the other scents in the back of the van.

Wrinkling his nose at the odor, he whined into his gag and squirmed helplessly as he listened to his kidnappers cheering and gloating, promising something awful was coming his way soon. Jake didn’t want to find out what they had in mind, he just wanted to go home. Instead though, the poor buck had to lay on the floor next to the foul-smelling, cruel raccoon as he muttered and ran greasy paws through the cub’s soft, freshly cleaned fur.

Turning his head away with a whine the cub sobbed breathlessly, having expended every ounce of energy he had trying to escape. He didn’t think things could’ve gotten worse after being pantsed by Lyle, but now, bound and gagged on the floor of a van moving quickly away from his home with a scary raccoon lying next to him, it seemed he was very, very wrong. 

Worst of all, Thomas thought this was fun. It made Jake terrified to find out what ‘real’ fun he was referring to.

-------

After satisfying himself the feel of the boy’s soft fur, Thomas slowly rose from his spot next to Jake with a groan. He brought a paw to his spine where it throbbed from all his prior exertion with the struggling cub, before finally making his way over to the front of the van and settling himself into the passenger seat.

At this point he had no fear of the little rabbit escaping; he’d applied the boy’s bonds nice and tightly, and his gob was secured well enough that anymore noise would be unheard. Nonethless, he would’ve continued to lay with his captive if not for the damage done to his back.

“Heh, kid put up a real fight, t’ere,” Thomas chuckled, rubbing a shoulder. “I like dem when the’re stubborn. More fun breakin’em.”

There was a moment of silence before he turned to his partner in crime. “So ‘is name’s Jake, apparently.”

“Jake, huh? Oh dang, that kitten girl was named Jackie! You ‘member her, when we was in Ohio?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I think I do.”

“Tom, how could ya forget? She was fine, and one heck of a fighter too.”

“I dunno ‘bout that. This one put up a really good fight. Plus…I think he’s much better lookin’ than her.”

“Wunder if he’ll yelp like she did, heh heh.”

“Soon find out. Oh, Dom! I reckon that’s a good spot up over yonder. In the bushes there.”

Wordlessly agreeing with the raccoon, Dominic abruptly pulled off to the side of the highway. A sudden thud jolted the suspension as the van drove off of the tarmac. Luckily, this particular stretch of highway did not have deep ditch borders on either side. Moreover, beyond the bushes lain nothing more than farmers’ fields. This spot would do, as Thomas astutely observed. The foliage offered ideal camouflage for the van. Here, the pair could jettison surplus drugs and become better introduced with their unwilling guest.

Once the van came to a stop and the engine silenced, Thomas began rolling a fat joint while Dominic put a rock in his pipe. Almost simultaneously, the two junkies lit up and inhaled a deep puff of smoke from their respective vices. After a bit of coughing and wheezing, they exchanged items and both took another hit. Immediately, they felt the initial impact of their high, but they still had the intent to share with the whimpering rabbit behind them. 

Thomas lumbered between the seats first, followed closely by his already wobbling partner. The raccoon slowly and stiffly leaned down and grasped the whining buck’s body. He carefully sat Jake up against the metal wall, and invaded the white bunny’s personal bubble. Dominic practically stepped over his partner, trying to get closer to the rear of the cargo area so he could have more room. He then came down on one knee, inches away from Jake’s right side.

“Don’t you worry none, honey-buns. I’ll be gentle with ya,” Thomas reassured, rubbing his hand all over Jake’s face. “Yer really soft, so I’ll be soft on you…for now.”

The bulging raccoon continued to caress Jake’s face. Next, he took a heavy drag off of the crack pipe and blew the smoke virtually right into the scared boy’s nostrils. Before allowing Jake to sneeze, Thomas leaned in quickly and stole a perverse kiss on Jake’s muzzle. Furthermore, those filthy black raccoon paws also rubbed the rabbit’s chest. He only moved back when the panther seized the buck’s right ear like a telephone receiver.

“I ain’t going to be gentle with you. Not at all. I like it rough, and when my partner here really gets into it, so does he!”

Those words rang in Jake’s ear as Dominic very nearly buried his muzzle into it when he spoke. The panther took a very deep chested suck on the oily joint. Then, he grabbed the buck by the muzzle and harshly turned his head to face him. This demonic looking panther just about performed mouth to mouth on Jake as he exhaled a large amount of second-hand marijuana smoke into the buck’s breathing passages. As an additional insult, poor Jake then had to endure a sandpaper feline tongue rasping his cheeks and his delicate nose. The ensuing coughing fit from the buck brought an evil smile to the black panther’s face.

“Wow-wee, would ya listen to that! This boy is as clean as a cotton sheet after laundry day. Never had a hoot his entire life, I reckon.”

“Good. That’ll mean he’ll pass right out after this, keepin’ him nice and quiet when we go through the border. He’ll be sleepin’ all the way through it.”

“Damn rights. Now lets see what we got here.” Dominic passed a paw uncomfortably down towards Jake’s crotch. “Tell me boy, yer balls drop yet? Hmmm, nope, I don’t think they have. Either that or yer just really small!”

Groping Jake’s private area, the black paw probed just about every contour of the undeveloped boy bits hidden beneath the owner’s pants. Dominic paid no regard to the fact Jake’s maleness belonged to him. The perverted panther just fondled Jake’s boy parts with unrestricted access, as though he had a rightful claim to them. While he violated the crying rabbit, both he and Thomas blew more smoke into Jake’s face. They again exchanged the burning substances with each other and continued to force their guest to endure the second-hand effects.

“Alrighty, now I just gotta see this for myself.” Thomas proceeded to unbuckle Jake’s belt, unbutton his pants, and bring both pants and underwear down to the knees. He gawked for quite a few seconds.

“Ho-dang! You were right, Dom. This boy is tiny.”

“Fuckin’ shit, sucks to be you, lil’ bunny! Shit, I was better hung than that when I was a kitten, heh heh.”
The fat predator brought his snout right into Jake’s nethers. He took a very long sniff of the tiny boyhood, and pulled back a few inches afterwards. Lips peeling back, Thomas bore his fangs and looked like he was snarling. The expression certainly would have looked ambiguous to anyone witnessing it. Was the raccoon sexually excited, offended, or about to bite? Thomas took in a very deep breath.

“Oh fuckin’ yeah! The lil’ fucker smells so fuckin’ good!” 

The bellowing of Thomas’s voice beamed directly into Jake’s delicate part. He leaned back in with his mouth wide open and drool flowing out freely. Dominic alternated between filling Jake’s lungs with more narcotic and licking his face.

Once the gross raccoon had stopped touching him and left to chat with his partner, Jake immediately started struggled again, whimpering and whining quietly into his make-shift mouth-gag. He didn’t know what these awful creatures were planning to do to him, but he didn’t want to find out at all.

The more he squirmed, the more his wrists and ankles hurt from their forced bondage. The added pain to his misery made Jake shudder with hushed sobbing as he looked around his prison for some means of escape. His gaze shifted first to the front of the van where Thomas and Dominic had just found what they were looking for; a nice quiet spot away from prying eyes.
 
His eyes widened in fright. Jake felt the truck slow down after rocking haphazardly over the edge of the road. He had no idea where they were or why they were here other than what the larger panther had said about disposing of something. What scared the little buck the most was what that greasy raccoon had said about ‘sharing’. Somehow Jake didn’t think it was going to be candy or anything else he might actually find appetizing.

As the van rolled to a stop, Jake threw as much effort into his struggling as his tired body could, until he was panting and whining loudly. The frantic buck squealed as he looked up to see his kidnappers rising from their seats to slip into the back of the van. The glazed look in their eyes set the buck’s heart racing again. What had they just inhaled to make them so… scary?

Jake yelped into his muzzle as Thomas grabbed him and hoisted his up to sit against the side of the van, but he didn’t stop whimpering in terror as both him and the panther settled in to either side of his little body. With his legs contorted to one side from his restraints, the rabbit could only move his upper body, which he twisted left and right, shaking his head in meager defiance of his captors.

It only worked up until the raccoon grabbed his head and smeared those slimy mitts all over his face. The buck shuddered inwardly both from awful sensation and the smell. Thomas apparently rarely bathed, making his musk reek something fowl. His verbal reassurances didn’t help any either because immediately after fondling the cub’s face, he breathed his hot, smoky breath straight up Jake’s nostrils, instantly triggering a sneezing fit as whatever resided in that smoke burned the inside of his little snout. The automatic response was thwarted however, when the raccoon planted a very unwanted and incredibly unpleasant kiss on the buck’s gagged mouth. The cub squealed loudly as he struggled with sneezing and the feeling of Thomas’ paws groping his bare chest beneath his shirt. Whining loudly in protest, the rabbit twisted and shivered as whatever he’d just been forced to inhale started to creep into his unprepared system.

Even as shocked and disgusted as he was to have the raccoon forcefully trying to kiss him, sliding his grimy, rotten tongue all over his lips and buck teeth, the sudden jerking on his sensitive ears and the pain it caused quickly shifted his attention to the much more terrifying panther; and with good reason.

As Dominic spoke loudly and cruelly into his delicate ears, ensuring a much worse experience was to come, Jake cringed painfully from the auditory assault. He could feel the large feline’s nose as it tickled the hairs inside his ears, and by the time he’d finished speaking, the buck’s ear was still ringing painfully.

Then, as if to make good on his promise, the little eight-year-old watched fearfully as the panther took a long hit from his pipe and leaned forward to ‘share’. Jake yelped and struggled as his head was grasped tightly and an entire lungful of smoky air was forced around the gag and deep into his body. The buck’s eyes squeezed shut in agony as his lungs filled to bursting with the burning substance.

By the time Dominic had moved on to licking the cub’s face with his rough, spiky tongue, Jake finally recovered enough from the oral assault to break into a ragged fit of coughing so painful that it made his chest ache from the effort to eject the crude drug. So much of it had been forced into him, that what didn’t absorb into his body, poured out of his nostrils as milky, curling smoke.

From the listing of his head and the sporadic whimpers and whines, Jake was beginning to feel the effects of the drug he’d been infused with. His head was swimming and everything was beginning to feel dream-like as he struggled to focus and breathe. Neither of his kidnappers were ready to leave him alone yet though, so much to the boy’s horror, he had to watch as the black panther eagerly slipped his paw beneath Jake’s shorts and grasped at his little boyhood.

The buck whined pitifully in a delayed reaction, but eventually started squirming and squeezing his legs together in the hopes of ejecting that filthy paw as it violated his most private place.

Remember Jake, don’t ever let anyone touch you ‘down there’. Jake whined and sobbed pitifully as the large feline molested him. This is your special place and it’s only for you.

The poor cub’s tear-soaked eyes burned as smoke was continuously blown into his face, giving him nothing to breathe in but the foul drug the two abusing him were partaking of. It was already having just the affect they were after. The assault on his senses was making Jake lethargic and less capable of expressing his humiliation and displeasure at having his genitals played with. Even though he could feel very clearly the feline’s fingers sliding around his little testicles and sheath, brushing though his fur, he couldn’t react to it effectively.

So when Thomas finally decided he wanted a piece of the action and helped himself to pulling down Jake’s shorts, there was virtually no resistance. The boy’s mind as cloudy as the smoke-filled air that swirled around his dizzy head. All he could do was watch as his little body was exposed to his kidnappers, blushing deeply in embarrassment at their remarks on the size of his boyhood.

When Thomas leaned in close for a whiff of Jake’s loins, he let out a delayed whine, watching the raccoon take his time in admiring his exposed nether region before pulling back just enough for the cub to see him bare his teeth. Not knowing what to make of the raccoon’s expression, the buck settled into fear, expecting the worst. So when the raccoon bellowed his approval, Jake cringed automatically.

Jake’s head was so dizzy now, he couldn’t even see straight. Everything was spinning, like a nightmare gone horribly wrong. He was beginning to lose track of the order in which events had just taken place. And before he knew it, he head was drooping to one side, his eyes blindly looking around under half-closed eyelids. He was no longer aware that he was half-naked and surrounded by two very dangerous predators.

Slobbering lips made contact with Jake’s genitalia. Thomas employed various techniques of sucking, licking, kissing, and even a little nibbling at the boy bits in his maw. He imprisoned all of Jake’s malehood in his mouth. The white fur of the buck’s scrotum quickly became soaked in raccoon saliva, and each of his sensitive little balls bounced up and down from a greedy tongue. At one point, the disgusting raccoon formed a lip seal around Jake’s genitals, clamped down a bit with his teeth, and pulled back slightly. Fortunately for the buck, the pull back was not nearly strong enough to separate his precious privates from his groin. Additionally, the bite pressure was insufficient for breaking skin. Still, the varying teasing and torture would have sent highly mixed messages of unwelcomed pleasure and pain straight up the bunny’s spine. With all of Jake’s boy bits still held captive, the sick raccoon had begun teasing the sheath opening, trying to coax the very tiny rabbit cub’s penis out of its covering.

“My partner here will get ya hard, like or not.” Dominic said in between blowing smoke in Jake’s face and licking his cheeks.

Thomas continued his efforts relentlessly. Finally, he released the spit soaked maleness from his mouth, but resumed licking fiercely at Jake’s sheath. At several instances, Thomas shoved his tongue right down the short little prick pocket and persuaded the organ to emerge by licking the head. To assist its ascent, the bulky boy-diddler peeled the sheath downwards to expose more of the moist pink dick. Eventually, the boy’s body betrayed him by presenting the full length of his now erect penis.

The raccoon seated back onto his heels and giggled as he pointed towards Jake’s throbbing stiffy. Even Dominic took pause to notice the object of his partner’s amusement.

“Ha! That’s it? Dom, look at it. I can hardly believe it.”

Dominic burst out in hysterics. He took off his hat and slapped his knee, bellowing like a lunatic. To cause Jake further humiliation, the panther extended his pinkie finger, moved it parallel to Jake’s penis, and compared lengths.

“Boy, with somethin’ that small, the only lovin’ you’ll ever get is from us! Count yerself lucky, ‘cause ain’t no one gonna take your virginity with equipment like that.”

“He just got better in my books, Dom. Definitely a keeper right ‘til Judgement Day.”

Only one hit remained on the crack pipe, and Dominic hardly kept it in his body long enough to experience the full effect. Instead, he breathed it all right down Jake’s nostrils, forcing all the smoke to enter the boy’s lungs. Once spent, the panther set down the pipe off to one side and then moved his paw back over Jake’s crotch. Without warning, he seized the bobbing erection between his fingers and began to jack the buck off furiously.

“Yeah, you like that, don’t ya?”

Unable to contain his excitement anymore, Thomas removed every item of clothing south of his own waist. When his underwear came down, an anxious hard-on sprung back up like a metal spring. The coon cock wasn’t much thicker than the base of Jake’s little penis, but it was certainly much longer and hooked at the end. The disgusting, boney organ looked like it vomited an endless supply of pre-cum. At the base of his slimy raccoon cock hung plump, fully developed balls. Each one of Thomas’s gonads were just about the same size as Jake’s entire fuzzy white pouch.

Smelling really foul without his pants on and dribbling clear liquid out of his dick, Thomas crawled up beside Jake on the left side. He got up to his knees, planted a kiss on Jake’s cheek, and began wildly pumping his coon dong. With several hoots remaining on the smoldering joint, Thomas again blew exhaled smoke into Jake’s muzzle. Every so often, he looked down to see his partner masturbate the buck vigorously. The sight of those fingers working the little prick and causing those small bunny balls to flap up and down excited Thomas to his breaking point. His breathing became so rapid that the pot smoke expelled from his lungs the instant it was inhaled. Jake now found himself breathing a steady supply of drug.

Due to the stimulation of his penis, Jake’s breathing rate increased. This was part of Dominic’s intention all along – to bring the buck to full arousal and increase his respiration. It meant the boy inhaled the smoke just as quickly as Thomas produced it. The panther had no intention of stimulating the buck for pleasure sake, nor was he about to bring the boy to his presumably first ever orgasm. All he wanted was to increase Jake’s breathing while at the same time satisfying his carnal lust for children. The thrill of exposing Jake to unfamiliar feelings compelled the cat to such perversion. To drill the point across further, Dominic tugged on Jake’s sheath and glided it up and down his penis. The black feline relied on the muscular ridged-band of Jake’s sheath opening to provide further stimulation and increased arousal.

After a few more puffs, Thomas pressed his forehead against Jake’s cheek as he reached his climax. He didn’t even notice the resin soaked butt of the joint burning his fingertips before it snuffed out. Instead, he grunted as his dick sprayed lines of creamy cum all over Jake’s shirt. The raccoon blew a heavy load onto the bunny, and then leaned on the buck’s shoulder in his afterglow.

Seeing both Thomas and the joint spent, Dominic immediately ceased jerking the little peen. Within a few moments, both the panther and the raccoon moved over and sat directly in front of Jake, waiting for him to flop over into unconsciousness.

A surprised, horrified squeak pushed its way through Jake’s gag as the raccoon clamped down on and engulfed his little boyhood. Just that initial sensation of his privates in Thomas’ moist, slimy mouth sent chills up and down the cub’s spine as he whined helplessly.

Stop it, stop it! T-that’s gross! Jake screamed, but it only came out as muffled, terrified shrieks. Once the raccoon had full control over the fate of the boy’s bits, the rabbit went rigid with fear. He could feel that revolting tongue sliding all over his little groin, outlining the small orbs in his tight sac and playing with them. The rabbit sobbed profusely and squirmed as Thomas helped himself to the boy’s most sensitive and personal place without any regard for his feelings on the matter.

It hurts,  stop! It hurts! The terrified rabbit tried to shout when the raccoon started to use his teeth in a form of torture the buck couldn’t have even imagined until now. Thomas tugged and pulled at his little groin, playing around with the flesh like it was a chew toy. Though he didn’t cause any damage, the manipulation of it was mind-numbing. Jake trembled and squirmed relentlessly the entire time, begging through his gag for him to stop, and all the while, the mean black panther continued to blow smoke into his face, taunting him with things he didn’t understand.

As Jake was struggling to get his face away from the feline’s raspy tongue, Thomas finally released his molested privates, exposing his saliva-drenched genitals to the cool air. He wasn’t finished yet though. Returning with a vengeance, he started licking wildly at the buck’s still floppy sheath. Then suddenly Jake felt an invasion he wasn’t at all prepared for. Initially the raccoon’s tongue had been probing around the opening of his pee-hole, but this time that tongue dove right in until the mortified buck could feel it pressing against his own little organ.

With a sharp gasp, Jake stiffened, wide-eyed and struggling to breathe though all the smoke as Thomas forcefully entered his tight little sheath not once but multiple times. The mixed sensation of that hot tongue over and over eventually started to make the eight-year-old’s body respond. And the more in did, the more fitful and louder Jake grew, whining and whimpering and struggling to move as much as he could. His little penis was coming out and he couldn’t stop it. These cruel creatures were going to expose his more special place now, and in the back of his mind, he knew ridicule was to come, and in some ways, he dreaded that even more than what he was being forced to endure right now.

The peeling back of his little sheath made Jake cry in pain into his gag, but it still garnered the result Thomas was after. To the rabbit’s dismay, his little, pink, throbbing penis grew to its full length. Only then did the raccoon finally back away, leaving the boy struggling to conceal his exposed boyhood by squeezing his legs together.

Then came the laughter.

It started with the raccoon, pointing and snickering to himself as he commented on the fruits of his own handiwork. But Dominic joined in almost immediately after, bellowing so loudly with cruel cackling that the cub cringed not only in humiliation, but from the pain of listening to his hooting with his sensitive ears. The panther then brought a finger up next to Jake’s little penis, comparing lengths before mocking his smallness with all the flair of a bully. The embarrassment made the little cub blush deeply, his eyes watering with the first tears since being pantsed by Lyle in the schoolyard.

Jake’s fears were not lessened by anything these two beasts said. From what the cub could gather, they had no intention of releasing him. And his response to that was with whine loudly and squirm as much as he could, causing his little erection to wiggle around between his closed legs.

Unfortunately for the buck, Dominic was quick to force another full frontal attack on his struggling lungs by pumping him full of that foul-tasting, bitter and gag-inducing smoke. Once he was released he coughed over and over, wheezing and whining as his lungs screamed for regular air. And this wasn’t even the worst the panther had in store for Jake.

Without warning, Dominic wrapped two fingers around the rabbit’s little member and started jerking up and down violently. Jake’s head jerked down with a sharp squeak that turned into a loud crying as his little body was forced to endure more of those confusing signals. All the attention his groin had been receiving was nightmarish to Jake, but his body was responding to it like it was a good thing, and a small part of his brain was telling him the same thing.

 Dominic spoke as he furiously played with the cub’s groin, and all Jake could do was whimper loudly and shake his head in denial. No, I don’t like it, s-stop! Ow! I-It hurts, please stop, I don’t want this! With his gag, Jake’s pleas were useless. Nothing would stop these two from abusing him. All he could do was wait, and hope and pray that they eventually got bored of tormenting him.

 In the meantime though, his body was racked with feelings he didn’t understand, and the black panther’s manipulations of his sensitive little penis, though hurting immensely was beginning to stir a much more carnal reaction. Eventually Jake’s hips started to jerk sporadically as he was coaxed closer and closer to a climax.

Trying to keep his eyes closed to pretend he was somewhere else, Jake struggled with the urge to gyrate his hips, whimpering and moaning whenever the friction of the panther’s efforts became too painful. It was difficult to block out the horror of what was happening, and it quickly became impossible when, through the thick tang of marijuana smoke, Jake’s nose picked up a horribly foul odor.

The cub’s eyes snapped open just in time to catch the fuzzy, distorted image of the raccoon with his pants missing and genitals exposed, waving around a penis that looked like a fishing hook. Jake gasped breathlessly around his full mouth as Thomas came closer with that terrible looking appendage and started rubbing it just inches away from his face. There was a kiss and a smoky breath in his face and Jake squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering loudly until his own cries echoes in his ears.

With each new breath, Jake drew more and more smoke into his aching lungs. He couldn’t not do it. The air was so thick with it, and Dominic’s molesting had the cub breathing so heavily that his throat was dry as a bone. Every passing second caused the rabbit to steadily lose connection to the reality around him. His head was swimming with the drug now flowing strongly through his system. He could barely focus on anything anymore, only the pain in his loins, the unwanted pleasure, and the sloppy sounds of the raccoon masturbating beside him.

By the time Dominic had taken to forcing Jake’s sheath up and down, the cub was starting to see things, even with his eyes closed. Weird and scary figments of his imagination coupled with new demons in the form of a raccoon and black panther filled his vision. He opened his eyes a few times but they wouldn’t go away.

When Thomas finally ejaculated all over Jake’s shirt, the cub was so out of it that his head just slumped down weakly to stare at the disgusting fluid that had splattered across his nice clean shirt. This signaled the end of the torturous moment, but Jake barely noticed, his eyes were blood-shot from the high dose of weed in his system and every part of his body was shutting down from shear stress.

The last thing Jake saw before completely losing consciousness was Thomas and Dominic sitting in front of him, watching with grins on their faces. Then they tilted sideways and Jake slid down to the floor, his shirt soaked in semen, his nether region exposed and his twitching little erection slowly sliding back into his sheath.

Both Dominic and Thomas wobbled in their slouched positions as they admired their handiwork. They even chuckled a little as Jake finally flopped over. Recalling their own experience with gem and ghanja, they knew Jake would be out for several hours, possibly even until nightfall. Dominic just stared at the pathetic mass of bunny boy before him, feeling totally empowered. The panther had an urge to fulfill his threat to treat Jake roughly. To that end he extended his claws and eyed down the exposed vulnerability reflected in his yellow bloodshot eyes.

“Y’know Tom, I could sooooo hurt him bad right now! So bad, it ain’t even funny.”

The panther got up and started wobbling over to the unconscious boy.

Once little Jake had finally keeled over from the overabundance of marijuana in his system, Thomas let out a hearty, amused snort. The kid clearly couldn’t handle the mind-altering effects of the drug; though he was impressed that the rabbit had managed to stay awake as long as he did. It made it just that much more satisfying to nut off on the boy’s little t-shirt. Even now the cloudy semen was turning clear as it dribbled down the unconscious buck’s chest.

Still with his hooked erection bobbing eagerly, the raccoon turned to his accomplice as the feisty panther eyed poor Jake’s little dick. Thomas grinned at the look in Dominic’s eyes. He always had a way of coming up with ways to mess around with their victims. Like that little Tammy girl; a nice little squirrel cub. Dominic stabbed her little clit with his claw until it bled. Poor thing sure didn’t like that.

As the black panther spoke, Thomas just nodded his head numbly, chuckling at his companion’s observation. When Dominic leaned forward to get closer, the raccoon followed unsteadily, releasing a pent up belch as he did so.

“Heheheh… What’d ja have in mind, dude?” The raccoon inquired.

Though still hammered as all hell, Thomas was wary of his pal. Dominic had a tendency to get overzealous too early in the game. And if this kid was going to be their last—for the time being anyway—the raccoon had to make sure he’d last, which meant keeping the panther on a very loose leash if he had to.

All the chemicals swirling through Dominic’s skull wiped out any memory of any previous plan he had in store for Jake. What Thomas didn’t realize, the Panther had already planned to keep Jake for the long haul. The plan involved the partners taking the buck all the way down to the pig farm, back home in Mississippi, to keep the boy as a perpetual sex slave. He liked Jake very much. Everything about the rabbit pleased every toxic cell in the scrawny panther. In fact, he probably even loved the boy, but not in ways considered healthy. Whatever it was, his fixation on Jake held a greater strength on Dominic than his raccoon partner. He knew Thomas really liked his new toy too, but Dominic actually felt stronger.

Before getting loaded, Dominic had resolved to keep Jake. Seeing the buck partially naked and nearly creaming his own jeans at seeing the undeveloped boyhood sealed the deal for the panther. About the only ways he’d get rid of Jake or inflict devastating, even fatal wounds on the boy would be if he simply got tired of him or eventually found he could no longer control him. Dominating cubs is what made all this worthwhile in the panther’s demented brain. His raccoon partner felt the same way. Horrifically injuring or even killing cubs only ever served as a final declaration of control the duo had over their victims.

Due to the stoned stupor, any planning ahead of time was about to go up in smoke. The panther’s claws yearned to draw blood.

“You wanna know what I’m about to do? Imma going to eagle talon his baby balls! Run my claws right through ‘em and howl when he wakes up screamin’!!!”

Dominic just about had his paw over Jake’s most delicate part.

There was an unfortunate delay in the mental processes of the stoned raccoon as he sat half naked next to his equally intoxicated friend. He had to repeat Dominic’s words in his head several times before he could actually comprehend what the black panther was about to do. And that didn’t click until the violent feline’s sharp claws were in position and moments from pouncing.

“Dude, wait—” Thomas shouted suddenly, clumsily jerking out a paw to halt the intended skewering.

His reaction was too slow, though. By the time he could coordinate enough to grab Dominic by the wrist, the black panther had already embedded a claw deep into the boy’s little sac. Jerking the claw away only gave room for the blood to flow freely from the freshly made hole.

“Wait, wait—sssshit, fuck man,” Thomas cursed, cuffing one of Dominic’s ears. “F-focus man, yeh gut ‘im now, we’ll have t’git another one. Fffffuck, look man, he’s bleedin’, what the fuck we do now?”

“Ow! Goddangit, Tom, what the…oh…Oh shit!!! Wuh, aw fuck, what did I do!?”

Leaning in quickly, Dominic inspected the damage he inflicted upon Jake. Surprisingly, the boy didn’t rouse, but he still had a bleeding wound requiring attention. The panther couldn’t yet recall all his earlier intentions, but he at least remembered enough to instinctively apply pressure to the wound.

“Uh, quick! Tear off a piece of yer shirt!”

With elephant reflexes, the raccoon complied with his partner’s request. He tore a strip out of the lowest portions of his undershirt and passed it to Dominic. The panther seized the fabric with more co-ordinated motions, despite his own high. Next, he replaced his finger with the strip over the wound and continued applying pressure. During the exchange, he caught a glimpse of the damage done.

“Kay, I think he’s goin’ to be alright. Just gave him a little piercing is all. Heh, maybe we can pick up a silver stud or ring for him. Wasn’t planning on addin’ jewels to his jewels, y’know! Huh…”

Feeling around for added assurance, Dominic noticed both Jake’s orbs were still fully intact. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The unexpected lapse of reason and subsequent emergency situation brought the panther down from his high very quickly. Suddenly, he came to reality.

“Aw shit! We gotta get movin’ if we’ll be at the border by sundown! We can’t have this boy wakin’ up when we get there. Tom, start building up them boxes! Er, um…nevermind. You take over hold this boy’s berry case, I’ll build the boxes.”

After handing over a ripped piece of his shirt, Thomas leaned in awkwardly, looking worried, but for all the wrong reasons. With Dominic back in his right mind, if still a little loopy, he was able to stem the flow of blood which had already painted one half of Jake’s little sac red. The raccoon watched, feeling stressed, like he was going to throw up. Weed rarely made him feel this way, but the thought of losing this little cub to gangrene or some shit made him ill.

He still wanted to have his fun with the little runt, and fortunately his companion knew enough to correct his previous error. Still though, the whole area where the buck had been stabbed looked an eyesore. Thomas would have to patch it up, and clean it or something. What the raccoon found most attractive about Jake, was the innocence, and his pristine white fur was the perfect representation of that.

Thomas watched closely as Dominic attended to the wound he’d made, and when he deemed it salvageable, the raccoon let out a loud, breathy sigh of relief.

“Fuck, thank the lord. Y’all gave me a fright there man, gettin’ all up in there stabbin’ his junk.”

With Dominic coming down from his high, he quickly shifted gears and started giving Thomas orders. The raccoon was much slower in coming down from his high, but once he did, he nodded and moved into position to hold the bloodied rag against the boy’s squishy little sac.

While his partner fussed with the flat boxes, Thomas sat beside Jake with one paw keeping his legs separated and the other pressing against the wound. He would’ve stayed that way in a zoned out state, but all the stress had brought his high down and he was worried about the wound going gangrene. He’d seen it happen a lot when he and Dom had wounded a kid too bad. It often ended up being fatal, which had led the raccoon to doing something he normally abhorred.

Reading.
 
After several boring books on anatomy and emergency medical procedures, the raccoon had a very, VERY, rough understanding of treatments. And there was one particular method he had in mind.

Leaning down towards the unconscious buck, Thomas removed the bloody rag and inspected the wound. It didn’t look pretty, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It was just a hole, and the fur around it was bright red. The opening still dribbled a little blood, so, enacting his ‘method’, the greasy raccoon rolled out his tongue and lapped up the life fluid like a hungry shark. The instant he made contact, Jake’s entire body twitched as he let out a quiet whine.

Lick. Lick. Lick.

Just like it had before, Thomas licked the boy’s little sac until it was coated in slobber, and as he worked the blood came away and eventually stopped altogether. It also helped clear the fur of most of the red hue, leaving just a fleshy hole where his sac had been pierced. Thomas knew enough to realize it would need stitches to heal properly, and keeping Jake in presentable condition was his ideal fantasy, unlike Dominic.

Alas, there was no means of sewing it shut, unless… Rising up onto wobbly knees, the raccoon vacated his post for a moment to dig around in one of his and Dominic’s old plastic milk cartons full of random shit. After a few moments of rummaging, he found just what he was looking for.

He quickly returned to the little eight-year-old rabbit and checked to make sure the wound wasn’t bleeding before, deftly pinching the flesh together and, with his trusty stapler, pinning the wound shut. There was another significant jolt in the cub’s body, but Jake remained unconscious, his system still overflowing with weed.

“Hah! Perfect!” Thomas announced proudly. “Check it, Dom. Problem solved!”

Despite the additional blood from the staple, the gaping wound had been sealed shut.

“Huh, whatcha mean?”

Stopping his fumbling with the cardboard, having formed only two boxes, Dominic got up to inspect his partner’s work. Seeing the raccoon pointing towards Jake’s wet ball sac, he leaned down beside the boy and lifted the little tenders out of the way. He had mixed feelings about what his partner said about solving the problem. Of course, Thomas was much better versed in tending to physical ills, he had done so in the past, but the raccoon had smoked just as much drug as Dominic. If the panther had a lapse of reason, it seemed logical to assume the coon would too.

Dominic’s eyes went wide with horror seeing Jake’s scrotum stapled.

“Sweet merciful Christ, what did you do!? This boy is gonna need a tetanus shot!”
The panther panicked by scratching at his bottom lip. His eyes looked every which way as though he were in REM sleep. He sprung up and hit head against the metal ceiling, and cursed out his pain. After cradling his skull, the agitated feline thrust the back doors open and flipped out of the van. The panther just paced back and forth on the grass muttering to himself.

“Shit, whadda we gonna do, Oh lawrd, what are we gonna do?”

Thomas jumped at the panther’s sudden outburst, looking simple as Dominic began to freak out. He didn’t see what the big deal was. The problem was fixed. Kid had a hole in his sac, so the raccoon stapled it shut. The stoned ring-tail wobbled off kilter as his companion burst out of the back of the van and began pacing the way he did only when Thomas had really screwed up.

A frown quickly spread across the ‘coon’s face as he watched the black panther pace frantically. He was still too out of it to think clearly, let alone see the problem from Dominic’s perspective, but his friend never acted this way without reason, and that gave the raccoon cause for alarm.

“Whassamatter, man?” Thomas slurred, stumbling out of the van after the panther. “Is jus’ a staple. They use ‘em at them fancy hospitals all th’time. Ain’t nothin’ to it, gotta hole y’just snip ‘em shut. He’ll be fine, dude. Whatcha freakin’ out fer?”

“What am I freakin’ out fer? What am I freakin’ out, says you? Cause, you din use any alcohol! We went and drank it all up yest’rday. Nothin’ personal, bud, but you ain’t very clean right now.”

The panther didn’t respond to the raccoon’s retort against his comment. Instead, he continued to frantically pace about, muttering and chattering to himself.

“Shit, what we gonna do…kay-kay, think. Um…first we finish with the boxes. Then, we get rid of the stash. And then what? Uh…I dunno…um, oh yeah! We hit up a liquor store. Get that kid some whiskey! No, dammit, think! Right…we hit up a drug store!”

In his panicked state, Dominic rushed up to Thomas and grabbed him by the straps of his ripped and dirty undershirt. His eyes were still very glazed and although he was no longer stoned, he still counted as impaired.

“Right partner, this is what we gotta do: We gotta set up all them boxes so the border folks don’t see in the back, then we get rid of our shit, an’ then…”

He didn’t concern himself if all his planning sounded like rambling. In his current frame of mind, it did not occur to him that much of what he spoke was spoken already. In fact, he even back tracked a few times and repeated everything all over again. Additionally, Dominic kept speaking as though every word entered into his partner’s brain.

“Then we gotta hit a store, like, one of them stores that sells…drugs? But…we wanna get rid of our drugs…Nah, nah, it’s okay, Tom, I got this! We hit up a drug store and get this boy some stuff. We only got a few hours before he starts waking up. Um, maybe we keep a rock or two just in case. I got a place I can hide it. The weed we toss over yonder. A’right, lets get our asses movin’!”

As Dominic shouted in his face, Thomas flinched like he was being slapped. Mostly though, he was just reacting to the volume on his irate partner. The raccoon didn’t see what he’d done wrong until the black panther spelled it out for him in black and white. And even then his brain was slow to comprehend his error.

“Aw… shit,” Thomas muttered initially before rebounding with indignance. “Hey, wait, I’m not—!”

Thomas bit his lip as he watched the panther pace back and forced frantically, muttering loudly, trying to formulate a new plan with his mind still hazy from the weed. He looked a lot more sober now, but his yellow eyes were still bloodshot. The raccoon grew dizzy watching his buddy pacing like that.

It seemed to the still stoned raccoon like Dominic was rambling endlessly. He had begun to zone out when the black panther suddenly grasped his sleeveless shirt by the straps and got right up in his face. The sudden close proximity made Thomas more alert, clearing his head enough for the babbled instructions to loosely make their way into his head.

“R… Right, right!” Thomas shouted, figuring he’d understood enough.

Without waiting the two split ways. The raccoon hopped right back into the back of the van and slammed the doors shut, dropping straight to his knees to work with the boxes. With his high wearing off quickly from the urgency of the situation, Thomas had several boxes set up in no time.

Quickly moving over to the unconscious cub, the raccoon scooped his paws under the boy’s armpits and slid him to the front of the van where the majority of boxes would reside. He dropped the rabbit to the floor and fussed with getting him into a small enough ball for his purposes. While he was at it he fondled Jake’s little bits again, careful of the damaged sac, before pulling up the kid’s shorts and undies.

Once Jake was in the ideal position, Thomas dropped a box over his limp form and proceeded to pile other empty boxes around it until it was completely obscured. Once he was sufficiently hidden beneath a mountain of different-sized boxes, the raccoon wriggled past this masterpiece and climbed into the passenger seat where Dominic was waiting.

“Ah…Alright man, ‘cargos’ secure, let’s git t’fuck outta here!”

“On it.”

Bringing the van so abruptly back onto the highway caused both passengers and cargo to lift upwards. Jake remained underneath the boxes, but he surely must have hit the floor in a hard thud. Dominic paid no attention to the concerned look on his partner’s face and instead just focused solely on the road. At first, in his panic, Dominic drove like a madcat by going well above the speed limit. The rate of speed he was going would have got him arrested if the police pulled him over. Fortunately, he corrected his error just before merging onto the main highway leading down to the border.

In hopes of bringing himself down back to reality, Dominic sunk the claws of his right paw into the meat of his thigh. He yelped slightly as his sharp feline claws easily passed through the denim fabric, beyond his fur covering, and deep into his skin. Such a jolt of pain helped Dominic to refocus, but only to a point. Once again, his lapse in logic pressed his luck. To have come this far without getting caught straddled along the barrier between lucky and miraculous. The panther was about to breach that barrier as his mind wandered again.

“Kay, got the boxes done, shit tossed away, I hid the rocks in the steering wheel, and we’re almost at the border. We is good…we is good. Am I forgetting something?”

The question was not spoken loud enough for Thomas to answer. If the raccoon heard Dominic’s yammering, he likely would have reminded him to find a pharmacy. Additionally, he’d point out that Dominic did not in fact hide the last two rocks under the horn cover. If the panther kept on his present course, he would end up at the crossing station completely skipping some very necessary steps in his plan. Not getting caught is the miracle Dominic hoped for, but if he had his head together he would know he’s asking too much by not getting Jake proper first aid.

Before he had to inadvertently ask for another miracle, the spacey feline spotted a strip-mall to the right and sharply turned into its parking lot. The momentum built up on the highway nearly caused the van to flip over. At one point, the tires actually lifted from the ground on Thomas’s side. Dominic looked like a right proper maniac behind the wheel to the few other cars passing by who witnessed the dangerous maneuver. One lady honked her horn and barked obscenities at the white van, but neither Dominic or Thomas noticed. Regaining control of the vehicle, the panther parked as close to the drugstore as he could. He had no intentions of actually purchasing Jake’s needs, so he had to devise another plan quickly.

“A’right now, you go in first an’ be the first one out. I’ll create a diversion. When I start shoutin’, you start grabin’ stuff all five-finger discount like, y’hear? Yer the medic out of the two of us, so you know what to get. I almost forgot to even come here, so don’t let me forget about the rocks.”

Thomas hopped out first and Dominic waited until he got close to the doors before following. Once inside the store, Thomas bee-lined right for the first aid supplies aisle. Dominic took a different aisle and walked past as though he didn’t know Thomas. The panther went straight for the pharmacist’s desk. He wobbled up to the desk breathing heavily.
“Eh-heh, *cough, doc, you gotta help me…been drivin’ all day…din drink any water like the dumb American I am…I’m dry as a Texas field in late summer.”

“Sir, you might need to actually go to the hospital if you’ve got heat stroke or you’re suffering from extreme dehydration,” the grey and black-striped cat answered.

“Nah, I’m not from here…don’t have insurance, y’know,” Dominic breathed heavily and feigned wheezing. “Jus’ gimme somethin’ cheap I can take an I’ll be on my way.”

“Well, maybe I could give you an electrolyte solution…but you know, sir, medicare in this country is-”

“Electra-lite! What kind of crazy canuck talk is that!?” Dominic shouted, cutting off the pharmacist. “Dunt anyone here speak English?”

Taking his cue, Thomas began his shopping.

“Now look missy, I’m not puttin’ just anything in my body. What in the flamin’ hell is this electra-lite stuff you wanna give me?”

“It’s a simple drink you buy that has dissolved sodium, potassium, calcium-”

“Dangit, there you go again! You ain’t talkin’ my language. Can’t ya just come ‘round from that there counter and point this shit out to me?”

“Sir, I won’t tolerate that language or you shouting. If you just let me explain-”

“Please, missy! I’m dying here!”

The smaller female cat shook her head and put her forehead into her palm. “It’s basically salt water, sir. Alright?”

Dominic stepped back and looked around as though he were floored by the answer. In reality, he wanted to see if Thomas finished grabbing all the supplies. All the ruckus caused and the spectacle Dominic made of himself drew the attention of both customers and staff away from the ring-tail’s position. Upon seeing the raccoon rise up and casually make his way to the door, the panther decided to concluded his charade.

“Salt water? Shoot, I ain’t paying for somethin’ I can get for free! Thanks for nothin’ then.”

With his parting remark, the panther swivelled around not looking distressed in the slightest. He strutted out of the store moments after Thomas exited and got back to the van. Thomas got in first, and hopped into the cargo space immediately. When his coon partner was out of sight, Dominic then veered towards the van and picked up his pace. He knew well enough not to linger, and his rational senses inched closer to full restoration.

“You tendin’ to the kid?” Dominic inquired as he entered the van. “I’ll drive slowly so you can deal with him. Maybe give him some of my muscle relaxants to keep him sleeping. I’ll let ya know once we get to the crossin’ and you can hop back up front. I’m a-prayin’ we get across before sundown.”

Through the raccoon’s mental haze, he was beginning to worry about Dominic as he often did. Whenever the panther got wound up like this he became prone to making a lot of mistakes. Of course, Thomas was no saint either when it came to fucking up—his little stapler fiasco being a good example—but with his friend doing the driving, that made his mistakes bigger and more dangerous.

As they sped along the road, Dominic slowed his dangerous speed just shy of hitting the on-ramp for the nearest highway, and at that point Thomas watched his twitchy-eyed companion as he resorted to a common tactic for sobering himself up quickly. The raccoon made a face as he watched the feline dig his claws into his own thigh, drawing blood to the surface immediately.

“Great, now I’ma hav’t’fuckin’ patch that up too,” Thomas muttered, but it was lost to Dominic who was mumbling incoherently to himself.

By now Dominic was driving less like a maniac and more like a civilized member of society, but he was still making bad calls left and right, nearly colliding with several vehicles during the trip. Thomas was beginning to worry that the black panther had no idea where he was going, let alone what he was doing.

After readjusting the lump in his trousers still signifying a lust for the little bunny in back, Thomas was just about to remind Dominic about hitting a pharmacy when the feline suddenly made a sharp exit off the highway, barreling towards a strip-mall he’d just spotted. When the van nearly tipped however, the raccoon was closer to walloping his friend and berating him for his erratic behavior.

Once to van finally came to a stop, the raccoon dug his claws out from the leather interior of the van’s door where he’d been clenching the handle tensely.

Inside the store, Thomas was repeating the loosely prepared plan that Dominic had relayed to him with red-ringed eyes. As he perused the aisles, he worried that someone might notice his or his friend’s odd behavior. For now though, Dominic’s distraction technique seemed to be working, and as more creatures’ attention were drawn, the raccoon started making his selections.

Fortunately Thomas had brought a black linen bag with him, which he proceeded to fill with everything he could think of. Alcohol wipes, band-aids, gauze, vitamin-e cream… While he was at it, he also acquired some ‘special’ items, like lubricants and other seedy items.

When his bag was full of goodies, he signaled to his friend before bailing. At the exit he expertly slipped around the theft-detecting sensors and made a beeline for the van with Dominic following not far behind.

Inside the van, Thomas unloaded the bag in a corner where he could hide it for the border crossing. As soon as the sac was empty, he dug around for what he needed. With some alcohol wipes, a band-aid and better equipment to holding the wound together better, the raccoon uncovered Jake to find their prize still unconscious but stirring and moaning.

Without waiting, the grungy raccoon pulled down Jake’s shorts and undies again and worked his legs apart so he could assess the damage properly. First thing he had to do was remove the staple; while it did the job nicely, it was a significant risk to the kid’s health. A little fiddling with the tools he’d purchased, the staple came away with minimal tearing. At this point, Dominic entered the van.

“Yeah, yeah, man, ah got it,” Thomas muttered initially as he worked in sterilizing the wound with the wipes. “Here, take some’a this shit fer damn leg b’fer it gets infected.”

The two swapped items, wipes for Dominic’s pain-killers. After removing Jake’s gag temporarily to force a few pills down into his throat far enough to trigger a swallow, Thomas reapplied a more thought out muzzle for the boy and resumed work his the buck’s junk.

With a little swabbing, application of some antibiotic cream a few stitches with a proper sewing kit, Jake’s groin was looking less gory and ready to begin healing. It no doubt was going to hurt like a bitch though when the kid reawoke.

Next to no bumping meant the panther’s driving finally became far more civil. Other drivers actually passed him as opposed to the other way around. He made certain to drive well enough to allow Thomas to work on Jake. The fact they made it this far without getting caught filled Dominic with the confidence needed to calm down. Furthermore, his long-term ambitions with Jake seemed more likely with his raccoon buddy rectifying the mistake he made earlier. Just one more obstacle lied ahead; they still had to cross the border.

As the sun began to rest upon the horizon, a sharp glare shone off of the van’s mirrors. It denied Dominic the chance to inspect his parched mouth. His lips crept up past his teeth and it made him look like a dried out corpse. Each breath he took irritated his drying throat, and his spittle production had ceased.

“Hey, Tom…please tell me you went done picked us out somethin’ to drink back there.”

Thomas rummaged through his cache of supplies. The booty he collected showed that his baked raccoon brain thought about the immediate problem and the possible future. But, the lack of anything to quench his partner’s thirst told a taddle-tale of Thomas’s inability to consider anything between present and distant future. That was the problem with Thomas. He would make dumb mistakes just as easily as Dominic could. The raccoon has demonstrated at many instances to exhibit much higher intelligence than his panther partner. Conversely, he also possessed the capacity for much greater stupidity than Dominic. The staple recently extracted from Jake pierced ball pouch served as a prime example of the raccoon’s moronic moments.

“Wuh? Lube an’ enema kits? What the high hell? Ya mule! Aw shit…I can’t talk to the border guard like this. Fuck me sideways, guess I wunt lyin’ when I told that kitty lady about being so parched.”

An upcoming sign indicated a very short distance laid ahead to get to the crossing. Dominic didn’t fully understand the metric system, but he knew enough to realize they’d reach the guard station soon. Moreover, another sign coming up made the panther aware he wouldn’t find a store again until back in the US. He pondered heavily how he could alleviate this new problem he faced.

“Uh, Tom, buddy…this’ll sound kinda weird, but…gimme some of yer coon spunk. I just need you to put it in yer hand an’ give it to me! Fuck, I dunno! Strip the kid and molest him if ya need somethin’ to git you goin’! I’m the one gonna do the talkin’, so I need this. C’mon, we is partners, a’right? No one will find out.”

Thomas had just finished dressing Jake’s wound, pulling up the boy’s shorts to hide his shame for now, when Dominic made what to the raccoon sounded like the most ridiculous request he’d ever heard in his weed-stuffy life. Now, him and the panther had both been friends for a long time, all the way back to when they were kits, picking on other cubs and getting through life with as little education and as much entertainment as possible, but something about Dominic’s demand smacked him the wrong way.

“The fuck man, what’choo on about? My spunk? Da fuck?” Thomas had to think about it, honestly.

Dominic was clearly desperate for a drink; he was rasping up a storm with that dry throat of his. But what the black panther wanted, Thomas just couldn’t provide at this point in time. Even if he were so inclined as to masturbate into his buddy’s mouth, he’d already spent himself earlier on the kid’s shirt.

“Ugh… fuck. This is gross man, lemme think,” he grumbled, shuffling around the rear of the van. “I ain’t got no spunk, Dom. Ah’m all spent. But eh… I haven’t had a piss in ages. Hold on…”

Rummaging through the debris in the back of the van, Thomas eventually found an old, empty container of soda. Unzipping his trousers, the raccoon whipped out his sheath, from which just a bit of that long hooked penis of his protruded. Wedging the tip into the neck of the container, Thomas worked up the urge to relieve himself, quickly filling the bottle nearly half-way.

“Y’ain’t gonna like this, man,” Thomas said, zipping up before handing over the soda bottle full of warm urine.

Dominic eagerly took the bottle handed to him, not yet aware of its contents.

“Thanks, partner…wuh the hay? Aw shit…piss? Thomas I tol…but can’t ya rub another one? I dunno, I’ll try.”

The panther sounded twice has age as he forced his words out. He already planned out exactly what he would say to the crossing guard, but likely could not speak it when they finally arrived. It may have been just as well to let Thomas take over driving, and thus allow him to do the talking. The alternative could easily backfire though. Thomas had a habit of being much too honest with people. Unlike Dominic, the raccoon could not come up with a believable lie on the spot. It may have been because Thomas always had trouble in dealing with people. Without Dominic around, the raccoon was vulnerable and suddenly found himself becoming prey. The panther had always been Thomas’s true source of strength.

“Ulk, I dunno, Tom, I really dun know.”

As the mouth of the bottle approached Dominic’s desperate mouth, he caught the pungent odour of raccoon piss. He tried to muscle his way through the smell, but his gag reflex kicked in before he could sip. Again, he pissed and moaned his anguish to Thomas. With some encouragement from the raccoon, Dominic tried again. Almost, the urine entered the panther’s mouth. Once the fluid touched the fang-toothed gums, Dominic’s gag reflex nearly got the better of him as he could feel the acidified junk-food travel up his esophagus.

“I…I can’t,” Dominic said in defeat, setting the bottle in the cup holder on the central console unit. “Sorry, Tom. Uh, get up front here, a’right?”

He waited for Thomas to reseat himself before he issued his next instruction. The border station was only five minutes away. Dominic unzipped his pants and extracted his spiny feline penis out of his sheath and through the opening of his underwear.

“If ya don’t got yerself any to give, uh, give me mine. I’m beggin’ ya, partner, I need this. Uhgn, I was hopin’ to shoot it on that kid back there!”

Both disappointed and relieved to see that Dominic wouldn’t actually drink his urine, the raccoon quickly complied with the panther’s orders to get in the front seat, leaving Jake half uncovered with boxes and he settled into the passenger side.

He was just about to buckle up—mostly out of fear of his companion’s driving—when the still desperate feline issued his next ‘request’. Thomas nearly choked on his own saliva at the idea, watching at Dominic pulled out his sizeable, thorny penis. This had to the most distressed his friend had ever been to seriously be considering this.

It wasn’t such a wild idea as someone else might’ve thought. To be honest, the two had been so close that mutual paw-jobs had been common growing up, but something about this particular scenario crossed a few lines that even the fucked up raccoon wasn’t sure about. Still, Dominic’s ability to speak was crucial to the two getting across the border. Last time Thomas tried to speak for them, they’d gotten the van impounded for a week.

Dominic already sounded like he was losing his voice, and even if he could croak out replies to the border patrol, that alone would seem highly suspicious, worsened only by the feline’s blood-shot eyes.

“Ungh… Alright, man. Ah’ll paw yeh, but I ain’t puttin’ that shit in my mouth,” Thomas answered hesitantly.

In a way it was just like old times. The raccoon reached over and gripped the black panther’s penis before starting to jerk it slowly like he’d always done. As he worked his partner’s junk, he had a worrying thought.

“So what the hell am I gunna do when, yah, y’know… I ain’t catchin’ that shit in mah paw.”

-------

Meanwhile in the back of the van, shuffling slightly with every bump in the road, Jake’s unconscious body started to tremble and jerk.

The medication Thomas had forced into his belly had been far too high of a dose for the little eight-year-old cub and his stomach was quick to reject the contents. After a few fitful spasms bubbling foam pushed its way through the sides of his mouth and out his nose.

Shortly afterwards, unbeknownst to his kidnappers, the rabbit slowly began to rouse from his drug-induced slumber.

Keeping his erection up took quite a bit of conscious effort on Dominic’s part. Even as his buddy softly stroked his impressive cock, he had to constantly remind himself of the necessity of his request. It was not about pleasure so much as it served for the duel goal of these perverted partners. As his shaft got worked with gradually increasing intensity, Dominic didn’t even recall how he and his buddy had many moments like this growing up. In fact, he struggled to keep the memory supressed.

Nonetheless, as the sensation in his penis overwhelmed his mind, memories of both pleasant and painful varieties struck Dominic’s consciousness with hurricane force. Suddenly, he saw himself as a kitten again and Thomas again became the chubby, unkempt raccoon cub he remembered. It brought him back to the few happy moments in his life, of him and his best friend huddling together by the banks of the mighty Mississippi. They’d take their pants and undies off and engage in boyhood exploration. From there, it quickly escalated to mutual masturbation. It never went beyond jerking each other even though Dominic secretly wanted it to, and he wondered for the longest time if Thomas felt the same way.

Whatever feelings either of them may have had for each other, those feelings never manifested in a constructive way. Many had suspected Dominic was queer. His father would beat him under those suspicions and exposed him to traumatic situations. As a young kitten, he would get stripped nude, humiliated, and given out to his drunken uncle like a common whore. Even the efforts of the church to ‘save’ his soul were just another means of getting into jeans. 

Dominic would have loved nothing more than to feed his father, uncle, and the preacher to his grandfather’s pigs. He knew, though, that a small kitten stood no chance of defeating his oppressors. Additionally, he realized no one gave a flying fuck about a potentially gay black panther. So, he lashed out against everyone else by becoming a prolific bully. He did, of course, thrash those who called him queer, putting a quick stop to the insults, but he also targeted those who did nothing to him. Those who approached him in friendship, or worse, sexual interest, got beaten down the worst.

“Don’t be such a fuckin’ pansy, Tom!” Dominic rasped. “It ain’t for you anyway, and besides, you rememberin’ when…uh…shit…fuck, nevermind. Jus’ hurry, we’re almost there.”

Thomas didn’t fair much better in life. Before meeting Dominic, he was the target for bullies, not a bully himself. The other cubs made fun of him for his looks and his weight. At no point in his life did Thomas ever look, smell, or sound pretty. He was always very grungy and overweight and got picked on mercilessly by the other cubs. No one ever showed him sympathy for coming from a piss poor and neglectful family. But then, Dominic came into his life, he finally felt empowered, and the pair exacted their revenge against the world. From their viewpoints, the world didn’t care about them, so they cared even less.

“Fuck sake, Tom, I can see the crossin’.” The maelstrom of memories and Thomas’s half-hearted effort made it damn near impossible for Dominic to climax. His spiny penis no longer stood at full mast. Furthermore, the anxiety of approaching the line up to the guard station only worked to stifle his organ more so. Thomas responded by increasing the rhythm of his wrist, and for a moment it seemed to work. Dominic lurched forward with the heightened pleasure, but it nearly resulted in disaster. 

The panther had to pretty much slam on the brakes to avoid rear-ending a car stopped in the line up. On the positive side, Jake got reburied in boxes, but neither captors noticed him beginning to stir. Time had become very precious as they reached their destination. A clean getaway slid faster away from possibility, and the point of no return came dangerously within reach. If they pulled away, it would look too suspicious, and for all they knew, the cops might already be searching Jake.

“Dammit, I’ll just finish myself off!” Dominic said as he replaced Thomas’s paw with own over his dick. “Shoulda known better than to count on you fer this.”

Rarely ever did Dominic get cross or even remotely upset with Thomas, and perhaps he felt more frustrated and frightened over the situation, if anything. Besides, Thomas could not be held accountable for Dominic reminiscing over bad memories. The last time the raccoon touched Dominic’s penis, they were in their late teens. That was back in the day when the two friends had their last intimate moment with each other and fate set them down this path. 

During sunset on midsummer’s day by the river, Dominic told Thomas how he just inherited his grandfather’s pig farm. Several years prior, the panther kitten got kicked out of his home and had to live with his grandfather. Shortly thereafter, both his father and uncle had been sent to jail for armed robbery and murder, so Dominic then became sole heir to his grandfather’s land. The old panther died a day before Dominic’s seventeenth birthday. He never wanted to live his life as a pig farmer and told Thomas he dreamed of becoming a riverboat captain and giving tourists an old-timey genuine Southern experience. Thomas, on the other hand, told his friend of a different dream.

The raccoon wanted to repent for all he had done wrong in his life up to that point. He wanted to stop getting into random scraps and give up a nasty habit for thievery to support his pot use. Confiding in his best friend and looking for support, he told Dominic he wanted an honest job, a wife, children, and to become a good Christian. Such desires contrasted greatly with the past behaviours of these two degenerates, and they had to find out the hard way such lofty dreams do not come true for their type. Thomas could not hold down a job for more than a week and Dominic never went beyond tending to the pig farm, more or less becoming a total shut-in. Eventually, the loner feline helped his long time chum by bringing him onto the farm.

Dominic had another way to help his raccoon pal, and getting jerked off by him brought back the memory of when this all started. The panther found a potential wife for Thomas, but neither of them had any clue how a proper relationship even begins. Dominic abducted a teenage raccoon girl, and Thomas would have raped her. This girl thwarted their plans by kicking Thomas square in the nuts, and she fought for her freedom with Dominic. Thomas had been struck quite hard by the scrappy raccoon girl, and it turns out she actually fractured his bacculum. Her resistance caused Dominic to fly into an insane rage. During the melee, he ended up beating her to death. To dispose of the body, he fed her bloody carcass to the pigs, and no one besides Thomas knew he committed murder.

Strangely though, Thomas believed Dominic was justified killing the raccoon teenager and he promised never to tell anyone on those grounds. Following a very painful recovery, Thomas abandoned whatever dream he had about a settled life. Dominic had given up a while ago, but still wanted his friend to give the straight and narrow a chance. To accomplish this, he kidnaped a young swift fox boy – their first kid. The panther believed Thomas would give his dreams another try if he had a go at someone he could control.

Obviously, the fox boy could not fight off his captors and both of them possessed total dominion on the young vulpine’s life. The feeling was so intoxicating for both Dominic and Thomas. They could make this boy do anything they wanted and sex him up anytime they wanted as well. Such profound power over another life made the panther and raccoon feel things they never felt before. It felt better than the control they had over the pigs. In this little world of theirs, they were the lords. Every time they raped the helpless fox child, they both became increasingly diluted.

Poor Thomas had become so jaded to his own depravity that whatever life he planned for himself abandoned his twisted mind. He had become so disassociated that he completely overlooked the rapidly increasing severity of his perversion. Additionally, he found himself unphased by the sadistic practices of his partner in crime. Dominic would wound the fox cub quite severely during sexual episodes. Also, he’d beat the poor cub just as harshly as he himself once got beaten. Thomas would tend to the boy’s wounds, of course, but it got to the point where all his focus got placed on the fox’s angry red anus, his swollen testicles filling his taught sac to capacity, and the look of total innocence and vulnerability on the boy’s delicate, fragile little frame. It thrilled both partners to corrupt this fox boy.

Control, as they both learned, could only be held for so long, and the fox boy did eventually escape. Dominic and Thomas thought they had the boy completely: body, mind, and soul. Whenever the little canid complained about having hooked raccoon penis jammed up his asshole or spiny feline tongue and penis rasping his delicate flesh, the pair simply figured he was obeying orders to show at least some resistance just to give them the pleasure of breaking him back down again. They were wrong, and the boy wanted his freedom back every moment of his captivity. When the boy escaped, he did not get very far, and both partners were furious at not possessing total dominion over this kid. To punish him, they both tossed him into the pigpen where the screaming child got devoured alive. Just like Dominic, Thomas had committed murder and found himself on an irreversible path.

Every kid since then was chasing after the glory they felt over the first one. It was exactly like when they both tried crack for the first time and subsequently became addicted. Everything that follows is an attempt to re-experience their first high. Throughout the years, they had gone through many children and many hits of adulterated street drugs. Jake was just part of the next wave of a seemingly endless cycle.

Now at long last, Dominic and Thomas stood on the verge of another successful abduction. The panther quickly finished jerking himself off and unloaded his jizz into his palm. Since Thomas worked him up already, the load came out in a generous volume. To Dominic’s relief, his cum this time was very liquidy. He eagerly lapped it off of his paw and used his tongue to coat his gums in his own spunk. When he swallowed, his throat got the comforting moisture it begged for earlier. The panther was now ready to confront the border guard.

“A’right, that feels much better! Now we’re back in business, partner. Hey? Buddy? I ain’t mad at ya, kay? Just relax, we’re almost home free.”

If anything, Dominic was in fact angry with himself. Thomas’s failure to give him sexual relief in a situation of necessity reminded him of his own failure to give Thomas what we needed. Dominic very much wanted Thomas to have his dream life. If he had known then what his best friend would become, he wouldn’t have brought Thomas onto the farm. In fact, the panther would likely have killed himself to rid Thomas of such a bad influence. He always felt the need to protect his raccoon buddy, ever since they were both cubs. At one point, he genuinely believed Thomas could make it in an unforgiving and harsh world and wanted to help him on his path. Looking back at everything made Dominic think he failed his best friend by not getting him what he truly needed. Would things have been different if he did get Thomas a wife? Dominic never cared if he was doomed, but wanted so much more for his friend. Also, since Thomas never showed any signs that he might be gay meant Dominic could not give his friend the type of companionship he wanted. The panther considered this yet another failing and he hated himself to no end because of it.

Thomas, from what Dominic believed, probably hated himself just as much. It would explain why it was more so the raccoon’s idea to get hooked on drugs in the first place. Furthermore, just like Dominic, Thomas no longer harboured any delusion of fixing his own life, nor did he have any desire to do so anymore. From his perspective, which is also the same as Dominic’s, no one in this world will love either of them, not even each other. They had to steal it, like so many other things, from weaker targets. Additionally, harming Jake just like all the others meant stealing something that was stolen from them a long time ago – their innocence.

Thinking of all this caused a stirring in the panther’s heart that he didn’t think possible anymore. Let him go, the voice commanded…don’t hurt him the way you have been hurt. Just for an instant, Dominic thought about turning around and releasing Jake. It wasn’t just the anxiety of passing through the last obstacle getting to him, but the small amount of soul-searching he had just done over the past several minutes. Only one car ahead of the van waited to go through. 

The point of no return quickly approached. Dominic put his dick away and put the rocks behind the hood cover as he planned. Up ahead, the driver of the vehicle in front of them got her passport back, and soon Dominic would find himself at that window. It’s not too late to do the right thing…Sadly, the panther said under his breath, “It is too late.” He pulled up to the station window.

“Uh, g’devenin’ officer,” Dominic said in as clear a voice as he could muster. He passed his and Thomas’s passport over to the guard.

“License and registration as well, please.”

The request had taken Dominic aback somewhat. He couldn’t recall if he was asked this on his way into the country. Did they know something? Were they onto him and Thomas?

“Uh, sure, okay then…here ya go there, officer.”

“Are you two on your way back home?”

“Yessir, that we is.”
“Did you purchase any tobacco or alcohol products at the duty free, and are you in possession of either of these substances?”

“Nah, nah, nothin’ like that, sir. We is pretty clean him an’ I, if I may say so.”

“What brought you into Canada in the first place?”

It was up to Dominic now. The story he tells will either get them through or get them busted. He endeavoured to keep it all together.

The first thing Jake heard was the rumbling of the van’s engine as it idled in the long line-up leading to the border. It slowly dragged the half-drugged cub to the edge of consciousness where he became the unfortunate subject of a nightmare that repeated the frightening encounter with his two kidnappers. Although only lasting a few minutes, it felt much longer to the eight-year-old buck, and it was just as horrifying the second time around.

Eventually the flashback retreated into obscurity, like many of Jake’s dreams often did, however this time it had the side-effect of leading the brutalized rabbit to believe it had all just been an awful dream. So when the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the dark interior of a cardboard box, the buck’s heart quickly plummeted into his belly, releasing a wave of nausea as his body suddenly became aware of the damage to his system.

Jake huffed quietly, sneezing through his nostrils to clear them of the crystalizing foam that had been ejected earlier. Once he could breathe normally again, his heart-rate quickly escalated, causing the buck to panic.

He could already tell his arms and legs were still tightly bound; in fact, his wrists and ankles were beginning to throb painfully from prolonged restriction. This only served to make the rabbit fear to escalate.

No no no, I can’t be here, this can’t be happening. It has to be a dream, please let it be a dream. I just want to wake up a home. Wake up, please just wake up! Much as Jake struggled to deny it, this all felt too real to be a dream. What was worse, the buck could still hear the two kidnappers in the front talking to one another once in a while.

The rabbit was almost ready to give in to despair when he felt the van lurch forward a few feet. After it came to a stop, one of the kidnappers—the panther by the sound of it—started engaging in conversation with someone outside the vehicle. Jake didn’t know who, but the man sounded authoritative, nothing like the creatures who’d abducted him. He had to get their attention somehow.

Squirming around, Jake found his movement severely limited. Kicking out with his legs only resulted it shuffling the box that concealed him. He tried to scream next, but with his throat clogged with half-digested pills and bile, it hurt too much. The rabbit began to panic even more. This might be his only chance to be rescued. He had to do something.
With all of his might, the weakened, delirious and aching cub struggled as much as he could, forcing as much sound through his sore throat as he could manage without choking off an gagging.

Help me, help me! I’m trapped!  Please… please somebody help me!

The border guard’s wolf ear twitched at the muffled sounds that sounded like someone in distress. It was very faint, but the wolf thought for sure he heard something.

“Sir, is there anyone else in your vehicle?”

“Wuh?” Dominic raised an eyebrow at the question. “This here is just a two passenger vehicle, so it’s jus’ what ya see.”

“Huh, well, I thought I heard something.”

Indeed, Dominic knew exactly what the guard heard. His own panic levels very likely elevated to the same extent as Jake’s. After some serious quick thinking, the panther checked the volume dial on the radio. Thomas could see what his partner was doing and decided to help. The raccoon’s panic and anxiety started to increase as well, but he trusted Dominic’s ability to get them out of a tight spot. To help his partner, he smiled like a goofy cartoon character and stuck out his tongue. Dominic took the cue and pretended to smack the raccoon, who just burst out laughing in response.

“It was you, wunt it!? Sorry, officer. My friend here is a bit, uh, what you call, special. Pay him no mind.”

Thomas began to hum loudly, playing up the role of a total idiot. Unknown to the guard, Dominic pressed down on the accelerator a little to increase the revving of the engine. All the additional noise very likely would have drowned out the next pathetic plea Jake had to make. 

Dominic kept his cool by assuring himself that the boy’s throat was just as desperately parched as his own a few moments ago. Also, coming out of his first drug stupor, Jake probably couldn’t make much, if any noticeable physical movements. Although, the possibility existed that Jake could recover quickly. A serious threshold was upon them. If they gunned it through the gate, they wouldn’t get very far at all. The option of turning back, as Dominic’s conscious requested, had hopelessly expired as well. He had to get this encounter concluded fast, or his days of child diddling would come to an abrupt halt.

“Anyhoo, as I was sayin’, we came up here to attend his great aunt’s funeral. She has a plot of land up north from this here spot.”

“What town?”

“Oh, uh, shucks, I don’t rightly remember which settlement we was closest to. She used ta live in a rural area about three hours north of Toronna. It was worth it, I reckon, ‘cause she sure had a bunch of goodies fer us!”

“No dangerous goods, or taxable items to declare?” The guard raised his voice high enough to break past the noise.

“Nah, sir, nothin’ to declare. A lot of this here stuff likely will get donated.”

“Alright then, you boys have a safe drive then and welcome back to America!”

Just as the guard reached out to hand back the passports and Dominic’s licence and registration, two things caught his attention and caused him concern.

“Sir, can I give you some advice?”

“Uh, an’ wut might that be, officer?”

“In future, tell you’re pal to shut-up when you’re speaking to someone like me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say for sure someone was in distress right now.”

Once more, Thomas played up the role and let out a dumb sounding howl.

“Oh, uh, right. I do sincerely apologize. He ain’t used to road trips of this, uh, magnitude. Don’t think his meds is doing the trick right now.”

As for the second item on the guard’s concern list, he leaned in very close to get a clearer view of Dominic’s yellow eyes.

“Sir, I need to ask you…”

Oh no, this is it! He’s gonna ask us to step out of the vehicle…we’re done!

“…Have you been smoking something funny?”

“No, I’ve just been drivin’ all day. I don’t normally look this dang exhausted.”

The wolf did in fact notice the bottle of urine sitting in the cup holder. It seemed consistent with the panther’s claim of driving all day. If he didn’t know any better, this panther and his odd companion drove nonstop to the crossing. It might help to explain the raccoon’s erratic behaviour and the false cries for help. A couple times, Thomas bounced up and down and caused some of the cargo in the back to shift. Either the panther was telling the truth and simply looked fatigued, or he was on something. The guard faced this decision everyday and sometimes wondered if he did often let the bad guys through.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you…”
Goddammit! So close. Almost got off scot-free, but this is finally it!

“…To find the nearest accommodation you can. You count as impaired if you’re driving while too tired. I’d rather not call the state trooper on you.”

“Oh, yeah sure, officer,” Dominic nodded. “I wunt plannin’ on going all the way back home tonight. Just wanted to get back in America, but I’ll find me an area to rest up.”

“Alright then, you two take care now.”

Dominic practically snatched the items out of the guards paw and rolled up the window quickly. The gate rose up and once he had the van out of sight of the window, he geared down to increase the roar of the engine. As he got up to speed, Dominic damned near started hyperventilating.

“Tom, get back there an’ shut that brat up, so help me!”

With a comfortable distance built up between the van and the crossing, Dominic put the engine back into full gear and got up to highway speed.

“That was too close…too fuckin’ close. I hate to say it, but I think we’re losin’ our edge. We dun better make this kid last fer a long time. *Phew. Gonna stop at a gas station an’ get us something to drink and eat. I think that there wolf guy meant what he said, so we’re gonna hafta pull off somewhere and bunker down for the night. When we do, I’m a goin’ to teach that brat a lesson.”

No no no no no no! Jake screamed frantically behind his gag. His throat burned with the strain of forcing air through it. He couldn’t make enough noise, couldn’t get the officer’s attention. Perhaps the only hope of freedom was slipping through his paws. There was just nothing more he could do than flop like a fish and wail as loud as his sore body could let him.

The poor rabbit could hear every exchange between the panther and his only would-be savior. His mind was still clouded with the drug, but crying for rescue was locked firmly in his frightened mind. When the vehicle finally started moving again, the cub’s wailing intensified.

NO! NO, DON’T LEAVE ME! HELP! I’M BEING KIDNAPPED! The terrified rabbit bit hysterically at his gag, struggling desperately to work his jaws free of the strap that bound him. All the while he twisted and squirmed and wormed around on the floor, trying to free himself from the tight bonds that held his legs together and his arms behind his back.

In a miraculous stroke of luck, Jake’s struggling began to pay off. Working his jaws viciously, he was able to loosen the strap’s hold on his snout. By the time he was able to free them completely and spit out the balled up plastic wrap, his screams were too far away to be heard.
“Help! Somebody help me!” Jake shrieked, twisting onto his back to holler as loud as his raspy throat would allow. “Heeeelp!”

Jake wasn’t at all prepared for the impact that followed. A heavy force slammed down onto the box he’d been buried beneath, clobbering the shocked buck in the face and pinning his head to the ground.

Thomas had no desire to mess around anymore than Dominic did at this point. They’d just barely scraped through that near disaster and having the kid wake up to try and ruin it all, the raccoon was through playing games. Climbing into the back of the van, the burly ring-tailed kidnapper tore the box off of his target and didn’t even hesitate before slapping Jake sideways across the face.

With a sharp gasp and a tensing of his body, the eight-year-old cub, yelped and began sobbing loudly.

“Let me go! Please, please let me go!” Jake begged, trying to hide his face as yet another assault rained down.
 
“Shut th’fuck up, y’lil piece o’shit!” Thomas barked, exercising more violence than normal. “Y’all nearly fuck it all up, I oughta ring yer lil fuckin’ neck!”

After several more strikes, Jake fell silent out of fear, cringing and whimpering in the expectation of being hit again. By now though, Thomas had worked off his anger and was ready to be more reasonable again. Dropping to his knees, he clasped the cub’s head by both paws and forced an open-mouthed kiss onto him.

“MMmrf!” Jake thrashed in his bondage as the raccoon probed the boy’s mouth, holding his jaws apart with fingers on either side.

Half a minute later the raccoon pulled away, leaving a long string of saliva between his and the buck’s lips. Naturally Jake immediately twisted to the side and spat feverishly, whining pitifully as he struggled to get the horrific taste out of his mouth. Thomas wasn’t finished yet, though.

Forcing Jake’s head to look straight into the raccoon’s blood-shot eyes, he came real close and whispered loud enough for the boy to hear.

“Y’all make another sound, ‘lil Jake, an’ I’ll cut yer tongue out, y’hear?”

Eyes widening in fright, Jake nodded fearfully, his nose twitching rapidly with his frantic breathing. He didn’t know what was worse, the taste of the raccoon’s saliva, the feel of that slimy tongue probing every inch of his mouth, or the rank breath as Thomas issued his threat. Whatever it was, it made the rabbit want to vomit.

“P… please Mister C-Carson, please don’t let him h-hurt me anymore,” Jake whimpered quietly before obeying.

Thomas suddenly reared his head up and cackled at the top of his lungs, making Jake jump in terror. The raccoon was clearly amused by the fact their little friend still didn’t know his real name. More so, he found it hilarious that Jake would seek protection from Dominic’s rage, which was sure to come. Turning to the front of the van, he hollered to his friend.

“Y’hear that, Dom? He don’t want’cha to hurt him no more!”

 “Ha! Wutsa matter there boy? Yer daddy ain’t never spank ya before? Well, I’m yer daddy now and so is my pal. And we spank our kids when they’ve been bad, in’t that right, Tom? Oh, yeah, and we do other things too.”

Pulling the horn cover off, Dominic grabbed one of the two helpings of crack still left. He wanted to save the other for himself and Thomas; however, the one he pulled out he intended for Jake. A black paw reached back and beckoned Thomas to take the rock.

“Tom, I think our boy needs him his medicine, dontcha think?”

The raccoon took the substance and asked for the pipe. Dominic reminded him that it was still in the back somewhere. Thomas searched around the van floor and eventually found the pipe relatively in the last place he saw it. Luckily, the glass device didn’t break, but the metal screen had dislodged. Finding it in the increasing dark proved too difficult for the raccoon, even with his excellent night vision. The cargo area of the van simply had too much stuff in the way for Thomas to find such a tiny item.

“Hey, uh, Dom? We got any tobacka left?”

“The hell, Tom, I thought we gave that shit up!? Too expensive an’ we a’ready put enough shit in our airways.”

“Nah, it ain’t for us. The screen is gone and I can’t use the pipe.”

“Oh, I gotcha. Uh, well, um…here, use this an’ roll one.” Dominic passed back the ashtray filled with long since put out butts. All the residual tobacco went stale a long time ago. Thomas tossed out the ash from the tray and replaced it with as much old tobacco as he could extract. Once he went through enough butts to make a decent sized rollie, he broke up the rock, mixed it in with the tobacco, pulled out his rolling papers, and put together a fat one-fifty-one. He fired it up and leaned back down towards Jake.

“By the way, Tom, while yer back there, feel free to get better acquainted with our new boy.”

It occurred to Dominic that Jake likely wouldn’t take too well to another stoner session. He figured he could simply issue another threat to the frightened buck, but hoped he wouldn’t have to follow through with it. His mind was set on putting as much distance between the van and the border as possible, so he’d rather not have to pull over and beat some sense into Jake. Also, he worried that he wouldn’t be able to contain his rage if Jake dared to test him. As such, he actually prayed for Jake’s sake that the buck would fully obey Thomas.

“Boy, you do what yer daddy Thomas there tells ya, ‘cause if I hafta pull over, lord help ya fer what I’ll do.”

Jake cringed just at the sound of Dominic’s voice. The little cub was too terrified to even move now, his limbs stricken with fear. What were these two kidnappers going to do to him? Would they dig around in his shorts again? The buck remembered that distinctly despite all the funny smelling smoke that had been clouding his head. He didn’t want that panther to touch him down there again, not after what he had to go through the first time. The poor boy’s groin was still aching even now, although for some reason the pain felt a lot more external now, like something was pressing harshly into his little sac.

Laying on his back, Jake had to listen to the two kidnappers converse back and force. He had no idea what they were rambling about. All this talk of ‘tobacka’ and pipes; if it had anything to do with the awful smoke they were forcing him to inhale earlier, Jake wanted nothing of it. He tried to make that point clear by struggling and begging as quietly as he could. Neither creature even noticed as they sought another means to inflict punishment on the poor rabbit.

With a new method decided, Jake watched fearfully from his position on the floor as Thomas fiddled with cigarette butts, using their remnants along with the rocks Dominic provided to roll an unsettling little white log of heaven knew what. Once the raccoon was finished, he lit it up and moved over to the cub laying on his back and staring up at it with uncertainty. Jake was so focused on that burning tip that he didn’t hear what Dominic said at first.

The rolled stick came closer and the buck shook his head, whining with his mouth tightly shut. He didn’t know what was going to happen; he half expected the foul-smelling raccoon to burn him with it. Instead, however, the unlit end was pointed downwards.

“No, please…” Jake whimpered quietly before the panther cut in with his threat.

The rabbit’s heart leapt into his throat at the thought of Dominic getting near him again. It suddenly made this current threat far more appealing. But still, Jake hesitated.

“C’mon now, Jake. Nice an’steady,” Thomas said calmly, holding the rolled tip near the buck’s unwilling lips. “If’n yeh fuck up now, Dom’s gonna get ‘is paws on yeh. Y’all don’t want that now, do yeh?”

Jake shook his trembling head. “N-no…” he whined.

“Then open up, an’ take a niiiiice deep breath, son.”
Lowering the lit stick further, Thomas grasped the cub’s head to keep him from fidgeting as he pressed the tip down into the boy’s mouth. Terrified eye’s looked up at the raccoon as the panicking rabbit struggled to breathe deeply as instructed—anything to keep Dominic away.

The smoke immediately burned its way down Jake’s throat and into his lungs where it sizzled violently. He tried to hold it in, but the pain became so intense that the buck’s eyes started watering as he jerked his head to the side and coughed raggedly. For a few moments he couldn’t breathe at all, he just kept coughing until it felt like his lungs were raw.

Thomas simply waited for the boy to recover from his first hit. It took longer than he expected, but eventually the buck’s breathing returned to normal, at which point he grasped the soft fur of Jake’s cheek and forced his gaze up to the ceiling again.

“Naow, again, wit’feelin’,” Thomas said with a grin.

“N-n-no, please, no more, please,” Jake whimpered, tearing still streaming from his eyes. “I-it burns, I don’t wanna…”

The raccoon wasn’t going to take a no for an answer. Forcing Jake’s head still, he pressed the tip into his snout again, this time forcing the buck’s jaws to remain shut and covering his two little nostrils.

“Breathe, kid. Think of it like this, Jake. Y’all do what we say, an’ we won’t kill yeh. Ah say breathe, whatchoo gonna do?”

As if in response, the buck, struggling for air to the point of squirming, gasped in a full lungful of air, burning halfway down the stick. Thomas grinned and quickly let go, allowing Jake to burst into another agonized fit of coughing and crying as his body ached from the forced injection of hard drugs. It would all be taking full effect any moment now, but it was already evident that it had entered his system.

Jake’s response time dropped significantly and his gaze started to wander sporadically. He couldn’t focus on anything but the burning in his chest, making him feel like he was on fire. The image of Thomas looming over him was quickly becoming distorted and the sound of his voice echoed deeply.

“Well, naow-ow-ow… Ah think ‘e like it-it-it…” the raccoon spoke through the distortion. He tilted his head as Jake struggled to speak. “What’s that naow-ow-ow? Speak up, boy-oy-oy…”

“S… s… so hot,” Jake whined, squirming uncomfortably as he began panting heavily. “C… can’t breathe…”

Thomas snickered to himself. “Well now, I think we gots a way o’dealin’ with that.”
Putting out the dooby for later, the raccoon leaned over his freshly intoxicated victim and pulled out a pocket-knife. With Jake sufficiently incapacitated, Thomas felt perfectly safe in removing the boy’s bonds, leaving the cub to lay limp on the floor as his gaze darted left and right as though tracking phantoms.

“Naow, let’s help yeh cool down, shall we?”

Without even pausing, Thomas helped himself to removing Jake’s clothing. He started with the buck’s shirt, allowing himself a few moments to rub against his soft fuzzy chest with his greasy face before unzipping and pulling off his shorts. Tossing the clothing to the side, the raccoon slid Jake’s little body around so he could reap the full benefit of pulling down the rabbit’s carrot-themed underpants.

Jake laid still in a complete stupor as he felt his clothing being removed. He didn’t know whether to be grateful or mortified anymore. The lack of clothing helped with the burning sensation, but it left his little body completely exposed to his kidnapper. The little eight-year-old wanted to cry and cover himself in shame, but his limbs felt like heavy weights, and his throat was dry from the smoke he’d inhaled. All he could produce for sound were a few whimpers here and there.

For the most part, Jake felt like he was in another realm and merely watching the happenings in front of him through a window. Nothing felt real anymore, and every once in a while he could’ve swore he saw something in the corner of his eyes, but he could never focus on it.

“Ah like ‘em when they’s cooperative,” Thomas said with another snicker, staring down at the naked cub’s completely inability to move with any sort of coordination; he could see the boy trying, but it was of little use.

With his charge full disabled, Thomas began to undress as well, pulling off his sweaty under shirt and yanking down his trousers to reveal another erection. His hooked penis twitched eagerly as Thomas dragged his pants down to his ankles and crawled over top of Jake, laying his filthy body against the cub’s clean, white, pristine fur. He wrapped his arms around the stoned rabbit and helped himself to some free kisses, all the while groping every inch of Jake’s tender little body.

By now, the sun had slipped beneath the horizon. They had been driving for nearly an hour now. Dominic figured he’d stop at the very next gas station he saw and then maybe go on for another hour, maximum. The panther certainly did not plan on finding more typical accommodation. Their hotel for the night was currently cruising down the road. An upcoming sign showed that the next gas station was only twelve miles away, so Dominic set his mind on using it. From there, he hoped enough light would remain to help him find a suitable pull-out just as he did back in Canada.

The reducing light meant Dominic couldn’t see all the action going on behind him. All he could see in the rear view mirror was the silhouette of large body overtop of a small one. Based on the texture of the form he saw, the panther deduced that Thomas lied over Jake completely naked. The thought of his buddy rubbing his adult dong over the boy’s tiny undeveloped parts made Dominic feel a fierce stiffening in his pants.

“Yah-hoo, partner, you ride that boy! Hey, see if ya can’t knock his cubmakers aroun’ wit yer fuck-stick.”

Tending the urgency in his pants, Dominic rubbed the crotch of jeans deeply. Despite having unloaded, and then eaten, a full compliment of semen a while ago, the panther felt certain he could have another one built up later in the evening. He knew exactly where he’d put it as well. Once the first leg of their journey back home concluded for the night, the feline would eagerly take Thomas’s place over the naked buck.

“Tell me, Tom, did we get ourselves a good one, or did we get ourselves a good one? You’ll hafta let me know what ya think. Say it to me that this here is the one we’ve been lookin’ fer all along…the one that’ll finally replace ‘him’. Say you think it is we keep him.”

At Dominic’s suggestion, the filthy raccoon hugged the stoned rabbit closer into his arms, licking and nuzzling at the boy’s neck as he thrust his hooked penis against those little fuzzy orbs between his legs. The delayed result was a cry of pain as Jake suddenly became aware of the true source of pain between his legs. One of his testicles started burning with renewed pain as Thomas poked and prodded at it with his slicked appendage.

“Mmmn… Nnnm… Ssst…” Jake mumbled inbetween whines, trying to form coherent words, but the drug was affecting him heavily.

“Oh yeah… y’all like that don’tcha?” Thomas whispered, intentionally taking Jake’s protests out of context.

Rubbing his grubby paws all up and down Jake’s little naked body, he relished is the soft, smooth fur. The buck had clearly bathed prior to heading to school today; Thomas could smell it in the hint of strawberry from the soap the cub had used. It was beginning to fade now, though, and with every slimy touch, the rabbit’s purity also faded.

Still trapped in a realm beyond his body, Jake cried and screamed, struggling to move his body, to react in some way to fend off this vile beast. All he could manage though, even after many long, agonizing minutes of effort, was to drag his numb paws through Thomas’s greasy fur.

There was nothing Jake could do to stop him. Thomas continued to relentlessly assault the buck was kisses, lick his neck all over, even bite his sensitive ears several times when he felt like getting rough. All the while he molested the cub’s little bits, rubbing his hooked erection against it, poking the tip into his small sheath and just generally fondling every inch of his boyhood with no discrimination whatsoever.

“Lllea…. Mm… Sst—P-plleas…”
“Shhhh, jus’ let daddy take good care o’yah, Jake,” Thomas whispered softly, folding the eight-year-old’s ears back as he dragged a paw down them.

In response to his companion in the front seat, Thomas moaned loudly with pleasure. “Dom, this boy is wit’out a doubt, THE one we been searchin’ for. I ain’t never felt this way b’fore. There’s no question in mah mind, this lil’ Jake is a keep’r. OUR keeper. Never gonna let this’un slip away, not ever. ‘E’ll be ours, ferever, heheheh…”

As if to solidify his statement, Thomas planted another firm, passionate kiss onto Jake’s mouth, mashing their two snouts close together, that his French kiss had him practically deep-throating the unfortunate boy.

Jake had gone completely numb now; as out of it as he was, he heard every word, and he couldn’t comprehend it. F… forever? Here? W-w-with them?! The buck’s body tensed weakly as the only sign of his total horror. N-no, no, no. Mommy, Daddy, I—I’ll never see them again? N-never?!

The shock of this realization suddenly became too much for the buck’s senses and, just like that, Jake fainted. Thomas paused mid-kiss and pulled away. He’d noticed the boy’s sudden lack of resistance, and a quick look in Jake’s blank gaze told him why.

“Got’dammit,” Thomas muttered. “Lil’ pussy dun passed out again.”

“Jus, keep snugglin’ with’im. I’m gonna pull into this here gas station, fill ‘er up, and get us some munchin’s. Anythang you want?”

“Yeh, alright…” the raccoon responded with disappointment. “It jus’ain’t as fun if they’s sleepin’ is all.”

Thomas thought for a moment before adding, “Yeah, I could go fer some treats, somethin’ the lil’ fighter here might like. Wanna git him cooperatin’ so we dun need to drug ‘im all th’time.” He paused for a moment. “Oh! An’look fer one’a them purdy bows. A pink’un.”

With a bump and a slight rocking, the van entered the lonely gas station out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks to the impending darkness of night, no one who looked into the van would see either Thomas or the nude rabbit beneath him. Pulling up to a pump, Dominic hopped out and proceeded to fill up the gas tank. The beast consumed a very large quantity before the pump thudded to a stop. Casually, like he had done absolutely nothing wrong, the panther trotted into the station to grab some goodies. 

He first grabbed everything on Thomas’s list so he wouldn’t forget. Even though his mind had cleared of illicit substance, the panther rightly did not trust his own damaged and demented mind. Plus, as per usual, he kept his buddy in mind first. He also grabbed a carton of chocolate milk for Jake, but nothing else he picked out counted as even remotely healthy. Every item in his arms was decidedly unhealthy. Still, if Jake wanted to eat, Dominic figured the boy would have to get used to the diet provided to him, and also be prepared to earn it.

Dominic unloaded his cache on the teller’s desk and informed the miserable looking marten of the gas he just put into the van. The uniformed mustelid, probably in his early twenties or even late teens, looked down on Dominic like a piece of refuse. Did the panther’s shabby attire or thick Southern accent offend this Northern small county brat? In truth, Dominic thought nothing of the assumptions he was sure people made of him. He kept them out of his world and made sure not to dwell in theirs, unless he wanted something.

“I got it already…oh, uh, will there be anything else then tonight sir?”

A big wad of cash will alter anyone’s opinion of the holder. Dominic produced a bundle of crisp, brand new hundred dollar bills held together in a gold plated clip. Suddenly, he commanded the marten boy’s respect. As best as the teller could make out, his panther customer was either a wealthy landowner or some kind of drug lord. Either which way, seeing all those Ben Franklin’s told the boy to drop the attitude quick.

Once the purchase was made and his change taken, Dominic grabbed everything without issuing a further word to the teller. Instead, he simply looked the marten down with a scowl. It caused the boy’s expression to diminish into that of worry. Funny, but the boy no longer exuded the angsty aloofness of youth in the black panther’s presence. In his mind, Dominic chuckled thinking the boy probably worried if he’d shoot up the place! When he got back to the van, he put everything into the passage seat, walked around, and got back into the driver’s seat. He started handing items back to Thomas.

“A’right, I think I got all yer stuff, plus I got us here some pork rinds, meat sticks, a crapload of soda, and some of this here energy shit inna can. Kay, I’m only gonna go for anotha hour or so before I pull over somewhere.”

As the van rolled back up to highway speed, the panther kept his eyes on the dark road while Thomas cuddled with Jake. He hoped he would see a clearing soon. Although he could keep going longer, he still didn’t want to risk running into a state trooper who would likely arrest him for driving too tired. Also, he was anxious to try out Jake for himself.

The panther completely believed his partner already. Without having indulged in his new boy yet, he still wholeheartedly believed Jake was the one. As he drove, he unrolled the window about halfway, telling Thomas he just needed a bit of fresh air. Out of his inner coat pocket, he pulled out a photo. It was a picture of a young male. Dominic took this snapshot many years ago, when the boy was still clean and unspoiled. The poor creature in the picture had looked at the camera with both embarrassment and fright as it flashed this small memory. He stood there nude, with his tail tucked halfway up his legs, and his tight sack held his tiny orbs close to his short juvenile sheath. His fur pattern was both rugged yet elegant, and his tender body was slightly feminine.

“Notta day went by, dear foxy, that I hadda not wished you’d be ours forever,” Dominic whispered at the photo, trying to go on unheard by Thomas. “But ye din’ want it. Since then, I wanted it so bad to find someone jus’ like ya. Now I think I have. I’ll try to make things different this time.”

Bringing the photo to his lips, he kissed the head portion of the swift fox boy in the picture. After a long, passionate, and loving kiss, Dominic slipped the photo out the window. With tears welling in his eyes, he loosened his grip and let the wind take away his memory.

“G’dbye, Jonathan…”

Thomas wasn’t enjoying himself nearly as much since Jake passed out, but he continued to cuddle the boy nonetheless, taking pleasure in that soft fur coat and the ethereal scent of innocence. Neither Dominic nor the raccoon had quite taken away that purity yet, but their loins were aching to.

The grungy raccoon wanted to take it slowly though. He vowed not to make the same mistake this time, as he had with Jonathan. Both kidnappers had taken the little fox boy the first night they’d abducted him. That had been their first error. They’d given away what they were capable of to the boy too soon, rather than eased into it. Had the acquired his obedience more appropriately, perhaps things might’ve been different.

As Thomas laid on the floor, wrapping his large, bulky frame around the much smaller, unconscious rabbit, he whispered quietly in the boy’s ear.

“We ain’t gonna fuck it up this time, son, we gonna do it right, gonna treat’cha jus’right.”

The time between Dominic leaving the vehicle and returning seemed to last forever, and the raccoon was growing sleepy in this position, holding his prize tightly to his naked chest. So when the panther finally returned, Thomas jumped in surprise, rousing from a half-conscious state as his friend handed him items from the front seat.

Accepting them awkwardly, without losing his grip on Jake, he perused the contents and found them to be to his satisfaction. The first thing he pulled out was the pink bow, just like what he wanted. Although Thomas didn’t really consider himself a fruit, seeing a little boy dressed up like a girl really got him going.

Rolling Jake onto his belly for a moment, the raccoon wrapped the straps of the bow around his slumped ears, fussing with it until the girly item sat perched on the top of the cub’s head. He scooped him up against and snuggled against the little rabbit’s face.

“Thar, naow y’all ‘er lookin’ more presen’able,” Thomas whispered affectionately.

By now the van had already gotten moving again, so the raccoon settled down with his new pet and cuddled him in a manner that looked very unmanly. Had Dominic a clear view, Thomas would have looked entirely gay for his new toy. And in a way he was. Little girls were nice and all, but there was just something about the boys that made it far more worthwhile. Perhaps it had something to do with Johnny; their first catch.

Thomas began to reminisce when he heard Dominic whispering to himself. His ears twitched as he picked up the name of the fox boy. So Dom’s thinkin’ of ‘im too, eh? He thought idly, hugging his little naked rabbit tightly. Ah sure do miss ‘im…

Coming up to a gentle curve in the highway, Dominic could see in his headlights an area of wilderness. He decided to slow down and looked for a point where the ground came up level to the road. After bringing the van to a crawl for several minutes, the panther finally spotted an area where he could exit. Carefully and slowly, he took the van off road and cautiously drove through a clearing in the trees. Regardless of his effort to avoid the fauna, he still caused several bush branches to crack as the large vehicle ploughed onward.

Breaking branches gave way and Dominic brought the van to a small clearing. He found himself in the middle of a small meadow, tucked away from prying eyes by the surrounding trees. This spot, he thought to himself, was perfect for tonight. Altogether, nearly two and a half hours past since escaping the border and the panther covered a great deal of distance. Still, their home state was a long way off from here, but he dared not to press their luck too much. To confirm the total suitability of their rest area, Dominic got out of the van and performed a quick survey. Indeed, he was right and this spot would do.

He got back into the van, cut the engine, turned out the lights, and locked his door. To ensure Jake couldn’t get away if he woke up, Dominic unscrewed the lock peg and pocketed it. Leaning over to the passenger door, he locked it as well and took the peg. Afterwards, he began to make his way between the seats and into the back. Pulling his lighter out of his pocket, he illuminated his path as he made his way to the side doors and then finally the rear to perform the same ritual he did up front.

With the van secured, Dominic could finally have his moment with Jake. Seeing the buck under Thomas made him grin. Although he wanted Jake, there was just something about seeing the raccoon totally nude that struck the panther. Sure, he’s seen his partner naked many times through all the years they’ve sexually shared children with each other. But, something about this particular situation really caught on in his mind and his loins.

Under the dim light of the lighter, he could see every curve, every crevice, and just about every shade of grey fur on Thomas’s body. The panther never really looked at his friend in such a way. He had a very peculiar urge to stick his finger into Thomas’s round ass. Perhaps it was because Thomas had such a content smile on his coon face as he laid upon Jake like a body pillow. The look of the raccoon, like he just found his long lost love, put up an air of primal innocence all over his body. It reminded Dominic of puppy-love and suddenly Thomas became a cub again. He had not seen that in Thomas for a very long time, and missed it so much.

Dominic might have started caressing Thomas, especially seeing how the raccoon’s balls rested atop of Jake’s little orbs. Unfortunately, the sight brought Dominic crashing back to the here and now. It was seeing Jake’s tiny jewels that caused his dick to pulsate, not the sight of Thomas’s much larger knockers. The sexual interest, which placed itself only briefly on the adult, quickly shifted back to the child. Releasing the button for the extremely hot lighter, Dominic began to strip completely nude as well. His dick knew what it wanted.

“Hey, Tom? Tom, buddy, you sleepin’?” Dominic said as he tapped his partner’s side. When the raccoon failed to rouse, the panther got behind him and tried to hoist him up. He was careful to turn his hips slightly to one side so as to avoid sinking his prick into Thomas’s virgin pucker.

“C’mon now, partner, c’mon. It’s my turn with’im. Jus’ roll over to the side an’ sleep there.”

Thomas rolled onto his back like a whale. Still smiling, Thomas slept with the tip of his coon cock protruding from his sheath. The boney organ was wet and gooey with pre-cum. Dominic, sadly, didn’t derive any sexual pleasure from the erotic sight beside him. He took his partner’s place over Jake and began running his paws all through the buck’s soft fur.

The panther invaded every square inch of Jake’s supple body. Most attention got placed on the boy’s nethers and ass checks. Dominic ran a finger into the hot bunny buttcrack, and even teased the pucker. He pulled the finger out without penetrating, brought it to his whiskered nose, and sniffed the boy’s essence. The panther wanted very much to jam his spiny dick deep into Jake’s ass and fuck the boy cross-eyed. After all, he had vowed to punish Jake for his misbehaviour earlier. On the flip side, though, causing the boy to wake up due to physical pain would cost him a good night’s rest. As a compromise, he instead combed Jake’s white ass fur with the spins of his feline dick.

“So innocent…so pure…” Dominic whispered.

Continuing to probe Jake’s behind, the panther’s dick had moistened the fur of the buck’s crack with salty pre-cum. Thomas was right about the act proving much more fun when the kid was awake. Nonetheless, Dominic wanted some kind of release tonight. He turned Jake onto his belly and humped his cock into the thick downy fur on the underside of the bunny’s tail. Plushy softness teased the panther’s throbbing dick while his balls slapped against Jake’s pillowy tush. It didn’t take long for Dominic to climax, and a stream of hot cat spunk flowed down from Jake’s tail and down the little flesh and fur chasm from tail to taint. Dominic put a finger in the way to prevent his own seed from soaking the puncture wound he made earlier.

Feeling quite proud of himself for not getting rough, Dominic rolled Jake over towards Thomas. He put the buck in a position where his belly and boy bits squeezed against the raccoon’s side. To make sure their prize boy couldn’t get away, the panther put Jake’s hands into plastic bounds again. Additionally, he tied some cord onto his ankle and affixed the other end onto Jake’s ankle. Once completed, Dominic laid on his side and scooched up behind Jake, spooning the boy. Only of few moments passed before Dominic fell into a deep slumber. The three nude males rested, forming a sandwich with Jake in the middle.

For the second time in just twelve hours, Jake awoke from a drug-induced slumber, only now his head was throbbing painfully. He awoke with a quiet groan, immediately trying to move weak limbs to assess his surroundings.

The entire van was dark and quiet, save for the sounds of breathing and snoring. Jake’s body went rigid with fright as he struggled not to panic. He had to figure out what was happening, where he was, and if he could escape. By the sound of it, his two kidnappers had drifted off to sleep. Thomas was in front; the cub could tell by the rank odor emanating from the raccoon’s naked chest; that meant Dominic was behind him, rubbing his bare body against the rabbit’s back.

Wait…

Jake’s eyes widened in shock upon he realized that both of them were naked with him in the middle. The rabbit’s breathing started to pick up pace as he began to panic. They were completely starkers and pinning him in-between their bodies. That little bit of knowledge made the scents assaulting his nose just that much more vile. But it got worse.

A cursory examination of his own body showed him that not only was he also devoid of clothing, but his wrists were bound again and one ankle was pinned to a leg behind him. No no no no no no! Then came the fuzzy flashbacks; images of Thomas stripping him of his clothing, forcing kisses on him, and playing with his crotch among other obscene activities.

The boy’s headache suddenly grew worse as his stress levels grew. He had to get out of here; had to escape. But how?

Fear pounding in his chest and radiating into his ears, the buck started to move, incredibly slowly, frightened that even the smallest shift would waken his captors. He had to do something though, he couldn’t just stay here. So, using his bound paws, he shifted ever so slightly onto his belly and pushed himself up into a sitting position. That little act caused the panther to roll slightly onto his back, making the buck cringe and wait quietly until he was certain the feline was still out.

Terror gripped Jake’s frantically beating heart as he struggled to control his breathing and keep from hyperventilating. If he made too much noise, they’d wake up for sure. With every move though, things got more risky. He first tried to gingerly shake his leg free of the make-shift bond that held it against Dominic’s ankle. It wouldn’t budge. He’d have to untie it in the dark somehow.

Swallowing a rising lump in his throat, Jake slowly, VERY slowly, reached down to his leg, twisting until he could rest his bum on the floor. He was about to grasp at the cord when he suddenly realized there was a sticky wet mess on his back side. The buck froze in fear of what it might be. The spot didn’t hurt so it couldn’t be blood. Whatever it was though it was still warm, and with his wrists bound he couldn’t tend to it either way.

With a quick shake of his head, Jake leaned in and fumbled for the cord blindly. There was minimal light in the dark rear of the van. In fact the eight-year-old was virtually blind. With not even the moon outside to provide light, the cub had to rely solely on sense of touch. In doing so, after a short time spent fussing, he was able to identify two bow-shapes, like shoe-laces. He quickly pulled one of the long strands, loosening the knot and, with much tentative work, freed his ankle.

Somehow that felt like the easy part, though. Next he had to undo the bonds holding his wrists captive, and after a quick probing with his sensitive snout and whiskers, he quickly determined that removal of this would not be so easy. Where Dominic had applied a bow for himself, for Jake, nothing short of a triple knot was enough.

The only logical step now was to try to chew his way through it. Jake’s incisors quickly pinched the slippery material and began grinding it, plucking it and pulling at it. Even if he could just loosen it enough to slip free he’d be grateful, but after much work between his two snoring kidnappers, the cord finally snapped, releasing the cub’s sore wrists.

Jake’s headache was unbearable now. With his paws freed, he immediately clutched his head in pain, whining quietly. The effects of the drug he’d ingested still lingered in his system, making his thoughts foggy and his movements sluggish. He was running purely on adrenaline at this point, but it only counteracted the affects minutely.

He had to get out of here, get away from these awful men. Find help, find anyone. And almost equally important, he needed a drink. His throat was parched, scratched raw from all the smoke he’d been forced to inhale. Even his lungs still ached, and speaking of, the discomfort in his loins also still lingered. At least now he could reach down to investigate.

What he felt made him cringe and quickly slap a paw over his mouth to stifle a squeal. One of his testicles ached something awful, and touching it renewed the pain. What on earth did they do to him? It felt almost like he’d been stabbed in his most sensitive place.

I gotta get outta here, I gotta escape! B-before they hurt me anymore!

Nearly lurching to his feet noisily, Jake stopped just shy of ruining his escape. He clung to the ceiling of the van, trying desperately to see in the dark, but to no avail. There was no time to waste though. Still having a vague idea of where the front of the van was, Jake waved his paws through the inky blackness, trying to find it.

His pulse was pounding loudly in his ears, and every little noise he made felt a thousand times louder. Jake expected one of the two or both to wake up any second now, so when he finally located the front of the van and tip-toed over the raccoon to climb into the front seat, he was on the edge of sheer terror. He was so close, so close to getting away. If he could just slip outside, he could run and find help.

He was just about to open the door when he realized he was still completely naked. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, the buck covered himself. He couldn’t possibly seek help without his clothing, could he? Would it even be worth the risk to turn back and locate them in the dark?

It was a difficult question to answer, but when Jake tested the door anyway to see if it would open, he found it not only locked, but missing the mechanism to open it. The little cub’s heart sank. He was trapped in a steel cage with two kidnappers willing to do unspeakable things to him. Unless…

Leaning over to glance into the back on the van where he roughly expected the rear doors to be, he thought to himself. Perhaps there was another way out that they might’ve missed. After all, the two didn’t seem to be the brightest beasts, judging by their manner of speech and behavior.

Still though… it meant another trip over those two unconscious bodies.

It took Jake several minutes to summon the courage to venture forth again. He quietly and nervously slid back into the rear of the van, tiptoeing over Thomas’s snoring body. As he moved the rabbit gingerly felt around with his feet, hoping to find his clothing along the way. For a while all the found were odds and ends, even a few pointy items that nearly made him cry out in pain, but eventually he struck something. He couldn’t tell what it was or who it belonged to, but it felt like fabric.

Bending down to pick it up, Jake tugged on it. It didn’t budge. Feeling around, the cub realized it was wedged under Dominic’s backside. Swallowing fearfully, Jake ceased his efforts and moved towards the rear of the van; perhaps more eagerly than he should have. As he passed over the black panther, the little boy’s foot caught on the feline’s arm, causing him to lose his balance and topple into the back door of the van.

Jake’s heart immediately leapt into his throat as the sound of Dominic rousing reached his ears. He was busted! No no no! I have to get out, I have to! As the panther regained consciousness, Jake fussed frantically with the back door, searching desperately for some sort of latch to open it so he could bolt, but there was nothing. He really was trapped, and now he’d woken the one creature who’d exact a cruel punishment for all the effort Jake had gone through to escape.

Turning around sharply, Jake pressed his back against the doors and panted heavily in fear of what he couldn’t see in front of him.

Comfortably cuddled next to Jake’s soft body, it took no time at all for Dominic to slip into a deep sleep. Within seconds, he began to experience lucid dreaming. If Thomas stirred at all, he would see an arrangement that Dominic was more than certain would brighten his spirits. Cheer would quickly turn into concern, though, if Thomas had seen his partner was not sleeping peacefully at all. The smile over the panther’s muzzle quickly dropped, and his upper lips twitched repeatedly, causing his whiskers to flutter.

Shit, he got away! Quickly, Tom, over yonder…Follow me!
Occasionally, the panther would turn his head left and right. It looked as though he might be undergoing a seizure. Dominic found himself stuck fast in his nightmare, and stayed unresponsive to Jake’s fidgeting. Nothing in the real world affected the panther’s mind at this point. From his perspective, he saw his boy trying to escape out in the field. He grabbed his shotgun and called on Thomas to follow him in the pursuit.

“Fuckin’ lil’ ingrate…c’mon, Tom, we gotta get’im, we gotta get’im!”

The raccoon attempted to follow as much as his flabby body would allow. He could not keep pace with Dominic and quickly fell behind his partner. Thomas breathed heavily under the burning Southern sun and sounded like he could collapse any moment. Drool flowed freely down the chubby coon’s wide, open trap. The exertion caused Thomas to hold a paw to his chest as he heaved and panted. Still, he kept himself going on blind rage, for he was just as angered at the fleeing child as Dominic.

Much quicker and lighter on his feet than Thomas, the panther hardly needed his partner to stalk the quarry. Dominic could have easily out run and captured the boy all by himself, but he still felt obligated to let his partner help. After all, this was their boy making a break for his freedom. Both panther and raccoon were completely livid that the boy would dare to leave them! In order to slow the target down so that Thomas stood a chance to catch up, Dominic aimed his rifle at the boy’s feet and fired.

“This’ll slow’im down!”

“Wwwwa…wwa…wait, umph, phew, d-d-dooo…don’t…”

Stirring up some dirt, the shotgun pellets piercing the ground at the boy’s feet caused him to jump in the air. The shot had its intended effect of slowing him down because his speed diminished as he turned his head back to see who fired at him. A quick glance back confirmed his fears that his captors chased after him, as he expected they would. He tried to quicken his flight away from them, but another round of pellets exploded just before him. The shock of dirt and stones blasting up before him stopped him dead in his tracks. Before he could start running again, the panther pounced on him and tackled him to the ground.

“No-no-no-no-noooo! P-ple-please, let me go-oohoh!”

Dominic had the boy secured in a full nelson. The tumble through dried out grasses and dusty earth sullied the boy’s pretty pink skirt and matching blouse. Thomas picked out this outfit because he felt such a special little guy deserved something pretty. Now, it all got ruined because of his ingratitude. He dared to try and escape. Sure, the raccoon did not anger as easily as the panther, but the boy’s actions today dampened Thomas’s normal inclination to keep Dominic in check. If anything, the raccoon figured he’d actually assist Dominic in administering a punishment.

In the final steps before the pounce, Dominic dropped the shotgun in the grasses. This allowed him to focus all his strength and each of his limbs in restraining the boy. He dragged the kicking and screaming child back towards Thomas. Eventually, the raccoon met up with them and grabbed hold of the boy’s kicking legs.

“Why? Why did ya?”

“That’s right, how could yeh? After all we did fer ya! I thought we was gonna be together ferever. You said yeah ya would!”

“N-n-nooo. P-please. I don’t wanna…I want my real mommy and daddy!” The boy cried.

“We is yer momma and daddy now! Did ya ferget?”

Panicked and crying profusely, the boy responded, “N-never! You were never my parents. I want my real family. I wanna go home!”

“Ya lied to us! Y’dun fuckin’ lied!” Thomas, for the first time in his life, shouted louder than Dominic. Both partners repealed the short distance covered by their captive and brought him flopping and squirming back to the farm.

It didn’t occur to the panther at the moment, but the way everything played out seemed slightly out of place. Of course, the boy did have his white-tipped and greyish coloured tail running out of his skirt, as per the proper memory, but his face did not match his body. Long, black-tipped ears extended well beyond a white furred head and face. It was Jake, their new boy! Nonetheless, through bared fangs, both Thomas and Dominic snarled at the boy with calamitous contempt.

Tilting over a bit and nearly onto his back, Dominic’s dream paused as Jake disturbed his body. Luckily for the buck, the panther did not come back to full consciousness. Although Dominic’s eye’s opened, the inner lid of his eyes maintained coverage over his irises and he only became semi-awake. Like a cut tree about to topple, the panther slowly tilted all the way down onto the flat of his back. Just for an instant, his awareness returned when he no longer felt Jake’s body next to his; however, he dismissed the lack of physical contact as a consequence of shifting in his own sleep. Jake went about the business of trying to escape while Dominic slipped back into full slumber.

Picking up right where it left off, the dream continued. In no time at all, Dominic and Thomas got back to the farm, and they brought their captive over to the pigsty. At one point along the wooden fence, a platform stood where either Dominic or Thomas could dump in food for the pigs in a trough down below. Stepping up to this platform enabled them to feed the pigs without entering the muddy sty. Of course, they still had to go in with the pigs every now and again, but they preferred not to. The pigs were very dangerous, and both handlers knew that if they fell over while inside the pen, they’d get devoured in an instant.

Both partners brought the boy up to the platform, which had enough room for all three of them. Thomas set the boy’s feet down and in his unabated fury he ripped off a sleeve from the boy’s outfit. Next, Dominic tore open the top and yanked it off of the boy’s body. Finally, the cruel creatures each stuck a hand down below the band of the boy’s embroidered panties; Dominic reaching behind and Thomas grabbing above the crotch. Together, they ripped the undergarment apart, leaving the boy completely exposed. His naked form revealed the signs of thirteen months of abuse. He had scratches, scars, bruises, and matted fur. If it weren’t for all the nasty sores around his anus and genitals, the boy probably could have run much faster and evaded these predators.

“We fed ya, sheltered yeh, got ya nice things to wear, and loved ya up, and this is how yeh repay us!?” Dominic said.

The boy looked right into Thomas’s eyes and begged, “P-please…don’t let him hurt me…I’ll be good, I swear.”

Calming down slightly, the boy’s plea did have some effect on the raccoon. Unfortunately, all it meant was he was no longer on par with Dominic. The panther tended to become very frightening when he was this angry.

“Tom, get’is legs!” The mix of anger and fear compelled the raccoon to comply with Dominic’s demand. “Now yeh listen here, boy…when I says to ya we is your daddies and yeh belong to us ferever, I meant it. I thought fer sure y’all had it figured out. If this is what it takes fer yeh to finally realize it, then it’s wutz gotta be.”

With the nightmare reaching the pinnacle of horror, the distortion between past and present became more obscure. Dominic still remained intent on punishing the boy even though he could no longer tell whom he was about to toss into the pigpen. In his arms, he held a fox boy with Jake’s head. Then, after a blink, he held Jake full and complete. Such distortion didn’t ease the panther’s anger, but for a moment he found himself removed from his own body. What am I doing? I don’t want to kill him. I want this one to last. No sooner did he have this moment, the boy again assumed the full body form of a fox.

It struck Dominic as remarkable the way the two separate bodies seemed to fit together so well. Little Jonathan…his overall shape and size matched Jake perfectly. The white portions of the fox were exactly like the near all white covering on Jake. As Dominic recalled, the fur was just as soft and luxurious as the rabbit’s fur. Even the fuzzy white jewel pouches of the two boys looked exactly the same – tight, compact, and irresistibly cute. Both faces had the exact same look of total innocence and vulnerability. Jonathan was so feeble and helpless, and he once mentioned to Thomas that he often got picked on at school. Coincidentally, on this fateful day, Jonathan even wore on his head a pink bow similar to the one on Jake.

Such similarities made the differences between the two boys seem nonexistent. Dominic, still standing outside his body, watched in horror as his own self was about to ruin something so precious. Even Thomas played his part. How could he? Why didn’t he stop me? Why couldn’t I stop myself? Thomas held the boy’s ankles while Dominic held the wrists. They swung the boy back, swung him forward with increased momentum, and let go.

“No-no-no…P-please n…AAAAAAAAH!!! OOMPH.”

Landing flat on his back, the pigs quickly swarmed the naked cub. One animal bit down on the boy’s arm, causing him to yelp in a high-pitched scream. Two other pigs yanked and tugged on his legs, making him whimper and moan in agony. He tried to shield his more sensitive parts with his free paw, but whatever the pigs wanted to sink their teeth into, they got it. Three other pigs went right for the boy’s belly, and it sounded to Dominic like a potato sack getting ripped open. Immediately, the ravenous creatures gorged on the boy’s insides, eating the life right out of him.

“Uhgn…s-s-someone…h-hel-help me…ulk…nnnngh.”

Seeing the cub get devoured alive was not at all like when Dominic tossed the dead raccoon girl in there. The screaming sounded other worldly, like nothing Dominic nor Thomas ever heard before. As soon as it began, Thomas ran off the platform, dropped to the ground curled into himself, and pressed his paws tightly against his ears. Dominic stood there frozen, witnessing everything. When the boy tried calling for help with pig snouts buried deep in his gut, the sight started to impact the panther. An upchucking of blood followed every word the boy tried to choke out. Before the life in his eyes flickered out forever, the boy stared right into Dominic’s eyes.

All his anger dropped, and the realization of what he had done etched into the panther’s mind for life. He grabbed hold of the top of his head and dug his claws deep into his scalp. Blood began to flow down from the panther’s head fur like rain.

“J-J-JAAAAAA-NEEEEEE!!!”

The climax of the nightmare and the real life strike to his arm fully awakened Dominic. Jake had tripped over his arm and fell into the metal panels of the rear doors. The loud thud alone was enough to wake the panther. Suddenly, the nightmare started all over again, but in a conscious state. Jake was trying to escape and the past anger and rage Dominic felt over Jonathan’s attempted getaway swelled throughout his being. Part of what infuriated Dominic so much was the fact he actually wanted to finish the dream. The part he wanted to get to was when he ran out into the field looking for his firearm, and he wished for what he felt should have come to bear did. But, here he was alive and angry again.

As the buck leaned his back against the doors, breathing heavily, Dominic rose and crept quietly within striking distance. The panther had the advantage of superior night vision and stealth. Jake’s eyes could not see the approach of his kidnapper. In a sudden burst of speed, Dominic seized Jake’s ankles and pulled his feet forward. As the buck collapsed onto his bottom, he instinctively reached a paw out to grab whatever he could to prevent his fall. Rather than get a hold on something, Jake had the displeasure of running his fingers over Dominic’s skull. Although Jake couldn’t see it, he would have felt the hairless scar stripes from when the panther very nearly scalped himself.

Jake landed hard on his ass and his head even banged against the metal door panels. Dominic pulled him back and when the rabbit was stretched out flat on the floor, the panther twisted him around onto his belly, hopped up, and dropped all his weight down on the buck’s lower back, pinning him down.

“A’right, now yer gonna get punished! Wut I tell ya? We ain’t soft like yer former daddy. Round here, we spank kids who is misbehaved.”

The panther raised a paw high and brought it down hard against Jake’s bum. He repeated his thrashing over and over. The force from the blows was so intense that Jake’s pelvis careened into the hard surface of the floor. It got worse for the poor buck as slapping of his cheeks resulted in the panther’s claws extruding. In a yelp inducing slap, the panther’s claws flipped down and into Jake’s hips. Initially, the retreating paw only tore up tufts of white fur, but with repeated blows, blood began to flow. Scratches formed all along Jake’s thigh, hip, and even his lower belly. Only one thing now could have brought Dominic back to reality and stopped the nightmare from occurring all over again.

Jake didn’t know from where the assault would come, but instinct and experience—despite how limited it was—told him that it was coming. All he could do was tense in fear, unable to escape as the panther grabbed hold of his ankles and jerked him roughly away from the door.

Landing painfully on his little tail and slamming the back of his head against the doors made the buck squeak in surprise. He tried to reach for something to dampen the blow, but all his paws found in the dark were the angry contours of his kidnapper’s face. Jake’s paws immediately recoiled in horror. For a moment Dominic’s scalp felt misshapen and disfigured.

He didn’t have much time to give that any thought before he was pulled completely onto the floor and then forced into a twist that sent sharp needles of pain up on spine. Then the panther dropped all of his weight on the cub, forcing the air from his lungs with a strained gasp.

Cringing at the angry words growled loudly in his ears, Jake struggled to apologize, maybe beg forgiveness, but he couldn’t breathe. His attempt at a plea wasn’t helped any either when the first strike hit his backside. Arching his back in a whine, the buck cried out from every blow to his rump. At first the poor boy didn’t think it could hurt much more, but when the claws began to bite in, ripping tufts of fur as they proceeded to work their way into his flesh, a loud yelp wheezed its way out.

Begging and pleading breathlessly for Dominic to stop, the buck quickly realized that the black panther was not listening. His beating only became harder and harder, spreading all along the boy’s leg and side. Everywhere the panther struck fiery pain erupted, making the buck cry profusely as the struggled desperately to escape.

All the while, Thomas refused to wake up. Being notorious for sleeping deeply, the ring-tail could easily sleep though a tornado, and actually had once in his life. Right now though was the worst time for him to be exercising his obliviousness to the violence taking place beside him.

Jake grew hysterical pretty much after the first several slaps to his backside, but when the blood began to flow, fight or flight instincts kicked it. His life was in danger, he needed to escape before he was killed.

By some manner of luck, the buck’s frantic scrambling at the disabled lock’s mechanism on of the rear doors finally triggered the latch, popping one of the doors open. The tiny bit of light it provided was enough to fill Jake with a surge of adrenaline. Even while still being clobbered mercilessly, the buck managed to twist just enough to slam one of his powerful legs directly into Dominic’s snout.

The first strike startled the feline, making room for a second assault which both served to fend him off, while also ejecting the naked cub from the rear of the van. Falling to the grassy forest floor, Jake immediately grasped his throbbing backside and struggled painfully to his feet so he could attempt to limp to safety.

He had no idea where he was though. It was so dark and there were no lights anywhere. All he could do was keep running and hope he could find somewhere to hide.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get very far.

“Ahgh, Shit, he got away! Tom…c’mon Tom we gotta git’im! Tom!?”

To get Thomas to wake up, Dominic slapped at the raccoon’s foot. Luckily, his claws had fully retracted so that when he made contact with the foot, he didn’t break skin. The panther didn’t wait for his lumbering friend to awaken and instead bounded after Jake himself. On the way out, he grabbed the plastic bag that contained all the goodies he purchased earlier. If not in such a state of urgency, Dominic might have grabbed something more effective, but he had no time to grab something more practical.

Jake, injured, bleeding, and limping couldn’t cover much distance in his escape effort. Even though he blindly searched for a place to hide among the trees, he still remained plainly visible to the night-sighted feline. The buck’s white exterior would have betrayed his location to Dominic even if he gained significant distance. He did not, and the panther tackled him with dizzying ferocity.

“Ya lil’ ingrate! I said you was mine ferever, din’ I? Where’d ya think yeh was goin’, huh? Out’n the woods at night all naked like that?”

Rising up, Dominic had Jake’s upper body restrained and headed back to the van. To avoid getting hit in a tender spot, the panther turned to the side so that Jake’s powerful legs couldn’t make contact with anything critical. Additionally, he had Jake lifted high off the ground, which left the buck’s legs nothing better to do than kick violently around. Obviously, the thrashing could easily put someone off balance, so Dominic flexed every muscle in his core to keep upright. His tenseness slowed him down somewhat, but he eventually did arrive back at the van.

“Ferever means ya never leave us, ever! Yer only way out, boy, is the same way Johnny left…through horrifyin’ death!”

In order to distract Jake, Dominic slipped the plastic bag over the buck’s head. Completely blinded, suffocating, and kicking nowhere of use, the bunny found himself more or less totally incapacitated. Despite his fuming rage, Dominic was not yet prepared to end Jake’s life. The panther hoisted Jake up and put him feet first back into the van.

“Tom, get’is legs. Tom? Dammit!”

Disappointingly, the raccoon merely grumbled and moaned, but he did not return to consciousness. Dominic had to do everything himself. He hopped into the van, grabbed Jake by the wrist, and reached for the nearest retraining item he could find. The plastic straps were too far away, but Dominic quickly became aware of the cord still tied to his ankle. Untying the cord with one paw, he flung it around and tied a tight knot around the bunny wrist in his grasp. He roughly yanked Jake’s limb, forcing the bunny to flip onto his belly, and then pressed his knee into Jake’s spine to pin him to the floor. 

Jake managed to pull the bag off his head and toss it away, outside. This granted him a clearer, though still darkened view of what was going on around him. All the kicking he did was random up until now, and many of his kicks hit the sleeping raccoon. The buck now had the capacity to put his legs to better use. His legs were his last hope of getting away again, because Dominic seized his flailing arm and bounded the wrist to the other one. The opportunity came when the panther got up to fetch some more cords. He turned to his side and launched himself outside by kicking against Thomas’s bulky frame. The fat raccoon took a mighty blow to his side and got winded.

Poor Jake landed right onto his shoulder when he flew out of the van. Also, his side scraped against the metal lip of the doorframe. Thankfully, the edge was blunt but still rigid all the same. Although he successfully got out, his last ditch effort this time was even more futile that the first. The panther bore down on him hard, picked him back up, and tried to shove him back into the van the same way he’d done earlier. Without a bag over his head, Jake could actually see where he kicked. In a bold gambit, he kicked the door of the van shut, locking himself and his captor outside.

“Fer fuck sake! I ain’t got my keys on me! An’ til my lazy pal dun wakes up, we is stuck out here, naked as the day we was born, ‘til he gits up an’ opens the door.”

The foolish move on Jake’s part caused Dominic to boil over. Now, the panther had switched from reason to total berserker mode. Claws extended again, Dominic clutched Jake’s right kneecap, sinking deep into ligaments and cartilage. He released Jake and let him topple to the ground. Next, he grabbed the plastic bag sitting under the van’s bumper and he placed it back over Jake’s head. Dominic held the opening of the bag tight around Jake’s neck, ensuring a total cut-off of fresh air to the bunny’s airways. Unless Thomas responded to all of Jake’s screaming and kicking, all bets were off.

“That’s it! Ya had yer chance, but now you is done. Yeh done, y’hear?”

When Dominic slammed into the little cub’s body, all the air was ejected from his lungs; hitting the ground immediately after set the buck’s head spinning so badly he barely heard the panther’s angry ranting. For a few seconds Jake had no idea what just happened, but already feared the worst. Before he could even comprehend where he was, he kicked violently, trying to lash out at his assailant.

It took a moment for the buck to realize how fruitless his efforts were. Dominic had him buy the torso, high off the ground and angled away, making any attempt to fend off the feline impossible. Nonetheless, Jake continued his struggle, catching his breath enough to cry and scream hoarsely.

“L… let me go! I wanna go home!” he squeaked, flailing blindly in the night. “Leave me alone! Stop it!”

Dominic’s response was a threat, and it made the buck falter. J-Johnny? Who was that? H-h-have they done this before? Did they actually kidnap and kill another boy before me? Whether or not it was true, the threat of a horrible death only renewed Jake’s efforts. He didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out was awful things the two possible murderers had in store for him.

To the buck’s surprise, as he struggled a bag was thrown over his head. Breathing almost immediately became restricted, causing the buck to shift focus onto freeing his head before he suffocated. He could feel himself being thrown back into the van as the panther shouted to his partner, but Jake was too distracted by the sudden lack of air. Grasping frantically at the bag on his head, he struggled to work it free.

Jake squealed as a paw was taken away from his efforts to remove the bag, and protested further as he was twisted onto his stomach and pinned painfully to the floor. Despite Dominic’s ruthless maneuvers, the buck finally pulled the bag away with his one free paw and gasped for air. Things were quickly escalating and a fear that the black panther might kill him right now fuelled another adrenaline rush as his other wrist was bound.

Left with only his legs to defend himself, Jake targeted the raccoon and kicked out to throw himself out of the van again. The blow finally began to rouse Thomas, but very slowly. Landing on the ground, the cub writhed in pain from his self-inflicted injuries. His side burned from scraping the closed door and his shoulder throbbed. It took him too long to recover and try to flee again. By the time he got one leg under him, Dominic pounded him into the ground, forcing out a wheezy squeak.

The adrenaline in the little eight-year-old’s body was quickly draining, and as the panther scooped him up again, intent on tossing him back into the van, the buck saw one last opportunity to interrupt Dominic’s plans. Kicking out sharply, the rabbit hit the van’s open door, slamming it shut and forcing himself and his captor back several feet.

Jake could almost feel the physical heat of Dominic’s rage as he blasted the sore cub for his actions. But things became worse when those claws dug so deep into the flesh around the buck’s knee that he spontaneously kicked out with a shriek. Then he was suddenly dropped to the ground, knocking the wind out of him a second time.

With his adrenaline all but depleted, all Jake could do was writhe in pain with his arms tied behind his back. He focused mostly on his knee which burned and throbbed in agony from the deep injury it sustained. The rabbit hugged it as close as he could while it twitched and trembled in pain. Unfortunately for the aching buck, Dominic wasn’t finished. When he returned he brought the bag with him.

The panther’s victim provided little resistance as the bag was reapplied. Even Jake’s legs were unable to fend him off after his knee was wounded. So Dominic just planted himself atop the boy, covered his head and choked off his air supply. With the cub’s frantic breathing, the air trapped inside was depleted almost immediately, and it became a matter of struggling to breathe.

Jake’s body writhed with the lack of air as his lungs struggled to inhale. He was completely incapacitated and starting to die. The cub had never been more terrified in his life that he was now. He was dying. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t see and he couldn’t move. The life was quickly draining from his body and there was no sign of the panther letting up. Was this going to be it? Am I going to die here, naked in the woods a million miles from Mommy and Daddy…?

-------

“Dom!” Thomas bellowed, swinging both back doors open wind as he stumbled out the back half-consciously. “Stop, Dom—fuck… Fucking stop, man!”

The naked raccoon quickly produced a flashlight he’d recovered and shined it on the two figures on the grass. The sight it revealed quickly woke up the horrified ring-tail as he watched his friend suffocate the life out of their prized possession. Horror quickly turned to determination as the burly ‘coon marched over as quickly as he could. Dominic was lost in his rage, Thomas could tell by the way he ignored his surroundings, focusing solely on holding the bag firmly around Jake’s neck.

With all of his weight, Thomas lifted a beefy leg and slammed it into Dominic’s shoulder, tearing him away from the near-dead buck completely. 
“I SAID STOP!” he howled. Oddly enough, once he was removed, the panther went rigid and rolled onto his back like a stunned kitten.

Dominic’s eyes were glazed for a moment before they refocused again shortly after the intervention. In the meantime Thomas dropped to his knees and tore the bag off of Jake’s head.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck fuck… Goddamit he ain’t breathin’!” the raccoon shouted fearfully. “Don’t tell me  yeh killed him! Aw, mother-fuckin’ hell!”

Through his panic it took the raccoon a few moments to remember his basic training in CPR. Leaning over the unconscious cub, he quickly locked lips with him and breathed air into his lungs before performing roughly timed compressions of the boys rib-cage.

“C’mon, c’mon, kid. Don’t you fuckin’ die… Goddamit Dom, what the fuck is wrong wit’ yah!” he growled before pushing another lungful of air into the child. “They’s ALWAYS try t’escape on th’first night, always! Fuckin’ell! Yer supposed t’keep an’ eye on him!”

The impact from Thomas’s thick leg sent Dominic crashing over off of Jake’s body. Still in a blind rage, the panther almost retaliated against his friend, but he noticed straight away Jake’s lifeless body. His more level-headed partner tended to the buck and attempted to resuscitate the boy. Reality sunk in deep for Dominic while his partner shouted at him. Was this all a dream? The only one dreaming up to that point was Dominic as he let his rage play out his nightmare on poor Jake. As Thomas said, the boy could be dead because of Dominic and it certainly was no dream.

“Wuh? I-I…Aw, shit! The fuck did I do? Oh my…sweet Jesus…”

Dominic got up to his feet and began scrambling around the same way he did earlier in the day. No longer under the influence of drugs, his mind soaked in every piece of information and every word spoken coherently. It looked very much like he put Jake into an early grave, but Thomas kept up with the chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth on Jake. Dominic felt he should do something, since he did, after all, cause this mess. He got down beside Jake and held his paw.

“Hang in there lil’ guy…my sweet lawrd, I is so sorry, please don’die on me!”

“Dom, nah, give us here some room!” Thomas snapped. “If ya wanna do anythin’, patch up that there ruined knee of his.”

Taking Thomas’s instruction, Dominic got back into the van and gathered all the first aid supplies. He rushed back out and laid everything down by Jake’s legs. Next, he dropped to his knees and began cleaning and dressing the puncture wounds on the buck’s leg.

“Kay, I got it. I did it. Now wut?”

“Hold up the flashlight, so I can see what the heck it is I’m doing. I need to check this boy’s eyes.”

Jake’s pupils remained dilated and unresponsive to the light. Dominic started to seriously worry. If he did kill Jake, he already planned to do what he wished he did back when Jonathan died. This time, he wouldn’t let Thomas stop him.

“I ain’t givin’ up on yeh!” Thomas worked fervently on Jake, desperate to get the buck breathing again.

“Don’t let’im die…Oh please lawrd, don’t let’im die.”

A worrying amount of time passed as Thomas kept working over the boy, pressing his chest in short intervals and breathing air into his lungs. Eventually though, his efforts finally bore results. Jake suddenly gasped and spasmed as he frantically sucked in air to replenish his battered body.

The little eight-year-old didn’t know how long he’d been out, or when exactly he’d lost consciousness, but as he slowly regained his senses, he thought for sure he was in Hell. Thomas’s greasy face pulling away after a final ‘kiss of life’ was the first thing the buck witnessed, much to his dismay.

To wake up still surrounded by his kidnappers was almost a fate worse than death, but a sudden recollection of the pain he’d felt in slipping away put it in second place. Jake didn’t know whether to be grateful or horrified. Sure he was alive, but for what? Still in the paws on his captors, never again to see his mommy or his daddy, or even his little sister, being amongst the living felt more like a curse.

In the end though, Jake was glad to be alive. The feeling of darkness and death wrapping around him as he drifted away was the most frightening experience he’d ever witnessed. As he regained control of his body, he began shivering violently and breathing rapidly.

“That’a  boy!” Thomas cheered, reaching down to force the cub into a tight embrace. As he released him he continued. “Thought we’d done lost yeh there, Jake. But don’worry, ol’ Tom’ll keep yeh goin’.”

Staring wide-eyed in the dim light of the flashlight, Jake shifted backwards slightly with his paws behind him to support his weight. He still could barely see in the flashlight’s glow, but when he suddenly saw Dominic approaching to share similar sentiments, the rabbit lurched backwards with a raspy scream.

“N-NO GET AWAY FROM ME!!” He shrieked, stumbling over a stone and falling flat on his back.

Thomas quickly intervened between the two, focusing on Jake. “Now, now, son. Daddy Dom here done patched up yer knee there, an’ will fix up them scratches there as well. Show ‘im a lil’ gratitude.”

Jake’s response was to spit in their direction and squirm onto his belly to crawl away. Thomas however, with a loud scoff, grasped the cub by his scruff and hoisted him into the air, bringing his head right up beside his own.

“That weren’t very nice, kid. Y’all should count yerself lucky that Dom jus’ rung yer neck a lil’. Johnny weren’t so fortunate.”

Scooping up the wounded buck, the raccoon carted him back to the van, both of them still buck-naked and beginning to shiver.

“Damn, sure got frickin’ cold out ‘ere,” Thomas said to Dom as he dropped Jake in front of the open doors; now he addressed the boy. “Now Jake, y’all got a choice. Git in the back of the van all nice and quiet like, or ah’ll let my friend ‘ere finish the job inna more appropriate manner. Yeh got ten seconds.”

Jake didn’t even take half that time to make a decision. If it was a choice between Thomas and Dominic, experience told him the raccoon was his safest bet. Limping awkwardly, the cub crawled into the van without much hesitation. Thomas watched with a grin, glancing back at his companion as the boy complied. Dominic didn’t look terribly happy, so the raccoon quickly dropped the smile.

“Wise decision, boy. Naow, as a reward, y’all kin put yer clothes back on. An’ hand us ours as well, quickly now.” For now Jake was quick to obey, especially if it meant covering himself up again. Scooping up the two predators’ grungy clothing he tossed them to the back door and quickly, though sorely, tried to slip back into his own.

After acquiring their clothing, Thomas closed the back door of the van, keys in paw as he tossed the panther his clothes. The raccoon walked over to his friend carefully, pulling his undershirt on first. Once he got close he whispered to the feline.

“Y’all want to tell me what that was all about, man? Y’were like a newborn kitten there, like y’all had never gotten yer mitts dirty handling cubs. Yeh feelin’ alright?”

“I’m sorry, Tom, I really is. I…I, dunno how to say this, but…I had a dream, y’know…about him. So, when I saw Jake here a runnin’ it was all like that day all over eh-gain. I was…I was just so damn angry, kinda lost sight of myself.”

Dominic was completely beside himself. He felt terrible for what he did, not just for harming Jake. The panther wanted so much to find a suitable replacement for the darling boy he and Thomas killed, but he more so wanted to give something back to Thomas. True, it did irk him somewhat that Jake clearly clung to his partner, especially since he easily felt just as lustful for the boy as Thomas. Still, he wanted to keep Thomas happy and he believed Jake was the key to said happiness. All in all, he didn’t blame Jake for any fear or mistrust he most definitely felt.

“Tom, uh…I got the kid some chocolate milk…um, maybe y’ought to give it to him.”

The raccoon searched the floor for the carton of milk scurried about when Dominic dumped the contents of the plastic bag. Thomas’s night vision served him just as well, if not better than Dominic’s eyes. Padding about with his paws, he eventually found the milk, opened the carton, and brought it over to Jake.

“Here yeh are, lil’ fella. That’ll take care of that there dry and sore throat of yers good n’ quick, I reckon.”

Thomas sat beside Jake and fed him the milk as though he were a baby drinking from a bottle. Meanwhile, Dominic performed a once over around the van to ensure it was secured again. This time, he disabled the emergency latches on the doors. But, before he disabled the driver’s side door, he had an idea to help Jake calm down.

“I-uh, think I’ll keep watch on the roof. Y’know, give our boy his space. You should sleep wit’ him tonight an’ keep’im cozy. I’ll need ya to drive tomorrow, partner, ‘cuz I reckon I ain’t gonna sleep much tonight.”

“Dom, it’s colder than a witch’s pussy out there!”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Got my clothes on again and it ain’t too bad. Just toss me one of them energy tonics. I gots all the lock pegs, so uh…Oh! Toss me the keys also.”

Once he had the requested items in paw, Dominic slipped over the front seat and out the door. He made sure to lock and disable it before departing.

“I’ll wake yeh up at sunrise. An lil’ feller, don’t go runnin’ again, y’hear? I is watching ya.”

After the doors had been closed, Jake huddled quietly and worriedly near the front of the van, pressed against the driver-side seat. Despite being fully clothed now, he shivered as he listened to the muffled sound of the two predators talking to each other. With the buck’s sensitive ears, he could barely hear Dominic, but Thomas’s deeper down was too low.

Although he didn’t understand why, Jake felt a little sorry for the panther. The monster had almost murdered him in cold blood, but he sounded so sympathetic afterwards. It gave the scared rabbit mixed feelings. Neither of the two were good people in his eyes, having kidnapped him and subsequently molested, beaten and nearly killed him. It didn’t make any sense why they’d have any reservations whatsoever.

It was too much for the little eight-year-old to comprehend. All he knew was the raccoon wasn’t as bad as the black panther, so the cub was hedging his bets on somehow being able to convince Thomas to let him go. Right now that didn’t seem possible at all, though.

When the rear of the van opened again to permit a fully clothed Thomas to enter, Jake hugged his sore leg close to his body and watched with nervous silence as the raccoon browsed the floor in the dim light until he found a small carton of chocolate milk. As he eyed the ‘coon’s vague outline, Jake’s ears were listening intently to the sound of Dominic circling the van.

Only when his kidnapper approached with open carton did Jake shift his attention away from the panther’s movements. He looked down at the drink offered to his, licking his lips hungrily. The poor cub’s throat was so dry and sore from his earlier treatment, and he hadn’t had anything to drink in almost a whole day now.

As the raccoon verbally offered up the drink, Jake eagerly grasped for it with needy paws, but Thomas refused to hand it over. Instead he tilted it up and allowed the young rabbit to drink from it, which he did without hesitation.

Although somewhat warm, the liquid flowed down his aching throat like mana from the heavens. Jake couldn’t get enough of it. Whenever Thomas started to pull away, the little cub grasped for it again, trying to keep his parched lips on it as he guzzled the sweet fluid. After nearly a minute, Thomas finally pulled back in a way that signified he meant it. Jerking his paws away, the cub suddenly jumped and shifted closer to the raccoon as Dominic spoke up.

Jake hadn’t noticed him appear in the front seat of the van, so he made good to keep his distance, but Thomas was in the way, causing the frightened buck to cling to him as the only source of protection. Huddling against the kidnapper, Jake listened as the two of them spoke.

There was a sudden release of tension when Jake heard that the panther would be staying outside, but it was muted by the fact that it meant he’d be trapped inside with Thomas and his… wandering paws. Either way, it was still better than being anywhere near the one that almost killed him.

Still hugging the raccoon, Jake felt Thomas hand over the keys and reach for something—the tonic he assumed—and pass it over to his friend. With that, Dominic delivered his final words, sending chills down the buck’s spine after he’d left and sealed him inside with Thomas. After he was gone, there was the sound of metallic thumping as the panther made his way to the roof, and then silence.

Jake’s heart thumped in his chest as he realized he was still clinging to Thomas. He let go immediately and tried to pull away, but the raccoon quickly wrapped his arms around him.

“Naw, y’all can keep huggin’, Jake. We’re gonna have a lil’ fun b’fore he git to bed, so we’s gonna stay nice and close.”

“P-please, I-I-I just wanna sleep,” Jake whined quietly.

“Don’y’all worry, yah will soon enough. Naow, lay down, nice an’gentle.”

The eight-year-old rabbit didn’t have much choice as Thomas lowered him to the floor, clinging to him in the spooning position. Jake shivered nervously as was settled into position. He felt some shuffling behind him as the raccoon fussed with his jeans until his erection sprouted forced. Then he hugged the rabbit closer and gently slid it up between the boy’s legs.

Jake’s eyes widened in surprise as he let out a worried whimper.

“Go on, give it a feel,” Thomas said encouragingly. “Wrap it up in yer lil’ paw and wiggle it around.”

“Mmmnn… I don’t want to, it—i-it’s gross, p-please don’t make me…” the buck protested quietly.

He knew he had no bearing on the matter, but the thought of touching that filthy thing churned his stomach something awful. Naturally Thomas didn’t take no for an answer. Gently grasping one of Jake’s quivering paws, he lowered it down to its intended target and pressed the palm against his slick erection.

“Be a good boy an’ grab it, all careful like,” Thomas said soothingly. “Try anythin’ and ah’ll have t’call Dom in here. Y’all don’want that now do yeh?”

“No…” Jake squeaked quietly, squeezing his eyes shut miserably as he slowly wrapped his little fingers around the pulsing meat pressed between his legs.

“Goood, that’s good, Jake. Naow, play with it a ‘lil. Git a feel fer it, I know yeh wanna, heheh.”

Whimpering pitifully, Jake did as instructed, but not because he wanted to. Dragging his fingers along the slick, hot hook of flesh made him feel ill. He continued to follow Thomas’s directions only because the alternative would no doubt be so much worse. It made having to fiddle with the much older raccoon’s penis look like nothing.

“How’s it feel, son?”

“Um… like…” Jake swallowed the lump in his throat. “L-l-like a… slimy hook…”

“Heheheh, bet yeh never handled another man’s gizmo b’fore have yeh?”

“N… n-n-n-no…”

“Well, consider this lesson number one. Y’all are gonna give a han’job. Ever heard’a that?” Jake shook his head anxiously. “Figured as much. Basically, yer gonna play with mah junk. Think of like a game. Yer goal is to make it squirt. Win an’ y’all can sleep. Fail an’… well, Dom’ll have a busy night m’thinks.”

Jake’s gulping in response to the subtle threat was audible, so Thomas didn’t need to elaborate.

“Glad yeh understand. Naow, start fiddlin’. Up an’ down nice and quick. Faster yeh are, the quicker y’all can go to sleep. S’go on, git started.”

To encourage Jake, the raccoon applied a firm pinch to the boy’s hide. It had the intended effect, as the queasy, terrified buck because quickly fiddling with the hooked penis between his legs, sliding his fingers up and down the slippery surface.

“Aw yeeeah… jus’like that. Lil’ faster naow…”

Sitting on the roof of the van, Dominic kept uneasy company with his thoughts and the cool night air. Even though Jake was saved, Dominic still felt a strong desire to face final Judgement. His actions tonight made him hate himself all the more. In hindsight, he thought he should have come up to the van top sooner, and kept watch as Thomas recommended. Back when he abducted Jonathan, he kept a watchful eye on the boy the first several nights Thomas had the fox to himself. He actually waited for the boy to abandon hope of escape before having his own fun with him. Perhaps he had just gotten too used to taking full advantage of kids immediately without first properly breaking them in.

The panther knew it would be a very long night, and he sipped his energy drink to keep himself awake and alert. At least for the first few minutes, he had a distraction. Placing his ear to the metal roof, he could hear Thomas speaking to Jake. Though muffled, he could hear his raccoon friend instructing Jake to jerk him off. It kind of amused his feline ears to hear Thomas convince Jake that he’d get called upon if the buck didn’t co-operate.

Real slick, partner! Heh, that sure got’im to listen to yeh. Though, hmm, if I was Jake, I’d be afraid of me too…”

His pleasure in over hearing Thomas’s pleasure died after he realized what Jake must have felt about him. In all likelihood, the boy would either try to escape again or just scream and cry until made to shut up, through death. It made the panther wonder if the buck could be pushed to the point that he’d welcome death over company with him and Thomas. In a way, Jonathan more or less made that choice.

Considering all these things made Dominic feel somewhat envious of Thomas. He could plainly hear the sounds of the raccoon’s increasing arousal. Eventually, he heard a very audible uhgn sound and Thomas telling Jake what a good boy he was. No doubt kissing and cuddling would follow. It all made Dominic feel very jealous indeed. He wished it was his member in Jake’s paws and worried it might not ever happen now. Also, after feeling a stirring he hadn’t felt for many years, he actually wished he had his paws over Thomas’s cock instead of Jake. It would have been just like the good old days.

Naturally, the sound of juvenile whimpering followed, but it soon gave way to total silence. None of the surrounding woods offered any distracting noise. The winds were calm and everything slept quietly in the dark. Sooner rather than later, Dominic grew quite restless. He turned his thoughts over to something that could pass the time.

As expected, his fantasies made his cock rise up and demand attention. He slipped his pants and underwear down to his knees and laid on his back. Strange, but to him the thought of masturbating out in the open seemed arousing in and of itself. With the added stimulation of the situation and his visions, he reached the full extent of excitement.

Wrapping his right paw around his spiny dick, the panther jacked off rhythmically. Every so often, he teased the tip of his penis with his thumb. All the while, he thought about Jake’s young supple body. His wrist strokes increased when he pondered how he intended to make amends with the bunny during the drive tomorrow. Because Thomas would be behind the wheel, Dominic knew he’d have Jake all to himself. The panther could clearly envision his paws all over Jake’s tiny boyhood. He tried to envision the feeling of the moist prick, not even as big as his little finger, and squishiness of those grape sized balls in his black paws.

Thinking of Jake brought Dominic closer and closer to exploding, but his thoughts did not remain on the buck alone. Without warning, Dominic suddenly envisioned masturbating Thomas and fondling his plump coon balls. He slowed his wrist and tried to refocus on sexual images of Jake. It worked for only a moment or two. After another couple attempts, Dominic then tried to picture any child at all in his mind. None of his tactics worked and his mind kept wandering back to Thomas. Unsure of his feelings, Dominic wanted to stop, but he was so close to cumming that his need for release forced him to keep pawing.

Many things about Thomas went through Dominic’s mind. He wondered what it would feel like to stick his dick deep into his partner’s fat ass. As for other things, he already more or less knew what the hooked raccoon dong felt like, even though Thomas was still a teenager when Dominic last touched it, but he really wondered what it tasted like. The panther shot his load high into the air when he fantasized about having Thomas suck him off while he was at the same time hooked like fish with the raccoon’s uniquely shaped cock. Hot spooge landed on Dominic’s black belly and soaked into the fur.

That was sure odd.

Dominic pulled his pants up without cleaning the mess. He regretted already not making the masturbatory session last longer, and now he had only the stars to keep his attention. The night lasted long and he even dozed off a couple times. Each time the panther catnapped, anywhere between half to a full hour long, he inspected the perimeter of the van to make sure the doors were still shut. They were, so he felt assured Jake continued to sleep right next to Thomas. The raccoon probably hugged the bunny boy tight like a teddy bear and likely wouldn’t let the boy have any space to himself, Dominic thought.

After what felt like an age, twilight arrived and slowly gave way to morning. Dominic hopped down, unable to nap any longer, and passed around. He thought a nice walk would help keep his senses together and keep him calm. Light soon pierced through the trees. The panther relieved himself out in open several metres away from the van. Casually, he headed back and got inside to wake up Thomas. Knowing his partner quite well, he pinched one of the raccoon’s flabby lovehandles and spoke loudly into his ear.

“Hey, Tom buddy! Time to get a move on. So, uh, how’d our boy sleep? Good I sure hope.”

After coercing Jake into giving him a hand-job, Thomas had slept like a proverbial baby, clinging to his charge like a little stuffed doll, occasionally working his hips slowly to massage his shrinking erection until it had finally retreated back into its sheath; having been able to so easily encourage the cub into such an illicit activity made the climax so much more pleasant, than if he’d done it himself.

Once he’d fallen asleep however, his dreams were filled with something he didn’t expect.  Rather than his new toy Jake, he kept seeing Dominic, enraged, out of control, but most importantly, emotionally unstable. He saw the panther crying, angry and confused. More and more it reminded him of the little white rabbit wrapped in his arms. Seeing his life-long friend so distraught struck a chord in him. It made him want to hug and snuggle him, whisper things to his ear to calm him.

Suddenly the raccoon could see a parallel between his temperamental companion and their unwilling captive. Almost like opposites but at the same time equals, it was like a reflection. He found himself wanting to spoon and play with Dominic almost as much as he already was with Jake.

Thomas was lost in his dream the entire night, swirling a cycle between having affectionate sex with Jake, which would’ve been more accurately described as rape, to passionate intercourse with Dominic. When said feline pinched his flabby side in the early morning the next day, the raccoon awoke with a start, flinching at the panther’s loud greeting.

Still drowsy, he propped himself up on one shoulder and glanced down at Jake, giving him a little shake to see if he was still asleep. The rabbit’s eyes were wide-open and glazed. Thomas had no way of telling how long he’d been that way, but he figured the kid must’ve gotten to sleep at some point.

“Got a few good hours in a least, ah’m sure,” Thomas replied, sitting up and leaving Jake to curl into a tighter ball than he already was.

Truth was, Jake didn’t get even a wink of sleep. Unlike Dominic, the poor traumatized buck had no trouble staying awake at all. The act of pawing off the raccoon was all he could think about.

For most of the night, he’d spent his time staring at the paw he’d been forced to use. Worse, the paw he’d used willingly. How could he have willed himself to do something so foul and obscene? Fear of death? Fear of whatever Dominic might’ve done to him preceding that death? Whatever it was, it left Jake in a state of mind where he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

He’d held another person’s penis in his paw, and jerked it until they climaxed. Only once the sun had risen was he able to examine the sticky white stuff that had shot out from that hooked tip. It was crusty and dry by then, but it still smelled incredibly awful, like the raccoon’s musk only worse.

Jake was grateful to be free of Thomas’s death-grip. Having to endure the raccoon’s snoring and rank body odor all night, there wouldn’t have been much chance of falling asleep anyway. It was literally the longest, most boring seven hours the buck has ever had to endure. And now that the two were awake, things would probably get worse. With Thomas behind the wheel, it left Jake in back with the feline that had nearly murdered him.

As soon as Thomas had moved away completely, Jake immediately jerked upright and bolted into the back corner of the van, huddling in a ball of fear as he hid his face in his paws. Dominic had started to spring forward on instinct, ready to chase the boy down if he’d somehow managed to get out, but Thomas quickly stopped him.

“S’alright man, he’s jus’scared a’yah. Since ah’ll be drivin’, it’s the perfect time fer y’all to get better acquainted. Proper this time, ah mean.”

Accepting the keys from his partner, Thomas swapped places with Dominic in the front seat and started in the engine, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he did so. Once he had it running again, he focused on waking up before easing the van into a three-point turn to vacate the little copse of trees they’d hid in for the night.

“Wunsya get back on the hi-way, y’know which way to go?”

“Yeah sure, Dom. Notta problem a’tall. Yeh just go on ahead an’ make friends with our boy.”

Taking Thomas’s good advice, Dominic got down and scooched over to Jake, huddling in the corner. He maintained some distance so as not to cause Jake to spring up and start bounding around and screaming. Little by little, he tried to get closer.

“Hey…hey there buddy?” Dominic softly spoke. “Look, uh I figure I oughta apologize ‘bout last night. It’s just yeh had me so worried when yeah went an’ took off like that. C’mon, what say you and I try again, a’right?”

The inquiry garnered no response from Jake, but Dominic did expect this. He figured if he couldn’t appeal to the buck’s emotions, he’d appeal to his stomach. He grabbed all the food items he purchased at the gas station last night. The first item he opened was the bag of pork rinds. Reaching his paw into the bag, he nibbled a few before offering some to Jake.

“Yeh must be darn hungry, ain’t yeh? Go ahead and try some, it’s really good y’know.”

Once more the offer didn’t catch Jake’s attention. Dominic thought he’d be more direct and get close enough to present the food item to Jake. He crept closer and held the piece of pork rind directly in front of Jake. The only reaction he got from the buck was one of disgust.

“Not a fan of it, huh? Well, it takes some gettin’ used to I must say. Y’know, I could get you anythin’ you want. Then we’d be friends, right? But tell you wut though, friends give back to each other. I’ll tell ya what I mean if you tell me what you’d like.”

At least the panther got a quick glance from Jake, but nothing more. He looked around the cargo area for more things to entice Jake. Three things caught Dominic’s attention: the boxes, the soda, and the half joint from last night. Considering how much drug Jake consumed yesterday, Dominic thought it unwise to hop him up with even more. Then again, a little second-hand smoke couldn’t hurt. It might just ease Jake up slightly. Also, it occurred to Dominic that Jake was likely still very thirsty, so that was where the soda would come in handy. Finally, he knew he could do something with the boxes.

“Hey, uh, I reckon you must be thirsty there lil’ feller. Here, why dontcha have yerself some soda. That’ll help out. Mind if I smoke a bit? I won’t blow it in yer face or nothin’. I just did that to calm you down y’sterday. Yer welcome to some more if yeh think it’ll help.”

Dominic lit up the partial doob, and even though he didn’t blow smoke right in Jake’s face, he still blew it in Jake’s direction. He exhaled the smoke out of the corner of his mouth so it didn’t look like he intentionally tried to get it near Jake, but Dominic still wanted Jake to take in some of it so he’d be less resistant.

“Tell yeh wut, buddy, after yeh tell me what you want, and I tells ya what I want, I’ll make yeh a nice box fort you can hide yerself away in. Sound nice?”

Settling in for the long haul, Thomas pulled the van out into the road and crept up to speed, using his rudimentary navigational skills to locate the highway. Meanwhile Dominic made his approach toward the young terrified buck.

Still covering his face with his paws, the frightened rabbit trembled as the panther drew closer. His ears twitched with every sound Dominic made, slowly closing the gap. Jake had nowhere to run, but with his heart racing and thumping painfully against his chest, if the predator tried anything, the cub was sure to leap away in terror.

As it was, when Dominic spoke to him softly, Jake cringed as if in preparation of an impending beating. When the panther issued an apology though, the rabbit relaxed slightly, unsure of what to make of this peculiar development. The feline had nearly killed him last night and he wanted to apologize? Like a simple I’m sorry could make up for the fact he’d nearly ended the boy’s life?

Jake didn’t issue a response. There was nothing he could say that would fully express his outrage. More importantly, though, he didn’t want to make Dominic angry again. Such an act would surely seal the cub’s fate. So instead, the eight-year-old remained silent, huddled tightly in a ball, expecting Dominic to at any point suddenly dispense with the niceties and go for whatever it was he really wanted.

Next the panther asked if Jake was hungry. The answer would’ve been a pitiful yes, but again Jake kept his lips sealed. Thinking about food only made his stomach growl now; made him aware of the pain in his empty belly. The last meal he’d had was during lunch the other day. It’d been almost a full twenty-four hours since then.

Listening to the crinkling of a wrapper and Dominic nibbling on something as he made his offer only offended Jake’s sensibilities. The panther was trying to bribe him with food like he was five years old. It might’ve worked then if he’d been this hungry, but in this situation at his age, he found trusting the feline to be all but impossible, especially after last night. He refused to respond.

Dominic then proceeded to offend his nostrils by bringing the food he was offering close enough that Jake could smell it. The distinct odor of dried meat nearly induced gagging on the poor buck as he jerked his paw-covered face away in disgust. The rabbit hated the smell of meat, let alone the taste, and the dried salty version was even worse.

The panther continued to talk to him after realizing Jake didn’t like the food he offered. Only now he was proposing a trade of some sort. The cub didn’t know what Dominic was up to, but the idea of acquiring what he wanted, which right now was food of his own choosing, was enough to peel back the boy’s protective mask to glance at the feline for a moment before hiding again.

Seeming upbeat by Jake’s meager response, Dominic offered the cub a drink. He sat it down next to the little rabbit who looked down at it longingly through a crack in his fingers. He really was still thirsty and the soda looked very enticing. He was about to give in and reach for it, when Dominic lit up his half-smoked stick without even waiting for Jake’s response. Naturally, the buck didn’t buy Dominic’s excuse for the torment he’d been put through yesterday, and he certainly didn’t want another round of it.

Despite his promise not to blow the smoke in his face, that rancid mist managed to reach him anyway, causing Jake to break into a fit of pitiful coughs. Covering his mouth and nose, the cub tried to limit the intake of smoke, but Dominic was providing a constant flow into his air space without even trying.

“S… s-stop it, you said—hogh—you wouldn’t…” Jake whined, waving a paw in an attempt to disperse the smoke. “P-please… stop.”

Jake had already inhaled more of the bitter smoke than he’d wanted to and the diluted affects were already starting to infect his system. His throat was beginning to burn again, so the rabbit reached for the soda and helped himself, guzzling the fluid in-between coughs.

Once his throat wasn’t hurting as much, he returned to trying to keep the smoke out of his face, whining at the futility of it.

“Y-you tried to kill me!” Jake squeaked, coughing immediately afterwards. “J-j-just leave me alone, please!”

“Nah, nah, I din’try an’ kill ya. Never. That was wut we call an aksie-dent. I had to uh, y’know, um displin’ ya, fer runnin’ off like that. But, uh, I kinda sorta went a lil’ too hard on yeh, and fer that I is sorry.”

Taking a long hit off of the crack joint, Dominic put it out by squishing it on the floor. His system had become so habituated to the drug that the small amount he smoked had next to no effect on him. It just gave him a slight buzz only. He and Thomas would both have to smoke the remaining rock themselves to experience the full effect. Although, he figured he might have to keep it handy to subdue Jake if the need came to pass. Moreover, none of the drug actually belonged to either Dominic or Thomas, so the panther would have to assess his finances after having his moment with Jake. Hopefully, he thought, he had enough money to make good on his promise to feed Jake anything he wanted.

“Sorry, I wunt blowin’ this stuff in yer face or nothin’, but the smoke kinda just goes where it wants. I put it out now. Again, sorry, just needed me a quick smoke was all. Drink up there, lil feller. I can get yeh more.”

With the smoke extinguished, the panther moved in a little closer to Jake. He had no intent to abide by the buck’s pleas to be given his space. Dominic wanted to get his paws onto to the boy’s body, and patiently employed subtlety to do so. Still speaking in a soft tone, he continued his lecture.

“Look, uh, yeh gotta understand…we can’t have you runnin’ off. I mean, goin’ out in the wilds wearin’ nothin’ but yer birthday suit? That there is a good way to get eaten alive out there. Not ever’one is as nice as me and Tom. If someone picked you up, a sweet lil’ naked boy, they’d hurt ya real bad. Me and Tom is good daddies, and good daddies disciplin’ their youngin’s when they fall outta line. I’m sure yer da...I mean yer teacher wunt let you get away with anythin’. I know, yer teacher probably ain’t never did what I did, but that’s why I promise to go softer on yeh next time, a’right?”

At this point, Dominic slowly and carefully placed a paw on Jake’s shoulder. He was prepared to seize the buck and sit him back down if the boy chose to bolt. Before he would place his demands on Jake, he asked again what the buck would like for lunch.

Jake was grateful to see that vile, smoldering stick devoured and extinguished, but it might’ve already been too late. The poor cub was already feeling dizzy and sluggish from inhaling the smoke that been blown around. It was beginning to impair his judgement to the point where Dominic’s excuses were actually sounding reasonable.

Shaking his head to try and clear the thickening smog in his head, the buck kept an eye on his surroundings. He found it hard to believe that Dominic was only trying to ‘discipline’ him by choking the life out of him. Unfortunately Jake was losing grip with rational thought thanks to the second-hand administered drug in his body.

Considering the feline had a short temper it did sort of make sense. And here he was now, issuing an apology. It seemed rude to not accept it…

No! Jake berated himself. He tried to kill me. They both kidnapped me. And they’ve done nothing but hurt me since! I just wanna go home…

The eight-year-old whined quietly to himself as the black panther apologized again for the smoke. He didn’t know whether to believe him, but he sounded sincere to his weakened senses. As a distraction, Jake did as suggested and drank some more of the soda to help clear his throat. Catching Dominic moving closer out of the corner of his eye, though, the buck choked on the drink and stopped, shifting tightly against the rear of the van.

“Y… you’re not my d… my daddy,” Jake mumbled in response to Dominic’s lengthy and confusing speech.

He didn’t know what else to say. The feline was making sense while at the same time sounding insane. These two predators had kidnaped Jake, of course they wouldn’t want him to run away, clothed or otherwise. The buck had only been desperate enough to run away without them if it had meant being rescued. And so far, the cub found it difficult to believe there was anyone more dangerous than his current company. But then again… both of them had been rather reserved in their treatment. They could do whatever they wanted without consequence, and yet they both still sought to see Jake unharmed. Mostly anyway…

All of this thinking was making the rabbit’s head hurt now. He couldn’t concentrate anymore, let alone issue much of a coherent rebuttal to Dominic’s bizarre reasoning. So instead he tried to focus on his current needs. He fliched visibly and trembled when the feline placed a paw on his shoulder and asked him what he wanted for lunch, but too terrified to move he decided t give it some thought.

“I—I want… soup… the way my mommy makes…” Jake replied quietly, staring at the floor miserably as he quickly realized he might never get to see her again.

“There ya go! That’s the spirit. Next town we stop in, we’ll get’ya some mighty fine soup an’ I’m sure it’ll be just as good as mama used to make! Well, now that I know what you want, lemme tell yeh what it is I want.”

Feeling as though Jake’s barriers had weakened enough, Dominic placed another paw on the buck’s other shoulder. He began to gently massage Jake’s tensed muscles. The panther didn’t hear Jake’s comment about him not being his daddy, but just as well assumed it was more resistance. Nonetheless, the buck didn’t bolt yet and actually asked for some lunch.

“It’s real simple what it is I want from yeh…Alls I want it to make amends to ya! That’s all.”

After issuing his reassurance, Dominic moved his paw onto Jake’s thigh. He maintained a grip on his shoulder to prevent the buck from rising. Rubbing Jake’s thigh gently, he hummed softly into the buck’s long ears, and even took the opportunity to sniff the boy’s wonderful scent. Slowly and with deliberation, the panther migrated his paw from the buck’s thigh to his crotch.

“Shhh, it’s a’right. I wanna make it up to ya by makin’ you feel the greatest thing ever. Tell me, when I done jerked you off y’sterday, did ya feel it?” Jake’s confused look, lack of response, and whimpering told Dominic what he needed to know. 

“Huh, I’ll take that as a no, ‘cuz if yeh did you wunt be so nervous right now. Jus’ relax all easy like an’ let me show ya. Once you feel it, you an’ I is goin’ to be friends till the end.”

Despite the protests, the panther proceeded to unbuckle Jake’s belt and undo the button to his pants. His other paw moved from the buck’s shoulder to across his chest to prevent Jake from getting away. Regardless of the whimpering and the beginnings of feeble struggling, Dominic continued to fumble with Jake’s pants. He reached just above Jake’s tail and worked to shimmy the garment down the buck’s bum.

“It’s okay, quiet now…shh…Yeh wunt ever forget this. It’ll feel so good! It might feel like yeh gots to pee, but all warm an’ fuzzy. Then it goes all the way up yer back and makes fireworks go off in yer brain! I’m tellin’ yeh, it’s the best thing ever. Just quiet now and dontcha try runnin’ off. Remember, daddy Dommy has himself a bit of a temper, so lets just try an’ get along to keep us both happy.”

The buck didn’t realize what he’d gotten himself into until Dominic responded. He couldn’t help but shiver at the exuberant tone in the feline’s voice as he offered cheap words of praise and move on to what he wanted. Jake’s heart quickly sank at the thought of what the panther was planning.

It already wasn’t looking good as Dominic placed another paw on his other shoulder. The cub whined quietly and squirmed. He didn’t like being this close to the predator, trapped and unable to defend himself or run simply because he was too terrified to try. Jake tried to press himself into the walls of the van further to distance himself, but it was a pointless endeavor. The large cat had him boxed into the corner.

All he wanted was to make amends. Jake found that hard to believe, but what choice did he even have in the matter?

Watching fearfully as Dominic lowered one paw to his little thigh, the rabbit flinched and trembled, whimpering in protest at the inappropriate contact. Just please leave me alone, please please please. Clearly a little privacy was not in Dominic’s agenda. As that large black paw rubbed his leg, the feline hummed into Jake’s long trembling ears, taking his sweet time. As the buck woefully expected, the paw slowly worked its way up to his nether region, causing the rabbit to squeeze his legs together with an unhappy whine. He tried for just an instant to rise and move away from Dominic and his perverted paws, but a firm grip on his shoulder, kept the boy planted on his rump.

Trying to calm him, the black panther explained himself. Something about ‘feeling the greatest thing ever’. Relating it to what Dominic had done to him the day before, Jake saw no connection whatsoever. The pain and humiliation the feline had inflicted upon him was an awful thing to remember, and not something he wanted to experience again. So whatever this ‘it’ was, that Dominic spoke of, Jake didn’t want it. He made as much clear with his worried whines and constant squirming, trying to get the panther to let go.

Dominic’s further attempts to explain didn’t ease the boy’s conscience whatsoever. Even through the cloud of confusion caused by the drug coursing through him, Jake could tell that he didn’t want what was coming at all. Unfortunately, he’d succumbed too much to the effects of whatever was in that smoke to defend himself. Even his speech had become broken and incoherent.

“N… n… leave… lemme al—alone…” Jake mumbled, his fears increasing as Dominic began to unbuckle his trousers. “S…s-stop… no… d… don’t…”

The panther casually pinned Jake against the wall and continued his work in exposing his privates again. Despite his protests, Dominic pulled his pants down below his tail until it uncovered his rump, then worked it feverishly to expose his privates, but Jake was pinching the fabric between his legs too tightly for the feline to succeed in his efforts.

Nothing that came out of Dominic’s mouth was making sense anymore, he was blathering on about feeling good, having to pee and fireworks. The only thing Jake understood clearly was the black panther’s subtle threat regarding his temper. It had the opposite effect that Dominic intended. The little eight-year-old became more resistant, fear clouding his judgement as much as the drug. He didn’t want to be touched by him or anyone.

“S…s…” Jake struggled to speak clearly as he grasped at the paw attempting to unclothe him. “Stop… stop touching me!” He would’ve shrieked much louder, but he was beginning to feel sleepy and dizzy now. All he could do was fight with the arm fussing with his pants and hope for the best.

Dominic noticed the buck becoming more fearful when he mentioned his anger issues. To counter the effect, the panther continued whispering soft encouragements to the buck. Jake’s resistance manifested as mumbled pleas that didn’t even sound like words and pathetic, weak struggling. All the fear experienced by Jake hampered Dominic’s efforts to pull his pants all the way down.

“Trust me, you’ll like it, I swear. And then, you’ll want it all the time I reckon. C’mon, up onto daddy Dommy’s lap.”

As the panther hoisted Jake up onto his lap, he took the opportunity to pull the bunny’s pants all the way past his knees. Securing Jake in his lap and keep a firm arm across the rabbit’s chest, he reached back down to his tiny boyhood. He began by fondling Jake’s little bells, much gentler than he did yesterday. The boy’s anxiety must have made his testes retract close to his groin, Dominic thought, because his sack felt really tight, and the skin under the fur felt very wrinkly to the panther’s fingers. Nevertheless, Dominic continued to tickle Jake’s tiny gonads, encouraging the boy’s body to respond to the pleasure where his mind did not.

He made sure to avoid the wound he inflicted on Jake’s scrotum. Also, he carefully avoided scratching his claws across the skin and teased the little bunny makers with the pads of his fingers. Occasionally, he’d cup Jake’s balls and lightly roll them around in their pouch. The effect seemed to be working as the buck’s body slowly surrendered to the pleasure despite ongoing moaning, muffled protests, and easily controlled squirming from Jake.

“There, ya see now? I can be gentle, and don’t that feel good on ya? Now, time for the best part.”

Dominic released Jake’s berries and began probing the opening of the boy’s small sheath. He didn’t have to poke deeply to make contact with the head of Jake’s penis. The stimulation of Jake’s testicles caused the boy’s prick to reach the opening of his sheath like a timid gopher about to emerge from its hole. Dominic coaxed the little organ to make an appearance. When enough length emerged, only about two centimetres, the panther lightly pulled it outwards to complete its ascent. Additionally, Dominic peeled the sheath downward to get all of Jake’s penis exposed. All two inches of Jake’s penis left its covering.

“Heheh, y’know, you is pretty tiny!” Dominic kissed Jake’s cheek. “Dontcha worry yerself none…I’s kinda like it like that. Hope you stay small and cute ferever.”

Stroking up and down Jake’s shaft, it did not take long for the bunny’s own penis to betray him by standing at full mast. Before too long, Dominic had him at a full erection. Because of Jake’s size, the panther could not wrap his whole paw around the short length. Instead, he had to jerk off Jake with two fingers and his thumb. Rhythmically, he stroked up and down at a steady pace, just as calm and fluid as the van’s journey down the highway. 

Similar to the trip to the nearest town, Dominic was taking Jake on a journey and worked to maintain a steady, cruising momentum. Irrespective of the boy’s wishes, he continued to masturbate Jake, intent on bringing the boy to full orgasm. It was not at all like yesterday when Dominic just wanted to increase Jake’s respiration. Now it was all about perversion and corruption. The panther figured this could well be Jake’s first exposure to any form of sex at all. Considering the boy’s trepidations, Dominic assumed Jake probably never even masturbated or took any pleasure in his own body before. Dominic was resolved to change that quickly and get Jake fully orientated to sex.
“Hey, uh, you ain’t a bible-readin’ God-fearin’ bunny, is ya? I ask ‘cuz some kids would’ve gasmed already.”

The panther couldn’t really understand Jake’s muffled answer, but he wondered why Jake didn’t yet peak. In all likelihood, Jake was probably too young to produce a wet orgasm. Still, Dominic, with all his previous experience, knew full well what to expect when a boy reaches that critical point. To up the antsy a bit, Dominic paused and licked the tip of his finger. With his moistened finger, he alternated between rubbing the head of Jake’s penis and jacking him off. He didn’t pump any harder because he didn’t want the boy’s balls to bounce up and down too vigourously. After all, there was the wound to worry about, so all the focus more or less had to stay on Jake’s prick. Dominic had one more trick up his sleeve.

“Now uh, I know this feels pretty weird fer yah, but don’t try and bolt up or nothin’, kay? You wouldn’t want an aksie-dental scratch on yer prized part. Trust me. I’m going to try somethin’ on yeh to get’ya there to feelin’ it sooner. Member, don’t try an get up else it could hurt ya.”

After his instruction, Dominic released Jake’s chest and quickly moistened his forefinger. He brought his paw back over the buck’s chest when it felt like he was about to get up. Again, Dominic told him not too otherwise it could hurt. Pushing past Jake’s knees, Dominic’s paw wormed its way to the buck’s bum. With a quick survey Jake’s soft butt chasm, the wet finger probed the boy’s virgin pucker. Issuing no further warning and ignoring Jake’s pleas to stop, Dominic entered Jake’s hole and invaded his insides.

“Shh, shh, shoosh, it be a’right, darling boy. I know what I is doin’. Just try and relax.” Dominic said after a howl from Jake.

With his finger inside the rabbit’s hole, Dominic probed around until he found the soft spot. Soon, he located Jake’s prostate and applied gentle pressure to the male gland. Once the prostate was located and stimulated, Dominic lifted Jake’s bum up a bit prompting the boy’s pelvis to thrust forward. Jake had begun to slouch in the panther’s lap and the panther continued to jerk off the buck, expecting quicker results now. Dual stimulation of the boy’s most sensitive parts caused him to make sounds that contained a rich mix of pleasure and pain. Dominic knew now he finally introduced Jake to sensations he likely never experienced before. The climax would soon arrive.

Jake struggled weakly in Dominic’s grip as he continued to produce soft platitudes and words of encouragement. No! I don’t want it, just leave me alone! The cub wanted to howl, but all that came out was mumbled, obscured pleas. The drug was in full effect now, and having every bit of incapacitation as a typical date-rape pill. The buck’s struggling was weak, his attempts to fend off advances uncoordinated and sluggish, and he couldn’t form coherent words.

It felt to Jake like his head had been stuffed with cotton. Everything around him felt surreal, like a half-conscious dream. Only for him it was more like a nightmare. With his body unable to defend himself, the little rabbit had to watch with limited cognitive capacity as Dominic hoisted him into his lap.

The sudden change in position made Jake unable to defend his loins, and in that transition the black panther had his pants pulled all the way down, leaving his little fuzzy genitals completely exposed once again. The sight made the boy whine loudly and unhappily. Even through the mental blur, Jake could feel his cheeks burning his humiliation at the exposure of his privates.

Clutching clumsily at the arm across his chest, Jake stared down in embarrassment as his legs were spread to invite Dominic’s paw. With no strength left to cover himself again, he had to endure the sensation of the panther’s fingers as they stroked his tight little sac. Jake tried to squirm and complain, but his efforts were easily thwarted and his cries ignored. Once again the little eight-year-old was the external party to his own molestation.

Stop it, stop touching me, please stop, Jake thought with upset whimpers as the only indication to his inner workings. He wanted to form words, tell the feline to let him go, that he wanted to go back home, but all that came out were whines and moans. He didn’t want Dominic touching his body this way, especially in such a sensitive place. It still hurt down there on one side and he didn’t know why. Every time the panther drew close to the spot, or affected it indirectly, he whined in pain, squirming in his captor’s grip.

Oddly though… despite all the pain and anxiety caused by Dominic’s insistent groping, Jake’s body was beginning to respond in an unfamiliar way. It started as a tingling sensation, and at first the rabbit didn’t like it one bit. He tried to fight it, tried to push the offending paw at his loins away, but the feline was persistent.

Eventually Jake felt a stiffening inside him, something he didn’t understand. The black panther however, quickly noticed and moved away from the boy’s scrotum to continue his efforts. As he did so, he offered more words of reassurance, to which Jake responded with a weak shake of his head. No, it doesn’t feel good, please, please stop. Dominic of course did nothing of the sort.

He immediately began playing with Jake’s stiffening sheath, finding the fleshy source of this new development with ease. Feeling a finger against his still hidden penis made the buck arch his back weakly and whine.

“St… st… ah… nnngh…” Jake mumbled, turning his head to the side and squeezing his eyes shut.

Much to the rabbit’s dismay, all of Dominic’s gentle prodding and playing was having an effect on him. He felt… good. He didn’t know why. As the feline fiddled with his loins, it didn’t take much at all for his little member to slip free of his innards. And with all of Dominic’s coaxing, eventually, it came all the way out, feeling cold against the air. Jake shuddered visibly, tightening his grip on the arm holding him down and the paw working over his newly exposed privates. 

This was so humiliating but at the same time… Jake couldn’t explain it, but as weird and wrong as it felt to have Dominic fiddling with his little penis, his body was enjoying it. Unlike last time there was no pain, only that confusing feeling. He didn’t know if he should accept it or fight even harder. Clearly this is what Dominic was after, and much as Jake didn’t want to give the panther the satisfaction, he didn’t want to incur his wrath either. And with such a sensitive area in the feline’s grip, making him angry would be… bad.

It wasn’t like Jake had much of a choice in the matter. Even as he continued to struggle, Dominic gripped his member and began slowly jerking up and down on it with his fingers. The buck’s breath caught in his throat as he whined, twisting his head to the left and opening his eyes to see Thomas sitting in the driver’s seat, casually glancing back occasionally with a grin on his face.

Jake was struggling internally more than he was externally now. His breathing picked up and his body went into rhythmic convulsions as he tried not to let himself give in to this new feeling, good as it felt. He’d learned pretty quickly that what these two wanted wasn’t in his own best interests. So allowing himself to be swallowed by the waves of pleasure gripping his little body would be succumbing to their wishes.

Unfortunately, the rabbit couldn’t control his own instincts, let alone his hormones. So as Dominic continued his steady masturbatory aid, Jake could feel his resistance slipping. All the attention applied to his exposed penis was making his already cloudy mind go blank. Still though, he tried to cling to the fight, which Dominic noticed and pointed out. He was unable to comprehend the meaning of his words though.

The eight-year-old buck mumbled incoherently in response, but it was only another attempt to beg Dominic to stop. However, the more the feline worked his loins, the more he wanted it to continue. It was impossible to describe the feeling, but his body was aching from the joy, sending shivers up his spine as the smooth pads of the black panther’s fingers slid up and down his small length.

By the time Dominic added to his tactics by applying a moistened finger to the sensitive tip on Jake’s penis, the cub was barely hanging on. His grip quickly became focused on the paw at his groin almost as soon as the feline started to tease the new region. A sharp gasp and a tightening of Jake’s grip on Dominic’s wrist was the only indication that it was having an effect.

The urge to urinate was fast approaching, and Jake feared his need to pee would come before Dominic’s own goals were achieved. The rabbit’s whimpering turned into a chorus of moans and heavy, rapid breathing. He whined loudly with nearly every breath, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching his shoulders together repeatedly as his head jerked around left and right.

“Nnnngh… sss… nah… ah… stah… pah… ple…”

Not knowing what Dominic had planned next, Jake pleaded wordlessly, his jaw quivering with the strain. The warnings the panther issued only filled the cub with fear and he squirmed and struggled helplessly. He had to get away somehow, before things reached their inevitable conclusions. So when Dominic released his chest for a moment, Jake leaned forward with every ounce of strength he had… only to be forced back again and warned.

That was it, Jake’s endurance was expended now. He couldn’t move. The drug had a hold of his motor skills, and Dominic’s forced pleasure had a tight grip around everything else. The boy wasn’t even sure he wanted to move anymore. The sensations tingling from his loins were so nice, he almost didn’t want them to stop now.

Dominic continued with his efforts though, and before Jake knew it, a finger was pressed against his tail-hole. With only a half-hearted plea for the panther to stop, his little anus was suddenly invaded, forcing a sharp yelp out of the boy as his spine arched and his hole puckered tightly around the intruder.

H-his finger… is in my—my-my…

Jake whined loudly and found new strength to squirm as he felt that finger wriggle around his insides, deeper and deeper until it found the prize it sought. Almost the instant Dominic located and began to tease the boy’s prostate, his entire body tensed and scrunched up against the panther’s chest.

His breathing had become loud and deliberate, frantic even as the dual stimulation broke the last of Jake’s mental barriers. Grunting and gasping from the mixture of pain and pleasure, in didn’t take long at all by this point for the eight-year-old to achieve orgasm.

With a sharp whine, Jake’s little body trembled and tensed once, twice, three times. His rump hoisted in the air, he had no control over his thrusts. Eventually though, his body fell limp, initially from the drop after the climax, but subsequently, from losing consciousness. Having his senses pushed to the limits was more than the drugged boy could handle. Once he was lowered down again, it was obvious he’d fainted from the strain, but his body still twitched and shivered.

“Hot damn!” Thomas hooted with a chuckle. “Ah dare say that wuz the most epic climax I ever done seen, way t’go Dom! Ah bet he’ll want even more when he gets t’wakin’ up.”

The sounds Jake made told Dominic that his goal came closer to fruition. Clearly, the buck experienced pure ecstasy for the first time in his life. All the whining and protests gave way to moaning and heavy breathing. Surely, the squirming of the boy’s body was no longer about escape, but rather total bliss. It thrilled Dominic to no end when Jake thrust his pelvis forward, lifting his bum high above the panther’s lap. Jake’s movements caused his prick to jab further into the panther’s grip much like the final pump someone makes when they cum into someone. Obviously, nothing sprayed out of Jake’s little pre-pubescent peen, but Dominic knew he got the boy to orgasm, just as he had worked hard to accomplish. The boy’s body began to shudder, tense up, and tremble many times.
Jake’s peak caused him to passout in Dominic’s lap. The feline just held onto the boy’s unconscious body, rubbing his belly and tapping the little dick as it bobbed up and down. The panther smiled and admired his work. Even though Jake wasn’t awake to experience the afterglow, the buck’s body still responded to the sudden endorphin rush. As if by reflex, the bunny’s hips subtly bucked forward as though his dick still received stimulation.

“Yer right, Tom, I think he likes it a lot! I’m dang sure that there was his first ever. Heh, we must have us here a good lil’ Christian boy. Probably never jacked himself off his entire life, I reckon. Oh yeah, I dare say he’ll want more! Don’t matter what the mind say, the body is gonna want it again an’ again.”

Sliding backwards, Dominic let Jake’s limp body slip to the floor as he pulled away. Laying Jake on his back, the feline moved over to the rabbit’s crotch to take a closer inspection. Surprisingly, a small amount of clear fluid leaked down Jake’s penis. Sure, not very much fluid oozed from the tiny prick, but it was enough for the panther to notice.

“Y’know, Tom, I’d say he really done enjoyed this! We could have this boy ready to blow a load before his next birthday. Welp, I’ll yeh what, we’s just got ourselves one more thing to do to have him broken in. We’ll switch up drivin’ at when we get to town, an’ be sure to give him some butt-lovin’.”

“Why don’t yeh go on ahead there partner? Go on, I sure don’t mind.”

“Yeah, but yers is nice an’ smooth. I’m worried I might wreck’im with mine.”

“Check aroun’. I know I got us some rubbers, I’m sure.”

Looking around, Dominic did eventually find a few packets of condoms and lube. Excited and eager to take Thomas’s good advice, he disrobed from the waste down and put a covering over his throbbing erection. The protection would surely spare Jake’s anus the rasping effects of the panther’s spiny cock. Dominic removed Jake’s leggings completely and positioned himself in line with the tender bunny ass ahead.

Amusingly, the sleeping buck still had a semi-hard-on. Dominic leaned down and began to suckle on the little boyhood, partly to clean it but mostly to excite it again. Before he thrust his waiting cock into the exposed bunny-hole, he shoved his finger in there and twirled around the hole. Every so often, he’d massage the undeveloped prostate in the boy’s body, hoping to squeeze more fluid out. 

The panther must have sucked and fingered Jake for several minutes before pulling out and readying for a plunge. Jake’s asshole had been loosened up to satisfaction, and his prick again bobbed up and down fully erect. Applying lube to the rubber coat on his cock, the panther then grabbed hold of each of Jake’s lower legs and lifted up to get the boy’s bottom in line with his hungry feline dick. With no ceremony else, the panther thrust his cock into Jake’s ass, and it caused the boy’s body to spasm. Dominic pulled out to make sure his initial thrust caused no damage. Relieved to see the boy’s anus accepted the slippery, condom covered dick without much argument, Dominic again pushed in and rapidly pumped at Jake’s backside.

Grunting and panting heavily, the panther greedily fucked the eight-year-old bunny boy. Dominic’s tail twitched and flung left and right over the pleasure he felt in his loins. He bit his bottom lip when he felt close to letting close and slowed the pace. Although he didn’t want to cum too soon, at the same time he didn’t want to bring the boy out of slumber. It would make going in and out of town easier if Jake stayed asleep. Still, Jake’s unconscious body responded to the thrusting cat meat in his tail-hole. His prick pulsated and more clear fluid leaked from the tip. Also, his sphincter muscles tried to grab onto the invading appendage, either to push it out or slow its movements. It didn’t Dominic long to cum hard.

“Nngh…phew, oh damn. That was good! Well Tom, he’s more than ready fer yeh now. Real damn good lay this one.”

As Thomas covered the miles on the highway, Dominic removed his condom but stayed pantless. He had a couple things to take care of before arriving in town. First, he began to mess around with the cardboard boxes, cutting them apart and fixing them together in a crude structure. After all, he promised he’d make a little box fort for the boy to hide under. The panther used some of the first aid tape to bind cardboard edges together, but used it sparingly. Instead, he mostly relied on slipping cut-out flaps into adjoining holes to join two boxes together. Soon, he had a nice little hideaway built for Jake and set it overtop the sleeping buck. He even included a few cut-out windows and a door, so he hoped Jake would like it.

Finally, the next task Dominic tended to was assessing his finances. He pulled out the wad of crisp, brand new hundred-dollar bills, unclipped them, and began counting. As he counted, he set the bills into one pile, but paused at the placing of every bill. In his mind, he slowly and carefully calculated the math before approving his paw’s placement of the bill. The second pile he built was easier to construct because he merely counted what he had left in his paws.

“Huh…that’s it. Tom, we gots ourselves three hundred bucks to get us back to Mississippi.”

“That’s all? Dangit, Dom, most of that’ll go just to gas!”

“I know, but the rest of this done belongs to Juan. That’s how much of his stuff we smoked.”

“Shoot, Dom, we sure gotta cut down on the drugs. Shit, we din’make any money this month fer storing Juan’s stuff.”

“Well, we still gotta gets ourselves some lunch an’ I promised our boy to get him something too. After that, I dunno…Anyhoo, I’m gonna get me some shut-eye, partner. Wake me when we get to town.”

Dominic put away the money and lied down beside the box fort. He put his hat over his face and slept with his malehood still plainly on display. The money was tight, but it didn’t cause Dominic too much concern. Rather, he hoped that he and Tom could share the last rock with each other without having to use it on Jake out of necessity. Hopefully, the boy would become more co-operative.

“You got it, dude,” Thomas replied as Dominic settled in to rest.

It had been a long night for the panther no doubt. After their altercation that nearly resulted in Jake’s death, both kidnappers had been on edge. Thomas feared what else his friend might be capable of if he lost his temper like that again. He already knew how far it had taken him once, and drudging up memories of that poor fox being ripped apart, screaming, sent a cold chill down his sweaty spine.

If things got to that point again, the raccoon would almost certainly have to step in again. In a battle against his life-long friends though, especially given his flabby untamed body versus the feline’s muscles, using a weapon might be the only means of knocking sense into him again, even if it meant beating him unconscious. It was a future scenario he didn’t ever want to see come to fruition. Thomas would have to make sure Jake obeyed them and never tried to run away like Johnny had.

Thinking of the timid rabbit, Thomas glanced into the back of the van. Dominic had settled in next to the make-shift fort he’d constructed, already fast asleep and still pantsless with a semi-erection. The raccoon had to smirk at the sight. The black panther had always been good with his paws, and enjoyed making things, but that little fort looked crummy as shit. Inside it, though, resided the buck, driven to unconsciousness by Dominic’s earlier play-time.

As much as Thomas was disappointed to not have been the first to break in the boy’s little anus, he was happy to have watched his friend do the honors. It seemed only fair. The raccoon had first entry on their last catch, and the two had a habit or taking turns. So technically it was Dominic’s turn anyway. Still though, he wished he could’ve forced his meaty hook into that tight little rump first.

Of course, Thomas imagined the boy’s bum would still be very tight, but it never beat that first time. Just thinking about Jake and getting his grubby paws on him later to introduce him to anal sex was making the raccoon hard. The hook of his trouser snake pressed uncomfortably against his jeans as he drove, making him shift around awkwardly.

For a while he considered masturbating, but with town only an hour away now, he figured it better to save his load for Jake’s little ass. Filling that boy with his seed was going to be the highlight of his day, today.

-------

Jake didn’t regain consciousness after Dominic’s perverted activities until Thomas had driven past the fringes of the nearest town. Only then did the poor buck’s eyes flutter open and scan the darkness surrounding him.

The boy laid in an awkward, scrunched up position that left his rump sticking up and his arms wrapped around his head. Upon waking, the first thing he noticed was a cool draft against his exposed backside. Jake groaned quietly, and squirmed sluggishly, rolling onto his side so he could assess his situation.

First he felt around the confined space he was in, grazing the sides until he realized he was inside a box. Only then did he realize there were rectangular holes in it, shedding light on the opposite wall.

Did Dominic build a fort like he’d promised? It certainly seemed to be the case. As nice a sentiment as it was however, it came with drawbacks, the first being that his lower body was still woefully exposed. A quick browsing with his paws confirmed that his pants were missing entirely, but the new swiftly worsened when he reached a paw down to his backside to examine a sore spot.

The second his fingers touched the red, sore ring around his anus, the cub stiffened and yelped quietly, tightening his sphincter and unleashing another wave of pain. Owowow! Why does my bum hurt? Jake asked himself worriedly. His thoughts immediately shifted to the panther. What did he do after he’d passed out?

Whimpering quietly, Jake nursed the sore spot lightly with his fingers, attempting to determine the extent of the pain. It seemed to hurt the most directly around the opening, similar the way it hurt when he had to pass a particularly large chunk of poo. This was much worse however, like something much bigger than a turd had—oh no. There certainly wasn’t anything inside him that would hurt this much coming out, so that meant something had to go in…

Dominic had already jammed his fingers in there before, forcing Jake into an experience that was both the most amazing and most horrifying he’d ever endured. But even that hadn’t hurt as much as this did right now. Whatever must’ve happened following his climax and subsequent fainting, Jake wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

After fussing with his aching anus, Jake finally worked up the courage and stamina to slowly ease himself up into a sitting position. The pressure on his rump in this new posture made him cringe in pain until he could shift onto his knees instead. Once he was situated, he probed the dark chamber he was in for his pants, but he couldn’t find them anywhere. With another whine, he risked searching further afield.

Peeking out one of the crudely cut windows, Jake searched the back of the van for his clothing, quickly spotting them not too far away but next to Dominic’s sleeping body. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the buck quietly pushed open the little door the panther had made and reached out gingerly to grasp the pile of fabric.

His paws had just closed around them when Thomas suddenly spoke, startling the buck.

“Yo Dom! We’re here, buddy!”

Panicked, Jake snatched up his pants retreated back into the box, hiding in a corner as he quickly struggled to redress himself in the poor lighting.

Jake stirring got Dominic to rouse as well, but he didn’t notice the buck reaching out for his clothes. He came to once Thomas announced their arrival in town. Recalling his promise to Jake, he got his pants back on and prepared to head into the restaurant. As he mentioned earlier, this meal would be the last one they could indulge in until Juan came back with another shipment.

“A’right, Tom. I promised our boy to get’im some soup. Should I just get the usual for us?”

After Thomas made his request, Dominic reminded him of their financial situation.

“So, our snackin’ stuffs’ll have to last us til we get back. I’ll go in. Why dontcha keep our boy company while I’m gone?”

Having pulled into a parking space in front of a small grocery store, Thomas shifted gears and turned off the engine.

“Yeah, man. Ah’ll take th’usual. Maybe somethin’ to help us detox a bit as well. Last thing we dun need is gettin’ pulled over lookin’ like Hell warmed over. As for Jake well…”

Looking shifty, Thomas jerked his head to the side to signal for his friend to exit the van. Doing the same himself, the raccoon locked up his side and waited for Dominic to come around and meet him. He made sure to move several feet from the side of the vehicle before speaking quietly.

“Dude, I don’think we gonna have enough money to make it back so uh… I was thinkin’ of a way to make some money on th’side.”

“What was ya had in mind?”

“We gots that boy in back, I’m thinkin’ we kin whore ‘im out a ‘lil. Nothin’ big, y’know, jus’like handjobs an’ blowjobs and shit. Lotta fucks out there’d pay a boon to have a kid jerk ‘em off. An’ we could use th’money. What d’ya think?”

“Hmm…we may have to wait til nightfall then. Also, I reckon we’ll need that last rock for him. A’right. I’ll get us more than just the basics.”

“Sweet,” Thomas said with a grin. “Right man, I’ll keep an eye on ‘lil Jake. Don’take too long naow, heheh. Y’know I ain’t got the most stamina.”

Waving off his friend, the raccoon promptly returned to the van and popped open the backdoors, climbing inside and sealing him in with the worried cub still hiding within the cardboard fort Dominic had constructed.

“He lil fella,” Thomas cooed quietly, eager to have his fun with the boy now. “Scary ol’ Dom’s gone fer now. It’s jus’you and me. Big kitty’s had his fun, naow it’s mah turn.”

Not giving Jake much choice the raccoon slipped his claws under the flimsy walls of the fort and tipped it over, revealing the little rabbit, huddled in the corner and shivering. He didn’t look as scared without the panther around, but his trembling betrayed a heightened anxiety.

“Awww, it’s alright, son. I ain’t gonna hurt’ja terribly. Daddy Dom’s already loosened yeh up a ‘lil.”

Leaning forward, Thomas grasped Jake by the arm and started to ease him forward, but the cub resisted with a loud whine.

“N… No please, please don’t,” he whimpered. “I don’t want it, please!”

“That ain’t what I saw this mornin’, Jake,” the raccoon chuckled, “Y’all came harder than a beaver on’a fourth o’July. Sure seemed t’be enjoyin’ yerself then, so c’mon…”

“N-n-no, no, no please!”

Not listening, Thomas pulled Jake from his comfort zone, too afraid to fight back, but still unwilling to accept the fate laid out for him. Without too much effort, the kidnapper forced the buck down onto his back and settled in with his groin lined up. He held Jake’s legs spread over his thigh, giving him unrestricted access to the boy’s loins. One paw had the be used to keep the eight-year-old’s arms pinned to his chest, but Jake was still struggling and begging for him to stop.

“It ain’t gonna hurt that much kid, just hold the fuck still,” Thomas grumbled irritably.

Unbuckling his belt and working down his trousers, the raccoon revealed his quickly swelling erection, the sight of which made Jake squirm even more.

“Oh-oh, please, please no, please don’t!” Jake cried, squirming uncontrollably. “Don’t do it, please, I’m begging you, please!”

“Ah’ll go nice an’slow Jake, trust me it’ll feel great. Hell, I’ll even jerk yeh off too.” Taking Jake’s pleas as an invitation, Thomas reached down and unbuckled the cub’s belt as well, pulling the pants down until his rump and genitals were exposed and easily accessible. Then he promptly wrapped his fingers around Jake’s tiny sheath, rubbing and squeezing the bit of flesh encouragingly.

“Naow, just stay put an’ don’struggle so much. Ready? Here we go…”

Dominic finished his rounds in the grocery store rather quickly. At the deli, he did in fact find some vegetable soup for Jake. The only healthy item he picked up for himself and Thomas was a big jug of pressed apple cider, and not even the organic variety. He also picked up enough provisions to last the rest of the trip, which would likely be for just another day or two at the most. At any rate, all three would be well fed.

Spending Juan’s money made Dominic a little nervous. He never once mentioned that he and Thomas dip into the drug cache they store on Juan’s behalf. Of course, he figured Juan surely assumed that both he and Thomas were using some of the druglord’s supply, but Juan never objected because he always got the market price for his stuff in return. Anything Dominic and Thomas used for their own purposes got reimbursed in the form of returning some of the storage fees. The wad of cash the panther used to pay for everything came from this current month’s storage for Juan.

Before exiting the store, Dominic counted his remaining money to figure out his shortfall. He owed Juan five hundred dollars and after purchasing everything, he only had four hundred and eighteen dollars left. The shortfall didn’t account for the cost of gas for the rest of the journey. In all probability, he’d have to make up as much as two hundred dollars, or rather…Jake would have to earn that money. Whoring the bunny boy out seemed like a good idea to Dominic, but he already regretted just how much he’d have to share his boy. Even if he charged a premium, he’d likely have to solicit Jake to multiple clients to earn all the money needed.

“They better get no ideas!” Dominic thought to himself. As he approached the van, he could hear Jake’s protests. He knew Thomas was having a good time, but he also didn’t want to raise any suspicions from all the nearby shoppers; he knew not to open the van while the buck got molested. The scared buck would surely take an opening as a chance for escape. So, the panther merely pounded on the side paneling and called into the cargo area, “Dun’take too long there, partner. And don’t let’im make a sound, a’right.”

While Thomas had his way with Jake, Dominic chowed down on some deli cuts. All of it was some variety of pork. Dominic enjoyed eating real food for a change, but the sounds in the van thrilled him more. Hearing muffled squeals had the panther convinced the raccoon just penetrated Jake’s tight little tailhole. The mental imagery got the panther semi-erect, but also a little concerned. If Jake screamed, he’d have to make a quick getaway.

“Hey, lil feller. You let yer Daddy Tom finish up and you can have some nice vegetable soup.”

“S-s-stop, it hurts!” Jake squeaked before a paw clamped down on his muzzle.

Thomas had a bad habit of letting his toys make a lot of racket when he played with them, so when Dominic returned and banged on the side of the van to warn him, he quickly took the panther’s advice. Much as the raccoon wanted to listen to Jake continue begging and crying, he grabbed a length of cord and tied the boy’s snout shut, struggling with his flailing paws.

“Sorry kiddo, Dom says yeh gotta be quiet. Don’t want yer daddies gettin’ into trouble, now do yah?”

Unable to respond, Jake whined into his make-shift muzzle and shook his head, complaining as loudly as he could. Thomas hadn’t even gotten himself inside yet, and the boy was throwing a fit like he’d been skewered already. He’d have to do something about this poor behavior.

“Jake, listen,” Thomas said quietly, leaning in close so that his foul breath filled the boy’s breathing space. “If y’all keep misbehavin’, ah’m gonna call Daddy Dom in ‘ere and let ‘im stick yeh again. And THIS time he ain’t gonna use a rubber to spare yeh from them barbs on his dick. He’ll pound yer ass bloody. Is that what choo want?”

Eyes wide with terror, Jake trembled beneath the raccoon, shaking his head vigorously.

“That’s wut I thought, naow, start behavin’ an’ we’ll get to have some fun.”

Finally having Jake’s cooperation, if grudgingly, Thomas positioned himself so that the downward hook of his penis, which had been pressed firmly against the boy’s little hole was lined up and ready to enter.

The first push made Jake squeal loudly. Not so much from the pain or discomfort, but from the feeling of something pushing its way into his rectum. The buck squirmed and whimpered as the sensation grew. Thomas slowly, gently slid he peculiarly shaped erection in the boy’s tightly puckered hole until only the straightest part was left. Jake was sobbing now, unhappy, uncomfortable and embarrassed. He had a raccoon’s penis inside his bum, and the downward hook was pressing against the inner walls of his anus.

“Shhh… see, kid? That weren’t so bad. Now just settle down an’stop cryin’ or Daddy’s gonna have t’give yeh a reason to cry.”

“Hey uh, partner…” Dominic pounded the side panel again. “Don’t ferget to angle it in there jus right. Maybe yeh can make our Christian boy cum fer the first time ever.”

Thomas smiled at the suggestion. As he thrust his hooked penis into Jake’s hole, he made certain to angle up his hips. When he pulled back, the hooked part of his dick grazed across Jake’s prostate, applying dizzying pressure to the gland. The raccoon made sure to repeat the motions so that every thrust would hit the buck in his boyhood G-spot.

Once more, the bunny’s body disagreed with his protests. Every single pounding on the boy boy’s behind caused his prick to bob up and down. The raccoon lustfully worked Jake’s ass. To get the boy further into it, Thomas reached down and started wank Jake’s small penis. 

As before, the buck’s body responded precisely as it did with Dominic. A subtle difference in this current session appeared in the way of more clear fluid draining from Jake’s penis.

“Yeah, see I told yeh you’d like this. Don’t ya be fearin’ God’s Judgement. Now, there ain’t nothin’ wrong at all with feelin’ one of the greatest pleasures.”

Jake whined miserably as the raccoon started thrusting with little regard for the cub’s comfort. In and out, Thomas shoved that hooked appendage inside his little body, angling it such that every motion grazed something deep in his belly that sent waves of painful pleasure up his spine. The buck moaned loudly and arched his back in rhythm, both seeking that wonderful feeling and struggling to avoid the pain.

Despite the good sensations mixed with the discomforting pain, Jake sobbed unhappily. It didn’t escape the little boy’s mind that Thomas was sexually abusing him in possibly the worst way he could imagine. That hooked penis was buried deep inside him, jerking back and forth eagerly, stirring a strong, unwanted arousal inside him.

He continued begging the raccoon to stop, but it only came out as muffled whimpers and whines, ringing in tune to the fat ring-tail pumping into him again and again. Unfortunately, his pleas were hampered by the fact that his body was responding positively to the sexual activity. As Thomas kept up his moaning and thrusting, Jake’s little penis quickly exposed itself again, already dribbling happily.

 At this point, the raccoon grasped the little erection and started molesting it as well. Jake barely noticed though. All he could think about was the fact his insides were constantly being stuffed and jabbed the Thomas’s hooked member. The cub whined and sobbed pitifully in-between moans, sounding all for the world like he was suffering humiliating torture, but looking more like he was deep in sexual pleasure.

Even though Jake’s paws and legs were free, there was little he could do to fend off his rapist. He switched randomly between grasping frantically for his backside, pushing Thomas’s paw away from his groin and trying to remove his gag, all while kicking his legs uselessly. His efforts were half-hearted though, either because he was somehow enjoying the experience on a deeper level, or because he was terrified of the idea of Dominic being called in if he misbehaved.

The longer Jake resisted the longer it took, but eventually Thomas reached his goal. It seemed like the raccoon was biding his time, because once he succeeded in bringing Jake to his second orgasm, he reached his at the same time. Crying out into his muzzle, the buck arched his back and thrust his hips uncontrollably even as he felt the hot moist sensation of the raccoon’s semen squirting deep inside his rectum.

Whining miserably, the rabbit kicked at the floor and dug his heels in and then fell limp, panting and whimpering as his body trembled. His little twitching penis didn’t manage to produce more than a few drops of clear fluid, but Thomas has pumped his inside full with his spunk. It made his gut feel sore.

“Hoo yeah, that was good. Boy, yer a natural! Felt good din’ it?”

Dominic didn’t give his partner time to respond to Jake’s muffled answer. Instead he tossed the groceries back into the cargo area, except for the soup. He commanded Thomas, still half naked and dripping with afterglow, to gently hand the item over to Jake.

“Hey, Tom, this is for our lil feller. Give’im a hand in case he is a little shaky.”

When Thomas grabbed the soup for Jake, Dominic hopped into the driver’s seat, fired up the van, and quickly drove out of the lot.

“Dom, what’s up buddy?”

“I din’ like the way some of them spectators looked at our van. Best just to be on the safe side.”

The panther drove at a slightly hurried pace. No one followed them and that included police cruisers. Their path remained clear and unharassed. Thomas started to worry a little with his partner’s erratic behaviour.

“Buddy, talk to me!”

“Tom, about our plan…we’ll just have to take care of it back home. If we’re short, well, I’m sure Juan will understand. I jus don’t wanna be in this town anymore.”

Driving right on the cusp of unlawful, the panther quickly exited from town in no time at all. He kept a constant and hurried speed along the highway. As Thomas helped Jake eat his soup, the panther more or less maintained silence. His focus remained on the highway and to putting as much distance between himself and the town as possible. Naturally, Thomas really started to worry, and no doubt Jake must have seen the panther’s behaviour as a source of concern. The panther looked into the rear view mirror and only made one statement.

“There, got ya some really nice soup ‘cuz you’ve been such a good boy fer yer daddies. Good stuff there, I reckon…surely like how mamah would cook.”

Afterwards, Dominic kept to himself. He didn’t eat anything else or even drink any fluids. All his energies, even his entire being, soaked into the operation of the vehicle. To him, no one and nothing else surrounded him. In his feline brain, all that existed was the endless pavement in his field of view, and not even he existed as far as he was concerned.

When Thomas slated his own hunger, he attempted to get up front and talk to his friend. Dominic refused the raccoon’s advances and ordered him to return to the back to keep with Jake. The panther didn’t even face Thomas when he issued his commands and resumed total, eerie silence.

Mile after mile passed, and eventually Dominic did break the silence again. “Tom, if either you or the kid needs to, you know, put it in an empty bottle or a small box. I’ll toss it out the window, ‘cuz I ain’t stopping.”

Many boring hours passed and Dominic simply drove. The van maintained the same speed the entire time. Dominic drove with the automation of an android. All attempts Thomas made to communicate with him got ignored. This pattern did not break until he pulled off into an off-highway gas station. Pulling up to the pump at this full service station, he didn’t leave his seat as the van was refuelled. He quickly paid the gas jockey and drove off. His silence continued and before long, they crossed into another state. Their home state laid just beyond this one.

The afterglow for Jake wasn’t nearly as pleasant as it was for Thomas, who was panting and grinning with deep satisfaction. Once the raccoon finally pulled out, the cub immediately rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, reaching between his legs to grab his tail and pull it down over his sore, dripping anus. Sniffling and whining unhappily, he tried to make him as small as he could, protecting his molested rump and covering his face as he shuddered with every breath.

His body was still shivering with the after effects of his orgasm, but the good feeling had passed on by now. All that was left was the soreness of his tail-hole and the throbbing of his prostate from where the raccoon’s penis had taunted it repeatedly. With the pleasure a memory, he didn’t know how to react. His body had enjoyed the treatment at the time, but now everything just hurt.

Fortunately for Jake, as soon as Thomas had finished, Dominic intervened. Acting unusual, he threw the bags into the van, drawing his friends attention. While the two conversed, Jake quietly crept away, sliding awkwardly as the van lurched into motion and raced back onto the road.

Having accepted the container of soup, Thomas hadn’t been content with his friend’s behavior. He was beginning to act weird, and after a point refused to respond to the raccoon at all, leaving him with nothing more to do than feed Jake.

Jake had moved to the back corner of the van again, but when Thomas came over with the soup, his ears perked up immediately. The boy was still very hungry, and desperate. Even so that he eagerly climbed into the raccoon’s lap when instructed. At first he planned to eat on his own, but Thomas was intent on spoon-feeding him. Jake wasn’t about to complain though. However, not being able to focus on eating, his attention eventually drew towards Dominic in the driver’s seat ahead, not saying a word as he barrelled down the high-way.

The cub’s ears wilted in worry. Even for the little time he’d known these two kidnappers, this behavior was unusual; which was hard to imagine, since he’d nearly been strangled to death last night. The best he could imagine was something was wrong, and if he wasn’t careful whatever it was might be turned onto him in the form of rage. This worried Jake immensely.

After Thomas had finished spoon-feeding the little eight-year-old rabbit, he took to fondling the boy quietly, whispering sweet nothings but keeping a keen eye on Dominic. Eventually though he had to tend to his own hunger and left the buck’s side to do so; while away he tried to converse with his companion, only to be denied again. When he returned, Jake looked up at him worriedly, seeing a similar look in the raccoon’s eyes.

“W-w-what’s wrong with him…?” Jake asked quietly as Thomas settled in again, trying to ignore the paws that resumed molesting his little body.

“Shhh… don’t y’all worry none, kid,” Thomas answered distractedly.

He was deep in thought as he watched Dominic for several hours, not moving or making s sound as he held Jake in his arms even when he finally pulled over gas and took off on the highway again.

Whatever it was that had Dom’s panties in a twist, it was obvious. He was acting as if something at the shopping center had spooked him. Was he worried about the money? Why did he change his mind about Thomas’s plan to whore the kid out a little? He had to get some answers, even if he had to pry them out of the stuck-up feline.

Setting Jake to the side he instructed him tersely to stay put before creeping up behind the driver’s seat.

“Dom!” Thomas snapped, reaching around the seat and securing a beefy arm under the panther’s neck. Before Dominic could react, he grabbed hold of one of the feline’s arms holding the steering wheel and dug his claws in warningly. “That’s it, bud. Y’all know I don’t like the silent treatment. So y’all better fess up right now, a’right? What’s got yeh so goddamn wound up? We’s in the clear, man, we got the kid, we got the rocks an’ we got the cash. Just stick t’the plan and we gonna be rollin’ in dough, so what th’hell’s the matter wit yah?!”

“Ulk, Tom, what ya doin’!”

Dominic’s steering became uncontrolled when his partner snuck up on him. The van started veering left and right all over the road. Chaotic driving put all the occupants in grave danger as the vehicle swerved precariously towards the ditch. At his speed, driving into the embankment would mean sending the van head over heels. Poor Jake bounced around in the back and crumpled part of his fort with his body. The panther tried to pry Thomas’s grip with both paws, but the raccoon held one of Dominic’s paws on the steering wheel.

“Yeh crazy, Tom!? Yer gonna get us killed…”

“Then pull us over, y’hear! Yer gonna talk to me.”

“Dammit, Tom…no!”

“Dom! God dangit…”

Nearly going over the edge, the right front tire impacted with a stone at the border between growth and tarmac. Dominic reacted by turning abruptly back onto the roadway, but the overcompensation threatened to flip the van. The panther tried to readjust, but the rear of the van fish-tailed.  With total loss of control, the van stood on the brink of complete disaster. It seemed very unlikely that any of them would survive the expected accident.

Fortunately, the raccoon let go of his friend at the critical moment. With both paws back on the wheel, the panther straightened the vehicles course and then slammed on the brakes. Coming to a complete stop off to the side of the road, Dominic hopped out of the van and slammed the door behind him. He paid no heed to poor Jake, who got tossed around like laundry in the dryer. Additionally, he also didn’t check on his friend. He…he just left.

Thomas did chase after him, grabbing the keys, locking the door, and slamming it behind him. He quickly caught up with his partner who marched away sulking.

“Wut the fuckin’ hell, Dom! Sweet Jeez…HEY!”

The panther pulled a one-eighty and pushed Thomas away from him, nearly toppling over the fat raccoon. “Let it alone!”

Once more, Thomas caught up with Dominic, grabbed hold of his shirt, and turned his friend around. Dominic, completely infuriated, raised his paw high with his claws extruded. The obese raccoon would be no match for the panther at all and would drop hard and quickly.

When Thomas had grabbed Dominic’s shirt, he twisted around sharply and raised an arm with the intent to strike, and for at least a moment, the raccoon didn’t think he’d actually do it. But then he felt the distinct pain of a paw full of extended claws as they slapped him across the face, forcing his head sideways and causing him to completely lose his footing.

Falling to the ground, the raccoon several times before coming to a stop, clutching at his snout as blood immediately began flowing from the fresh slashes on his face.

“F…Fuck! Goddamit, f… Augh… The f… the fuck man?!” Thomas growled in pain, struggling to return to his feet.

This hadn’t been the first time Dominic struck him, but it was by far the most violent encounter he’d ever witnessed. Something was bothering the panther immensely to be this resistant to discussing it with his best friend. This only fueled his need for an answer even more.

Climbing back to his feet and wobbling, anger rose in the raccoon as well. Thomas looked up to see Dominic with his back turned again. A snarl spread across the ring-tails face as he suddenly lurched forward.

“I SAID—” Thomas slammed into Dominic’s back with the full force of his bulky body, taking the panther off his feet and pinning him to the ground with all of his weight. “TALK TO ME, GODAMNIT!”

Meanwhile, inside the van, after recovering from the sudden chaos after Thomas’s intervention, Jake slowly crept towards the front of the van, both curious and afraid of what was happening. He could hear yelling outside, like the two were fighting, and when he got far enough to look out the driver-side, he witnessed Thomas tackling the black panther. The sight made him jump and duck down in case he was seen, but he couldn’t help but keep watching.

Most of the times Dominic struck Thomas was during a nasty high. Even then, only a bad trip would set him off if it was the type that would make him freak out like he did yesterday. But, Dominic had no substance streaming in his feline brain currently. He possessed his full mental faculty which made his attack against Thomas all the more unusual. Moreover, the panther never drew blood from his best friend ever before.

Striking Thomas made the situation all the worse. When Dominic had his paw raised, his rage readied him to kill his friend. After making contact and actually inflicting injury, the panther severely felt the need to remove himself from the situation. Of course, Thomas would not let his friend get away. This incident mirrored the one that happened immediately after Jonathan died. Back then, Dominic also had tried to get away, but Thomas would not let him. Since then, not a day went by when the panther had not wished he managed to reach the shotgun before the raccoon tackled him down.

Although tackled to the ground, just as before, Dominic again managed to turn around to face his friend. The raccoon saw no rage in the panther’s eyes. Instead, only total despair projected from the panther’s eyes.

“Dammit Tom, I said let it alone!”

“I ain’t gonna. I ain’t never gonna let you go away…I can’t, you is my partner, y’hear? You can’t leave me! Talk to me, please.”

“Tom, I told ye, I din like the way them folks were lookin’ at me. That’s all. I ain’t freakin’ out, I ain’t trippin’, an’ I’m not runnin’ from someone!”

“Then wut?”

“Fine,” Dominic sighed heavily. “I’ll tell yeh, but let me up.”

The raccoon complied, a bit hesitant, but still eager to hear his partner open up to him. Dominic got up and looked Thomas in the eyes again. He forced himself to swallow his emotion and choke out an explanation. Neither he nor Thomas noticed Jake listening and watching them intently.

“They looked me up like I was some kind of reject. A deviant that jus’ din belong. The pigs would get a warmer fuckin’ welcome!”

“Dom, is that all? C’mon, yeh dun freakin’ need ‘em! None of ‘em. To fuckin’ hell with ‘em all!”

“Tommy…we is unwelcomed strangers in the entire world. Ain’t yeh tired of it? No one wants us at all. The kid sure don’t want us. Shit, we can’t even stand ourselves!”

“Buddy…partner…the kid’ll warm up to us. An’ sure, I dun care much fer myself, but you’ve always done right by me. Yer the only one that’s ever got me. Dom…to hell with the world. Yeh got me.”

Dominic sighed heavily, but carefully considered his partner’s words. He patted the raccoon on the shoulder but stopped short of hugging. Very much so, he wanted to embrace his best friend in the whole world. Thomas truly is the only one Dominic ever had and vice versa. Still, any life Dominic fantasized for himself died in the past and now rested beyond resurrection. The world would not allow a fairy tale ending for either of the friends and even they would agree they’ve become undeserving. 

Dominic didn’t say it out of fear of further harming his friend, but the truth of the matter was he came to a realization of the monster he has become over the years. Nothing good and pure resided in the adult panther who never really grew beyond cubhood. From his view, both he and Thomas were dead boys in living shells, and the sudden awareness sunk the panther into a deep depression.

Barely able to fight back a salty outpouring, the Panther headed back to the van. Along the way, he made a promise to Thomas.

“We ain’t whoring our boy out. He’s ours and ours alone. We ain’t pimps. The way I see, we’ve sunk too far already. Tom…this one MUST last us. If he don’t, well…I won’t let yeh stop me like last time. I’m sorry buddy. You shouldn’t have stopped me in the first place.”

Getting back to the van, Dominic just about flung the door open to hop back inside. Beforehand though, he issued one more statement to Thomas.

“An’ no…I ain’t never done right by you, Tommy boy. If I did, well…we’d not have this boy. We’d never had any of these kids…”

Listening quietly from his position, stretched between the two front seats and across the driver’s side, Jake peeked out the window as Thomas and Dominic conversed. Although muffled, the buck could hear them clearly; in particular, the anguish in the black panther’s voice. Hearing Dominic’s distress made the eight-year-old’s ears wilt. He didn’t know why, but despite what the feline had done to him just earlier this morning, he was actually feeling a little sorry for him.

Initially both of these kidnappers had felt and acted like soulless monsters, fondling and touching him inappropriately, molesting him sexually and just now, forcefully mating with him. Jake’s rear still hurt even now, but watching these two interact almost made him want to forgive them. Like maybe doing what they wanted would allow him to eventually bargain for his freedom.

Basically, seeing some level of humanity in the two, made Jake feel like maybe his situation wasn’t as hopeless as he once thought. That alone renewed his hope that he might get to see his family again. The only issue was… it would require a significant amount of manipulation. Something Jake had never been very good at; numerous experiences with his parents had been enough proof of that. But what choice did he have?

As the two creatures neared the van, Jake ducked down worriedly, unsure what to make of their conversation. What was this about ‘whoring him out’? It didn’t sound good at all, but it was surprising to see Dominic be the reserved one, even if it out of selfishness. The tone in his voice sounded like he was having second thoughts about this whole ordeal, which might prove helpful for Jake to achieve his goal.

Jake had gotten so entranced by Dominic and his companion that he didn’t realize they’d gotten so close until the door opened. Yelping, the buck quickly ducked back into hiding between the seats as the panther climbed in. Thomas followed on the other side, and the little rabbit sank back further, hoping not to be noticed. For now, though, both adults seemed to be wrapped up in their own emotional turmoil.

Thomas hadn’t said a word after Dominic’s last statement. He was too busy mulling over what the panther had told him. Did he really think that way about himself? Did he really wish he was dead? Just hearing how the feline felt made him want to hug the cat, to express his need for him as a friend. But after that tirade he was at a loss for words. If only he could—

“I… I’m sorry…”

Thomas’s ears perked up at the sound of Jake’s quiet voice as he spoke from between him and Dominic. He had no idea how long the boy had been sitting there, but after speaking, he slowly, cautiously poked his head forward. Turning slightly in his seat, the raccoon looked down the cub.

“Oh really, now? Issat so?”

Jake nodded his head quietly and lowered his gaze.

“I… I’ll be good now… I promise.”

“Yeh’ere that, Dom? Told yeh he’d warm up to us!” Thomas patted Jake’s head. “Good boy.”

“Yeah, uh, um, Jake? There’s some cider round in the back there. Go ahead an’ help yerself.”

Silence dominated the journey as Jake helped himself to more desperately needed fluid. Dominic did have to explain to the buck that cider is nothing more than pressed apples, making it slightly different from apple juice.

“It’s a southern thing, boy. Y’oole like it, “ Thomas said.

Beyond passing around the bottle of cider, little more interaction occurred between all three occupants in the van. Dominic kept driving and the state zinged by quickly. In no time at all, the trio would arrive in Mississippi. Of course, even a seasoned traveller like Dominic could not possibly drive the rest of the distance without rest. They had to take one more night off the highway before completing the journey.

“A’right, gotta fill up one more time. Seems our boy likes the cider. I’ll see if they got some more.”

The panther filled up at another off highway gas stop. Again bringing the tank back to full capacity, Dominic knew he’d have to dip further into debt with Juan. Jake should hopefully rest a little easier if Dominic treated the buck nicer. Just to clear up any animosity between himself and the bunny, the panther felt resolved to get something nice for Jake, regardless of the cost. He searched the entire store for his peace offering.

Just like the night before, the panther did not drive very far. Even less so tonight because he felt a little safer. The accent of the store clerk at the gas station spoke in a familiar accent. Although Dominic felt welcomed nowhere he went, he still felt a sense of ease with the devil he knew all his life. Returning to his comfort zone, he chose an area less shaded than the one previous, and not many trees offered concealment. They had mainly the cloak of night and distance from any major town or city to provide seclusion.

Dominic parked the vehicle and performed the same ritual as the previous night. Of course, he also stripped right down, but indicated he would not sleep just yet. He had to maintain watch for a bit before he could rest. He wanted to see if Jake finally lost the will to escape.

“Right Tom, I’ll watch first till yehs go to sleep then bunker down myself.” Dominic then turned to Jake.  “Lets have ourselves a quick cuddlin’ then get us some shuteye. We’ll be soft on yeh, boy, and I even got yeh a treat. Heck, you can even have some now!”

Reaching into another plastic bag, Dominic pulled out a six pack of cider. Unlike the bottled stuff all three of them had earlier, this was alcoholic cider. Naturally, the panther expected some resistance, but prepared to coax the boy to guzzle down one can at least before having an intimate moment with him.

“Kay, this was all they had. Its got some hooch in it, but I think you’ll like it. Trust me, it ain’t dry like other stuff. Sweet it is…real sweet.”

The smell of alcohol caused the bunny’s nose to twitch, but Dominic insisted the boy take the attempt to smooth things over. As it was before, the panther simply would not take no for an answer. Once Jake emptied the can, the Panther began to undress the buck and caress his body.

“C’mon Tom. We gonna have ourselves jus a quick moment. Got a busy day tomorrah.”

Jake’s ears wilted initially at Thomas’s boisterous response, but perked up immediately when Dominic offered him some apple cider. He couldn’t be sure, but maybe his apology had been what earned this reprieve. Whatever the reason, the buck was eager to slip away into the back of the van and dig around in the piles of random items until he found the container of juice.

During his search, the rabbit had come across a lot of worrying items. Most of the stuff Jake recognized as medical equipment, the sort of stuff you’d find in a first-aid kit. The lubricants and condoms however, were not the sort of things one would associate with treatment of wounds. The poor buck had a feeling much of the unfriendly looking things Thomas and Dominic bought were meant for him.

It didn’t mean much, but the rabbit decided to collect up as much of them as he could after acquiring the cider, and hid them away in a difficult to reach spot; just under the driver’s seat, in a little nook. He hid the action by fussing around with the container at the same time, cracking open the twist on cap and eagerly helping himself to several long, needy gulps of the sweet, sour fluid.

Once he’d had his fill, he kept coming back to it over the course of the trip for a sip or two. It was a long, boring and worrying journey with neither kidnapper saying a word. Would they pull over to rape him again tonight, even if he did what they wanted? Maybe he should just let them. After all, his experience with Thomas, although painful, wasn’t nearly as bad as what he experienced during his first escape attempt.

 But I don’want them to mate with me, Jake thought to himself. Not only was is gross to him, but it was humiliating and uncomfortable. He didn’t like it when to toyed with his body, making it do things he didn’t want. Of course he didn’t have much of a choice. So really, what was worse, being forced into sexual relations with the raccoon and panther, or suffering another incident with Dominic’s unrestrained rage.

As the trip progressed, Jake was asked to hand the cider around, so he did, hugging it to himself again once it was returned. For now he stayed close to his captors, sitting in-between the seats where he could view the road. It wasn’t much longer after sharing the drink that Dominic decided to pull over at another gas station. By then the bottle was empty and the black panther declared his intentions and left.

Once the feline returned, it was back onto the road for another several hours as the sun quickly set on the horizon, casting long shadows across the road. Jake kept the silence between himself and his captors, much as the urge to coax them into letting him go. He sensed an uncertainty in the two, but pushing it too soon would be unwise. The idea of having to wait though, and endure further sexual abuse, was maddening.

Eventually Dominic decided to pull over for the night, at which point Jake retreated into the back of the van the feline and Thomas made their way into the compartment. Hugging himself in a corner, the buck struggled to remain calm, repeating to himself that it won’t be that bad, that they weren’t trying to hurt him, they just wanted to touch him. But it was difficult to be certain to what lengths Dominic and the raccoon would go to at any given time.

Dominic was the first to speak, but not before completely disrobing, to the buck’s dismay. Jake tried to look away, avoiding eye-contact with the feline and his black-furred body; granted the black fur made it difficult to make out any details, but still. The panther promised a quick cuddling and that he’d be gentle, but what got the boy’s attention was the cider.

Jake had really enjoyed the other stuff Dominic had purchased and was eager to have some more right up until the black panther explained that it had alcohol in it. The buck quickly lost his appetite and started to shake his head as the feline came closer, offering the beverage, but there wasn’t a choice in the matter. Furthermore, the eight-year-old had to relinquish some of his defiance in exchange for self-preservation.

After an initial resistance, the buck slowly but uncomfortably downed the can of cider, one gulp at a time as Thomas undressed himself nearby. The worst part was the smell; unlike Dominic had promised, the cider didn’t mask the bitter taste of the alcohol much either. It was a struggle to keep down what he ingested, but eventually the can was empty, and Jake was feeling dizzy.

If experience was any indicator, Jake didn’t handle drugs of any sort in his system very well. So just one can of spiked cider had his head swimming, lowering his inhibitions and making much more pliable than he otherwise would’ve wanted. In this incapacitated state, Dominic was able to easily strip him of his clothing. The alcohol had him so loosened up though, that he didn’t really care. In fact, he asked for another can of the stuff, not knowing any better at this point.

As he was downing a second round, Thomas finally spoke up.

“Heheheh, what a good ‘lil boy yew are Jake. Y’all drink up an’ we’ll have us a bit a fun before bed.” The raccoon leaned towards his friend and whispered musingly. “Damn… he’s so fuckin’ adorable when he’s drunk. We should get ‘im hooked.” Eagerly joining his buddy next to the cub, Thomas stuck a paw down his pants and fondled those fluffy little bits when suddenly a thought occurred to him. “Y’know Dom, we ain’t shown Jake how t’do oral jus’yet. Maybe naow’s a good time to teach ‘im.”

“Y’know, I think you is right. Mine might be a tad much fer him, so tell ya what, you undress him, I’ll go down on ‘im, and then get him to show us what he done learned on you, buddy.”

“Hoo dang, that sure sounds mighty fine!” The raccoon ran his grubby paws through Jake’s head fur and then gently placed a paw on the boy’s cheek. “Yer gonna love this…”

Although Jake paused at consuming his second stiff drink, Thomas encouraged the buck to down the rest of it by tilting up the bottom of the can. Of course, both Thomas and Dominic expected resistance from Jake, but they knew already they could breach his barriers. Furthermore, they detected decreasing resistance from the buck. On the other paw, every cub went through the exact same steps where initial resistance and escape attempts got replaced by teary eyed submission. Still, more subtle, less overt attempts to escape would follow once they got the boy onto the pig farm. It was the exact same thing with Jonathan.

Thomas began to slowly but firmly disrobe Jake. The feeble resistance from the boy broke easily to the hydraulic pull of muscular adult arms. Dominic also helped Thomas undress Jake. As usual, they ignored his pleas for them to stop.

“Kay, boy, pay attention close, y’hear. Everythin’ I do to you, you’ll hafta do to daddy Tom.”

The panther leaned down and spread Jake’s knees apart. With his skull situated between the buck’s legs, Jake simply could not clamp shut to protect his nethers. Once again, Dominic could do as he pleased with Jake’s young penis. Additionally, Thomas held the bunny’s back, eliminating the boy’s chance to back away.

Dominic started by gently rolling around Jake’s little grapes. Feeling around the delicate white fur, he could feel no new blood deposits which told him the wound on Jake’s coinpurse was on the mend. Nevertheless, Dominic made sure to go easy and not test the tensile strength of the perforated skin. Also, the moans from Jake conveyed a mixture of pain and pleasure, so Dominic knew not to squeeze Jake’s berries too tight.

“Heh, got yerself some real sensitive balls, dontcha? Dun yeh worry none…We’ll toughen ‘em up an’ then y’oole love having ‘em played with!”

Knowing how to get a quicker, more positive reaction from Jake, the panther teased at the bunny’s sheath opening with the tip of his tongue. He made sure not to irritate the sensitive flesh with the barbs on his tongue. Eventually, the buck’s body responded to the unconsented stimulation. If anything, Jake’s penis stood to attention much sooner than the previous sessions. Because the boy possessed a wanting amount of length, the panther did not have to deep throat the tiny prick bobbing up and down before him. Instead, he used his slobbering lips to glide up and down the short shaft. To increase the effect, he worked his paws all over Jake’s groin, paying the most attention to the little orbs. He also licked the underside of Jake’s dick with the soft, unbarbed portion of his tongue. Bobbing his head up and down, the panther brought the buck to his third orgasm. As the boy thrust his hips forward, Dominic allowed the entire package to enter his maw and just held it warmly in his mouth during Jake’s afterglow. Finally, the panther grabbed hold of the bunny’s soft bum and pulled the boy as deep into his black face as possible.

Eventually letting go, Dominic looked Jake in the eyes and summarized the session. “Did yeh get all that? Hope so, ‘cuz now it’s yer turn to suck on daddy Tom. Start with the balls…all fellers like that. Then, yeh tease the cockpouch and lick at the head. Take as much of the shaft as yeh can and let’er go in and out. Fine’lee, when he’s about to blow his load, take him in all the way. Grab’is butt an’ hold him close. Got it? Kay, now get to it.”

Pushing the rabbit’s head down to Thomas’s waiting dong, Dominic issued a warning for the sake of his partner.

“Oh, uh, jus’one thing, y’hear…no teeth. That there is the one an’ only time where yeh use it, ya lose it!”

By the end of the second can, Jake was feeling drunk enough to let Thomas and Dominic do whatever they wanted. A paw down his shorts made him whine unhappily, but he provided little resistance. This was all going to happen whether he liked it or not; it seemed almost pointless to fight it. But as the two discussed their plans and began to enact them, he just couldn’t help but struggle to fend them off.

Feeling Thomas’s grubby paws on his body, made the buck squirm and whimper helplessly. His coordination was completely gone, making a battle with the sober kidnappers a lost cause. He tried to beg for them to stop, but his words were slurred; in no time at all both of them had the eight-year-old completely naked again.

Disappointed, Jake looked down at his own naked body, his white fur completely exposed. He tried to hide his genitals, but Dominic pried them apart easily, instructing the cub to pay close attention. Despite himself, the buck did exactly as told, but more as a matter of concern than obedience.

Once the rabbit realized where this was going, he renewed his struggling, trying to back up only to find Thomas there, holding him tightly. Jake’s eyes locked onto his own nethers as he fearfully watched the panther hovering over them. Even though he’d already been through this ordeal, having the predator so close to such a delicate part of his body got his heart racing frantically.

The first instant Dominic touched his damaged sac, the cub yelped and twitched in pain. He tried to deny the pleasure that followed, focusing on the pain instead whenever than tongue passed over the wounded area, but ultimately it was futile. Whimpers gave way to moans as the rabbit writhed in Thomas’s arms.

“Y’like that, huh?” the raccoon whispered quietly into his ear.

Jake shook his head of course, but then Dominic spoke up.

“N…noo… pleash… pleash stohp…” Jake slurred, trying to blink away the tears forming in his eyes.

Even as drunk and uninhibited as he was, he knew deep inside he didn’t want any of this. But all he could do was watch as the black panther bore down on his little boyhood. Just like before Jake’s body was flooded with a funny tingling sensation that raced up and down his spine. It felt good to his little penis, and there was almost no hesitation at all in that little pink mast rising to attention. Seeing it come out made the buck blush profusely. It was so embarrassing to have his own body so easily manipulated, and by two adult strangers no less.

Jake’s past experience with Thomas licking his genitals was nothing like this. Expecting the pain of scratchy feline barbs, instead what he got was precise stimulation that in no time had his hips gyrating of their own accord. The buck whined in-between panting and moaning, occasionally squirming on the raccoon’s grip as the greasy ring-tail groomed his head.

Dominic’s bobbing up and down, along with the added stimulation from the panther’s paws, dragged Jake quite quickly into another orgasm. This time it caught him by surprise and the buck cried out, jerking sharply as the feline engulfed his little penis, accepting what little fluid the cub had to give before dropping back to the floor, panting and exhausted. Dominic still held Jake’s erection in his mouth as it twitched, making Jake wriggle as he whined.

Jake couldn’t believe the how amazing it felt this time around. The pain had been minimal and the pleasure maximized. His little body still quivered afterwards, and when Dominic suddenly deep-throated his sensitive appendage again, the buck yelped in surprise, losing a few teaspoons of urine before regaining control of his bladder. Suddenly he really needed to pee, but the panther had released him and was describing in detail what his next instructions were.

He knew and expected it would come, but when the lecture was over and his head was thrust down towards Thomas’s erect and waiting penis, the true reality came crashing down. I have to… p-put that thing in my m-mouth? Jake had to resist the urge to vomit, which wasn’t too difficult, but he still felt incredibly nauseous just thinking about his assigned task. He needed some kind of reprieve; some time to mentally prepare before shoving that raccoon’s meat into his mouth.

“W-w-wait…” Jake groaned after Dominic issued his warning. “C… Canaii go… go peepee furst…? I… I really havva go!”

Both partners looked into each other’s eyes at Jake’s request. In an instant, they both donned evil grins and nodded to each other. Thomas whispered into Jake’s ear.

“Sure thang there Jakey! An’ tell ya what, y’all can have yerself a lil satisfaction too.”

Unsure what Thomas meant, he gazed curiously up at the raccoon. Dominic leaned back and had his full belly exposed to the rabbit boy.

“Let loose on’im! Yeh heard me, boy…jus go on an’ done piss on’is chest.”

Jake’s ears wilted worriedly at the sight of the two predators’ sudden change of behavior. It looked like the two were plotting something. And sure enough, Thomas directed the buck’s gaze down to Dominic as he spread out onto his back, exposing his belly and genitals to the little boy.

Just like that? The rabbit thought. They wanted him to just pee here, on the panther’s chest and make a mess? Jake blushed deeply in embarrassment; he’d never peed in front of strangers, let alone ON someone. It was gross and disgusting, but he really had to go now. All of that apple cider he’d ingested was finally making its way down and a sore lump was forming in his gut the more he tried to hold it in.

“But…” Jake whined, reaching down to gingering cling to his own penis. “I-I’ll… Make a m… mess.”

After repeating the order to Jake, Thomas turned the boy to face Dominic. Just like everything else, Jake simply could not say no. Both kidnappers have demonstrated that under most circumstances they would deny Jake from uttering the two letter word. As the boy gripped his own penis, still partly out of his sheath, he succumbed to the need for release.

“Aw yeah, jus’ like that!” Dominic encouraged. “If this dun get ya to warm up to me, ain’t nothin’ will.”

Once Jake emptied his entire bladder onto the panther, Thomas swung him around to face him again. Placing his paws on Jake’s shoulders, the raccoon applied his heavy weight to bring down Jake. Dominic snuck up behind and helped drop Jake to his knees.

“It’s time now. Hopefully you remembered all I showed ya.”

“Yeah, c’mon now, boy. Make yer daddy Tom happy! Y’all can’ave more sweet cider when yer done.”

Again, Jake found himself face to face with the hooked coon dick.

When the cub simply couldn’t back any longer, Jake squeezed his eyes shut in humiliation as the waterworks began. Once he started peeing, the buck just couldn’t stop. He’d already gone this far now, the degradation had reached its peak. To his dismay, the rabbit sprayed Dominic with the yellow stream shooting from his semi-erect penis, soaking the panther’s black fur and dribbling onto the floor. In about thirty seconds his shameful act was over, but the memory of it was still crystal clear.

Jake wished he hadn’t opened his eyes following the event, because the first thing he laid eyes on was Dominic’s genitals, dripping with the urine that he’d begrudgingly supplied. Ears dropping to the back of his neck, the buck whined and blushed. All of this was made worse by the black panther’s encouragement of the activity.

Unfortunately, the eight-year-old rabbit didn’t have much time to stew in his misery before Thomas twirled him around and forced him back down into the rank region of his genitals. Dominic assisted by forcing Jake to his knees, which only brought the boy’s face even closer to that fleshy appendage twitching impatiently.

The time had come now. If he didn’t do as instructed there was no telling what Thomas or Dominic would do. Whatever they wanted they were going to get, whether Jake complied or not. But, if he did it himself on his own terms… well… at least it wouldn’t be so bad, right?

Still, the sight of that smelly meat hook made Jake gag. Putting it in his mouth, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to resist vomiting, even with his extra strong throat muscles. But he had to try.

With both predators watching closely, the nervous buck slowly and grudgingly drew closer to the tip of the crooked appendage. It wasn’t hard to remember everything that Dominic had done to him since the memory was burned into his brain, but re-enacting it all to the letter was going to require more courage and self-degradation than he likely had. Nonetheless, he made his move.

Following the feline’s previous instructions, Jake moved passed the raccoon’s penis to one of his saggy, hairy testicles. Grimacing at it, he closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath and took one into his mouth. The thing practically filled the space between his jaws, making it difficult to keep his teeth out of the equation like Dominic warned.

Thomas’s testicle was just a greasy and hairy as the rabbit had expected, but the taste was far worse. Jake almost gagged immediately on it before recovering enough to proceed. He moved from one sac to the other, unable to keep one in his mouth for more than a few seconds, before going over both of them with his tongue. The scratchy sensation mixed with the sour taste was enough to churn his stomach.

As soon as he could, Jake moved away from the lower region and focused of Thomas’s erection instead. It couldn’t possibly taste as bad, right?

Wrong.

Upon first contact, the distinct taste of stale urine and poor hygiene assaulted the buck’s senses. Knowing he had to bite the bullet though, Jake wasted no time in taking as much of that hook into his mouth as he could. He gagged at first, but eventually he was able to settle into a somewhat rhythmic motion of sliding it in and out, but much as he tried, his teeth kept grazing the raccoon’s flesh. Jake’s jaws kept twitching with the urge to bite, to show some sign of defiance, but a quick peek at Dominic nearby squashed those thoughts. Instead, he focused entirely on providing Thomas with as much perverted pleasure as he deemed fit.

As he worked, he rolled his tongue awkwardly, trying to mimic the way Dominic had done it, but it was too difficult. The worst part of all of this now, was that there was still more to come; in particular, a finale that Jake wasn’t looking forward to in the least. The anxious buck half expected Thomas to pee in his mouth instead; such a thing would surely drive the rabbit insane.

As Jake nosed the raccoon's crotch, the crooked penis jostled. Just having the young boy's cute and innocent face up close to his hairy, greasy male parts made Thomas moan loudly with excitement. He felt as though he could easily have blown his load right into Jake's face without added stimulation. The hot, nervous breath displacing the hair on his balls felt just as good as sex. When the moist bunny nose and lips landed on the surface of Thomas's scrotal skin, the raccoon gritted his teeth and groaned his approval.

Precum already oozed from the tip of Thomas's peculiarly shaped glans, but his cock stood higher as the boy took one of his gems into his mouth. Jake was clearly inexperienced and his mouth capacity quite small. Every so often, Thomas did feel the rigid surfaces of teeth against his squishy gonad, and his scrotum reacted by trying to retract the organ back towards his groin. Still, Jake's sucking kept the ball inside his mouth. Although a little nervous, Thomas still felt waves of pleasure between his legs that raced to his procyonid brain like the most intense of drug rushes.

The pleasing of one of his balls lasted only briefly, but the other nad soon received the same loving treatment as the other. Jake, unable to take the full coon pouch into his mouth, had to take one ball at a time. Once again, the other nut responded similiar to the other, as though it felt fear on its own accord. Thomas knew he placed a great deal of faith in the buck by entrusting such a fragile and easily harmed part in the boy's mouth. At least the pleasure outweighed the fear. Plus, Jake only held Thomas's sac for a moment just as brief as the other half of it.

Without any further ado, Jake took in Thomas's penis like a true oral novice. The buck didn't perform any ritual, by tongue or lip, before he allowed the raccoon meat to enter his maw. Thomas would have preferred it if Jake teased the tip of his dick a little bit, so he figured he'd have to teach Jake the finer points of fellatio. What did he expect from an eight year old anyways? Besides, the inexperience was something Thomas delighted to remedy in every kid. He derived fun and pleasure from turning virgin children into master cocksuckers, and Thomas employed action and example as the preferred means of instruction.

Thomas grunted and moaned mainly in ecstasy, but partially in concern as well. Jake's inexperience showed itself in the form of teeth scraping against the sensitive flesh of Thomas's cock. The boy failed numerous times to pay mind to Thomas's shape. Because of the hook shape of his dick, the tip glided head down along the boy's tongue, but the upper portions of the shaft arch grazed over the buck's upper teeth. Furthermore, the boy did not take into account his disproportionately large front incisors, so the side of Thomas's shaft also rasped along stone hard enamel.

Pumping into Jake's mouth elicited a mixture of pleasure and pain in Thomas's penis, and he got quite nervous as a result. Those incisors firmly planted in Jake's jaws could really do a number on anything that got between them. It had Thomas wondering, would the boy dare to bite down despite the warning issued by Dominic? The thought sent chills down his spine because Jake could do a great deal of damage, possibly even depriving the raccoon of his appendage. Moreover, he worried about the consequence to Jake if he ever dared to inflict injury on either himself or Dominic. He knew well enough that one bite would change his life, but it would immediately end Jake's life. Dominic, equipped with sharp teeth and claws, would kill Jake in the worst way possible by ripping the boy apart just like the pigs did to Jonathan. Thomas wanted neither outcome to come to bear.

"Uh, easy there, son...easy." Thomas whispered.

"Ev'ythin' a'right there, partner? You ain't feelin' teeth is you?"

"Nah nah, it's good, Dom. Boy's jus' a lil' rusty is all. He'll git better."

Dominic did not look convinced and he placed a paw on Jake's head, right between the ears. The panther snaked his fingers through the white head fur, ready to pull back on Jake's head if Thomas winced even once. Surely, if Thomas did confess to feeling teeth against his dick, Dominic would carry out the threat he made to remove Jake's teeth. 

Right now, as with every sexual act so far and all that would follow, Jake's compliance rested on instilled fear. Not since Jonathan did both predators have to ensure obedience through striking terror into the very core of a child's being. This was unlike every temporary fling they kept throughout the years. With the other kids, they just muscled their way into unspoiled pants and panties. Such traumatic treatments left the kids in a state of panic, and panic was different than fear. Both Thomas and Dominic were smart enough to realize that panic results during an extremely unpleasant situation, whereas fear is felt over the expectation of an extremely unpleasant situation. When the other kids panicked, abusing them, raping them, and completely controlling them came easy. None of them thought straight or acted effectively when feeling panic, but feeling fear on the other paw...

No different than any other living thing since the beginning of life, dealing with fear usually meant getting away or fighting back. Jake tried the former once already and failed. Yes, the latter option still availed itself to the buck. He could very well clamp down on the organ that invaded his mouth, but Thomas and Dominic knew well enough to expect a possible fight. To quell Jake's natural urge to fight back, they had to firmly imbed the fear of their wrath into the buck's young mind. All kids were highly susceptible to this type of fear, which made controlling them so much easier. 

An adult, more emotionally and physically capable, could better overcome the fear of retribution because of a chance at winning in either a fight or flight. The raccoon girl way back when did a real number on both Thomas and Dominic, but no kid ever did. The partners understood, possibly better than most, that in a scenario of adult versus child, it was always lose-lose for the child. Physically inferior, Jake could neither fight back effectively nor get away because both actions would result in death. Jonathan had to learn that lesson the hard way, and most certainly Jake caught wind of all the conversations involving the ill-fated fox.

Considering everything, Thomas felt a little more comfortable with his dick inside Jake's mouth, even as it came close to all those teeth. Additionally, Dominic's proximity and hold on the buck's head most definitely would stop anything potentially regrettable. Also, Thomas shoved his cock more so to the side of Jake's mouth and further in to better avoid the teeth. Dominic lent some assistance by pressing his palm into Jake's skull to get the boy to push forward. The panther would release pressure to allow Jake to pull back again, and then push him forward again just as quickly. His hold on Jake's head was to prevent resistance to sucking off Thomas and to remind him not to try anything stupid.

Since Thomas had his part in possible harm's way, he decided to take measures to increase his comfort levels. Threatening Jake again might do the trick, but Thomas thought the idea poorly advised. If Dominic suspected even for a second that Jake used his teeth, the panther would probably drag the boy outside and bust all his teeth out with a rock. Thomas prayed Jake would not do anything dumb because he really did not want to see the boy maimed or killed.

"Yer doin' great, boy...I'm almost there, so jus' keep goin' like that. I trust ya, Jake" After Thomas appealed to Jake's conscience, he now allowed himself to slip completely into bliss.

"Lemme know when yer there, partner."

"Yeah, sure thing, Dom."

Thomas bucked his hips now, and it didn't take much longer for him to cum. He called out his dick eruption and Dominic responded by pressing Jake's head forward. The panther did not allow the struggling buck to break free until he swallowed what Thomas deposited at the back of the bunny's throat. After hearing a muffled gulp, Thomas withdrew his penis from Jake's mouth. Before the boy could upchuck from all his gagging, Thomas reached under Jake's shoulder's and held him tight to his chest in a firm hug.

"Aw, thank yeh boy! Thank yeh." Thomas said softly into Jake's ear and kissed his cheek. Setting him down, Thomas opened another can of cider. He reached an arm around Jake's back while he brought the open can to the rabbit's lips. Basically, he got the buck to drink as he would for bottle feeding a baby.

"A'right, time fer you two lovebirds to get some shuteye. I'll keep watch till yahs fall asleep."

"Right Dom. G'night buddy."

The panther got up and headed back to the front of the van. He pulled a lever to let the seat slide back and kept a sharp eye on the rearview mirror. Thomas, happy to have had Jake give him head still felt like giving one final warning. The raccoon whispered into Jake's ear.

"Heh, bet y'all wanted to bite down, din' yeh? I mightta done the same, but only if I thought the fella doin' it din' love me. Jakey, darlin', I love yeh boy. I wanna keep ya ferever, yeh hear. But yeh gotta watch them teeth. Ya dun had me worried that yeh might, y'know, hurt me. If ya took mine, I'd hafta take yers, and then Dom there would go on ahead and kill yeh. I don' want that. I can't keep ya ferever when yer dead, now can I? Oh, and uh, make sure y'all keep them teeth off of daddy Dom's love-stick, 'cuz I 'fraid he'd go and bust them pearly whites outta yer head. Don' want that none either! We want ya pretty jus' the way you is, ferever."

Thomas again embraced Jake tight and then forced a wet kiss right on his mouth. Meanwhile, Dominic jerked off in the front seat to slake his own excitement over the recent activities. Holding Jake's paws in his for a moment, passionately gazing into the buck's eye's, Thomas guided Jake to the floor.

"Lets say you and I gets ourselves some sleep. Don' go doin' nothin' crazy like last night! I might not be able to stop daddy Dom from beatin' yeh."

Having Thomas’s penis in his mouth was awful. It smelled bad and it tasted bad. Jake had never eaten meat in his life, and if it were anything like this, he’d keep it that way. There was nothing enjoyable about this activity at all. Trapped in the stinkiest part of the raccoon’s body, every breath was a struggle to keep from gagging. The hooked flesh in his mouth slid side to side like a dead piece of meat, making Jake shudder in disgust.

It was difficult not only to keep to his appointed task, but to follow the instructions and warnings he’d been given. He tried his hardest, purely out of fear, but he couldn’t help his teeth scraping against Thomas’s erection. He cringed every time he made contact, fearing that Dominic would find out and potentially remove his teeth.

For a while, as the buck worked, he had to judge the quality of his actions based on the noises Thomas made, crude and embarrassing to his ears as they were. He just couldn’t believe he was being forced into sucking on the raccoon’s penis like it was a pacifier. It was beginning to top the list of humiliating things the two predators had put him through since kidnapping him. But… if it kept him alive…

Thomas suddenly whispered to him, telling him to be careful. The rabbit stopped abruptly, stiffening with fear as Dominic spoke up immediately. The raccoon reassured his friend, but before Jake could gingerly continue, he felt a paw press against the back on his head, right between the ears. The shock made the eight-year-old nip at the felt in his mouth, but Thomas hid the pain.

Still rigid with fear, almost all of the work was done by the black panther now. The only move Jake made was to pull away as far as he could whenever Dominic forced him into practically deep-throating Thomas’s hooked appendage. This new tactic, with the coon’s penis slid in and out beside his incisors, made the cub whine pitifully. He’d preferred doing this himself, on his own terms, but the two kidnappers’ untrusting nature had the feline pumping the buck’s head up and down rhythmically.

The raccoon issued some encouragement, but it felt empty, even with him saying he trusted him. It was obvious Thomas only felt secure now because Dominic was doing all the work. The panther worked Jake’s head over the curved penis like a sex toy. Unfortunately, it was very effective, because only a short while later, the raccoon announced his release and suddenly the buck’s head was forced down over the throbbing erection in his mouth. Jake squealed loudly in displeasure as it was shoved deep into his mouth, but it quickly turned into cries of panic as a hot, disgusting fluid gushed into his throat, causing him to nearly choke for several seconds before, out of desperation, he swallowed the vile substance.

All the while Jake struggled to pull away, expressing his plight as visibly as he could, but only once he swallowed did Dominic release him, at which point the buck lurched backwards coughing and gagging raggedly. Before he could vomit though, Thomas grabbed hold and pressed him uncomfortably against his chest, stifling his attempts to eject the fluid he’d just swallowed. He couldn’t identify it as urine, but what else could it have been?

Jake whined unhappily into Thomas’s chest as he was thanked for what was essentially non-consensual sexual intercourse. He was being thanked for being forced to suck on his penis; the buck found it impossible to accept the raccoon’s thanks. However, the rabbit quickly accepted the offer of another drink. Even if it was alcoholic, Jake was desperate for anything to wash the foul taste out of his mouth. Unfortunately, Thomas saw fit to feed it to him like he was a baby, batting away the cub’s attempts to guzzle the fluid.

Bidding the two goodnight, Dominic vacated the back of the van to sit up front, leaving Jake with his surrogate mother, who continued feeding him until the can was empty. Immediately afterwards though, the raccoon leaned in to whisper to him. Jake’s ears twitched at every other word as what Thomas said made his heart sink. These two really did want to keep him forever.

“Please… please let me go home,” Jake whined quietly; it was all he could think to say in response, even though the two kidnappers had disregarded every other pleas thus far.

When Thomas came in for a kiss next, the eight-year-old just squeezed his eyes shut and winced. The raccoon slobbered all over his little snout with a wet, slimy kiss before grabbing hold of his paws to stare into Jake’s sky-blue eyes. The buck couldn’t maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds though. As soon as he looked away, Thomas took the hint to ease him down to the floor and curled up next to him.

Jake sighed as a long wait preceded him into the night. It didn’t take more than thirty minutes for Thomas to fall into a deep sleep that led to him losing his grip on the buck and rolling onto his back, but the cub remained motionless for a while longer before shifting his head to look up at the front of the van. Tonight wasn’t as dark as before; he could see the vague outline of the windshield, the seats and Dominic’s form on the driver’s side.

Laying there in silence, unable to sleep, a question popped into Jake’s head, one he really wanted answered. With Dominic the only one awake to possibly answer, he took a risk and rose from his spot on the floor. The cub crept quietly up to the front of the van, peeking up at the feline who more likely than not knew he was already there. Of course, the cub couldn’t bring himself to speak up immediately, mostly out of fear, but eventually he worked up the nerve to voice his question.

“Did… did you… k-kidnap Jonathon, j-just like you… kidnapped me?” Jake asked quietly into the darkness.

No different than the first night, Thomas spooned with Jake as naked as a wild animal. Just having the young body next to him kept his hooked dick semi-erect even while he slept. Of course, it meant the little buck did not doze off with such unwelcomed bed company. Despite the alcohol content in his system, Jake did not pass out as Dominic hoped. Instead, he got up as Thomas flopped over onto his back, with half his dick still unsheathed.

Jake, still naked as a baby, crept up between the front seats where Dominic sat. The panther had just finished emptying his loins of another load of feline spunk, which he consumed due to lack of some other means of disposal. No doubt, the sight disgusted and offended Jake, but the buck had something he wanted to say.

Dominic was simultaneously surprised and annoyed to unexpectedly share company with Jake. Nonetheless, he decided against frightening the boy back to sleep. He patted Jake's head and suggested that he drink some more cider to help induce sleep. The buck shook his head and cautiously choked out his question. Such an inquiry shocked Dominic right to his core.

"Kidnapped? Kidnapped! We din' kidnap him, y'hear. We invited him into our lives. Look, yeh outta get some sleep. I'd rather not hafta tie yeh up again. Shit, just go an' drink more cider if yer not yet sleepy."

Jake backed away slightly, but still maintained his post eager for an answer. After a heavy sigh, the panther again responded to Jake. As long as the buck stayed awake, it meant Dominic could not get some needed rest.

"We don't talk about Johnny, y'hear? Not ever."

Still unsatisfied, the buck waited. Dominic started to reach a boiling point.

"Look!" He yelled, "that's stuff you don't need to know. Yoole find there's lots of stuff yeh don't need to know, and that's just one of them!"

The panther then grabbed hold of Jake's shoulder, quite hard. "Know this...We loved Johnny with all our hearts an' we thought he loved us back. We was wrong. No one in this world does, so yer our last chance. Now get back there, git yerself drunk, and get to BED!"

The buck shrank away from Dominic’s initial outburst, but he remained in place, both deep and thought and awaiting a proper answer. He knew by now not to incur the panther’s wrath, but it was only a question, and the alcohol had loosened Jake’s inhibitions enough to make him bolder. The rabbit wasn’t satisfied with the feline’s response; in fact it only brought up more questions. Did he consider what they did to him an ‘invitation’? If not kidnapped, how did they acquire the other boy?

Jake opened his mouth to speak, but it quickly snapped shut as Dominic sighed loudly and spoke. The buck’s ears wilted as his further questions were denied. He wasn’t ready to give up just yet though, and the black panther realized it pretty quickly, because before the cub could speak a word, Dominic shouted loudly at him.

Cringing like he’d been struck, he received the feline’s message loud and clear, but he didn’t like it. He considered moving before the cat got any angrier, but he was suddenly grabbed tightly by the shoulder. Tensing in pain, the buck’s ears quivered as Dominic issued his final statement. It sent shivers down his spine, and normally he would’ve bailed on further conversation right then and there, but there was still a question aching to be uttered, buried in the back of his mind.

“Did… did you really kill him?”

Jake’s interrogation really got under Dominic’s skin. For some odd reason, the normally timid bunny would not let up. Jonathan was still very much a sensitive subject for Dominic, especially given that the boy was right. The panther owned his guilt in Jonathan’s death completely, and having someone remind him of it infuriated him.

Because Jake did not drop it when Dominic told him to, the panther neared the brink of another insane rage. He grabbed the bottle of stale raccoon piss and splashed it in Jake’s face. As the buck went to wipe his eyes, the panther shoved the poor boy backwards, causing him fly back and land over Thomas’s legs. 

The raccoon again was slow to rouse, and his sluggishness costed Jake precious moments. Someone could easily cut off one of Thomas’s legs in the time it took him to get his fat ass up. Jake’s chance to avoid Dominic’s full fury laid on the floor like a giant slug. Meanwhile, Dominic continued his assault.

“Don’ ever talk about that! Ever! I loved Jonny more than yeh know, and I reckon you ain’t gotta clue wut that’s like! Wut wit’ya being a ig’rant Christ boy! Never touched yer own peepee, an’ yeh think sex between fellers is gross. Yeh prolly think it’s a sin, right?”

Dominic seized Jake by the throat and got right into the buck’s face. Again, he bore the same demonic look he had when he nearly ended Jake’s life.

“Maybe I was wrong ‘bout you. Maybe you ain’t the one. You ain’t as smart as Johnny, ‘cuz he knew when to let up and drop it! I should jus’ finish yeh, but I’m goin’ to give yah jus one more chance! Yer gonna sleep now I says!”

Grabbing Jake by the arm, the panther brought the buck back to the front. He also grabbed a can of cider on the way. Up at the front, Dominic grabbed the bottle of painkillers and popped the cap. Pills flew every which way and Jake could not see just how many the panther caught in his free hand. With the pills in hand, Dominic tilted Jake’s head back by pulling down on his ears. As Jake yelped, Dominic shoved the pills into the crying boy’s mouth and opened a can of cider.

“Oh…oh shit!” Before Dominic made Jake down the pills with a cider chaser, he stopped himself. He reached a finger into Jake’s mouth and fished out the pills, returning only one back into Jake’s mouth. Next, he brought Jake down to the floor and forced him to drink the cider. When the can emptied, Dominic opened another.

“A’right, drink up, y’hear. Yer gonna sleep and this’ll do it. No whining! Drink it all then get to sleep!”

Finishing up with Jake, Dominic curled into the corner and huddled into himself. Thomas did rise and was about to intervene up until Dominic appeared to drop out of his rage.

“Tom…Tommy boy…I don’ feel so good.”

Jake hadn’t really known what to expect, as his judgement was still impaired, so when Dominic completely lost it the buck was wholly unprepared for the assault. The stale urine splashed into his face, stunned him initially, making him defenseless as the black panther then pushed him backwards off his knees and onto Thomas’s lumpy body. The raccoon grunted beneath him and began to rouse, but it was a slow process.

In the meantime, Dominic, still filled with rage, came at him. He was yelling and spewing insults as he grasped Jake’s throat and choked off his air supply. The still inebriated rabbit flailed helplessly as the feline roared in his ears. He tried to beg forgiveness, but more importantly, he begged Dominic not to kill him. After his last encounter with the big cat’s temper, he expected the possibility, and even through his drunken haze it terrified him.

Fortunately for the buck, the panther’s grip on his throat relaxed and instead Dominic grasped his arm and dragged him back to the front of the van, leaving Thomas in a grumbling fit as he struggled to regain awareness of his surroundings. In the short time in took him to do so, Dominic had the cub flopped onto his back with pills in paw.

In the darkness of the van Thomas thought he was dreaming at first. It was more of a nightmare really. He’d had a few dreams already now where Dominic had tried to kill Jake again, so it took him just a little too long to realize that this wasn’t a dream. Initially he watched hazily as Dominic forced the pills into Jake’s open mouth, realized his error and extracted all but one, and then forced the child to drink another can of cider.

By the time the second can was open and being forced upon the crying cub, Thomas realized this was really happening, but before he could react or interject, Dominic’s rage suddenly died off. As he dropped Jake, the boy flopped on the floor unconscious, whether by the consumption of alcohol, the pills or just going into shock.

Worried for the boy’s safety, Thomas moved over to Jake, checking for a pulse. As he did so, Dominic spoke to him from the corner he’d retreated to. The raccoon was extremely worried now.

“Dom… Dom, what th’hell happened? Did he try t’escape again? Dom…? What’s wrong, man? C’mon y’all can talk to me, what happened?” The raccoon crept over to his friend and placed himself next to the panther, still naked as a jaybird.

All of Dominic’s rage dissipated as Jake finally succumbed to the numbing effects of his turmoil combined with drink. Thomas, although slow to rise, dropped out of defense mode fairly quickly at seeing Dominic back off of Jake. Also, he got added relief when he confirmed Jake’s vitals. The buck merely passed out and luckily didn’t die. Thankfully, Dominic did not make another attempt on the buck’s life. Still, the panther’s most recent outburst likely killed whatever iota of trust the boy developed for Dominic over the past twenty-four hours. The raccoon did not look forward to having to justify his partner’s actions yet again to poor Jake.

Thomas got right beside Dominic and made it clear he wanted an explanation. The panther actually took a millisecond to enjoy the proximity of his naked friend. Everyone said Thomas was a very ugly raccoon, but Dominic truly liked everything about the raccoon. The extra pounds didn’t bother him in the slightest. True, Thomas could afford to lose some weight, but Dominic could not picture his friend any other way, nor would he want to.

“Uh, no, Tom…he din’ try an’ escape again. He was yammerin’ bout stuff he shouldn’t. Might need yeh to explain it to him when he wakes up.”

“Wut stuff? Dom, what is you on about?”

“He was talkin’ about…him.”

“Dang, is that why you dun flipped yer shit again?”

“Fraid so, partner. Shit…I was jus’ bout ready to kill him again, but…”

“Well, yeh stopped yerself, so I guess y’all get brownie points fer that.”

“Tommy…”

The panther still huddled into himself as he looked pleading into the raccoon’s eyes. Dominic was just a kitten when last he looked so pathetic and in desperate need of help. As Thomas could recall, those were the moments Dominic suffered a particularly severe thrashing from his father. Dominic got so used to the abuse that only extreme situations would put him down like this very moment. Thomas reached a paw onto his friend’s shoulder and leaned in close.

“I is here fer ya. Talk to me.”

“Yeh remember that story I told yeh about what my daddy did to me?”

“Dom, I ‘member there was too many stories.”

“I mean that one when he came at me with the sand…”

“Oh, rights…that one.” Thomas sighed and patted Dominic’s shoulder. He again felt a strong urge to hug his friend tight.

“Well, when I was stuffin’ our boy’s face full of pills, I suddenly remembered what my daddy did to me. Y’know, Tom, it ‘ccurs to me that all I did to poor Jonathan happened to me. An’ now here I go doing the same thing to poor Jake. I don’ fuckin’ know why I can’t seem to stop mehself.”

Enough was finally enough. Thomas leaned right in and embraced Dominic tight and passionately. The raccoon was no idiot most of the time and knew full damn well that everything he and Dominic did to others happened to both of them. Dominic’s behaviour required no further explanation and there really was no mystery as to why he always treated others with such terrible vengeance. But, they all deserved it, didn’t they? They deserved it because society says it is okay to pick on the weak, but heaven forbid anyone rise up against their oppressors. Bullying the weak made both Thomas and Dominic hated, feared, and respected. Would people grant them the same level of respect if they instead directed their anger at those who gave them their reasons for such malignant feelings? Thomas would have loved to kill Dominic’s father every bit as much as Dominic wanted to, but doing so would make him a cold-blooded murderer. Society had such double standards. They love revenge stories, but seem to have a problem when victims strike back. It means the victim suddenly becomes a villain.

Then again, if Dominic continued the same trends with Jake as he did with everyone else, the poor rabbit likely would not survive long. It’s anyone’s guess how Dominic even survived, although no one would agree that neither the panther nor the raccoon completely survived. Jake was different though, because both Dominic and Thomas sensed the boy could never take up arms against anyone, regardless of whatever hurt they inflicted upon him. The boy was innocent and pure through and through, and the partners saw it just as clearly in him as they did with Jonathan. So, if Jake could never harm a living soul, what did that make Dominic and Thomas? Dominic more and more thought of himself as a monster, a dangerous monster, and one he would like to destroy. The panther wasn’t yet sure if Thomas felt the same way about himself, but all these self-actualizations would surely start to affect the raccoon as well. Maybe Jake was having an effect on them both. They really wanted to love him, properly, and get his love in return. The rabbit was, after all, their new Jonathan.
“We can make it right, Dom, we jess gotta.”

“Yeah, Tommy, we does…we does. Um, tells ya what, if Jake here asks yeh why I din’ go on ahead an’ kill him this time, yeh go on ahead an’ tell it to him straight. I think he’ll listen to ya. Well, maybe we oughts ta get us some sleep. I’ll sleep in the front, you cuddle up with Jake, a’right? G’dnight Tom.”

The panther got up and turned towards the front of the van. Before he went to his sleeping quarters, he paused for a moment and faced Thomas again. He held the naked raccoon close for several moments, just relishing the contact. Deep down, the embrace was slightly sexual, and Dominic wished he were just as naked as Thomas. He thought it would be nice to feel their nude forms pressed together, front to front. 

Consequently though, opening up to Thomas tonight was just like that day when Dominic told the story of when his dad nearly killed him. Before Dominic spoke, Thomas got naked and wanted his best friend to jerk him off. He showed a peculiar amount of eagerness that day, but Dominic, of course, wasn’t up for it. Like so much else, it was a lost opportunity.

Unbeknownst to Dominic and Thomas, shortly after his ordeal with the panther, Jake had regained consciousness. It was almost like he hadn’t lost consciousness at all. One moment he was being force-fed spiked cider and then next he was laying on his side with his back to the two, listening to them converse with one another.

Slowly recovering from the shock, the poor cub didn’t know what to make of what he was hearing. Listening to Dominic, he couldn’t help but feel sympathetic, but at the same time, the feline had nearly killed him again. If he hadn’t of stopped himself, the buck shuddered to imagine what might’ve happened.

If this was how the black panther responded to a simple inquiry, it begged the question, what would other meager signs of defiance or even curiosity earn him in retribution?

Still conscious but quickly becoming drowsy from the drugs in his system, Jake remained motionless as Thomas and Dominic discussed their past with each other. More questions than answers arose from their conversation. It made the cub curious, but at the same time scared. What were these two capable of? Even now he still couldn’t be sure. If Dominic had really killed the first boy they’d kidnapped, then what would happen to him?

Eventually the young rabbit grew too drowsy to think, at which point he lost track of time, barely noticing as the two said goodnight and went their separate ways. He felt the raccoon cuddle up to him again, that familiar paw working over his expose nether region again. The last thing he was aware of before drifting off to sleep was Thomas nuzzling into the back of his neck.

-------

Morning came quickly for the buck, but it brought with it a severe hang-over, dumping on the cub the worst headache he’d ever experienced. Upon rousing, Jake immediately curled into a ball of pain, clutching at his skull and whining loudly. His head throbbed and his ears ached at every little sound.

The whine drew the attention of Thomas who sat in the passenger seat as Dominic drove. He frowned a little at the sight of the boy struggling with a very bad hang-over.

“Hey, Dom… how much’a that cider did’ja feed the lil guy? Cuz I think yeh gave ‘im too much.”

“Well, I…prolly more than I reckon I shoulda.”

“Still say we oughta get’im hooked an’ all, but maybe we find him somethin’ softer.”

“Yeah, good idea Tom.”

The pair continued to engage in idle chit chat while poor Jake suffered in the back. Eventually, the buck worked up the courage to find some relief from his captors. As long as they held him, they were his only source of his needs. Upon hearing the boy suffered a pounding hangover headache, Thomas invited Jake to come up front and sit on his lap. Much to Jake’s chagrin, Thomas instructed him not to redress and simply sit on his lap completely exposed.

Poor Jake lacked any other option. About the only two things that could alleviate his throbbing head were some fluids and fresh air. The latter requirement would only get satisfied if Jake sat up front where Dominic had the A/C cranked up on high. Jake reluctantly squeezed between the seats, careful to avoid the panther, and got up on Thomas’s lap. Immediately, the raccoon’s appendage pressed up into Jake’s bottom. Moreover, the perverted procyonid aimed the A/C vent towards Jake’s crotch, causing the little orbs to seek refuge closer to the buck’s body. Worse yet, the raccoon could not help but feel up Jake all over, running his greasy fingers through Jake’s white body fur. As per usual, Jake’s protests were ignored.

Traveling at a steady pace through the state of Tennessee, the panther quickly became more familiar with the landscape. Dominic got a little worried with the buck up front because if the buck was smart, he’d take note of important landmarks. The city of Nashville was just a little further down this stretch of highway. Recalling his previous visit in the city, not to mention the sweet southern squirrel, Tammy, who lived nearby, Dominic figured he could again patch things up with Jake by placating him with food.

“Oh, uh, hey Tom…think our boy’d like somethin’ from Momma Fran’s Diner?”

“Hoo dang, I say that is a swell idear! Jakey, y’all like cornbread? Momma Fran makes it up real nice an’ it’ll take off that ol’ hangover of yers.”

Dominic took the next exit off the highway and into Nashville. In preparation for treating Jake to some genuine southern cuisine, Dominic pulled out the last rock from the steering wheel column. He couldn’t have Jake screaming for help and drawing the attention of the locals, so conking Jake out with more crank would surely keep the boy silent. Naturally, the bunny cringed at seeing the drug. Dominic just about ordered Thomas to prep the crack until he recalled his financial situation and, surprisingly, took note of Jake’s reservations.

“Aw, shit…Gotta be one or the other. Shoot, an’ I really wanted to take a hit off of this too.”

“C’mon, Dom, it’s only one rock. I sure could use a hit too.”

“Yeah, but if I treat our boy…Juan’s already gonna be pissed as it is.”

“Right…sweet Jesus, what is we gonna do ‘bout Juan’s stuff? Gotta plan yet there, Dom?”

“We jus’ hafta pray he picked up all his stuff an’ is right ready to give us another shipment. I’ll just tell Juan to take the shortcomin’ outta the next storage fee.”

The raccoon nodded in agreement, but worried at the same time. “What if Juan ain’t pick up his stuff yet? What if he’s savin’ it fer a big purchase?”

“I don’ wanna think about that, Tom. Juan don’ fuck around, so we could’ave our necks on the line. Hope fer the best, partner.”

On the final approach to the little local diner, Dominic pulled into a quiet little park some ways away. He didn’t want to get too close to where all those patrons might hear Jake’s squeals for help, so the secluded area would have to suffice over drug-induced silence. Of course, Dominic would have to walk to the diner, but he didn’t mind. Because he feared Jake might still be angry and fearful of him, he got Thomas to find out what Jake wanted.

“Gotcha. Back in a jiff, a’right. Oh, uh, Tom…while I’m gone, maybe you and Jake could, uh, y’know…have a lil’ fun the way we used to.”

“Yeah, sounds good, partner! Right, I’ll keep’im good company. We’ll have ourselves too much fun fer him to make any noise.”

Thomas brought Jake back into the confines of the cargo area as Dominic headed off to the diner. Obviously, Jake looked less in the mood for anything sexual compared to normal. The physical exertion would not bode well on his headache. Unfortunately for him, neither Thomas nor Dominic would ever take no for an answer. As such, Thomas again got naked and ready for action.

“Right, boy, y’all gonna learn an important lesson: Makin’ another feller feel good while he makes yeh feel good. If yer good, y’all can have most of the cornbread. If not, well, I think y’all know wut’ll happen! Yer sure is lucky Dom din do you in again…oh? How come? Well, uh…”

Only five minutes into being awake, Jake was already in agony. His entire head was buzzing and throbbing to the point where his blunted claws digging into his scalp felt like relief. Eventually he just couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t know what had caused this, but he realized his two kidnappers knew based on their conversation; apparently in was the cider, or rather what was in the cider.

Whining in misery, the little buck struggled to work up the courage and energy to move from his spot on the floor of the van, over to the two predators in front.

“M… My head hurts,” he whimpered pleadingly to Thomas; he made an effort not to look twice at Dominic, and in fact tried to pretend he wasn’t even there. He still felt his hackles rise in the feline’s presence though as the raccoon instructed him to sit on his lap.

Jake turned away at first to get dressed, but a paw grasping his arm stopped him. Thomas told him to stay naked, causing the cub to swallow nervously. He couldn’t really say no. These two were really the only ones who could help him, and disobeying wouldn’t get him anywhere.

Moaning unhappily, the eight-year-old grudgingly complied, creeping cautiously into the front of the van, avoiding Dominic as much as he could. Even before he was settled into Thomas’s lap, he could feel his cheeks burning. Out in front he could see everything, the road, other cars and large fields and farms to either side. Instinctively, out of embarrassment, Jake squeezed his legs together and crossed his arms over his chest, shivering as the AC was directed at his privates.

He didn’t know what was worse, the unnerving lump prodding his backside through Thomas’s pants, or the fact the raccoon decided now would be a good time to molest him by dragging his greasy mits all through his already grungy, dirtying fur. He used to have a nice white coat, but now, after just a few days in the paws of these perverted creatures, his body was tarnished and splotchy, speckled with bits of twigs and leaves and covered in knots and crusty spots from all the molestation he’d endured.

“P-please stop…” Jake whined quietly, his head turned to one side as he stared out the windows miserably; it was almost just a formality now to complain. Neither beast showed any sign of ever abiding by the buck’s wishes. “My… my head hurts… please, stop.”

As the van progressed down the long winding highway, Jake continued to gaze out the window, trying and failing to ignore the raccoon’s paws as they eagerly probed his body all over. He didn’t notice at first, but at some point, another vehicle had pulled alongside the van, keeping pace for a while, and in the back-seat was a little boy puppy and his sister. The boy was staring at him.

Jake’s eyes locked with his for a moment before dropping in shame and humiliation. He squirmed in Thomas’s grip, trying to hide the fact he was naked and being abused, but luckily for him, the van’s height to the car beside them afforded him enough privacy to leave the other cub woefully unaware of what was really going on. In a way, he almost wanted to boy to know, in the faint hope he might tell his parents, causing them to call the police and eventually save him from this awful fate.

He raised a paw to the window, looking at the two puppies for a moment, but Thomas promptly pulled his paw away and shifted position to prop an elbow up on the door, effectively breaking eye-contact between the cubs.

Sighing sadly, Jake turned to face the front again, clutching at his still aching head as both kidnappers started chatting. They spoke of acquiring something to eat at some diner, with Thomas addressing the buck, but he didn’t respond. Instead he sat quietly in misery, only showing he was still aware when he caught sight of Dominic pulling more of that foul drug from his little hiding place. The buck stiffened and trembled as the panther spoke of using it again.

With how awful Jake felt right now, breathing in more of that noxious smoke was the last thing he wanted. And surprisingly, Dominic seemed to register his displeasure and opted not to commit to it, though seemingly for very different reasons. The two creatures fell into conversation about some man named Juan and them owing him. He didn’t understand much of it, but it sounded worrying. And if they were afraid, Jake felt he should be too.

When Dominic finally arrived at their destination, pulling up into an empty park, Jake’s uneasiness grew. The panther turned off the engine and got Thomas to coax a meal order out of the buck. Even as hungry as he was, the only thing Jake could think of was his usual preference of a garden salad with everything.

“Um… b-but… no broccoli please…” he finished quietly, whispering his order into Thomas’s ear.

After relaying the order to Dominic, Thomas watched him leave before carting Jake back into the rear of the van. Much as he was relieved to be out of sight again, given his current lack of attire, it came with much anxiety as the raccoon expressed plans to ‘play’ some more. Seated on the floor, the eight-year-old watched worriedly as Thomas disrobed again, turned away in embarrassment as the pants came down.

As Thomas spoke to his, Jake’s anxiety increased. The raccoon described the task to be performed and subtly threatened him with Dominic’s wrath again. It was a threat that worked, but the raccoon carried on this time, stopping just shy of explaining why he didn’t try to kill him this time.

“I-i-i-is it… because of the... t-the sand…?” He asked quietly, hugging his little naked body close but refusing to face the raccoon.

Jake’s astuteness caught Thomas off guard. How did Jake know about the sand? Didn’t he pass out last night? Well, whatever the case, Thomas had Dominic’s permission to help the buck understand the odd behaviour endured last night. The raccoon was just about ready to wrap his fingers around Jake’s little dick and force the buck to wrap his fingers over Thomas’s waiting dong. Instead, he grabbed under Jake’s shoulders and hoisted the boy back over his lap, preparing to tell the story.

“Okay, I’ll tell y’all what happened, but yeh din’ere it from me, got it? When Dom was still a kitten, same age as ya, his daddy dun hurt him like never b’fore. His daddy always beat’im, but that night was different. It was a hot summer night an’ Dom played with’im some of them action figgers. His daddy thought they was dolls, but they jus’ ain’t. All us boys play with them things…don’cha? Well, I guess’is daddy thought he was goin’ all queer an’ such. Dom’s dad was drunk as a worm inna rotten apple that night. Since he thought his son was goin’ all sissy on’im, he dun ran over to Dom, pulled back on his ears, and jus’ started shovin’ pawfuls of sand down Dommy’s gullet.”

Thomas tried to give Jake a visual by grabbing at nothing on the floor and ramming it down some imaginary figure’s throat. The raccoon was sure to emphasize the violent nature of the event, just as Dominic had explained it all those years ago.

“Y’all heard me right, Jake…his daddy just kept a shovin’ sand in poor Dommy’s throat, and he din’do it all that kind like. Jus…it was…it was really hard. Made Dom’s gums bleed an’ even knocked out a tooth. I think Dom ended up swallowin’ that tooth. Anyhoo, as Dom told me, his daddy then chased all that sand down by forcin’ him to drink sum whiskey. Then, he dun went and shoved more sand in Dom’s face. When Dom tol’ me his story, he said all he thought was, ‘this be it, after all that’s happened, my daddy is a goin’ do it. He’s fin-lee gonna end my life right here, right now.’ But Dom din’ die. Stead, he spent the rest of the night pukin’ up sand, blood, whiskey, and snot. Y’all oughta know that din’ get it all out. It uh…it sure did a number on his guts. Dom can gobble down more food than me, but he ain’t never gain a pound. It’s ‘cuz his guts is ruined…”

To an eight year old, the story Thomas just told was beyond horrifying. Speaking of the terror, the event as it played out would probably in fact make for a very horrific movie that would scare the daylights out of adults and children alike. Moreover, Thomas told the story so calmly as though this sort of thing was normal. The tone of the raccoon’s voice spoke of an unspoken perception of reality, “This is just how fathers raise their kids. Didn’t you know? Why are you looking at me with such horror and disgust in your eyes?” Indeed, Thomas was no stranger to domestic abuse either, but his scars were more of the emotional variety. Dominic had physical damage that had twisted and contorted his feline frame. Unbeknownst to Jake, the panther’s body told more stories, more accurately than all the words in the world.

The raccoon didn’t allow Jake to process everything before continuing. “Y’know, when Dom told me this story, I was just as naked as I is now. And you is naked jus’like he was too. We was jus’gonna have ourselves a lil’ fun, y’know…”

Thomas fiddled with Jake’s sheath to demonstrate the memory. Despite Jake squirming around, the raccoon just molested Jake nonchalantly as though it were completely okay. The raccoon, after all, was just telling a story and thought it acceptable to have a visual aid. When he and Dominic were cubs, they could just simply casually grab hold of each other’s privates. They trusted each other, and grabbed gently unlike others had done. In Thomas’s mind, he breached no proprietary boundaries with Jake. Besides, just like chasing after that first crack high, fondling little boys brought Thomas back to the high he felt holding Dominic’s parts. Thomas often wished he and Dominic were both cubs again. It would likely have proven interesting what they could do for each other applying all the sexual knowledge they gained over the years on each other. Considering how much they both liked children, perhaps if they had such a moment together when they were children themselves, then maybe…just maybe…

“Yeah, jus’ like that, y’know. Complete-lay normal for boys who is friends. Yeh ever touch yer buds like this? Oh, right, sorry. Keep forgettin’ you is Christian. Well, we won’t be takin’ yeh to church at all, I’m’fraid. Too many bad memories, ‘specially for Dom. Anyhoo, we was about to have a moment together, me an’ Dom, but he was all quiet and scared…kinda like you sometimes. Then, he told me. I din’ know what to say. I din’ know what to do. I thought of a couple things, but ny-ther of them happened. I wanted to kill his daddy for whut he done or maybe runaway with Dom. Heh, we coulda lived it up like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn! Well, I did all I could do…I hugged him. Sure wish a hug really could take away all the pain, but it don’t…”

What Jake didn’t realize, Thomas was disclosing far more information than what Dominic would have allowed. Unfortunately, the things Thomas spoke of should by all rights get said around a professional, not an eight-year-old rabbit boy. On the other paw, even Jonathan got to hear Thomas’s outpouring, but most of it wasn’t so…intimate. Thomas granted Jake something literally no one else ever received – a window into their tainted, fading souls.

“Y’know, one time, when Dommy was five, he told his daddy that he loved him. Know how his daddy told him he loved’im back? By shovin’ Dom down a flight of stairs. Honestly, I seem to recollect seeing a new wound on Dom everyday we played wit’each other like this. One time, he tried to get help from some neighbours, but they just say to him ‘get lost, blackie, or we’ll get The Clan after yeh!’ Y’know, The Clan…ain’t y’all never hear of the Ku Klux Klan? They kill guys like me and Dom jus’cuz of what we is and what we look like. So, even if someone coulda helped, no one did. Oh uh, and there was this one time…”

The unauthorized biography on Dominic’s life ceased when the panther flung open the driver’s side door and started loading in foodstuffs. Dominic had quite a surprising load of goodies, all of it smelling intoxicating, so Thomas had just a little more time to explain things to Jake. The raccoon brought Jake off of his lap, set the boy on his knees directly in front of him, held his paws, and got right up close to Jake’s face as he whispered.

“Now listen, Jake…if this is gonna work, y’know, havin’ y’all in our lives, yeh gotta make sure you don’t piss off Dom anymore, okay? Never talk ‘bout this stuff, ‘cuz yeh know now it jus makes him angry. And never, I tells ya, never talk ‘bout Jonny. Ever. Jus’ sayin’ that name makes me wanna cry, but puts Dom over the edge. Fin-ley, when Dom does have his moment wit ya, careful not to put yer paws on his junk. I know it ain’t sound fair, but I’m the only one Dom’s ever trusted like that. I dun’wanna see yeh get hurt, Jake, ‘cuz I loves ya. I love yeh like I ain’t done before. These tips’ll save yer life an’ Dom will treat y’all nicely. I’ll tell ya more later.”

“Tom, whatcha talkin’bout?”

“Oh, uh, jus’ givin’ our boy some tips on how to, uh, y’know, do things right.”

“Din’you two have yerselfs any fun?”

“Aw, heck, it’s always fun wit’ our angel boy, but y’know, wit’im being Christian an’ all, he’s got alotta practice need gettin’ done.”

“A’right. Well, I tells ya that Franny sure is one true Southern belle! Sweet lil’ lady. Alls I paid fer was Jake’s salad an’ the cornbread. The pork chops I gots fer free, an’ an extra loaf of summa her fine cornbread!”

“Y’all got us some chops!?”

“Rights I did, partner. She’s got herself a listin’ of folks she gets her stuff from, an’ I recognized my Grandpappy’s name. Heh, I ain’t stupid, so I din’mention my relation, but says I knew him. Fer that, she gave me this here baggy of free chops! ‘Bout half a dozen, I reckon.”

“Fresh chops? Half a dozen? Ho, dang!”

Dominic passed back all the goods to Thomas, less three pork chops from the bag. Each slab of meat was well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Thomas would have paw fed Jake again, like a baby, but the fat raccoon’s stomach growled for some fresh meat. Passing Jake his salad, Thomas quickly sank his teeth into the meat and murred in pleasure.

“Oh yeh, this is our stock alright! I’d know that taste anywhere. This tells me we is right close to home.”

“That’s right,” Dominic said with a mouthful of masticated pig. “Here that, Jakey? We is almost home.”

“Mm, Jake, y’all gotta try this. It’s from our farm.”

The rabbit didn’t respond to kindly to the smell of meat. In fact, it caused him to gag. Thomas did not want to clean up chewed up salad vomit, so he quickly replace the helping of meat with some cornbread.

“Well, we’ll git yeh on pork in no time. Fer now, have some cornbread. This stuff is like a food group all unto itself!” The raccoon also took a sip of a large to-go cup of lemonade before offering it to Jake. “Oh yeah, that there be the real stuff! Try some, Jake. That there ol’ fashioned lemonade is jus’as Southern as this here cornbread. We sure does know howta eat here, so y’all never go hungry.”

By the time Dominic returned, Jake was speechless, numb even. He could barely comprehend the horrific story Thomas had just told him. Just hearing it made him wish he’d never asked in the first place. During the entire thing he felt ill, twitching and cringing as the raccoon described the awful experience the panther had endured. Forced to listen to what seemed like the entirety of his kidnappers’ crooked history together, it took more effort than usual to keep his stomach down.

Jake had ingested sand once by accident. He’d been in the park and there had been a big fuss by his parents when the found out. Just that little bit passing through his insides had left him in extreme discomfort for the next twenty-four hours, but his organs had passed through it unscathed.

To imagine what the black panther had suffered, mouthfuls upon mouthfuls of the gritty substances crammed into his belly, with the sickening mix of alcohol… If Jake didn’t already have white fur, he’d have looked pale after such a story. Even as it was, he was too shocked at first to realize Thomas had moved on, describing how he and Dominic played with each other.

The eight-year-old’s blank gaze slowly dropped to where Thomas was fiddling with his little privates and suddenly refocused. Whining in protest, Jake squirmed in his molester’s grip, making wordless pleas even as the raccoon continued. And then he heard that word again. Christian. Neither the cub nor his family ever had any religious affiliation. He’d gone to cub scouts and the like for a while, which had taken place in churches, but he’d never prayed or read a Bible. Perhaps if he had, he’d have been a little more informed of the cruelty in the world.

Having these two beasts keep calling him a Christian because of his revulsion made him angry. He wanted to tell them off, but out of fear he remained silent. If them thinking he was prudish kept them from harming him in worse ways, perhaps he could live with it.

The rest of Thomas’s story Jake tried to ignore, but he couldn’t help but listen. He didn’t know whether to pity Dominic or fear him even more. After everyone the feline had been through, to be the way he was now was frightening. That feeling Thomas had described his friend as having witnessed, was the same feeling Jake had already experienced twice now. He didn’t want to feel it again.

By the time Dominic interrupted the story, all of the details were running together, and the only thing standing out the most was how horrible a past the two had lived, and now planned to share with him. The prospect of a future even remotely like that which Thomas and Dominic had been through was almost enough to make Jake lose control of his bowels.

Thankfully though, the story did end, and Dominic returned just in time to save the cub an embarrassing mishap. At this point, Thomas repositioned him and held him close to deliver his warnings, to which Jake nodded fearfully in response. He retreated the instant he was let go and backed all the way up to the rear of the van, hugging himself tightly as his mind continued sifting through the information that had been dumped on him. Eyes wide and his body shivering, it was clear that Thomas’s words alone had struck a new kind of terror into the boy.

Jake didn’t acknowledge the two predators, even when the raccoon passed him the salad. He just picked it up and held it close, waiting until he had the stomach to eat it. He very much wanted to, but he wasn’t certain he could without vomiting. The rabbit felt so ill that it could happen, and the offer of foul-smelling meat didn’t help to sway his nausea.

When Thomas eventually offered Jake the lemonade, he failed to respond. The buck kept his head down, staring at the salad in his lap. He was so unbelievably hungry right now. If not for the raccoon’s little story session, he’d have been digging in with helpless abandon, but now he just felt too sickened. Lemonade was the last thing he could stand to ingest. He had to wait, let the information sink in and try not to go crazy at the thought of Dominic repeating with him what had happened to himself with his father.

Odd, but the way Dominic carried himself as he brought back the food was so…routine. It all seemed as though the three of them were already like a normal family. At the very least, Thomas certainly felt everything was fine and normal now, especially considering he just revealed a very personal story about Dominic to Jake. Neither Thomas nor Dominic had even the slightest clue what constitutes normalcy, but they at least had some ideas. After all, don’t real families know everything about each other? Thomas felt no anxiety over telling Jake a story that would throw the panther into insane rage if anyone else asked. It more or less seemed official now: Jake was now one of them, even though the sickened buck huddled in the corner.

Thomas paid no mind to Jake’s revulsion as the boy kept to himself. Poor Jake merely held his salad, but did not take even a nibble of it. The raccoon did not consider even for a moment that the story he just told had exposed the lapine to horrors he likely never heard of before. Even some of the worst horror movies out there paled in comparison, and Jake had demonstrated that he had a very delicate constitution. Little did Thomas realize, the buck was ready to lose control of his bowels. To make matters worse for the poor buck, Jake had not even heard a fraction of what Thomas and Dominic endured throughout their childhoods. Jake may not have actually been a religious individual, but if he were, then the realization of the true brutality of his kidnappers’ lives would likely shatter his faith.

Nevertheless, Thomas continued to assume that Jake was Christian and believed the buck’s religious leanings explained his reservations against sex. Of course, the raccoon at one time wanted very much to be a believer, but his life led him to abandon all notions of faith. It was largely the sexual conservatism of most of the world’s major religions that put Thomas off. Also, considering what happened to both himself and Dominic, he very much developed an outright hatred for the church. Still, he wasn’t about to deprive Jake of his supposed belief system, but at the same time he felt no desire to accommodate Jake.

Scooching over towards the rabbit’s naked body, the nude raccoon got up very close to Jake so he could explain more rules. “Now, I hope y’all understand we ain’t never takin’ yeh to church or nothin’. Maybe we’ll gitya a bible if yeh like, but only if y’all be good.”

Setting down this new rule before Jake, Thomas felt like relating a personal story of his own. After all, Jake still didn’t eat his food despite the Thomas’s insistence. He thought maybe after a quick story that Jake’s appetite would return.

“Speakin’ of the church, when I was a lil’ feller, b’fore I met Dom, I’s got swarmed by a bunch of assholes several grades ahead of me. They caught me mindin’ my own business out in the field, started punchin’ me, and stripped off my rags. They dun did it to make fun of me ‘cuz I ain’t was this big when I was a cub y’know.” 

Thomas cupped his adult malehood to show Jake what he meant. Regardless of the buck’s level of attention, the fat raccoon continued on talking.

“I jus’ remember cryin’ and such an’ I felt so unclean and violated. So, when they dun had their way with me, I got dressed again and ran off to the church thinkin’ the preacher would help. All he did was say, ‘boy, you is a filthy heathen and you is goin’ hell fer lettin’ them boys bring yeh into sin and not doing nothin’ ‘bout it.’ I jus’ cried even more…then the preacher did what them boys did.”

Jake’s reaction made Thomas think he had to somehow end this story with a fairytale-style happy ending, if at all possible. He racked his raccoon brain thinking of how he could end this on some kind of positive note, but it was hard to remember after such a traumatic event. The one adult he thought he could trust betrayed him in a despicable manner. A quick glance over to the driver’s seat reminded him that he did, more or less, have a happy ending: Dominic. Yes, Thomas has to endure months and months of sadistic abuse, but then his true saviour came along.

“Don’tcha worry yerself none, Jake. I did get back at them boys. Me and Dom met at school an’ became friends right quick, an’ then we showed ‘em all! Hell, not only did we pound the snot outta them punks, but Dom went to Sherman’s house and drowned that lil’ dog of his! Heh, lemme tell y’all they ain’t never fucked with us ever again!”

The raccoon had such a smug look on his face as he concluded his story with a bright smile on his gruff face. He felt quite confident he offered up an excellent form of resolution. Although, he didn’t realize the buck probably thought differently. Again, Thomas tried to encourage Jake to eat. Dominic had already finished his food and Thomas hadn’t consumed much more since he initially started gorging when the food arrived. Now, Jake had his meal to finish, and again Thomas insisted he sample some of the cornbread.

“Y’all jus’ gotta try a nibble! This stuff’ere is angel food. Heya, y’know something similar happened with Dominic an’ his preacher…”

The yellow panther eyes reflected in the rear view mirror went wide with shock. Thomas violated his rule he earlier explained to Jake. Dominic had only given Thomas permission to relate one little piece of the past, but nothing else. From Dominic’s perspective, even family members kept secrets from each other and did not ever delve into the past.

“Tom, wuh the fuck you doin’!?”

When the panther diverted his eyes from the highway to face his partner, he began to lose course in his lane. Angry horns from other vehicles screamed of an impending impact. Also, the vibrations on the right side of the van meant Dominic edged precariously close to the ditch. At highway speeds, an accident would surely result in death. What started as a nice casual drive, something that felt totally calm and normal to both of Jake’s kidnappers, quickly became another courtship with calamity. The panther struggled to right the vehicle, which bounced violently from driving over the uneven pavement of the shoulder. As he gained control, things got even worse.

Another car, a red sports car, zoomed passed the van while sounding its horn. Next, Dominic saw the dreaded flash of red and blue sirens in his mirrors. Could the lapse in his driving have possibly doomed them all? Dominic prepared himself to race off into the distance. He would not surrender easily, because pulling over would reveal more than just sensitivity to his past. Thomas began to panic wildly.

Luckily, the cop cruiser zinged passed them and began to pursue the red sports car. Once more, the duo escaped a brush with the authorities. They were so close, almost in Mississippi, and Dominic did not want to risk anymore possible mishaps. He pulled off into the nearest pull out he could find and hoped the cops didn’t get their catch a short span away from where he parked abruptly.

“Yer drivin’ the rest of the way, Tom! We ain’t havin’ no more fuck ups.”

The pair switch places once Thomas, reluctantly, redressed and surrendered his spot next to Jake. Thomas got into the driver’s seat and quickly got the van back onto the highway. Meanwhile, Dominic took over trying to feed Jake, and remained clothed for the buck’s benefit.

“A’right, now yeh better eat up. Don’t let this here cornbread go to waste an’ be sure to gobble down all of yer salad. We ain’t got much greenery to offer ya on the farm, so enjoy it while yeh can. C’mon, I ain’t foolin’ round now.”

During the few minutes away from Thomas, Jake felt he’d almost regained his appetite. Then the raccoon closed the gap again, much to the little cub’s displeasure. With an audible whine he shifted uncomfortably as his personal space was invaded once again. The buck could already smell Tom’s dizzyingly foul body odor and it made his nose wrinkle with disgust. It seemed trivial, but if couldn’t even get used to that pungent aroma, how would he ever become accustomed to this new life he’d been dragged into kicking and screaming.

The only bright side Jake could see to this latest interaction was that Thomas hadn’t immediately begun molesting him again. Since holding the container of salad left him exposed, he was grateful for the raccoon’s restraint. Then, of course, Thomas started another story.

He started again with that nonsense about being a Christian, and Jake was just about ready to burst with indignant anger, but Thomas promptly shifted to a story regarding himself and an unfortunate encounter with bullies and then, subsequently, his own pastor. As the little horror story was presented, the buck’s eyes widened imperceptibly until he they were bulging and his entire body shivering.

Why?! Why was he telling him all this? Jake didn’t want to hear these awful stories about these evil men. He didn’t want to feel sorry for them. They kidnapped him! They abused him and drugged him! They’ve already taken him so far from home now, he could never get back on his own. Why was Thomas tormenting him like this?

Jake couldn’t help himself. All this psychological trauma was testing his limits. The little buck just broke down crying, covering his face with his paws as the salad dropped to the floor between his legs.

The raccoon seemed to notice his anguish and tried to make a happy ending out of the story, but it didn’t help. Still shuddering and sobbing, Jake remained unresponsive to Tom insisting that he eat. If fact, even when he started another story about Dom within ear-shot of the temperamental panther, the resulting raging and loss of vehicular control didn’t made Jake stir, except to keep himself from sliding about the rear of the van.

Wedging himself against the wheel well cover, the shocked buck stiffened, still wide-eyed and mortified, witnessing the world outside the windshield swirling wildly as the contents of the van were thrown left and right, Thomas included. The turmoil lasted for long enough that Jake eventually lost his grip and went sliding across the floor, making a half-hearted attempt to recover his salad that had already escaped to the other side.

Grabbing hold of the food, he sealed it shut and hugged it against his chest, laying on his side with his eyes squeezed shut until the van came under control again. A police siren promptly followed the crazy driving of the raging black panther, which gave Jake hope he’d be rescued for all of two seconds before dashing them again as it raced by. The cub started crying again but didn’t move as the van pulled over and the two predators switched places.

By the time Dominic had settled into the back, Jake had righted himself again and was now huddling against the adjacent corner, rocking back and forth and holding the salad against his chest like a security blanket. He was ready to snap now. After the stories, nearly dying twice, the drugs, the molestion and the near-miss car-crash, all it took to set him off was having the monstrous feline speak to him.

Jake suddenly lunged out, screaming the first thing that came to mind that had been sticking in his craw.
“I’M NOT A CHRISTIAN!” he shrieked.

Throwing both feet into the air, Jake kicked Dominic square in the head and kept swinging his legs violently, cursing both Thomas’s and the panther’s name as loudly as he could, expressing all the anguish he’d been keeping pent up the last few days.

Thomas really didn’t like the idea of having to remove himself from Jake, but understood the need to finish the journey without further incident. They have been unbelievably, and ridiculously lucky throughout the whole venture, and both of them had pressed their luck again. Thomas fucked up a moment ago, he knew it, and understood fully how it set off Dominic. He looked back at Jake for a moment while he drove, and gave the buck the sort of nod and glance that said, “See what I mean?” The raccoon failed to notice Jake reaching a boiling point.

Assuming an uncomfortable position in Jake’s personal space, Dominic in fact did nothing more than to piss the bunny off even more when he issued his command. To begin with, Jake vociferously denied his presumed religious affiliations. The passion and raw anger contained in his denial thrilled the panther. On the other paw, the outburst raised some concerns and a new set of assumptions. If he wasn’t a Christian, but just as opposed to sex like a Christian monk, why did he have such reservations against sex? Both Dominic and Thomas were absolutely convinced that Jake was a virgin in every sense of the word. They believed the buck likely never experimented with friends, not even having shown his little dick to his closest friends in what was considered a rather normal growing up activity between close friends, and he also probably had no personal knowledge of his own body. Thomas wanted to ask, but felt pretty certain of the answer already, if whether Jake had even masturbated at all in his life. Was the buck muslim?

This aspect of Jake contrasted quite strongly with Jonathan. The fox boy had a very good reason for disdaining sex because he was in fact a Lutheran Christian. So, in Jonathan’s case, it made perfect sense for him to resist inappropriate intimacies. In a way, the predators thought they were effectively liberating the fox boy from toxic ideology about sex and introducing him to physical pleasures he never experienced before.

Another difference between the two boys was Jonathan at least granted himself access to his own body, irrespective of his religious leanings. This much was confirmed the night that the fox ‘earned’ his own bedroom in the farmhouse. He was still very much a prisoner, but having his own room added at least a sense of normalcy. The fox boy thought he finally had a level of privacy and personal dignity restored; however, Dominic and Thomas had set up spy holes at multiple vantage points. Through their voyeurism, they actually did catch Jonathan masturbating, which confirmed the fox possessed at least some sex drive. Oh, the boy did cry and prayed for forgiveness afterwards, naturally, but he concluded his prayer by saying he just couldn’t help himself.

Jonathan had mentally instilled inhibitors to keep his sexuality suppressed, whereas Jake apparently had nothing to prevent him from wanting sexual pleasure, which seemed very odd. Even though the panther liked hearing Jake wasn’t Christian, on account he hated the church and thought it was nothing but a crock of lies, Thomas became quite concerned. The real possibility just presented itself that Jake had no sex drive whatsoever. 

Of course, it seemed perfectly ludicrous to assume the boy parts between Jake’s legs served as nothing more than a fleshy, furry decoration, but Thomas still wondered nonetheless. Was it really possible that Jake’s parts merely served to show everyone that he is a he, but were otherwise quite dormant and quite useless? The raccoon started to second guess Jake a little bit because a sexless rabbit would soon lose his interest.

Conversely, Dominic thought up alternative explanations for Jake’s aversions to sex. If the buck had no external influences, then all of his issues were generated internally. Dominic didn’t know precisely what, but could make some pretty accurate guesses about Jake’s condition. The panther, although convoluted, was no simpleton. He knew through his varied experiences with kids that even the youngest of children at least possessed a rudimentary hint of some kind of sexuality. In Jake’s case, if he did indeed lack even the simplest kernel of sexuality, then that made him abnormal. After all, every kid Dominic and Thomas have known had racked up way more experience than Jake, before unwillingly receiving full inauguration into sex at the paws of the two predators. 

Even the most repressed, like Jonathan, still were no strangers to their own bodies. Notwithstanding, what Dominic and Thomas didn’t understand was that the kids had a developing sexuality and they interfered with normal development. It was like dropping a calculus textbook in front of someone who had just learned basic arithmetic. Setting that reality aside, the panther and raccoon knew kids at minimum had something whereas Jake apparently had nothing, probably due to issues with his own body. Dominic’s rationalization lead him to conclude that Jake suffered from very poor body image and piss poor self-esteem, and that set his perverse fascination with Jake into overdrive.

On the sexuality front, the panther now had something in common with Jake. He too always was unsure of himself and always had very low self-image, but it never stopped him from fooling around with Thomas. Still, he imposed a very high level of suppression upon himself throughout his life just like Jake, as far as he could now tell. Moreover, he already knew Jake was the victim of bullying, and Dominic also had to contend with his own bullies. 

Finally, even for a rabbit, Jake was very poorly endowed. This likely contributed to Jake’s poor self-image even more.  Beyond thinking his own body a filthy and disgusting thing, from what Dominic thought, Jake probably never pawed himself off because it would always remind him of his wanting male size. Dominic had not already forgotten how embarrassed Jake was to get exposed. The whole affair reminded the panther of himself all the more.

In short, Dominic knew for sure he and Jake had at least two things in common: the buck clearly rejected the church and possessed many self-imposed reservations. Well, perhaps they had a third thing in common as well, but the commonality was resultant of Dominic’s actions. That much, though, he conveniently disregarded. All things considered, he burst out laughing as Jake began cursing his and Thomas’s names and striking out physically.
“Ho dang! Ain’t a Christian? Hawt damn! You done git better an’ better all the time.”

Jake thrashed, kicking his powerful legs, and landed some pretty well place hits at Dominic’s head. Strangely, he allowed Jake to get in a few hits, but did proceed to fight back. 

“Fuck yeah, that’s it! Let ‘er all out! Tired of bein’ a pansy? Not gonna take it forever? GOOD!!! Keep on a fightin’! Ughn…YES! That one’s fer me…that one’s fer Tommy over there…an’ that one’s fer that kid who picked on yeh when we picked you up. Hell, they is fer ev’ryone whose ever done ya wrong! Keep kickin’, and take it out on the whole fucking world!!!”

“Dom!?” Thomas called back, “Wuh the fuck is happenin’ back there? Shit, partner, dun kill our fuckin’ kid!”

“Kill’em? Nah, I ain’t gonna kill ‘im, ‘cuz this one is definitely ours forever! Never been more sure of anythin’.” The panther began to wrestle with Jake, attempting to pin him down. The fact Jake dared to strike out thrilled Dominic immensely. He relished every moment of the melee.

“That’s it, I is pullin’ over to break this up! Y’all gotta…”

“Tommy boy, I don’normally say this, but fuck off a moment wuld ya please? Me an’ Jake here is finley connectin’.”

Stunned, Thomas obliged his friend by refocusing on the road, dumfounded by the conflict behind him. The panther fought hard with Jake, letting a few more hits in, but also taking a few Jake managed on his own. As Dominic fought with the buck, he began to strip. The panther only had the luxury of one free arm while the other fought with Jake, so it was a slow process to disrobe. Once he did, it became obvious he was at peak excitement.

Eventually, Dominic did pin Jake down, finished with the bit of foreplay. The panther called out “yeehaw” multiple times as he pressed the bunny’s head into the floor and set his leg over Jake’s legs right at the knee joints. If Dominic tried to slip on a rubber he would risk Jake getting loose, so he instead reached for the lube. Nearly half the contents of the tube clumsily oozed all over the feline’s spine member, and he aimed it straight at Jake’s vulnerable tailhole.

“A’right boy…it’s our time now!”

The entire time Jake fought with Dominic, he screamed and shouted at them, venting all of his pent of frustration and terror. He kicked and clawed, trying to fend off the panther who seemed to just been toying with his as he laughed and encouraged the buck to continue. At first the cub was too blinded by his rage to realize he was not only playing right in to Dom’s paws, but turning him on.

Only when he resorted to throwing his salad at the black panther did Jake begin to suspect that he might be walking right into his own funeral. By this point, he was panting and struggling with every swing and kick. Dominic was allowing himself to get hit whenever the cub failed to strike him off guard, and he was far too happy with the whole thing.

Jake finally realized his error when, the instant Dom was finished with his perverted idea of ‘fore-play’, suddenly lashed out, pinning the frightened eight-year-old to the floor. By now the panther had stripped down to his own exposed erection, the sight of which filled the cub was horror. In his mind, he’d been bad again and the feline was going to punish him again. All it took was the sight of those angry spines on his twitching erection to make the boy wet himself.

Pinned to the floor by the neck, Jake began struggling with renewed purpose, and his angry words turned into begging and pleading.

“Oh-no-no-no!” he squealed helplessly. “P-please, please no! Don’t- don’t, please don’t, I’m sorry! I’m s—please, please don’t hurt me!”

Dominic didn’t seem prepared to oblige in the least, but Jake remembered Thomas was still in the front, driving the van, so instead he pleaded to the raccoon.

“P-p-please don’t let him hurt me! Please! I—I don’t want—I don’t wanna die!” he cried at the top of his lungs. 

He hadn’t been paying attention to the two kidnappers’ discussion during his fight with Dominic, but he’d been sympathetic and that was enough to see Thomas as a source of rescue, and in fact, he spoke up upon hearing Jake’s obvious distress.

“Man, this ain’t gonna work, he’s screamin’ up a fuckin’ storm, Dom. I’m pullin’ over,” he said, already beginning to do so.

The action wasn’t fast enough for Jake though. He felt Dominic was on the verge of ripping open his insides, so, in a blind act of fear, the rabbit’s entire body jerked sharply, both paws grasping Dominic’s wrist and tearing it away. The panther was quick to try and regain his grip, but before he could, the panicked cub bit down on his arm - hard. The little boy’s jaws clamped down so tight, he could feel his mouth filling with blood from the open wounds made by his own, blunted incisors.

“Tom, if yeh pull this beast over, so help me, there will be hell to pay! I ain’t sayin’ it again. Dah, fuck! He bit me! Nevermin’…I gots it under control. Heh heh heh, I reckon he is better than Johnny! This one’s a fighter.”

The panther again turned on Jake, only partially pinned now. Blood flowed freely from a fairly nasty wound on his arm, but his erection did not drop. Rather than spill over with rage, Dominic became even more enthralled with the fight, which would not cease even as he finally achieved impending, and even inevitable penetration.
“Want blood, boy? You got it!” The panther swiped his sharp claws over Jake’s back, and caused four nasty scratches that began to flow with the buck’s blood. Although superficial, it definitely got the point across and resulted in more pain for Jake. Dominic appreciated the fight, but had no intention of letting him win.

To further emphasize the point, Dominic again wrestled with Jake, both combatants as nude as ancient Greek warriors. The much stronger feline had no trouble tossing Jake around the van. By now, Jake had already voided his bladder, but when Dominic wrapped his strong arms around the buck’s midsection, something had to give. Poor Jake got thrown around the floor of the van all over his own filth. Before long, the panther again had Jake pinned back into position. He leaned over to show Jake the one good number he did on Dominic’s arm.

“Next time, git the arteries. But I wonder, if yeh killed me, what then? One helluva path ye’d be on, kid. Plan on beatin’ the piss outta that punk causin’ yah grief back at school? Maybe become all hard-ass, all the while hatin’ yerself and yer own bod, growing into a monster like us? Nah, ain’t happenin’. Yer gonna take this, like it, and start likin’ those tinglin’s down in yer crotch. Cause if yeh don’t, well, you’d better win the next fight, but jus’ think of what you’ll become. It happened to me and Tom…It can happen to you. Think about it.”

Dominic then emptied the remaining lube on his throbbing cock, and without further ado, he thrust himself into Jake’s backside. The muscles of Jake’s hole were slightly relaxed already because of the earlier loss of bowel control, and Dominic, although fully grown and quite large, did not sport a dong large enough to burst the delicate walls of Jake’s canal. Like rabbits, all felines did not possess gargantuan penises, but those spines could still do some damage if Dominic got overly vigorous, even with lube applied. 

Lucky for Jake, Dominic did not glide his member in and out, but left it firmly planted. This was still very much a fight, not a love making session. Dominic didn’t even really if he climaxed in Jake’s hole. He just wanted the sensation of invading Jake’s ass. On top of the penetration, the panther applied a hard grip on Jake’s shoulders and even leaned down at bite at the buck’s scruff. Jake lost this round, and it pleased Dominic, but losing would have pleased him just as much.

Even as Jake bit into Dominic’s arm, the feline’s blood flowing into his mouth and spilling all over his face, the buck continued to scream and struggle with his assailant. He didn’t know what to do now, his mind was running wild with terror; he couldn’t think or act beyond defending himself at all cost. The cub wasn’t even sure he’d be able to let go, but when he felt those claws digging into his flesh, he quickly realized just how much he wanted to live.

The death-grip of Dom’s arm released immediately as the eight-year-old gasped sharply before unleashing a howl of pain. Arching his back sharply he cried loudly, struggling to reach the bleeding wound while still trying to fend off the panther. Before he knew it though, the large predator was scooping him up by the waist and throwing him violently around the back of the van, to the sound of grunts and agonized cries of pain as the boy’s adrenaline quickly drained.

Jake had only fought back out of fear, now he was afraid Dominic was going to kill him. He tried to stop, even beg for forgiveness, but his rapist wasn’t going to hear it. Instead, he slammed the cub back down on the floor, knocking the wind out of his lungs and pinning him to the floor in his own urine. Jake’s sobbing was in full force now, he didn’t even want to look at the nasty wound he’d inflicted on the panther’s arm. Turning his head away, the young boy wept uncontrollably.

His head was ringing so badly from the thrashing and his own sobbing that he could barely make out what Dominic was saying, not that he wanted to hear either way. He just continued to squirm and express his misery and pain as loudly as he could. In fact, it was getting to Thomas now.

“Goddamit, Dom, don’t fuckin’ scratch him up like that, I wan’im in one goddamn piece!” he hollered from the driver’s seat.

Unfortunately the raccoon was cut off as, without so much as a warning, the panther shoved his spiny erection deep into Jake’s anus. An unearthly shriek tore out of the cub’s throat, choking off as it reached a pitch too high for his vocal cords. The buck’s back arched sharply and his entire body went rigid was shock and pain. His eyes were wide with horror as he felt every inch of the penetration into his body.

Jake suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. He gasped again and again, his body shivering on the verge of a seizure.

“G… g…. get it out, get—get it---GET IT OUT!” he shrieked, “IT HURTS, IT HURTS, GET IT OUT!”

The more he begged, the louder he got. The only bright side was Dominic didn’t proceed to rape him beyond forced entry. Instead, he reached down and bit into the cub’s neck, causing another pained howl and more begging.

“Stah! STAH! STOP, STOP! PLEASE, PLEASE STAH—AH!” Jake batted at Dominic with every ounce of strength he had left, trying to pry him off, by also trying to force his hips away.

“Goddamit, Dom! People are givin’ us looks! Knock that shit off or we’s gonna git caught, man!” Thomas weaved on the road a little as he craned his head back to tell his friend off. “Wait til we fuckin’ git home, alright?!”

“Yeehaw! Jus’shut the fuck up Tom an’ keep drivin’!”

The feline thrust his hips forward again and plunged deeper into Jake. Primarily, he just wanted to experience the pressure of himself inside and against Jake. To that end, he grasped and squeezed the buck at various points, tightly. Also, the panther tugged and pulled Jake’s fur and anywhere he could get a hold of looser skin. Eventually, he pulled the boy up by the scruff, his cock still buried balls deep in the boy’s freshly deflowered ass, and threw him against the wall of the van. Dominic sandwiched poor Jake hard against the wall, almost as if he’d absorb the buck entirely into his being if he pushed harder.

Dominic’s hips did buck every now and again, but he somehow avoided reciprocal motion up Jake’s passage. All the while, Jake somehow got spared the potential shredding action of Dominic’s spiny dick. If the panther kept pressing upward, Jake’s head would begin hitting the metal roof.

Next, Dominic threw the screaming bunny back to the floor, rolled around a few times, and soon up the opposite wall from where he was. The poor rabbit absorbed his own filth through his once pristine white fur as they rolled over his previous mishaps. Jake’s howling at many times got overshadowed by Dominic’s feral calls of vile ecstasy. The wrestling match continued until both combatants became utterly spent, and collapsed back onto the floor.

Although no longer erect, Dominic’s spines prevented him from merely slipping out of Jake. When Dominic finally disconnects from the buck, his cock most definitely will rake the boy’s innards raw. Despite the cum slowly oozing into Jake’s canal, Dominic did not actually achieve a true orgasm. Instead, his elation came from concluding a very good fight.

Thomas was glad to see it finally over, and also rather annoyed. The raccoon just didn’t know what to think and experienced a swell of emotions. Yes, he really didn’t like getting spoken to so harshly by his best friend. Also, maybe he was a bit jealous, despite wanting Dominic to enjoy Jake just as much as he did. What just happened back there? What was that all about? Rather than comment on it, even though he always had to be in the know, Thomas embraced silence. He didn’t even mention that they crossed the stateline into Mississippi.

Jake issued a sharp yelp and croaking whine as Dominic forced himself deeper without pulling out. He hadn’t thought it possible, but the intrusion actually reached further into his little body until it pressed again his prostate. The poor buck was forced into throes of agonized ‘pleasure’. It didn’t really feel good at all. In fact it hurt, a LOT! Dominic was skewering his insides until his sheath twitched and ejected a small quantity of clear fluid a few drops at a time.

The pressure didn’t go away, though. The panther kept himself all the way in, hilted in the cub’s brutalized anus. The pain was beginning to become unbearable, reaching the point where Jake was fighting for a different reason. His insides throbbed as he lost control of his bowels again, emptying the remains of his bladder and whatever his young sac could produce. 

Shuddering in pain, the buck’s anus tensed even tighter around the intrusion, his body flailing and striking at his rapist as he screamed and cried uncontrollably. He was getting incredibly desperate, but Dominic didn’t care. In fact, just to show how unconcerned he was, he grasped all over his bruised body, pulling on his fur and skin before eventually grasping scruff, picking him up and throwing him against the side of the van. 

All Jake could do was struggle and plea for forgiveness, fending off the panther as much as he could but ultimately proving his strength was gone. There was no thrusting like he’d feared, but Dominic still threw him around like a rag doll, enjoying the fight, despite the fact the buck had given up his offensive in exchange for defense. He was trying to get away now, but the panther wouldn’t let him.

Instead, the black panther forced him up to the ceiling until his head was pressed against it, then threw him to the floor painfully. Then it was back up against the opposite wall and to the floor once more, all to the wailing and screaming of the buck. It was getting to the point where his cries were drowned out by the feline’s own roaring.

Jake’s face was drenched with tears and blood, and his body was soaked in urine, even smeared with feces from the buck’s earlier loss of bowel control. He was a mess, in horrible pain, and surrounded by horrific smells and the taste of metal in his mouth.

The fight only stopped when Dominic chose to end it. Jake was ready to give up ages ago. So when the cub was finally left to lay on his back with the feline looming over him, he was panting heavily in-between open-mouthed sobbing and bodily shudders.

“P-plea-hea-hea-hease…” he whined quietly. “Please stop… please… p-please take it out… D… don’t hurt me anymore… please… Thomas…”

The eight-year-old rabbit rolled his head to the side and cried, looking like he’d been through Hell. Arguably, he had been. The worst thing about it all, was the pressure against his prostate had only let up a little, and his sheath was still trying to produce something, anything. The resulting sensation made the cub writhe in pain.

Overcome from the exertion, Dominic passed out while Jake remained attached to the panther, moaning in pain. The buck, completely drained of energy, couldn’t stop crying. When he called out Thomas’s name, it melted the raccoon’s tainted heart. He couldn’t simply leave Jake tied to the feline, so he pulled over, put on the four-ways, and slipped into the back.

He immediately reached towards the buck’s bottom, grabbed the near emptied tube of lube, and carefully attempted to extract Dominic’s dong from the boy’s rear. Every pull on the wang elicited squeals of pain from the buck and Thomas tried to ease the extraction by applying dabs of lube. The hardest part was pushing his fingers inside Jake’s taut, constricting hole to fold down Dominic’s spines.

Surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, Thomas helped Jake get his shirt back on when he finally pulled Dominic’s penis out of Jake’s ass. The buck fell limp on the floor, still crying and making it that much harder for Thomas to redress him. He was about to slip the boy’s undies back on, but Jake held below his bag moaning in pain. Thomas knew the agony resulted from Jake having had his young prostate stimulated, but not given the appropriated release.

“Darned, uh, Jake, y’all know why that is, dontcha? It’s ‘cuz ye ain’t get to blow yer load. Here, one second, I know just the thing…”

Thomas produced a butt plug from the bag of goodies he swiped back in Canada. The article wasn’t anything particularly kinky since it came from the pharmacy. It was meant more so for medical reasons, but it still sang to the raccoon’s perversion. Conversely to what he had planned, he now had to use the item to help Jake rather than bugger him with it.

“I know y’all dun wanna, but it’ll help. Trust me.”

Unfortunately, Thomas could not squeeze any more lube from the flattened tube. Luckily though, Jake still had enough lube around his anus and the plug itself wasn’t very big. As Thomas inserted it, he had to send a completely different message than before. This time, he wasn’t interested in slaking his own lusts on the boy’s rear. He really wanted to help and tried to make that much clear to allieviate the boy’s crying and expected protests. Once inserted, Thomas then put Jake’s underwear and shorts back on, but kept the shorts unzipped and guided the buck’s small penis through the peehole of his underwear.

“Sorry, ye need to keep it out. Y’ule know why in a few minutes. C’mon now…come sit up front with daddy Tom.”

The raccoon lifted Jake up and plunked him onto the front passenger seat, leaving Dominic to wallow in his glory. Before Thomas drove off, he passed Jake some of the remaining cornbread. Sadly, the buck wouldn’t get any greenery today after using it as a projectile against Dominic. The back of the van was a total disaster zone. Also, Thomas got Jake to take a sip from the lemonade, instructing him that he needed to have some fluids. Finally, he passed Jake a napkin and began to give him a set of instructions.

“Kay, now, wut y’all wanna do is hold that right at the head of yer pecker. When we is drivin’ start pushin’ yer butt into the seat over and over. Yeah, I know it’ll hurt an’ all, but trust me when I say it’ll help. Jus’ push as much as ya can. Now, it might feel like yeh gots te pee, but don’t stop it. Jus’ let’er out. When ya do, y’all feel much better.”

After telling Jake how to relieve his tensions, Thomas drove back onto the highway. From here, the farm wasn’t far away and the raccoon believed they’d get there just before sundown. He wanted to put a paw on Jake’s leg, partly because he couldn’t keep his grubby mitts off of the rabbit, but also to soothe him. But, he decided against it, figuring Jake wanted his space and already felt utterly humiliated and embarrassed. Even though it would help, Thomas was sure Jake felt nauseated over having to stimulated himself sexually just for the sake of recovery. Instead of placing a paw on Jake, he put a plastic bag full of items onto the buck’s lap.

“There. That’ll help, uh, y’know, hide yer…y’know. Lil’ privacy fer ya.”
The pain was excrutiating to the poor cub, trapped beneath Dominic’s unconscious body. He’d passed out during the assault, leaving his spiky weapon lodged deep in Jake’s rectum. The buck couldn’t stop crying or trying to get free. The intrusion wasn’t even the worst of it. Scratches and bruises had shown up all over the rabbit’s body after the fighting. His body ached all over, but his back in particular where the panther had drawn blood, still burned and throbbed, almost matching the aching of his innards.

Jake didn’t understand why yet, but his groin hurt too. It was all bunched up beneath the feline though, so he couldn’t reach it until Thomas finally pulled over the van and crawled into the back to aid him. Unfortunately that involved significant pain as the raccoon attempted to free the barbed prick from Jake’s little, tensed hole. The more he fingered it, the tighter the boy’s muscles constricted.

Eventually, with the aid of the lube, Thomas extracted the agony-inducing penis, but the pain didn’t really go away. The cub rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, clutching as his groin with one paw, and pulling his tail in-between his legs to cover his throbbing anus. All the while he cried and whimpered, laying on the floor in a shuddering ball of misery.

To the boy’s surprise, the raccoon actually helped, or rather forced him into his t-shirt a few moments after freeing him from Dominic’s lust, but Jake couldn’t stop clutching at his body, unable to reach the true source of the pain, his battered and aching prostate. Of course, Thomas noticed and seemed to know why the rabbit was in so much pain, but his solution for it wasn’t something to be desired.

Still curled up on the floor, Jake kept one wild eye on the predator as he produced the plug from one of the bags. The buck whined loudly and fidgeted as Thomas moved closer and forced his tail free so he could slip the device into his rump. A yelp and a squeak later and it was in. The eight-year-old tried to protest, but he was too weak from his earlier exertions with Dominic. So instead, he laid there, cringing around the plug in his anus as his underwear and shorts were returned to his person but left unbuttoned.

Naturally Jake tried to do them up, but Thomas instructed him otherwise, leaving his shorts tucked under his exposed sheath. The cub whined again and squirmed as he was picked up and deposited into the front passenger seat. He noticed immediately with a shrill cry that sitting on the plug drove it deeper into his body. Jake shuddered and whimpered as the raccoon offered him corn-bread and a drink. With trembling paws he accepted the bread, and obeyed long enough to take a few bites and a drink from the container of juice, but when his kidnapper explained what he had to do next, the cub became withdrawn again.

He wanted him to do what?! 

Jake stared at the napkin he was given, then lowered his gaze to his little sheath. A bit of pink was poking out, and the whole thing twitched occasionally. As Thomas continued, the cub’s ears dropped and a sickened look came over his face. Was he honestly instructing him to molest himself? For what? Relief?

Suddenly feeling sick to his stomach, the buck doubled over just after the bag was placed in his lap. He barely noticed the van moving as he went over the instructions in his head. Was what Thomas suggested supposed to help or did he just want to humiliate the cub further by demanding that he touch himself? Even with the added ‘privacy’ , Jake still had his reservations. It didn’t feel right to touch himself, especially in this scenario. He was kidnapped by two awful, insane creatures, he’d been molested on numerous occasions and he was miles and miles from home. Even as nicer in comparison to Dominic as he was, it didn’t feel like Thomas had Jake’s best interests in mind.

On the other paw, what if he was right and Jake chose to disobey only because of his mistrust of the ring-tailed felon. If it really would help, he had to try… right?

The rabbit groaned as he looked down at himself, the bag sitting in his lap. Slowly, he reached a paw beneath it and felt around for his sheath, grazing the tip of his penis when he found it. Jake bit his lip nervously as he touched it again, rubbing his fuzzy finger-tip around it.

It was difficult at first, but following the raccoon’s instruction, he pressed down in the seat, forcing the plug into his own prostate. The pain elicited a small whine, but after that, it didn’t take much to coax his little penis into a full erection. It poked into the bag as he rubbed it. His free paw gripped the seat to aid in sliding the plug in and out.

The entire time Jake was blushing with humiliation. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. As nice as it felt, it also felt wrong. Despite his doubts however, he kept at it until the urge to pee grew, just like Thomas had said. However, when he drew closer to climax he suddenly stopped, pulling his paw away and whining loudly.

“I… I can’t… I can’t do it!” he cried, panting from his exertion. “I-i-i-it’s not—not right!”

“Jakey, yeh gots to...If y’all don’t, it’ll hurt real bad the rest of the day.”

Two things indicated that Jake did not have the luxury of time to alleviate himself. In the back, Dominic began to stir and likely would not take kindly to Jake engaging in self-pleasure. Also, Thomas took a turnoff onto a dirt country road, which meant they were on the last leg of their journey. Jake definitely would not be able to soothe his ills at the farm, so just like Dominic had to at the border, Jake needed to hurry.

“Trust me. I’s know what I is talkin’ about. The preacher did the same te me when I was your age. The only way to make it better is doin’ that. C’mon, yeh gots to hurry.”

B-b-but,” Jake stammered, “I-I can’t—”

The urgency in Thomas’s voice was beginning to make the cub panic. The young rabbit was well aware of the panther starting to rouse. Even as cruel as the raccoon was, he knew Dominic better, and according to him had been through this before as well. Just hearing that much filled the little boy’s heart with dread.

After all the fiddling with himself, humiliating as it was, he still had the urge to pee, even after emptying his bladder in fear of Dominic’s wrath. Much as he didn’t want to, it seemed he had no choice, with made it all so much worse. If he didn’t do as Thomas instructed, assuming the raccoon was telling the truth, he’d be in pain all day, and after what he’d just gone through with the panther, more pain way likely to come whether he liked it or not. So it was a matter of less pain versus more pain.

Whimpering in helpless defeat, Jake slowly began to work his little prick again, using the plug inside him to stimulate his sore innards until he was near that feeling of peaking again. Biting his lip and moaning, the eight-year-old rabbit, jerked his little fingers across his penis quickly, holding the napkin where he was told to until the urge to pee was too much to contain.

With a sudden jerk, Jake stiffened and shuddered, issuing a whine as his erection twitched and spat a small amount of clear fluid into the napkin in the droplets. Gasping sharply, the cub leaned forward and grasped at himself tightly, riding the plug more effectively and fingering his little penis quickly to prolong the sensation.

Eventually though the climax subsided and the buck was left doubled over and panting, clinging to the bag in this lap as he stared at the floor. His cheeks were flush with embarrassment of the task he’d just made himself commit. It had been bad enough that Thomas and Dominic had molested every inch of his young supple body, but now he’d done the work for them. Even as pleasurable as it was, it made him feel dirty.

Hugging the bag covering his privates, Jake leaned towards the window, staring outside, miserably as trees passed by. He was already beginning to feel a little better, but he didn’t want to admit it. This had been just what they wanted.

When he saw that Jake finally climaxed, the raccoon placed a sympathetic paw over Jake’s shoulder. Strangely, Thomas got no sexual excitement over watching the buck bring himself to orgasm. Normally, the sight alone would have made the raccoon gizz in his pants, but this time was all about genuinely wanting to see Jake get better.

On the plus side, Jake wasn’t entirely loveless and his bits clearly functioned properly. Thomas did take some delight out of corrupting the few loveless types they had before, but it got old for him very quickly. For some odd reason, Jake just inherently thought the act disgusting without having some kind of religious motivation.

Dangerous thinking there, boy. The church tried to push that line of thought on everyone, and look what happened. 

Then again, perhaps, Thomas could somehow liberate Jake just like the others. But liberation from what? The raccoon couldn’t understand it and he wondered what Dominic knew that he didn’t. It seemed only natural to like sex, even when it’s forced upon, so why didn’t Jake enjoy it? Looking back, Thomas recalled masturbating since early childhood. He simply couldn’t remember a time he didn’t do it. Also, he did like it when he was touched. It was getting humiliated and bullied he did not enjoy.

Well, I’m not doin’ that to ya, Jakey…Never…I loves yeh.

In the back, Dominic began stretching. Off in the rear windows, the sun edged the horizon. Thomas drove with a little more earnest because he could finally see a familiar sight – the farm.

The miserable buck gazed out the passenger-side window, wallowing in his afterglow as Thomas drove him closer and closer to his final destination. He could already see it coming into view now. A really ratty, almosy abandoned-looking building shimmered in the distance. It was a motley collection of broken cars, rusted corrugated panels and trash. Looking at it made the poor cub feel sick to his stomach. Was this where Jake would spend his days?

Casting a glance at Jake, Thomas couldn’t help but notice the look of disappointment on his boy’s face. Giving the boy another pat on the shoulder, receiving another flinch in response, he tried to cheer him up.

“Aw, don’worry nun, Jake. Yeah, I know it dun looks like shit, but we call it home, an’ soon, y’all will too. Naow, ah’ll give yeh the quick tour.”

As the van drove closer, it passed by a large, elongated barn that gave off an awful smell. With the odor wafting into the vehicle through Thomas’s open window, Jake covered his mouth and groaned in disgust.

“This here, this is th’pig barn. Tis where we keep them walkin’ meals, heheh. Yeah, they smell fuckin’ awful, but you’ll learn t’get used to it. That there is where…”

The raccoon trailed off as he recalled the moment when Dominic threw poor Johnny into the pig pen; he’d watched as they tore the poor screaming boy to shreds.

“Eh… anyway, ov’there is where we keep them tools for turning pigs in’na delicious meals. Ah know y’all don’t like meat, but round here beggars can’t be choosers. You oughta be fine though. Ah heard buns can eat meat, y’all just may get sum bad tummyaches, but we’ll take care o’that. So don’t y’all worry.”

By the time they were at the home stretch, with the crummy old house closing in, Thomas gave Jake a rub on the head.

“Say hello t’yer new home, Jake. We gots a spot cleared out just for yeh.” The only response from the buck was a miserable whimper, but it was quickly drowned out by Dominic rousing to full consciousness. “Aw hey, Dom, fin’ly awake are yeh? Jus’in time, guess what? We’re HOME!”

As Dominic roused, he slowly got between the seats as Thomas drove around the long way to give Jake the grand tour. The panther smirked at the look of disgust on the buck’s face, and he thought to himself how fun it would be to break in Jake. Even though they found the bunny boy in a small town, Springwood wasn’t very far from the big cities nearby. Although too far from the suburbs to count as a yuppy suburbanite, Jake was still close enough to metropolitan living to disqualify as a true country boy. Dominic could tell by the misery in Jake’s expression that farm life would be a huge contrast from his accustomed style of living.

“Yeah, Tom’s right, huh huh huh…don’t yeh worry none, ‘cuz we’ll get ya used to this in no time. Make yeh into a right proper country boy.”

Once the tour finished, Thomas pulled in between the barn and the farmhouse. The property offered no proper parking, and vehicles had to simply park wherever. When Thomas made the declaration about having arrived home, the panther paid all his regard to Jake only. Dominic smiled, and replaced Thomas’s paw over Jake’s shoulder with his own.

“Yep…that’s right…welcome home. Yeh gonna be stickin’ close to me, a’right? An’ don’forget wut yeh saw out there…nothin’ but fields filled wit’rednecks, hillbillies, an’ hicks that is far worse than us. Welcome to Mississippi.”

Before Thomas could even hop out, Dominic had already bolted out of the vehicle and was at the passenger door. Without even giving Jake time to think, the panther reached in and practically yanked the poor buck out and held him tight by the paw.

“You follow me. Tom, hurry yer big butt up. We’s got to get our boy here orien-tated.”

Of all places, Dominic chose to bring Jake straight to the pig pen. The panther opened the lock and untethered the gate with his free paw, and then grabbed a nearby stick. He pulled Jake inside with him, yelling at the pigs, “git,” and waving the stick at them. Close by from where they walked was the spot where Johnny left behind his mortal coils.

“Now listen closely an’ never ferget…them pigs there is what yeh call omni-vorous. That means they’ll dun eat anythin’ and ev’rythin’, including fellers like you an’ me. If yeh walk in here wit’em alone, y’oole git eaten. If yeh trip an’ fall over, they’ll swarm ya an’ pick yer bones clean in less than five minutes.”

Dominic then led the buck into the barn. Oddly, the interior of the building looked much better than the exterior. It was well illuminated inside, with fans running, and water pipes leading to regular intervals throughout the open floor plan to provide the pigs with a constant source of water. Up above the floor area was a mezzanine level with a ladder leading up to it.

“Fer now, that there be your bed. After yeh go up, the pigs come in. Don’ferget wut I said ‘bout them pigs. I’ll bring ya some water, an’ maybe Tom will come kiss yeh goodnight. When I git ya in the mornin’, it’ll be to put ya to work. Gotta earn yer keep after all. If ya work hard, an’ let us love yeh up whenevers we wants, y’oole earn yerself a room in the house. Johnny hadda do the same thing, so it’ll be the same thang fer you.”

After he issued his instructions to Jake, Dominic had to more or less shoved Jake up the ladder. As per usual, he would not take no for an answer and waited until the buck got up to his new bedroom. Up on the mezzanine level was a light up in the rafters, a fan, and bed in the middle of the wood decking that looked as though no one slept in it for years. Unbeknownst to either Dominic or Thomas, the area also bore little hidden messages left behind by the previous long term tenant of the area. Once Jake was out of sight, Dominic herded all the pigs inside and then switched off all but a handful of lights. The dim bulb over head of Jake was one of the few that remained on, including the fan.

“Oh, and, Dontcha try an’ put a hole in the wall an’ jump outta the barn!” Dominic yelled out to Jake before leaving. “It’s a long drop to the ground, y’know.”

While Dominic returned to the farm house, he tallied in his head the total cost of the trip. Overall, he figured he gained tremendously. He looked forward to his next jumble with Jake. As for the poor buck, tonight marked the beginning of his new life. According to messages on the wall, someone else had felt the same kind of sorrow.

Just the sound of Dominic’s voice as he joined in with Thomas’s mockery would’ve been enough for Jake to lose his bowels again, if not for the fact that he’d already emptied them earlier… all over himself. In fact the poor cub still stunk of urine and feces from his bout with the panther in the back. Of course, it was over-powered by the unbelievable stench of the pig pen as it passed by on the left.

Jake was shivering with fearful anticipation now. They were finally here. This was what they had wanted, to steal him from his home and bring him here of all places in the world. It had taken almost three days and numerous frightful confrontations with his kidnappers, but now, now all hope was lost.

Dominic placed a paw on his shoulder, making the boy flinch as he spoke, giving his captive the worst possible greeting to their home State. Listening to the feline’s words made Jake’s heart falter in his chest.

There was no way the rabbit could escape now. Miles away from anyone who could or would aid him and further than he’d ever been from home, what good would trying to run do now, except to earn him further wrath from his captors?

The realization of just how lost he was, both physically and emotionally, made the cub sob quietly in his seat, hugging the bag to his chest like some sort of security blanket. But then the van came to its final stop. Immediately, Dominic jumped out of the van, not wearing a scrap of clothing as he raced to the passenger door. 

Suddenly filled with terror, the buck quickly tucked his genitals back into his shorts and pulled them up just as the door flung open and the black panther grasped him by his arm. The abrupt jerk made Jake cry out in surprise as he was hauled out of the vehicle. Dominic had a tight grip on his little paw, but the eight-year-old rabbit resisted anyway, tugging and pulling helplessly at his captured paw as the panther practically dragged him along behind. It was only when Jake realized where he was being led that his struggling increased ten-fold.

The pig-pen. Was— was where Johnny had—?

“No, no! No-no-no! Please, please let me go!” Jake squealed, pounding on the fist that held him with his free paw. “D-don’t—don’t take me there! Please, please don’t! I’ll be good, I swear, I’ll be good!”

Jake’s heart leapt into his throat as they drew closer, but the portly raccoon slummed out of the driver’s seat and called out behind the two with a chuckle.

“Don’t worry yer head, Jake. Jus’ listen t’ol Dom an’ do exactly as he says, y’hear!”

In the next instant, Jake was led inside by the voracious predator, where he watched him grab a stick and shoo away a crowd of large hungry-looking pigs. The buck could feel his blood run cold as they passed the area where Johnny had died, not because he knew the location or even what had happened, he just felt a sense of dread in being so close to the pigs. This place had been where that other little boy had lived…

Jake suddenly felt sick to his stomach as Dominic explained to him the nature of the creatures surrounding them. As if to add emphasis to his words one of the pigs snapped as the cub’s fluffy little tail, making him yelp in surprise.  The panther quickly shooed it away and carried on to the barn where a ladder led to Jake’s ‘bedroom’. The young rabbit stared up the wooden steps with drooped ears and tears welling in his eyes. This entire place smelled absolutely awful and he was expected to sleep here?

Shaking like a leaf, Jake listened to Dominic’s instructions, dreading what the remainder of the day would bring, but absolutely fearing what would come tomorrow. If the cub couldn’t somehow slip away in the night, he’d have to find out. Escaping may not be wise, but he had to try. He had to hold out hope that somehow he could get home again. The last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of his days with these monsters! Poor Jake was already beginning to miss the day-to-day turmoil of school. There had been so much he’d taken for granted.

Without another word, Dominic grasped Jake by the scruff and forced him up the ladder. The cub only required a little pushing before he was motivated, out of fear, to proceed on his own. It was difficult to scale the ladder with his legs trembling as badly as they were, but eventually he reached the top, only to flinch as the lights suddenly went out. Left with only a single light overhead, the cub rushed over to it and huddled beneath it on an old, ratty mattress stuffed with straw.

Dominic issued his final warning after ushering in the pigs to seal off Jake’s only real means of escape, then left, leaving the cub all along in the dim light, surrounded by a chorus of oinking pigs and drowning in the stench of feces. It was enough to make the buck vomit, and eventually, when he could stand it no more, he did.

Falling to his knees, the boy vomited up the corn bread and juice he’d been fed earlier, gagging for a few moments afterwards before realizing what he’d upchucked on. Surprised, the buck scurried around for a dry, crusty rag and wiped away the bit of vomit he’d produced.

Etched in the wood of the floor were the words, THEY TOOK ME AWAY FROM MOMMY.

Crawling backwards, Jake sat down on the bed, staring at the words pain-stakingly scratched into the floor. He turned his head an another message caught his eye. Creeping over to it on paws and knees he read it.

TWENTY DAYS
THEY ‘FED’ ME TODAY
I’M SO HUNGRY

It took Jake only a few moments more to realize the entire room was covered in scratchy markings. The cub’s jaw dropped open as he looked to the headboard of his makeshift bed.

JOHNNY

Oh God. This was the same room Johnny, that poor fox boy, had been cooped up in. How long had he been here? Suddenly intrigued, Jake poked about the room, trying to learn more about the boy who’d come before him. Perhaps he could avoid the mistakes Johnny had made.

Meanwhile, Thomas made his way to the house just as Dominic exited the barn. The two met up about halfway to the house.

“So Dom, how’s are boy doin’? Got ‘im settlin’ in nice?”

With Jake settling into his new “bedroom,” Dominic headed back into house, redressed, and thought some more. He checked the calendar to see when Juan would arrive, and confirmed that the vampire bat would arrive in two days. The partners already owed from a shortfall they managed to create from smoking more than their fair share of Juan’s stuff, but they hoped the druglord would let them run a tab. So, what was just a hundred dollars more of the stuff?

The panther went out to the van with Thomas close behind. They fetched out all their goodies along with the last rock, which surprisingly didn’t get used. The fight Dominic and Jake had seemed to prove just as effective as doping the bunny, but also turned out much more messy. Thomas hoped the two wouldn’t repeat what he had to witness today. Poor Johnny got roughed enough at the hands of the panther, and already it seemed the same mistakes were repeating with Jake as they did with the fox boy.

Both partners resolved to clean out the mess in the van tomorrow, if they had time. Goodness knows they’d have enough work on their hands to get the farm back into shape. They had left it unattended before, but every time they did, they lost pigs. It was anyone’s guess as to how many died this time, and only a fragment of bones would indicate the extent of the loss. Yes, the pigs resorted to cannibalism, and it made Dominic think that much less of them. Among other things, the cannibalism made it that much easier for Dominic to slaughter the pigs because he viewed them as lesser beings. On the other paw, if people were any better, Dominic figured he and Thomas wouldn’t have turned out the way they did. Thinking like this kept him in a perfect state of ease despite having turned another little boy’s world upside down.

Thinking of Jake, the panther mentioned to Thomas they ought to bathe him. The mess in the van reminded both of them that the poor buck ended up mopping up a good portion of the filth with his body. Of course, they didn’t have the means nor the desire to let Jake have a normal bath. No, they’d give him an old fashioned, Southern experience by bathing him in a wash basin outside in plain view. Thomas, naturally, started getting giddy over the idea.

As the sun slipped beneath the horizon, all these tasks needing completion would have to get done tomorrow. The partners knew enough about farm life to realize that their working hours revolved around the sun. Now, it was all about celebration. Dominic picked out a rock and a baggy of weed, all sealed in airtight containers, from a hideaway next to the shit silo. If anyone did think to look there, they likely would not dare go in there. The smell alone would put most people off. Both Thomas and Dominic were well used to the odours by now and thought nothing of it.

“A’right Tom, lets celebrate! Try te ‘member to give our boy a drink afterwards. I doubt he wants to see me again anytime soon. Huh, sure if he sees me ‘gain, he might try an’ escape. Last thing we need is fer him to pull a Johnny.”

Dominic had made the mistake of coming onto the fox boy much too strongly the first night. As a result, both partners had to run to the boy’s rescue. The last thing they wanted was for Jake to get pushed to that point, because Johnny only escaped death that first night by pure luck alone.

“Sounds good teh me, partner! Uh, what’bout wut we owe Juan?”

“Like I said, we pray he done lets us run a tab.”

“Say, uh, we gonna introduce our new boy t’him? Y’know, since he his…well…our family?”

“Well, uh…yeah, I reckon we could.”

The partners got back into the house and smoked themselves further into debt. They didn’t intend to bother Jake so as not to repeat previous mistakes, but they overlooked Jake’s means of avoiding previous mistakes. Little Johnny spoke to Jake from beyond the grave. The sleeping space offered more than just scratchings in the wood. The boy had left written journals stored up there, along with a grand cache of materials Jake could use in the farmhouse. Jake simply had to earn his Johnny’s former bedroom the way the fox boy once did. Who knows…perhaps the two boys could have been friends, but Jake would have to settle with befriending the ghost of a fox. It was all he really had now.

As the sun set below the horizon, Jake sat on the floor of his new ‘home’.  Beside him was the plug Thomas had forced up his rectum; very distantly beside him. Placed before him were a few sheets of half-crumbled paper, mostly scraps that had clearly been pulled from sources within the rather barren second floor of the barn. 

They were diary pages.

All of them were scribbled in what looked like charcoal, and had the distinct penmanship of a child around his age. Jake was almost certain these belonged to the boy who preceded him, and by the state of them, that was a time long since passed. It brought tears to the cub’s eyes to think of the poor fox who had to live here before him; who died at the hungry maws of the very pigs that now oinked and paced around below the ladder he’d been forced up.

It actually made him sick to his stomach too, and not just because of the awful stench still presently assaulting his senses. As it was right now, the rabbit was holding a pawful of his bed-sheets to his face to block as much of the odor as he could. The sheet was none too fresh itself, but it beat the rank smell of feces and muddy pigs, not to mention his own yellow and brown stained fur.

Jake sat quietly with his legs crossed, looking at the papers, pondering whether to read them or try and make his escape now before his only chance slipped away. It seemed wiser not to waste the time, but his curiosity was keeping him planted on the floor. The final moments of another boy who lost his life to these monsters was hidden within these pages, perhaps too, was a means to an escape, or at least the chance to avoid the same mistakes.

After staring at the pages for what felt like ages, Jake eventually reached for one. It was the oldest by far, written on a full sheet of paper and with much nicer writing that the later ones. He started to read it, noting the date of it was marked ‘1990’.

Monday, March 19th, 1990

I miss my diary already… Lucky I found some paper and this piece of black stuff. It writes good enough. Anyway…

Dear Diary,

Two days ago I was kidnapped. A couple of big mean men took me away from my mommy. They call themselves Dominic and Thomas. One’s this big mean panther who hits me and yells at me, the other is a fat stinky raccoon. I hate it when he kisses me.

Oh! I almost forgot. This a new diary after all.

Hi! My name is Johnny! It’s nice to meet you diary! I’m eight and a half years old and I live with…

Well…

I miss my mommy so much… I hope she comes looking for me, but I’m so far away now. They grabbed me in the park and stuffed me in a big white van. The scary panther tried to offer me candy and money, but I knew better. Mommy taught me good. But… It didn’t matter. Big mean Dom grabbed me off the swing I was playing on and they took me away in their van.

They… They did things to me, diary. Horrible things. I thought they were gonna kill me, so I fought and fought, but it only made Dominic hurt me. The more I tried the more he hurt me. I’m still all covered in bruises.

What they did to me… Oh diary, it hurt so much. They tore my clothes off, ripped them to shreds. They kept saying they were my new daddies, but they acted more like monsters! They forced themselves onto me, made me… made me…

I’m sorry, diary, I can’t stop crying. Just remembering it hurts. Thomas made me put his peepee in my mouth, and I bit him. It was a big mistake. Dominic hit me in the head so hard after that, I can’t remember much. When I woke up though, I was hurting all over, especially my bum. I don’t know what they did, but once I woke up again, they started all over. They wouldn’t stop touching me, no matter how loud I screamed. And no one came to rescue me. Nobody.

Diary… I’m so sad right now; they’ll be coming for me tomorrow. The room they left me in stinks so awful I can’t sleep. I gotta escape before it’s too late. They said the pigs will eat me if I try to, but I got try. I just gotta. I wanna go home so badly. Besides pigs gotta sleep too, right? Maybe if I’m real quiet I can sneak by.

Wish me luck, diary.

Jake dropped the paper, staring at it blankly. His eyes had welled with tears from reading the boy’s recap of his arrival. It matched the cub’s own experience perfectly. He couldn’t help but add fresh tear-drops to the already stained and wrinkled paper. The poor fox had been taken much like Jake, and abused almost identically. They two boys shared such a kinship already, that the buck felt his ghostly companion’s pain. It was only him and Johnny here; trapped forever in the company of two mad demons.

But there was a glimmer of hope. Johnny had described a possible means of escape. Pigs did have to sleep, right? Maybe Jake could sneak by them while they were asleep. However… if it was that easy, how come the fox cub didn’t escape much sooner? Did he fail? Did he get caught? Or was he ultimately too afraid to try?

Rather than try to find the answer in the ensuing pages, the hopeful buck sprung to his feet, feeling energetic with the coming of this new possible hope. If he could escape now while the two predators were asleep, he’d be long gone by morning. Even if he got horribly lost, it was better than spending another day here.

Firm in his desire to escape, Jake rushed over to the ladder, coming to a swift, stealthy stop as he approached the ladder. It was so dark at the bottom. There was also the occasional squeal and snort at the bottom but for the most part it was silent.

I can do this, I can do this. It should be easy, right? Just don’t make a sound. Johnny doesn’t have big ears like me. I’ll hear them if they move. Maybe that was his mistake!

Feeling somewhat more sure of himself, Jake turned around and placed one footpaw on the first ladder rung. It squeaked. The buck froze and waited, his heart already pounding in his chest. Not a sound came from below, not even a snort.  Breathing out slowly, the cub descended to another rung, now fully committed to the ladder. This time in didn’t squeak as loudly.

For the next two steps, things were looking good. There was no stirring below and no noises, all confirmed by the young rabbit’s large black-tipped ears. He honestly thought escape was within his grasp. What he didn’t realize though as he crept lower and lower, was that a pig was standing right next to the ladder, sniffing around; when it found Jake’s foot, only three rungs up from the bottom, it struck.

Jake howled at the top of his lungs as the pig’s gnashing teeth dug into his ankle. His heart leaping into his throat and throbbing with terror and pain, the buck thrashed his leg around, screaming and crying as blood flowed from the wound. The pig eventually lost its grip, but not after damaging the boy’s ankle something awful. Jake was in a blind panic now. He scrambled the climb up the ladder as all the other pigs drew closer, oinking and squealing in delight at the thought of food.

Panting and crying loudly, Jake fumbled his way back up the ladder, dragging his useless leg behind him as he reached the top again and crawled back aboard the second floor. His ankle was throbbing with excruciating pain. From his perspective it looked mangled, making him wail even louder.

No, no, no! Now how am I gonna escape?! So stupid! Oh god! Please don’t be broken, please! The buck screamed inwardly and he dragged himself across the floor. As he moved, his ankle left a bloody trail all the way over to the bed where Jake grasped at the sheets, scratching and biting at them desperately until they started shredding.

This hadn’t been the first time Jake had inflicted such a wound on himself. The last time had been with his father. They’d been camping and the cub had foolishly been hopping around on large rocks when he suddenly slipped, incurring a long gash in his shin. Back then his dad had been there to aid him, and when he did, he taught Jake how to wrap up the wound to slow the bleeding.

In such a panic as he was now, Jake had no time to mourn the memory of family he’d never see again. Instead, he utilized his father’s teaching and, tearing long strips out of the bed-sheets, the cub was able to wrap his wound. He couldn’t stop yelping and crying in fear and horror as he did so, but eventually, his had the bloody wound tightly bound in his makeshift bandages. Sadly, though, it did nothing for the pain.

Still sobbing loudly, he crawled into the bed and curled up, shivering from the shock of the injury as he mentally berated himself for being so stupid. He could only hope that when Thomas and Dominic returned, they’d be able to treat him before it got any worse.

Hit after hit, Dominic and Thomas got increasingly more stoned. Little did they realize, as their better judgement slipped away, Jake was in peril. The raccoon got so blitzed that he already forgot to bring Jake some fresh water and slop pail where Jake could do his business.

In the cloudy haze of their perverted minds, they fantasized about all the things they’d have Jake do over the days, months, and years. Occasionally, the odd logistical item would creep into their thoughts, such as putting the boy to work, getting him clothes, keeping him clean, and even readjusting the rabbit’s diet. The corn feed for the pigs can and was often used to make cornbread. Thomas loved the stuff so much that he delighted in making it himself every now and again. Perhaps, he thought, they could sneak in bacon bits to get the bunny gradually accustomed to eating meat. After all, Jake would have to get used to it. Shopping for fresh produce was not an option due to the isolation of the farm. They may as well have been stuck on an island. Nothing but an ocean of grassland surrounded them.

The isolation factor alone, as it was for many cases, was enough of a deterrent to put off previous captives from escaping. Still, some tried, just as Johnny did. Dominic suddenly had the worry that Jake may have done something stupid, but the fear was insufficient for pulling him out of his inebriation. The panther did not keep the same vigil on Jake as he did for Johnny because he figured he didn’t want to fuck up with the bunny by getting too close, too fast. Jake really was on his own tonight, and if he repeated Johnny’s mistake, it could prove fatal.

As the buck attempted to brave the pigs, it seemed as though the spirit of the fox screamed out to his new friend, No, no, no, buddy! Don’t! I tried that and it didn’t work. I almost got eaten my first night here. Dom had to rescue me, but then he beat me! Tom put bandaids on me, but then touched me some more. So don’t, please! Keep reading. I’ll tell you what worked and what didn’t.

While Jake attempted to patch himself up after yet another near death experience, Dominic and Thomas contently lounged and gradually began to fade. The panther tried to keep up the sexual fantasies, but they got overshadowed with necessities for Jake’s care and upbringing. Dominic thought it strange how his mind wouldn’t let him mentally fuck Jake silly. Instead, his brain focused on keeping Jake alive in the best way possible. Then again, it could hardly count as benevolence, because his twisted mind was smart enough to realize that the longer Jake stays alive, the more both he and Thomas could have their way with the buck.

On top of keeping Jake alive, Dominic even considered the rabbit boy’s future. The panther resolved to assume the role of teacher in tandem with the role of daddy and lover. About the only math Jake would learn is how to handle money, and all other forms would get discounted as useless. As for language, he’d teach Jake how to talk like a Southerner. The panther did enjoy local history since it did fall in line with his abandoned dreams of becoming a tour boat captain. Perhaps Jake could learn about the area, and that would cover his social studies. The only science the boy needed, as far as Dominic was concerned, was how to manage a pig farm. Yes, a good amount of science was involved. Even more science was involved in the drugs they stored on behalf of Juan.

Dominic and Thomas soon passed out, unaware of Jake’s injuries. They’d find out in the morning.

After only an hour of enduring the aching sting of his wound, Jake was beginning to go stir crazy. The pain was creeping up his leg until even his hip was throbbing. It took another half hour for the cub to cry himself out. By then, he was lying motionless, breathing shallow and whining occasionally. He couldn’t have imagined such agony prior to the assault. Even Dominic’s beatings were less brutal. That pig had almost taken Jake’s foot clean off.

The eight-year-old buck needed to take his mind off the pain, so he turned back to the journal pages Johnny had written. And upon picking up the second page, he immediately regretted his prior actions.

Tuesday March 20th 1990

Dear Diary…

I’m so sorry. I was so stupid. It didn’t work. The pigs they… I don’t know, maybe pigs DON’T sleep. I waited until real late and tried to sneak down the ladder. They were all crowded next to it though. One of them bit my leg really hard! It hurt so much!

It pulled me off the ladder, and the others they… I couldn’t scream loud enough. They were gunna eat me, just like Dom said, and all I could do was cry for help. I thought I was gunna die. It would all be over, I’d never see my mommy again.  But then, Dom burst in. The pigs had a hold of both my legs and the blood… Oh God, so much blood. MY BLOOD.

I screamed and cried while Dom and Tom came to my rescue. I was so grateful when they saved me. But maybe… Maybe I would’ve been better off dead. I’m sorry diary, I don’t want to sound so negative, but… What they did to me afterwards, it was… I couldn’t take it.

After those things nearly ate me alive, Dom beat me. It was horrible. He used his claws, scratched me up so bad it hurt to move… He threw me around, screaming and yelling, and all I could do was beg for him to stop. When he was finally done, Tom took his place. He treated my injuries as best he could, but… He wouldn’t keep his grubby paws off me the entire time. He reached everywhere, even my special place. Mommy said never to let anyone there, but they’d been doing it the whole time.

This time was worse though. I was in so much pain. I wanted him to stop but he wouldn’t. He kept saying unsettling things, it was creepy and scary and he wouldn’t go away. Only around midnight did he finally leave. That was just a couple moments ago. I can’t stop crying. I feel so… so… I don’t even know. It’s like my body isn’t even mine anymore. They come and go, touching me as they please.

I wanna go home… I wanna see my mommy again. I wish this was all a terrible nightmare. Why can’t I wake up?

I’m sorry diary, I need to sleep. They’ll be back again, and… I just need to sleep.

Jake dropped the paper onto the floor, trembling with anger and misery. How could I have been so stupid?! Johnny had clearly tried every avenue he could think of, and if the buck were to have any hope, he’d have to think before acting. The poor fox who died here had left a bounty of information, all he had to do was somehow use it to his advantage. The question was how.

Eventually Jake couldn’t concentrate anymore. All the stress and fitful nights’ rest he’d gotten on the journey had made him extremely tired; the addition of blood-loss wasn’t helping either. The little boy had already gone pale beneath his white fur, and just moving his head made him dizzy. He needed rest, but more importantly he needed medical attention. Thomas and Dominic likely wouldn’t be back until morning, though.

Laying down his stuffy head, Jake quietly cried himself to sleep, passing out despite the pain only due to his extreme exhaustion.

Dawn approached, but as the sun rose Dominic and Thomas stayed asleep. Their chores had to begin about an hour ago, and Jake still needed medical attention. Eventually, they did get up from where they lay. Dominic had passed out in the dining room in his chair, but woke up on the floor with a nasty bump on his head. Thomas managed to find the couch.

Sluggish and in pain, the panther tried desperately to switch into an essential mode. He chugged a glass of water straight from the tap, paying no mind to staleness and discolouration of the initial spurt. Taking some pain killers crossed his mind, but he was already getting worried with how much daylight had elapsed already. Thomas, as per usual, was slow to get his fat ass up, so the panther rushed over and shook the tubby raccoon until he got up.

“Tom…Tom! Geddup, we’re wastin’ the morning away.”

“Uhgn…”

“Tom, did yeh even git our boy some water an’ such?”

“Uh…aw shit!” The fat raccoon sprung out of bed like a young housecat. Concern for Jake motivated him to get his day started even though Dominic normally had problems getting him going, especially after toking out the night previous.

Thomas fetched the toiletries needed to give Jake a bath and also poured him a glass of water. Dominic, still wearing the same clothes he slept in all night, already headed out to the barn to herd the pigs back out into the open pen. The panther performed the inverse of the ritual he undertook last night by switching on the lights, and waving a stick around to get the pigs out. He also flipped a switch that bellowed a loud, irritating alarm through a loudspeaker centrally located up girders that mounted all the water lines.

“Go on, git! Yeh heard me, stinkin’ shit eaters. Boy, git on up! C’mon now, time to get up…first thang ya gotta learn right there – no sleepin’ in. Jake. Jake! If I hafta come up there, so help me…”

“Dom,” Thomas called as he bumbled into the barn, careful not to trip over the exiting pigs. “Wuts up wit our boy? Jakey? Jakey. I got somethin’ fer yeh.”

“Tom, yeh dun better git’im up ‘cuz he ain’t gonna want me up there.”

Taking the hint, Thomas climbed up the ladder as quickly as he could. The wooden ladder, although still in fairly good order, unlike the exterior of the barn, creaked and threatened failure over bearing the raccoon’s load. He couldn’t climb normally with the glass of water in one paw. Instead, he more or less had to leap upwards to grasp each ascending rung.

For the structural stability of the ladder, it would have made more sense for Dominic to go up to Jake. It was just as well he didn’t because of what Thomas saw when he got up there. The poor buck looked just like a corpse and the nasty wound he incurred last night bled through the bandages. The raccoon’s pupils shrunk to tiny dots and he dropped the glass back down on the floor below.

“Oh gawd! Jakey! Jakey! Speak ta me!”

Thomas rushed over to the unconscious buck. He inspected the wound as best he could without disturbing the bloody cloth. The bunny’s fur was covered in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Jake’s parched lips still had some colour, and his gums also looked fairly pinkish. The raccoon could tell the boy still had most of his blood supply because of looking at the bunny’s gums through those dry, parted lips. Jake was also still breathing, but very deeply and slowly. The concerned raccoon checked for all signs of life before desperately trying to pull Jake out of sleep.

“Jakey, c’mon now, y’all can’t die!”

Luckily, it was not nearly as dire a situation as Thomas feared. Otherwise, he would have surely seen more of Jake’s blood all over the place. He did manage to wake Jake and gave the boy a moment to get his bearings together.

“Kay, now, dontcha worry. Daddy Tom is here. We’s gots to get ya down from here. C’mon, I’ll help ya. Very slow now, I got ya. Dom, git muh kit!”

“Fer the love of Christ, yeh can’t be serious!” A dangerous amount of rage began to flow through the panther. He knew automatically why Jake needed medical attention. Additionally, the blood stains on the ladder rungs confirmed the panther’s suspicions. Jake tried to escape last night, and got severely injured in the attempt.

“Dom, we ain’t got time fer this! Boy needs our help, now!”

“Fine, but he damn well better be near dead, ‘cuz that’s the only thing that’ll stop me from poundin’ some sense into his empty head!”

The panther ran back into the farm house to grab Thomas’s first aid kit. On his way back, he also stopped into the slaughter house to get the medical equipment they used on the pigs. If Jake’s injuries were the type Dominic thought, then the buck would need some anesthetic. Luckily, they had some to offer in the kit they used to castrate the piglets.

Thomas very slowly and carefully carried Jake down the ladder. Whatever high he experienced the night previous long since wore off, and nothing but astute focus remained. It was all for Jake’s sake now.

“There, there…I gotcha. Dun worry yerself, I ain’t gonna drop ya. Yeah, keep off of that paw of yers. I’ll carry all yer weight.”

Jake would not, to his chagrin, have gotten the benefit of a proper clinic in this instance. The best the partners had to offer was the steel table where they made the pigs into hogs. Dominic already had all the needed equipment laid out and ready to use. He procured water from the wash basin after a difficult negotiation with the old rusty faucets. Everything was well prepared for Thomas and the patient.

With Jake in tow, both partners wasted no time stripping Jake down. Dominic hoisted the rabbit’s naked body onto the steel table and pinned down his shoulders. Thomas, meanwhile, undressed Jake’s wound and inspected the damage.

“Yup, just as I figgered. One of them thar beasts got at’im.”
“Fuck sake, yeh dummass! Wut did I tells yeh?”

“Dom, c’mon now!”

The panther rubbed his aching head while still keeping Jake pinned with one arm. Part of what aggravated him so much was the bump on his head on top of having lost precious hours of daylight. This incident set them back even further from getting their tasks done. To make matters worse, Jake risked becoming lame, which would make him perfectly useless for farm duties. The buck’s foolishness may well have cost him his foot and his life.

“Kay now, feller, I dun think it too bad, but I’s gots te stitch’er up fer ya. Dom, I need the nummin’ stuff. Dontcha look now, Jakey.”

Bracing Jake tight against the table, Dominic pressed down even harder as Thomas injected the needle near the wound site on Jake’s ankle. Once the solution emptied from the syringe, the raccoon proceeded to patch Jake up, with much more skill and competency than his first surgery on the buck’s bag.

“Heh, gittin’ better at this, methinks. Shooda been a doctor!”

“Tom, jus’ work, a’right!” Dominic then looked straight down into Jake’s horrified and watery eyes. “Yer in so much trouble, yeh lil’ idiot.”

It was pretty much useless to try and get Dominic to lay off of poor Jake. Rather, he refocused on trying to ease the buck as much as possible.

“Yer sure lucky, lil’ feller. Y’all git ta keep yer foot. I promise ya. Yeah, I know it done hurts somethin’ fierce, but y’oole git better.”

“Almost done? Check his parts, in case the pigs went there.”

“Oh, uh, right. Nah, everythin’ is fine there. Hey, that hole is almost gone! Looks good as new down there.”

Dominic again beamed down on Jake an evil gaze. The panther really wanted to throttle the boy, and wanted to find some avenue to express his rage. He grabbed hold of one of the clamps used to essentially crush piglet testicles and held it right above Jake’s snout.

“I asked about yer puny nuts ‘cuz I is surprised the pigs din’ go right for’em! They do that, y’know. Fuck, I may as well break’em off right now with this here clamp, you is so stupid. Dunno wut this is? It’s fer takin’ off pig balls. ‘Magine wut’ll do to bunny balls!”

“Dammit Dom, wut the fuck? I ain’t done yet! Y’all want’im to run off like this?”

“Well, I reckon he wouldn’t git too far. Bummed up knee, thanks t’me, and now a buggered ankle. Tell yeh wut, boy, you is gonna be mighty hungry if yeh can’t work for yer food.”
“There, all done! Just gotta bandage her up an’ she is good. Here, sit up lil’ feller. See? I did a good job. C’mon now, have summa this water. Y’all need it.”

“Fuck, he is filthy. We still gots t’give him his bath today.”

By the time Jake had truly fallen asleep, it was due to blood-loss and the sun had begun to rise. Until then, he was writhing weakly in agony. When he passed into unconsciousness, it was mostly dreamless, but towards the end it was filled with images of Dominic. His fear of the panther produced frightening nightmares in which the predator was beating him, screaming into his large ears, berating and punishing him for his misdeeds.

So when Jake awoke to the jostling by Thomas, the transition from dream to reality was blurred, so for just a moment the raccoon had the face of his nightmares. Dominic was screaming at him to wake up or die, and Jake let out a pained cry of terror in response, but then the mirage vanished and it was Tom looking mortified and panicked at the idea of Jake being dead.

As much as it was a relief to see the raccoon instead of his friend, the cub still writhed weakly in a pathetic attempt at self-defence. He tried to protest, but the only sounds that fell off his weak lips were whimpers and whines, all forced through a dry, barren throat. The boy could barely make a sound, but he could clearly hear Dominic’s angry shouts over Thomas’s soothing words.

Right now, the raccoon was a savior, but Dom was still very much the enemy. He didn’t want to be anywhere near the panther. So when Thomas picked him up against his will and carried him back to the ladder, he tried to wiggle and twist. Unfortunately he was so weak from shock that his fussing did virtually nothing to deter Tom.

Jake could hear every word between the two predators and he didn’t like any of it. Neither of them seemed very competent at treating wounds, if his groin was any indication; he’d figured out not too long ago that the pain he’d been feeling was due to what looked like sloppy stitching in the skin of his scrotum. It had stopped hurting, but it was a poorly done job.

As Thomas descended the ladder, Jake didn’t protest as much, mostly out of fear of falling, but once they were on the ground, he resumed his efforts, such as they were. All he could do was moan and protest miserably in a half-conscious state.

The trip was short, and to Jake’s misfortune, it ended with him being stripped yet again and thrown onto a cold, steel table. The buck immediately tried to struggle, but Dominic held him down hard, glaring down at him as Thomas fussed with his crude bandaging. Squeezing his eyes, shut, the cub yelped and cried as it was removed.

He opened one eye as the raccoon confirmed what Jake already knew, but then Dominic snapped in his face, making the cub jerk sharply and turn his head to the side in terror. The waterworks started up immediately as Jake began crying loudly and miserably, even despite his raspy throat.

Things only got worse as Thomas decided to ‘operate’, requesting a needle from Dominic. Jake watched the transaction with wide, horrified eyes.

“Nna… na… no! N.. No!” Jake cried; he was terrified of needles, and Thomas’s instruction not to look didn’t help.

Panicking, Jake writhed with renewed strength, screeching when the needle bit into his mangle ankle and sobbing loudly as the fluid was injected. Although it did the job well enough in numbing the area, Thomas started too soon. Before everything had gone numb he dug in with the hooked sewing needle.

The first several minutes were pure agony. Jake wailed as loud as his sore, dry throat would allow and he struggled non-stop. Eventually he had to stop to take a breath, and Dominic interjected with his threats in the momentary silence. They only served to scare the cub more. Thomas oddly was being protective of Jake, but it was clear the panther wanted to hurt him and was only barely containing himself.

Out of the torment, the only bright side was when Thomas said he wouldn’t lose his foot. But then there was a groping of his groin as the raccoon checked on his previous injury. Jake pinched his legs together and whined helplessly. His commentary on it although positive, still made the cub tremble at the thought.

Dominic loomed over him once more, glaring down into Jake’s tear-soaked eyes as he pinned him to the table. He released of the boy’s arms, but only to retrieve and threaten him with a scary looking device which, as the panther casually described, was for the use of crushing… things. He suggested the use of it on Jake, which made the bunny squeal and squirm in fright.

The buck almost sat up but Dominic quickly forced him back down as Thomas berated him for his behavior. Jake in fact tried to run, truly believing the panther would act on his threats, but the predator played it off, describing how crippled the boy really was. The sad realization made the buck devolve into sobbing again, squirming helplessly as the raccoon finished his work with the wound.

After being aided into a sitting position by the two kidnappers, Jake looked down as his foot through tear-stained eyes. It was still a mess; drenched in blood but no longer oozing innards. The stitching was crooked but neater, and the flesh was all swollen. He could no longer feel it though, which he was grateful for. In fact, the numbing seemed to be so strong that it was travelling part-way up his leg. The sensation was unusual.

Thomas finally offered Jake water, which the cub snatched up frantically and guzzled until he was practically choking on it. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was until the cool, foul-tasting water poured down in throat. Right now he didn’t care about taste. He just wanted to drink as much as he could. Unfortunately, though, Thomas eventually took it away from him.

“Naow, naow, son. Y’all don’t wanna drink too fast, you’ll get an awful tummyache. Anyway, it’s right time y’all had a bath, Jake. You reek like roadkill on a skillet.”

Scooping up Jake like the little child that he was, Thomas carried him outside where a wash-basin sat leaning against the side of the house.

“We gon’give yeh a proper cleanin’, we is. A true welcome to good ol’ Mississipi.”

Although Thomas actually performed a commendable job stitching up Jake’s ankle, he forgot to get the boy a crutch. Such buffoonery was the precise reason Thomas would never cut it as a real doctor. At least he had Dominic to fill in the gaps of his mental processing.

“Tom, yeh dun fergot somethin’.”

“Wuh?”

“A fuckin’ crutch, yeh mule! Go git one fer our boy. Might still havva set up in that thar attic space. I’ll git our boy started.”

Thomas hesitated, but slowly backed away to signal his compliance. He did stop a moment and called out to Dominic, “Dontcha hurt our boy, y’hear. He’s all had too much a’ready.”

Dominic ignored his friend’s request and beamed down upon Jake. The buck had nothing else to do but stand there as the black panther towered over the little white bunny. With a buggered knee, various wounds, and now a mangled ankle, the luxury of escape could not enter Jake’s repertoire of defense mechanisms. Unlike previous times, Jake stood totally helpless.

Rather than prep Jake’s bath, the panther seized Jake by the shoulders. He began shaking the poor buck and shouting obscenities.

“Yeh stupid lil’ idiot! Wut was ya thinkin’? I dunno, maybe you is really smart an’ thought yerself up a good way to git outta yer chores fer the next while. In which case, I oughta beat out them extra brains yeh dun need outta yer’ead!”

Violent shaking of Jake’s already fragile frame persisted, and Dominic yelled so hard that his spittle sprayed over Jake’s face. Once again, the panther switched into an insane wild beast intent on spilling blood. After shaking Jake, he grabbed a tuft of the buck’s long, velvet chest fur with one paw, and raised the other high into the air, claws extracted. Suddenly, before he struck, he released Jake and settled his attack paw over his head, rubbing the bump. He even backed away, strangely enough.

Dominic walked around in a circle nursing his own head. In all probability, all the strain and stress aggravated his bruised noggin. He pointed at Jake from across the distance that built up between them.

“You sure is lucky you dun caught me at a disadvantage. Y’know wut gits mah nuts in a twist the most ‘bout all this? I gave yeh yer space ‘stead of lovin’ yeh up like I wanted. Figgered you’d jus’try an’ escape if I dun pushed yeh too hard, like Johnny. No wonder he tried to get away the first night, but you? Don’make any sense…seems yeh still got some fight in yeh. Still wanna scrap, do yeh? Dontcha worry none, we will. Either yeh better win or jus’take yer defeat. Whatever yeh choose, I’mma still gittin’ mah dick in yer ass.”

As much as Dominic wanted to give Jake another jumble, some mysterious force dispelled his rage. Much calmer now, he dropped the wash basin to the ground and filled it with water from a simple garden hose attached to the wall of the house. Even more oddly, he waited patiently for Thomas to return with the soap, brush, crutches, and hopefully a plastic garbage bag to put over Jake’s wounded leg.

No doubt Dominic’s sudden calmness mystified the buck. Dominic didn’t even pass the time waiting for Thomas by molesting Jake some more as means to make up for losing his temper again. To make matters even stranger, the panther seemed to keep a respectable distance from the young bunny boy. It was like that invisible force that stopped Dominic’s assault formed a protective barrier around Jake. The panther didn’t see it, and it well could have just been the glare from the sun, but anyone else looking might well have seen the apparition of a fox a moment ago.

After several minutes, Thomas finally returned and called out cheerfully, “Hey y’all, I dun found’im some crutches. And look! I’s gots him the soap, a brush, and somethin’ to put over that bummed leg of’is. I’s even gots him some clothes he can wear. They were, uh, y’know whose. Guess y’all can take back that remark about me bein’ a mule, Dom.”

Dominic didn’t respond and just paced around in a circle continuing to nurse his head. Thomas took his friend’s behaviour as a cue to bath the frightened buck himself.

“Uh, ‘kay then…I’ll take this.”

The raccoon lifted up Jake’s injured leg and inserted it into the garbage bag. In a prime example of coincidental convenience, it was the same leg that bore the knee injury as well, so Thomas effective got two birds with one bag. With the wounds waterproofed, Thomas lifted Jake into the old, dinged, galvanized metal basin. The water only came up to just below Jake’s knees, and was a comfortable bathing temperature. Luckily the Mississippi sun kept the surrounding air warm enough.

“There ya go, lil’ feller. That’ll keep the water away from the wound. We’ll clean up that there leg laters, but for now, we’ll get the rest of ya shinin’ like a new Caddy!”

“Hmm…well, I dun wish we coulda put’im t’work today. I still wanna teach’im ‘bout farm life though. Hear that, Jakey? I is yer teacher from now on. Huh…well, uh…guess I’ll pull yeh round in the wagon. First thing we’s gotta do is count up them pigs and fin’out how many of ‘em ate each other.”

“Right, Dom! Yeah, Jakey…they do that. They is what you might call, uh, cannibals.” Thomas took this opportunity to wash Jake’s privates, paying more attention to the parts than what was truly due. If anything, washing the area provided the perverted raccoon another excuse to feel Jake up, rolling the tiny bunny grapes around with his fingertips.

“Y’all sure is lucky the pigs din’get these. Think about it…you stand this tall, but them pigs only stand this tall…” Thomas leveled out his hand and pressed into Jake’s groin to demonstrate his point. “That means their jaws is right in line to somethin’ precious. Trust me, y’all don’wanna lose these!”

Thomas continued washing, soaping, and brushing Jake all over. Little by little, all the filth left the boy’s body. It seemed rather redundant though because of the ruggedness of the farm. Dirt and grime was everywhere, promising to sully even the cleanest bodies. As per usual, Thomas returned to Jake’s special area many times, telling the boy it was all to keep him nice and clean. The raccoon again sported a throbbing erection.

When Thomas set Jake down next to the basin to address his companion, the cub let out a pained whine and, to his own surprise, clung to the raccoon for protection. Dominic was sending him away to retrieve more supplies, and that meant the rabbit would be alone with that grizzled predator. So he held fast to Thomas’s shirt, silently pleading for him to stay, and it seemed like it caused some hesitation in the ring-tail, but ultimately, he left.

Jake stumbled awkwardly as the raccoon left, wobbling on the spot as he struggled to remain upright with only one good leg. Hugging his naked body modestly and fearfully, he watched the panther lock eyes onto him. Then, as soon as Thomas was out of ear-shot he struck.

The buck cried out loud as Dominic bore down on him, but it was quickly cut off by ruthless shaking of his fragile frame. The panther jerked the rabbit back and forth like a ragdoll, screaming in his face and cussing him out for having possibly done this get out of chores and threatening another beating.

There was nothing Jake could say or do, though. Dom shook him like a leaf, his rage visibly increasing as he reached a familiar state to the buck. He was gonna go insane again. Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me! Jake screamed in his head even as spittle flew into his scrunched up face. He cried aloud, trying to make any sort of sound to attract the absent raccoon.

When Dominic finally stopped shaking him, it was to raise a clawed paw in striking formation. Jake stared up at it in wide-eyed horror. This was it, the panther was going to kill him and there was nothing he could do—

The sudden released caught Jake completely by surprise, so much so that he fell straight to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Landing on his back, he made panicked cries and struggled to back away, but Dominic was already distancing himself. The cub watched in terror and confusion as the panther completely called off is attack, even jabbing a finger in his direction as he explained how lucky he was and how it didn’t make sense that he’d try to escape just because he chose not to rape him on the first night. 

Of course, he assured the frightened buck he was going to do it eventually, but for now, for some odd reason, the panther backed off. He even proceeded to do what he was supposed to do, grabbing the tub and filling it with the hose. Jake watched quietly the entire time, backing away whenever Dominic came too close and trying to keep his eyes clear of tears. The sound of Jake’s quiet sniffling and shuddering breathing was all that filled the air until Thomas finally returned.

Still sitting on the ground Jake watched the raccoon bringing with him some crutches, soap, a brush and a garbage bag. The cub gave little resistance as Thomas applied to bag to his injured leg, whining whenever it disturbed his wounds.

The entire time Jake didn’t take his eyes off of the panther. What had happened to him? One moment he was going to strike the cub down, and the next all his anger had completely vanished. And afterward he didn’t stop nursing a spot on his head. Whatever it was that changed Dominic’s attitude, the buck hoped and prayed it stayed that way.

Once the leg was wrapped securely, Thomas picked up the shivering boy and placed him on his feet in the basin. The water felt weird around his bag-encased leg, and he still couldn’t put any weight on it at all so he grasped the raccoon for support, still distracted by the feline’s odd behavior.

When Dominic finally spoke again, it was to declare himself as Jake’s new ‘teacher’. The rabbit’s ears dropped at the thought. Neither of these two seemed very bright, even from the eight-year-old’s perspective. The boy could never see either of them as a proper teacher. And furthermore, what did that plan to ‘teach’ him?

“I don’wanna teacher, I wanna go back to school…” Jake mumbled quietly but it was drowned out by Thomas’s peppy response.

The two of them were talking about the pigs and how they ate each other, and Jake was just about ready to vomit at the concept when Thomas started groping his little testicles again, describing how lucky he was that the pigs hadn’t gotten them. Whimpering unhappily, the cub tried to push those filthy paws away from his nethers, but Thomas was relentless with his molestation and Jake needed to keep one paw on the raccoon’s shoulder at all times just to keep from falling.

Although Thomas washed him thoroughly, excluding his covered legs, the raccoon wouldn’t stop sticking his paws where they didn’t belong. He was even getting aroused by it. It was driving the little buck crazy.

“S…Stop! Stop it,” Jake whined. “Stop touching me there, please!” Thomas’s excuses that it was to get him clean were wearing thin. “No, no! I said stop!”

Reaching a boiling point, the rabbit pushed Thomas away as hard as he could, causing himself to fly backwards and out of the basin entirely. He landed on the back of his head with his feet kicking in the air until he corrected himself and crawled several feet through the dirt to distance himself.

“Just stop touching me!” he cried, trembling violently. “I don’t want you touching me, never ever! Just leave me alone!”

Jake’s outburst caught the portly raccoon completely off guard. Thomas fully expected Jake to put up a fight with Dominic, but did not ever expect the same resistance. The buck definitely had plenty of fight in him and now aimed his guns against Thomas. Don’t he love me? I thought he was okay being our boy. Maybe he is truly loveless, Thomas thought to himself. Looking totally distraught, Thomas got up and hung his head in shame.

As consequence for feeling sorry for himself, Thomas felt not much need to stop Dominic from running back over with a terrible resolve. The panther made a beeline right for the wet rabbit crawling in the mud. If Jake had any clairvoyance, he’d hear Johnny screaming: what have you done? You’ve offended your only protection! I can’t help you with this one. Dominic’s rage now is too strong. Quickly, go back to Tom!

“Don’wanna be touched no more, even by the softest hands here. A’right then, boy, I’ll touch you. Time fer us to have ourselves a battle royale! Expect to lose yer buck teeth.”

The panther quickly closed the gap between himself and Jake. The only one who could save him now was Thomas, and the raccoon just simply didn’t feel up for it. For the first time since meeting Jake, he really didn’t give a shit what Dominic would do. Mysteriously, a stiff breeze picked up behind Jake, almost pushing towards the fat, saddened raccoon.

Sorry buddy, I know you don’t want to…but I had to learn the hard way that Tom was the only thing standing between me and Dominic.

Jake had realized his error shortly before Dominic began charging towards him. The buck yelped loudly and rolled onto his paws and knees. Why did he burst out like that? His spontaneous reaction had come out of nowhere. All that touching just made him snap, and now he regretted it immensely.

As the enraged panther drew closer his words rang loudly in the buck’s ears. At the same time, it felt as though other words bounced around in his head too. He’d just alienated the only person who could protect him from the feline’s abuse. Thomas just stood there now, making no move to stop his friend from tearing the eight-year-old rabbit apart. If he didn’t do something soon, this would really be the end.

“N-no, no! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I—I-I didn’t mean it, I didn’t, I’m sorry!” he shrieked. “Please don’t let him hurt me, I don’t wanna die! I love you, I love you, I do, please!”

Jake couldn’t say another word beyond that because Dominic was finally upon him, throwing punches and kicking his little ribcage until he couldn’t breathe. Claws came out and added new scars, and then, just like the panther promised, he grasped Jake in a head-lock and wrapped his fingers tight around the boy’s incisors, flexing them outward until his captive howled in agony.

Even with his teeth close to being torn out of his mouth, Jake felt a sudden urge to move. Screaming loudly and elbowing Dominic in the gut, he bit down on the invading fingers in his mouth and dove away from the feline, crawling on one knee towards Thomas. His jaws and teeth ached and his body throbbed with pain, but he struggled to hold a paw out to the raccoon, with Dominic quickly recovering behind him.

“Pluh… please… please, daddy” he whimpered. It was a shot in the dark whether the term of endearment would spur Thomas to save him, but he took it anyway.

Sparkles shone in Thomas’s watering eyes. Hearing those words from Jake’s mouth rather than from inside his own mind touched the raccoon right in his miscoloured heart. He didn’t perceive the call as an attempt from Jake to save his own hide. In his mind, Jake at long last confessed his true feelings. Whatever it really was, it gave Thomas renewed interest in protecting Jake.

The raccoon would have to act quickly because Dominic lunged at Jake in a feral pounce. Dominic was in a mode that went beyond his usual, psychotic bouts of rage. The panther found himself in the state he was just before arriving at the farm. In such a demented state, he didn’t care if he caused long term or even permanent injury to Jake. All the panther desired now was blood.

The very instant the panther landed, Thomas used all his bulk to shove the cat off of Jake. His effort, though, didn’t stop Dominic’s attack. The panther got up and diverted focus from Jake onto Thomas.

“Tom, wut the…? Yeh fat son of a bi…”

When the panther got in front of Thomas, the heavy raccoon lifted up one of his bulky arms and brought it down hard like a club. He struck Dominic right on the bruised portion of the feline’s skull, and caused his friend to drop where he stood. Thomas didn’t quite knock out Dominic, but he certainly brought the feline right at the very cusp of losing consciousness. As the panther cradled his head, Thomas leaned down and scooped up Jake.

Not issuing so much as a word, Thomas just held Jake close. He had the bunny off his feet and just hugged him tight like a teddy bear. The raccoon didn’t even make a sound. After a few moments, he even began rocking back and forth just to soothe Jake. Thomas could have made the moment last forever, but did eventually let the buck back down on his feet.

It was just as Dominic got back to his feet that Thomas set Jake back down. The raccoon held the rabbit close by and also held one of Jake’s paws. Turns out it was a good thing for Thomas to force such close company, because the panther got ready for a second round. Dominic did get up close, but stopped at seeing his friend eying him down with the most unimpressed look.

Grumbling under his breath and begrudgingly admitting defeat, Dominic barked out orders to Thomas. “Well…get him cleaned back up a’ready! Fuck, we’s got shit to do an’ dun wasted too much of this fuckin’ day already.”

Only when the panther stormed off sulking did Thomas comply with his friend’s demand. He got Jake back into the bath and scrubbed off all the newly deposited dirt stains. Again, unfortunately for Jake, the raccoon devoted more time than necessary to boy’s nethers. Still, he was soft about it and didn’t issue a word or show signs of arousal this time. He just wanted Jake clean, yet at the same time still wanted to have some fun at least. After all, Jake did say he loved him. Without wasting any more time, Thomas got Jake to walk with him around the house to sun dry his fur. Completing a few laps only, the raccoon redressed Jake in clothes that still, after all these years, had the smell of fox.

When Dominic came in for another pounce, Jake thought for what felt like the hundredth time now, that he was going to die, that his pleading to the raccoon had fallen on deaf ears, that this time, this time death was coming for him.

Laying on his back in one final, meager attempt to defend himself, the buck covered his face and prepared for the inevitable. But… it didn’t come. The panther was on top of him for an instant, ready to strike a final blow, when something struck him instead. He was sent hurdling off the small bunny’s body, leaving Jake dumbfounded.

Opening his eyes, he caught the action of Thomas bringing a ham-fisted swing down onto Dominic’s noggin. There was a loud clap and the feline was down, hugging his head in pain. Jake sat up slowly still in shock. He… He saved me… This was nothing like the raccoon’s previous measures of protecting him. For the first time, Thomas got violent with Dominic in a way Jake had never witnessed.

With Dominic down for the count, Thomas returned to Jake and scooped him up in his arms. For once, the buck didn’t mind at all. In fact he ignored the smell and buried in face in the raccoon’s shirt, sobbing quietly as he clung to his chest. He couldn’t believe he’d ever be so grateful to be in the arms of his kidnapper, but after what nearly transpired, he didn’t want to leave.

It seemed Thomas didn’t want to let go either, because he began rocking to sooth the crying cub, but eventually he released Jake just as Dominic was recovering from the blow to his head. As he returned to his feet, the rabbit remained close to Tom just as much as the raccoon held him close. He even willingly let the ring-tail hold his paw.

Both of them watched Dominic as he moved closer, but Jake whined and ducked even closer to his savior, closing his eyes in fear. Eventually it seemed the feline took a hint and backed down. He suddenly barked orders though, making the cub flinch, before storming off.

One Dominic had left, Thomas finally resumed bathing Jake, and this time, the cub didn’t make a fuss. Not even when the raccoon’s paws repeatedly groped him inappropriately, did the boy make a complaint. Standing quietly, he just hugged himself and struggled to stay upright as his naked body was cleansed by the raccoon’s filthy paws.

“T… thank-you, daddy…” Jake said after a few minutes of silence; he felt it was only fair. “F… for saving me…”

Thomas completed his task without a word. Helping Jake out of the tub, he proceeded to force him to walk laps around the house. It was difficult with one leg completely incapacitated, but the raccoon was there as a crutch to help him make the journey until his fur had dried enough to be dressed.

When the clothes were produced and applied to his person, Jake distinctly caught the scent of fox. He had to resist freaking out, as was the norm for the cub in the presence of foxes. In this case though, it was worse. Not only did these clothes belong to a fox, they belonged to a deceased one. Johnny.

Jake shivered as he was dressed in the clothes of another dead boy. It disturbed him greatly to think that these clothes used to have been worn by that poor cub. They weren’t just a plain t-shirt and shorts anymore, they were a memory of a boy who was brutally murdered; by the psychotic black panther no less.

Once the cub was dressed again, he spoke once more.

“I… I was so scared… I thought he was gunna kill me… P…. please don’t let him kill me, daddy…”

“Dontcha’ll worry yourself nun,” Thomas whispered gently into Jake’s ear as he again hugged the boy tight. “I won’t let’im do anythin’ terrible ever again.”

Metal creaking off in the distance signified Dominic’s approach. He had the old RedRyder wagon in tow. Inside the wagon, for Jake’s use, was a clip board of clean sheets of paper and several pencils. The panther also had a binder full of his own notes.

“Get in. Write down ev’rythin’ I teach yeh, ‘cuz I ain’t gonna repeat yer lessons.”
Thomas helped Jake into the wagon, which Dominic insisted that he’d pull. The raccoon picked up the clipboard and a pencil and placed it in Jake’s paw. Before rising up, he again whispered into Jake’s ear.

“I’ll be right b’side ya. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. Hey, Dom, y’all got them numbers?”

Taking a quick second peek at his binder, Dominic confirmed that he did indeed have a complete inventory handy. He proceeded to pull the wagon containing Jake, and dealt out the particulars for the buck’s ears primarily.

“A’right now, we had ourselves 1500 heads of hog before we left, an’ that don’include the sows or our two breeders. Them hogs is the ones fer makin’ into bacon. ‘Member wut I tells yeh about them eatin’ each other? That’s why we’re goin’ through the yards today: to find out how many we lost.”

“That’s right, Jakey. We’s got’s to find them un-four-tunate porker-ses remains. If we is lucky, we’ll find their tags, but we mostly gots t’look for bones.”

“Write all this down, boy. Oh look, here’s a tag right here.”

Sure enough, the panther picked out a green plastic tag with a number. The item was surrounded by dried out remnants of a pig’s ear. Dominic took note of the number in his binder, drew a slash across the corresponding entry in his inventory, and tossed the tag into the wagon, right in front of Jake.

“Dom, don’t scare the piss outta our boy!”

“Huh, if he thinks that’s bad, wait till we dun git to a rottin’ carcass!”

“It’s fine, there ‘lil feller,” Thomas whispered. “Heh, I’m sure y’all is gonna hate pigs after today.”

Surprisingly, they were lucky enough to find mostly tags with little to no remains attached. A few of them had teeth marks on them, and one got extracted from a pile of dried pig dung. Clearly, that pig got consumed whole by its pen mates while Dominic and Thomas were gone. The dumb animals could not distinguish between plastic and flesh, so they would and often did eat absolutely everything. All these dried out remains were the result of the hot Southern sun. The yellow orb in the sky beat down hard on the poor buck not used to the climate of the deep South.

“Dom, our boy needs a drink.”

“Later…Oh! Here’s a good one! This one was freshly killed, not but two or three days ago, I reckon.”

At long last, they came upon a fresh kill. The hapless hog fell prey to its own kind and had most of its innards and lower quarters consumed. Its tongue laid out of its mouth with signs of dried blood at the nose and mouth. All around the poor beast were signs of a death struggle. It had bite marks all over. It was anyone’s guess how much damage he inflicted upon his attackers before succumbing to his injuries. That was something else that would factor into the losses of the farm. Many pigs would likely fall prey to infection from death fights like the one the three farmhands saw before them. The sight was unlike anything anyone witnessed in even the most graphic horror films. This was real life. This was nature.

It quickly became clear that Dominic was not going to give Jake any rest today. He was still set on ‘teaching’ him the ways of the farm, and unfortunately he couldn’t seek Thomas’s protection because the raccoon was all for it. In fact he made sure the wounded cub got into the wagon.

Not willing to start another confrontation, Jake complied completely, settling down into the rusted old wagon with both legs outstretched but cringing all the way. The numbing agent was beginning to wear off and with it, paths of pain began to light up along all the stitches, making it insanely itchy.

Before the trip began, Thomas handed Jake a clipboard with some paper and a pencil. Surprisingly, the buck accepted them graciously, a small smile even creeping across his face as he stared down at the items. It had been so long since he’d had a chance to do any drawing. Of course, he was charged with taking notes, not doodling, so for now he conceded to the task given to him.

With the raccoon promising he’d be close by, the wagon began moving, making the cub wobble and whimper a little as his leg complained from the initial start-up. He nodded his understanding to the chubby ring-tail and started writing on the paper, setting it up for all the stuff Dominic planned to say.

Farm Stuff – Dominic

This, ironically felt like a field-trip at school, but Jake knew better. This was a list of things he’d have to learn the first time, because the panther specifically stated that he wouldn’t repeat himself. Of course, the lessons began immediately, causing the day-dreaming bunny to snap to attention. He was thinking about things to draw, but before he could further entertain that he’d have to obey the feline or suffer.

While Dominic spoke the buck wrote what he said, trying to be as accurate as he could.

1500 hogs before they left
Sows and two breeders?
Hogs are for making bacon.
Pigs eat pigs.

Have to check how many are left.
Thomas spoke up next and Jake continued taking notes as Dominic instructed.

Look for remains… gross
Try to find their tags?
If not, look for bo—

When the tag landed in between the buck’s legs he yelped in surprise and backed away, looking sickened by the sight of the mangled little object. He shuddered and tried to control his breathing until he could gingerly move the tag away from him. Thomas berated the panther for the action, but he shrugged it off with the possibility of stumbling across something worse.

Jake prayed they didn’t find a corpse. He didn’t think his stomach could handle it. But at least for now all they found was a tag. As the boy noted the find on his sheet of paper, Thomas tried to crack wise about Jake’s affection for pigs, but it didn’t have a very positive impact. After getting bitten by one of the hogs, the cub had already had his fill and never wanted to see another pig ever again.

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case. As the survey continued, more tags were found and tossed uncomfortably close to Jake’s person in the wagon. He continued marking down the numbers, trying to look busy for Dominic, but he was beginning to get queasy. Being so close to all these pigs was making him nervous.

Halfway through the trip, a pig had come close to the wagon and caught the scent of Jake. Watching the beast closely and worriedly, he screamed quite abruptly when he tried to lunge forward and take a bite out of him. Luckily Thomas was there to slap the hog away and scare it off, much to the panicked cub’s relief.

The trip around the pen continued and the longer Jake was forced to sit in the hot sun, the weaker he felt and the drier his throat got. It eventually got to where he was licking his lips constantly to moisten them. His ears were wilted as it was slumped over double on himself, panting heavily. By this point he’d given up writing entirely, and Thomas noticed the signs of dehydration, relaying the information to Dominic.

Shrugging if off though, the feline finally found what he was looking for. Against his will, Jake was carted in the wagon over to the half-eaten carcass of a pig. His eyes locked onto it immediately and there was a sickening churning in his stomach. Immediately after Dominic expressed his joy at having found the gory mess, the young rabbit jerked to the side and vomited over the edge of the wagon. The gagging and choking as bile burst up his throat was so powerful the cub shuddered physically from the nausea.

“Goddamit Dom, naow lookit wut ch’all did,” Thomas said grumpily, crouching down beside Jake to pet his head and ears as the boy continued to gag and eject whatever fluids he could until his stomach was completely empty.

“This’s wut everyone calls life! Git used to it, kid.”
“Dom, is y’all bent on killin’ him? He’s had enough for one day. C’mon Jakey, let’s get somethin’ to drink.”

“He ain’t stepping foot in the house! He ain’t earn it yet.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Thoroughly unimpressed, Dominic continued his survey of the yard. Every so often, he did come up to a pile of bones. Dominic’s method certainly didn’t count as an exact science. Of course he knew bones would get scattered and he likely wouldn’t find complete skeletons, but he didn’t go so far as to perform any real forensic work. He just gave it his best guess as to how many pigs died based on the assortment of bones he found.

For the carcasses that no longer had tags, Dominic had to take separate note of them. He would not go so far as to count every pig and compare tag numbers in his book. It was too much work for just two farm hands. Instead, he’d take note of every pig slaughtered and then cycle out the numbers that never made it to the chopping block after a given amount of time. All he wanted now was a gross estimate of his losses.

Meanwhile, back at the barn, Thomas got Jake a much needed glass of water. The raccoon felt a small amount of anxiety building up inside him. He felt like he was doing something wrong and would get in trouble somehow. Trouble is, he never once defied Dominic. It was not so much that he feared the panther. Oh, quite the contrary, Thomas always felt very safe around his friend. Still, he felt so out of sorts by standing up to the panther. He hoped Jake wouldn’t become a rift in their friendship, but there was no denying that Thomas was indeed head over heels in love with Jake.

“There ya go, lil’ feller. Sorry we couldn’t stay in the house. Oh, I ain’t afraid of Dom, or nothin’, but…I really don’wanna have to put down muh pal, y’know? He’s still my best friend and everthin’.”

The raccoon paced around, searching for anything. The farm house offered nothing ready to eat and Thomas considered checking on some of the corn feed for Jake. He tasted some and decided the buck absolutely would not like it; however, the stuff would make for very tasty cornbread.

“Uh, kay, uh…Tells ya what, I’ll make ya some cornbread. It ain’t as good as Momma Fran’s stuff, but I think y’all still like it. Just wait here, Jakey, I’ll go make some. Please don’t go wandering.”

Silence now gripped the great cavern of the barn. The pigs were safely segregated from Jake outside, and Jake was also away from both predators. It would have been so easy just to slip out the front door and run away, but before any such idea could turn into action, Dominic burst inside.

Immediately, the panther noticed Jake and regarded the buck with unsettling calmness.
“Oh, why hello there, boy.”

He seemed to ignore the buck for a moment while he returned his binder to the office. The panther scratched down a few more notes before going back out into the open floor space. Again, gliding past Jake, he deposited all the tags into a lock box fixed to the wall of the barn “office.” To make things even more unsettling, the panther even whistled to himself like any other work day. Jake didn’t even seem to factor into the current paradigm of Dominic’s surroundings.

Finally, he came face to face with Jake. Actually, he had approached from the side and tapped the buck on the shoulder. Dominic sure was playing a weird game with Jake. His approach suggested a desire to get the boy’s attention to report something.

“Jakey, why dontcha step into my office? I have somethin’ to show yeh. Well? C’mon then.”

Again the default assumption here was that Jake had no choice. Once in the office, the panther pointed out some numbers on the felt board, and explained their meaning to the buck.

“A’righty, as yeh can see here, I believe I lost 89 heads of hog. And at today’s market price, that’s how much money ain’t comin’ our way anymore. Ain’t too bad considerin’ how long me and Tom was away. Speakin’ of, where is Tom? Oh, is he now?”

Dominic locked the door behind him and sat upon the desk. An evil grin crept upon his feline face.

“Well then, heh heh heh. A’right, have a seat over there, why dontcha? Now then, I reckon we could have ourselves a little talk, but that’ll git dry real quick, I do say. So tells ya what, I ain’t gonna lay a finger on yeh. Instead, I’m just gonna work myself…while YOU work yerself. C’mon, do I need to spell it out? Git yer pants off an’ start jerkin’ yerself off. Unless, yeh want me to touch ya, but I ain’t doin’ soft like. Last chance, bucko…touch yerself, or I’ll do it.”

For the first time since being kidnapped by Thomas and Dominic, Jake actually felt safe. When it can down to it, it was a matter of picking the lesser evil, and in this case that was Thomas. Siding with him, gaining his affection and devotion, had created something of a barrier between himself and Dominic. Whatever had compelled him to profess his ‘love’ to the raccoon, it turned out to be a blessing.

With his two kidnappers at odds, Jake was freed from this gruesome task of counting dead pigs and could get the drink his dry throat desperately needed. Thomas took over the wagon-pulling and left the panther to himself. The cub felt a vast sense of relief just being away from the temperamental feline.

When they finally got to the barn and Thomas offered him a drink of dirty-looking water, the cub accepted it graciously, even frantically. He guzzled at least three glasses of the foul-tasting liquid before his thirst was sated. He’d never been out in the sun so long before. It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten heat-stroke.

As he was drinking, the raccoon spoke to him, apologizing for not being able to go into the house, which was a disappointment for Jake, as the barn still smelled disgusting even without the pigs. Thomas assured him it wasn’t out of fear, but if it really was, the buck would not have been surprised in the least. Dominic was like a worst nightmare personified. Just being around the black panther gave him chills of terror.

After the buck had his fill of water, Thomas paced about looking for some food, of which there was none in the barn; none that Jake would even consider eating anyway. So instead, Thomas offered to make some corn-bread. Telling him to wait and not go wandering, he promptly left.

“N-n-no, please don’t leave me…!” Jake whined, but Thomas was already gone.

A sudden silence enveloped the room. The buck was all alone, unable to stay with his protection and not knowing where Dominic was. Had he a notion to, he’d probably have tried to escape, but it was a good thing he didn’t, because just as quickly as the suggestion popped into his head, the panther burst through the barn door, scaring Jake half to death.

Sitting on a wooden stool, the cub went rigid, eyes locked onto Dominic with terror plain on his face. The feline offered a quick greeting, making the cub swallow the rising lump in his throat, and then went about his business. For a little while the buck followed him with his eyes, fearing another attack. Even with his wounded and still bagged up leg, Jake had every intention of trying to escape if such an assault came his way again. It likely wouldn’t have helped, but it was better than sitting and dying without even trying.

Eventually Jake lost sight of Dominic and that was when he suddenly appeared beside him, making the boy nearly jump out of his skin and practically fall off the stool. The panther instructed him to step into the office, using the tone Jake quickly realized as not giving him a choice in the matter.
 
Standing up slowly, using the stool for support, the shivering buck complied. His heart was pounding in his chest and throbbing in his ears as he very precariously made his way to the room, standing just beyond the door when he arrived, too afraid to move further. From there, Dominic moved past him, explaining some more things to him about the pigs and finances. Unfortunately, Jake had ditched the clipboard in the wagon and wasn’t prepared to write anything down, but ultimately it didn’t seem to matter.

Dominic asked Jake where Tom was. The cub hesitated but told the truth.

“He… he’s… making some… food?” He said quietly.

The panther replied calmly, and then the trap snapped shut. The door to the office was locked and Dominic sat on the desk grinning wickedly at the frightened cub. He offered the unbalanced cub a seat, which, despite his reservations, Jake accepted. Then the feline’s true intentions emerged.

Although he promised not to lay a finger on Jake, it came with an awful price. The predator wanted the rabbit to masturbate, just like Tom had before, only the difference here was, if he chose not to, Dominic would, and if he had to do it, it wouldn’t be good.

After giving his order and one last chance to obey, the cub piped up.

“B-b-but Tom said—but—y… you can’t… please…” Jake whimpered, placing his paws deep in his lap. “Okay… okay… just—p-please don’t… I-I’ll do it, I will, just…”

Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me!

Having conceded to the task, Jake gingerly reached a paw into his previously owned shorts, locating his little sheath and struggling to arouse himself despite the overwhelming terror of his current predicament. It was difficult to say the least, but eventually his body responded of its own accord. His delicate fingering produced a stiffness in his sheath that slowly grew into a pink button at the opening. However, he was doing all of this within his shorts, trying to keep it hidden, unlike what Dominic had demanded.

“Oh he did, did he? Well, Tom ain’t here now is he? C’mon, you call that jerkin’ it? Take yer shorts right down an’ work the little thing! Or, do I need to show yeh how again? Huh huh huh.”

The panther dropped his own pants to reveal a growing stiffness. To Dominic, seeing the boy masturbate himself on command felt just as good as a hand over his own spiny cock. He wrapped a fist around his shaft and jerked while he watched Jake. His impressive plums bobbed up and down with every stroke, and his spines scratched at his paw. Additionally, Dominic now had the full luxury of showing up Jake’s maleness with his own. The daylight shining brightly through the office window allowed both parties a clear view of every little detail about each other, including some nasty scars on the panther’s thighs.

“C’mon now, keep goin’…yeh don’want me to bring it up for ya.”

Both Jake and Dominic masturbated in each other’s presence until a sudden knocking came at the locked door. Thomas had no intention of leaving Jake for very long, and once he got a loaf into the oven, he returned to the barn. The raccoon didn’t expect his partner to return so quickly. Of course, it didn’t surprise him that Dominic made a move on Jake. He pounded on the door to get his partner’s attention.

“Open up!”

“Tom, fuck off! I’m busy here…”

Thomas ran off, but quickly returned with a fire axe. Dominic could see through the window beside the doorframe what the raccoon had in paw. The full figured ring-tail raised the axe high and was about to bring it down hard on the door.

“Fuck, Tom, yeh crazy!” Dominic unlocked the door and flung it open to confront Thomas. The raccoon lowered the axe after stopping himself from taking a swing. As pissed off as he was against Dominic, he could never bring himself to kill his best friend.

“Dom, don’t y’all think the boy has had enough for one day? Let’im be.”

“Tom…yer crossin’ a delicate line with me. Dontcha ferget…the boy’s mine too!”

Pondering, the raccoon eyed Jake and then returned his gaze to Dominic. The panther was right, but Thomas still felt a certain level of entitlement over Jake that superseded Dominic. Furthermore, all Dominic did was hurt Jake, which made Thomas question if the panther really loved the buck. Albeit, the panther always had an aggressive way of showing affection to all the kids he supposedly loved, but Thomas could no longer ignore the impact it was having on Jake. He wanted to keep Jake, but Dominic would surely drive him away just like he did with Johnny. Thomas did not want a repeat of what happened with Johnny.

On the other paw, he also saw a massive source of conflict by keeping Jake to himself. It would surely drive a wedge between the two partners, and Thomas didn’t want that either. What was he to do then? Well, he figured he could still protect Jake while at the same time permitting Dominic the sexual release he craved.

“You ain’t layin’ a finger on him today, Dom. If y’all want, you can watch’im rub one out and choke your own chicken.”

“That’s wut I was fuckin’ doin’! Now piss off!”

“No Dom…not without me around.”

Thomas reached his paws under Jake’s shoulders and lifted him up. He took over Jake’s spot on the chair and sat the boy down on his lap. With Jake seated safely on his lap and his arms wrapped around the boy, he whispered into the buck’s ears.

“I know y’all don’t wanna, but the sooner you do, the sooner Dom there will go away. I’ll protect you from him. Don’t worry.”

Looking up to Dominic, Thomas called out, “Well, what’cha waitin’ fer? This is what y’all wanted.”

The session lasted not even a full minute. Dominic tried to please himself over watching Jake, but the silent vigil of Thomas sitting there guarding the buck made it impossible for the panther to stay aroused. Most of the time was spent just trying to renew his erection, which would quickly go down. Fed up, Dominic gave up, put his pants back up, and ran out of the office pouting.

“Well see, that worked pretty good, now din’it!” Thomas said to Jake. “Uh, y’all don’t have to keep goin’ if you dun wanna, but if it dun go down right away, y’all probably better finish it then. Trust me…I know how them parts work pretty good.”

Jake was beginning to whimper and moan from his own manipulations of his tiny boyhood, but they were cut off temporarily by Dominic crudely berating him for hiding his business. Fearing the panther’s wrath, the cub flinched and hurriedly unbuttoned the tail-loop to his shorts and pulled them down to his knees, exposing his half-erect penis. As usual he blushed and his ears wilted like flowers in the heat of summer, but he swallowed his humiliation and continued fiddling with himself.

Eventually his little member reached full mast and he was jerking his fingers up and down its short length quickly, moaning and shivering as he gripped the edge of his seat. He was familiar with the good feeling he got from doing this, but it was severely diluted by the fact Dominic was watching and tugging on his own much larger, dangerous looking penis. The cub had to focus on his own handiwork just to keep from witnessing those spiky barbs glide under his paw while his saggy testicles bounced around.

For some reason the cub was actually beginning to feel bad about the size of his own genitals. Maybe it was from all the mockery and scorn the two beasts had tormented him with; the laughter and molestation as they fondled his mediocre boyhood. Even though he was young and a rabbit, he felt like maybe he was abnormally tiny.

All that mattered for now though is that he had to masturbate for Dominic or something far worse would come his way. After several minutes of work, the cub was nearing a climax, but he was afraid to finish before the panther. So he struggled to keep it back, lessening his effort despite the panther’s encouragement.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about it much longer. A sudden knock came upon the locked office door and Thomas’s voice rang out, both startling and bringing a wave of relief to Jake’s heart.

Stopping his efforts almost immediately, Jake watched as Dominic cussed his friend off, causing the raccoon to acquire an axe, with which he nearly bust the door down before the feline swung it open, his erection still hanging out and flopping around as he bitched at Thomas.

The two started arguing in front of Jake, who huddled on the chair worriedly, afraid a fight might break out, but instead Thomas came over and scooped him up, situating the cub on his lap as he sat down.

Thomas whispered into his ear, encouraging him to resume, but Jake was hesitant to start again. His erection was still present and visible for both kidnappers to see, so being embarrassed at this point was redundant. Sighing inwardly, the cub gripped his boyhood again and tried to resume his efforts. The raccoon blasted his companion for taking his sweet time, and eventually Dominic tried to continue as well. It didn’t take long though for the feline to give up and, with an angry look on his face he exited the room quickly. Jake watched in surprise. He hadn’t expected him to just walk out. Was he embarrassed? Angry? Maybe he couldn’t get aroused again with Thomas eyeing him down. Either way, Jake was grateful.

He was still holding himself when Thomas spoke to him again, telling him he didn’t have to continued, but he could if he wanted to. Of course, the buck was sure the raccoon rather he continued. The eight-year-old was about to opt to quit when an idea popped into his head.

“Um… if… if I do… c-can I sleep with you tonight? Please? Daddy?” It was long shot, but Jake threw that last part in in the hopes it might have an effect on the raccoon like it did before.

“Wuh? Well, uh…I uh…hmm.” Jake’s unexpected willingness took the raccoon completely off guard. In this particular instance, he only meant for Jake to continue just to spare the boy the unpleasantness of blue balls. He figured that, even for someone as reserved as Jake, not finishing the act would result in discomfort for several hours to follow. It certainly worked that way with the raccoon’s body. He simply could not leave any of his erections untended and had to slake them all.

Of course, the boy put forth an interesting quid pro quo scenario. Clearly, the buck had finally understood that Thomas could never say no to any kind of sexual activity from the rabbit. Plus, he felt himself starting to get giddy over sharing his sleeping space with the boy. To make matters even better, Jake offered his services willingly! But, with a price attached… Still, Thomas considered it a fair trade.

The only thing about the deal that concerned him was not having Dominic’s approval. With their only other long term captive, Johnny, a stay in the farm house was earned, not granted automatically. Dominic’s logic on the matter made sense, and it was to get Johnny to trade lousy living conditions at the price of total acceptance and submission. The same logic applied to Jake, but was the buck really willing to submit so soon? It really made Thomas wholeheartedly believe that Jake truly loved him. He thought the matter through very carefully, and attempted to work things out loud for Jake to hear.

“Hum, well, les-see…Dominic sure would be somethin’ pissed if I let you in, y’know, without first earnin’ it, but then…shit, it’s my place too! I work hard, earn my keep, and that be my room and my bed in there. So…yeah, it’s totally my say! Then again…ugh…I’mma plum worried ‘bout you, lil’ feller. Eeh, I dun really wanna hafta beat up my best friend to protect ya, but…You know what? I dun care. I’ll do it! Y’all can bed down with me tonight.”

Thomas popped out of the seat with boisterous enthusiasm, and plunked Jake back down. The raccoon took over Dominic’s previous position on the desk. He didn’t even undo his trousers, but just sat there watching the buck. His eyes gleamed and he had a bright smile over his face at seeing Jake pleasure his tiny malehood. 
God, how he loved Jake! The buck looked really good in Johnny’s old clothes. Just like a proper little Southern boy. As he recalled, Johnny had the same set of bright blue eyes like Jake. He absolutely adored Jake’s juvenile form. The cute little face, those long, black tipped ears, and his completely unimposing, small, delicate little penis appealed to the raccoon on every level. As an added bonus, Jake’s little white fuzzy scrotum reminded Thomas of Johnny’s tight little package. Naturally, the fox still had a much larger penis, but really only in terms of its girth. If Thomas didn’t know any better, he could have sworn Jake’s length was mostly on par with Johnny’s, albeit the buck had no thick knot at the base.

Smiling contently, Thomas simply assumed the role of spectator throughout the whole affair. It was satisfying enough for him just watch, even though a part of him wanted to get involved. Nevertheless, Jake volunteered to put on a show and Thomas did not want to spoil it in any way. He just sat there, watching Jake’s fingers go up and down that short little length, those tiny balls bouncing up and down, and enjoyed the look upon the buck’s face over the feelings he produced in his own groin.

Finally, when Jake finished, Thomas complimented the bunny’s work.

“Phew, oh my! That sure was nice! Din’it feel nice for ya? I hope it did. Yer quite good, you know. Um, dun mind me…watching ya has made me happy in my pants too.”

No doubt Thomas’s words escaped Jake, but the raccoon gave the boy a visual of what he meant. He pulled down his pants all the way to his ankles and revealed yet another excited piece of coon meat. Thomas spread his legs wide, so Jake could see everything, and proceeded to relieve his tensions.

“This feels so nice…just us fellers havin’ ourselves a moment together. I dun can’t recall a time when I was happier. Uh, you can go ahead and get yer pants back on, unless watchin’ me makes ya horny again. Nothin’ wrong with playing yerself all ya want. Heh, the church tells ya different. They say you is a gonna go to Hell for this sorta thing, but dun listen to ‘em. Oh, right! You don’t ‘cuz you ain’t Christian! Count yerself lucky…them folks will tells ya lies about your body, yet still do things to it themselves. They say its ‘cuz they can, bein’ men of God and all.”

Thomas worked his fish-hook shaped dong, and the ferocity of his pumping brought him to climax very quickly. Cum shot out all over the floor, and Thomas was sure to aim away from Jake. He didn’t want to get his beloved dirty again, after spending all that time cleaning him up. With his loin frustrations calmed, Thomas took the moment to explain some ‘guy’ things to Jake.

“When y’all get older, you’ll be able make alotta spunk, just like me. And don’t worry about bein’ so tiny. I like you just like that. Yer perfect in every way, Jakey…dun let no one tells ya different. Wanna know a secret? When I was a cub, mine was so small that only the tip here poked out. Heh, I dun wunt min’ if I had a small one. Would be cuter, says I.”

Pulling up his pants, Thomas gently took Jake by the paw and led him out of the barn office. He made sure to grab the right paw so he could help support Jake’s weight off of his injured leg. The raccoon led the buck to the farmhouse.

“Cornbread should just about be ready. We’ll have ourselves a warm lunch. I even brewed some tea and put it in the fridge, you know, to make some ice tea. Wunt that be nice? Afterwards, we do have to do some stuff ‘round the farm. Can’t get Dom too pissed. Duntcha worry yerself nun, ‘cuz I’ll pull ya ‘round in that thar wagon.”

For a moment, when Thomas stammered in surprise, Jake worried he’d overstepped his current position in this kidnapper hierarchy. Had he asked for too much too soon? The two predators were clearly very close to one another and it seemed that they’d begun having issues with one another since the cub had been forced into the back of their van. Initially they were both on board with doing whatever sadistic things they wanted to do.

Now that Jake had shown a preference for the raccoon’s company, despite the smell and the unwanted groping, it seemed Dominic was growing scarier by the hour. His desire to bed with Thomas in fact, was entirely based on the fact that, if left alone with Dominic, anything could happen. The panther had a short temper, which the rabbit seemed capable of setting off too easily.

As Thomas started deliberating out loud, the cub wrung his paws together nervously. If he accepted the buck’s terms, there was no telling how Dominic would react. He’d made it very clear that he didn’t want Jake in the house. However, if he said no, another night alone in the barn might provide the panther with another opportunity to have his way with the fearful boy.

When the decision came to light, Jake actually smiled, even giggled excitedly.

“R-really?!” he squeaked, clapping his paws together before realizing he might be over-reacting just a little bit.

Being in the same bed with Thomas and his groping paws would be no picnic at all, but the alternative was much worse. Either way, it wasn’t really something to be happy about. Honestly, he’d rather be at home with his family, sleeping in his own bed, worrying about things like school instead of issues like his mortality.

Once the raccoon made his decision, he was out of the seat with boisterous glee, plopping the startled back down in his place. The cub blinked and watched Thomas as he happily took up position where Dominic had been, eagerly waiting for the boy to get started.

Granted the company was less terrifying, but Jake hesitated for a moment anyway. It still felt uncomfortable doing this in front of anyone, let alone at all. But a deal was a deal. Swallowing his modesty yet again, Jake gently grabbed hold of his receded erection and carefully worked it back to full mast again.

It actually felt a little easier to do with Thomas watching instead of Dominic. The panther probably would’ve lashed out eventually if not for the raccoon’s intervention.

Without the peering gaze of the panther on him, Jake found it much quicker to reach a climax. He was even beginning to enjoy himself, as guilty a pleasure as it was. By the time he was at his peak the cub was moaning and shuddering, whining with every breath as he panted with arousal.

The more he was made to pleasure himself, the more Jake wanted to do it anyway. At this rate, his hormones would be demanding him to do it of his own accord. For now though, he had to force it. He rubbed his little prick vigorously and shivered as he reached climax and orgasmed.

Of course, Jake was still young, so as his body quivered in the throes of pleasure, only a few droplets squirted from the tip of his penis, landing on the floor in two droplets where the last just dribbled down his hot, pulsating erection.

Still trembling in the afterglow, the cub dropped his paws to the side and tried to catch his breath, staring at his own half-naked body as Thomas congratulated him for a job well done. The praise made Jake blush and turn his head to the side, but he did nothing to hide his exposed privates.

Now it was the raccoon’s turn, and despite himself, the buck couldn’t help but watch. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Thomas expose his much larger, hooked appendage. It looked intimidating, bobbing up and down as his captor worked his paws along its length. Jake wondered why it was shaped that way, now that he had better light to see it in detail; it was much different than his own.

Looking at it reminded him of when the raccoon and forced it up his little tail-hole. When it had been pushing around inside him, there’d been a constant bumping of something against the walls of his anal cavity; probably the curve of the hook. As Jake watched, he listened absently to Thomas rambling on about churches and masturbating, and all the while, the cub’s paw subconsciously snaked back towards his own still twitching erection.

Thomas had told him he could get dressed again, but he was momentarily mesmerized by the bizarre looking penis being masturbated in front of him. It was only when the raccoon ejaculated that the buck realized what he was doing. Snapping his paw away from his groin, he recoiled into the chair, thinking he was going to get splattered with Thomas’s semen.

After a moment he settled down and listened to the raccoon explain how he liked small penises and used to have one himself. The compliments from Thomas made Jake blush again. It felt weird being praised for having a small penis, especially by someone who had kidnapped him and taken him far away from home.

Once Thomas finished, he pulled his pants up, cueing Jake to do the same, much to his relief. Next he helped the injured cub out of the seat and even aided him in walking to the farmhouse. It was strange to feel so at ease in the hold of his kidnapper and rapist. But when one considered the other party to this three-way equation, it made perfect sense.

As the two headed towards the house, Jake felt almost like he was being watched. He turned back for a moment but didn’t see anything. Where was Dominic anyway?

Turning back, Jake continued to play his role with the raccoon.

“Thank-you, Daddy,” he said cheerfully. “I can’t wait. I’m sooooo hungry.”

Back in the farmhouse, the intoxicating smell of fresh cooked cornbread filled every room. The raccoon did say he didn’t possess the same level of skill as the restaurant they passed along the way back to the farm, but the smell would have anyone believe otherwise. In fact, many things about Thomas would have people wondering why he didn’t pursue much more constructive feats in life. Goodness knows he could have excelled at whatever he wanted if only he had it in him to try. Jake may not have thought so, but both Thomas and Dominic were quite smart.

Jake would soon find out that the raccoon did have a knack for baking, among other things. If the bread tasted even a fraction as good as it smelled, then Jake was in for a real treat. Thomas retrieved the baked loaf from the oven and set it in the fridge to cool off faster. While he fussed around in the fridge, he pulled out a jug of freshly made iced tea. He extracted the tea bags and added globs of honey out of a glass jar. The honey had completely crystalized, meaning it was quite old.

“Oh, dun worry yourself none…Honey doesn’t actually expire, dontcha know? I’s just need to heat up the jar to make it liquid-like again, but for now, it’ll do its job.”

After adding a generous helping of honey, Thomas stirred the drink and sampled it for its sweetness. Satisfied, he pour Jake a tall glass and served the buck first. He asked, very softly for Jake to sit at the table. Also, he informed the buck that the bread would be cool enough to eat in about five minutes. The time actually passed very quickly, and after such a brief time in the fridge, the bread was still piping hot, but cool enough to eat without burning the palate.

“There ya go, lil’ feller. Dun know if y’all like it as much as that other stuff. Still, I tried, just for you.”

Thomas smiled at the buck, and sat down at the table with Jake after getting his own helping of cornbread. Spending this moment with Jake felt almost as good as the intimate moments in the van. In some ways, it felt better to the raccoon because Jake felt both like a mate and his own cub.

“Sorry, there ain’t no butter to spread on that thar bread. Uh, we gots ourselves some bacon fat. I know, don’t sound all the app-ah-tyzin’ to a rabbit, but y’all gots to get used to it eventually. ‘Sides, the salt’ll help ya get over havin’ too much sun today.”
Thomas ate slowly, not wanting this moment to end. Still, it had to or both he and Jake would have to put up with a very irate Dominic. Downing his helping of bread with an iced tea chaser, Thomas gave Jake the displeasing notice that the day had to continue.

“Well, I know y’all dun wanna, but we oughta get ourselves back to work. Here, I’ll find ya an umbrella. ‘kay now, Jakey…time to go.”

Taking Jake by the paw, only as the boy just finished eating, Thomas led Jake back outside. This time, Jake had the luxuries of an umbrella to shelter himself from the sun and another tall glass full of iced tea. He loaded the buck back into the wagon, and towed Jake along the yard back towards the pig pen. All the while, Dominic had been grabbing bags of feed and dropping them next to the feeding area along the fence.

“Oh hey there, Tom. Thought yer fat ass went back to sleep on me.”

“Uh huh…right…Well, I is out here now. Lemme help ya feed them meatsacks.”

“A’right, but as yeh see here, I already got me all the feed I need. Bring me the boy…this here be a learnin’ experience.”

Hesitating at first because he didn’t know Dominic’s true intention, Thomas slowly helped Jake out of the wagon. He reassured Jake that everything would be fine and that he’d watch over him. Very carefully, Thomas walked Jake over to the steps leading up to the feeding area. Dominic was already up there with a sack of cornfeed, slicing it open with a knife.

“Tom, pass me more as I dumps them out.”

“No sweat there, Dom.”

Thomas grabbed another heavy sack from the pile nearby. Meanwhile, Dominic grabbed Jake and brought him up the steps to the feeding platform situated precariously close to the fence. Below, hungry, noisy pigs swarmed the area waiting for their meal. The feeding trays themselves were actually cut down coal carts sitting on an old looking railline. If Jake knew anything about the history of the region, he’d know that this line was indeed a branch off of a long abandoned coal mining network.

Dominic emptied the sack into one of the carts, and then pulled on a chain pulley to drive the train of carts down the track to bring up another empty one. Immediately, the pigs dove into the one full cart in a perpetual feeding frenzy. If one decorated the beasts with fins, they’d have passed for a school of pirhanas. Worst of all, if anyone, even full grown adults like Dominic and Thomas, dared to even step foot into the pen with the pigs going berserk as they were, it would mean certain doom. The panther waited for Thomas to walk up another sack.

Before Thomas handed over the sack, he noticed Jake dangerously close to the edge of the platform. He cursed out Dominic by saying, “Dom, what the high hell you doin’? Tryin’ to give our poor boy a heart attack?”

“Relax, Tom. I want’im to learn how we goes about feedin’ these shit eaters. Oh, an’ yeh hush up too. I ain’t gonna throw yeh in there or nothin’. Just watch an’ learn.”

Taking the sack Thomas brought up, Dominic unloaded it into another cart and sent it along. Thomas eyed down the panther as he worked, not trusting his friend at all with Jake. Strange, but the raccoon always had total faith in his friend until today. Dominic continued to instruct Jake.

“See how they all jus’ go to town on their grub? That’s how they eat. Yeh don’wanna be in there with ‘em while they eat, or yeh’d be on the menu too. By the way, we din’ a done let ‘em starve while we was gone. We jus’moved ‘em into another yard over yonder, where they could eat roots. ‘Member carefully, now, ‘cuz when yer leg heals, you’ll be doin’ this.”

Thomas passed Dominic another sack. “C’mon, partner, I dun want our boy to get’im too much sun again.”

“Oh Tom, quit bein’ a fucknuts. Oh, uh hey,” In an attempt to break the ice that had developed between the two of them, Dominic joked, “Our boy sure woulda looked all ladylike if yeh put that bow on him. Y’know, I reckon it’d be perfect with him ridin’ ‘round like that with’is lil’ umbrella.”

The raccoon couldn’t help but smile at Dominic’s quip. For a moment, he again began to think with his penis as he envisioned Jake feminized. The thought escaped the raccoon’s brain quickly when he gazed into the buck’s terrified eyes.

“Uh, I dunno, Dom…”

Wow…Thomas…you’ve changed…The panther thought to himself. The rest of the feeding ritual was spent in silence. Dominic filled carts as Thomas fetched all the sacks Dominic had layed out for the day. It seemed to last ages under the burning sun and awkward silence.

“A’right, Tom, get these sacks back in the barn an’ tally up wut we used today. We’s still gots us lots a work to do.”

“Fine, but dun go scaring Jakey, ‘kay?”

“Yeah…sure…” When Thomas departed, Dominic eyed up the buck and got uncomfortably close. He put an arm around Jake’s shoulders and attempted small talk.

“Tell ya wut, I’s gots somethin’ that’ll patch things up between us right quick.” Dominic leaned the rabbit forward, close to the edge of the platform. “You pick out the one that did this to yeh, an’ I’ll slaughter the fucker tomarrah! Go on, take yer pick. Heck, pick out two if yeh think two of ‘em did yeh in!”

When Jake said he was hungry, he wasn’t lying. After numerous attempts to keep down a meal prior to arriving at the farm, the boy’s aching belly was beginning to affect him physically. So much food had been wasted during the trip, either due to vomiting it back up or using it in self-defense.

Thus, when the odor of corn bread reached Jake’s nostril’s he automatically salivated with anticipation, hugging his belly periodically from his stomach’s demand for sustenance. So desperate was the cub to have something in his belly, he didn’t make a fuss about the hardened honey being added to the iced tea. He just wrinkled his nose, accepted the glass and promptly accepted Thomas’s offer to have a seat.

The buck didn’t hesitate at all in downing the sweet fluid. In fact, after everything he’d endured the past couple days, things actually felt normal again. He could almost imagine being a home having breakfast with his family. The only hitch was the faint musky scent laced throughout the house due to the two predators and their tendency to overlook proper hygiene.

This was also the first time Jake ever had iced tea. He didn’t find it that appealing, although the honey helped with the bitter taste. He had no qualms with gulping an entire glass, though, which Thomas was happy to refill while they waited for the bread to cool. Luckily the drink was enough to stave off hunger until the paltry meal was just cool enough to be eaten.

Almost immediately after the eight-year-old rabbit’s share of the peculiarly named bread was placed before him, he dove into it hungrily. Thomas spoke to him occasionally, but Jake didn’t say a word. For a now he was driven entirely by hunger, hoping nothing would come along to spoil this meal. As he ate, the raccoon apologized for the lack of butter, but honestly, Jake didn’t care. It was food and it was good enough to keep down. Although the offer of bacon fat made the boy gag on a mouthful of corn-bread.

It took him a moment to swallow, ejecting the thought from his head with a dismissive wave of his paw. The last thing he needed was some meat product to ruin this food. He wanted to actually eat something without fear of it coming back up on him.

Jake was grateful for Thomas’s slow eating, even though he figured it was because the raccoon wanted to prolong the moment. Frankly, it allowed the buck to gobble down as much of the corn-bread as his stomach could handle, so that by the time the ring-tailed kidnapper had to call an end to their little secret meal the rabbit was, for once, feeling satiated.

Despite having a satisfied belly, Jake didn’t want to stop eating, so he whined a little as he was taken away from the table. He stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth before he was made to limp his way back outdoors. This time however, Thomas brought an umbrella.
Thank-you, D—daddy,” Jake said quietly as he was settled into the wagon with another glass of iced tea and the umbrella.

It still felt weird and unnatural calling a predator like Thomas ‘daddy’, but it seemed to please the raccoon, and staying on his good side was absolutely necessary. The big wall of meat was the only thing standing between Jake and another round of life-or-death with Dominic. There had to be a way to mend that relationship though.

There was no way Thomas could protect the rabbit twenty-four seven. That one night when the panther had nearly choked him to death was proof of that. The problem however, as evidenced by a more recent encounter, was that Dominic enjoyed causing pain and conflict. He liked it whenever the cub struggled or fought back. Pleasing the feline in such a manner willingly was completely out of the question. But, if he could find some way to stay on his good side, he might be able to avoid the worst of Dominic’s rage.

Thinking it over as he sipped on his iced tea, Jake watched as he was wheeled down from the house and towards the barn again where the panther was moving big sacks around. With his umbrella, the boy hid his face from Dominic, listening to the two talk back and forth. I wonder if he’s still angry about before, Jake thought, recalling when the feline had run from the room when he couldn’t pleasure himself like he’d wanted to. He… He wouldn’t blame me for that would he?

Before Jake realized it, Thomas was helping him out of the wagon. Dominic wanted to teach him something and despite the raccoon’s reservations, he conceded. The rabbit clung to his protector for a moment, leaving his empty glass in the wagon, but holding fast to the umbrella. He received assurances from the ring-tail, but it did little to sway his fears as he was very gingerly marched toward the platform where Dominic stood, emptying bags over a ledge.

The panther promptly sent Thomas away, leaving Jake clinging to a rickety railing before he was quickly absconded with. The cub squeaked as he was jerked up the steps to the raised feeding area. Dominic’s handling of the boy was much different from Thomas. He was rough and crude, cared little for Jake’s balance and pretty much tossed him to the ground when they reached the top.

Scared and nervous, Jake sat on his paws and knees, leaning to one side the keep the weight off his wounded leg. As he sat there, the umbrella on its side next to him, he couldn’t help but look down into the pit below. His jaw quivered with fear as he watched the pigs in all their ugly nature, tearing into the food as it was given to them. It had only taken one of them, in just a few seconds, to horribly mangle his ankle. Had he fallen off the ladder, there would’ve been nothing left by morning.

Just the sight of those beasts gorging on the feed made Jake feel sick to his stomach. It took a great deal of effort to keep own meal down. The look on his face must’ve been quite a worrying image, because when Thomas returned he immediately berated Dominic for scaring Jake. The shout caught the boy by surprise; he realized he was leaning further over the edge than was safe, and he quickly retracted back onto the platform, looking wide-eyed and shaken.

Dominic swiftly defended himself and promised Jake he wouldn’t throw him in, although prior to him speaking the words, he hadn’t actually been worried about that. Now, as the panther described the nature of the pigs and the tasks Jake would be expected to complete when his leg healed, it was all he could think about.

Jake still wasn’t entirely clear on the nature of how Johnny died, but if what he’d overheard so far was correct, it’d had something to do with the pigs. From there, his imagination was free to fill in the blanks.

As Jake tried to memorize the task, mostly to keep from thinking about the fox’s demise, Thomas complained about the sun for Jake’s sake. Unfortunately, Dominic was getting fed up with it. He tried to change the topic by bringing up the image of Jake wearing the bow he’d been dressed up in during the trip here, but surprisingly, Thomas rejected the idea. He’d looked down at the rabbit and must’ve seen the fearful look in his eyes that had pretty much become common-place arounde Dominic.

The silence afterwards was worrying though. Dominic and Thomas seemed to be having issues with their relationship. It wasn’t something Jake could sense very clearly, but the two seemed less comfortable around one another here at the farm than they had when they were both molesting him in the van. This could end up being a problem if Jake ever had hopes of convincing one of them to let him go. He had to think of something to ease the tension that was growing in the silence.

“It… it was a nice bow,” Jake said quietly, staring at the ground between his legs as the two continued pouring feed for the pigs.

When the task was finally complete, Dominic sent Thomas away yet again, offering a flimsy promise not to scare Jake again. As the raccoon left, the cub held out a paw, looking pained to see him go. Then Dominic was on him, crouching down to wrap an arm across his captive’s shoulders.

Then came the small talk, in the form of the panther offering to kill one or more pigs to somehow make Jake feel better for having been bitten by one of them. Of course, being given such a sickening offer, made the boy clamp a paw over his mouth and clench his throat muscles to keep the urge to vomit at bay.

“N… no thank-you…” he said softly before added, “…Daddy.”

If he were to patch things up with Dominic while at the same time refusing certain things, he had to appeal to him somehow. And since both of them wanted Jake to see them as his daddy, or ‘daddies’, it seemed logical to address them as such.

“Y-your not… still mad about… e-earlier are you?” he asked quietly, fussing with his shirt worriedly as he avoided looking in the pit or anywhere else but down at himself for that matter. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean for it—”

Surprised by Jake’s address to him, Dominic lifted his arm off of Jake. At first, it seemed rather obvious that the buck made his impact by bestowing the title of “daddy” onto the panther. Quietly, Dominic sat down beside the buck and webbed his fingers together between his knees. He looked down towards the buck and smiled sheepishly. Did the appeal work?

After a few moments of unsettling silence, Dominic spoke. “Jake…do yeh think I’mma idiot? Do I’s look like ‘n idiot to yeh? And I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout yer stere-uh-typical southern type of dumb, I mean does yeh think me a total simpleton who ain’t know nothin’ ‘bout anythin’?”

Dominic didn’t fall for it at all and saw straight into Jake’s mind and heart. The buck simply could not pull a fast one over the panther. Despite outward appeances, the panther was about to show Jake he possessed far more between his feline ears than what the boy gave him credit for. About all Jake could hope for now was that he didn’t piss off his captor any further.

“That junk might work on Tommy boy, but it ain’t gonna work on me. I know yeh is not bein’ genu-ine wit’me. Shit, yehs tell Tommy that yeh love’im and now yeh got’im wrapped ‘round yer baby finger…or rather, wrapped ‘round that baby dick of yers.”

If only Thomas hurried up with his business in the barn, so that way he could spare Jake the misery of Dominic’s lecture. The lesson the panther had in store for Jake was customed tailored to break the boy’s spirit. To begin with, he sought to dispel any notion that Jake could somehow make an emotional appeal. The boy had to learn that none of his efforts made any impact on Dominic whatsoever. As it turns out, the panther was in complete control of himself and would not relinquish that level of control. To make matters worse, he already made it perfectly clear that Jake had no strings to pull in this situation. The panther had total control of the buck as well, and resolved to make the hard fact inescapably clear to Jake.

“I’ll give ya this much, Jake, you is clearly quite bright. Y’oove understood that all Tommy wants is fer someone to say ‘I loves ya,’ and’is fat heart melts like butter. I, on the other paw, dun give two flyin’ fucks if no one loves me. I’ve gotten used to that fact an’ yeh ain’t never gonna convince me different. Yeh ain’t never gonna be able to reach yer paw into muh chest an’ squeeze life back into this heart of mine…I is already dead.”

A pause of silence gripped the still air under the burning midday sun. Dominic let everything sink into Jake’s mind before continuing. To get the point across, the panther grabbed the rabbit underneath his chin and turned the boy’s head towards his direction. He stared Jake right in the eyes with those sharp, yellow eyes piercing right into Jake’s very being. The gaze had a hypnotic effect as Dominic projected himself into Jake’s psyche. Even Johnny’s essence could not have protected his living friend now, and thus spare the buck a window into the soul of a monster.

“As smart as yeh think yeh is, it ain’t nothin’ compared to what I’s got. I know of things that’ll make yeh piss yer pants an’ puke where yeh stand. I can tell y’oove lived a sheltered life, an’ it takes no smarts to git through a life like that. Yeh know nothin’! That brain of yers wunt even git ya halfway through my life. I’ve been to Hell, boy. Y’oove only jus’read ‘bout it. And I wunt born a monster, y’know, but since there is no provin’ all ‘em out there wrong, I may as well proves ‘em right. That, kid, is life, an’ you is no longer livin’ in a fuckin’ dream. Yeh be in reality right now, an’ yer only way out is on this here very platform where Johnny left. Either that or yeh become a monster too…I’ve already done told yeh how. Maybe next time we jumble, I’ll gives ya a weapon to even the score.”

Thomas, finally finished in the barn, hurried back to the feeding area where Dominic spoke to Jake. His flabby rolls bounced up and down as he almost launched into a jog to return to the bunny…his bunny. He found it hard to concentrate on his work because he had no idea what Dominic might do next. Furthermore, he had not already forgotten the significance of that very spot where both the rabbit and panther were perched. As much as Dominic didn’t like to talk about Johnny, Thomas assumed the subject could very well arise as a means of frightening Jake.

The whole situation brought Johnny’s foxy form clearly in view of the raccoon’s mind’s eye. He could see the fox so clearly, even in broad daylight, that it appeared like the boy was alive again. Have y’all come back to us, Johnny boy? Gosh, I sure does miss ya. But, I think I is in love again. I hope you dun mind…I still loves ya very much too. Will y’all stay with me? Please? Both you and Jake…forever…Thomas’s line of thought ceased when he immediately recalled the role he played in Jonathan’s demise. It made him realize that if indeed there was anything at all on the other side, despite his loss of faith, and the fox’s soul did live on, then Johnny didn’t hang around to be with him. More than likely, the fox stayed around to haunt them and protect Jake, Thomas thought.

Johnny, I’m so sorry…I won’t let the same happen to Jakey, I promise.

Thomas picked up his pace, already fearful for Jake’s safety. Even though he shared some guilt in Johnny’s death, he promised himself not to do the same with Jake. Of course, the accord did not absolve Jake of any danger. Thomas knew full well that Dominic could easily kill Jake in another bout of rage. After witnessing Dominic’s odd behaviour and willingness to carelessly repeat all the same mistakes he made with Johnny, Thomas worried every second the buck had to spend with the panther. For the first time in the raccoon’s life, he didn’t trust his best friend anymore.

He got some relief when the panther and Jake came into view. From his perspective, they were just having a calm heart to heart with each other. The panther sat right next to Jake and spoke at a respectable tone, Thomas thought. He couldn’t make out what was said, but still felt relieved that all Dominic appeared to do was talk.

“I’ve, uh, put the numbers down in the log there, Dom.”

“A’right, Tommy boy. Me an’ Jake were jus’avin’ us a lil’ discussion is all.”

“Uh huh, well, uh…that’s nice, I guess. Jakey…” Thomas’s tone softened to that of a concerned parent. “C’mon over here, back into the wagon. That’s it.”

“Dontcha ferget what I told ya, Jake,” Dominic said while wearing an evil grin as Jake left. “I hopes ya have yerself a good understandin’ as to where you an’ I stand.”

Thomas looked down at Jake, very worried. “Yeah, uh, I’m pretty sure he all does, Dom.” And I think I do too…

For just a moment Jake felt like he’d had a positive effect on Dominic. It made him feel a little better about his fibbing, but as the panther removed his arm and sat down next to him, something felt off. The feline had a sheepish grin on his face, but it didn’t reflect in his eyes at all; the disconnect made Jake’s ears wilt worriedly.

The silence between the two only gave the cub time to regret his prior words. It was only when Dominic finally spoke that his hopes of having elicited any sort of compassion from the beast disappeared. He worded himself concisely and confidently despite his southern lisp. He didn’t buy a single word Jake had uttered and he asked rhetorical questions regarding his intelligence, to which the boy didn’t respond in any way. Answering honestly would’ve certainly earned him another beating.

Instead, swallowing the rising lump in his throat, he listened to Dominic as he carried on. He could feel himself shrinking away from the panther’s words, trying to make himself smaller as a means of emotional protection.

It seemed the panther not only had Jake figured out, but his plans with Thomas as well. He knew he was lying, knew how his friend would easily be sucked in by the boy’s false affections, and further more, that he’d tried just now to work the same charms on him. With everything so completely exposed by a wit Jake hadn’t expected in the least, he suddenly felt even more defenseless.

Dominic’s control over the timid buck was crystal clear now. He wasn’t in this for wanting love. There was no persuading, no tricking and no hiding anything from the panther. As the cub’s fear grew exponentially, he started inching away from the feline very subtly. Mostly it was to distance himself from the ledge as Dominic described his black heart.

The silence afterwards was emphasised by the sound of pigs gorging themselves on feed several feet below. Adding to the sound was Jake’s quickened breathing as his nose twitched erratically. Wide eyes showed the depth of his terror as Dominic forced him to look into his own, twisted ones. Staring into those narrow slits as the feline issued his final statements.

Jake’s body was trembling now, and his jaw, in the grip of the predator’s paw, was quivering with horror. Dominic was right about one thing. This was not a dream; it was a nightmare. A living nightmare.

Dom’s speech ended with the implied promise of another tumble, something Jake prayed would never come to pass. It was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt now, appealing to the panther was out of the question. He truly was a monster, inside and out. Jake had made the best possible decision he could, siding with Thomas. Anything the raccoon might have done would be a million times more bearable than even a few minutes left alone with Dominic.

When the black panther finally released him, Jake jolted his head away, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to remove the image of those piercing eyes staring into his soul. By now Thomas had returned and the cub couldn’t have been more grateful.

The two predators spoke to one another, Dominic acting as though nothing had changed, but when Thomas called Jake over, he leapt to his feet quickly enough to nearly lose his balance. He grasped the railing firmly and moved away from the panther as quickly as he could, practically diving into Thomas’s arms when he reached the bottom of the stairs. In fact, just to show how relieved he was, the cub reached up to kiss Tom on his cheek before burrowing his head in the raccoon’s chest, trying not to listen to Dominic’s parting words.

Once the two had finished conversing, Jake whispered quietly to his protector, “P-p-please don’t leave me again…”

“There, there,” Thomas whispered at Jake. “I ain’t gonna leave ya. Shh, shh, it’s A-okay…daddy’s here to protect ya.”

“C’mon then, Tommy boy. A’ready midday and we’s still gots ourselves lots to do. Time to do ourselves a per-rimeter check.”

“That means we is gonna check the fencing,” Thomas said softly to Jake. “We is gonna look over all the fences and make sure they is still in one piece. Dun y’all worry, ‘cuz you gets to sit there in the wagon and take’er easy. Jus’hold your umbrella high and take your notes.”

“Well? Yeh gonna fetch some tools or what?”

“Yeah sure, Dom. ‘Kay, Jakey, lets get ourselves to the shed.”

Thomas towed Jake behind him and walked to the tool shed. Inside the old wooden structure, Thomas grabbed an assortment of tools from sturdy built shelves. The shelves and trays all looked handcrafted and everything was carefully organized. If Jake knew the history of the farm, he’d know Dominic himself created the organizational structure of the shed, and it would have made even the most seasoned carpenter or craftsman proud. Even some of the tools were handmade. Dominic did all this when he first arrived on the farm, and brought order to chaos as his first task. He had no guidance at all because his Grandpa had such an oldschool way of doing things. Jake certainly couldn’t deny the level of intelligence it would have taken a young, teenaged panther boy to streamline every little operation on the farm.

Gathering everything he needed, he set the tools into the wagon with Jake. In fact, he more or less passed them into Jake’s paws and let the boy sort them out at his own discretion. Next, he locked up the shed and moved over to a rack built against the side of it. The rack had a variety of wooden planks, all sorted by size and application. Thomas grabbed a couple, hoping no major repairs were needed on the fence network.

“Uh, jus’so y’all know, Dom’ll likely gives ya more lessons ‘bout farm life today. Be sure and write it all down. Anythin’ y’all can do to keep’im from gettin’ mad will help.”

With all the items of the next work project acquired, Thomas brought Jake along to where Dominic stood at the end of the feeding area. It seems the panther already inspected the fencing in the area and deemed its integrity satisfactory.

“A’right then, one mile down and nearly eighty to go. Gonna be a long afternoon, but its gotta git done. Write that down, Jake. We hafta do this once every couple of weeks. Soon as a pig steps outta our yards, its no longer our bacon.”

The trio rode along the length of the wire fence. He told Jake that the active area of the farm was only about four hundred acres. The entire property included a grand total of fourty thousand acres, but it got used to grow corn. Technically, Dominic only controlled the pig range of the farm, while someone else managed the cornfields. He did not disclose to Jake who or where. All the panther told the buck was that although the land was still technically his, he didn’t have active control over it. 

“If them crazy folks ever wanted to git all vindictive on me, they’d stop growin’ corn, forcin’ me to find a new supplier. And I’s can’ts do nothin’ uh-bout it. Breach of contract, y’know.”

Portions of the enclosure included an inner line of electrically charged wire mounted to nose height for the pigs. This line inside the outer fence needed inspection as well. The electric line was another one of Dominic’s many additions to the farm as a way of bringing the whole operation into the here and now. Dominic continued with the lesson.

“Now, yeh can check that wire by usin’ that thar voltmeter Thomas got there wit’ya, but yeh can tell she works just by givin’er a quick grab. Go ahead…touch it. Ain’t gonna kill ya, jus’gives ya a lil’ zap.”

Thomas leaned down beside Jake and positioned his arm parallel to the boy’s arm. The raccoon did not want to force Jake to comply with Dominic’s order, but knew it was in the boy’s best interest not to refuse. So, as a compromise, Thomas pinched the wire and let himself get zapped first to show Jake it really wasn’t bad at all.

“See? Jus’a lil’ zap, is all. Tells ya what, we can go together. Count of three? One…two…three!”
The hike along the perimeter promised a very boring way to spend the afternoon, and it did not disappoint. Dominic could only teach Jake so much about the current task because it was, after all, just a damn fence. Still, the panther emphasized it had to be done. Funny, but the state of the fence was actually better than the farmhouse and barn exterior. It seemed unlikely they’d find anything out of sorts, so the whole exercise merely abided by set routine.

“Whatcha got there, lil’ feller? Oh? Oh my! Hey Dom! Looks like Jakey here is what y’all call a fine arr-teest!”

“Hmph, movin’ right along then…”

“Dun listen to’im Jakey. I thinks it be pertty.” Thomas gave Jake an approving rub of his headfur.

“Hey, uh, if y’all ever draw one of Dom, I’ll hide away for ya and make sure he never sees it.” Thomas winked at Jake. “Heh, I’s havva feelin’ he ain’t gonna like how y’all draw him. Dun worry nun…it’ll be our secret.”

Thomas stayed close as he explained to the buck the panther’s next assigned task. Of course, Jake wasn’t pleased by the thought of having to spend even longer in this heat, even if he got to spend it in a wagon with an umbrella to block the direct sunlight. 

This place was way too hot for the young cub. Just standing on the ground burned the undersides of his padded feet, and the yellow landscape radiated most of the heat back into the air, making the humidity horrendous. Jake couldn’t help but wilt physically under the beating sun.

Thomas’s reassurances were helpful, though. Not just because it sounded sincere, but because he lived up to his promise immediately. When asked to retrieve some tools from their shed, the raccoon helped Jake back into the wagon and brought him along on the trip this time. It was a welcome escape from Dominic’s presence, especially after his little ‘talk’. The panther’s words still rang clear on the cub’s ears, filling his little heart with fear of what he might yet be capable of.

At least for now he tried to push away those dark thoughts as the wagon rolled up to the shed. Thomas only parted ways by a few feet as he stepped into the small structure. Watching silently, Jake observed the contents of the room, the thought of acquiring a weapon passing from his mind as quickly as it popped up. Until he’d gained more trust, attempting such a maneuver would most certainly be fatal. Plus, what good would having a weapon be if he was too afraid to use one? The eight-year-old rabbit had never wounded anyone before let alone killed someone.

Shaking his head, Jake lowered his gaze to the clipboard. It had been left in the wagon and now he held it in his paws. The paper clipped to it still showed his fine printing from the panther’s previous ‘lessons’. While he waited for Thomas to return with the tools, the cub quietly added more notes, determined to catch up on the tidbits of information he’d neglected to record on paper.

Of course, the urge to draw was still present, so by the time the raccoon returned, which was only a few minutes after he’d left, Jake was already starting a doodle. He was quick to erase what little he started and set the clipboard aside as Thomas began handing him tools and supplies to stow on the wagon.

Among the items were materials for reconstruction of the fence, such as a hammer, a box of nails, several long boards, and a saw. The wagon wasn’t very big, so storing everything with himself aboard was difficult but manageable. A few more objects were added as well, including a voltmeter, which the cub placed between his spread legs.

After placing everything, Jake scratched his wounded leg. It was growing irritated under the sun and the black bag was making his skin uncomfortably hot. This was going to make today even more unbearable. It didn’t help that it was still throbbing occasionally too, or that every movement sent pangs of pain up into his hip.

Once Thomas had locked up and was ready to go again, he issued with precaution to the rabbit, basically telling him to keep writing. So he did. When Thomas returned to where Dominic was standing, he immediately began scribbling down everything the panther said. He didn’t like what he heard though.

80 miles of fence.

Must check every two weeks or pigs will get out.

If the pigs get out they’re not theirs anymore?

Jake frowned. A long afternoon of this waiting ahead of him was horribly depressing. He sat slumped forward, keeping his eyes on the paper and only looking up once in a while when things were addressed. He tried to note everything that came out of the panther’s mouth, including what few details he gave regarding the larger are surrounding this little farm. Dominic was tight-lipped about it, though, telling Jake just enough to get his hopes up.

Eventually the feline reached a point where he wanted to test the electrical aspect of the fence. He directed Jake to the voltmeter, but insisted it could be checked just as easily by grabbing it.

Naturally, Jake didn’t trust Dominic at all. He stared at the voltmeter and refused to move. Thomas stepped in, however, reaching an arm past the cub to show him it wasn’t so bad. The rabbit still wasn’t moved into action very quickly. Instead he winced as Thomas shocked himself, slowly raising his arm to follow suit, but he was visibly scared. What if it was a big shock but they were just used to it?

To will Jake into action, Thomas began a count-down, so they’d both do it at the same time. He cringed with each number but eventually touched to wire gently when the raccoon reached zero. With a yelp, the buck retracted his paw. It didn’t really hurt, but the sensation caught him by surprise, sending a numbing pulse up his arm.

With that little test of faith out of the way, the lessons from Dominic came less often, but the journey dragged on. Under the sweltering heat, Jake wilted like a dried out flower, huddling over the clipboard as boredom quickly led to a need to express himself creatively. From that point on, the bit of paper became his canvas.

The first thing he drew was one of his close friends, Mitch, not because he was a raccoon or reminded him of Thomas in any way, but because the other cub was always so confident and brave, striving to help others and protect the weak. Drawing the ring-tail made him miss his friend, made him wish he could be strong like he no doubt would be in these deplorable conditions.

By the time the picture was mostly done, tears had begun staining the paper. It was then that Thomas noticed his work, catching the cub by surprise as he quickly wiped away the tears. The raccoon’s compliment didn’t fall on deaf ears, but he wished Thomas wouldn’t be so loud about it. Granted, Dominic showed zero interest in it, but he didn’t like the ability to draw being broadcast to everyone within earshot.

Jake’s ears wilted as Thomas reassured him and gave him a pat on the head, even promising to keep any pictures of Dominic a secret. Just the idea of drawing that monster gave the buck chills. If he ever produced a work of that beast, it wouldn’t be pretty. The last thing he wanted to do was visualize the panther artistically. His art could very well be his only real escape from this place right now.

Jake sighed quietly. “A… are we done yet…?” he asked quietly, directing his question to Thomas. “I’m… I’m really tired.”

Normally Thomas would have laughed at the kid wanting to get out of a hard day’s work. Just like Dominic, he understood the need to keep busy. Life on the farm was not the typical nine to five gig where you more or less had the guarantee of an income. Every moment not spent working was money out of their pockets, and living off the land only offered so much. Jake didn’t know it yet, but one of the reasons Dominic and Thomas agreed to storing drugs on Juan’s behalf was to supplement their income and make up for the lack of sustainability of farm life. Thomas would have berated Jake for his laziness, but instead felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for the buck.

In addition to feeling bad about Jake’s fatigue, Thomas also wanted to know more about the person depicted in Jake’s art. Of course, it caught Thomas’s eye that Jake depicted a raccoon boy, and for more reasons other than the simple representation of a raccoon. Who is this kid? He looks so proud, confident, and happy, Thomas thought. He already knew the sketch was certainly not an interpretation of him, as much as he would have liked Jake to draw him. Still, he wanted to know more about this person from Jake’s previous life.
“Yeah, I know…it sure is a heckuva lotta work for someone who ain’t use’ta farm life. Just a bit longer, ‘kay lil’ feller? Hey, uh, who is that boy in that there pertty picture of yours?”

“Tom! Git over here quick.”

With a heavy sigh, Thomas responded to his partner and rushed over with Jake. “What is it?”

“Hole in the fence. Dunno if it be big’nuff fer them hogs to git out, but yeh gotta fix it anyways.”

Indeed, the perimeter fence had a small hole. Luckily, it was the only point of compromise they spotted, but a serious one nonetheless. This particular length of fence was unarmed with an electric line and relied upon rugged sturdiness to keep the pigs from escaping. Moreover, this area is where Dominic had left the pigs while he and Thomas made their venture up north. The entire area stunk of excrement and the field looked like an exploded mine range, as the pigs had made short work of the ginger plantation. Thomas managed to find a dug up ginger root and stuck it in his pocket.

“Looks fairly recent there, Dom.”

“Yeah, don’t look too bad here. I reckon only a few of them hogs got loose. Jake, yeh keep an eye open fer any loose porkers out there, but first take some notes…”

Thomas worked on repairs and got Jake to pass him the tools as needed. He could have easily fetched everything himself since he had the wagon closeby, but he wanted to have it so that both he and Jake kept a certain amount of focus on each other, just so he knew Jake would be safe and a little distracted from Dominic. The panther proceeded with his lecture.

“Now then, I won’t know precisely how many pigs I lost ‘til shortly after I’s slaughter them. We is currently on the green cycle, meanin’ all them porkers with the green tags are up next if they is at a good weight. I tagged 512 of them with green, and they is anywheres from 25 weeks old to 7 months. Once I’s git through the greens, I give ‘er ‘bout 3 more months in case anymore show up, but after that time I cycle it all out. I know 11 of ‘em a’ready met their maker, but I don’know how many escaped.”

“Look’ere, Jakey…this hole. It woulda taken a green to make this, so we all probably lost ourselves a few more greens.”

“An’ that be why I don’jus’ go ahead an’ write ‘em off right aways. We’ve had it before where one that was out showed up after the slaughter.”

“Yeah, he sold for much higher ‘cuz he went and got fat by going at them cornfields. Good thing ‘they’ didn’t get ‘im.”

“He’s referrin’ to that there ‘possum family out yonder, boy. Y’know, all that use’ta be mah granddaddy’s land, but we had to outsource it to them. Like I said, I still technically own it, but don’control it. It’s too much fer me and Tom. That’s the same reason why I don’jus’ count them hogs an’ git ack-erit numbers right away ‘stead of waitin’…Jus’ too much work fer two guys.”

“They’ve been eyein’ up this property since they first stepped foot on them fields. Wun’t surprise me if theys all try to take over…”

“Fer that reason, I don’giva shit if they git one or two of my hogs. It’s mah breeders I don’want ‘em to have.” Dominic shook his head. “Strange folk, they is. Very strange.”

Thomas grabbed Jake’s arm tight and looked him in the eyes with a frightened urgency. “Never go there, y’all hear me? Never!”

The repair on the fence did not take too long, but Dominic likely could have worked faster and with greater efficiency. Despite the past occurences of the day, Dominic still insisted on teaching Jake. On the bright side, Thomas felt somewhat comfortable with Dominic assuming such a role with the young buck. It ultimately meant the panther would finally address the rabbit in a more civil tone. This was about as nurturing as Dominic could possibly get.

On the downside, many lessons were still to come and the day had not yet concluded. Even though the sun sank steadily towards the horizon, its productivity held just as steadfast as Dominic’s did. Both panther and sun were far from finished. Furthermore, the early evening hours offered no reprieve to a panting rabbit sitting in the wagon. No heat had dissipated during the afternoon. If anything, it actually got hotter outside. Plus, they had the moisture from the rivers, swamps, and the Gulf of Mexico.

“’Kay, that there fence be fixed. I gotta get Jakey inside, Dom…”

“Fuck sake, Tom, we ain’t anywheres close to done! Still havva few good hours of sunlight at our backs.”

“Dom…fuckin’ weapin’ Jesus on the cross…He is from Canada. From Canada, for pity sake!”

Dominic, growing increasingly irritated, wanted very much to stick to his guns, but eventually conceded. He saw quite plainly the effect of the hot, Southern climate on poor Jake. At the very least, Jake got more than a sample of farm life on this day, but Dominic had hoped to have the buck fully orientated.

“Y’know, kid, the only reasons folks done had kids back in the day is ‘cuz they was in need of farmhands. This here be a traditional farm. Oh, yeah, sometimes they popped out a few screamin’ lil’ tit suckers ‘cuz God told ‘em to an’ they wanted to pass on the family name. But you dun’ believe in God an’ yer a rabbit…I know yer line ain’t goin’ out anytime soon, even if yeh never end up usin’ ‘em lil’ jems between yer legs fer what they was intended.”
Once the panther aired out his disappointment of what he felt was Jake’s laziness, he turned to Thomas to issue one more chore for the day.

“Tom, take this lil’ pansy Canuck here into the slaughter house. I want that area sparklin’, includin’ the packin’ area. We is gonna start with them greens tomarrah, maybe, unless them sows is back in season again. I’ll finish up with the fence an’ get Juan’s stuff ready fer’im. I reckon you is cookin’ dinner?”

“Yeah, Dom, I’s all got it covered,” Thomas said after a frustrated sigh.

“That boy ain’t steppin’ foot in the house!”

“Yeah, ‘kay Dom. Gotcha. No prob.”

As Thomas carted Jake off to the slaughterhouse, he stopped once he got out of earshot from Dominic. He smiled impishly and leaned down to tell Jake of a devious little plan.

“Dun worry none, lil’ feller. He dun want ya steppin’ foot in the house? Fine, I’ll carry ya ‘round then! Your feet won’t even touch the floor once, heh heh.”

A frown slowly dragged Jake’s face down as his hopes of getting out of this heat were dashed, but it was quickly replaced with a worried look. Thomas immediately inquired about the picture the cub had drawn, making him withdraw the clipboard to his chest to hide it. His ears wilted as fear settled in.

I can’t tell him about Mitch, Jake thought, what if they try to kidnap him too?

Fortunately for the buck, he didn’t have to say a word. Dominic cut in, demanding the raccoon’s attention. Spurred into action, Thomas rushed over, causing the wagon to rock and creak, resulting in the rabbit on board to tense and grasp the sides to keep from falling out. Luckily he wasn’t taken very far, and the trip came to an end quickly. It made a mess of the supplies in the wagon though.

Keeping his head down, Jake reorganized the equipment he’d been saddled with, listening to the two predators talk about the hole in the fence. The cub eyed it with a false sense of hope. It was more than big enough for the young buck to squeeze his way through without too much difficulty. Sadly though, with his leg in its current condition, attempting an escape through it right now would be hopeless.

Besides, even if he managed to make it through and scramble away, the fence would only slow down Dominic and Thomas. Jake could normally run very fast had he not injured the most important element to a good sprint. He might’ve been able to get away from his kidnappers long enough to find somewhere to hide.

Jake sighed quietly as Dominic issued the command to start writing again—thoughts of escape would have to wait until it were actually possible.
Removing the picture of Mitch from the clipboard, Jake crumpled it into a ball and tossed it in the wagon, feeling only a small amount of remorse for having done so. Normally he treasured his artwork, but the depression of his surroundings was kicking in and his drawings might only get him in more trouble.

For the next ten minutes or so, Jake struggled to split his attention between handing Thomas tools for fixing the fence and writing down Dominic’s instructions. The heat did not relent one bit the entire time. It was so hot and muggy that the eight-year-old was panting constantly, wiping moisture from his brow whenever it started dripping into his eyes. He may not have been able to sweat, but with so much humidity, his fur was as slick and damp as if he could.

At least for now, Jake tried to focus on his writing, despite the droplets that kept landing on the paper.

Green cycle – pigs that are ready for slaughter

Almost immediately Jake felt queasy having to write that word. He knew very well what it meant and the thought of it churned his stomach. With a deliberate gulp, he pushed on ahead, scribbling more notes down.

512 pigs with green t—

Jake paused to hand Thomas a hammer and some nails.

ags.

Ready if at right weight.

25 weeks to 7 months old.

Wait 3 months in case more show up, then cycle out?

11 are    DEAD

How many escaped?

The buck paused to stare at the word he’d written in capital letters. Dead. It made him think about Johnny. The poor fox died here. Would Jake die here too? If another boy before him couldn’t escape, what chances did he really have of avoiding a similar fate? Dominic had already more or less described how Johnny died, and as far as deaths went, being eaten alive by pigs was possibly the worst way to go that the buck could imagine.

Before Jake could further frighten himself with such dark thoughts, Thomas chimed in next to him, causing him to jump. The raccoon explained that the hole was big enough for the pigs with green tags to escape, which is why Dominic said he wouldn’t write them off.  Jake could’ve done without the image of a fattened up pig being slaughtered, though.

There was a hint of caution though in the way the raccoon said ‘they’. Unlike before, Dominic not only explained what Thomas meant, but went into more detail about the land they lived on. He described a family of possums that worked most of the property, producing corn. This seemed like very important information, so Jake promptly scribbled down every word Dominic and Thomas said.

As he transcribed their words, he grew increasingly worried. Then Thomas grabbed him tightly by the arm, startling him as he issued a tense warning. The buck stared into the raccoon’s eyes, wide with fear as he slowly nodded and lowered his gaze back to his paper. He had to swallow a lump in his throat before continuing.

Never go to the possums…

Are they worse than these guys?

Staring at his own question, he pondered it deeply. Thomas seemed rather frightened of them, and even Dominic saw them as abnormal. But compared to two guys who kidnapped and repeatedly raped and sexually abused the eight-year-old rabbit, how much worse could they possibly be? Were they trying to make them out to be worse to keep Jake here through fear?

For the remainder of the fence’s repair, Jake sat in jumbled thought. The longer the day stretched on, the hotter it got and the more it affected the young buck. He already felt dehydrated again, and a fresh pit was growing in his belly as well. Sitting in the wagon for so long, unable to move, was causing sore spots in his back, rump and legs.

By the time the repair was complete, Jake looked as miserable as he felt. He was aching all over, panting heavily and slumped forward, hugging the umbrella close. The poor buck felt close to passing out from exhaustion even though he’d done nothing but sit. He’d even given up writing a while ago, despite Dominic’s continued instruction.

Jake was relieved to hear Thomas arguing to give him a break, but he was surprised how, after little argument, Dominic conceded. It wasn’t without issuing some terse words to the cub about farm life and reproduction. Most of it went over his head, but he was just grateful that all he got was an earful without it being shouted at him.

After a few more words to one another, including the panther demanding Thomas not let Jake in the house, the raccoon was off again, pulling the wagon back towards the farm. Jake was grateful for the escape, but it came with an added bonus when, once out of earshot, his ‘daddy’ essentially told him how he was going to circumvent Dominic’s orders. The cub couldn’t help but smile a little.

“T… thank-you… Daddy,” Jake replied graciously inbetween breaths.

Unfortunately, Thomas’s little pick-me-up quickly vacated Jake’s mind as they approached the slaughterhouse. Being downwind of it, Jake caught the scent of death from over twenty meters away. Clamping a paw over his nose and mouth, he clamped down hard with his throat muscles to keep from vomiting.

“Nngh! W-what’s that smell?!” he squeaked, even though he had a good idea already. “Ugh… I don’t… I’m gonna throw up!”

As the wagon drew closer, Jake continued to make a fuss, squirming in the wagon as he struggled not to breathe in the foul air.

“Agh… Don’t make me go in there, please!” he cried, turning his head away from the source of the foul smell.

The smell of raw meat was enough of a turn off as it was, but this was far worse. It smelled vaguely of rot, but mostly it just smelled like dead things.

Noticing the buck’s protests, Thomas did stop the wagon, but he looked back on the boy with a raised eyebrow. The smell in the area hardly even phased Thomas, so it caught him by surprise to see Jake ready to upchuck.

“Huh…y’all got yourself a pertty good sniffer there, lil’ feller. Uh, I think most of what y’all be smellin’ is just outside here. Ain’t nothin’ been killed in there for some time now.”

It suddenly dawned on Thomas that he might have forgotten to bury all the discarded parts not suitable for sale in the marketplace. If his suspicion was correct, he knew already Jake would find relief inside the slaughterhouse. He always kept the interior up to the highest standards of cleanliness. Keeping the slaughter and packing areas clean were essential, because just one tainted batch of pork products would put the farm out of business. Most farms in the area were just one lousy harvest or one botched batch of animal products away from bankruptcy.

Thomas internally scorned himself for not keeping up the exterior of the building by getting rid of what he thought were rotting pig parts. Then again, maybe he did remember and a pig just happened to meet an untimely end at the jaws of a fellow pig – right by the slaughterhouse, no less. On the other paw, he didn’t feel up for investigation because he did not want to leave Jake alone. Everything going through his raccoon brain was merely conjecture. Who knows, Jake possibly only thought he smelled the stink of death because of the mental association brought about by approaching the slaughterhouse, of all things. Perhaps if they arrived there without granting Jake the knowledge of what goes on in this small annex to the barn, he might not have smelled anything.

Whatever it was, Thomas did not ignore the impact it had on Jake. The last thing he wanted to see was for Jake to throw up again. Nonetheless, he felt confident that, once inside, Jake would feel better. Unless Jake’s nose could smell through bleach, there was indeed nothing inside that could set the buck off. Thomas just had to figure out how to get Jake inside, past the smells emanating from around the building, but not from within it. He helped Jake out of the wagon, still a respectable distance from the dreaded place.

“’Kay now, we’re gonna make a run for it. I’ll carry ya, and y’all gotta hold your breath till we gets inside. Now, now, trust me, it ain’t bad in there. Won’t find nothin’ scary or smelling in there. I keeps it up so good a ship’s captain woo’d be proud. Get ready now…”

Leaning down to Jake’s level when he spoke to the buck, Thomas just about got ready to pick the boy up until he noticed a crumpled piece of paper in the wagon. He had a feeling it was Jake’s picture and didn’t want to see it go to waste. Quickly, he snatched up the defiled art and put it in his pocket. Without giving Jake time to protest, Thomas hoisted up the buck and prepared to bolt for the slaughterhouse. He even had his key ready to unlock the door the instant he arrived.

“Right then, lil’ feller, plug your nose and hold your breath. Count of three…one, two, three…”

With Jake in his arms, Thomas closed the distance as quickly as his bulk would allow. It took him no time at all to unlock the door and get inside. Thomas was absolutely correct when said he kept the interior clean. All the stainless steel surfaces, such as the centre table, countertops, wall panels, drawers, and shelving were tidy and organized. The place could easily function as a surgery room in a hospital.

The house was partitioned into three sections. Thomas and Jake had entered into the packing area, as indicated by the stacks of sytrofoam trays and few scales of varying size. A butcher’s chart for a pig’s carcass hung on the wall, along with several diagrams for pork chops. In the next section, the entire room was refrigerated for storing whole carcasses. Additionally, the room had all the tools needed for Thomas to cut down slaughtered pigs into more manageable parts. Beyond that section lay the slaughtering area, where Dominic would plug the pigs, bleed them out, and dress the bodies.

Thomas got a bucket of diluted bleach solution ready for Jake, and also got a sponge and pair of rubber gloves for the boy. The gloves were extra large, meant to fit Thomas’s large paws, so he may as well have given Jake a couple of bags to wear over his cub paws.

“Now, um, I know y’all won’t wanna go in them thar rooms beyond this one. That’s where all the scary stuff happens. Here, we just pack up’em chops and such, so it ain’t too bad. ‘Kay, now, you get cleanin’ here while I take the other rooms. Be sure you done get every nook and cranny, ‘cuz we sures as heck dun wanna get any germs in the meat.”

Each minute that passed while the two cleansed the area felt like hours, but eventually a full hour did pass. As soon as the work began, though, Thomas found one whole carcass still unprocessed. He wondered if this beast was the one Jake had smelled earlier. Upon closer inspection, the raccoon remembered that this pig was special. Before the trip to Canada, Thomas laboured for hours to smoke this pig with applewood! Of course, it meant the meat was still very much fit for consumption, so he cut out a few choice portions before beginning to clean the room. Thomas figured it was just as well since he and Dominic didn’t have time to cut it up and sample some of it before they left. As an added bonus, it meant none of the three occupants of the farm had to settle for lousy canned goods for dinner tonight.

Thinking of dinner made Thomas realize he had to prepare it soon. The skies began to redden as the day drew to a close. Even though poor Jake had to work on a buggered leg, he still had the benefit of much cooler working conditions and access to water through the sink in his designated work area. Additionally, he had the luxury of safety away from Dominic. Unlike the panther, the raccoon knew when to ease up on Jake, and returned to packing room, with an armful of fresh cuts, to let the buck know to call it a day.

“Sun’s settin’, lil’ feller. That means the work stops. Dun worry if y’all din’finish. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow. Look at these! They is smoked to perfection. Me and Dom will have the striploin, but I’ve got a special treat planned for ya with the bacon. Y’all gotta try it atleast once. Trust me and give it a chance. Lets go inside now.”

Just as Thomas had promised, he let Jake into the house without Dominic’s approval. Also, for the sake of catching his friend on a technicality, he made sure the buck’s feet did not touch the floor once as he carried the boy into his room, kind of like a bride. Thomas set Jake onto his bed, stinking of stagnant raccoon funk, but still much more civil than the barn. He quickly rushed out back to the wagon to fetch the pork and Jake’s clipboard.

“There ya be. Y’all can just sit here and maybe draw some more nice pictures. I’m gonna cook dinner for ya. When you hear Dom come in, be sure you dun make a sound, ‘kay? He dun come in here, ‘cuz this here be my space.”

The raccoon couldn’t help but steal a kiss from Jake, right on the bunny’s lips. He smiled brightly at the boy, and called back before exiting the room, “Loves ya.”

Getting busy in the kitchen, Thomas prepared his treat for Jake before preparing the main course for himself and Dominic. The panther kept busy outside, taking advantage of the last vestiges of daylight. Good thing as well, because Thomas wanted to make Jake’s introduction to meat as memorable as possible, and he knew the panther would not approve of such doting.

To begin with, the raccoon set to boil a brine he made with brown suger. The sugar had hardened into a solid brick within its container after all this time, but it still dissolved nicely in the boiling water. He added some of the fresh ginger root he picked that afternoon, ground into a fine mash. Also, he put in some oregano and sweet savoury. After letting the strips of bacon simmer in the brine for about an hour, he panfried them while steadily adding some of the brine and more sugar. The fluid reduced, mixed with the fat, and when mixed with the added sugar, it carmalized. With great effort, Thomas yielded bacon strips coated in a sticky toffee like substance, infused with delightful herbs. He felt certain the buck would love it.

Before bringing Jake his appetizer, he got the striploin ready for himself and Dominic. He also prepared some old potatoes and a turnip the three could consume as a side item, but Dominic would favour the meat primarily. Thomas intended the side dish moreso for Jake to let the buck enjoy at least some vegetables. Although the potatoes had grown roots and the turnip shrivelled, they were still palatable and Thomas possessed enough kitchen skills to make them tasty.

“Here there, lil’ feller. Bacon candy! I dun haven’t made it in years. I’ve got some spuds and turnip y’all can have laters. Hopefully I can get’em to ya before Dom comes back in. He’s still workin’ out there, but’ll be back soon.”

Thomas also gave Jake a tall glass of iced tea. He then set up an old antique fan and turned it onto the highest setting.

“C’mon, y’all gotta try it! Trust me. I’ll be in the kitchen. I dun plan on keepin’ Dom too much company when he gets back in. Remember…quiet like.”

No sooner had Thomas finished mashing the potatoes and turnip, Dominic returned. Thomas even had a plate ready just for Jake, but now the possibility of bringing it the buck while still piping hot had vanished.

“Weeooo, what a day! Welp, farm’s still be in one piece. A’right, Tommy, I is starving. Whatcha make us fer dinner?”

“Well, uh…” The raccoon sighed. “Some spuds and some of that pork loin.”

“That be the smoked stuff?”

“Yup.”

“Hawt damn! Git’me a big helpin’ of that. Where’s our boy.”

“Asleep already. In the barn, like y’all said.”

“That there be a big plate of mashed spuds. Yeh fed’im yet?”

Thomas simply nodded and added a small piece of meat to the plate he had in paw and plated a big chunk of seared meat onto Dominic’s plate. He gave the panther only a meagre helping of potatoes, and it left a great deal still behind in the pot.

“Lots of grub left, huh? Yeh sure you fed’im?”

“I did, Dom, dun ya worry.”

“What’s that smell?”

“The pork, Dom.” Thomas said while looking flustered at Dominic.

“Oh, it ain’t just this…I know that smell. Yeh make bacon candy?”

“Well, uh…”

“C’mon then, put some on my plate! I can’ts ‘member the last time you made it.”

“Thing is, I made it for…”

“Jake…what I thought. Yeh spoil that boy, y’know. Haven’t seen you like this since…”

“I know, Dom…JOHNNY!”

Hearing that name made the panther shut up and eat his food in silence. It sure put a quick stop to his interrogation.

Thankful that his pleas were enough to stop the wagon, Jake leaned over the side breathing heavily. He was both on the verge of hyperventilating and succumbing to the wave of nausea brought on by what he thought was the smell of dead pigs. Although the buck had never been in a butchershop let alone a slaughter house, his imagination was running wild with nightmarish images of cut open pigs and bits of carcass scattered everywhere, all coated in splattered blood.

It didn’t occur to Jake that maybe he was overreacting or that what he smelled was moreso in his head, being amplified by what he’d been told about the slaughter house just a little while ago. He was close to having a panic attack and would certainly tip over the edge if the wagon moved another inch.

Fortunately though, Thomas seemed to be very perceptive and understanding of the eight-year-old’s irrational fear. He gave Jake a few minutes to calm down using the slow breathing technique his parents had taught him for whenever he got too overwhelmed. The poor buck had already lived with severe anxiety issues before all of this happened. Had a doctor been around right now to see him, he would’ve been taken to the hospital to have his heart monitored. It was pounding violently in his chest for a good minute or so before returning to a regular, albeit heightened rhythm.

Once Jake had regained his composure, the large raccoon moved in to help the cub out of the wagon, propping him up against his much bigger frame.  Practically leaning on him for support, the buck listened as Thomas tried to explain the situation more clearly. Nodding absently, he quickly became distracted when he noticed Tom discretely snatch up the crumpled paper he’d left in the wagon, whining quietly. He didn’t know what the ring-tail wanted with it, but it couldn’t be anything good.

The next thing he knew, Thomas scooped him up and told him to hold his breath. He then counted backwards from three.

“N-n-no wait—!” Jake squeaked but the raccoon was already off in an instant, moving faster than he though possible, but still considerably burdened by his own weight.

Whining loudly, the rabbit covered his mouth and held his breath, pressing himself tightly against Thomas’s grungy chest. The trip was quite quick though and in just a few seconds they were inside. Jake’s first breath was a gasp which quickly turned into a cough as stale bleach fumes tickled his throat.

It definitely smelled a lot nicer in here, and even looked clean despite its surroundings. In fact, it looked almost like someone had installed a top-of-the-line restaurant kitchen in a shabby old shack. Jake was surprised to say the least, but also grateful. There wasn’t a speck of blood, or even a hint that pigs died in here. He quickly learned why as Thomas set him down, though.

Apparently this was the packing area. The raccoon promptly told him about the other rooms and that, to his relief, he wouldn’t have to enter them, but his heart quickly sank when he realized there was more work to do. Thomas handed him cleaning supplies and essentially left him to his own devices.

With an unhappy whine, Jake limped over to where the supplies had been left while Thomas moved elsewhere about the room, occasionally disappearing into one of the two back rooms. Leaning against a stainless steel table, the buck fumbled with the poorly fitting gloves until he had them equipped with a sponge in one paw and the bleach in the other.

Of course Thomas hadn’t given the boy any direction beyond ‘clean’, so with no real sense of method, he did his best; starting by pouring bleach directly onto the table and then scrubbing as it with the sponge. Jake’s nose immediately wrinkled and recoiled at the raw odor of the fluid, but he tried to keep working.

The next hour was long and miserable, but most importantly it was… boring. At some point Jake had given up standing altogether and was scrubbing the floor as the smell of bleach permiated the room and his senses. In fact, by the time Thomas returned looking like he was finished, the rabbit’s head was buzzing, his eyes and throat were burning and he could barely breathe.

Light-headed and feeling dizzy, Jake was assisted to his feet as the raccoon spoke. Grateful as he was that the work was finally over, he was less than thrilled about the idea of ‘dinner’. Even hungry as he was, the foreseeable future of meat as a meal made him feel queasy, despite Thomas’s reassurances.

Placed back in the wagon outside Jake was, to his dismay, saddled with the meat Thomas had acquired. He was forced to cover his nose for the short trip back to the house whereupon the raccoon lived up to his promise to use the loophole in Dominic’s order to permit him access inside.

Being scooped up into the ring-tails arms, he oddly felt a sense of security, even appreciation for all the things Thomas had done for him since arriving on the farm. It seemed like, since they’d kidnapped him, the raccoon had transformed from an equally horrific monster like Dominic, into… well…

Although Thomas lacked many traits for Jake to ever see him as a parental figure, he had compassion and seemed to truly love the rabbit. Dominic on the other hand was ruthless and violent. It was creating a rift between the two; he could see it when he’d had that little ‘chat’ with the panther.

Jake hugged the raccoon tightly as he was delivered into the bedroom. It already smelled pretty bad, but it was nothing compared to the smell of the barn. As he was deposited onto the bed he could tell immediately that the room was large yet… very crowded. In an odd sort of way, Thomas was as messy with his clothing and belongings as his friend Mitch was. The similarity was uncanny.

Before he could even settle into the lumpy old bed, Thomas disappeared through the doorway, returning moments later with the clipboard and pencil Jake had left in the wagon. Still keeping up his nice guy attitude, which the cub much preferred over his previous behavior, Thomas suggested he draw some more, and also that he’d be working on dinner and Jake should be quiet when Dominic returned.

That last bit seemed rather obvious to the buck. He knew full well the panther didn’t want him in the house, and that discovery of him in Thomas’s bedroom could be deadly.

With his warning and reassurance issued, Thomas left again, but not before forcing an unpleasant kiss against the boy’s lips. The little eight-year-old rabbit was finally alone in the dirty, smelly room. The silence and privacy was a welcome escape. This had to be the first time he was by himself since the other night when he’d stupidly tried to run away. Now though, he wouldn’t have to suffer the smell of pigs or the desire to escape.

Crippled as he was, escape was only a dream, nothing he would even consider attempting right now, and compared to the barn, Thomas’s room was a palace. However, the longer he sat on the messy bed, the more he could pick out the poignant odors. His nose twitched at every new scent. The raccoon clearly knew or cared very little for personal hygiene, or cleanliness of any kind, despite having an adjacent bathroom.

Now that things had finally wound down, the irritation in Jake’s leg was much more obvious. His wounds still burned and throbbed. The worst part was his flesh felt like it was burning beneath the garbage bag it had been wrapped in. So, with nothing else to do, the cub pawed at it, fumbling with the knots until he could finally free his leg.

The cool air was a blessing on the slick, humid fur, but as it reached the lower extremities, the throbbing grew worse. Groaning in pain, Jake grasped at his shin, trying not to look at the blood-soaked bandages on his foot. Although his leg was looking better than before, from what he could see anyway, it still looked sickly and stained with dried blood. The raccoon never did get around to cleaning it up, so Jake pondered doing so himself.

Easing himself slowly off the bed, he pressed his good foot into the thick fuzzy rug on the floor and used the bed and nearby objects to stabilize himself as he moved through the room.

It really was a mess. There was only a narrow pathway through the heaps of clothing and other belongings that had just been tossed on the floor. Jake gave up halfway through the bedroom when he found several magazines scattered around. Picking one up, he could see very clearly that it was dirty; not in the sense it was covered in dirt, but in the fact that it featured a naked female raccoon on the floor.

Dropping the magazine in disgust, the cub stumbled backwards a few feet, trying to make his way back to the bed. He really shouldn’t have been surprised to find that sort of material, but it made him worry. As promised, he’d be spending the night with Thomas; the same raccoon that had raped him and abused him in the truck. Sadly, Jake doubted that much had changed about him. Come nightfall, the raccoon would certainly seek to exercise his jollies, and Jake couldn’t say no.

Dropping back into the bed, Jake curled up as best he could, his mind racing with past images of abuse, fretting over what Thomas would seek from him tonight. Would he be too tired, or eager to spend the entire night fraternizing in all the ways he had on the trip here? Whatever the case, there would be no negotiating. This is why they kidnapped him after all, right?

The only saving grace was that Thomas was gentle, kinder and basically, non-threatening with his interaction. He treated Jake much the way he’d seen his real father treat his mother. Like a l…lover. The buck cringed at the thought. Did Thomas really see him that way? The manner in which he expressed his love for him before departing should’ve felt like any other time his dad had said it, but with Thomas it sounded like more.

For the next little while until Thomas returned, Jake’s thoughts circled around Thomas and what lay ahead. When the raccoon appeared again, the cub sat upright in surprise, quickly relaxing as he watched the older ring-tail trace the path through the mess on the floor, bearing a very nice smelling meal.

He called it bacon candy. Jake frowned at first, but couldn’t help but be attracted to the scent. The bowl was placed before him and a glass of iced tea set on the nightstand beside him. As Thomas spoke, the rabbit poked at the odd-looking dish. He encouraged him to try it, then left, and reminded him not to make a sound.

“Thank-you, D-daddy,” Jake said quietly as the raccoon left.

It still felt weird to say that, but it seemed to get easier each time. Jake wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. By no means was he prepared to have Thomas replace his real dad, whom he hoped was out there somewhere trying to find him. But as a protector, Jake had to appease him. To not to do would spell certain doom for the cub.

For the next few minutes Jake poked at the meal he was offered. It smelled nice, but the fact that meat was in it made him hesitant. Of course it was common knowledge that rabbits were herbivors, and that it was possible for them to eat and digest meat, although not easily, but with Jake, he was inherently repelled by the substance. It often made him ill to the point of vomiting in back up. He didn’t like touching it, looking at it or smelling it.

He was so hungry though. If he refused this meal, he’d be spitting in the face of Thomas and his own health. Slowly, Jake picked up a piece of the caramalized bacon, sniffing it again in search of any trace scent of meat. It seemed the raccoon did a good job, because he couldn’t smell anything over all the sugar.

Taking a deep breath, Jake bit off a piece, wincing as he worked it around in his mouth, grinding it up with his molars and swallowing it quickly. He waited for a moment, expecting a bad aftertaste or for his stomach to disapprove of its newfound contents. There was nothing. It tasted good, only had the mildest hint of greasy flavor and went down easy.

That was really all Jake needed. With reckless abandon, the cub dug into the bowl of bacon, eating so quickly, he had to pause so he could breathe and wash the food down with iced tea. Before he knew it, his bowl was empty and he was craving more. Thomas was still downstairs though, so he had to suffice with finishing off the last of his drink.

With his meal gone, Jake’s mind quickly shifted gears.

Now was as good a time as any to tend to his leg. He might even be able to finish before his privacy was taken away again. Leaving the bowl on the bed, Jake crawled off onto the floor again, making another attempt at the awkward journey to the bathroom. This time he was more successful. Making it as far as the wall, he was able to inch and hop his way to the doorway, creep out into the hallway and slip into the bathroom, dropping down onto the edge of the copper tub roughly.

Panting from his exertion he slowly lifted his wounded leg and hoisted it over the lip of the basin and set it down gently. It still hurt a lot, though, so he had to struggle not to make a sound. Seated next the the old brass faucets, Jake eased them open until a small, steady trickle flowed. He knew not to make too much noise so, using a nearby rag and the small flow of water, he proceeded to douse his leg, scrubbing it gently to get the blood stains out as best he could.

As Thomas and Dominic finished eating, the panther got up to tidy up the kitchen. It seemed only fair since the raccoon did labour over a hot stove all evening. Immediately, Dominic noticed the amount of extra food still set on the serving plate.
“Dang, lots of grub be wastin’. Ah well…feed it to the pigs.”

“Later, Dom. Just put it in the reh-fridgerator. Might still eat me some more.”

“Wanna have a rock after I be done these dishes?”

“Nah…nah, that be uh-kay, partner.”

“Ain’t good to go cold-turkey on the stuff. Gotta git some of it in ya. What about some Mary Jane?”

“Dom, it’s just one night. I’ll be fine. We is already in for the shit as it is. ‘Sides, we dun stayed hopped up all the way back here.”

“Hell, I still says we is gonna be fine. An’ heck, maybe Juan will take ‘other’ forms of payment.”

With any other kid, Thomas would have jumped on the idea Dominic proposed, but he second guessed it because it involved whoring out Jake. Yes, he hadn’t already forgotten that he put the idea out first. This was, of course, before Jake finally confessed his love for Thomas and his acceptance of Thomas as his new daddy, or at least so Thomas thought. As long as he wholeheartedly believed Jake was his boy, he’d do what he could to protect the young buck. All the other kids were just entertainment and disposable goods in the raccoon’s eyes.

“No, Dom. C’mon now! I dun wan…”

“Tommy boy, now I know yer completely fucked in the head! Weren’t you the one…?”

“Yeah, but Dom…”

“But nothin’! I’d say yeh is the boy, not Jake. Lil’ punk has ya wrapped right ‘round his finger.”

“Fuck, Dom, whatcha tryin’ to do here? No wunder Johnny left us! It’s was ‘cuz…”

“Go on…Say it!”

The incinuation Thomas was about to make put Dominic over the edge, irrespective of their relationship as best pals. Dominic threw his hat to the floor and got right into Thomas’s face. Additionally he assumed an aggressive posture with the raccoon, which went well beyond any other typical rage. It looked as though a real fight could break out, between the best of friends no less. Thomas got a little timid and seemed to take a submissive pose. He certainly did not want to ever compromise his friendship with Dominic, so he chose his next words very carefully.

“Dom…partner…why did y’all bring Johnny into our lives in the first place? For the same reasons Jake is here. And it done werked. I’m happy, Dom. Y’all have done it again. I ain’t feel like this since, well, ain’t never. Somethin’ I couldah not had without y’all. Dun y’all want me to be happy anymore?”

Dominic backed off of Thomas, giving his friend a comfortable amount of personal space. With Thomas’s words, the panther dropped his guns and peace again reined. The raccoon had a point. It reminded Dominic why he got the young fox boy in the first place, all those years ago. Thomas was happy with the young vulpine. All either partner could ever do since then was slake their lusts, but not come anywhere close to true bliss. Now, the young lapine hidden in Thomas’s room gave something back that Dominic took away, even if it was an illusion.

“Tommy boy, yeh’ve always known the answer to that question. But, like I’s said to yeh on the way back here…I ain’t never done right by you. Don’t try an’ tell me different.”

The panther invariably thought about how Jake did indeed have the raccoon under his spell. Dominic knew Jake had precieved exactly how to get Thomas under leash and collar, and it was through the raccoon’s heart and penis. Part of what frustrated Dominic so much was that his friend didn’t see things for what they were. The realization of the situation made Dominic feel he failed Thomas yet again. Jake, Dominic knew, didn’t love Thomas at all and likely never will.

Perhaps, all things considered, Jake’s intelligence and capacity for manipulation caught Dominic’s admiration. In the young rabbit, Dominic saw a raw talent for survival, and thus saw something of himself in Jake. Then again, what did it really mean to survive? Dominic never wished his life even on his worst enemy, so part of him didn’t think it proper to put Jake through the same situation. On the other paw, the panther could effectively take the young buck under his wing. He still intended to have sex with the boy, but not as a lover the way Thomas would like and thought he had. 

No, Dominic intended any and all physical contact with Jake as a master/apprentice relationship. His resolve now was solidified. Jake could never love either partner, not even Thomas, and Dominic knew it. If the boy wanted his freedom back, he would have to rise up in bloody revolution against his oppressors, no different than Dominic had to do. To defeat a pair of monsters, Jake would have to become one himself. The buck would eventually have to become the master, and Dominic would give him all the tools he needed to graduate to that point. He’d much rather the buck finally put him and Thomas six foot under instead of thinking like Johnny – that he actually stands a chance of escape. 

If not, then Jake would just eventually become another Johnny. Dominic could see that scenario playing out clear as day. Johnny never loved them and every day yearned for his freedom until that one fateful day when he made a run for it. At the time, even Dominic fell for it when the fox said he loved both of them, but had to find out the hard way that it was just a dream. Indeed, Jake was no different and the love he confessed was all just a lie. Once again, the pattern repeated itself, despite trying to do things different. It meant a vicious cycle was about to occur, and the three individuals involved were pawns to it.

All the events of the past week showed Dominic there was no escape even for him and Thomas. Jake would just try to escape, Dominic would kill him in a fit of rage, and the two partners would again go through several children in search of the next Johnny. The pattern now became all too clear to the panther and he wanted it to stop. Besides, he felt it was better to die than to see Thomas once again become disillusioned. The world was a terrible place where nobody loved them. As soon as Jake finally realized this, all three of them would have peace. The panther nodded his head, patted Thomas on the shoulder, and hugged his friend as he made his mental convenant.

“As long as yer happy. All that matters, I suppose.”

“I am, Dom. I really am,” Thomas said as he joyously returned his friend’s embrace.

“Well, may as well get them pigs in the barn. I’ll let ya say goodnight to the boy. Heh, maybe I wanted yeh te’ave him all along. I still get to love’im up once in awhile though, right?”

“Yeah, Dom. We can do him together sometime! Just be gentle is all.”

“Heh, well, I’s guess I is too rough on the lil’ varmit. Don’t ferget them leftovers.”

“Uh, I think I’ll have me the rest.”

“Hungry, ain’t yeh?”

“Yeah…”

“A’right, let’s go then.”

Both partners went and herded the pigs into the barn. Thomas went up to the mezzanine and feigned tucking Jake into his prescribed sleeping quarters. The raccoon even brought up a glass of water, which he drank all to himself. Dominic stayed put at the base of the ladder and seemed none the wiser. Nonetheless, his instincts told him Thomas merely said goodnight to an apparition. He let the suspicion slide though…for now.

Coming back into the house, Thomas went right into the fridge and got out the last of the leftovers.

“Gonna eat ‘n read a bit.”

“Still readin’ the Bible?”

“Yep. Uh…so, goodnight then?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably hit the hay soon. Goodnight, Tommy boy.”

“Night, Dom.”

By the time Thomas reached his room, he saw the bathroom out of sorts. He began to panic, thinking Jake had left signs of his presence in the house. Despite thinking he successfully talked some sense into Dominic, he still worried what might happen to the buck if Dominic found out about this direct defiance of his orders. Thomas rushed right into his room as inconspicuously as possible.

“Jakey? Oh my sweet lord, what was you thinking? What if you got caught?”

As per his usual stark contrast to Dominic’s behaviour, Thomas’s version of displining Jake involved picking him up, hugging him tight, and covering him with kisses.

“Dun scare me like that. I talked some sense into Dom, but I still worry ‘bout you, lil’ feller.”

Thomas took immediate note of the cause for Jake’s foolish venture into the bathroom. The buck attempted to cleanse his wounds, but instead made matters worse by getting the bandages wet.

“Ugh, your bandages is all wet now. We can’t leave’em like that or it’ll start to rot. Wait here. Oh, and have some of this. Sorry ‘bout the grub bein’ cold. Couldn’t get away from Dom sooner.”

Stepping into the bathroom to gather some fresh bandages, Thomas also quickly cleaned away any signs of Jake’s prior usage of the area. Meanwhile, Dominic had stepped upstairs to use the bathroom himself. The panther had the right mind to walk into Thomas’s room and see if his suspicions were correct. Before he could indulge the impulse, Thomas reimerged.

“All done in there?”

“Uh, yeah, Dom…yeah.”

“What’s with the bandages?”

“Oh, y’know…getting these ready to change Jakey’s dressin’s tomorrow.”

“Uh huh…well, I jus’ wanted to spend some time in his room before washin’ up muhself.”

“Er, uh…yeah…sure Dom. Uh…g’night.”

Thomas had to pretend fumbling with the first aid materials so as not to let Dominic see into his room when he opened the door. He waited for the panther to go into Johnny’s old room. Once Dominic had his back turned, Thomas slipped inside as nimbly as his large frame would allow. Before the door shut though, a pair of glowing orbs emanating from Johnny’s room could be seen.

“There we are. I’ll get ya patched back up in fresh bandages. Uh, go ahead and take your clothes off. It dun cool down much at night, so it’s much better to stay naked. Go on then.”

Thomas disrobed first before working on Jake. He tended to the wounds professionally enough and made comment that they didn’t look so bad. Nevertheless, he soon sported a semi-erection looking at Jake’s partially naked body.

Jake’s efforts to clean himself up hadn’t turned out so well. First off, because it hurt too much he couldn’t remove the bandages from his foot, only his knee. Furthermore, his attempt to clean his fur with just straight water was a failure. The blood had plenty of time not only to dry, but to bake in, thanks to the hot weather and the bag on his leg.

In the end, the buck only managed to soak his bandages and clean up his knee just a little. He could see clearly where Dominic’s claws had dug in and the spots still throbbed, making bending his leg uncomfortable but not unbearable.

Eventually he gave up altogether. Turning off the water, he crawled out of the tub and struggled to return to Thomas’s bedroom, but not before making a much-needed stop at the toilet to relieve his bowels. Jake limped and groaned quietly the entire way; his wounds were still such that he couldn’t bear any weight on his damaged limb, but come tomorrow most of the pain would likely dissipate. It would have to, since the panther would no doubt expect the rabbit to work.

Re-entering the raccoon’s room, Jake took s clumsy shortcut through the messy floor, dropping to his paws and knees to cross the distance and climb back into the bed.

Only a few minutes after Jake had finally settled in again did Thomas suddenly appear in the doorway, looking panicked as his eyes quickly scanned the room and landed on the small cub. Shrinking in worry, the buck frowned as the raccoon berated him, suddenly feeling bad about his little excursion.

“I-I’m sorry, I just—”

Before he could finish, Thomas rushed over to the bed and scooped him up into a hug, showering his little head in kisses. Clearly the raccoon wasn’t mad, so Jake was able to relax as little. Of course, the ring-tail quickly noticed the botched attempt to tend to his own wounds, berating him again for it. He sounded almost like Mary, Jake’s mom. She’d always rattle on about safety, and give the cub lectures whenever he failed to meet her regulations.

Thinking of her made the buck sad. His ears wilted and his gaze dropped to the floor. Thomas had promptly left to tend to the bathroom, but Jake was still trapped in his memories. He really missed his mommy, and his daddy. Especially he missed his little sister Susie, and all of his friends. Just then, it occurred to him that maybe he might never, ever see them again.

By the time Thomas returned, Jake was on the verge of tears. It was a relief to be distracted from his sorrow, but it came with a disturbing sight. The raccoon and Dominic had been chatting in the hallway, and there was mention of Johnny’s room. When Jake looked up to see Tom entering with fresh bandages, the eight-year-old’s eyes immediately locked onto the two orbs staring back at him.

It was only for an instant, but Jake could’ve sworn it was the panther. He’d seen them through the open doorway across the hall. Did Dominic see him? The buck swallowed a growing lump in his throat as Thomas settled down next to him, talking out loud like there was no one to eavesdrop.

The sudden mention of disrobing made the boy’s ears burn as his focus quickly shifted from fear of Dominic to fear of Thomas. The fear was substantially less, but it brought back into mind what the raccoon no doubt had in mind for tonight. Undressing was already a bad sign, but Jake did his best to comply anyway.

As Thomas worked on reapplying the bandages, after removing the old ones to a minor chorus of whimpers and whines, Jake slowly pulled off his shirt. He immediately worked on his shorts as well, despite his leg still being occupied, but instead of stripping entirely, the cub kept his underwear on.

It wasn’t his underwear of course… His underwear was themed for his own species, and these were, as well, themed for the one who used to wear it. Jake stared down uneasily at the pictures of running foxes plastered all over the underwear. These were definitely Johnny’s… Perhaps even the clothes he’d been kidnapped in. Jake wasn’t sure what happened to his own clothes at this point, but he hoped he’d get them back soon. Wearing the clothing of a dead boy was making him nervous.

“W-was that Dom you were talkin’ to…? He doesn’t… he doesn’t suspect anything does he?” Jake asked quietly, trying to make small talk, but also speaking out of concern.

Thomas looked like he was about to answer, but he pulled the cub’s shorts down the rest of the way over his new bandaging first, permitting Jake a clear few of his growing erection. Oh, no… Please don’t do anything to me, Jake thought, wincing at the sight. M-maybe if I… If I satisfy him some other way… Then maybe he won’t…

Biting his tongue, the cub didn’t wait for the raccoon’s answer. His mind was immediately set on a new task. It was still as disgusting a thing to do as it was back in the van, but perhaps if Jake made Thomas climax quickly, he wouldn’t feel compelled to force his hooked appendage up the boy’s sore anus.

“Y-your thingy’s sticking out,” Jake commented bluntly.

Reaching a paw out, the rabbit hesitated for a moment before grabbing hold of Thomas’s penis, pulling it forward to encourage him into climbing onto the bed. After what Dominic had done to him, his tail-hole was still very sensitive, possibly even wounded. He found that much out when he used the toilet not too long along ago. His rump still burned and throbbed.

If jerking the ‘coon off and suckling on him had a chance to spare him an unwelcome invasion of his innards tonight, how could he say no?

“Well heck now, who else could it be I was talkin’ to? Jonathan’s ghost? I was…uh…OH MY! Well, uh…that sure is unexpected!”

Completely taken by surprise, Jake had actually reached out and seized Thomas’s penis. To make matters better, albeit unprecedented, the young lapine pulled forward, causing all six inches of Thomas’s pink fishhook to unsheath. He did not even have to coax Jake into any kind of activity for the evening despite having fully expected the need to arise. After all, the boy said he loved him, so sex, Thomas thought, should come naturally. To his immense delight, it did and Thomas felt unswervingly convinced that Jake loved him. Forget Dominic if he thinks otherwise.

“Yeah,” Thomas whispered softly. “It’s stickin’ out ‘cuz I loves ya and I’m happy to see y’all.”

The raccoon smiled brightly and patted Jake’s head. He had pretty much finished applying the fresh dressings on Jake’s wounds. About the only task he didn’t complete was getting Jake naked, but that could wait until later. Jake seemed rather insistant on getting Thomas into bed because the rabbit used the raccoon’s dong like a handle to pull him closer. 

The tugging worked and Thomas got onto the bed, infront of Jake, and sat up on his knees to keep his prick at the desired level to Jake.

The buck’s paw easily wrapped around Thomas’s member since a raccoon penis is literally just skin and bone. Unlike Johnny’s vulpine cock, Thomas’s dick did not become engorged with blood when getting ready for action. It did little more than slip out of his sheath, relying more on the mechanics of the underlying bone rather than the principal of hydraulics. This meant Thomas had the luxury of popping out an erection whenever he saw fit. Johnny, on the other paw, needed persuasion, and sometimes elastic bands, to get his little boyhood hard. Of course, Johnny also had a small, thin, straight bacculum in his juvenile penis, which Thomas and Dominic confirmed after gathering the boy’s remains. The memory made Thomas shudder even though he couldn’t help but wonder why the fox even had a penis bone when it did not offer the same benefits as Thomas’s well structured organ.

About the only downside to his penis, Thomas thought, was that he didn’t have much girth. Against the backdrop of his large raccoon frame, his penis looked more like a bent worm emanating out of a hole it burrowed above Thomas’s testicles. All these details were clear under lamplight, which meant again Jake had the opportunity to perceive every detail not afforded in the dark cargo space of the van. Fortunately for Jake, it also meant taking Thomas into his mouth would prove just as easy as handling the appendage. Thomas’s eyes went wide as he saw Jake open his maw, stick out his tongue, and take in Thomas’s already dripping dick.

“Oh sweet merciful lord! Jakey, oh Jakey…I loves ya so much.”

Lost in pleasure, Thomas didn’t take into account Jake’s inexperience and those large front incisors. The thought didn’t cross Thomas’s mind for a second that Jake might bite down. Why would he? He said he loved him, so it stood to reason that he wouldn’t. Johnny never bit down, and those scissor-like jaws could have changed Thomas’s life forever. Still, Jake’s mouth wasn’t built to take a cock the usual way because of his dentition. Thomas had to have a slightly painful realization of this reality.

“Oooch! Uh, careful now…those teeth of yours smarts somethin’ fierce. Uh…here, scooch over here beside me. Now, let it go in one side and out the other. Dun worry ‘bout suckin’ too much. Just use your tongue. Yeah, right there…right where it bends down and on the tip. Oh yeah…you’ve got the money!”

Holding Jake tight against his fat left thigh, Thomas scruffed the buck’s head fur to show his approval. He began to pant heavily, and thanked Jake over and over again by whispering praises, squeezing his shoulder, pressing his body close, and continuing to ruffle his head fur. Eventually, Thomas guided Jake’s left paw around his large backside and issued instruction for further stimulation.

“’Kay now, hold tight’ere like so. Dun be afraid to squeeze tight. Now, with your right paw, give my nuts a gentle squeeze. Yeah, go on then. Squeeze out some nut juice!”

With Thomas’s full erection in his paw, Jake was essentially commited to the task he’d chosen to act upon. If he backed out now, his slim chance of avoiding another painful penetration would disappear. By the sound in the raccoon’s voice as he spoke, it indicated he’d made an unexpectedly welcome decision.

He tried to ignore the raccoon’s expression of his love, focusing entirely on coaxing him onto the bed. Already Jake was dreading what he’d have to do. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Thomas bathed regularly, but without the comparison, having to stick this rank piece of meat in his mouth again seemed like the last thing anyone would want to do.

Once the cub had Thomas maneuvered into place, he started vigorously jerking on the slender, hooked appendance. He had to try and block out the conscious thought of what he was doing; pleasuring his kidnapper and rapist. His paw slid back and forth, picking up the moisture from the raccoon’s already dripping tip and coating the curved erection with it.

Much as Jake didn’t want to look at the object he was going to put into his mouth, he huddled down so he could get close and basically put it in full view. There was no avoiding it. He stared at the hooked, slimy appendange, wincing at the thought of what he was about to do.

Then, he opened his mouth and quickly wrapped his muzzle around the curved tip. His tongue touched first, cradling the dripping, angled down head, before feeding the rest inside. He may have been a little too eager to get that first moment over with, because after only half a minute of suckling and having to listen to his praises, Thomas suddenly urged Jake to stop using his teeth.

He hadn’t intended to, but it occurred to the eight-year-old that his jaws were chattering from the stress of the act he was commiting. The result, considering Thomas’s penis was funneling straight between his incisors, were some very unpleasant nips at the fragile penile flesh.

Quickly extracting the meat, Jake looked up at Thomas worriedly as he instructed and moved him into a new position. Continuing to obey the raccoon, he rolled his tongue around the side of the twitching hook and pulled it into his mouth, behind his incisors and in front of his molars. Essentially Thomas’s erection had free reign to slide back and forth acrossing the buck’s gums and he licked at its flesh.

Judging from Thomas’s verbal excitement, he was satisfied with this new method. And honestly, Jake found it less unbeable as well. Most of the foul taste had been replaced with his own saliva now, but the stench of the raccoon’s body remained. Otherwise though, it was still preferable to any other activity Thomas might come up with.

To show his appreciation, Thomas ruffled up Jake’s headfur, holding him in place as he did so. Of course, the cub was trying to keep himself distracted by thinking of something else, anything else, really. Sitting hunched over on a bed with a raccoon’s penis in his mouth was the last thing he wanted to visualize right now.

Sadly, Jake’s attention was brought to a focus again when Thomas grabbed one of his paws and directed him to play with his large, saggy testicles. The cub whined quietly as he eyed them to his right. They were huge and very musky. His arm had to be wrapped around the raccoon’s beefy thigh just to reach them, and he couldn’t help but hesitate before cupping those large, greasy orbs in his little paw.

They were so big that Jake could really only handle one of them at a time, and it took several more encouragements from Thomas before he could safely squeeze them the way he wanted. This felt so wrong, not just mentally, but physically. His sac was so squishy and and slick; and worse, playing with them stirred up that musky smell even more.

Eventually Jake had to stop and pull his head away from the whole scene, plugging his nose. There was only so much of that odor he could stand, and he’d reached his limit.

“Daddy…” he whined, looked up at Thomas unhappily. “You’re really stinky. Can you… Can you… t-take a bath?”

Jake was hesitant to issue any sort of order, even if it was just a request, so he had to end it in a way that would sound less demanding.

“P-please?”

As soon as Jake grasped each one of Thomas’s balls, he had to stifle the urge to call out in pure ecstasy. Instead, he threw his head back and moaned, a little louder than he should have. Jake’s small paw couldn’t grasp Thomas’s large sac. What he lacked for penis size he made up for with the rather impressive size of his nuts. Each ball easily surpassed the size of a golf ball, to make no mention of the skin and fur covering. It made for quite the pawful, especially for Jake’s paws. Nonetheless, the boy still astutely gave attention to each gonad, making Thomas drool and his blood flow with male hormone.

The resultant stimulation made the raccoon emit more musk, and Jake could no longer handle the scent. Unfortunately for him, the buck stopped sucking and fondling mere seconds away from Thomas blowing his load. The boy had him so riled up to that point his dick oozed pre-cum like a faucet onto the bedsheets. Thomas felt a little disappointed, and slightly urked that Jake would bring up the matter of his personal hygiene.

With how much under Jake’s spell Thomas was, he couldn’t get angry with Jake. No, instead he sniffed under his arms to confirm the validity of Jake’s complaints. Sure enough, he smelled a rather rank scent, even by his own standards.

“Pew, y’all is right. Uh…hmm. Lemme see if the coast is a clear, ‘kay?”

Opening his door, he slowly creeped out into the hall to press his ear against Johnny’s old bedroom door. Dominic was definitely still in there, but he had no lights on and mostly just silence filtered out of the room. Thomas went back to fetch Jake.

“Tells ya what, lil’ feller…how ‘bout you give me a bath? Might be fun! But, uh…gotta be quiet like. I think Dom fell asleep in Johnny’s old room. So yeah, we gots to be extra quiet.”

Very carefuly creeping across the crickety floorboards, the two only had a slight distance to cover. As short a crossing as it was, it may as well have been a venture through an open grassland with hunters on the prowl. Dominic was a very light sleeper and would stir at even the faintest noise. A few times it sounded like he called out angrily.

“Shh, ‘s all right, lil’ feller,” Thomas whispered. “He’s talkin’ in his sleep, and that tells me he’s in a deep one. Pay him no mind. Quiet.”

With how lucid Dominic sounded as he spoke loudly, it sure didn’t seem like the panther slept deeply. Instead, he sounded totally aware of his surroundings, but Thomas ignored it completely as he slowly guided Jake to the bathroom across the hall. Had either of listened carefully, they might have heard:

Still here, huh? Thought yeh’d avoid this place like the lake of fire. Ha! Your friend? Dead don’t affect the livin’. Reach out to’im all yeh want. Wun’t make no difference. Same as wit’yeh, he’s got only two ways out. Wish yeh’d took the other way instead. Wuld’ve meant so much more to yer so called friend. Oh believe me, I’d have done myself in years ago…if not fer Tommy boy. Say again? A third way? Ain’t never gonna happen. Yeh couldn’t bring yerself to do it. Sorry ain’t mean nothin’ now. Fer me? Why? No, I can’t…an’ yeh shouldn’t either. It’s too late fer me, Johnny…not even the holy lord wuld forgive me.

Thomas showed no interest in Dominic’s ramblings as he laid down a bath mat, took Jake by the paw, led him into the bathroom and shut the door. Whatever conversation Dominic had quickly became muffled by the flow of water into the tub. Already properly clothed for bathing, Thomas insisted Jake share in his nudity. He coyly grinned at the buck and pulled down the boy’s underwear. Then, he passed Jake a brush and a bar of soap.

As the water filled the tub, Thomas admired his obese body in the mirror. Lewdly, he reached down a paw and shook his privates, smirking at the sight of his balls bouncing in his reflection. Furthermore, he did not feel satisfied enough to admire only his body. He wanted Jake to partake of the same level of vanity. To that end, he heaved the boy up onto the sink and balanced him up close to the mirror. The only parts of Jake that reflected back, due to his proximity to the mirror, was everything between his chest and knees.

“Looky here, lil’ feller. Just look. You’re so pertty. I dun think I ain’t never seen a boy as beautiful as you. Believe it. Look hard and believe it. You is so beautiful.”

This exercise Thomas put Jake through was not at all intended to humiliate the buck. He truly wanted Jake to see his own beauty. Moreover, he specifically wanted Jake to admire his own tiny genitals. The raccoon put a single finger under Jake’s scrotum, and made the little grapes inside bounce up and down. 

“Dun be shy ‘bout this here lil’ thang of yours. I can’t imagine you with a big one. Just woulda ain’t look right. You is perfect.”

Finally, Thomas stuck his nose right into Jake’s rear to take a deep whiff of the bunny’s essence. The buck’s tail easily covered the raccoons face. Thomas let out a moan before he brought the boy back to the floor. After they killed this little bit of time together, with Thomas acting much like a cub would, the water reached an appropriate level in the tub.

“Righty, y’all says I needs to be clean…I’ll let y’all take care of that for me! Guess that means you’re the daddy right now, heh. When we git done here, y’all can keep bein’ the daddy for tonight, if ya know what I mean.”

The raccoon winked at Jake before stopping the flow of water and immersing himself in the tub. His great volume displaced so much water that it looked as though it could overflow. He let himself lounge in the water, leaning right back. Also, he spread his legs wide to allow Jake to cleanse the part he considered the filthiest.
“’Kay, daddy Jake. I’m a takin’ a bath like a good boy. Please clean me up good.”

For a moment, Jake wondered if he’d made a mistake in stopping. A little longer and the worst of this little sleepover would be behind him, he was sure of it. But the smell had just gotten so awful. His nose still held the essence of Thomas’s thick musky odor. The raccoon seriously needed a bath. It smelled like he hadn’t had one in years.

After agreeing to Jake’s terms whole-heartedly, Thomas checked to make sure the coast was clear, still naked as a jaybird, sporting that little hooked erection below his large belly. Jake tried to avoid looking at him as he peeked into the hall then turned around and came back to collect his prize. The raccoon’s genitals bounced with each wobbly step until he was close enough to scoop the cub into his arms and carry him over to the door.

It occurred to Jake that opting for a bath may have inadvertently left him open to further abuse. Had he finished first then complained, it probably would’ve been different; unless of course, Jake could find a way to satisfy Thomas during the bath. He seemed pretty excited about the idea as it was, which the buck actually found rather confusing.

If Thomas liked baths so much, why didn’t he do it regularly? Did it have something to do with me? Jake thought. Thomas was pretty keen on the idea of having the rabbit bathe him that was for sure. Honestly, the buck had no complaints either. Being in charge—of sorts—he’d be able to clean the raccoon to his own specifications. Jake actually did enjoy bathing and being clean. In fact, he’d bathed the night before Thomas and Dominic had both kidnapped him, using a lovely smelling lavender soap.

The clean smell had long since faded away thanks to time and the abuse of his kidnappers. Worst of all was when he’d been coated in his own bodily fluids. Even after the embarrassing public bathing, the smell was still there, although much more diluted. Right now Jake could barely tolerate his own cleanliness. And honestly, if he weren’t so worried about what Thomas might do in the bathroom, he’d hop into the tub too.

For now though, he opted to stay as inaccessible as he could.

Once as the door, Thomas placed Jake back on his feet, warning him that Dominic was still close-by. They had to sneak by to avoid stirring the panther, but even quiet as they were, disturbed shouts and angry noises came from the other room, causing the cub to freeze in fear multiple times.

Although the raccoon probably couldn’t hear, or perhaps didn’t care to listen, Jake’s ears caught every word Dominic growled as clear as day. It sounded like he was arguing with the ghost of Johnny, but it was all one-sided.

Did he actually feel guilty for the fox’s death, to be dreaming about it and arguing with a figment of his imagination? Or was it just repressed rage that might soon unleash itself on the poor rabbit?

Not wanting to find out either way, Jake quickly picked up the pace to stay behind Thomas until they were both in the bathroom. Once the door was closed, the buck felt immensely relieved, like he’d just spent the last few minutes wading through a thick hot soup, trying to reach cool, dry pastures.

Jake’s attention quickly shifted once he was safely away from Dominic’s angry rambling. The sound of water filling the tub caught his hear and drew his gaze away from the door just in time to catch Thomas approaching him in the nude. Without saying a word the raccoon kneeled down and pulled Jake’s underwear down, eliciting a small yelp and a bid to cover his bits as his last scrap of clothing was worked all the way off.

He’d never get used to being naked around these men at this rate, especially considering what followed promptly after. Jake was quickly given a bar of soap and a brush, which he stared down at for a few moments as Thomas admired himself in the mirror. Eventually though, the raccoon’s lewd behavior led him to picking up the rabbit and making him to balance awkwardly on the bathroom sink as he was forced to stare as his own wide-legged stance, displaying every bit of boyhood inbetween.

Blushing deeply in humiliation, the cub’s ears wilted as Thomas started calling him pretty and beautiful. Although Jake was sure he was trying to make him feel better about himself, the way the raccoon went about it was having the unintended effect of making Jake feel embarrassed.

He didn’t know how to respond to compliments about his boyhood. It didn’t make sense to him. All the unwanted touching as Thomas played with Jake’s tight little sac, only added to the confusion. The rabbit had never really been ashamed of his body or his ‘size’. At least, not until Dominic pointed it out on the first day and both predators laughed so merrily at his expense.  By now, Jake saw the handling of his most private place as just a means of degrading him, even with all the nice words.

Thomas called him perfect, that he shouldn’t be shy. Somehow, Jake felt that being ‘perfect’ in his eyes was actually a bad thing, because it meant the raccoon would never leave him alone. Being ‘perfect’ meant that he no longer had any rights to his own body…No privacy and no protection from unwanted physical contact. The only good side to any of this was that the raccoon was much less of a danger to his life than Dominic, and his only protection from the panther’s rage.

“T… Thank-you, Daddy…” Jake whined quietly, trying not to sound upset; he had to make Thomas think he was okay with this treatment.

However, the suddenly feeling of Thomas’s cold nose against Jake’s tender anus, made him yelp loudly despite himself. Dropping the brush, he quickly clapped a paw over his mouth, to contain any further sounds as the raccoon helped himself to a strong whiff of the cub’s backside before lowering him back down to the floor.

Feeling weak-kneed, Jake clung to the sink, standing awkwardly on his wounded legs as he watched Thomas’s reflection in the mirror. The cub’s eyes widened slightly as the raccoon declared him ‘daddy for the night’, while effectively taking on the demeanor of a child. He must have been really enjoying himself, because after winking at Jake, he settled into the tub and asked the cub to clean him like it was all some sort of game.

Still clinging to the sink for support, Jake turned around slowly, wobbling as he reached down to the floor to pick up the brush. The rabbit stared at Thomas quizzically as he carefully inched his way over to the tub, hiding his privates behind the brush until he was able to get into position slightly behind Thomas.

You can do this… It’s just like… like bathing Susie. Except… he’s big and ugly, and male and… gross, and… Jake shook his head and put on a determined look. He had to get through this. There was a lot a stake, even in this simple task.

Dipping both the soap and the brush into the hot water, Jake quickly worked up a lather between the two and immediately got to work. Using a nearby container as a bucket, he dumped water on the raccoon’s head several times, struggling to maintain balance on his good leg each time. Then he proceeded to scrub at Thomas’s head vigorously with the brush.

Focusing hard on maintaining the illusion of bathing his little sister, Jake tried to speak the same way. Too afraid to give hard demands though, he opted for stutter suggestions for Thomas to move his head or lift an arm as he scrubbed every inched of the older male’s head, face, ears, neck, back and arms. By the time he got to his chest, Jake had no choice but to stand in front where his own nakedness was clearly visible again.

Leaning over double, Jake scrubbed at the raccoon’s flabby chest and belly, working white swirls into his grey fur, gradually making his way lower until he was below the waterline.

Now came the hardest part. He wanted to scrub Thomas’s genitals the most, to remove as much smell as possible, but as the same time he didn’t want to go near it. There was a potential upside here though. The raccoon was still very much erect, having enjoyed his luxury bath. Using the brush, Jake could almost certainly illict a climax and kill two birds with one stone.

Biting his tongue, he plunged the brush deep into the water and promptly got to work, scrubbing all around the region, covering every inch until he had only the sheath and testicles to do. By now Jake was almost completely over the tub, using one arm to support himself on the bottom of the basin, while scrubbing with the other. He was so focused on his task, that he didn’t look up at the raccoon hovering over him, let alone realize his rump and short twitching tail were stuck straight up in the air.

Closing his eyes, Thomas smiled and completely surrendered himself to Jake. If the boy pulled him forward to douse him in water, he leaned forward on command. He permitted Jake full control and full access to his body, and loved every moment of it. At times, he murred deeply and his hooked penis pulasated under Jake’s attentiveness. The anticipation did drive him a little nuts because he wanted Jake to get started right at the softest part. Nonetheless, he knew it would come to that soon. The rabbit started in the most logical sequence: from head to toe. So, he just relished every tender touch of Jake’s young fingers.

When the rabbit leaned forward to scrub Thomas’s chest and belly, he stroked the buck’s back like a beloved pet. It wasn’t until Jake finally got to the sweet spot that Thomas opened his eyes to witness everything happening to his body. He knew that Jake wanted him clean, and particularly wanted his nethers cleansed. What he didn’t know was of Jake’s true intent to get him off so as to dissolve the urge to do anything else after the bath. Even if Jake succeeded, Thomas still had more planned, but did enjoy the stimulation under the guise of cleaning.

“Oh…praise the lord…y’all is just as good a daddy to me as I is to you. Yes. Oh yes! I’m a dirty boy…make me clean down there! That’s it…”

Jake practically got into the tub with Thomas just to ensure he could reach everything south of Thomas’s waistline. As the boy leaned in, his rump got held high in the air. Thomas couldn’t resist the opportunity, and massaged Jake’s butt cheeks as a way of showing appreciation for all the attention the boy gave to his parts. He occasionally teased the hole and very much wanted to slip a finger in there, but he did say Jake had that role for tonight. To that end, Thomas opened his legs wider to give Jake unobstructed access to his malehood.

“Oh lord, Jake…I…I’m gonna…Oh lord!”

Eventually, with all the scrubbing, Thomas squirted across the water. His dong had breached the surface like a fleshy periscope, and it sprayed raccoon spunk almost to the end of the tub. It came out in three mighty sprays as his balls pulled up high to his fat groin. He held Jake’s arm to get him to stop scrubbing, so he could catch his breath.

“Y’all sure know how to make a dirty boy clean, lil’ feller. God, I love you so much. Uh, let me take care of one more thing, then I says we is done here for tonight.”

Thomas grabbed the soap Jake had rested on the toilet cover. He worked up a lather in one paw and used it to coat his finger. Then, the raccoon fingered his own asshole with his soapy finger, getting his insides nice and clean.

“Gotta make sure I is clean inside and out.”

He repeated the process of his internal cleanse. Slipping his finger out, he soaped it up again and went back inside. He ensured a triple cleaning before the session was finally done. Satisfied, and with his dick retreating back into its fuzzy house, the raccoon stepped out of the water, grabbed a towel, and dried himself off. He instructed Jake to pull the plug and give him a moment while he towelled his wet fur. When all was said and done, Thomas picked up Jake’s underwear, took Jake by the paw, patted him on the head, and walked him back into the bedroom.

As before, Dominic still rambled, but it had been reduced to calling out Jonathan’s name repeatedly. It also sounded like the panther tossed and turned wildly on the small single bed. Again, Thomas assured Jake that Dominic was well under, beyond waking easily as per his usual. Once more, he told the buck to pay it no mind, but how could anyone? The panther just had a full on conversation with a ghost, for God’s sake, and the subject of the conversation included hints for Jake’s possible salvation…and even for theirs.

The two stood there in mediocre light for several awkward moments before Thomas reached under the bed and pulled out a bible.

“Heh, I know yous ain’t no Christian and all, but I’d like to share with you somethin’ that always gave me hope.”

With that, the raccoon recited a passage from Revelations 21:4

And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death…neither shall there be any more sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain…the former things have passed away.”

For a moment, the raccoon’s thick accent seemed to disappear as he sounded just like a preacher speaking those words. He breathed a heavy sigh before explaining that sometimes, even the words of the bible do give him some comfort, and he hoped this passage did the same for Jake.

“I guess it’s a way of sayin’ cry no more lil’ feller. God will deliver us all. Heh…I sometimes still believe it to be true. Who knows, maybe that’s why the LORD brought ya here. Maybe we’ll find an end to sorrow here, with you now. Anyways, I know now you ain’t no Christian, but I stills dun understand why you is so ashamed of explorin’ that cute bod of yours. That’s something the chuch gets ya to think, and then they can’t keep their grubby paws off of ya. Believe me, I know. How’s that make any sense? If I touch myself, I is goin’ to Hell, but if the preacher does, he goes to heaven and I still go to Hell for bein’ what he liked to call ‘a heathen.’”

The raccoon set the book aside and embraced Jake tenderly. Both of them were still as naked as the dwellers of Eden, but it was entirely a non-sexual hug…for once. The hug seemed to last forever, but Thomas wanted to do some more exploration for the evening before bedding down.

“Y’know, I’s still can’ts wrap my head around why you is so ashamed of your own body when yous ain’t a Christian. If you were a church goer, I’d understand. They pulled that shit on me. Same with Johnny. By the way, we all had once caught him strokin’ his lil’ fox-meat. When he was done, he cried and begged the LORD for forgiveness.”

Thomas had mimicked the motions of masturbation when describing the late fox’s indulgence of sin. The raccoon addedly put Jake on the spot by bringing up other delicate issues, such as when Jake got bullied.

“Anyway, I thinks I get it with you. I din’ already forgot about that bully y’all told me about. I hopes y’all know where I is goin’ with this. Someone, maybe this punk, MADE you hate yourself. Dun think that. Ever. If I can give y’all anything, it’s that. Everyone always tried to make me think I wasn’t all that and then some. Dun’ believe it! Fuck them and fuck that punk! Here, lookit yourself again in that thar mee-or.”

Parallel to the bed, Thomas had an antique dresser with a tall mirror mounted over it. The reflection had faded over the years and the entire unit desperately needed some dusting. Still, it would do for what Thomas had in mind. He hoisted Jake onto the bed in a standing postion. Next, he had the buck flex his arms as though he were posing for a Mr. Olympian poster. Pose after pose, he got the buck to focus squarly on his own reflection, and to admire what he saw.

“Look at that! Anyone who tells ya you ain’t pertty is full of shit! Hell, I’d bop that lil’ fucker in the nose or beak for ya if I ever saw him. Jake, you is truly a gift from God.”

The raccoon got up on the bed and pressed up close to Jake, still staring at the mirror. He only stood on his knees on the matress so as not to tower over Jake. Holding the boy close, he held Jake’s paw and pressed his cheek against Jake’s. For several moments, Thomas just admired this picture-perfect pose in the mirror. He was beginning to get a hard-on again.

“Right then, lil’ feller, just ‘bout that time. But, before we all retire, y’all is still the daddy tonight and I is still the boy.”

After issuing such a confusing statement, Thomas got bellydown on the matress with his fat butt raised in the air. He flicked his tail out of the way and reached back to spread his cheeks apart. The pucker of Thomas’s ass looked as though it winked at the buck.

“’kay now, I is all clean there just for you. Take me, daddy Jake. Take me deep! Then we all can gets ourselves the best night’s sleep ever.”

At least for the time being, Jake felt like things were going well; relatively speaking, anyways. Thomas was satisfied with his efforts and even seemed to really enjoy this twisted role-reversal game of him. Of course, the cub wasn’t about to complain. Cleaning the raccoon served a dual purpose; removing the foul odor, but most importantly, inciting a reaction from the ring-tail’s loins.

Although he could have done without hearing Thomas congratulating him and encouraging this dirty deed, eventually the goal he sought would come. Not before, however, the raccoon took advantage of Jake’s exposed posture while scrubbing the dirtiest spot. The sudden feeling of a paw on his rump, made him stiffen and gasp sharply, but he bit his tongue and continued working, wincing whenever a finger traced his tender tail-hole.

It seemed, for now anyway, Thomas was following the rules of his own little game. Hopefully that meant he wouldn’t have any sexual abuse to fear tonight. All he had to do was keep up his efforts. If he could make the raccoon squirt again, he wouldn’t want to ‘play’ anymore. At least, that was Jake’s experience so far with these two predators.

Eventually Jake’s hard work paid off. Pre-empted by a cry from Thomas, the hooked appendage bobbed up out of the water, stiffening from Jake’s scrubbing with the brush at the base, and squirted thick streams of white fluid across the tub. Watching with wide, startled eyes, he kept working the brush until Thomas stopped him.

He’d never actually seen the stuff that came out of there until now, and following it with his eyes as he flew through the air to plop into the water on the other end of the bathtub, Jake couldn’t help but be enthralled and disgusted at the same time. It looked almost like milk, but the cub knew better. His previous experience with that vile fluid was still very fresh in his mind.

Shaking his head, Jake leaned back sharply, dropping back to the floor as he extracted his paws from the water and deposited the brush and soap onto the toilet cover nearby.

With a wet, soapy paw, the rabbit wiped his forehead, mostly to cover his face and hide the embarrassment of Thomas’s praises. He clearly had something more planned though. Jake watched as the raccoon picked up the soap and used it to, he could only assume, clean his rump more thoroughly. Apparently he wanted to be clean ‘inside and out’. Repeating the process several times he declared the bath over and instructed Jake to empty the tub.

Looking a little worried, Jake complied without a word, pulling the plug and watching the dirty, soapy water drain. He was still on his knees next to the copper basin by the time Thomas finished toweling off, at which point he scooped up the boy’s underwear, helped him to his feet, pat him on the head and led the way back to his bedroom.

In the hallway, the sounds of disturbed dreams from the panther were still very obvious. He was calling out the dead fox’s name, making Jake cringe despite Thomas’s reassurances. It was easy for him to say to ignore it; he didn’t actually register the disturbing conversation Dominic had with a dead boy he’d murdered. It struck a nerve of too many levels for the buck to disregard it. Had he actually been babbling to himself in some drunken unconscious stupor, or did poor Johnny’s soul still lurk the shadows of this awful place? It couldn’t possibly be the latter; Jake would’ve liked to think that the fox would have been eager to depart this nightmare.

Once in the safety and meager comfort of Thomas’s bedroom once more, Jake cleared the dark thoughts from his head, shifting to more important things. For example, the fact he was, naked and shivering, standing awkwardly with all of his weight on his good leg. It wasn’t cold in here, but he couldn’t help but feel chilled. Perhaps he was nervous about what would come next.

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before Thomas moved to retrieve a bible from his belongings. Although finally acknowledging Jake’s non-religious background, he wanted to read a quote from the book in his paws. Feeling uneasy, the cub rubbed one arm and covered his loins with the other, wobbling as he tried to stand upright without falling.

Despite remarkable reading with little to no southern accent, the quote was lost on the child. He’d never read the bible, and never had any inclination to do so, thus gaining some measure of hope from just a few words seemed trivial. The quote in particular made the cub far more worried though. Thomas let out a heavy sigh and continued to speak while the young rabbit stood, surrounded by dirty clothing and looking nervous.

Thomas tried to explain the quote, but it didn’t really clear up Jake’s confusion, especially when he suggested that God had brought him here. Just hearing that made him angry. Why would God send him here?! Take him away from his family, his friends, and his life, to endure the endless abuse of a couple of monsters who saw fit to kidnap him for their own sick deeds.

Containing his righteous anger, Jake stared intently at the floor as Thomas continued, rambling on about how he didn’t understand the eight-year-old’s aversion to what was essentially being forced into nudity in front of strangers who’s only real goals had been to abuse and humiliate him in every way imaginable. It made perfect sense to Jake why he hated it so much. They touched him in unforgiveable ways, molested every inch of his young, immature body, forced disgusting acts upon him, and relished in his misery.

Truly, Jake had never been sexually inclined or even interested in his own body before Thomas and Dominic took him away. Had things progressed normally in his life, he might not have been so ashamed of himself, but with the things that had been done to him, and the things he’d had to do, it all just made him feel so dirty and defiled. His body might’ve enjoyed an attention in had never experienced before, but it was at the expense of psychological trauma.

Wrapped up in his own thoughts, Jake missed most of what Thomas had said regarding the church and preachers diddling little cubs, so the sudden embrace caught him slightly off guard. What was especially bizarre, was the hug held no desire to grasp as the buck’s body inappropriately. Although it lasted for an uncomfortable length of time, it seemed completely plutonic.

After breaking the embrace, Thomas promptly restated his confusion over Jake’s natural reservations towards sex, bringing up the deceased fox as an example of how it made sense if he were a Christian. The buck wilted slightly at the mention of Johnny masturbating and pleading forgiveness afterwards. It felt like he was being fed information that should’ve remained private, even if the boy was dead. Granted though, the more he knew about the last boy, the better off he’d be, should he try to escape again.

With Thomas’s next words, he suddenly shifted gears, bringing up Jake’s history with bullies. The cub whined and opened his mouth to try and explain, but the raccoon talked over him, confident that bullies were the sole reason for eight-year-old’s feelings about his own body. Of course, Jake had never really considered it before. He’d always felt embarrassed, humiliated and mortified whenever he was picked on in ways that exposed his private places to other students, but was it really because he felt bad about his body?

Before Jake realized it, Thomas had broken into some sort of self-motivation speech, like he was trying to inspire confidence in the cub. And as if to further that agenda, he instructed the buck to stand in front of a dusty old mirror, even going so far as to scoop the rabbit up off the floor and make him stand on the foot of the bed.

Naturally Jake resisted, wobbling awkwardly and trying to cover himself, all while blushing profusely. He didn’t have much choice in the matter, though. Thomas made him stand, completely naked, in front of the mirror, with every inch of his little body in plain sight as he made him strike numerous poses; the sort Jake wouldn’t attempt even on the best of days.

Jake’s cheeks were burning with humiliation. He tried to look away several times, but Thomas repeatedly instructed him to look at himself, trying to make him admire what he saw. He couldn’t though. All the buck could think about was the fact Thomas was gripping his fragile frame, naked as a jaybird, making him stand in all these ridiculous poses.

Eventually Jake had had all that he could stand; literally. His wounded leg was aching fiercely from all the activity and his heart was racing with adrenaline. He just wanted all of this to end so he could go to sleep. Thomas still had a few more words to say though, but Jake tried not to listen. As best he could tell, it was just more garbage about him being pretty and apparently a ‘gift from God’.

Afterwards, Thomas climbed on the bed with him and just hugged him, pressing himself deep into Jake’s personal space and forcing him to watch their embrace in the mirror’s reflection. The worst part was, although affection was clear in Thomas’s eyes, Jake could see nothing but horror in his own.

By the time the terrible visage finally broke away, it had burned into Jake’s mind. He had to hold his paws over his eyes as Thomas started talking again. The baffling nature of his statement immediately drew the boy’s attention, though. Turning around sharply, he was just quick enough to see the raccoon bent down on all fours onto the bed, raising his rump high in the air and exposing his large tailhole at eye-level with the cub.

Jake immediately recoiled, nearly toppling off the foot of the bed, as his eyes locked onto the disturbing sight before him. Wide-eyed and confused, the cub stammered nervously.

“W-w-w-what are you—uhm—I don’t—” Jake winced. “I-I-I-I don’t—I don’t understand—Why’re you—Why—”

Part of Thomas knew full well that Jake wouldn’t dive right in like a kid given a pass to all the rides at the fair. He already expected to have to coach Jake into it, and wouldn’t take no for an answer, as per usual. Besides, he very much enjoyed this game and seriously wanted Jake to pound his hole. Additionally, he thought maybe Jake would participate more willingly in the future if he felt that things were indeed mutual. 

After all, the way things transpired up until now were decidedly one-sided. As it stood, only Thomas got intimate with Jake, not the other way around. Dominic sure didn’t count, because his activities hardly counted as intimacy – more like just another expression of his deep anger rather than a matter of love. Thomas did love Jake and wanted some give and take in the relationship he perceived that they had together.

“Is just like I had done to you. Put your thang in me! C’mon now, gimme some lovin’.”

It became obvious very quickly that the message went over Jake’s head. He thought it should have been unmistakeably clear what he wanted. At times like these, Thomas did think Jake a little dense. Unlike Dominic, who knew full well where Jake stood on many things and detected an intellect in the boy equivocal to his own. Still, as dumb as Thomas figured Jake was, he loved him just the same. He worked to spell things out for Jake as though he figured he needed to go slower with the boy.

“’kay now, I want ya, very simply, to put your bunny stick up my bum. Just like when I put mine in yours. Then, y’all must pulls it out again and put it right back in me. Keep doin’ that again and again ‘til y’all spunk in me. That white stuff that comes out of your bits is spunk and spunk is called love. Get it? Yor makin’ love to me. You make it by puttin’ it inside me over and over.”

As expected, the buck hesitated and looked like he could collapse where he stood. The initial request put Jake at the edge of the bed, threating to fall over, but now…Thomas tried more to persuade Jake.

“Lil’ feller, that’s how y’all shows someone you loves him. ‘sides, it’s only fair. It can’t just be me lovin’ you up all the time. This is your chance to do things to me. I’m all yours right now. Tells ya what, start off slow…maybe feel around a bit, y’know, like explorin’ and such. Then, maybe rub your pecker on my butt cheeks just to get ya in the mood. Finally, close your eyes, think about how good it feels to jerk your own prick, and then just slip into the hole. I is clean there, remember? Dun worry about nothin’. Y’all will go in pink and come back out pink. I promise. C’mon now.”

Thomas closed his own eyes and waited patiently for Jake to initiate something. As moments passed, he started to get a little impatient. On the other paw, he didn’t want to press the issue too much out of fear the buck would faint. As deep as Dominic slept, the loud thud of Jake’s unconscious body would have the panther storming into the room. Thomas didn’t want that and knew Jake did not either. So, he just waited for the buck to get started on his own terms. Even though he assured Jake this was a mutualistic act, the buck really had no choice. No sleep for the two would come until Thomas had his satisfaction.

Despite his babbling, Jake actually figured out pretty quick what Thomas wanted, and the cub was immediately disgusted by the idea. He’d learned about mating in school, even if only briefly, but never once had sexual intercourse between two males ever been discussed. Worse, such activity between a grown-up and a cub was expressly forbidden. They’d been warned never to accept such solicitations from strangers, or even family. Of course, the reason was irrelevant at this point.

Thomas and Dominic had already succeeded in kidnapping him, and forced themselves on him sexually numerous times before even arriving. Saying no had never been an option, and there was no going back now. Abused and beaten to within an inch of his life more than once, all of the rules he’d been raised by had to take a backseat now.

This new life, miserable as it was, was still life. He was living and breathing, although bruised and sore, and as long as he was alive, the chance to return home was there, slim as it might be.

Doing what the raccoon suggested though, went far beyond his comfort zone. Jake had never been even remotely sexual before his run-in with these two predators. He wasn’t even sure how to proceed, despite what he’d learned in Sex-Ed. To the buck, mating took place between a male and a female who loved each other very much. Thomas was neither female nor a subject of affection.

Even if he could fake it, Jake’s body was in no state to respond the way Thomas was expecting. Sure, he could be physically coerced into an erection—the two kidnappers made that abundantly clear—but without the necessary stimulation, it’d be like it was when he was forcing himself to masturbate in front of the raccoon. As easy as it had looked, it was very difficult. Struggling to contain his humiliation and focus on his body’s response to his own touch, the experience hadn’t been very enjoyable, even with his first climax.

Jake’s body had been easy enough to command, but the psychological effects were detrimental. He feared having to do the same thing again, and now he feared this new task.

As Thomas spoke to him like he was simple, Jake frowned and whimpered quietly to himself. He actually wanted the buck to reciprocate the same act that had been performed on him. For what purpose? Was it another means of degradation or did Thomas really want to take Jake’s place?

When it came down to it, it was as simple a task as Thomas described, as gross and revolting as it sounded. Sure, the ring-tail was all clean now, even in the area being presented to him, but it didn’t change the fact that he was being instructed to mate with a male raccoon at least twenty or thirty years older than him. It just didn’t feel right.

But… if he didn’t comply, things could fall apart. Thomas might think Jake didn’t love him anymore, and then Dominic would step in and… But did he really have to do this to maintain a lie? Ultimately the only thing Jake would suffer is the memory and constant reminder that he’d mated with Thomas, which was a far cry from having the same thing done to himself against his will. But that would happen again anyway, wouldn’t it?

The entire time Thomas spoke, Jake was wrapped up in a major internal dilemma. Although it seemed like the simplest solution was to do as he was told, his entire being was completely opposed to it. The only real benefit to gain was further trust from Thomas, which in itself could lead to escape one day, but in the here and now, seemed only to cater to the raccoon’s sadistic concept of love.

Jake’s struggle to come to a decision carried on into the silence as Thomas waited with every expectation that the cub would get to work, but there was just one major hitch in the plan. The little boy’s sheath was a limp noodle. So repulsed was Jake by the task at hand, that he couldn’t prepare himself. He stared down at his naked body, whining. Even if he could somehow be motivated into action, he had no means to do so.

Still mulling over his predicament, he tried to stir life into his loins, embarrassed as it made him feel, but it was useless.

“I… I can’t, Daddy…” Jake whimpered, cradling his genitals between his legs with both paws. “It just… It just won’t… I can’t make it…”

Frustrated at Jake's inability to perform, Thomas huffed, turned around, and faced the boy's crotch. He didn't consider the buck's frigidness an effect of no feeling. Still very much under Jake's spell, he just dismissed the rabbit's shy penis as a result of inexperience. If Jake, however, wanted to keep up the charade, then his life very much depended on getting an erection. In a way, this whole exercise was very much a test where the only passing grade was Jake injecting Thomas's anus with the few drops of love his pre-pubescent prostate could produce. Failure would very likely call into question Jake's true feelings, and thus ruin his chances of living a long life.

The raccoon may have only had half the brain of Dominic, but he still had enough smarts to know when he was being used. He suffered so many times before, and did just a few minutes ago alluded to the fact he dealt with his fair share of bullies before becoming one himself. Oh sure, he likely not kill Jake after becoming disillusioned. The relationship did not yet have the benefit of time as it did with Johnny. When that illusion got dispelled, it drove Thomas to a rage on par with Dominic's; hence why he played a willing part in the fox's demise.

Nevertheless, Jake not performing the task assigned to him would be no less dire. Even though the raccoon would not kill him on the spot, he'd banish the boy back into the barn and leave him to Dominic's devices. If that were the case, Jake's longevity would measure in days rather than years. Thomas entertained these thoughts for just a moment, likely shorter than Jake had considered everything. Giving the buck the continued benefit of a doubt, the raccoon put his tongue to better modes of persuasion.

"Fine…lemme help you. Yor gonna have to learn to do this on your own though."

The raccoon licked at the buck's young balls, lifting the tight, compact scrotum up with every lick. Next, he increased the ground covered by getting his tongue right to the boy's taint and working all the way up to the limp little sheath. The act was no different than what the raccoon had performed before, so he felt sure he'd garner the desired reaction. Finally, he turned his tongue to the object of interest: Jake's tiny penis, still hiding away in it's furry pouch. Thomas slid his tongue all the way down to meet up with the pencil thin tip of Jake's bunnyhood.

"Just…just close your eyes and let you bod take over, 'kay?" Thomas said between licks.

The cub wilted slightly under the raccoon’s show of exasperation. Jake wasn’t trying to be difficult. He’d already realized he had no choice, as it seemed was common place nowadays. Losing Thomas’s protective barrier from Dominic was absolutely something he could not afford. Unfortunately, his body had its own complaints, mostly triggered by his inate disgust with the act of fornication with the large, fat raccoon.

When Thomas offered to help, the buck didn’t know whether to be glad his kidnapper wasn’t angry, or queasy at the thought of him being molested again, even if it helped to achieve a goal to which he couldn’t back away from.

Making himself smaller, the cub hesitantly removed his paws from his genitals as Thomas reared his big head close. He shivered visibly with displeasure as the raccoons large tongue got right to work, lapping at Jake’s little testicles.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the eight-year-old rabbit struggled to resist the urge to push away the head between his legs. He was never going to get used to the feeling of that tongue as he slurped and slid all over his little boyhood.

A small gasp escaped Jake’s lips as the tongue forced its way into the small hole, grazing the tip of his penis. Grasping Thomas’s head with both paws, the buck panted and whined. Clearly the stimulation was having the desired effect, as queasy as it made him feel.

T-think happy thoughts, think happy t-thoughts.
 
To Jake’s own surprise, for the first time since the abuse had begun, the feeling of Thomas’s tongue against his little penis was making his hips quiver with the urge to move. Although he didn’t know what to make of it, he provided little effort in fighting against it. Thomas said to let his body take over, and it seemed very eager to. If that made this whole horrible ordeal easier, than what choice did he have?

With little real work of the raccoon’s part, the rabbit’s little prick sprung to full mast in his mouth. However, just when he was ready to stop, Thomas was pulled back into place. Jake gripped the sides of the older male’s head tightly, unable to control himself any longer. Whimpering and whining in confusion and pleasure, the cub started thrusting back and forth. His cheeks burned like fire with the embarrassment of what he was doing. After just a little encouragement, his body had quickly succumbed to desires he’d previously never considered, not even when he had to masturbate for Thomas.

“Wha… what’s h-h-happening—“ he squeaked between breaths.

The raccoon gulped as the rabbit unexpectedly pulled him back into position. The oral service worked more wonders than even Thomas imagined. Jake's prick sprung to life swiftly, and the buck even began to pump into Thomas's maw. Who doesn't like a good blow job, Thomas thought, but Jake's response was unlike anything he ever witnessed. 

Even Johnny didn't respond so well, but maybe each cub was different. The times Thomas had sodomized the young vulpine, he got a very pleasant reaction. In fact, it had illicit such pleasure from the cub that his penis literally sprung from its sheath and began leaking fluid. This, if anything, made poor Johnny feel even more impure and in need of the Lord's forgiveness. The boy never considered himself gay, but his body seemed to behave otherwise. If it were true, the poor fox would have been figuratively eaten alive had these feelings developed naturally. This was, after all, the South, and in the middle of the so called bible-belt. Things have changed, but even Johnny would have suffered a hard life had he lived, but not nearly as hard as Dominic or Thomas.

Just like Johnny, finding the right buttons for Jake was only a matter of time, patients, and unabashed exploration. Even if Jake himself didn't enjoy what was happening, his body clearly got right into it. Such an unprecedented response made Thomas want to continue so as to oblige Jake. He did, after all, want Jake to enjoy sex and felt he found an avenue the buck could easily get into. Unfortunately, it came as a result of Thomas again pressing the issue, and he didn't feel as though he'd successfully let the buck get in on the action. Once more, it was all one-sided, or so Thomas believed. He still figured letting the buck bum him would even the scales somewhat, even though he would accomplish the same goal by letting Jake fuck his face silly.

"Mmph…mffl…Jake…mmm…Jake! Oh my God, mmph, Jake!"

Thomas began to rethink his viewpoint with how eager the buck held on to his head. The boy's body did appear to take over, and he even began to exhibit signs of dominance in the matter. His efforts to pull away were thwarted with unexpected insistence from Jake's paws, which held tight against the raccoons head. He felt it was only a matter of time before the buck would start pulling on his cheek tufts or his ears and begin pounding hard against his muzzle. Again, and still not thinking it selfishness on his part, the raccoon took control by pulling away and presenting his rump again.

"'Kay now, dun even look…dun even open your eyes! Let your hips do all the work. C'mon now, hurry before y'all lose it!"

The swiftness it which Jake succumbed to natural urges not normally experienced at his age, shocked the cub as much as it did Thomas; though, for much different reasons. To the rabbit, he currently experienced a complete betrayal of his own body. It wasn’t even that he’d given in to it so easily, but that it happened with virtually no effort on the raccoon’s part.

Jake had entered a whole new and scary state of being. His mind was quickly consumed by instinct, putting higher thinking aside in exchange for sexual pleasure, using Thomas’s muzzle as the orifice from which to achieve it.

Unfortunately, the raccoon wasn’t content to keep it that way. Despite thwarting several attempts to pull away, the buck’s paws grasping and clawing at Thomas’s head and ears, he eventually extracted himself. Left shivering and still thrusting at nothing, Tom’s backside was presented once more and, to Jake’s internal horror, he leapt at the offer.

Crawling up on top of the much larger raccoon, the cub’s hips jerked and gyrated sporadically, trying to find the hole. He clung tight to Thomas’s back, even going so far as to bite deeply into the scruff of his ‘mates’ neck. All the while, his little penis twitched and bobbed, eventually finding the hole and promptly thrusting with even greater vigor.

Of course, Jake’s diminuitive size went in easily, penetrating only about two inches. It would’ve no doubt felt like nothing to Thomas, but to the cub it was a means to seek relief. Pounding as hard as his little body could muster, Jake was panting and whining loudly; perhaps a little too loud.

He kept biting and gnawing on a spot just shy of the raccoon’s neck; a primitive form of sexual dominance. His efforts didn’t last more than a minute though. In no time at all, the cub climaxed and came to a shaky stop for a few moments. Only a few drops had come out of his little erection.

Just when Thomas thought it over though, Jake suddenly picked up again, thrusting randomly and intermittently before stopping again. He repeated the process several more times before the instinctual high wore off, at which point the cub slid off Thomas’s backside and dropped to the bed, curling into a tight ball.

By now his conscious thought had finally caught up with him, and, as expected, he was wracked with shame and humiliation for what he’d just done. In fact, he began to cry quietly, whining to himself as he held onto his retreating sexual organ. Just that short amount of time, no more than five minutes, had made the flesh sore and tender.

Unlike the time earlier, Thomas had no further need to offer words or time to Jake for him to finally take his backside. The bunny boy leaped at it, resting his body over Thomas’s wide back, and even bit down into the scruff of his neck. Being dominiated by Jake in such a manner made the raccoon call out louder than he should have, but Jake also moaned and groaned a little too audibly.

The buck’s lower quarters went straight to work on Thomas’s hole, and the little prick soon found its way into the pucker. Obviously, the boy slid in very easily because of his short, thin little cone-shaped dick. Thomas didn’t feel much in the way of anal pleasure, and the boy’s size meant that his underdeveloped cocklet could not physically poke at Thomas’s prostate. He overlooked the lack of simulation for himself because he intended this very act for Jake, and the boy, or his body at the very least, got right into it. 

Most of the pleasure Thomas got was due to his awareness of the situation. He was getting dominiated by his boy! It more or less confirmed that Jake did reciprocate the feelings he had for him. After all, the boy took him like a mate. Even without the direct prodding, his male-gland began to produce just at the mere thought of everything happening to him. To make matters even better, Thomas thought, the boy bit his scruff so hard that he drew a bit of blood. Furthermore, the boy’s hips pounded so hard that each impact managed to propel Thomas’s large bulk forward. Now for certain, he thought, the scales have been evened and he and his lover stood on equal ground.

“Oh God…Oh sweet merciful heaven…Jake, darlin’ Jake, I love you!”

The whole ordeal lasted only a pawful of minutes. Jake began to cum in Thomas only after a minute of pumping, and the short intervals of thrusts that followed ceased after only an additional four minutes. At least for Thomas, it was five minutes of pure bliss and felt as though it lasted much longer. Additionally, on top of his elation he felt the boy performed his first sex act commendably. He wholeheartedly believed the boy would turn out to be an excellent lover.

As Jake fell off of Thomas’s body, curling up on the bed, the raccoon had to hold his paw under his own hooked appendage. All these thought about everything made him burst into his paw. He didn’t even have to touch himself to get off, and that was a first for him.

“My oh my…y’all did perfect!”

Thomas wiped his moistened paw onto a piece of dirty laundry near the bed, and then he crawled over to the quiviering white ball. He did, of course, notice Jake whimpering and holding his own crotch. It stood to reason, after all, with all the exertion and a headlong journey into the unknown. Thomas felt completely trilled at having brought Jake into this world of physical pleasures. He whispered softly into the buck’s ears.

“That was wonderful. Y’all sure is a natural at this, and feel free to do that to me anytimes ya want. Heck, if y’all is ever feelin’ frisky, just say ‘daddy, start a lickin’ now!’ and I’ll do it. Anythin’ for you.”

Reaching under Jake’s arms, the raccoon pulled the buck up along the length of the bed. He got Jake up to where he could rest his head on the pillow. Next, he got up for just a moment to flick off the lamp, but soon returned behind Jake, again spooning with the boy. Thomas threw a delicate sheet over their two bodies and began the usual ritual before sleep. One paw had stroked Jake’s chest fur while the other traced very softly along each of Jake’s ear’s. Also, the raccoon repeatedly kissed Jake on the back of the head.

“Goodnight, lil’ feller. I loves ya.”
After a thoroughly satisfying evening, Thomas went under very quickly. Ocassionally, his fat body shifted, but mostly maintained a crescent moon shape behind Jake. Much to Jake’s chagrin, the boney raccoon penis slipped out its sheath the next time Thomas shifted. That was the thing about raccoons: their penises could just pop out whenever because of the mechanics of their bacculums. The appendage wedged itself in Jake’s crack, but thankfully at an angle where it couldn’t possibly enter the hole. Thomas wasn’t aware of it at all, and thus didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. He just slept, cuddling Jake close and smiling the entire time.

Mysteriously, a bit of cold air drooped down between the two bodies. It could not have been a draft because the ambient temperature remained quite warm. Thomas was right when he said the nights don’t cool down in this State. But, a layer of cool air still manifested between Jake’s body and Thomas’s. The raccoon seemed blissfully unaware of it, but it was there nonetheless. It was as though it formed a barrier to keep the sickening feel of the raccoon’s fat body off of Jake.

Laying in a ball of shame at the foot of the bed, Jake unhappily reflected on what he'd just done. Thomas had managed to coerce his body into a repulsive sexual act. He couldn't believe his own instincts had betrayed him so thoroughly. Complying with the raccoon's disgusting wishes was the last thing he'd wanted to do, even if it was necessary. The buck felt so dirty and embarrassed, as if he'd been caught masturbating by his parents.

To add insult to injury, during his depraved actions, Thomas was expressing his bliss and love for the young cub. And it didn't stop there. Afterwards as Jake laid curled into a tight ball of trembling fluff, holding onto his sore groin, the raccoon loomed over him and declared his appreciation and satisfaction for a 'job well done'. He even offered to the cub the chance to do it again in the future anytime he wanted, or even worse, to ask of Thomas to have himself pleasured.

In response the rabbit whined and groaned as he was scooped up and dragged along the bed until his head could rest on a pillow near the top. He had no desire to move or separate himself from the chunky raccoon. Instead he clung to his sexual organ, partially to hide it, but also because it still throbbed occasionally, even though his erection had receded back into its sheath.

Once Jake was positioned where Thomas wanted him, the raccoon turned off the lights and spooned against the boy's back, covering both of their bodies in a light sheet. The entire time the buck breathed heavily and rapidly through his little nostrils, feeling his captor's paws fondling his chest and stroke his long, slender ears. A kiss was planted between them and Thomas bid him goodnight.

After that, the room fell into silence, except for Jake's own panicked breathing and the throbbing of his heart in his ears. Thomas naturally fell asleep quickly, much to the cub's relief, but in the raccoon's slumber his hooked appendage promptly poked its way out of its sheath and between the cheeks and thighs of his little captive.

Whining in displeasure, Jake squirmed around the penis rubbing against his tail-hole and up under his tight little sac. Much as he didn't want to, he reached down and tried to push the slimy erection away. Thomas held him tight as first though, making the cub's struggles futile.

Half-an-hour into what seemed would be a long sleepless night, Thomas finally loosened his grip on the rabbit. At the same time, a cool pocket of air descended between the two critters, sending chills up Jake's spine while, imperceptibly creating a barrier between him and the large 'coon. The young boy didn't know what to make of this unsettling feeling, but with Thomas finally separated, it didn't take long for the cub to consider making an escape of sorts.

Running away right now, although an attractive idea, was the last thing on Jake's mind. Thomas may have been asleep, but there was no telling where Dominic was at this point. Making a break for it while they slept could go very badly. All he wanted right now, was to distance himself from Thomas.

Even after having been cleaned up in the bathroom, the raccoon wasn't a bouquet of roses, and his bedroom still stank to high heaven. If Jake could just... slowly ease his way out of Thomas's arms, maybe he could...

It didn't take too long, but eventually Jake's efforts to separate from Thomas paid off as he slipped off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. The naked cub leaned on his good knee as he peered into the dark at the lump of fur on the bed. Thomas hadn't budged or noticed the buck's absence yet.

Jake felt a sense of relief being by himself again, even if he was stripped of every scrap of clothing he had. He was beginning to get used to being naked, which he didn't like. Being unclothed around these beasts was scary. It made him feel vulnerable, and of course, it saved them the trouble of disrobing him whenever they wanted to abuse him. So clothing should've felt like armor.

Right now he had no idea where his clothing even was, and trying to search for them in the dark didn't feel like a terribly wise idea. He needed to get some rest, however miserable and short it was likely to be. Crawling away from the bed, favouring his good knee, Jake eventually found a pile of clothing nearby to crawl onto and curl up in.

It reeked something awful, but it was still better than being in the arms of that fat slob. It even felt less sweltering, like a cool blanket had descended onto his naked body. Nuzzling himself into the dirty pile, Jake eventually drifted into a very light slumber.

Unfortunately for Jake, it only lasted a few hours. Just as quickly as he lost consciousness, it returned. The room went from almost pitch black, to a dull blue hue. The cub opened his eyes slowly, registering the time on Thomas's bedside clock as reading six in the morning.

The first signs of daylight were peeking in through the curtain covering the window, casting a dim light that barely illuminated the small room. Jake slowly lifted his head and observed the room. Thomas was still asleep, hugging a pillow in the buck's stead. As he stared, a thought registered in the boy's mind. Thomas was sleeping, and by now Dominic HAD to be asleep as well, right?

What if this was the only chance he had to escape? Neither of them would know he was gone for a least another couple hours, and after going on a tour of the property, he could easily slip through the fence and be well on his way to freedom before they even knew was what happening.

A sudden nausea swelled inside the buck's belly, a mix of adrenaline and fear at the prospect of running away. He could try, but what if he failed? What if his leg slowed him down enough that he didn't get as far as he could before they spotted him? What if Dominic wasn't asleep and caught him alone without Thomas to defend him?

Sitting upright sharply, Jake shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he didn't have to try try. Perhaps he could slip out under the guise of doing chores, like they wanted him to. Were he to get caught doing so, they wouldn't have to know he was trying to escape.

Jake pondered this plan deeply. He already had a good idea for a 'chore' he could be doing. That butcher-shop of theirs was still dirty and he knew where all the supplies for it were, thanks to Thomas. The buck could sneak outside with the intent of working in there, and then, if neither of his captors noticed, he could bail from their and be gone before they knew it.

For the first time in a long while, Jake felt supremely confident in his plan to escape. It seemed fool-proof, and even as he got up from the pile of clothes and gingerly made his way to the bedroom door, he went over the details again and again, until he was sure there was no way this could go bad. After all, even Dominic wouldn't discourage an early rise to work on the farm, right?

By the time Jake reached the door, he was having mixed feelings, but was still confident enough to peek out into the hall. It was empty and dark, and the door to the dead boy's old bedroom was closed.

Taking a deep breath, Jake rose unsteadily to his feet and crept out into the corridor, using the wall to support himself as he used his good leg to tip-toe towards the stairs. His injured leg still caused him to cringe and limp, but it wasn't as much of an hindrance as it had been.

Once he finally reached the stairs, he was breathing heavily and quickly, his heart pounding fearfully. He still had no idea where Dominic was, but he hoped the panther was still in the boy's room. Creeping down the stairs one step at a time, Jake groaned quietly, struggling until he was finally on the first floor again.

Even in the dark it didn't take the rabbit too long to navigate his way back to the kitchen, where the door leading to the barn could be found. However, as soon as he entered the room, his heart leapt into his throat.

Directly across from him, slumped in a chair pulled out from the table, was Dominic, snoring loudly. The buck froze immediately, eyes locking onto the sleeping feline. Jake would've stood frozen like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck forever, had he not talked himself into a plan he thought to keep him safe, even from Dom.

Seeing the panther here was cause for alarm, though, because the cat stood between Jake at the back door leading out of the house. Of course, he could've turned around and tried to locate the front door, but that would take too long, and the other rooms were dark and unfamiliar terrain.

He had to go this way.

Taking it slowly, the buck slipped into the room, gingerly working his way along the wall towards the door. The route he had to take would bring him within feet of the slumbering feline, but if he could make it passed, he'd be in the clear.

As he made his way, he pondered the viability of this plan, given the unexpected complication. If Dominic woke up and saw Jake trying to sneak by, he would almost certainly see it as the cub attempting to escape, and the punishment would be... brutal... if not fatal. Creeping ever closer, the rabbit's heart throbbed painfully in his throat, eyes focused intently of the panther as he came closer and closer, until they were just two feet apart. Then, he passed, and the distance grew again, without much more than a snort and grumble from the sleeping beast.

Only when Jake slipped outside and wobbled his way down the steps to the dry, packed dirt of the farm grounds, did the buck release the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He did it! He made it outside!

From here it was just several dozen yards to the shed. A trek Jake had to make with no support and without a scrap of clothing. The rabbit suddenly felt very expose and embarrassed again, standing outside completely naked. Even though there wasn't a soul in sight, it felt wrong. Swallowing his shame though, the buck searched the exterior of the house for something to aid in his trip to the shed.

Settling on a long piece of wood, Jake quickly set off, subconsciously trying to conceal his nudity from the world as he limped and hobbled onwards. It didn't take as long as he feared it would to reach the shed. When his finally made it though, he turned back to the house just in time to see a light come on from inside the kitchen.

Eyes widening in terror, Jake nearly lost his footing completely, toppling into the shed to keep from falling. No no no no! He thought, trembling his fear. He scrambled to open the door to the makeshift building, before quickly ducking inside. There wouldn't be much time to get things set up to look like he was working.

At this point he didn't care about his nudity one bit. Tossing the stick aside, he turned on the lights and made a wobbly bee-line straight to the cleaning supplies, grabbing all the things he'd been given the day before. He already regretted his decision to come out here. Deep down he'd been hoping and praying he could enact the true goal of running away. Knowing that now he had to give in to his back-up plan was depressing.

Nonetheless though, he set to work, donning a pair of rubber gloves, acquiring a scratch-pad and sponge, and unceremoniously dumping a quality of bleach onto the floor to begin scrubbing, picking up where he left off the other day.

As he got down in his paws and knees, he could hear the distant sound of the back door to the house opening and slamming shut.