Jacob Marshall - Prologue

The Prologue

This story will begin as many do...

On any given day, one could be the happiest man in the world. One could have the perfect job, sharing one's life with a faithful love, such a bright future. Alas, life can never be so simple or even forgiving. Even those who do no wrong can have everything go wrong. None would fit this more than one black rat by the name of Jacob Marshall.

Jacob, the stories that could be told of him; The hardships he went through, the pains he endured. The sensible thing would be to start at the beginning.

Jacob had little to no memory of his past before he came to live in the seemingly lazy coastal city of Corpus Christi, TX. Aged 26 and living for the past few months in a cozy apartment with his childhood friend and the love of his life, Hannah, he had it made.

He was strong and at 5'8, not to be toyed with.

Jacob worked as a bouncer at a popular nightclub called Studio 23. His godfather, a kindly old hippo named Frank, was a bartender here and had helped the rat get the job to help pay the rent. He was good at his job. He was particularly good at just being able to stare down most troublemakers. Even if someone did try to fight him, they usually ended up either tossed out back by Jacob or spending the night in the drunk tank downtown.

Tonight was to be to be different, however. Jacob arrived looking more chipper than usual. A few of the regular patrons recognized him and greeted him as such. He acknowledged them with a wordless gesture or two. He personally made little attempt to familiarize himself with anyone. For two years, Jacob had been working there and his only true friend was Frank.

The old man saw his godson and shouted, "Jacob, you young son-of-a-gun you!"

The friends shared a quick friendly embrace.

"Heh, good seeing you too, old man." Jacob smiled to see his godfather.

Frank pulled away after feeling the lump in the young rat's left jacket pocket. "So, tonight's the night, eh?" the bartender asked.

Jacob shrugged and smiled as he showed his old friend the small box in which was a silver diamond ring.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Well, good luck with that then. You'll find her upstairs." He gestured to a picture behind him of Jacob with Hannah. "You two are perfect together. In all my years, I have never seen devotion quite like it; let alone that I expected it to be my own godson... your old man would be proud." He put a friendly hand on Jake's shoulder as he finished his statement.

Jacob smiled, "Thanks, Frank. Well, till then."

...

Somewhere else in the club, Lucas Sharp, a medium-sized weasel in his mid-40s, was just hanging around, drinking his beer, when one of the other patrons, a German shepherd, had gotten a little too close for comfort with one of the waitresses.

She slapped him leaving a red mark on his cheek.

He responded by grabbing her tail and pinning her to a nearby table. That was when a black rat grabbed him by the collar of his shirt then pulled him off the girl.

"Now, there won't be any need for that, sir." Jacob spoke calmly, his strong violet eyes stared down the dog.

The shepherd growled and pulled out a pocketknife only to have Jacob snap his wrist and backhand him across the muzzle. This made the dog drop his knife on a nearby table. When he reached for it with his free hand the weasel, Lucas, grabbed the knife from him and jammed it through his hand, nailed him to a nearby table.

The shepherd let out a cry of anguish.

Jacob quickly thanked the stranger then grabbed the shepherd's head and turned him to face the girl. "Now, say 'sorry' to the nice girl, so we can leave here with a clean conscience."

The dog slurred in his attempts. "S-s-sorry..."

"What's that? I didn't hear you!" He grabbed the dog's groin and twisted it hard on his last word.

"AAHH!! Fuck, I'm sorry alright!?"

This generated a cheer from the crowd.

Jake pulled out the knife, wiped it off on the dog's jacket, borrowed a kerchief from another patron and wrapped it around the dog's wounded hand. "There, now! No hard feelings, right? You just gotta understand, you don't treat girls that way. You can come in whenever you want, indulge in whatever you desire because that is a privilege; a privilege you just lost."

He picked up the dog and death-stared him in the eyes.

"If I catch you beating on any other girls, whether it is here or on the outside, I won't be so forgiving." His voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "Something about that just pisses me off to no end."

He pushed the shepherd into the surrounding crowd.

"Now, will someone please escort him to the front door? I'd do it if not for having a very lovely and much appreciated girl waiting for me upstairs." He over-enunciated on the two adverbs to get his point through.

As he left though, he noticed that the weasel who helped him in the fight had disappeared.

...

In fact, Lucas had snuck backstage during the confusion. He crept quietly down the hall until he came to a door with the name Delores on it. He gave his hair a quick spit shine before he knocked.

"Delores!"

From the other side of the door he heard "Just a minute."

Seconds later, the door opened, and a middle-aged squirrel stuck her head out.

"Lucas, baby, you sure know how to come late."

"I love you too, Lori. Listen, I haven't got much time, so let's just make this quick."

She blinked at his persistence. "Hmm, pushy."

Lori opened the door all the way, so he could come in. She directed him kindly to sit on her couch. Then, she picked up a magazine, rolled it up and smacked him over the head with it.

"What're you freakin' crazy? Do you know what'd happen if Jerry caught you in his club? You're already marked for death and now you're fixin' to bring me down with you?"

He got up to settle her down.

"I know I'm marked, Lori. That's why I'm leaving here. I got us two one-way tickets to Europe. We can have our happy ever after."

During his attempts at sweet-talking, he had sat her by his side on the couch. One of his hands crept under her thong and began teasing her panty region. He kept his eyes on Dolores as he did this. He leaned in to kiss her cheek.

She put her hand around his throat and said, "Do you have protection?"

The weasel answered dejectedly "No."

Lori thought as her hand moved to the front of his shirt and then said "Oh, fuck it."

She reached down, pulled her panties off then draped them over the weasel's nose. Lori laid back as she said "Well, what're you waitin' for?"

...

Meanwhile, Jacob had entered the VIP Jacuzzi room to find his sweet lover eagerly awaiting him.

He smiled like he'd just won the lottery. There was Hannah, grown to be so beautiful since when they used to play as kids. She saw him, "Hi there, I've been waiting for my boyfriend, do you know where he might be?" She stuck her tongue out at him as she sat naked in the warm water of the jacuzzi.

Jacob laughed as he sat down by the edge of the Jacuzzi and began rubbing her face gently with his right hand before descending lower under the water.

As she sighed, he whispered into her ear "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said tonight was going to be special, but I guess it's the thought that counts." He quipped as he playfully pinched her beneath the water. Jacob reached into his left pocket and said, "Close your eyes please."

She did so.

Jacob quickly stripped down to his boxers, then joined Hannah in the water. He took her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger.

Her eyes shot open when she felt it.

He kissed Hannah and held her head to show the honesty of his eyes. "Hannah, I've known you all my life. I would love the honor of spending the rest of my life with you as much as I love you right now."

She wept slightly before hugging him. A flash of naughtiness spread across her face when she looked in his dark violet eyes. Her newly engaged left hand crept down his front side. She frowned when she felt his boxers, "You're a little over-dressed, Jacob."

He laughed "And what were you planning, Hannah?"

She kissed him before adopting her best New York accent "Givin' us a good early start on our future, Jakey-baby."

...

Back downstairs, Lucas and Delores were similarly intimate, the weasel mounted his girlfriend from behind and held her hips.

Delores tried to hide her boredom during the routine and just waited for him to either finish or something else to save her from telling him how bad he was.

That is when she saw the shadow darkening the little bit of light at the bottom of her dressing room door. She bit her lip then pushed her boyfriend off her back, "Oh shit, baby! I just remembered I had something to do; I must go! I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise!"

She kissed Lucas before he could make any protests, pulled her clothes back on and left the room.

He lay back with his hard-on still raging. "Fuck!" He muttered under his breath. Lucas tried to stuff himself back into his pants, found it to be uncomfortably tight now.

Lucas tried to calm himself down as he realized someone was standing over him. He looked up in a shock and his blood ran cold.

It was a large Doberman Pinscher dressed in a cheesy pimp suit with the muscles on him to rival Heracles.

All Lucas could say was "J-j-j-Jerome..."

The canine said nothing, he grabbed the weasel by his throat then hefted him, so his prey had to stare him directly in the eye. The Doberman growled "Long time no see, old friend. You didn't even think to call old Jerry Marks when they let you out? You know I would've wanted to see you as soon as possible, Sharpie."

Lucas sobbed, fearful for what was about to happen.

The black dog growled, "I hear you got out on good behavior, definitely don't sound like the Lucas I used to know."

The weasel stammered, "I'm turnin' over a new leaf, startin' fresh."

Jerome pressed his nose against the weasel's, "Then start fresh somewhere else. You're not welcome," he scoffed "that you even stepped foot in my club implies you think I'm stupid. Ol' Jerry, that pup don't know nothing, right?"

He dropped the mustelid on the couch then cracked the joints in his fingers loud enough to make his prey cringe. He said in a faint growl, "If I see you again, I will kill you, now get out." He sniffed the weasel, "And control your bladder next time, you freak."

The large brown dog stepped out, leaving Lucas to stew in his own cowardice.

...

Meanwhile, Jacob and Hannah were walking down the stairs together hand in hand. She kissed him on the cheek.

"I must get going soon. I'll be meeting you back at home. We can continue planning our future then."

Hannah left his side flashing her tail at him as she walked away.

Jacob sighed and shook his head as he turned his attention back to his job.

Lucas walked through the crowd as fast as he could. He was quite shaken by Jerome's sudden appearance. He did not even bother to get his girlfriend. Girlfriend? She set him up; forget her then.

At the same time, Hannah was walking toward the front door.

Lucas got to his car. He opened the door and climbed in. He put his key in the ignition then turned it. It did not start. He pushed harder on it. That was when he smelled the weed smoke. He never smoked it, but he knew someone that did... he gulped. He had an option; he could run. No, he would be looking over his shoulder every day for the rest of his life. This was quicker. He took a breath, exhaled then turned the key one final time. The car started and he heard the click. In his final moments, Lucas looked up and saw a rat girl walking by his car. His last emotion was regret, "No..."

The car exploded, throwing Hannah across the street. Jacob heard the explosion and ran out pushing spectators out of his way. He saw Hannah lying in the middle of the street.

"Hannah!"

He slipped and fell hard on the asphalt as he ran, ripping a light gash into his calf. Ignoring the pain, he rushed to her side and cradled her close to his chest.

Her fur was singed, her blouse torn by the large shrapnel lodged in her torso. She fought to keep awake as she felt cold spreading through her body. She looked up at Jacob, into his violet eyes. Her mouth quivered as she tried to speak, but she passed without a word.

He cried as he held her body to his own. Someone from the crowd put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He jumped on him and began to strangle him, until he was tasered by two officers on the scene. They threw him in a cell to cool off for the night.

Jacob huddled in a corner by the window that night, clutching Hannah's rosary, the only thing of hers he could take as they pulled him away from her. The last thing he remembered of that night was crying for her and then, envisioning the scum that put that bomb there and what he would do, if he ever found them.

Four months later...