Able's Story Chapter 1

          A small, dark chamber, the only sounds were the rattling of chains and the moaning of the starved and oppressed slaves. The only source of light, of hope, would come from the seldom opened door, which would mark a potential escape from thier current hell.
          A wave of silence came over the prison, as a bright sliver of light escaped into the the darkness, slowly widening. In the doorway stood a finely dressed black panther, his suit almost blending in wiht his natrual fur color, so he appeared a large menacing shadow. He walked over to the prison master, who in comparison, looked shaby, with dirty cloths, and smudged fur. The panther spoke a single word "Fox." His voice resonated through the silence, amplifying as it bounced around the stone walls, the only other noise, the jingling of the prison master's keys, as he onlocked a few select cages.
          One by one, an array of foxes, of many diffrent breeds, all wearing extremly shabby, or very little clothing, had lined up. Each wished to be chosen, even if they were destined to be slaves for the rest of thier lives, they simply would not accept death in such a foul place. They would do most anything to escape the dark chambers.
          The panther walked cooly in front of the line of vulpines, pausing every now and then to inspect a fox of posible interest. "No, this one wont do... missing an arm, useless... this one might..." He continued down the line, murmuring some detail about each fox, a reason that he wouldnt buy them. He stepped back to examine them as a group. "Dont you have at least one slave that soesnt ha..." A small green glint caught his eye. A rather small fox, had been hidding behind the rest. "YYOU THERE!" His booming voice echoed. "Come out into the light."
          The small fox hesitated, then slowly stepped away form the line. He had almost tripped as a reaction from the panther barking orders at him to hurry up. The fox was terrified, all he could do was whimper as the large cat circled him, judging him like a piece of meat.
          "Yes.. nice coat... no missing appendages..." He continued to circle, making notes to himself as he went. "State your name."
          "A..Able, sir." The fox almost began to cry as he spoke, the menacing panther but an inch behind him. Able was a common red fox, who had been born into slvery, trained to be obediat and silent, unless instructed. Able was 18, near fully mature, but he was very small, even for a fox, being only 4'2. He had gleaming emerald green eyes, and if the panther had a heart, it would have broken to see them so filled with fear, but the panther had no such thing.
          "This one will do..." The panther took a rather large sum of money from his pocket, and tossed it to the slave master, the way one would throw away a useless paper ball, as if it were nothing. He grabbed Able harshly by the scruff of his neck, and forced him to walk foreward, to the door.
          Able's eyes stung, as for the first time, light shone over him, filling him wiht an unfamiliar warmth, which for the first time made Able feel a bit of happyness. This however was short lived, he was so busy focusing on the sunlight he walked face first into a black shiny wall. Upon further inspection, he found that it was a door to some form of carrage.
          "Watch it! That door costs more than you do!" The panther roared. He extended his claws and grabbed harder on Able's neck, causing intense pain to shoot up his spine.
          "Sorry, sir!" Able gasped through gritted teeth.
          The panther took a deep breath and released his grip on the tiny vulpine. "get in..," He opened the door and roughly shoved the fox inside. "and dont touch anything, i dont want you getting your grimy paws on anything but the seat until you get washed."
          Able did as told, and sat neatly in the corner of the seat, staring at his uncovered feet, trying to avoid the dark gaze of the cat opposite of him. Able went into a spasm, when the carradge began to shake.
          "Hold still!" the panther ordered. "look out the window"
          Able obediantly followed directions, and once again was filled with the odd sense of happyness. "Sir, how are we moving if there are no horses drawing the carrage?" Able inquired.
          "It's called a car, it runs on a motor..."
          Able payed more attension to what was passing by, and saw miles of farm land, something Able had never expected to see, living out all his life in the prison. "Wow, whats all that white stuff?" Able pointed his claw, careful not to touch the glass.
          The panther stared at him.
          "Sir!" Able stammered quickly.
          The panther acknolaged him with a nod, and replied "That would be Myr, the main production of my plantation."
          "Whats...."
          The panther gave him a (ask another question and ill eat you) look.
          Able sat quietly for the rest of the ride, enjoying the sight of the country side. Every so often, he saw a small group of people in the fields, picking, planting, or reaping some form of crop. Able wondered to himself, what his job was to be. He wasnt realy built for physical labor, and he knew near nothing of agriculture. Able halted his thinking as the car slowed to a stop.
        The panther got out, and beckoned Able to follow. He kepted Able by the arm, making sure he would not run away, and led him to a rather large gate. They continued through a sort of maze, created entirely by plants.
          As they entered a clearing, Able was consumed by pure awe, as he stared at the emence white building before him.
          "You are to go aorund back, give this note to the Lazrus in red around back." The panther slipped a small paper into the young foxes hand, and pointed to where he was to go.
          Able quickly hurried around, still awed by the sheer size of what he assumed to be the scary cats house. Once out back, he saw many, many slaves, who despite thier conditions as workers, seemed fairly happy. He scanned through the slaves until he spotted a dark crimson Lazrus woman, wearing a red dress. He slowly approached her making sure she had noticed him, before handing her the note.
          She read silently to herself for a few seconds and simply said "Hello Able"