Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 102: I Will Handle It

"Just stay calm," Legoshi said. "Deep breaths and try to relax."

Jack sat next to the wolf on the park bench. His eyes were almost bugged out of his head as they darted around, taking in as much information as he could. It was like he was being hunted, and had to look around to keep his head still that he was safe. The retriever had washed off the blood and was wearing the jacket he had had with him when he knocked on his door. He rubbed the shoulder where the bullet wound was. Legoshi had bandaged it up as best he could; Jack refused to go to a hospital. Every time he suggested it, or brought it up, the dog became more paranoid. He thought it best not to stay in the apartment, especially with Haru there, and took Jack to the nearby park to try and get a grip on what was happening. They had been sitting there for about an hour, waiting for Jack to try and explain what was going on.

"What date is it?" he finally asked.

"October 26th," Legoshi answered.

"Oh fuck..." Jack trailed off, burying his face in his hands.

"What?" the wolf asked.

"I'm missing time," he said, pushing his face through his hands and gripping his head. "There are large gaps in my memory where I can't remember anything."

"What do you mean?" Legoshi asked.

"It's just a black abyss," the retriever explained. "I can't focus on anything in that frame of time. The more I try, the more it hurts my head."

"What's the last thing you remember?" the wolf asked his friend.

"Just splinters," he said. "Small snapshots that make me comfortable knowing; but still, it's missing time. What did I do? What happened? Why can't I remember?"

"Try starting at the beginning, before the lost time and work your way back to the present," Legoshi tried.

"It's literally tiny frames," Jack said. "Not enough for me to be able to make a complete history. I don't even remember how I got to your apartment, or what happened before, or how we got here! I'm slowly regaining my ability to remember properly, but the black bits are becoming more black. The small frames I do have are being torn from my head and I can't remember. I don't think I will remember!"

Jack was having a panic attack. An obviously long time coming and controlled panic attack, but an attack all the same. The jacket he was in wasn't his style at all, it was curious as to why he was wearing it. If there was any blood on it, it wasn't visible; the brown of the fabric was the perfect shade to hide congealed stains. Legoshi caught the whiff of stale blood fading away as the liquids solidified more, bit by bit. There was something else in the air though. This was a park. It was normal for people to take a seat and hang out for long periods of time, so he didn't pay it any mind at first, but there were two scents that arrived just a little bit later than them and had been waiting just as long. Others had come and gone, but these two scents were different. He could smell the anticipation in both of them. He looked across the small pond they were sitting at and saw the bear reading his paper on the bench across the water, the same page for forty-five minutes. He could barely make out the side-longed look they were trying to hide from them. The second scent he only recognized when he focused on it. He craned his neck to look over his shoulder and saw the hybrid walking up behind them.

"Question," Legoshi asked his friend. "When do things start going dark in your memory?"

"I don't know," Jack said, still oblivious to the two guests. A dog's nose wasn't as attuned as a wolf's.

"Did it start when you began your therapy with Melon?" the wolf asked, eyes weary of the hybrid.

"What therapy?" he asked. "With who?"