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Abel's tale

Abel fumbled about as he tried to cram his belongings into a suitcase. Sweat was breaking out on his muzzle and trickling down the nape of his neck. He knew he should have made a run for it rather than go back to his apartment.

They were coming for him. He was sure of it.

There was a knock on the door and Abel froze. A cold, sickening numbness crept across his body.

He could hear a canine, most likely a member of the secret police, sniffing at the door. A muffled voice outside shouted that Abel was in the apartment.

Abel glanced at the window, thinking he could climb out and use a drain pipe to reach the ground. However, the window was nowhere near big enough to fit his shoulders through, and he knew with a heavy heart that there was no convenient pipe for him to use.

The neighbours could not help him as they would not want to get into trouble, and he didn't want to endanger his family.

The knock came again, following by the sound of someone hammering their paws against the cheap wood.

Abel took a deep breath, closed his eyes and braced himself for what was about to happen.

....

Abel had never forgotten the day when the wall had gone up.

Overwhelmed by panic, he had fallen on his back as the crowd were pushed away. He looked up to see the wall being finished. He stood, doubled over and vomited over the ground.

Like Primo, Abel's mother eventually came looking for him, but from that point on, his life took a different turn.

Abel completed his military service and worked in the same car plant that had once employed Primo's father. Rather than automobiles, it now manufactured armoured cars.

Abel's job was dead end. He could not get promoted and received the same amount of pay no matter how many hours he worked. It was a tense and suspicious environment. Any hint of deviant behaviour could result in arrest.

His days became a mundane cycle of turning up to work and returning to the dank apartment.

His mother often asked him when he was going to settle down with a female and produce cubs, but Abel always batted the question away, claiming that he hadn't found the right canine yet.

He had in fact found romance at the plant with a fellow black and tan Doberman named Andreas.

Homosexuality was frowned upon, so their relationship was kept a secret from both of their respective families.

Andreas was similar to Abel in stature and personality. He was strong willed and for the first time in his life, Abel felt like there was someone to look out for him.

They would meet in secret after work and go for a walk in the park. There was a spot away from prying eyes under an overhanging tree where both canines would sit.

It was a seemingly peaceful location where they could spend time without fear of being disturbed. The moon shone through the branches and reflected against Andreas' brown eyes. Abel gazed into them as they kissed and the feeling of his mundane existence briefly melted away.

After a month of visiting the spot, the canines tried making love under the tree. However, Abel pulled himself away, fearing that he had heard someone approaching.

In Abel's mind, the spot in the park didn't convey the same beauty that the lakeside had held.

Although he loved Andreas, Abel often found himself thinking about Primo when he was home alone. He wondered how the White Shepherd was coping emotionally and physically.

At night, Abel's mind was often transported back to the night when they had kissed for the first time. He could still feel Primo's warm breath on his muzzle and smell the scent of the Shepherd's luscious fur.

Feeling bored, Abel had purchased a radio set, placed it near the window and managed to capture West Berlin radio. His exposure to Western pop music gave him an insight into a world that was far away from his gloomy apartment.

One day, he switched on the radio and there was a catchy song playing. The song was in English but Abel could tell by the singer's accent and style that he was a German canine. The DJ announced it was the new single by former Power Plant lead singer, Primo Lorenz. Abel had heard of Power Plant, but didn't know anything about the singer. He was intrigued to find out more.

Andreas bought a television off the black market. Abel would sit in his front room and tune it into American and British TV shows. He developed an interest in music videos. One afternoon, a music video appeared that caused his eyes to widen. It showed a blue-eyed White Shepherd walking along a beach and singing to "Searching".

Abel's sat as still as a statue, his eyes wide with surprise. At first, he shook his head in disbelief. The muscular White Shepherd prancing around on the screen certainly looked like his old friend, but he had never remembered Primo looking so exuberant.

A rush of different emotions coursed through Abel; shock, amazement and then jealously. At first, Abel could not put his paw on why he felt that, but as he looked around his apartment it became clear.

His friend was living what appeared to be a decadent and luxurious lifestyle, while he was stuck in a routine job.

If he had been on Primo's side of the wall, his life could have been different.

Abel came to resent the environment he was living in. He had always known it was not perfect, but seeing Primo having fun emphasised how unlucky he had been. He had encouraged Primo to pursue his dreams, but now Abel felt he had been left behind.

Abel's resentment soon turned to activism. Andreas began to print leaflets calling for reform and both canines would surreptitiously hand them out at public gatherings. Inside, Abel was terrified of getting caught but the image of Primo on the beach willed him on.

In the evenings, Abel took to gazing out of the apartment window towards the West sector. There was a section of wall blocking off a dark side street directly opposite his window. Abel knew it was where he had last seen Primo.

One evening, Abel thought he could see a figure of a White Shepherd making his way down the side street. Abel stood and strained his eyes against the darkness. Was he dreaming?

The White Shepherd walked right up to the wall, disappeared for a moment, before returning and vanishing back into the night.

Abel continued to watch as the Shepherd appeared almost every night and continued the ritual.

One day, the Shepherd stopped coming. Abel was concerned and spend the next few days glued to Andreas' television set in the hope that it would provide some sort of answer.

Abel's felt a rush of pleasant surprise when he saw Primo being interviewed on West German news. Primo declared that he was embarking on a tour of the US, but would return to do a show in East Berlin.

Walking home one winter's evening, Abel saw a poster for Primo's East Berlin concert fixed to a wall. He told Andreas and both canines decided to go. However, Abel chose not to mention the real reason as to why he wanted to see Primo live.

On the morning of the concert, Abel climbed out of his bed, his breath misting before him in the cold air.

Pulling on a worn towelling robe, he made his way to the bathroom. The shower was broken so he washed himself at the sink with cold water. Feeling like he was going to freeze to death, Abel quickly pulled on his clothes and checked his appearance in the mirror. He still looked grimy and tired, but there wasn't much else he could do.

He met Andreas on the corner outside his apartment. The Doberman glanced over his shoulder before showing Abel a satchel full of leaflets. "We need to get as many out as we can" "Is this such a good idea?" Abel asked. "Think about it, this is an excellent opportunity. Furs are already fed up with their lives here and these leaflets will convince more to call for change". Abel glanced around and nodded. "Ok, but we'll have to be extremely careful" he whispered.

Meanwhile, Primo had awoken in his spacious double bed.

He had smoothed down his white fur, made his way to the bathroom and climbed into the large shower. The warm water ran soothingly down his body. Once he had felt clean, he browsed through the suit selection in his closet. He selected a pale blue Armani jacket with a white shirt and black tie. Peyton had hired Primo a fashion consultant from Italy who had picked the outfit for him, claiming that it matched his eyes. Primo had squirted himself with aftershave, checked his suitcase was packed and went to sit in the living room.

He switched the television on as background noise "And next, the East German government is facing mounting pressure to open border crossings through the wall. Citizens staged a series of silent marches near border crossings and demanded an end to arrest without trial" Primo had half-listened as he had picked up a magazine to read. _ _Lars arrived a minute later and heaved Primo's suitcase into the elevator.

Primo and his entourage had been driven through the border crossing by Lars before meeting Peyton at the airport. He emerged from the arrivals hall wearing a blue double breasted suit and smoking a cigar. Their gaudy appearances stood out against the Furs of the East sector dressed in shabby coats and worn canvas trousers.

The group went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Primo noticed that the menu only offered three items, two of which were unavailable. "Don't they know how to cook anything?" Peyton grumbled to himself. Primo neglected to point out that there was probably very little for them to cook. He glanced casually at the entourage, realising that Peyton was probably trying to show off their glamour to dazzle the locals.

After lunch, the group were escorted by the police to a press conference at a television studio.

Primo was sat behind table while television cameras rolled and cameras flashed. Two serious and deadpan Dachshund officials sat either side of him, looking oddly comical in their baggy, oversized grey suits. The journalists had been handpicked and the questions chosen beforehand. Primo did his best to answer them, but the atmosphere felt awkward and he was glad when it was over.

The group had made their way to a hotel before the concert.

As they strode into the lobby, a stern looking brown and white Boxer had stood up from an armchair and walked over to the group. "Mr. Lorenz?" He asked in a clipped and stern voice. "Yes?" "Can I have a word" the Boxer phrased it as a statement rather than a request. Primo glanced at Peyton who shrugged. He nodded and allowed the Boxer to lead him to the manager's office behind the reception desk.

The Boxer had gestured for Primo to take a seat. Primo studied him closely. Like the officials at the press conference, he was dressed in a grey suit and had a pair of thick, black framed glasses sitting on the bridge of his muzzle. The lenses seemed to magnify his black eyes as they searched over Primo. "We understand this is a special occasion that many of our citizens have been looking forward to. However, we will not tolerate any dissident behaviour, either from you or the audience. These are concerning times for us and we do not want to aggravate the situation any further. The security will be watching very closely. Do you understand me?" Primo swallowed and nodded uncomfortably. "You must understand that this is for the wellbeing of our citizens. We don't want anyone to get hurt, do we?" The Boxer had continued, forcing an insincere smile. Primo nodded again. The Boxer's eyes continued to gaze over Primo, as if searching for any reason to detain him. "Good" the Boxer eventually replied. He gestured with his paw for Primo to leave.

Feeling shaky, Primo had made his way to his room to get changed before Lars was due to drive him to the arena.

An hour later, Primo was standing in the wings. He was seldom nervous before a performance, but tonight he felt light-headed. His heart was pounding in his chest and sweat was breaking out on his muzzle.

A pair of sound engineers were arguing behind him over who made better rock drummers, bears or stallions. "Stallions have much better stamina" "Yeah, but bears have more power". In spite of the situation, Primo smiled nervously to himself. He used an African Cheetah as his drummer. He had met the Cheetah at a music club in New York and found him to be fast and powerful for certain songs, but slow and refined on others.

Primo took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage. He had become accustomed to audiences clapping, cheering and howling whenever he appeared, but this audience was strangely quiet. They clapped their paws, but the enthusiasm seemed wooden and polite.

Feeling uneasy, Primo took to the microphone and signalled to his backing band who started to play. As Primo sang and the audience became a little more animated, but there was still a tense atmosphere in the air.

Abel was sat in the fourth row from the stage. He wanted to run forwards and get closer to Primo, but there were guards standing either side of the audience. They cast their eyes over everyone, as if itching to make an arrest.

Some of the audience were starting to stand up and dance as Primo bounded about on the stage. He smiled, wagged his tail and continued singing. Abel was still amazed at how his old friend had changed. The previously shy Shepherd now radiated confidence.

Primo finished his opening song which was met with subdued applause. "Good evening everyone, what a pleasure it is to be finally be here!" Primo announced, forcing a smile, "it has always been my belief that music knows no borders, so I'm want to ensure you all have a good time" he continued. He felt his ears burn as he remembered the Boxer's threat back at the hotel. He forced another smile. "Anyway, this is a song that I'm sure you'll all recognise. Feel free to sing along".

Primo took a deep breath and turned to his band. They started playing the first few bars of "Searching" and the audience broke out into a more enthusiastic applause.

Primo felt something welling up inside him. No longer caring about the Boxer's words, he broke into a sudden but passionate speech. "I want to dedicate this song to someone I used to know, but they were taken from me" Primo explained over the music. He felt a growing sense of rage. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. With his heart pounding in his chest, Primo took a deep breath and continued, "They built the wall and we were separated. I've been searching for him all my life. What was done was cruel and left a hole in my heat. I want to dedicate this song to anyone else who was separated from a loved one that day"

Abel could not believe what he was hearing. Ignoring the stares from the security, he stood on his chair, put his paws to his muzzle and shouted at the top of his voice. "I'm here!" He yelled. Abel threw back his head and howled as loud as he could, trying to get Primo's attention.

Primo could not hear Abel's shouts above the music, but as he looked up, he saw the Doberman standing on his seat.

Time seemed to freeze.

Primo could not believe what he was seeing. "Abel!" He shouted into the microphone, but the power to the stage had been cut.

The house lights went on and the security were bundling everyone out of the doors. Abel felt a paw grab the collar of his shirt and pull him off his seat. He looked up to see Andreas being dragged away before the paws hauled him up and pushed him towards the door.

Primo turned and saw guards walking onto the stage. He felt his blood turn to ice and as he realised the enormity of what he had just done.

A paw clamped down on Primo's shoulder and he turned to see a German Shepherd glowering at him. "No, I didn't mean..." Primo began. "Concert is over" the German Shepherd growled. Primo also noticed that Peyton and several of his entourage were being escorted away too.

Abel was being roughly shoved through the front doors by the security. He stumbled and a pack of leaflets fell out of his coat pocket. "Well, well, well. What is this?" A German Shepherd guard said, scooping the leaflets up. Abel swallowed, knowing there was nothing he could do or say.

Several audience members were resisting and a fight was breaking out in the entrance hall. The guard turned as someone was pushed into him.

Abel ran, elbowing his way through the chaos. He turned and saw Andreas being hauled off by a security guard, his eyes wide with fear "Run!" Andreas yelled.

Abel made it through the front door and sprinted off down the street. He knew he had to hide, but he wasn't sure where. He thought he could hear someone give chase and he sprinted faster. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that he had outrun whoever was pursuing him.

On impulse, Abel sprinted back to his apartment. He decided he would get his belongings and find somewhere to lie low.

He ran inside and began throwing as many belongings as he could into a suitcase. He felt sick in his stomach, knowing with a heavy heart that there was nothing he could do for Andreas.

A horrible thought occurred to him. They would still find his address quickly and the police would be able to follow his scent. Someone would be one their way already.

He couldn't leave by the front door and climbing out the window would be risky.

Then, the knocks came. Abel braced himself.

The door crashed open and several uniformed canines were standing in the entrance. Abel knew there was no way he could resist or escape. The awful feeling of defeat and panic coursed through him as a pair of handcuffs were snapped around his wrists.

In full view of his neighbours, Abel was marched out into the street and dragged towards a parked van. He was thrown roughly into the back and the doors slammed shut

The van was driven quickly across the city and Abel was thrown against the side, yelping as he slammed into the metal.

They came to a stop and the doors were flung open. Abel saw to his horror that they were parked outside the secret police headquarters. Before he could say anything, a set of paws grabbed him and he was pulled out into the street.

Abel was dragged through a heavy looking side door, hauled down a long corridor and thrown into a cell.

There was no explanation, no mention of a trial or any offer of access to a lawyer. Abel knew what he had done and could guess what punishment he would receive.

The cell light went off and he was left alone in the cold darkness.