[18+] Remember, your heroes are still people, too.

Today’s story is the second and final part of “Concert Movement Number Four” by Kandrel, who heard them play Thrust when they played in Philly, no, seriously, he did! And Bringing Down Upworld, their most recent delve into dystopia, is available on Furplanet. You can find more of his stories on SoFurry.

Last time, Mark met Rex and Val after their performance, and Rex decided he liked the bunny enough for the ultimate rock tour experience.

Read for you by Rob MacWolf — werewolf hitchhiker.

thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

If you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.

https://thevoice.dog/episode/18-concert-movement-number-four-by-kandrel-part-2-of-2

Voice

of

Dog.

This

is

Rob

MacWolf,

your

Fellow

Traveller,

and

Today’s

story is

the

second

and

final

part

of “Concert

Movement

Number

Four”

by

Kandrel,

who

heard

them

play

Thrust

when

they

played

in

Philly,

no,

seriously,

he

did!

And

Bringing

Down Upworld, a delve

into

dystopia, is

available

on

Furplanet.

You

can

find

more

of

his

stories

on

SoFurry.

Last

time,

Mark

met Rex

and

Val

after

their

performance,

and

Rex

decided

he

liked

the

bunny

enough

for

the

ultimate

rock

tour

experience.

Please

enjoy


“Concert

Movement

Number

Four” by Kandrel, Part 2 of 2

Left,

right,

straight

ahead.

Val

walked

and

I

stumbled.

I

could

hear

the

rumble

of

the

stadium

above,

but

down

here

in

the

access

hallways

it

was

Rex’s

speakers

that

filled

the

space

between

the

bass

thumps

with

song.

Showing

off

his

musical

acumen,

he’d

matched

some

other

song

to

the

beat

up

above.

It

wasn’t

a

Megaknux

song, and

this

time it

wasn’t

LATCH

either.

I

recognized

it,

even

though

I

couldn’t

name

it

or

the

artist

who

wrote

it.

I

hummed

along,

then

sang

under

my

breath

to the

tune.

To

my

left,

a

voice

joined

mine.

Val,

on

pitch and

modulation.

It

was

perfect.

Blood

rushed

to

my

ears,

and I

shut

up.

Fuck,

what

an

embarrassment.

Meet

your rock

icon, and

get

caught

singing

some

other

band’s song

under

your

breath.

I

felt

like

a

hack. A

tool.

I-

“Don’t

stop.”

Val’s

hand

found

mine

and

squeezed.

That

didn’t

help

the

way

my

ears

were

burning. “I

love

that

song.”

I

think

if

Rex

hadn’t

got

me

wobbly

drunk

I

wouldn’t

have

been

able

to

open

my

mouth. As

it

was,

I was feeling

the

music.

Rex

picked

up

the

tune

again, and

I

belted

out

the

next

lyric.

My

glance

is

always

darting,

when

I

stroll

the

avenue
     

Avoiding

all

the

obstacles

that

terrorize

my

view

I

paused

once

more

as

Val’s

voice

joined

mine,

but

this

time

I

didn’t

stop.

If

you

are

here

with

me,

I

trust

you

to

lead

the

way
     

And

when

you’re

not

I

follow

you,

and

always

go

astray

For

just

a

fleeting

moment,

he

stopped

being

Val.

He

ceased

being

the

tiger

of

rock—the

punk

god—the

striped

legend.

Even

with

everything

else

that

I’d

experienced

that

night,

that’s

the

moment

I

remember

most

vividly.

Fuck,

I

was

still

wobbling

on

my

feet.

My

ass

hurt.

I

think

sometime

in

the

middle

of

all

that, Rex

had

bitten

my

tail.

I

could still

feel them

inside

me—both

of

them.

But

even

with

all

that,

it

was

this

moment

that

shines

brightest, with the

bass

drums

of

Megaknux

thumping

away

above

us,

while

we

sang

some

stupid,

silly

song

and

tried

to

find

our

way

out

through

the

warrens

of

the

stadium’s

bowels.

Rex

knocked

into

me.

He

was

bouncing

around

like

an

over-eager

dog.

I

went

to

one

knee

and cupped his head. I scratched his ears

and

kissed

his

snout.

He

barked

at

me

in

A

minor.

I

grabbed

the

nearest

thing

I

could

reach

in

the

dimly

lit

access

corridor. It

turned

out

to

be

a

broken

half

of

a mic

stand. I

threw

it

down

the

corridor,

and

Rex was

off

like

a

shot.

Val

laughed

when

he

brought

it

back,

bent

in

the

middle.

Every

moment

ends.

We

emerged

onto

Broad

and

Main

out

of

the

back

exit

of

the

arena, and

just

a

block

away

was

a

little

diner

that

was

still

open.

Val

had

been

right

on

both

counts.

It

was,

as

he’d

suggested,

shit.

But

even

though

I

knew

the

burger

was

dry

and

the

pickles

were

limp

and

the

ketchup

was some

off-brand

with

too

much

vinegar,

it

all

tasted

good.

It

was

surreal,

sitting

across

from

Valentine

while

Rex

peered

up

at

him

from

beneath

the

table,

begging

for

scraps

he

couldn’t

actually

consume.

I

was

onto

the

fries

when

Val

stood

up.

His

plate

was

still

half

full.

I

was

feeling

a

lot

more

in-control

with a

stomach

full

of

fat

and

starch. “Hey,

gimme

a

moment.

I’ll

be

back

in

a

blink.”

He

threw

a

twenty

onto

the

table

and

headed

back to

the

door

for

the

restroom.

The

server

gave

me

a

bland

look, then

went

back

to

scrubbing

the

front

counter.

A

few

seconds

later,

Rex

stood

and

followed

Val into the

back.

He

nosed

the

door

open,

leaving

me

alone

with

my

thoughts.

I

leaned

back

in the

booth

and

just

let

it

all

wash

over

me.

That

had

been

crazy.

You

know,

one

of

those ‘pinch

yourself’

evenings.

I

grabbed

another

fry,

dipped

it in

the

crappy

ketchup,

and

masticated it

as

I

played

it

all

back

in

my

mind.

I

wanted

to

remember

it

all.

Every

little

bit.

Now

I

knew

what

those

special

few

on

the

forums

were

secretly

hinting

at.

I

could…

I could-

No. It’d be

my secret. It

felt

like

I’d

be

ruining

the

magic

if I

told

anyone

what it was

really

like.

No

wonder

any of

the

other

guys

who’d

made

references

to

it

didn’t

say any

more

than

that.

It

all

sounded

so

corny,

being

fucked

by

Rex

while

he

sang

to

you,

but

when

he

was

up

inside

you

and

the

bass

was

rumbling

and

you

could

feel

it

right

up

to

the

hilt…

I

could

even

hear

the

music

again

as

I

chewed

the

next

fry.

It

was-

No,

actually,

that

was

the

wrong

song.

I

might

be

drunk

now—thanks

to

Rex—but

that

song

he’d

sung

me

was

so

clear

in

my

mind

that

I

wouldn’t

mistake

it.

That

was

another

song

being

played,

and

it

wasn’t

over

the

diner’s

shitty

speakers.

I

recognized

that

song.

It

was

a

slow

one.

I’d

always

thought

it

sounded

much

softer

than

the

rest

of

LATCH’s

instrumentals.

Most

of

them

were

just

preludes

to

a

hard beat

and a

noisy

line,

but

this

one was

never

progressed

past

the

quiet

intimacy

of

the

single

guitar. And

it

was

coming

from

the

back

hallway.

I

left

my

own

tenner

at

the

table.

That

was

still

way

more

than

the

bill

would

be,

and

at

least

the

girl

at

the

front

wouldn’t

think

we were

skipping

out.

I

crept

to

the

door

with

the

stylized ‘mens

and

ladies’

sign

above

it

and

cracked

it

open. The

volume

of

the

song

increased, though never

above

a

whisper.

Praying

that

the

hinges

wouldn’t

creak,

I

swung

the

door

open

just

wide

enough

to

admit

me,

then closed it

quickly

behind.

The

hallways

to

the

back

was

dark,

and

it

took

my

eyes a

few

seconds

to

adjust

and

make

sense

of

what

I

was

seeing.

Val stood

against

the

wall,

face to

the

plaster.

Rex

stood

behind

him,

forelegs

over

his

hips and

teetering

on

his

toes.

I’d

had

Rex

just half an hour

ago.

He’d

been

rough

and

demanding.

He’d

been

a

wild

animal—every

bit

the

beast

his

stage

persona

demanded.

What

I

saw

now

was

nothing

like

how

he’d

taken

me.

His

metal

head

rested

on

Val’s shoulder,

pushing

against

the

tiger’s

neck

affectionately

as

his

hips

rolled.

The

lights

were

dim

enough

that

I

heard

them

before

I

could

see

the

details.

Soft

noises

of

sex

filled

the

dirty

hallway.

I

could

only

see

the

faint

glimpses

of

wetness from

between

Rex’s

thighs as

he

pushed

it

up

into

his

tiger

lover.

Unlike

his

previous

performances,

Rex’s

lights

were

dim

and

muted—only

showing

slowly

roiling

copper

and

pink.

This

wasn’t

a

stage

show.

This

was

for

no

one’s

benefit

other

than

Val’s. Val

whispered

something,

and

the

strumming

guitar

from

Rex’s

speakers

wavered.

Then

Rex

looked

over

at

me.

His

visor-eyes

flared

for

a

moment,

and

his

whole

body

stopped

moving.

I

heard

another

whispered

comment

from

Val. “I

don’t

mind.”

With his

eyes

still

pinning

me

to

the

wall,

Rex

started

moving

again.

But

the

lights

stayed

low,

and

the

song stayed

quiet.

He

looked

away.

It

struck

me

that

everything

I’d

seen

until

now

had

all

been

part

of

the

show.

Even

the

private

session

had

still

been

an

act.

They

were

rock

stars.

No,

they

were

rock

gods.

They

had

a

mythos

to

maintain.

But

here

in

this

dirty

corridor

outside

the

diner’s

restrooms

I

was

seeing just

them.

Just

Rex

and

Val.

I

heard

the song

dip a

little,

then

surge. Rex

quivered, and

Val

reached

up

to

hold his

head.

“That’s it, Rex.

Let

it

all

out.”

Rex

played

his

song.

Of

course

it

was

quieter.

It

wasn’t

a

rock

opera.

It

was

a

love

song.

I

heard

drops

of

liquid

spattering

the

floor.

I

smelled

coconut.

I

pushed

the

door

behind

me

open

again

and

left

them

on

their

own.

The

waitress

was

wiping

our

table

clean.

The

bills

were

gone.

When

she

saw

me,

she

smiled

a

crooked

smile, then

seemed

to

remember

herself. “Did

you

want

change?”

“No.

Keep

it.

Mind

if

I

hang

out

a

few

more

minutes and wait for my friend.”

“’Course, hon. I’ll be

out

back

if

you

guys

want

anything

more.”

I

sat

at

the

newly

cleaned

table.

The

diner’s

shitty

music

droned

to

a

halt, and

another

song

came

on—just

as

indistinguishable

as

the

last.

The

door

to

the

back

opened,

and

Val

stepped

out

with

Rex

at

his

side.

Was

it

just

me,

or

was he

walking

a

bit

funny?

I

stood.

He

nodded

to

me,

but

didn’t

say

anything

as

we

left.

Back

into

the

warren

of

alleys

that

surrounded

the

stadium

we

went.

Val

wobbled

a

bit

on

his

feet,

as

if

he

were

half

drunk.

Of

course,

he

was. Rex saw to that.

“Do you mind if that

part

doesn’t

get

onto

the

forums?”

He

gave

me

a

crooked

smile.

“Yeah.

Of

course.”

Left turn,

avoid

the

dumpster

and broken

fire

escape. “You

read

the

forums?”

“Sure.

Why

not?”

You’ve

read

the

writing

on

the

wall

All

the

dirty

little

rumors

that

run

through

your

mind.
     

Did

you

think

we

didn’t know?
           Who do

you

think

left

them

there

for

you

to

find?

Rex’s

song

was

soft.

I

lowered

my

hand

to

his

head,

and

he

lifted

his

ears

to

meet

my

fingers.

It