"You're not the person we are looking for, sorry for the inconvenience," a large man in a guard's uniform spoke, a sly smile dancing on his face while holding a frail-looking man up by the back of his neck.

The frail-looking man looked like a beggar. He had long unkempt hair, his body was nothing more than skin and bones, and you couldn't even tell his ethnicity at a glance due to the layers of filth that resided on his skin.

He was one of the many homeless people who resided like rats within the alleyways of Krendel City, an industrial city south of the capital.

"Why didn't you say anything about it?" the large guard spoke again, his face still dancing with a smile.

Both he and another smaller guard had just beaten the beggar within an inch of his life. Even if they said it was due to them looking for a suspect, it was more than likely just a way for them to blow off some steam.

Krendel City, just like the rest of the world, despised people like the beggar. Even if they did kill him, they wouldn't even have to sign any paperwork for it.

The beggar knew this and never once spoke up to the people above him. He had a few times as a child and only survived through sheer luck.

His name was Krol, and he had become an orphan at the age of six.

Both of his parents passed away due to a plague that had struck the city, he had practically no memories of either of them; he hadn't been sure why his memories of the pair had been wiped from his mind but he hadn't the luxury to care.

Only surviving afterward because the beggars within the city took him in.

At the time, he thought maybe they cared for him, but he soon realized they only intended to use him for their thievery, which he never was very good at, so even that didn't stick. 

So he stayed silent with both of the guards in front of him, hoping that eventually they would leave him be and that he'd somehow survive the extensive injuries he had received.

Within a couple of moments, the large guard did seem to get bored, so he dropped Krol onto the littered-concrete alleyway.

"So pathetic, you're no fun." the guard said before spitting on Krol.

Krol had lost all of his ego and pride long ago, so this kind of treatment didn't bother him at all.

Some peolle tried to keep their pride intact, but people like that ended up dead quicker than anyone else. He had seen it happen more times than he could count.

As Krol heard the two officers walking off, their feet splashing against the cold concrete, he took in a deep breath.

Which hurt more than he could even process in the moment, but it was a breath of relief. "Come out, Coco," he said.

A small brown dog pushed up a flipped-over cardboard box nearby with his snout and came out to greet Krol.

He hadn't had any love from anything in this world besides Coco. He found him as a puppy trapped inside a garbage bag at one of the local dump spots years ago.

Left for dead.

Coco looked as happy as ever, wagging his tail and jumping onto Krol's chest, which hurt the young man severely but he couldn't bring himself to react, as he didn't want his companion to worry for him.

Coco soon found a comfortable spot to fall asleep, nestled between Krol's side and arm.

Krol had planned to commit suicide on the day he found Coco, and he had become the only reason for his existence. He was the only family he'd ever known.

He realized that in a place like Krendel, his existence was pointless, and fighting it would do nothing. Even moving to another city would do nothing, as they were all the same.

However, he had hardened himself to survive at least until Coco lived to a ripe old age, even if he had to beg twice as hard for the scraps needed to sustain them both.

Coco was a smart dog, so he didn't have to worry about him being spotted too much, which would be a problem. Animal abuse was rampant within the city as well.

He looked at Coco as he slept and silently began to weep. He wished he wasn't such a pathetic man and that he could give him the whole world for being his friend.

He reached over and began petting his companion, even if it took him a lot of energy and the pain was great.

Laying like that for a while, he finally succumbed to the exhaustion he substained from his injuries and fell asleep.

He dreamed of a life very different from his own. He had a recurring dream where he lived within one of the more expensive districts in the city, even having a small backyard that Coco could run around in all day.

There was a never-ending supply of food in the fridge, hot water in the bath, a person whom he loved dearly, and even a child that he could call his own.

They never had any faces because he'd never known anyone like that in his life.

He stayed within the dream for what seemed like a long time before suddenly being startled awake.

"Bark, bark, bark!" Coco was being extremely loud, running in circles on top of his chest.

It was very unlike him.

He opened his eyes and saw that it was lightly rainining and that it was also very dark. The only thing giving any light to the alley was a few dimly lit signs hanging on the Main Street.

When his eyes focused, he saw exactly what Coco was barking at and immediately his blood went cold.

It was the two men from before, and Krol could tell immediately that they had both been drinking.

He shot up at a speed that his broken body could barely handle and held Coco as tightly as he could, trying his best to stop the barking, but Coco wasn't letting up at all.

"I didn't know you had a pooch," the larger of the two officers said. "You know I've been pissed off all day that you didn't even make a peep during your beating." he continued, barely able to stand without constant minor readjustments.

He got lunged forward suddenly and tried to grab Coco off of Krol's chest, which Krol responded to by viciously biting his hand.

In that moment, he knew that he would die. He hadn't even consciously made the decision to attack the guard; it was an impulse.

The large guard suddenly got startled by the attack, desperately trying to rip his hand away. You could see him sobering up by the second.

The younger guard came over as well, hitting Krol repeatedly over the head with the butt of his rifle.

However, Krol was already broken, and he had suffered unimaginable pain his entire life. It was not easy to make him hurt bad enough for an intense reaction.

He was already in rough enough condition as it was.

The large guard finally freed his hand from Krol after an intense fight, which prompted him to pull out his own rifle.

Krol tried to move, but his legs refused to hear his desperate pleas.

"Boom." A shot rang out, quickly followed by the sound of the two guards running down the alleyway.

They wouldn't get in trouble for killing Krol, but that was only if they used physical violence.

A weapon going off in town could land them in some trouble, so they immediately began to flee once the fire arm discharged.

He looked down to see blood pooling around his chest, in the same spot where Coco was being held.

It wasn't only his blood pooling.

"Coco, wake up, please.." Krol said, his mind breaking and mending itself every other moment.

It all had happened so fast. He had tried so hard to survive, tried so hard to survive with Coco, and now suddenly it was it was all ending.

He felt in that moment that his entire life was in vain.

Coco seemed to have a little more strength in him, suddenly getting a burst of energy, his eyes opening heavily.

He used the remainder of his strength to crawl up close to Krol's face, licking one of the tears off the cheek of the owner he loved more than anything else.

Coco was smarter than Krol gave him credit for and in the end the young dog could no longer stand the abuse his owner suffered.

"No!" Krol screamed. It seemed as if the very heavens ripped apart as a monumental downpour immediately began, along with lightning dancing across the sky every few moments.

In the end, the roaring thunder drowned out Krol's heavy cries and Coco's pained pants until death came for them both.