Life of Spike Murdoch

Chapter 1 - Meeting the New Girl

This is the story about the life of a depressed young man who's trying to keep himself together before the inevitable happens. At the age of twenty-five, Spike Murdoch, a gray hedgehog, lives in an apartment complex by himself, after moving away from his abusive parents. It's been a few years since he's seen or spoken to them, so he mostly keeps to himself in times of his life. Having a minimum paying job as a cashier at his local grocery store, hardly getting by with bills and other necessities, he begs to have a better and easier life, away from all the drama and abuse his parents conflicted on him in his childhood years. Sometimes, he just shelters himself away in his apartment to be alone with his thoughts, having urges that life's not worth it anymore. He's not fully alone, though. He has plenty of friends around to help him get by from day to day life, whenever it's for mental or financial support, they're always there for him. Remmy Byron, a lifelong friend of Spike from way back in preschool, who still lives at home with his parents, always makes the time to visit his friend whenever possible, although he doesn't have a job of his own. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but still has a pure heart of gold for his friends.

The two best friends hang out in Spike's living room, talking about their favorite video games and comics, as they usually do. While on topic, Remmy pulls out some tickets from his pocket.
"Dude, I got some tickets for the next gaming convention if you're available to go next weekend!"
Spike hesitated. "I'd love to go, but my boss has been on my literal tail in trying to get me to work more hours and have less off-days due to us being super understaffed."
"Aaah, c'mon, dude!", Remmy uttered. "You always have to be busy with work!"
Spike slouched down on his couch. "I know, bro, but you already know I'm having money trouble with keeping my rent in check, along with other bills. I need to keep this job, as much as I hate it, as everyone else does. If I could quit, I would in a heartbeat, but as of now, I'm pretty much stuck where I am. I just don't have enough time to be me."
Spike cups his hands in his face. "Ugh, my life sucks, Rem."
Remmy sits down next to Spike, putting his hand on Spike's restless shoulder, feeling the intensity from just being near him. "Dude, I know your struggle. Had a few instances myself with some failed jobs in the past."
"Rem, you barely made it a week from your last job!"
"H-hey, that guy deserved to get spit on in his face! He called my cleaning service 'mildly mediocre' and told my manager that my attitude was 'unprofessional'. Yea, I showed him unprofessional, alright."
Spike sighs. "Yea, yea, whatever, man."

He then pulls out his cell phone to receive a text message. "C'mon, I don't wanna waste my off day hiding out here. Let's meet up with Truck and his family over at the diner, and afterwards, we can go bowling!"
Remmy springs up toward the door. "Hell yeah! I'm gonna kick Truck's ass this year in scoring more points!"

Later down the road, the two hedgehogs walked toward the diner, meeting up with the Stonewells, parked in front of the entrance. The avian family consists of Truck, a 30-year old musclebound crow, Roxie, a 29-year old loving and caring raven, and TJ, their eight year old son. Truck has known the boys for a long time during their middle school years, helping them around the older kids and bullies. He's five years older than Spike and Remmy, and has a decent paying job as a car mechanic. His wife, Roxie, who stays at home taking care of the house and family, adores seeing the boys from time to time. She met Truck through a mutual friend, and fell in love with each other at first sight. Marrying and having a child in no time at all, she's devoted her life to make sure her husband and son live a long happy and healthy life, dealing with the occasional roughhousing with the two. Truck Jr. (also known as T.J.), is a spunky kid who loves sports and wants to grow up to be like his father. Being an only child, not having a sibling or many friends to play video games and other sports with, he gets super excited seeing Spike, who visits them at home when not working, treating him like an uncle figure.