Day 2: Arida, The Convent

"At least you're managing to stay calm with all this blood. I'm proud of you. Anyway." Julietta ran a hand through her hair and stared at the ceiling. "What are we going to do the rest of the evening? Are you good at playing chess?"

Day 2, Arida: The Convent

"Well, one has to do what is needed," Romano said, quite happy with the praise and doing his best not to turn all puppy-dog over it. "Chess doesn't sound to bad...quiet game. Shall I get the board?"

~Day Two~
~Parksville~

Last post in this storyline

Lauryn watched Brandon and Gina play with their girls as long as she could, but eventually fears and longing for her own twins sent her into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

David tried to restrain himself from ranting again about the government, but a few times during the afternoon he pinned Brandon down somewhere away from the others and vented for several minutes. He didn't do it consciously, and the two men had known each other long enough that Brandon knew it was his friend's way of letting off steam, but it was a sign that the day's stresses were wearing down on David.

Around six o'clock, Lauryn brought out supplies for sandwiches and told everyone to help themselves "whenever". A few minutes later, her husband noticed her missing and went in search of her.

Unsurprisingly, he found her in Michelle's room, seated on the bed cradling one of their daughter's old stuffed toys. "What are you doing back here, Laurie?" he asked gently.

His wife looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. "Remember when Siah and Chellie were Ivy and Holly's age?"

David sat down next to her on the bed. "Of course I do."

"Chelle had her first piano recital that year. She was so excited - and that red velvet dress she wore. She just adored that dress."

He chuckled. "Until she got fruit juice spilled all down the front of it. Wasn't that at the little party after the recital?"

"Oh, she would've worn it after that if I would have let her." Lauryn looked down at the worn gray rabbit in her arms. "That juice might've washed out just fine, or she could have used it for dress-up ... there are so many things I wish we'd done differently."

He slid an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Stop worrying, Laurie," he chided sternly. "I'm sure they're fine. Chelle and Josiah are smart kids, and you know Siah will take good care of Chelle."

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "He's so protective of her. I scold him for it, but - it's comforting to think of now."

Her husband kissed her forehead. "Think about that - I'm sure we'll hear from them soon. Now, how about we go into the kitchen, and you make me a sandwich?"

Lauryn laughed. "Oh no you don't - I've cooked enough for today! You're making the sandwiches!"

Last post here

Day 5, Quadrant 9
10:43am, Q9 time
Isolation wing, room 349

Hali Royce stretched her aching arms. Since waking up in the cell-like room, she had yet to see a human face, or anything that wasn't cold, hard metal. A food tray had slid into the room through a chute near the door a while ago, but that was all. She had passed the intervening time by rattling and ripping at every surface that seemed to move. Anything that could be a way out.

How long have I been here? she wondered. And why? No, don't be an idiot, Hali; you know why. Think back. Remember. Maybe I can figure a way out.

She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind and recall that day in perfect clarity.

~flashback: downtown Judicia, just Pre-Supernova~

Hali carefully screwed the last bolt back into place, then wiped her greasy hands on her jeans. "That should fix it, Elise."

Her friend and college roomate nodded and turned the key, starting the car. The engine sputtered, then found it's rhythm, purring normally. "Yeah! Thanks a ton, Hali."

"Hey, no problem. I was happy to help," the younger woman nodded, picking up her tools and tossing them into her box. "It's not going to run much longer though; it got pretty badly banged up after that guy hit you."

"I know, but if I can just get it hold out till the end of the year, that'd be great." Elise replied, getting out of her dented car. "Hey, how about some coffee? My treat."

"Sounds great. Let me just clean up my--"

Hali's sentence remained unfinished to the end of time. A strange tingling began burning across her forhead, similar to the "pins and needles" she got after sleeping on her arm. But the tingling didn't stop after a few seconds.

"What is going on?" she muttered, putting a hand to her temple. "Maybe I'll pass on the coffee."

"You feel sick?" Elise queried, walking towards her friend.

At that moment, a fierce, hot wind suddenly whistled around the garage where they were standing. A moment later, the glass in the windows shattered.

"What's going on?!" Elise yelled.

Hali shoved her friend to the floor. "Get down!"

A red-orange light pierced the broken windows, hotter and somehow different than sunlight. The wind howled like a wild animal. The girls covered their ears and huddled under the car, trying to escape the noise, the heat, the confusion. A strange throbbing shook the ground. The light grew into a blinding white. It all lasted only a few minutes before dying away as quickly as it had come.

Elise was the first to recover. She coughed and slowly got to her feet. "Hali?" she rasped, choking on the dust swirling in the air. "Hali, are you hurt?"

Hali lay on the ground, holding her head and moaning in pain. It felt like her brain had exploded. Strange ticks and rhythms filled her mind, forcing her to feel every movement of everything. The more she tried to move, to recover her senses, the more intense the headache became.

Elise knelt at her side, propping her friend into a sitting position. "Shhh. It's over. We're okay."

How can you say that? Hali thought through the pain. This is not okay.

~flashback concluded~

Sitting on her hospital-like bed, Hali put her head in her hands. Any time she stopped moving or concentrating on something else, the ticking began again. What was it? Was it some strange effect of the light and the wind? She had later heard it called a supernova, but no one seemed to know exactly what it was. She knew it had knocked out the electricity all over Judicia, and--

"Wait a sec!" she said aloud. "There's power here! The lights are on, and there's heat... What is this place?"

Day 2: Arida: Near the Convent

Xandria quickly made her way through the buildings, finally finding herself on the edge of the orchards that surrounded the convent. Why on earth there were orchards in the middle of the town, she would never know, but at this particular moment, she was quite glad for them. She knew in a few moments they would be safe, unseen in the woods, especially with the starless night. She was quite thankful for the cloud cover, and slowly began winding her way through the trees. Somewhere, back here, was a small gate that could get her into the convent. She'd seen it before; now, she had to find it.

Day 2, Sunset, edge of Parksville

Previously: “Besides, with luck we might get to town before it’s too late. Wouldn’t want to wake up the Kingsleys in the middle of the night, would we?”

With that everyone followed Dan down the hill. As they were walking Jenny remembered that Dan still had the military pager. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. Dan was on the run now too, the pager was as safe with him as with anyone. She focused instead on keeping herself going, her muscles ached and she couldn't wait to get there and go to sleep.

Meanwhile, Volt kept his eyes and ears out for anything that might hurt Jenny or his new friends. He heard a snap behind him and turned around only to see it had just been Grace stepping on a twig. He kept looking at her for a moment. She was a very nice human, not as great as Jenny of course, but he could see that Candy was very lucky to have her. He thought back to how they had met and remembered something important.

"By the way, sorry for growling at you this morning," he said.

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, abandoned warehouse

"There you are Scratch, what took you so long?"

The Labrador walked up to the Bulldog and stood at attention.

"It's chaos out there, I got here as soon as I could."

"Where's your brother and father?"

The lab winced. "When that second sun appeared, well, we were in an alley and the glass in the windows above broke. I managed to get under a board but...they..." he trailed off.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." said the Bulldog, tail down. Then he cleared his throat. "Anyway, Samson has called for the whole T.o.T. to assemble, go on inside."

The black dog nodded and entered the abandoned warehouse. Dozens of dogs of various breeds sat in a circle whispering among themselves. Then a large Doberman stood up and the group hushed so he could speak.

"I think we can begin the meeting now, does anyone have a report of lost team mates who won't be attending from now on?"

"I do," answered the lab, "and I have something else to say once I'm done." He stepped forward and said the same thing he told the guard.

"Max and Butch were strong team mates," said the Doberman, "we will miss them. You said there was something else you needed to say?"

"Yes, I challenge you for the right to be Alpha."

Everyone gasped. "Now's not the time for fighting, not in the middle of this disaster!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"We need a strong leader in this crisis, my challenge stands."

The Alpha growled at the implied insult. "Fine then, I accept your challenge!" He then charged at the lab and bit hard in the shoulder, pushing him down to the ground. The smaller dog yelped, but he didn't try to bite or claw back. Everyone could see this fight wouldn't last long. Then to everyone but the lab's astonishment, dark brown hairs sprouted from wherever Samson touched the lab and wrapped themselves around him. Surprised, the Doberman tried to pull away, but his paws and jaw were firmly ensnared. After a few seconds Samson was absorbed by the dog on the ground.

He stood up without so much as a mark on him where he'd been bitten. "By right of combat, I am the new Alpha," he announced to the shocked pack. He smirked. "But if you would rather have a Doberman lead you," he paused and shifted his form so that he looked like Samson, "I can arrange that," he finished in his victim's voice.

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, Sturgeon family's apartment

"W-W-What did you say?" stuttered Flame.

"I said, I think I can understand you!"

"Your shoe is untied." Harry looked down only to blush at Flame's hysterical laughter. He then took advantage of his open mouth to pour water down his throat. "Y-Y-Yuck, ptooey, you ve-e-ery mean, n-n-nasty human, Flame hates medici-i-ine."

"Harry," said his mom, "do you think you can understand him?"

"I don't think, I know. Go ahead, whisper something to him and I'll tell you what you said." After giving her son a concerned look she leaned forward and whispered something to Flame. "Okay Flame, what did she say?"

"Why sh-sh-should I tell you?"

"So I can prove to mom I understand you."

"You n-n-nearly choke Fla-a-ame with di-i-isgust-st-sting medicine and you-ou-ou expect me to h-h-help you?"

Harry was about to make a sharp retort, but decided to try a different tack. "If I can tell my parents things you want you'll be more likely to get them." he said sweetly.

The result was immediate. "Flame wants the bigg-igg-iggest crickets and to st-st-stay out of my cage and to get back-ack-ack scratches all d-d-day long and..."

"Whoa, first, tell me what mom said."

"She said 'Cha-a-arles swam with a singing-ing-ing whale'. Flame also wants the batht-t-tub left full so-o-o I can swim whe-e-enever I want..."

Harry stopped listening and relayed the mystery sentence to his mother.

"Correct, it looks like your time studying reptiles has payed off." she said with a grin.

"I don't think it has anything to do with that, but whatever the reason, there's something I need to do now."

"What's that?"

"Flame has a list of requests. You might want to get something to write with."

— Day 2, Sunset —
Near Parksville

Grace had to think back to the morning. The day had been a long and hard one, and she was tired. “That’s okay,” she replied after a moment. “I’m sorry for thinking you were a girl.”

“I still can’t get over the fact that you can talk. That’s very cool,” Dan said. He thought about calling for a brief stop; he could tell that his daughter was getting tired and perhaps Jenny was as well. The night was still young, but they’d been on the move much of the day, and truth be told, he was out of shape and feeling it.

Before he could announce this decision, Grace confirmed it by stumbling on a small stone. She fell, almost hitting her head on a rock on the way down.

Angie was immediately at her side, but apart from some dirt and scrapes, the child was fine. Still, she had trouble getting up. “I’m too tired, Daddy.”

‘We could rest a bit,” Dan observed. He looked down at Parksville. “It’s not too far now. We should have no trouble getting there before it’s too late.”

Day 2, Sunset, edge of Parksville

Jenny wanted to just lie down on the ground, but she knew if she did she would be asleep in no time, so she opted to lean against a tree instead. Even though she was standing, she still almost dozed off until she realized the others were getting up to move on, so she shook herself and continued walking.

A short time later they could see some houses through the tree line. "Anything you want to say before you have to stay quiet Volt?" asked Jenny as she adjusted her fake glasses.

"If we are discovered, run away as fast as you can, I'll hold them off," he answered.

Jenny was too tired to argue, so she simply nodded. She woke up a little bit as her feet hit concrete, a sensation she hadn't felt for weeks. She reminded herself that she would need to take her glasses off when they reached the Kingsleys. They wouldn't look real up close, and she didn't know if the Baxter's wanted them to know they were on the run. Volt meanwhile kept an eye, ear, and nose out for any sight, sound, or smell of danger.

After a few more minutes Jenny felt herself slipping again. "How much farther is it?" she yawned.

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, abandoned warehouse

The pack stood stock still staring at the dog who just moments before had been a victorious Labrador and then had transformed into a Doberman. "How is this possible?" murmured a husky.

The dog overheard and responded, "I would think it would be obvious" as he became the lab Scratch again. "That second sun, called a supernova, has turned me into this. Other creatures have been changed too, I've seen one. But what has happened is not important now except as it relates to what we must do. The humans are not going to be so free with their garbage after this, and we can't leave the city, so we must become stronger quickly if we are to survive."

"What do we do?" asked a golden retriever.

"I need everyone to begin gathering as much food as possible and bringing it here. If you have anyone who owes you or the pack a debt, collect it now. Range out further to collect food. Don't be afraid to scare off or attack any humans who get in your way unless they are armed, they can't report us to the dog catchers now, nor would the dog catchers be able to stop us anyway. While you do that, I must go on an important mission alone." He paused for effect. "I am going to make the Jack Pack join us. I don't want to hear any arguments, we haven't had a feud with them in years."

"But how will you get them to form an alliance with us?" asked a collie.

"I never said alliance, I said join. I will do to their leader what I have done to Samson, thereby making me alpha of both packs. Now, if there are no more questions, begin your searches."

Everyone filed out of the building. The collie and husky both went the same way.

"There's one thing that bothers me about this," said the collie. "If he can make himself look and sound just like Samson, how do we know he's really Scratch?"

After a few seconds the husky answered, "Do you want to ask him about it?"

"No," the collie said with a shudder.

"Exactly."

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, Sturgeon family's apartment

After translating Flame's requests for his mother Valarie, most of which she said no to, a few she said she and Harry's father would talk about, and only one she said yes to (to stay out of his terrarium, it was broken anyway), Harry spent a long time talking to him trying to learn about reptiles and other animals. He decided pretty quickly that most of what Flame said was false, and he would have to sift through the lies if he wanted to get any truth.

"So ever since h-h-humans came along, it's been work work work for us l-l-lizards."

"How is lying around in a cage work?"

"Y-Y-You think it's easy never getting to go where you want?"

"Hmm, good point, I'll try to let you run around more often."

"Not good enough, Flame w-w-wants to leave for world outside of-f-f window with no humans bossing him."

"And just how do you intend to get food for yourself?"

"Flame is ferocious hunter, bugs n-n-not know what hit them, and fearless too-" All of a sudden a loud bang startled the skink and he leaped into Harry's arms with surprising agility.

"Sorry," said Valarie, "I'm just nailing these boards over the window. I added hinges so we can open it like a door if we need to see outside."

"It's okay mom," said Harry before turning back to the lizard with a smirk. "Oh yes, I can see you are quite fearless Flame."

"J-J-Just be happy Flame's decided to be nice and stay and protect you," he grumbled.

"Thanks, now could you please take your claws out of my skin? They're kind of sharp."

— Day 2, Sunset —
Near Parksville

Dan glanced over at Jenny. She wasn't the only one yawning; he'd had to carry Grace the last few hundred yards to the edge of town.

“Actually, I think we're here," he said, pointing to a house just down the street. “I didn’t realize how out of shape I am.”

He was sure Grace would want to run toward the Kingsleys’ home, eager to see her informal “grandparents.” But she clung to his shoulders, nearly asleep. None of them were used to walking miles and miles in such a short time.

He inspected the neighborhood as they approached. It was quiet, with no obvious indication of the world-changing supernova. Not far from the house, Dan stopped walking and looked back at his daughter. “Grace,” he began, we have to be sure not to tell anyone about Volt’s special abilities, okay? We don’t want the soldiers to come after him, right?” She nodded; still half asleep, she wondered why telling her friends would cause the military to come. “So it’ll just be our secret.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Grace replied.

They arrived at the door and Dan reached for the doorbell without thinking about it. “Silly,” he chided himself. “No way it’ll work.” But to his surprise, chimes rang out inside the house. While he waited for someone to answer the door, his mind automatically went to work on the problem. Must be battery powered. Simple circuit. Nothing for the EMP to fry. Of course it works.

Day 2
Judicia, Erbaine
Dreyman House

Dreyman surveyed his front lawn with satisfaction and more than little bit of pride. The people of Judicia had come, likely due to Liam's efforts. At first, the people had only trickled in, but with time the numbers had grown and now at least a few people came every hour.

He had arranged a system of helpers to distribute supplies and water, and had spoken with the manager of a portable toilet company to bring fresh toilets there. Groups of citizens were now en-route to bring them to the house. Cars would have been useful for this, but Dreyman thought it would not be terrible to go back to using man-power, and even though Connor could have helped with the job, Dreyman was not eager to reveal his son's power to the citizenry just yet

He was having Connor keep an eye out for strange powers, such as Connor's own and looked forward to learning of new helpers. A new source of energy with unlimited potential would be very interesting.

~Day Two~
~Parksville~

Ding, dong

In the kitchen, Lauryn dropped the plate she was holding, splattering what remained of her dinner on the floor. In the living room, David got up from the couch quickly - or as quickly as he could.

Could be the military, he thought grimly. Everyone in town knew about his views on the current government, and under the circumstances, dissenting voices could be seen as dangerous. They might even be suspicious of his connection to the Baxters. If Dan had known something ...

He turned to Brandon and Gina. "I'm not taking any chances. If I say anything about the weather, you and the girls head to the basement as quickly and quietly as you can." He turned to his wife, who was standing in the doorway between the two rooms, eyes wide. "Lauryn, you too."

"Don't be ridiculous, David! If they really have come after you, they'll know I'm here too. Besides, it could be - "

"I'm not taking any chances," David repeated. "And I'm not assuming anything, either."

He walked casually up to the front door, and opened it a crack. "Yes? What - " He pulled the front door open wide, his expression one of total surprise - and relief. "Dan! I half-expected - never mind that, come in! All of you, come in, come in!"

— Day 2, Evening —
Parksville

Dan’s grateful expression spoke volumes as he stumbled through the door into the Kingsleys’ home, followed by his family, Jenny, and Volt.

“Am I ever glad to see you,” he began. “Sorry for all the dirt.” Sleep seemed to call to him all the more now that he was safely in a house rather than trudging through the wilderness. “We walked down here from the national park…Oh, and this is Jenny and her dog Volt. They met us along the way and we traveled together.”

Any reply was lost in the delighted screams of two little girls, who raced into the room at full speed crying out Grace’s name. Behind Holly and Ivy were their parents, and for a few moments the din only grew louder as the friends were reunited.

After meeting Grace, the twins rushed forward with arms outstretched to hug their “Uncle Dan and Aunt Angie,” but he backed off. “You better not touch me. I managed to find some poison ivy.”

The girls looked disappointed but followed his instructions. Brandon and Gina exchanged glances and then she spoke. “Dan, could you come with me please?”

He followed her to the small bedroom the Norwoods were occupying. “Can you keep a secret?”

Dan seemed almost hurt. “We’ve known each other for years –“

“I know, but this is a matter of life and death.”

“You can trust me.”

“I knew I could; I just wanted to emphasize how serious this is.”

“How serious what is?”

Gina looked to his side, where the twins silently had followed them into the room and now stood waiting. “Go ahead, honey.”

Holly shyly wrapped her arms around Dan with a smile. “Hi, Uncle Dan,” she whispered.

Then it happened. Dan felt some kind of little shock; he figured it was just static electricity from Holly. Then his arms and legs tingled all over and the irritation and itching vanished. He held up his hands and stared, disbelieving. “Whoa,” was all he could say.

“The military calls it ‘radiation poisoning,’ but we know better,” Gina said. “Somehow, Holly’s been given a wonderful gift, but we have to keep it secret.”

“It’s safe with me,” Dan said as he gratefully embraced the little girl. “We had some experience of our own with the military and stories about ‘radiation poisoning.’ Maybe it’s time to compare notes.” He had no intention of sharing Volt’s secret, but their experiences gave him plenty of other information to share.

Day 2, Sunset, Parksville, Kingsley's house

After Dan rang the doorbell Jenny slipped her glasses off and slipped them into her pocket. She glanced nervously around as she waited. Finally the door cracked open.

"Yes? What - Dan! I half-expected - never mind that, come in! All of you, come in, come in!"

They stumbled in and before Jenny could say anything two girls about Grace's age came rushing in followed by several adults. After several seconds she decided these must be the Norwoods she had heard about. She and Volt stood aside until Dan and Mrs. Norwood left the room followed by the twins. She then walked up to Mr. Kinsley with her hand outstretched. "Hello, I'm glad to meet you. Do you mind if me and Volt stay the night?"

Meanwhile Volt saw a cat peeking around the corner. "Hi, you must be Figaro, I'm Volt."

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, alleyway

The Jack Russel Terrier looked up to see General walking towards him. "Hi General, back so soon?"

"Yes, I need your help."

"What do you need from the Jack Pack?"

General kept walking closer. "You misunderstand me, I need your help specifically."

"Why me?"

General closed the gap between them and placed a paw on the smaller dog's shoulder. "Because you are the closest member of your pack and I need to speak with your alpha as soon as possible, it's a matter that concerns the safety of all the dogs in Diabolis."

"What do you meaaAAAAHHHH!" The terrier leaped back as long hairs leaped from General's paws and tried to grab him. The shepherd made a lunge for him but he missed and the terrified dog took off down the alley. About half a block away he glanced behind him. He didn't see General anywhere. Just then a side door opened and a Labrador poked his head our.

"In here, quick," he called, and the terrier obliged, closing the door behind him.

"Thanks," he gasped, "General's gone crazy, he tried to attack me."

"Maybe he had a good reason."

"What are you talking about? Who are you anyway?"

"I haven't decided yet," the lab replied before pinning the terrier down. "But for now you can keep calling me General". The small dog was unable to break free and in a few moments General's hair absorbed him. "I do have a good reason, somebody has to get all the dogs working together."

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, Sturgeon family's apartment

"F-F-FEED MEEE" shrieked the small lizard with a big voice. Flame had taken to following Harry around wherever he went, and his patience with his pet was wearing thin.

"In a minute, I promise, okay? I just need to get the emergency kit down like Mom asked." He tuned out the skink's tirade about how his priorities were messed up, positioned the step stool he had brought, and opened the closet door. The upper shelves were so dusty that it snowed down on both of them when he tried to get at the kit.

-and when Flame absolutely n-n-needs a back scratch does he get any he-e-a-aa-AHHHHH-CHOOOOOO! Um, Harry?"

"Not now Flame," the boy grunted as he shoved some boxes aside.

"B-B-But I think that-"

"I said not now," he said as he pulled the kit down.

"HARRY!"

"What!" he snapped finally looking down. He had to look twice to convince himself of what he saw. The carpet in front of Flame had been set on fire.

"I think that medicine you gave me did something to my sn-sn-sneeze. I told you it was a bad idea!"

~Day Two~
~Parksville~

Caught between relief at the sight of the Baxters (instead of government officials) and disappointment (that it had not been the twins), David only half-noticed Jenny coming up.

"What? Oh, no, not at all!" he managed to reply, shaking her hand warmly. "You and Volt are welcome to stay, as long as you need. Volt is your dog?"

~

DOG!

Figaro had not had many positive experiences with dogs. Of course, he had not had many experiences with dogs at all - except for the Mulligans' ill-tempered Schnauser, and the two yippy terriers across the street. At Volt's greeting, he flattened his ears and hissed.

Dogs aren't welcome here! Get out!

Day 2, Sunset, Parksville, Kingsley’s house

“Yup, Volt’s been my dog for 5 years,” Jenny answered. “Are you sure you have enough room to house us all? It seems pretty crowded.”
~
Volt’s eyes widened in surprise at Figaro’s reaction. He knew many cats disliked dogs, but he’d never seen a cat stand up to a dog like this instead of run away. After a few moments he narrowed his eyes again. “Listen here,” he said firmly, “there are 3 things you need to know. 1: Me and the pup need to stay with our humans. 2: Our humans are staying here. 3: Therefore, we are not going anywhere.”

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, empty parking lot

In the form of the Jack Russel Terrier he had absorbed, who had been named Ed, General made his way to the Jack Pack’s headquarters, a rarely used parking lot behind an antique store. When he got there he found about half of the pack. He walked up to the nearest dog.

“Hey Sally, do you know where Max is? I don’t see him.”

The Beagle turned around to face him. “Oh, hey Ed. Max isn’t the alpha anymore, he was challenged and killed by José if you can believe it.”

“José the Chihuahua? Really?” Without waiting for an answer he marched off to where he could see the tiny dog standing in the bed of a pickup truck. “Hey José, I hear you’re the new Alpha.”

“That I am,” he answered with his tail and head held high.

“Well if you think I’m taking orders from a Chihuahua you are mistaken. I challenge you for the right of Alpha.”

The group of dogs started murmuring. “Um, Ed,” called Sally, “there’s something you should know...”

José seemed surprised by General’s challenge. “I expected you to be happy about this Ed. I’ll give you this warning, if we fight, I won’t be able to beat you without killing you, and I don’t want to kill a friend. Will you retract your challenge?” He shook his head and charged at José.

“Wait, Ed, José can,” Sally shouted, but it was too late for General. Without warning lightning bolts came out of José’s ears and struck the Terrier. Pain coursed through his body. “So much for that plan,” thought General before darkness took him and he stopped breathing.

Day 1, Arenico, Diabolis, Sturgeon family’s apartment

Harry stomped on the fire trying to put it out. Before he finished however he heard the door being unlocked from the outside. That could only be one person. In stepped his father. “Harry! What happened?” he yelled as he ran over and finished off the last flames.

“Weeelll, this is going to sound really weird. Let’s get Mom, she knows part of it.” After getting her he explained to his father how he now could understand Flame’s language and Flame seemed able to breathe, or at least sneeze, fire.

“So what you’re saying is that your skunk,”

“Skink,” Harry corrected.

“Skink then, has turned into a fire-breathing dragon?”

“N-N-Neat,” said Flame, “now no one mess with Flame, or he r-r-roasts them!”

He took a deep breath, but Harry clapped his jaw shut with his hand right before he exhaled. No fire came out, but lots of smoke came out of his nostrils. “Flame, that is a bad idea for sooooo many reasons.”

“This is serious son,” said his dad. “I think you and your dragon have radiation poisoning.”

“What!” shouted Harry and his mom.

“According to the rumors I’ve heard going around, the supernova has given a small fraction of the population radiation poisoning, at least that’s what the government is calling it. So far, the only symptoms I’ve heard about are dramatic changes in the body and abilities.”

“Why is that so serious?”

“Because,” Harry’s dad took a breath, “one man I talked to said the government was hiring bounty hunters to bring them in.” Silence filled the room. Harry and his mother thought about what would happen if people found out about them. Flame didn’t know what a bounty hunter was but it didn’t sound friendly or tasty.

“There’s more,” Harry’s father continued. “Ever since the supernova all the local gangs have increased activity. Even the stray dogs seem to know somethings up, they’ve been much more aggressive. The police will probably restore order eventually, but in the meantime, I’ve convinced our landlord to let me and some friends fortify the building to keep us safe.” Harry wondered whether his father used threats to convince Mr. Lancer the landlord about this. Maybe not, the request seemed like something he would agree to.

“What can I do to help?” asked Harry.

“Harry,” his father said solemnly, “That dragon’s changes are more obvious than yours. If people find out about him they might go to extreme lengths to get him and may hurt someone along the way, and I do not want that to happen. I also don’t want him hurting anyone or burning anything he shouldn’t. Otherwise, he has to go. Can I trust you to keep him out of trouble? Think about your answer.”

Harry thought about it. “Yes, for his sake I’ll keep him secret, safe, and out of trouble. Even you won’t know he’s here.”

“I’d better not. Now I need to get going. Honey, come with me. We’ll be back this evening.” With that, they left and the boy and lizard had the apartment to themselves.

Harry looked down at Flame. Keeping him out of trouble wouldn’t be easy, but he had a plan. “OK Flame, time to begin your training.”

“Training? Flame isn’t a d-d-dog!”

“I know,” he responded with a smirk. “Which is why we’re doing dragon training.”