Can you get up? I asked Ginger. She was helping the male excrete and ignored me. But it didn’t take long before she was done and the pup was back to feeding.

Why do you ask?

Because we need to leave.

She outright refused me and shriveled up to protect the pups, as if I was going to hurt them. I— that hurt, but we didn’t have time to bicker and banter. The humans were packing to leave. And call it a coincidence or whatever, but they were our only chance to make it alive out of the screamer filled community. And we needed to leave the place fast, if not for the screamers, then for the Roarer that was recuperating. The area was not safe unless it was dead, but I didn’t have the strength to kill it, not unless I hunted the screamer for the warmth. The shard inside me had grown and with it my strength. So maybe—

Who was I kidding? It must have eaten hundreds of those shards. There was no way I was going to win against it. But before all of that, Ginger needed to know about Rusty. So I told her.

No. She didn’t believe me. It’s not possible. He’s only gone out to bring me bread. I could see the empty packets lying around. He can’t be dead. He’s going to come back. He promised he wouldn’t die. Do you understand? He promised!

She stared at me. Her back hairs were standing straight in fright. She was shivering. Her nails were out and digging into the floor. But she could hear my silence and knew I wasn’t lying.

I’m not lying. I told her, causing her to push away from me. The pups woke up all at the same time and started crawling toward her. I could do nothing to help her. I wish I could console her, but I urged her to listen to me instead.

I’m going outside to check things out. We’ll leave once I come back.

NO. DON’T GO! She stood up and tried to stop me. I barked back at her.

The pups, Ginger! You will hurt them! I said and she stopped where she stood. When she looked the pups were crawling near her feet, climbing over one another in order to reach her nipples. I somehow ended up imagining three miniature Cobs trying to claw their way up, and it made me warm inside. Shaking my head I told her I was coming back and that she should get ready, and then I left before she could say anything.

I climbed the stairs back to the ground floor. The exit wasn’t hard to find, but the first thing I saw outside the building made my blood boil. There were five screamers at the front door. The big-fat one with the large wrench was also among them. They had created a mess of blood and guts, painting the glass door scarlet. The head was nowhere to be seen, but the one who had chased it was plastered all over the pavement.

This was impossible. Forget about beating them to the front gate with Ginger in toe, I couldn’t have managed that alone. They would have been at us the moment we left the security of the building.

Thankfully, there was not much blood, but the macabre was gut-wrenching. The front gate was a no go, at least until I had taken care of them. I made up my mind and started walking toward them when out of nowhere Rusty came running into the crowd, attacked the fat hu-man, picked one of the gem shards, and ran away. Angered and frustrated, the screamers bellowed and chased him as he disappeared behind the building.

For a moment I couldn’t digest the situation, then it clicked and I hurried back down the stairs and into the basement to get Ginger. This was our chance! Rusty, oh Rusty, even in death he was helping us. I picked a crate on the way and found her on her haunches, fangs bared, tail and ears standing straight and a growl rumbling at her throat.

It’s me! I barked to let her know. I had to do it because she was protecting her pups, and as a mother she was bound to attack if I had gotten closer to her unannounced. However, that didn’t make her drop vigilance. I was late to realize that the wooden crate I was towing between my jaws weighted quite much, more than I, a year old pup of the street should have been able to even lift. Heck, even Cob would have had difficulty picking it up as effortlessly as I had.

What I mean to say is that, I had let the warmth flow in my haste and now I stood a transformed beast in front of Ginger. No wonder she stared at me with hateful eyes.

It’s me, Ginger. I promise. Stay vigilant if you want, but we need to hurry. We need to go before the screamers come back.

It was the urgency in my voice that got her in the end. She covered her fangs, and dropped her tail, but kept her ears up. Not believing me completely, but she had no other choice.

What happened to you? She asked, keeping her distance and stepping back when I stepped closer.

Many things —I replied— but we’ll talk about it later. Let’s get to safety for now.

I dropped the crate, gently picked a pup with my mouth, and dropped it inside the crate. But Ginger stropped me when I went to get another one.

What are you doing? She cried in concern.

There are four of them Ginger. We can’t leave them here or toe them around in our mouths. This is the only way.

She stared at me while I picked and placed the pups in the crate, and heard her murmur out loud, ‘What happened to you?’

I didn’t answer as there was no need to but looked at her once I had placed the last of them inside the crate. She was staring at the pups when I looked at her, and almost jumped when I picked up the crate in my jaw. Somehow it felt much heavier than before even though the pups barely weighted anything.

I was the first to walk toward the door, but Ginger was the one who took the lead.

I’ll walk in the front. She was determined and I couldn’t refuse her. We slowly made it through the dusty hallway and climbed up the stairs to the ground floor. She almost attacked me when she saw my body in broad daylight. I instantly noticed the fear in her eyes. But the crate and the pups inside held her back. She stopped moving so I took the lead, and she followed me closely and quietly. I could feel her staring daggers at me from behind, but the situation was the best it could have been and I didn’t want to dally.

Soon we were at the open half of the glass door looking outside, and I was peeking out of it. Ginger stood behind me; she kept her distance and stood over the crate which I had dropped by her side. The pups were squirming inside it. Thankfully, they were quiet. As luck would have it, our path was clear. Rusty had done a great job of keeping the screamers away. It harried me to leave him behind, but he was—

I shook my head and looked over my shoulder.

It’s clear. I told Ginger and she nodded. I picked up the crate and started walking toward the factory building when Ginger suddenly gave out a low bark.

I jumped and looked around: still no screamers.

What? I asked turning to her, my heart almost in my throat.

Where are you going? The gate’s this way. She pointed her muzzle toward a cobbled path that was wide enough for three hu-mans to walk shoulder to shoulder. It skirted the outside wall of the boxy building and went behind the factory I was aiming for.

Seeing that she knew her way around, I gestured her to take lead, which she did without hesitation. It was a straight and dark path, and I could see the wheeled beasts slumbering on the other side of it. Everything was going great, that is until I smelled the sweet scent.

Ginger couldn’t smell it, but her moving ears indicated that she could hear the footsteps.

She stopped midway and looked over the shoulder, at me. Can you hear that? She asked just as a window to her right broke and a screamer jumped out of it, bring a rain of sharp glass along.

I dropped the crate and ran toward her before the glass shards started tinkling over on the hard path. But I couldn’t get to her in time. The screamer, a hu-man with bulging veins and blue skin, grabbed her neck and pushed her onto the flower bed. They crashed through a stalwart green bush creating enough noise to notify every one of our position and tussled in the dirt.

I saw ginger biting into the screamer's throat through my reddening sight. However, it had no effect as the screamer kept choking her.

Join me! The piercing growl came suddenly and filled my head, almost smacking me out of consciousness. I held. I don’t know how, but I stayed sane and crashed into the screamers flank like a horned bull. Yes, the horns were back, and they pierced right through its blue skin and ruptured its lungs —not that it had any effect on the monster.

It screamed, but in anger, as it couldn’t get to kill its target. Ginger was alive, though groaning in pain. I dragged the screamer as far away from Ginger as I could, but it didn’t let me get far. It hammered punches on my back and they hurt far more than the usual bites and cuts ever had. Each punch rattled my skeleton and left me squeamish. I was obviously in a bad position, but I gritted my teeth and kept going. Though my legs shook with every step, I dragged it away from Ginger and the pups and slammed it hard on the side of the slumbering wheeled beast.

There was an explosion of sound as we collided with it and my horns pierced deeper into the screamer's chest.

It wasn’t quite the seven feet tall monster that had knocked on my shutters a few days ago, but it was strong. I could smell the sweet odor of the warmth from it, but that was fine; things would have been different if I couldn’t. It was strong, but still just a screamer, and I had been dealing with its kind since day one.

So, I shook my head to loosen the horns and pulled back. We both stared at each other, but something distracted it. I saw the chance and shot for its neck, but I couldn’t grab hold as it tried to jump over my head to get behind me.

Ginger!

Worry filled my thoughts as I growled and scratched at its chest to latch onto something, and I did. One of my nails got stuck in the fabrics of its blue dead skin and it fumbled to the ground right beside me. I howled, trying to climb over its back while it tried to crawl toward Ginger. I could see her dark figure shrinking atop the crate and knew I couldn’t let the screamer get to her.

I got on its back, but it pushed itself upon the feet and made a run for her. Ginger barked. The monster screamed as it ran. I chased. I chased. I—I couldn’t stop it! Ginger lunged at it to protect the pups, but the screamer slapped her face and sent her flying at the factory wall. She slammed hard into it, released a yelp, and fell unconscious to the ground. It stopped for a second to change directions, and I finally got him.

The glass shards dug into the pads of my feet, but I couldn’t feel them.

Join me! The voice rattled my skull.

I almost agreed. If the screamer hadn’t stopped I would have agreed.

I charged straight screaming at the top of my lungs no different from a screamer and drove my horns into its back. It tried to turn toward me, seemingly unfazed, but I resisted. Unfortunately, the horns broke, causing it to stagger and fall into the bushes, away from Ginger and the pups.

I jumped atop of it. It punched me in the chest, breaking ribs, but I fought through the pain and aimlessly clawed at its body. I tore its flesh, but that wasn’t enough. It tried to get up, swinging its arms everywhere. Some of its punches connected and I was thrown back.

We were about even, which made the fight drag. I kept losing warmth and soon reached rock bottom. It caused me to transform back to my normal size and shape. However, the fight was over by then.