on the opposite end of the spectrum, completely calm and straight-faced. Henry looked over Denali and at Jenna.

“Jenna, please control your little… scoundrel.”

“Ooh, hoo, hoo, resulting to name-calling now. Very mature,” Denali retorted.

Jenna gave a wide smile. “Sorry Henry. No can do. He’s more like his grandma than I could ever hope, and besides, I’m sure a lot of us are thinking the same things.”

Everyone could see Henry grinding his teeth angrily. Haida thought it was his time to enter the arena. He got up and stood beside Denali.

“Oh come on! Denali does this to us all the time and you can’t handle a little taste of it? Psh, anger management is definitely going to be your thing,” he smirked.

There were a few giggles from the crowd and you could swear that steam was pouring out of Henry’s ears. He suddenly straightened his posture. He had forgotten something… but what? He put a paw to the back of his neck and pulled it back, seeing black on his pads. He didn’t have time to fool around with these idiots!

“Silence!” he commanded and the crowd immediately fell silent. “I will not lower myself to their level and I expect you all to do the same... I want to keep the importance of this meeting clear, however. I wish that you all stay inside unless we call on you, whether or not the rabies virus is indeed here. This is just to stay safe. Now if you excuse me, I have other places to be right now.”

Without another word, or a gesture of departing, he rushed off from the front and out the door, leaving the assembly still silent. As the moment got more and more awkward, they filed out. Saba walked up to Denali and saw a somewhat smug expression on his face.

“Wow, who knew you could be such a rebel?” she giggled.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

A black dog trudged through the blinding snowstorm. The soot covering her paws melted away and soon, a greater amount of the artificial covering disappeared from her pelt and soaked into the snow below until she was completely clean. She looked wearily over her shoulder and shivered from a sudden gust of bone-chilling wind. The red bow around her paw bobbed uncaringly about, its bright red color now returned. She pressed herself closer to the side of the nearest building as she pushed her way on. The iced over wood siding did nothing to add protection, but it gave her a false sense of security. From above she heard the familiar sound of a creaking sign and the jingle of icicles. She felt her way around a tight corner and stumbled to the other side of the alley. She paused for a moment and her ears perked. She could swear that she had felt someone behind her. She turned her head slowly and her eyes squinted... No one. She felt a growl resonate from her throat. She knew that she wasn’t alone… The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and her tail was straight as an arrow. The wind whipped around her unflinching face, singing merrily and mocking her. Her pupils narrowed to slits and she bared her razor-sharp teeth. She looked behind her… The presence was there. She could feel it… She snapped her head back forward and yelped in surprise, jumping back quickly. Hal had been literally nose to nose with her.

“B-but h-how did you-” she stuttered.

“Please, Sister Dear, you know that I’m always keeping a protective eye on you,” Hal laughed giddily, “but please, do come inside. You must be… frozen.”

He wrapped a bushy tail around her neck and led her towards the entrance to their home. Lilith bit her lip as she tried to think. There was something she wanted to ask him, something she needed to know… But what?… A name? Henry?… That was it!

“Ugh… Hal?” she started to ask.

Hal turned to her as they were engulfed by darkness and warmth. He gave her a toothy smile and uncurled his tail from around her throat.

“Yes?”

“I-if I remember right… Isn’t Hal, a short name for… Henry?”

“Hmm, could be,” he said curiously, “but what would it matter to you?”

“N-nothing but… didn’t your old master call you Henry, and he gave you a collar too… T-there’s this dog who has the same name, and the collar looks familiar.”

“There is, is there? Well how about that,” he smiled with a sinister sweetness and delicately patted her on the head, “but I don’t think that it’s something you should have to worry about now Sweetie. Now, how about going to bed, we have plenty of things we need to do to prepare.”

“Prepare for what?”

“You’ll find out soon enough Sister Dear.”

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Henry waltzed through the blizzard as if he were dancing, the lashing wind having no effect on him whatsoever. His black fur began to run, covering the rest of his white fur in a viscous mixture of melting snow and soot. 

“That was a close one,” he whispered to himself.

He stopped in his tracks as he tried to get his bearings. He heard an intolerable squeak that could have only come from the butcher’s rusty hanging sign. He walked blindly around the nearest corner and stayed as close to the wall as possible.

“Well hello there.” Henry whirled around and saw another dog staring at him, well, grinning. He returned the gesture and the other dog continued to speak. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. It’s not every day that I get to see… Leader Henry.”

Henry stuck his chin out further and smirked. “Well maybe I’ll try to come ‘round more often.”

The dog managed to mask his disgust perfectly behind a friendly smile, “That would be most wonderful. But my, my, you seem to have gotten quite arrogant since we last saw each other. I wonder, has this position gone straight to your head?… I wonder…”

Henry gave a confident smile. “Of course not. I have everything under control,” his face quickly became more serious, “but enough of this idle chat, Henry, I want some answers.”

“Please, call me Hal, I prefer it much more… But please, ask away.”

“Alright then, first, when will this whole thing end? I think I’m starting to gain suspicion from the local dogs.”

Hal lifted and studied his paw, seeming like he was ignoring Henry. “Hmm, it should be over in a day or so. By then, everything should have fallen into place…”

“Good,” Henry nodded, “and second, and most important, when am I getting my reward? I’m a very patient and understanding dog, but one can only wait for so long.”

“And what a very modest dog you are too,” he said, covering his sarcasm in a laugh, “but we’ll get it tonight if it makes you feel any better.”

“Good, good… Now what time will you get me, and where will we meet?”

“We will rendezvous when I call on you, and it will be under the good doctor’s empty home. There you can take your reward wherever you want. Providing that you held up your end of the bargain… of course…”

“I can assure you that everything is taken care of. The dogs will be staying inside their homes no matter what they see, and I think fear has been spread throughout a few of them.”

“Only a few?” Hal asked disappointedly, though still grinning, “I am most surprised, I thought that after all of my advice to you that you could have frightened more than a few,” he shrugged, “but it’ll do I suppose.”

Henry snorted. He didn’t appreciate being, in a sense, scolded, but he didn’t want to lose his cool either. He mumbled a few words that were lost in the wind and he calmly walked off into the blizzard. Hal twirled around and began to hum merrily to himself as he walked through the crates and into his home.

Chapter Eighteen:

The day before had been horrible. It had been one painful, maddening blow after another. Each time sent a drill through their heads, making them whimper and beg for mercy. But the mercy would never come. Kaltag and Nikki were already long gone. As long as this incessant migraine was poisoning their minds, they would never return. Star felt another sudden stabbing in his mind. He gnashed his teeth together and grunted, his eyes rolling back into his head, sweat dripping from his muzzle. He grabbed his head and rolled back and forth, moaning and whining. There was another nail clawing through the chalkboard of his mind and he slammed his head against the ground uncontrollably which somehow eased the pain. The small dog rolled onto his back and began to claw at the ground, his tongue lolled out and eyes glazed over. A dull laughing made its way into his frazzled mind and his ear twitched towards the sound. Suddenly, Star let out a quiet chuckle and he started to smile. The intense pain turned to a dull ache as something else took its place. Laughter. Singing. Music. Wonderful, beautiful sounds and melodies. He squinted open an eye and bright colors danced in his vision, and whatever the others were laughing about, he was doing so too. Heh, he understood their amusement now. More chuckles escaped his throat until laughter exploded from his maw. He smacked his head on the ground again and howled with glee. His eyes fluttered shut as he rolled around in a fit of joyous laughter.

“Don’t hide your eyes from me… Open them and see me now.”

His eyes snapped open and he stared straight into Hal’s