The Iron King: When Worlds Collide

by xX Blood-Bond Xx

Earth was attacked. The humans nearly went extinct. The fae almost went with them. One girl rose to protect her people, winning against the galaxies best. Still, some aliens could not allow the humans to have embarrassed them, so they put Emilia Davis into the Iron King to ensure that they are given another chance. But Emilia cannot fight the war with her new mission. Save faery.

1. Chapter 1

Hello again! It's good to see you! Since I'm not doing the movie idea I promised an Iron King remake and here it is. Keep in mind that when I began making this I was only three months into my writing career, something like that, so Emily started out as a major Mary Sue. But when I put the idea down for awhile, built up my skills, I came back and as it gets later into the story she's no Mary Sue-ish. I'm just to lazy to redo the beginning.

I got up to my beeping alarm and shut it off with the bang of my fist. As soon as I was on my feet I began my morning ritual and started doing 100 pushups, 120 sit ups, and stretches. After that was done I got dressed in regulation camouflage cargos, black boots that have been shinned to perfection, and a black tee shirt. My stomach growls and demands food instantly to compensate for the use of calories this morning. There is some left over's from yesterday's salad and I dump some of that into a bowl.

After eating I walk to the bathroom and look at myself. Black ratty hair that went past my shoulders, sleep crust around my eyes, pale skin, muscled body that was sweaty, a scar that came from an eye and spread half way over my face, and one brown eye. Both eyes could see since I was wearing protective goggles, but I was almost blinded completely from a plasma charge.

Putting a brush through my hair until it becomes flat and fine I put it into a high pony. The next thing I do is wash my face and rid myself of the sleep buggers from the sides of my eyes.

Now it was 4:00 and time for my daily jog. The sun was still down and the moon showered the inside of my small house with its rich moon light. Outside was cool and refreshing. A perfect day for a jog and a good day to die.

My jogging trail went from my house in the projects, to Houghton County, and all the way back. I took no breaks, there was never any time for them before and there isn't time for them now. It was the length of a marathon and I'll be damned if I can't do it in one go like every other runner.

The entire way my legs burned and sweat poured off of me. My heart was beating so hard and fast it felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. My body was trained for this kind of movement and no matter how bad it wanted to quit it kept moving and went faster. No matter how hard I breathed I just kept going and breathed more, hoping the cold morning air would cool down my burning body and rejuvenate it.

At Houghton I turned around and left back to Baraga. The cars honked at me when the passed and some people slowed down to say there greetings. Everyone knew who I was; I am a living legend in this world. The one to fight off the first real life alien invasion. Of course the entire American military was honored and amended for their incredible bravery. After all, they did decide to follow a fifteen year old girl with no experience, no knowledge of how to lead an army, and with the entire planet on the line.

At the moment they chose to follow me I promised they wouldn't regret it.

And they didn't.

Not only have we won our right in the eyes of the entire known universe to be left alone but we have created the legend of the Humans. Everyone respected us for giving a good fight against the universes best. We couldn't have won no matter how hard we tried. They decided to let us live because we were young, strong, and a species that was full of surprises. We are also dangerously stupid in the logic department though, since the only thing we have brought ourselves up to know was how to war. And war we will. But no longer against each other. Against the outside threats. The last thing I heard them say was that they will be back when we are stronger, or when we are weak, or when we are too monstrous to live in peace.

Since we have learned almost everything we could from our own species they have decided to give us a mentor race. One that was a model for the new kid in school. These guys were smart, wise, and incredibly annoying too. Whenever they catch you doing something you're not supposed to be doing they give us lectures and have us do good deeds that help our community. Even if it's just rough housing, which they are quickly discovering that's our nature, to be rude and violent.

When I return to Baraga I can see the sun just rising off the lake, casting long shadows of trees over the village. No one's up yet but the military men and women. No one besides me little sister Riley and her new puppy, Buddy, are awake in our night family. I run up to her and pant heavily. Her black hair that was wavy and shiny was beautiful in the sun. Her blue dress that looked like it could be water was very stunning.

Riley smiles brightly when she sees me. "Hi Emily, did you have a nice run?" Her smile was peachy and she was hiding something behind her back. Buddy was waging his tail and prancing around us with glee.

I smile to her and ask politely, "What's behind your back, young lady?" I knew it was one of the aliens checking up on my mental state. In other words they were making sure that my going to war at such an early age didn't make me insane. Riley is 14 and turning 15 soon enough for me to start calling her young lady. Because she is considered a young lady by the way she is too polite, girly, and soft to be called cadet.

She brushes some of her wavy black hair out of her face and says, "I've been reading some of your old books and I had a question…" She smiles impishly and walks toward me a little more, showing off her bright blue dress. "Whose team are you on? In the Iron fey series." She pulls out the Iron King's old and worn hard covered face from behind her nimble form. "Personally, I'm a team Ash."

The curiosity from her question strikes me. "Riley, is there a reason you want to know this? Normally you aren't interested in pointless side taking." She was always the one to choose what was right, what was for the greater good, what would save the most lives. Never did she take part in conflicts that would only create differences. By her abnormal smile I was reminded of how this was an alien.

"Because Emily, I want to know who you think is better." Her smile has me on edge, and I can feel that we're not alone. The hairs on the back of my neck are on end and calling for me to do something. "So tell me, who?"

I look around for anyone who was watching but find no one. Buddy was cowering behind my legs for protection. "Riley, is something wrong? Your acting odd and I don't like it." I knew she was an alien but I had to play along or they would move into a new tactic that involved them sending me to a mental doctor. I hated them ass holes.

She seemed to snarl at me and shouted harshly, "Just answer the damn question or so help me!" She shrank back into a weird stance and her nails seemed to grow into sharp points. This one was in a very piss poor mood today. We're rubbing off so quickly.

I sigh and say to her coldly, "Fine. If you're going be such a spoiled brat until I tell you then here it is. I'm… team… Puck." I say it slowly so she could absorb it into her fragile little mind. "Was it really worth going crazy for or do you want to battle to the death because I don't like Ash as much?" I'm crazy for Puck. Or… at least I was. He was my favorite character ever and I wrote so many fanfictions of him when I was younger.

Her face was stunned, than went to an evil glee. "Perfect. Now I want you to take off any iron you have on you." I couldn't pin down what she was planning. Another method of teaching us humans something was that they would cast a spell on you to do something. One person had a… unusual evening with his family.

"Look kid, you're not the one that has the authority to control me. If you want a slave then try some of the dopes in your class." I go to walk past her but she grabs my hand with surprising force. I look back at her and yank my arm away, only to wind it up and smack her across the face. "Don't you ever think you can control me Riley, not even for a second, but since I'm not wearing Iron you don't really-"

Her eyes bulge a little and she starts to mumble words at me. "Hernia Altlantis kali geen-touk mairal!" I was forced to the ground in an instant. Riley was walking toward me and chanting more words that didn't make sense and holding the book open.

I screamed for help when these black vines came out of the book and grabbed onto my ankles, pulling me toward the book. More vines came out and wrapped around my arms. "Jason Help me!" Jason was my old commander next door. I knew he was up and about by now. He didn't mind the aliens, but he would rather we learn on our own.

These vines looked like ink and a scent of roses filled the air around them. Some of the main vines had smaller vines growing off of them and latched onto me.

I saw Jason burst out of his house in his boxers. He already had a pistol in hand and was running for me, shooting at the vines. "Hold on!" When someone didn't call him by commander or sir he knew that someone was desperate for help.

The vines were pulling me across the black top and entangling me in a way where I could not move. When his bullets hit a vine it shattered into glass and a new one took its place. "Let me go!" My scream was one of terror and despair. This magic was evil. The vines were pulling me into the air like I was paper and more came out to block Jason from getting to me. I let out the most blood curtailing scream of my life, "Jason!"

I wake up with a strange sense. Opening my eyes I found I was nowhere I had been before, this was somebody else's room. Muddy clothes were in a basket while more clothes that seemed clean lay all over the floor in such a messy fashion I remember when I used to have my room like this.

A voice echo's inside of my head and says to me, "The place you are now is in the Iron King, a place where all are learning. Complete this book, come back alive, learn, or die. This is what you are given, hero. Do what you will with the story plot, it will not matter. "

That was defiantly one of the aliens. They never used cryptic words and used fewer words in conversation. They were to the point and didn't repeat themselves. I thought this was why they were good for our kind. We could use less drama and crap.

The person of Meghan did live inside of me. As a subconscious to guide me, I could imagine. I walk around until I find the shower. After the shower I went back into my room. The Meghan inside of me whispered something nice for Scott. I decide to see what I could do with her clothing selection, but it wasn't to please Scott. It was to please someone much more attractive.

I pick up a pair of ripped jeans, a faded red tee shirt, and a pair of ratty sneakers before heading back to the bathroom. In the mirror I looked like myself. Black hair, fit body, brown eyes, and my old scar that came from my left eye to part of my face in a web of lines that resembled lightening. All of the sudden I could see Meghan appear beside me. She looked almost perfectly like me, just white blonde hair, blue eyes, and no death scowl smeared across her face along with a scar. To maybe try to look more like her I drop the scowl and brush my hair to look like hers.

When I look down on myself I see white hair and a body that doesn't look like mine. Looking back into the mirror I see myself again. My hair started to do a floating kind of thing like I jammed my finger into an electrical outlet. So to calm it down I look for any kind of hair band. There was one on top of the toilet seat so I use that one. When it's in a low pony I head down stairs.

"That's Luke, my step father, and on his lap is my little half-brother Ethan." The inside Meghan said to me. I look at Luke who was reading an article of some ones cow being born with more than enough legs while sipping his steaming coffee. Ethan was eating some Pop Tarts and trying to feed his rabbit some of it from time to time, getting its mouth all messy.

My stomach growled in the demand for food. I check the fridge and find nothing of interest. In the pantry there's nothing breakfast material except a bagel.

Now chewing on a bagel to calm my stomach the inside Meghan asks me, "Where's mom?" If she's going to live inside of me through this entire thing she better be quiet most of the time.

Before she might ask again I mentally say, "Meghan, she's at the church and we're not going to get our permit yet so shut up and try not to speak unless I ask or when you think something could be of use to me." There was no way I was ever going to listen to her tell me every one of her dialog pieces while I speak my own. It will make things much easier to do if I could think without her talking.

Meghan speaks again, much to my annoyance. "Tomorrows my 16th birthday, see if they remember." This was actually of mild importance so I turn to Luke who was walking away with the dog for the bathroom sink.

So I turn to Ethan who was still eating his Pop Tart with floppy, his stuffed rabbit. "Hey Ethan, do you know what tomorrow is?" Ethan puts his Pop Tart down and looks at me with big blue eyes and a mop of brown hair. I had to admit that he was adorable to look at.

His eyes widen at me and he says, much to Meghan's half annoyance. "I know," he announced softly. "Tomorrow's your birth day, isn't it? Floppy told me, and I remembered."

"Thank you for remembering." I say at least somewhat cheerfully so I didn't hurt the little kid with my sarcasm. If there's one thing having 20 little people at a family reunion is that you never hurt them, or the Parana attack begins. That wasn't pleasant to pry them off and have more attack me with their small bodies.

Ethan smiles softly, "Floppy says to tell you happy early birthday."

"Tell Floppy thanks." This was really pathetic that this girl didn't get any other kinds of attention. Nope, all her attention came from her little brother's stupid stuffed rabbit. I was considering feeling sorry for her, but shook it off. It wouldn't kill her to decide birthdays were almost pointless and move on.

I decided that since I have already graduated as a valedictorian I can do the work here easily. So while Meghan was ranting of how she needed the books and homework in her room I was looking around my new home. But when she said gym clothes I walked up the stairs and looked around in her room for anything that resembled gym clothes. I found another tee shirt, shorts, and a better pair of shoes that smelled a little from long time use. While I was up here I grabbed a dirty orange bag and stuffed inside the clothes, her books, and her homework.

I checked the watch on my wrist and swore, since Meghan's self-told me the bus was arriving shortly and it was a long walk to the main road. I storm down stairs and look outside to the gray clouds and monster rain drops pouring down.

I'm about to leave when a pair of arms wrap around my legs, "Maggie, can I go with you today?" He seemed terrified, so I pick him up to comfort him. Poor kid, I wish I could take him with.

"Sorry kiddo, this is big kid stuff. What are you so afraid for?" I whisper to him. He clutches to his rabbit toy for dear life. "Is it the monsters again?" He nods his head and since time is running out I run up stairs with him bouncing in my arms.

I check the closet with a flash light that I found in his room. "Nothing here." I check under his bed. "Nothing here either." I pat him on the head and run for the door. I always baby sat the little ones, so I went through the monster process at least a thousand times. When I left his room I could have sworn I say something from behind the door. Something with glowing eyes. I shake it off, knowing he was going to be kidnapped later.

I ran outside and felt the burning of my legs come and my heart beat faster. On the inside of my mind I could hear the military men shouting at me, "Come on girl, move, move, move!" And at the sound of it I run faster. No time for breaks, any time for slacking, got to reach the check point before time runs out.

When I reached the end of the road I stopped, barely out of breath. The cold rain was uncomfortable to say the least, and the down pour heavies so much it was getting a little crazy out here. I folded my arms and backed up against a mossy cypress, waiting for the bus. I could not help but think I forgot something. It's been years since I have read this book.

While I was waiting for the bus I listened to the sounds of the forest and the animals. It's been forever since I could do this without someone wanting to talk to me, get me to attend something, or have the sounds of cars drive by with their honking horns. I love it when it's quiet. It means there's no battle for your planets life. It's peace, something we all craved now that all that fighting was over.

Right after I had returned home I was called Wars Daughter, princess of Earth, the holy warrior, and America's soul. I didn't like all of the nick names and all the showering. I was just happy to finally have my name engraved into our history so I would not be forgotten. America's troops were all called by one name… War Dogs. At first they didn't really like it, but when they heard the stories that were being made of them they grown into the War Dogs name and became what the people thought they were. They even started calling me War pup, since I was the youngest of them all.

Luckily the press didn't hear of that one. Major embarrassment there.

The forest seemed to grow quiet in an instant, in a way that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Knowing there was something watching me with intense eyes made me feel on edge. I was tense and ready for anything wrong to happen.

Something reached around the tree and hooked my waist. I leaped into the air and away from the attacker on instinct, fists up and ready to attack. And I would have if I didn't suddenly remember that Robbie did this in the book as a joke on Meghan.

Laughter exploded from behind the tree and out came Robbie, arms wrapped over stomach to keep his insides inside. He was covered in twigs, rain, and mud. He was in jeans and an old tee shirt, gasping with mirth. He paused to look at my battle ready face before going back into laughter. His hair clung to his head and his clothes clung to his body, revealing his lean and skinny frame.

I started to laugh along with him, relieved it wasn't something else. "Oh god Robbie, one of these days you're going to give me a heart attack." I walked a few feet away from him to emphasize I was upset with him, which I wasn't really. It felt good to have someone who wasn't so serious around.

He laughed and gasped for air, "C-come on, princess." He walks over to me and leans on me for support. "It was just too perfect." He gave a last laugh before straitened, holding his ribs. "Man that was impressive, you must have jumped three feet in the air. What, did you think I was Leather face or something?"

"Of course not, stupid." I kick some water at him and he kicked some back, laughing. We started to kick water back and forth until the bus came a few minutes later. By the time we were done we were both covered in mud. The bus driver stopped and told us to sit in the back.

"What are you doing after school?" Robbie asked as we huddled in the far backseat. Around us students laughed, joked, talked, and generally paid us no attention. "Wanna grab a coffee later? Or we could sneak into a theater and see a movie."

"Sorry Robbie, I've got to tutor someone after school." I wasn't overly happy of going to school covered in mud but I've done it before. If I could skip the session to hang out with Robbie I would, but a commitment is a commitment and I have to stick by it.

Robbie's green eyes narrowed. "Tutoring someone? Who?"

I felt a faint fluttering in my stomach, knowing Meghan liked him she would make me feel this way about some dumb jock. "Scott Waldron."

"What?" Robbie's lip curled in grimace of disgust, "The jockstrap? Why does he need you to teach him how to read?"

I grin to myself, "Because he's failing computers. Just because he's dumber than a rock and needs help doesn't mean you have to be jealous." I know he has a crush on Meghan, and since I am Meghan here then he has a crush on me.

"Oh, of course, that's it," Robbie said with a sneer. "I've always wanted the IQ of a rock. No, wait. That would be an insult to the rock." He snorted. "I can't believe you're going for the jockstrap. You can do so much better, princess."

I look at him again, deep into his green eyes, and smirk slightly, "Who would that be?" Careful not to say it like a whore I look at him in a quizzical way. I wanted to see if he would come out and suggest himself. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to say something. "I wonder who you were thinking of." I wasn't saying it like I actually would go for them; I said it like I knew who he was thinking of.

In his eyes you can see he was screaming himself, but he didn't say anything for a while. Part of me wondered if he knew I liked him and was angered for me not telling him. "Maybe you can just go for the people who don't try to make your life miserable." The last part he whispered quietly when he looked away. "Someone who's treated you right from the day he met you."

I whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "If only you liked me." I turned my back to him and looked out the window. I could see him out of the corner of my eye; he was looking at me with longing. He reached a hand for mine, but pulled away before we touched. "Let the game begin." I thought to myself. If I was going to be stuck in this mess of love and war I wanted to have something that could be worked with over here. Not just Robbie waiting for me to notice him when Ash was with me.

We went through the schoolday pretty quickly. I knew all of the work that was to be done and I dropped soft hints on Robbie all throughout the day. He would ignore them, laugh and do something, or come so close to doing something romantic to show his feelings. It seemed he didn't know if I was actually throwing hints or he was imagining things.

Dodging students, I wove my way down the hall and peeked into the computer room.

There he was, sitting at one of the desks with both feet up on another chair. Scott Waldron, captain of the football team. He wore a red-and-white letterman jacket that showed off his broad chest, and his thick dark blond hair brushed the top of his collar.

I walked up to him and said, "Dude, we going to get started?" I ask. He paid me no attention and just kept listening to his music. Soon I become irritated and tip his seat back so he's about to fall over, but I keep him upright. He's now balancing on the back two legs.

When he balances out he looks at me and takes his head phones out. "What was that about?" Scott looked pathetic. He was mad no doubt but he thought he was king of the freaking school.

I look at him blankly, "Good, let's get started." I hold out a hand for him to shake, "I'm Meghan, your tutor." Scott doesn't take my hand. Instead he just mocks me.

He continued to smirk at me. "Aren't you that hick girl who lives out in the swamp? Do you even know what a computer is?"

My face flamed, "Of course I do. Now are you going to learn or sit there making jokes at someone who's trying to help you?" There was no way I was letting him act like this. I was going to teach him a lesson. "Watch carefully and you might learn something." His face doesn't straighten out but he moves to the side, pulling up a chair for me to sit on, shooting me a dubious look.

I hadn't even touched the keys when the computer screen blipped on. When I paused, my fingers hovering over the board, words began to scroll across the blue screen.

Meghan Chase. We see you. We're coming for you.

I froze. The words continued, those three sentences, over and over. Meghan Chase. We see you. We're coming for you. Meghan Chase we see you we're coming for you. Meghan Chase we see you we're coming for you… over and over until it completely filled the screen. This wasn't my doing.

Scott leaned back in his seat, glaring at me, then at the computer. "What is this?" he asked, scowling. "What the hell are you doing, freak?" Pushing him aside, I shook the mouse, punched Escape, and pressed Ctrl/Alt/Del to stop the endless string of words. Nothing worked.

Suddenly, I got a nasty idea in my head and typed some words, pressed a few buttons, and the screen went blank for a moment. Then, in giant letters, another message flashed into view.

SCOTT WALDRON PEEKS AT GUYS IN THE SHOWER ROOM, ROFL.

I smirked. The message began to scroll across all the computer screens, making its way around the room, with me chuckling evilly. The other students at the desks paused, shocked for a moment, then began to point and laugh.

I could feel Scott's gaze like a knife in my back. Happily, I turned to find him glaring at me, chest heaving. His face was crimson, probably from rage or embarrassment, and he jabbed a finger in my direction.

"You think that's funny, swamp girl? Do you? Just wait. I'll show you funny. You just dug your own grave, bitch."

He stormed out of the room with the echo of laughter trailing behind him. A few of the students gave me grins, applause, and thumbs-up; one of them even winked at me. I was left with the satisfaction of pissing off the king.

A faint snicker cut through my bleak thoughts, and I raised my head.

Crouched atop the monitor, silhouetted black against the open window, was a tiny, misshapen thing. Spindly and emaciated, it had long, thin arms and huge bat like ears. Silted green eyes regarded me across the table, gleaming with intelligence. It grinned, showing off a mouthful of pointed teeth that glowed with neon-blue light, before it vanished, like an image on the computer screen.

I sat there a moment, staring at the spot where the creature had been, my mind spinning in a dozen directions at once. Okay. Great. I'm starting to hallucinate. Just send me off to the loony bin, 'cause I sure as hell am bound to do some crazy shit tomorrow.

Bouncing up with a smirk on my face I walk cheerfully into the hall. Robbie waited for me by the lockers, a soda bottle in each hand. "Hey, princess," he greeted as I past. "You're out early. How'd the tutoring session go?"

A question flashes in my head, "Why had I done that? Wasn't I above such childish things?" I turn to Robbie and look him in the eye with a small smile, "Robbie, I think you're rubbing off on me. I managed to make him hate me in less than 10 seconds."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He tossed me a diet soda, and twisted open his root beer in a hiss of foam. I could hear the grin in his voice. "What did you do to make rock head hate you?" There was hidden joy in his voice.

"Simple humiliation" I stated, looking into his green eyes. "The buses have all left by now. Were you lurking by the computer lab, like some creepy stalker guy?"

Rob coughed loudly and took a long sip of his root beer. "Hey, I was wondering," he continued brightly, "what are you doing for your birthday tomorrow?"

I look at him with a silent hopeful expression. "Since when do I have plans?" I grabbed my books, stuffed them in my bag, and slammed the locker door. "Why?"

Robbie gave me that smile that makes me curious, a grin that stretched his entire face so that his eyes narrowed to green slits. "I've got a bottle of champagne I managed to swipe from the wine cabinet," he said in a low voice, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. I laughed slightly at the gesture, taking it as a romance hint. One that would resemble sarcasm if I wasn't interested. "How 'bout I come by your place tomorrow? We can celebrate your birthday in style."

His hint sent my senses wild, "Sounds like fun." my eyes lower seductively and my mouth winds up in a smile that's not too big. If he doesn't catch on to these hints soon I'm going to get violent. I don't know what it is but I really want him to notice!

Robbie's face was turning slightly red, and he looks at me almost quizzically. Smiling sarcastically before walking off. "Great. See you later Princess."

I walk outside into the cold, wet, fall of rain that soaked me instantly. "Mom's going to pick us up." Meghan said to me. So I waited in the rain. While I waited I tried to think of why I wanted Robbie so bad. Sure I was team Puck and all, but I never liked him like that before. It's only when I see him that I get all worked up and just want to touch him. Maybe I could ask mom?

Contemplating these new feelings in life and watching cars pull in and out of the parking lot. Finally, her blue station wagon turned the corner and pulled to a stop in front of me. The front seat was filled with grocery bags and newspapers, so I slid into the back.

"Meg, you're sopping wet," cried my mother, watching me from the rearview mirror. "Don't sit on the upholstery—get a towel or something. Didn't you bring an umbrella?"

I grabbed a newspaper off the floor to put on the seat. The last thing I wanted was to deal with all this Ethan drama right now. Too many painful memories…

We drove in silence. Neither one of us was going to break the elephant in the room at this point. "Ask about the permit." Meghan spoke through my head. I would have told her to shut up but I needed to get us talking. "Mom, we're going to get a permit this weekend right?"

"Oh, Meg." Mom sighed. "I don't know. I've got a lot of work this week, and your father wants me to help him fix the barn. Maybe next week." She sank deeper into her seat, not making eye contact. Mom sighed again and looked back at me in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and ringed with smeared mascara.

"What happened?" I asked, hopping we could just leave it.

She hesitated. "There was a…accident at home," she began, "Your father had to take Ethan to the hospital this afternoon." She paused again, blinking rapidly, and took a short breath. "Beau attacked him." She was just about to burst into tears.

I let Meghan speak though me and followed her feelings, knowing she had to find out more. I couldn't blame her. I would do the same thing if Riley was attacked. "What? Is Ethan all right?" I demanded, feeling my stomach twist in fear.

"Yes." Mom gave me a tired smile. "Very shaken up, but nothing serious, thank God."

"What happened? Why did Beau go crazy like that?" My eyes were burning and all I wanted was to get home to Ethan and make sure he is really okay, to make sure those monsters don't touch him.

Mom shook her head. "I don't know. Luke saw Beau run up the stairs, then heard Ethan screaming. When he got to his room, he found the dog dragging Ethan across the floor. His face was badly scratched, and there were bite marks on his arm."

My blood ran cold. I saw Ethan being mauled, imagined his absolute terror when our previously trustworthy shepherd turned on him. It was so hard to believe, like something out of a horror movie. I knew Mom was just as stunned as I was; she'd trusted Beau completely. Meghan also had trusted him.

Still, she was holding back, I could tell by the way she pressed her lips together. There was something she wasn't telling me, and I was afraid I knew what it was.

"What will happen to Beau?" Meghan's feelings were a tad over whelming. They were stronger than my feelings for Robbie.

Her eyes filled with tears, and my heart sank. "We can't have a dangerous dog running around, Meg," she said, and I heard the plea for understanding. "If Ethan asks, tell him that we found Beau another home." She took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly, not looking at me. "It's for the safety of the family, Meghan. Don't blame your father. But, after Luke brought Ethan home, he took Beau to the pound."