Disclaimer: You know the drill. :P


[Chapter 8]
Some time later, Dotty gained control of herself. She straightened up, surprised to see how dark it was. Wiping her eyes, she sort of collected herself and started home.

She had plans to make.

Dotty understood now. It was as though her breakdown had washed all the fear and confusion from her, leaving nothing but a determined resolve.

If no one else was going to confront Ree, she would have to.

But maybe she wasn't completely alone. It had only been a little over two days since she had moved in; with all this drama, Dotty had forgotten to meet her fellow villagers.

There has to be at least one out there who will help me, Dotty thought, revitalized.

She unfolded a square of paper - her map - from her pocket and scanned it for names. A house labeled 'Whitney' was by far the closest.

Dotty wheeled around and headed to the spot on the map, determination fueling her movements.


A door swung silently open, and a beautiful white wolf poked her head out.

"What?" she looked around, then down at Dotty. "Oh. Hello."

"Hi, my name's Dotty. I moved in a couple days ago."

"I'm Whitney. What do you want?"

"How long have you lived here?"

"Couple years. What a weird question."

"So, you were here when Ree moved in? What do you know about her?"

To her surprise, Whitney threw the door open wider and pulled Dotty in. "What are you doing?" Whitney hissed, locking the door securely. "You can't just go around asking questions like that! You've obviously met her, you've seen what she's like! Do you have some sort of a death wish?"

"No, I want to do something about her," Dotty said, hands on hips.

"Obviously, there's nothing that can be done about her!" Whitney retorted, still whispering.

Dotty crossed her arms. "Of course there can! It's just not right, she has no right to go around freezing people-"

Whitney's face paled under her fur. "She froze you? Oh, no. Oh, no no no no!"

The white wolf's tone made Dotty pause. "What?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm really sorry you moved here, Dotty," Whitney said sorrowfully, herding the small rabbit outside the door.

"...wait, what? Wait, Whitney, I need your help, I'm going to take her down... WHITNEY!" she yelled in vain. Whitney closed the door in Dotty's face, locking it tightly with a sharp click.


Dotty paced in front of her mailbox. It was 8:59 am, and she was waiting for Pete.

When is that lazy mailbird finally going to get here? she growled.

Two impatient, frustrating days had passed without a reply from Tiffany. No one around town seemed willing to do anything about Ree, and Dotty was at a standstill.

"Finally!" she burst out when the pelican landed in front of her. Pete, looking ruffled, shot her a dirty look along with a letter, then took off.

Dotty eagerly ripped open the pale pink envelope inscribed with Tiffany's curly handwriting.

"Dear Dotty,
Hey girl! I'm glad you're doing great!
I'm fine myself.

About that other thing, it sounds like
a seeder. But don't worry, li'l sis. It's
probably some kid just trying to scare
you with stories.

Chill out! -the fab Tiffany"

Dotty scanned the lacy paper over and over, one word echoing hollowly in her mind.

Seeder.