Ugh! I'm gonna criticize myself here. For one, I hate that my 30,000 word fanfics are taking place over the course of only 2-3 days. I try not to miss details, but hopefully in the future I can find a way to stretch it out without missing any details. Also, I thought it would be appropriate to change this to "suspense", or "hurt/comfort", but I really don't know so I'm gonna change it back to drama. I hope you all are finding this story interesting, because I'm really getting into it. When I'm having fun with my story, it's hard to get me to stop! Wonder what the anti-DAVE veterinarian has done? This chapter is about what happened with the pets at home while the family was out, and also we learn a little bit about Cecil. Let's begin!

X: They Walk With Fire

Mittens, Isabel, and Rex were alone at the house now. They could hear the rain outside drenching the roof as well as an occasional rumble of thunder. The clock said 7:00 now, they had gone a full two hours without saying a word to one another. The expressions on their faces said it all; they were absolutely stunned and struck speechless with the news of what Bolt had done, and disturbed what side effects had taken place so quickly within him over the last ten hours. Isabel simply lounged on the couch, thinking about Bolt. What if they couldn't revive him? What if he had to be given a lethal injection? The thoughts were overwhelming and caused her to break down and cry. Mittens and Rex approached and sat beside her. Mittens tried to cheer her up. Rex tried to ignore it as he, like Cecil, hated seeing people cry. The TV was tuned in to the news, and an analyst was covering a newly-formed riot outside of Denver, but the trio of animals on the couch ignored it completely. "Izzy, cheer up. I'm sure Bolt is fine." Mittens encouraged. "But... you don't understand! Bolt--"

"I know what Bolt has done! It's horrible, but I'm sure his depression will subside. Some people just react this way to guilt." Isabel did not answer, and though Mittens had good intentions, deep down she knew that she didn't mean what she was saying. She knew that every word she was saying was simply to cheer up Isabel, for she knew that Bolt was troubled. The side effects of DAVE had not only magnified his guilt, but were slowly killing him inside. Mittens hesitated and sighed, then a lot more glumly added, "Izzy... if he lasts the night... we need to make tomorrow special for him. He'd do the same for us." Isabel sniffled and responded, "...I think that's a wonderful idea. Tomorrow could be his last day on Earth, I wouldn't want him to just suffer all day." Rex had been quiet all day and announced, "I wish I could join you guys, but Mom is probably worried sick about me. I have to go back. I send my best wishes to you guys and Bolt tonight. But... Mittens... would you...?" Rex hesitated. "Would I...?" Mittens restarted for him. Rex's nerves were getting the best of him and he was quivering, afraid to pop the question. Eventually, he drew a ragged breath and finally asked, "Would you be my... girlfriend?" Mittens was flattered and smiled at him, "Rex. I really like you. I think you're a nice guy, but you... just aren't my type." Rex was disappointed, even downright frustrated now, "What? Are you a cat-only cat? I'm not a dog-only dog... at least not around you I'm not!" Mittens felt a little bad now, "No, Rex! It's just... I always dreamed of my man being... a hero. Some dog or cat with the ability to put his life on the line and the ability to face his fear no matter how much his heart tells him to turn back. Someone with the ability to, no matter what, do what he knows is right." Rex sighed, knowing that he was no hero and had never done anything like that in his life, "Well, Mittens. I'm sorry to disappoint you..."

"I'm sorry, Rex..." Rex sorrowfully trotted for the doggy door in the kitchen and walked out into the rain, alone. Mittens looked on, now a little bit sorry about what she said. Isabel and Mittens sat on the couch for another twenty minutes until Rex suddenly ran back into the house, soaking wet and in a panic. "Help!! Guys, help!!" Mittens and Isabel immediately stood up to see a terrified Rex, "What?! What is it?!" Rex panted heavily as he spoke. "There's... a protest... coming this way! ...They walk with fire... in their hands... and they have... signs..."

"What?!" Mittens cried, flabbergasted. She eyed the TV, and indeed there was a riot being shown on the news. They carried torches in their hands, some unlit due to the storm, and many of them held laminated signs to prevent the ink on them from washing away. A male analyst with a deep voice was covering the story, "The riot has now come to Williamson Blvd. outside of Denver, where just down the road is believed to be the test subject for DAVE. Now, these rioters claim they do not mean any harm to the animal or their owners, but simply want the drug removed by an animal hospital." Mittens ran to the window, Isabel alongside, and looked down the street the right to see a large group of people running toward the house. "Rex! What happened?!" Mittens asked in a panic. "I don't know! But they say a veterinarian told them about it! They say he came to treat Bolt for a side effect to a tranquilizer. That's all I heard." Mittens immediately sprinted away toward the stairs and gestured Rex and Isabel to follow. They followed Mittens up two flights of stairs into the attic, where she climbed over several boxes to find a small window, through which she watched the riot unfold outside. Isabel and Rex struggled over the boxes and eventually met up with Mittens. The protesters gathered on the street in front of the house and began to chant as they paced back and forth, "Down with DAVE!"

***

Rhino and Cecil had not talked much with each other throughout the day. For the most part, they had kept their distance from each other. Rhino finally figured a way to earn Cecil's trust. If he could befriend Cecil, maybe he'd finally admit how Rhino's parents died. It was perfect, it had to work. Rhino scurried to the top story of the hamster cage to find Cecil with his back to Rhino, quietly sobbing to himself. Rhino approached slowly and quietly, but his foot landed on a seed, which created a loud crunch. Cecil turned around abruptly and fled the hamster bed he had been sitting on. He ran to the bottom floor and hid in a different cardboard box. Rhino, concerned, ran after him. Rhino looked at Cecil in the box. Cecil again had his back turned to Rhino. "Rhino... go away! Please!"

"What's wrong?"

"None of your business, you damned little rodent!" Cecil's voice was loud and full of anger. Rhino quietly moved closer to him. "Of course, that's your motive to move closer to me. What's it gonna take to get you away from here!?" After Cecil finished, they both overheard Peggy pacing back and forth, looking for Rex. "Where did that little rascal get to now? Guess I'm gonna have to go out and look for him." In a flash, Peggy put on a pink raincoat and made her way out the door into the rain. Cecil chuckled a little, "Peggy just can't keep up with the little guy." Cecil wasn't quite crying anymore, but Rhino sought to find out why he had been, "Cecil, what was that? What happened?" Cecil inhaled deeply and sighed, "I guess I have no choice here, don't I? You ain't gonna let me go till I tell you or kill you, and I don't have the balls, the mind, or the nerve to kill you." Cecil turned around and faced Rhino, his face held no expression. "I'm just alone, Rhino. I don't trust anyone because everyone else is ugly to me. Everyone says I'm wrong, well I tell ya, I think everyone else is wrong!" Rhino approached Cecil and sat beside him on the soft piece of cloth inside the cardboard box. "Why?"

"Why is that any of your business? The truth is I cannot trust anyone. Not after... it... happened."

"Again, what is 'it'?" Cecil looked down and thought for a moment, "The way your parents were killed, Rhino." Rhino wasn't at all taken aback by this. "So... my parents were murdered, weren't they?" Cecil hesitated and finally answered meekly, "Yes..."

"By who?" Cecil did not answer. "Cecil, you are giving me hint after hint. You're eventually gonna fess up, so why not do it now?" Cecil paused again. He opened his mouth to speak, but froze and stopped himself. He put his palms to his hands and shook his head from side to side, tears forming in his eyes again. "Rhino, you don't understand. I can't tell you, it'll break your heart and I can't stand to do that! I can't stand to see your reaction." He caught himself again and tried to restrain his sobs, "Look at me! I'm a wimp! That's why they exiled me in the first place."

"Exiled you? Who exiled you?" Rhino asked, a puzzled look on his face. "The tribe, Rhino. I lied. I told you the tribe was gone, but it was a scheme so you didn't see the truth. The truth is that the tribe settled down again in a different area. I still was a mentor for the young and confused, but eventually I fell into a depression that I didn't come out of until I... c-came out..." Rhino immediately looked at Cecil, shocked. "Came out? You? You're..."

"Yes, Rhino. I am probably the last hamster you'd expect, but I am gay. Two days after 'it' happened, everyone pointed the finger at the 'wuss' just because of who I am. I was deemed unfit to be a real man in the tribe and exiled. And look at me! I've only proven them right every waking day! I am a complete and utter failure! I can't even tell my own protégé how his family died! I can't even stand to see anyone show emotion because... I can't even handle my own anymore." Rhino listened intently and without interrupting. After Cecil had finished, there was a long pause, then Rhino broke the silence, "Well, Cecil... I'm not gonna judge you. You have a lot of guts to stand before me as a mentor and, without shame, degrade yourself like you just did. But, don't. Have some backbone! If you can tell me what you just did... you can--"

"Bolt killed your parents, Rhino." Cecil spoke immediately, interrupting Rhino, no expression in his voice on his face or which was still buried in his palms. Rhino's intention to motivate Cecil had completely vanished. In an instant, Rhino was speechless. "No. He couldn't have! Not Bolt!"

"Well, if it was a lie, why would I be saying it?" Cecil glanced knowingly at Rhino. "But... Bolt couldn't do something like that! It had to be an accident!"

"I dunno, you should go talk to him about it." Rhino again, as Cecil expected, began to cry softly. However, Cecil did not walk away. He sat there beside him silently for a moment, and for the first time since the depression he mentioned, he tried to comfort someone. "Hey there, it's okay." He sat beside Rhino and patted him on the back. "Let it all out, buddy. Let it all out."

***

Mittens, Isabel, and Rex watched from the attic window. "Do they even know that Mom and Dad aren't home?" Isabel asked, "I don't know, Izzy, but they obviously don't care." Just then, a Caravan pulled up to the house from the left and a crowd gathered around it. Inside the car, Penny, Emily, and Joe were caught off guard; they did not expect this. "I dunno what's happening here, but this protest is about to end." Joe picked up his walkie talkie and talked with his squad about the riot. "We have a riot breaking out on Williamson Blvd. I'm gonna need some help."

Emily and Penny did not exit the car, but simply waited for a the protest to clear. Bolt laid in Penny's lap, "Penny, what's happening?"

"There's a protest, Bolt. Joe is calling his squad, so don't worry." Bolt thought for a second and replied, "Penny, how am I gonna break it to Rhino?"

"Bolt, you're gonna have to. It may be the only thing you can do."

"But... he probably would want me dead anyway if I told him the truth. So, either way, I could die." Penny hugged Bolt tightly and encouraged him, "It's gonna be okay, buddy. It's gonna be okay."

The police showed up and began to try to break up the riot. They held riot shields and batons as they stormed through the crowd. After five long minutes, the crowd subsided and the family could exit the car. One cop walked up to the car and Emily lowered the passenger's side window, "Guys, the riot did get a little out of hand. We're sorry for all this. The damages are two broken windows and a flat tire. We will replace them for you guys."

"Thank you." Joe said. Behind the cop, a black lady with curly blond hair and dressed in a pink rain jacket approached the car, "Hey, I'm Rex's owner, Peggy. I was wondering if you guys had seen Rex today."

"Yes, I did! He's in the house I believe. We've been worried about our dog all day and didn't get a chance to return him, I'm sorry." Joe responded. "Oh, it's alright. I hope your dog is alright."

"He's a trooper, I'm sure he'll be alright." Joe stated confidently and with a smile. Joe, Emily, and Penny exited the Caravan and brought Bolt inside as Peggy took Rex, thanked the family, and left. Penny placed Bolt on his bed and pet him on the head, examining his stitched-up wound. She thought about the side effects and the way his vigor had so quickly diminished. She couldn't believe that it could end this way. She leaned in and hugged him, "Yeah... you'll always be my good boy, Bolt." Bolt responded with a half-hearted smile; it was all he could manage at this point. "Bolt... I wanted to ask you. Was it an accident?" Bolt inhaled deeply and finally answered weakly, "Was what an accident?"

"You said you killed Rhino's parents on the set. Was it an accident? I was never told about it..." Penny finally stopped hugging Bolt. Bolt looked around in thought and responded, "I... I don't even remember it. I sure hope not, though." Penny sighed and scratched Bolt on the head again, "You think you'll be okay? I could take off school tomorrow if you want me to." Bolt thought long and hard, and finally closed his eyes and answered, "Go ahead and take off school... because I don't know."