Bill stared sorrowfully at the new recruits.

His eyes lingered on Killian in particular. He looked to his right, William was focused on something else, probably still trying to calm himself down. A twinge of guilt passed through the German Shepherd for bringing Killian into this predicament. He and Will both knew what they were doing when they brought Killian and that girl to this place. They had no ideas of the horrors that would face them.

"Bill." A nose prodded his side. "Bill, wake up."

He looked up to see his twin brother William looking at him with concern in his eyes. It was no mystery why, glancing back at his body, he could tell how alarmingly thin he looked. The two weren't faring well on the streets at all. Just yesterday, Will had eaten a rancid piece of meat, out of starvation. It caused him to later violently throw up. They were both starving, cold and miserable. Bill longed for things to go back to the way they were before they found themselves on the streets, he almost wished that they hadn't run away in the first place. Almost. If they hadn't run away, they would've been split up by their owners. Even their mother was okay with them running away, only making them promise to always look after each other.

Will finally spoke again. "I think it would be a good idea to check a few alleys behind some restaurants, there could be something in the dumpsters back there." He paused and glanced at his brother's body again, brow furrowing. "Do you think you'll be able to come?"

Bill wanted to say no, he honestly did. His body felt too weak to even move. And if somehow it did manage to move, he felt like it would make him vomit for no real good reason. Just before he could say no however, the promise he made to their mother popped up in his mind. "...just promise me that no matter what, you two will always look out for each other..." He couldn't let his brother go by himself.

And so he stood up weakly, his legs shaking slightly. He shook himself off and turned to his brother, "Let's go."

As they walked, Bill couldn't help, but note how scraggy both of them looked. He, in particular, probably looked like a skeleton covered in patches of fur. Memories of the dog food that once overflowed their bowls flashed in his mind. When a day of playing around with each other and their owners came to an end, the two would race to get a goodnight kiss from their mother and then snuggle side by side in the bed that they shared. Will's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Alright here we are, you go check those over there." He gestured his head towards a group of bins. "I'll check those over there."

Bill nodded and with that his brother went to work.

As he sniffed the trash cans, trying to pick out anything that smelled edible, his mind drifted once more. He remembered a certain white, patchy terrier and how much fun the dog was. Killian was a stray, but their owners never stopped them from playing with the dog. He would often come by with his mother and the three, his brother included, would play together the entire day, whining to their mothers for a little more time, when the day inevitably came to an end.

He missed Killian. He remembered grinning when the dog's eyes went wide at being served a full bowl of dog food, something that he now knew was a big deal when you were out on the streets.

"Bill?"

For a moment he thought he was insane.

"Will?"

He'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Raising his head slowly he spotted none other than Killian, standing a few feet away with a wagging tail and a curious smile.

"Killian!" Will exclaimed before he could even open his mouth.

As the three jumped and ran around each other playfully, Bill smiled a real smile. For the first time in a long time he was happy. In that instant he wasn't a starving stray out on the streets, he was a happy puppy, mindlessly playing with his brother and their best friend. It was the past all over again.

Once the three finally calmed down, Killian spoke up. "What are ya' guys doing out here? I thought ya' left town or something."

They both took turns quickly explaining to Killian why they had run away.

When they finished, Killian took a deep breath. "You guys don't look like you're doing too good." His eyes lingered on Bill for a while. "You know I've been out here by myself for a while."

Bill turned his head sideways confused. "What do you mean? Where's your mother?"

Killian shrugged. "I don't know. I just woke up one morning, and she was gone."

The two brothers were now eyeing their friend with pity. Silence filled the air for a few moments. Will was the one to break it, "Well me and Bill were just looking for some food, wanna' help?"

Bill watched as Killian gave them his signature, toothy smile and turned to a trashcan. In one quick motion he knocked it down, quickly bending to sniff the contents within. After only a few seconds he stood back up straight, with a pork bone. A decent amount of meat still clung to the bone. He threw it towards the two brothers, who each took half.

When the bone itself was eaten, Will turned his head sideaways as if he were thinking. Finally, he looked to Killian and said, "You sure know a lot about the street life."

The patchy terrier offered another shrug. "My mother showed me how to survive."

Will stood up, straightening himself as he spoke. "Come with us." Killian looked at Will, his head now also turned sideaways. "You're our friend and, we could use a lot of help out here. What do you say?"

Killian had the widest smile on his face as he replied. "Of course."

Bill stood up and the three of them set off together.

"Bill? Bill!"

He turned his head to see his brother looking at him with annoyance in his eyes. "Quit day dreaming, we got a job to do." Will walked away from him without saying another word.

Bill shook his head hard and quickly walked to catch up with his brother.

While he walked, he muttered, too quiet for anyone, but himself to hear. "Wasn't my choice to bring them here."