It made sense that mother could open the doors. How else did my sisters get out?

The solution had been low tech, tearing open the access panel and ripping out the wires, but it worked. Too well.

She browbeat me now, breathing heavily as steaming saliva dribbled from her distended jaw. Sarah and Rebecca, in the meantime, cowered in terror, making noises like frightened hamsters in a room full of cats.

I noticed, with some annoyance, that Rebecca had picked up her doll from the floor, and now one fist clamped white knuckled around the doll's body. It might as well be surgically attached to her arm.

Waving the young humans backwards, I snatched Sarah's card from the key slot, securing it to my tail.

Mom looked suspicious, but probably figured the key wasn't as useful as ripping open door panels, so her temper remained even.

"Mom," I said with a twinge of guilt. "Before we go any further, I just want to let you know one thing. No matter what happens, no matter what we do to each other, I still love you, and I always will."

She purred with affection, beaming at me.

Swallowing, I continued. "That being said, I'm not going to let you hurt my friends."

Pull pin.

Aim nozzle.

Squeeze metal beak.

Mom shrieked as a gray-white cloud of foam blasted her in the face.

Knowing it wouldn't blind her senses for long, I raised the canister, smashing it against her head.

She staggered sideways, thudding against the doorway.

"Follow me!" I yelled to the girls as I bolted between mom's legs.

Both my young friends, although at the point of hysterics, but they understood the stakes, darting through the awkwardly bent Ss'sik'chtokiwij limbs as fast as they could.

Not fast enough.

Before Rebecca could get all the way out, mom grabbed her shoe and wouldn't let go. The girl still clutched her doll in one fist, which didn't help her get free any faster.

At the same time, the spiny Sanchirck, and my other sisters Ahxalybij and Sydjea galloped in front of me, hungrily eying my friends.

"Rebecca, honey..." I kept my tones quick, but soothing. "This is going to burn for a moment, but then you'll be fine. Be brave for me, okay?"

Tears rolled down her cheek as she nodded.

I projectile spat a glob on her shoe, causing her to cry out in pain.

Shushing her, I yanked her foot free from mom's grip, then blasted each of my sisters with the extinguisher, hitting as many black domes as I could reach.

"Hurry!" I shouted, tugging the girls onward. "Run!"

By this time, the slime had either dried on my claws, or rubbed off on the fire extinguisher, so I didn't burn anyone.

We broke free from the herd, sprinting to the exit at the end of the passage.

The girls stopped, staring at the metal sliding door with anxious anticipation.

I raised my tail, removing the key card, and at the worst possible moment, Kiarsshkoy tackled me to the frame, and the card went skittering across the floor.

The fire extinguisher, of course, rolled away from me.

Hissandra's claw snatched up the lanyard lightning quick, idly spinning it around a finger claw.

Rebecca and Sarah, paralyzed in fear, only crouched in a ball, watching helplessly as black fists bashed my face.

"I told you I'm sick!" I shouted.

Kiarsshkoy only spat on my dome and hit me in the mouth.

Mom straightened up and rubbed her head, leading Ahxalybij and Sydjea to the `kids meal.'

Kiarsshkoy jabbed a claw into my brain tissue, and suddenly I became a seagull, soaring high above the ocean, doing spectacular feats of aerial acrobatics.

I spotted my flock gathered at the side of the ocean, diving at them at breathtaking speed, causing them to scatter.

My father, also a seagull, got upset, and they held a tribunal to condemn my irresponsible acts. They said I should use my wings to catch fish, not fly around in such a reckless manner.

Then they beat me.

The seagull that beat me had black feathers and dreadlock tentacles.

A pair of baby seagulls squawked in dismay, their voices sounding like Rebecca and Sarah.