Over the Hedge: Second Generation

by starwars4life

Set 15 years after Midsummer Crises. The kids and young adult hedgies are now grown adults and must continue to carry out what their parents have taught them about heists, fun, friendship, love, and family. But will the problems they now encounter as parents and mates make the hedge family grow stronger and larger, or break apart and get smaller?

12. Re-Evaluations

Chapter 12: Re-Evaluations

At a general hospital, yesterday's animal attack victims have had a good night's sleep and the ones with minor injuries are being told by their doctors what to do before going home.

A female doctor named Cynthia tells Jake and Harriet, "The shot we gave him yesterday afternoon will make you get better faster, but will wear off by tomorrow. So it's important that you have him take these antibiotics twice a day for the next five to seven days." The doctor then gives them to Harriet.

Harriet: "What're the side effects?"

Doctor Cynthia: "These are rare, but they include inflamed or torn tendons, muscle pain or weakness, joint pain or swelling, difficulty walking, feeling pins and needles, burning pain, tiredness, depression, problems with memory, sleeping, vision and hearing, and altered taste and smell."

Jake (nervously): "I don't like the sound of that..."

Doctor Cynthia: "Like I said, it barely ever happens. I've been an orthopedic specialist for 20 years after graduating college, and can count on one hand how many patients suffered those side effects. You'll be just fine."

Jake (nervously): "But there's still a chance it could happen..."

Harriet: "Jake, this is a doctor. She knows what she's talking about."

Doctor Cynthia: "How I see it, you'll be the most popular kid at school once the story of your wolf bite spreads."

Jake finally relaxes and decides he likes this doctor as the teen muses, "I've never been the talk of the town at school. I'll finally be a bigshot for the first time in my life!"

Harriet: "I also bet a lot of girls will think you're strong for surviving a wolf attack."

Doctor Cynthia: "Just don't go showing your scars in public. You'd have to drop your pants so others can see your hip; and last time I checked, middle school is not the best place you want to do that."

Jake thinking: "Now I really like this doctor. She's speaking my language." (Out loud) "You're totally right."

Doctor Cynthia: "That's all I have to say. You take of yourselves, and have a nice day."

Jake and Harriet in unison: "You too."

The doctor walks over and opens the door to leave the examination room, and waiting just beyond it is a police officer.

Doctor Cynthia: "Hello officer. How can I help you?"

Officer: "The name's Officer Pavlov. These patients were attacked by a wolf too, da?"

Doctor Cynthia: "Yes, but might I ask why you want to talk to them?"

As she spoke just now, she turned her body sideways to aim her arm at the mother and son, which allows Jake to immediately recognize who the officer is.

Jake: "Hey! You're the cop who saved me from the wolf!"

Harriet: "Oh, you're right! Doctor, we'd be more than happy to see what he wants."

Doctor Cynthia: "Then because you, the patient's guardian, fully consent, I will allow it."

Pavlov: "I do want to chat with you two, but there are others I have already spoken to who, like your son and I, were attacked by intelligent wolves and animals yesterday. We are all meeting in an ICU room where an elderly woman suffered a wolf attack too. They have already consented for me to meet with them while the woman is fully conscious."

Harriet: "Alright, let's go."

Pavlov: "Mind coming with us, Doctor Cynthia? We might need your input."

Doctor Cynthia: "If this is an interrogation, you need a warrant."

Pavlov: "First, I know the law very well. And secondly, it's not an interrogation. I just wanted to get all of your opinions on a strange coincidence I noticed."

Doctor Cynthia: "Very well."

The four leave the patient room and follow Pavlov in his crutches to the hospital's ICU wing. He leads them to a room that he knocks the door of and says, "It's Pavlov. I found the last two."

The door opens and inside the crowded space are four African Americans who introduce themselves at Charles, Janerica, Devon, and Kiara Matisse; a Hispanic/Latino man named Sergio; a Caucasian 19-year-old named Lyle; and two Iranians named Yadir and Hassan.

Pavlov: "The woman in the bed is Manjula, and this is her granddaughter..."

Sacchi: "Sacchi."

Pavlov: "Isn't it strange that these 10 patients, including myself, were admitted here yesterday for wolf and animal attacks?"

Everyone nods, and Doctor Cynthia's eyes widen as she exposits, "Yeah, I saw it on the news. I've seen more simultaneous victims of animal attacks over the past 24 hours than I have in the past year."

Charles: "Really?"

Doctor Cynthia: "Correct."

Pavlov: "And I saw first-hand how intelligent these wolves were. One of them had obtained a K9 unit's vest that held weapons it used to flatten my cruiser's tires. A different one used your son as a hostage, Harriet."

Sergio: "Another actually held a gun and shot me in the shoulder." (Shows the others the spot of his now bandaged gun wound)

Janerica: "We was on our way to Chuck E. Cheese when this wolf caused us to crash into another car and more pile-ups among several intersections."

Yadir: "The pharmacy where my cousin-in-law and I work was raided by various animals intelligent enough to use weapons."

Manjula: "And I was mauled by a wolf with a scar on its eye when I tried to fight it off at a park."

Pavlov: "I'm glad you mentioned that, Mrs. Manjula, because when I woke up this morning, I heard over my police radio that the particular wolf escaped from animal control headquarters last night with the help of other intelligent animals."

Kiara: "Animals can't be that smart."

Pavlov: "I used to think the same thing about 10 hours ago, but now..."

Harriet: "Where are you going with this, officer?"

Pavlov: "I sense something...wrong about these animal attacks. Like they are too professional to be done by the animals alone."

Doctor Cynthia: "Are you saying those were trained animals yesterday?"

Pavlov: "Maybe..."

Doctor Cynthia: "No offense, officer, but that's absurd."

Sergio: "No, that perfectly explains why a wolf would know how to wield and shoot a gun." (Looks at Doctor Cynthia) "Do you not find that a bit out the ordinary, Doctor. A wolf. Shooting. A. Gun? There's no way a wild animal can learn that on its own."

Hassan: "I agree. The animals in my pharmacy were too coordinated, too armed, and too familiar with our security system. Someone had to have trained them."

Charles: "Now that I think about it, the wolf that caused our own and many others' cars to crash reminded of a scene from the fourth Die Hard movie where the main villains were cyber terrorists. They messed with traffic lights to cause motorists to crash into each other, all for the sake of creating chaos to distract public attention from their master plan."

Harriet: "And the wolf who held Jake hostage—which again, how do animal's learn that on their own?—communicated with officer Pavlov."

Pavlov: "By nonverbally indicating for me and the other citizens to make a path for her, and for me to toss my gun away, or else it would kill Jake."

Sacchi: "And Daadee Ma," (Points at Manjula) "said the wolf who attacked her did so out of revenge."

Manjula: "It also knew to go for my weapons before subduing me."

Lyle: "Which is something Pavlov told me police dogs are trained to do."

Pavlov: "Which is why I am going to say what is now on our minds: someone has taken in several wild animals and has trained them to attack a population center to cause chaos and disruption. For what purpose, I cannot say, but if someone of my caliber believes in this theory, then it means something."

Being a science/medical major with 13 years of post-high school education, Doctor Cynthia considers herself a woman of logic and reason, not speculation. She has always had a negative opinion of conspiracy theorists as a bunch of paranoid schizophrenics with a bunch of circumstantial facts, but no hard evidence to support their claims. When this conversation about a coordinated attack using trained wild animals started, she immediately labeled the initial speakers as looney-bin conspiracy theorists. But the more she heard from each person, coupled with their injuries and the news stations to support their claims, the impossible has happened.

Doctor Cynthia now believes these people are telling the truth. It all adds up, and it cannot be a coincidence. The doctor asks, "Who do you think is responsible?"

Pavlov: "A friend of mine works in Animal Control named Bethany. I called her on the phone today once I saw on the news what happened at Animal Control HQ. She said there was this Verm-Tech person who acted very odd with the drones they were using to track down the wolves. He was overly-pushy about wanting Verm-Tech to take the wolf that was tranquilized, and yanked a drone controller her co-worker was using because it was a gift from his girlfriend. Bethany also said this Verm-Tech guy acted like he knew everything about these animals."

Sergio: "Okay, now you are being silly. You think Verm-Tech is responsible?"

Pavlov: "I'm not saying that, but I am saying something about that Verm-Tech guy, as Bethany described him to me, seems suspicious."

Jake: "I'm with Mr. Sergio. It's Verm-Tech's job to stop animal attacks, not cause them."

Sergio: "And one of my good friends works at Verm-Tech, and he saved me yesterday."

Lyle: "There used to be a raccoon family living in my family's attic that outsmarted or chased off all of our, and even animal control's, attempts to make them leave. My parents then called Verm-Tech and a Verminator did in five minutes what we couldn't accomplish in five days. She saved us from losing our house because we were unable to pay for a total roof repair. When we told the Verminator that we were already in debt, she told us her services was free of charge, and even recommended we see the financial advisor she uses to help us with our problems. That saved us from going bankrupt."

Lyle doesn't mention it in front of the others, but his family's financial troubles was the main reason he started doing and selling weed—to help deal with his constant stress and make some extra money on the side to help out his parents.

Pavlov answers everyone's praises of Verm-Tech with, "That's exactly why I'm so reluctant to believe Verm-Tech's involvement. But when you've spent your whole life trying to become a police officer, you learn to consider all possibilities—the good and the bad.

"And it's not Verm-Tech itself that I'm suspicious of, it's just that one guy Bethany told me about. Because she also said there were other Verm-Techers at Hassan's and Yadir's pharmacy that acted just as surprised with the animals' intelligence and resourcefulness as any person would. But the one guy with her, did not. Tell me if anything I have said doesn't sound suspicious."

No one speaks, and Pavlov doesn't gloat. Instead, Yadir changes the subject by asking, "So what do you want us to do, Officer Pavlov? We're not police, and can't do our own detective work without a proper license."

Pavlov: "Of course not. That is my job. What I do need is to have everyone's contact information so that if there is any unlawful activity from these specific animal attacks—no matter who is responsible—I can count on you all as witnesses who can provide evidence when needed. It is up to you. If no one wants to have this responsibility, you don't have to. All I want is for whoever did this to pay the price for the laws they have broken."

Charles: "And for our hospital bills."

Pavlov (chuckles): "Yes, save your receipts. You will have the option of damage compensation."

Lyle: "I'm in."

Harriet: "So am I."

Jake: "Same here."

Janerica: "You can count of us four." (Motions at her family)

Sergio: "Yes for me."

Yadir: "Me too."

Hassan: "And me."

Manjula: "My granddaughter and I will be more than happy to cooperate."

Sacchi: "Absolutely."

Doctor Cynthia: "And I won't allow any of you to leave this building without your receipts. That's about all I can do to help."

Others in unison: "Thanks."

Pavlov: "Then that is all. Thank you and have a blessed day."

Everyone except Manjula and Sacchi file out of the room. But there is a Judas among these 12—Sergio—who, upon entering the privacy of his car, dials his friend Dilbert.

After answering, Sergio says, "Hey Dill. Remember that animal attack yesterday in town? There are some things I think you should know..."

---

Meanwhile, in a small and hidden natural grotto, Poe the raven has been restrained by metal chains whose stakes had been drilled into the rock wall. In addition to the tight screws that have been drilled, the chains are held vise-tight by being connected to metal nuts that have been tightened using a rachet/torque wrench. His feet are immobilized by fitting them inside a slide lock (minus the slide part) drilled to the rocks. Only his wings are not restrained, but for a good reason.

Poe himself has no idea of the specific devices being used to restrain him, since he had been brought in here with a ziploc bag spray-painted black and tied around his head using a rope. This not only disorients the bird, but makes breathing a chore, and the risk of suffocating high—all of which is intentional by his interrogator.

Elroy: "Before we begin, let me first say I'm surprised that a bird of your lifestyle barely has any battle scars on your body. It's most likely from your super strength and resilience, eh?"

Poe remains silent either to make Elroy's interrogation difficult, or to focus on breathing. It had been a rhetorical question anyway, as Elory next says, "Normally, I would inform you of Interrogation Rule 101 as the person being interrogated is to never say anything to anger or tease the interrogator. If I get mad, it'll only make things worse for you, especially if I think you're lying." (1) "But I'm already mad at you for attacking my family, so you're on hair-thin ice."

"Also keep in mind that you are living on a very strict time limit with that bag slowly suffocating you. That means the more time you spend on delaying an answer, or getting all smart-aleck on me, the shorter you have to live. Because I need you alive to answer all my questions, I'll be nice and let you conserve air when answering. From here on out, flap your right wing for 'yes' and your left wing for 'no.' Do you understand everything I have told you?"

Poe flaps his right wing, so Elroy says, "Good. Now, let's get started. In regards to you and your fellow ravens' attack on my family today, flap your right wing if y'all did that because you are the paisanos of the Bush-Whacker Wolf Pack, or flap your left wing if y'all did it did of your own free will."

Poe flaps his right wing.

Elory: "Is there any personal reason you attacked my family today. Right wing for yes, left wing for no."

Poe flaps his right wing.

Elroy: "Hmph, looks like I'll need to remove your hood sooner than I expected...But if you value your wings, you'll keep them perfectly still. Two more of my family members are in here with me, and have water guns filled with sulfuric acid aiming at you. They will shoot even if the wind from outside makes your feathers move, got it?"

Poe flaps his right wing for yes, and has no choice but to not try to hit Elroy with his wings as the opossum unwraps the rope around the bird's neck and then lifts the bag off his head. The raven gasps for air, but his lungs still feel strained from the tight chains around his chest, meaning the absence of a bag isn't making breathing that much easier. Too busy catching his breath, Poe doesn't feel it when Elroy fastens a collar around his neck.

As Elroy had warned, there are two other animals keeping their acid-filled water guns trained on Poe; Roger and Ty. Poe also notices the torture devices Elroy has selected are screwdrivers, hammers, nails, power drills, and rachets.

Elroy: "So what did my family do to you and your family?"

Poe: "Do you remember an owl named Hunter? He was one of the Bone-Chomper Wolf Pack's paisanos—and my family's best friend."

Roger and Ty in unison: "Yep. We remember."

Roger: "Remember how easily he was defeated."

Ty: "And how he was killed by the Bone-Chompers for failing them."

Poe: "Hunter saved my life from an eagle. And he died before I could repay the debt. Do you have any idea how devastating that feels...? He was my best friend, and I never returned the appreciation he did for me...The Bone-Chompers may have done the deed, but they never would have if your family hadn't bested Hunter! So, by all intents and purposes, you killed him!"

Elroy: "Interesting story. Do the other predators, like those hawks, have similar personal reasons for hating my family?"

Poe: "The hawks are just the paisanos of the Bush-Whackers. If they do have a personal reason, I don't know and I don't care. I hate those bird-brained hawks who're always stealing the food I wanted because they're faster; how they've always mooching in my family's nests in the past; and whenever they lay their splatter-pellets on me from up high as a prank."

Elroy: "So you and your family hate the hawks, but still worked together today? Why is that?"

Poe: "We hate them, but we hate you even more."

Elroy: "Gotcha. Now let's talk about the other predators. Is there any particular one or few who is the ringleader, or do you all share authority?"

Poe: "May I ask one question?"

Elroy: "It better be a good one."

Poe: "Are you going to injure or kill me when we finish?"

Elroy: "If you make this interrogation hard, yes. If not, no. You'll just remain our POW, our bargaining chip if the other predators come after us. Now, answer my question. Who is in charge of the predators?"

Poe: "I guess the Bush-Whackers, but maybe the bears, or cougars. I'm not sure."

Elroy: "It's not good enough to say 'I'm not sure.' "

Elroy pulls out a remote and presses a button on it that makes the shock collar electrocute the raven—who miraculously moans, in pleasure.

Poe: "OOOOOOOHH YEAAAHHHH BAABYYYYY! That's the GOOD stuff that makes my world go 'round!"

Elroy stops the raven's electrocution and he, along with the raccoon twins, gives Poe a surprised look.

Poe: "Why'd you stop? Gimme some more!"

Elroy: "Are...?"

Roger: "You...?"

Ty: "A...?"

Elroy, Roger, and Ty in unison: "Masochist?"

Poe: "That's right. I don't just ignore pain, I enjoy it."

Elroy turns to Roger and says, "Shoot him in the wing."

Roger obeys and the sick, sizzling sound of burning, melting feathers and flesh fills the grotto.

Poe lets out a seething, "Uhhhhhh," indicating to the three mammals that his pain enjoyment has reached its limit and he's now being hurt for real. At least that's what it seems, until he blissfully says, "That's it. That's hitting the spot."

Elroy sighs and asks another question. "So when I hit you with acid when I captured you, you just pretended to be hurt?"

Poe: "Yep. Just like I've been playing nice-bird and answering your questions without hesitation. Now that you know I love pain, you have lost all leverage over me. You'll get nothing outta me from now on, because I'll just enjoy whatever you throw at me."

Ty: "I'm gonna melt off all the feathers of your other wing. If you can't fly, you'll be easy pickings for other predators to attack and eat."

Poe: "Thanks to your wolf friends blindly chasing off or killing all the other predators in these woods, me and my friends are the only predators left. I've already proven how strong I am and can fend off anything else, and best of all, my feathers will eventually grow back.

"So let me say this one more time, and try to get it through that thick, dumb, fur-brained head of yours, rabies-carrier: You're getting nothing more out of me."

Ty (worried): "Not good."

Roger (worried): "Wha'do we do now?"

Elroy (relaxed): "Easy." (Turns around to pick up a screwdriver then turns back to look at Poe) "We cut out his eyes." (2)

The raccoons and even Poe gasps.

Elroy: "There's nothing more important to a predator than his eyes. Only a few animals can fully function without using their eyes, and birds are not one of them. Like I said, I'm not going to kill you, but I will unmake you. Ruin you, forever. And even better, those soon-to-be-empty eye sockets will be perfect for squirting more acid, or playing with my drill and screwdrivers." (2)

Poe feels sweat trickle down the side of his head. He prided himself how he was sick, but this opossum is downright diabolical!

Elroy: "But first, let's put that ziploc bag you like so much back on your head."

While Elroy picks it up and walks back over to Poe, Roger and Ty raise their guns up again. Roger asks, "Then how will you know where his eyes are when you try to cut them out?"

Elroy (faces Roger): "I won't, and that's what I want. It'll be a big guessing game. I'll probably poke the wrong spots many times, before I find his eyes socket—if I find his eye socket." (Faces Poe) "But he said he can ignore and enjoy pain, so it'll feel good to you, won't it?"

Poe swats Elroy away once the possum is close enough, but Elroy gets right back up, gives three tongue clicks while shaking his head no, and then says, "Looks like I found your weakness, and you've been naughty toward me. Now, I'll need to make sure you're distracted while I put the bag back on." He turns to around to look at Roger and Ty and tells them, "Blowtorches."

The raccoon brothers drop their water guns and pick up blowtorches they had hidden behind themselves. They light them and the air, already fouled with the smell of acid-burnt feathers and skin, now stinks of propane. But none of the interrogation crew hesitates.

In fact, Ty decides to get in on the intimidation too by saying, "This Bernzomatic torch can reach 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit—that's over 1,100 degrees hotter than what it takes to melt steel."

Roger: "You may enjoy pain, but that doesn't mean your body isn't being severely damaged. Not to mention every creature has its limits, and these torches can last 45 minutes before needing a refuel."

Elroy: "All of this means you're about to have a really bad day. But you can save yourself by talking."

Poe: "O-okay. I'll tell you everything."

Elroy sneers as he says, "I know you will..." He then motions for Roger and Ty to step forward.

Poe instinctively tries to swat at them, but they approach him blowtorches-first. They're also far away enough so their devices aren't hit, but close enough so that their flames do hit Poe. He enjoys the pain for the first five seconds, then ignores it for the next 10 seconds. But after that, the intense heat proves too much."

Poe: "I really don't know who to consider our main leaders! AHHHH! But it's not me, or the hawks. We just do what the others say. GRRRRRAHHHH!"

Elroy holds up his fist and the raccoon brothers aim their torches away from the raven. Elroy is still walking toward Poe with the bag as he asks, "Where do you and your allies live?"

Poe: "That's gonna be a lot of stuff to say, and you'll have a tough time understanding if you put the bag on my head."

Elroy: "Then start talking while you can still breathe normally, because I won't be asking yes or no questions anymore, even when the bag goes back on."

Elroy's fist turns into a gun gesture that points at Poe, and Roger and Ty start the second round of blowtorching.

Poe (hurried and panicked tone): "My family and the hawks live in the forest five miles away from here. AHHHHH! The bears are from—EEEEAGHHH!—another state. The wolves're from the Bone-Chompers' former territory. CHEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ-USSSSSSSSSSS! The cougars come from the mountains. UGHHH!"

By now Elroy has put the Ziploc bag back on Poe's head, but Roger and Ty keep blowtorching so that the raven has to waste more oxygen.

Poe's rushed tone now is muffled, but still understandable as he continues. "The snakes are from where the creek empties into a lake far away. The bobcats and owls are from the—LLLLLLLLLUHHHHH!—abandoned shoe factory in the city! The foxes—OOOOOOO-WAHHHHH!—from the south of where these woods meet the wolves' territory. And the coyotes live in the hills up north!"

By now, Poe finds it too difficult to focus on anything but breathing, which has quickly become not so much a painful process as it is a losing battle for his life. The blowtorches cut off, and Elroy asks, "How do I know you're not lying?"

Poe: "Blast you, I'm telling the truth! I swear!"

Elroy says. "Relax, I believe you..." Poe sighs internally—until Elroy finishes with, "But I also don't make empty threats. Those eyes have got to go."

Poe takes labored breaths with every pause as he says, "What else. D'you. Want of. Me?!"

Elroy: "To make sure you can never harm anything ever again, but live on to suffer for the rest of your pathetic life."

Poe's eyes start closing involuntarily as the diminished oxygen flowing to his brain takes its toll. His body goes limp and he finally passes out from the pain and lack of oxygen. His last thoughts are that the last thing he ever saw before losing his eyes was nothing but blackness—the same thing that awaits him when he will wake back up.

Seeing that the raven is unconscious, Elroy takes the bag off Poe's head and checks the bird's pulse with his free paw.

Elroy: "Still alive."

Roger: "I really thought you were gonna remove his eyes, man."

Ty: "Well-played bluff."

Elroy: "I was only half-bluffing."

Roger: "You mean?"

Elroy: "Yes, I will. But only one eye for now."

Ty: "Because...?"

Elroy: "We need to save his other eye and threaten to cut it out too if we encounter the predators again. This raven is still our bargaining chip. Now, if you don't have the stomach to watch, you're both free to go."

Roger: "I'm leaving."

Ty: "I'm staying. Just in case he wakes back up."

Elroy: "Do as you like Ty. Just don't distract me. This is a very delicate procedure."

As Roger walks out, he muses, "Elroy's got a sick, twisted head. But at least he waited until Poe was unconscious to do the deed."

Note: (1)=Based on Metal Gear Solid. Copyright by Konami and Kojima Productions.

(2)=Based on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Copyright by Konami and Kojima Productions.

---

Poe isn't the only one suffering, as the hedgies who have been hurt from the predators' attacks are in pain as the uninjured ones are treating their injuries. They have remained in the same spot they defeated the hawks and ravens, guarded by the AR-15 and other weapons of the hedgies who had come back from their talks with Rebecca and Garrett. The latter have not yet returned or their kids, but text messages have been sent out to warn them. And they know those raccoons will definitely check their messages from now on.

Grace finishes bandaging up the unconscious Clara's back, then turns to the others to announce, "I'm out of supplies."

Luby: "Me too."

Bernard: "Likewise."

De'Ausha: "Same heah."

RJ: "Which means we need to raid some human homes to get more. The same goes for food, since we recover faster when well-fed."

Verne: "And I have the perfect person, or rather arachnid, to help us know our new enemies."

He raises his arm and what everyone initially assumes is a mildew mark turns out to be Fred the Wood Tick.

Fred: "H—!"

Hedgies in unison: "SHHH!"

Jeff: "Let the unconscious ones rest. They need it."

Lucile: "Learning about our enemies will have to wait until we're all awake to hear it. It's gonna take all of us to defeat them."

Velma: "Right now we need to think of a place to stay where the predators won't find us."

Caleb: "The woods be too dangerous. Dey can attack from anywhere at any time."

Houston: "And if they really do know us as well as they say, they know our scents, which means they will track us down no matter where we go. Especially if they have two bears and lots of wolves."

Scarlet: "Then where else can we go?"

Mary demonstrates once again how much more like her father she is despite her more opossum-like appearance. "The one place they'll never think to find us: in the human homes of the suburbs."

Everyone, including RJ, goes, "What?!"

Mary: "We've already agreed that nowhere in the woods is safe from them. But the houses of the Elysian Fields Estates are the last place they'll think of finding us, and the most likely location the predators will attract human attention if they do enter the EFE—as long as we aren't seen first. To prevent ourselves from being discovered, certain groups will have to stay in different houses, preferably basements or attics. I'm sure we can rig up things that can make those distasteful places comfortable."

Verne: "Need I remind you that Pierre and Dilbert live there, and are patrolling the suburbs regularly?"

Mary: "Yes, but I've thought it all through. Laying low in human houses will also be the last thing the Verminators will expect. The key is to do our best to conceal ourselves. The moment we give homeowners a reason to call Verm-Tech, it's over. But if we do everything in our power to stay under the radar, then no Verminators."

Aleshia: "And if the verminators sniff us out, as they're known to do?"

Mary: "Verm-Tech is already on thin ice, and there's nothing they fear more than the cops showing up from the complaints of neighbors who report Dilbert's pushiness to come hunt vermin that the homeowners don't believe are in their homes. And if he gets all gun-ho and breaks into a house to try and kills us, then he condemns himself."

RJ: "And because Dilbert is such a dedicated verminator, he'll go after any animal he lays his beady eyes on, including—" (Widens his eyes in wonder and slowly nods his head in appreciation of his daughter's brilliance) "I see..."

Mary: "Mm-hm. When—not if—the predators find us, they'll risk a run-in with Dilbert or his dad who will do anything for some glory to put Verm-Tech back in good graces with the public."

Bernard: "And because there are so many predators after us, Dilbert will be too busy dealing with them to worry about us."

Mary: "Let's hope those predators are that stupid for revenge. And if not, then our original plan of laying low and forcing Pierre to make a rash move will keep us safe from him, while other humans, fearful of the recent increase of wild predator animals, can call on someone else to handle those predators. Meanwhile, we have easy access to food and medical supplies to help us recover."

Heather, and RJ especially, are about to burst out crying in pride for how their daughter's brilliance has finally surpassed their own. To stop this from happening, the two rush over to Mary and hug her hard while burying their faces on her forehead and back neck.

Only Mary's triplet joeys voice their praise with, "Yay, mommy!", since the others are too speechless of Mary's ingenious idea to say anything.

Even Verne can't find any loophole in the female opossacoon's logic, and instead ponders, "I always feared the day Mary would become just as crazy as RJ...What was I ever thinking?" Out loud he asks, "All in favor say 'Aye'."

The ayes are unanimous, as expected. RJ and Heather let go of Mary and give her the space she needs. Verne then aims both hands at Mary in an open, welcome gesture and says, "Then Mary, tell us what to do and we'll follow you till the end."

Mary: "Thanks, Uncle Verne. First: those with minor injuries need to scout the 'burbs for suitable homes. Those without injuries will stay here to defend against the predators if they come back. Second: once homes are chosen—and they need to be ones without pets—we'll sneak in one group and house at a time. Third: we spend the first 24 hours listening in on the homeowners to learn their routines. Fourth: after that, we can raid from their food and first aid kits. We'll keep in touch using text messages on silent mode, because if we call and talk or use sound notifications, the humans might discover us. So, someone has to look at our phones at all times so no messages are missed."

After some claps and cheers, Mary gets serious when she says, "The hardest part will be moving our wounded into the homes without attracting any attention, which will be something we'll have no choice but to plan in the moment depending on the amount of human activity on the streets and yards. But whatever the case, it'll require a distraction."

Bernard also demonstrates his intellect he inherited from his parents by suggesting, "The best ones for that are Tiger and Sarl. They look like pets, and once were pets, so they won't cause any humans to call Verm-Tech."

RJ: "Atta boy, son!"

Heather: "High-four!"

Bernard hits RJ's paw with his right, and Heather's paw with his left.

Mary then asks, "Any questions or comments?" When none are offered, she smiles and says, "Now then, let's get started!"

---

Meanwhile, at a different section of the forest, the predators have reassembled and are about to discuss important matters of their own. Before that, they take the briefest of moments to mentally recall how they came to be and met each other.

First the bears. Edith had come from the Rocky Mountains—the same place where Vincent had been sent. When he arrived at the Rockies, Vincent discovered that the place was ruled by a bear kingdom in which many dukes served as extensions of a bear king's will and power. Since Vincent was half grizzly and half black bear, his status as a hybrid should have made him a slave. However, his strength, anger, and drive to be in full control of his own life made him lead a slave rebellion that overthrew the reigning king. Vincent then became the new Bear King of the Rocky Mountains, and was dubbed Vincent the Mighty. He became Mightier when he made peace with the Rocky Mountain bears' sworn enemies, mountain lions who tired of fighting losing battles against Vincent's far stronger kingdom and pledged their allegiance to him.

Edith was one of the many female bears who helped satisfy Vincent's needs: gave him baths, fed him food, massaged his muscular frame, as well as more personal things. She was more eager than any female bear to do whatever it took to please Vincent because she had a crush on him. For a time, it seemed that Vincent also held deeper feelings for her than he did for other lady bears in his court, as evidenced by how he frequently summoned for her specifically to do things for him. But King Vincent the Mighty never really loved her the way she had once loved him, as was obvious when Edith had been asked by her king to go catch him some fresh fish, and upon her return, found her crush being fed, massaged, and bathed by another bearess. Vincent's reason: the lady bear with him now was better at doing all the things Edith had once done for him.

It was never a secret that King Vincent went through many bear mistresses, but Edith thought Vincent would actually agree to marry her because of how loyal and effective she was at satisfying his wants and needs. But no, all Vincent ever cared about was himself. She went the extra mile for him, only to be discarded like a booger Vincent picked from his nose.

Luckily for her, it didn't take long for her to discover there was another bear who was equally dissatisfied with Vincent: her future mate Ted Sr. He was a former Duke of Vincent the Mighty's Kingdom, in charge of the Sawtooth Mountain Peak territory. He was just a teenager living in the part of Wyoming not included in the Rockies when Vincent created the slave rebellion. Like his own father, Taft, Ted was entranced by Vincent's promise of freedom and prosperity for all bears if they helped him overthrow the Berenstain dynasty. Taft, however, let events play out before moving his family to the Rockies, and he passed his intelligence to his son. For starters, there was always the chance that Vincent's rebellion would be crushed, so it would be pointless in siding with the losing side if Vincent was defeated. Then there was the fact that after Vincent secured his reign upon winning the Rocky Mountain Bear Civil War, the new King ordered the extermination of all dukes who had once served the Berenstain dynasty so that all traces of the old rule would be ridden. Though not a duke, Taft and his family had loyally served a former duke of the Berenstains. If Vincent had found this out, Ted and his family might have been included in the purge. They passed themselves off as strangers when they decided to move into Vincent's Kingdom and thus reaped the benefits without risking their lives.

Vincent was Ted Sr.'s role model. The grizzly-black-bear hybrid wasn't the biggest or smartest of bears, but he feared nothing. He was also strong, confident, brave, and spry—something all bears aspired to be like. Ted always wanted to be just like his king, and went through great lengths to earn his way up the ranks to become one of Vincent's dukes; the pure black bear's great strength and resilience being a huge factor in Ted's ascension. Once he became a duke, he quickly discovered, to his disappointment that Vincent was not the bear Ted had always imagined. Vincent was vain, arrogant, and fat and lazy in his later years. There was a time when he was everything Ted had envisioned, but that time had passed once Ted finally got to meet him. Ted felt betrayed by his idol, and his disappointment turned into bitterness, which then led to ambition to be a ruler in his own right. But any thoughts of overthrowing Vincent ended as soon as they formed in Ted's mind. Even though Ted could easily defeat Vincent, the death of such a beloved king would turn the entire bear and cougar population against any usurper. Not even Ted would live long after that, so why bother?

Ted's solution was simple: find a suitable replacement to fill his soon-to-be-available former position, and move away from the Rocky Mountains to be the boss bear he knew he could be. After meeting Edith and discovering she was just as dissatisfied with Vincent as himself, Ted and Edith made plans to go find a better life; their bond forged from their disappointment in their ex-king. And thanks to Edith's pillow talks with Vincent, they knew of the perfect place: Vincent's former home in Indiana.

---

But they did not make the journey alone, for the mountain lions Monty and his mate Cata also wanted to leave their former life behind because they too were unsatisfied from their current one. Monty had been dating Cata while living under the rule of Concolor VII, King of the Mountain Lions in the Rockies. The felines and ursines had been waging war for full control of the Rockies since those mountains had formed, and no puma was more dedicated to securing total victory for the mountain lions than Monty and Cata. The two were patriots who took every chance to verbally or physically demonstrate their love and loyalty to the ascendency of their species over the bears. Their friends and family always said they were more obsessed with that goal than their king…a comment that would prove true in the worst of ways to such devout cougars. Monty and Cata had just finished plans to assassinate Vincent when one day, out of nowhere, King Concolor VII himself surrendered to Vincent in person. All the territory that had once belonged to the mountain lions would now be shared with the bears. The mountain lions, once the most fearsome opponent of Vincent's rule, became mere subjects of Vincent's kingdom.

Monty and Cata were appalled, betrayed, and disgusted that their King Concolor VII had sold out to Vincent. No worse than sold out: prostituted their entire species under their sworn enemies. This act destroyed the Rocky Mountain lions' honor, culture, and way of life—all without a fight, as would have been a far greater way to end it all. No matter what other pumas said to them, or how much things improved for the mountain lions after the capitulation, Monty and Cata would never agree that things were better. And even if they did agree to disagree, the taste of betrayal to everything they once stood for could not be erased.

Monty and Cata tried their hardest to keep the fires of total victory over the bears burning strong in the hearts and minds of their fellow pumas, but everyone else they knew seemed to have willingly sold out too. Monty and Cata soon developed quite a reputation for their crusade and became labeled as akin to American Civil War- or Soviet Union-Rednecks—people who felt betrayed and bitter that their once glorious and strong countries had fallen unfairly, and vowed that they would will rise again to reclaim the glory and power they had lost.

The worst part about this was not how Cata and Monty were alone in their crusade, but how Vincent was so unconcerned about their threats. He never ordered their voices to be silenced, never had assassins try to kill them in their sleep, and never even found out their own names. They were just a small, unimportant blip on a large radar, and life in the Rockies under Vincent's rule continued unabated.

Fed up with this, Monty and Cata decided to leave. And as luck—or fate—would have it, they did so at the exact time as Ted Sr. and Edith. At first, the felines' hatred of bears made them engage in mortal combat with the ursines, but once each species discovered their opponents were super strong and resilient, they called a truce. From this came some small talk where the bears and pumas discovered they had two other important thing in common: their dissatisfaction living under Vincent's reign, and their desire to find a better life. Initial enemies became allies as they made a long and perilous journey from the Rocky Mountains to Indiana, helping each other survive and prevail along the way. By the time they arrived, they had become friends. And the animals that got them up to speed about their new home was the Bush-Whacker Wolf Pack.

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Each of the wolves in the Bush-Whacker Pack are named after their favorite tough, spikey plants they eat, as well as for their sharp teeth and claws that are like those plants, and how their favorite pastime is jumping into those plants because their pain tolerance makes it a pleasure. There is godmother Holly Thorn, her mate Blackthorn, sons Briar and Bram(ble), and the unrelated wolves Agave, Rose Stem, Cacty, Yucca, and (Aloe) Vera. Family and unrelated wolves alike grew up in the most difficult times and most difficult of places: in an area that had all the food, water, and shelter any wolf could ever ask for. Fighting for those three precious resources was a daily battle for all three generations of wolves (their parents, the current adults, and their children). First singly, then together as allies, they fought many hard and tough battles against other top predators, but their superior strength and resiliency won them the right to their territory. But their superior abilities also led them to wanting more, and to obtain that which they coveted, they had to change how they fought. Hence, the pack surname comes from their preferred method of attacking using guerrilla warfare, instead of in open conflict.

It was because of such tactics that the Bush-Whackers were able to slowly but surely surpass the Bone-Chomper Wolf Pack, who preferred to confront their opponents head-on and in the open. The Bush-Whackers are fully capable of doing the same, but did not let their pride force them to do that. Instead, they worked in the shadows; only fought if the situation favored them, and hid if it didn't. When they did attack prey, it was swift and out of nowhere, then they hid but allowed their victims to catch a brief glimpse of their attackers, paused to let paranoia and confusion sink, followed up with another attack, and started the cycle over until their opponents were defeated.

The Bone-Chompers downfall was caused by a number of factors. One was that they were not the same ever since Kale's older brothers Bugsy and Luciano left the pack. Bugsy could make a deal like no other and was adept at punishing those who failed to uphold their agreement with the Bone-Chompers. Without his silver tongue, the pack wasn't able to secure "business deals" that could keep current paisanos—prey animals that helped out the wolf pack in exchange for land, protection, and food—and find new ones. Luciano had a great talent for starting turf wars among other predators who would wear themselves out fighting each other, which made them easily dispatched by the Bone-Chompers. Without him, the pack couldn't take advantage of infighting and grab the spoils of victory for themselves.

Another factor that led to the Bone-Chompers' decline was when Bonnie and Clyde had four pups and needed to prioritize being parents over contributing to the pack. Those two were the pack's best brawlers, and their absence led to lost fights. It also encouraged the pack's enemies that there would be a stay-at-home mom and her pups to target while the rest of the pack went out to do what wolves do.

Then there was Bone-Chomper Gabby who succeeded her parents—the surname Bone-Chompers Leo and Emmy—once they got older. Gabby's rashness and uncontrollable desire to prove herself better than her opponents made her and the pack get into situations where they bit off more than they could chew. And as typical of her bratty nature, she typically blamed the others instead of herself, making her a far-cry leader when compared to her parents.

And lastly, there was the Bush-Whackers' abnormal strength and resilience that even the Bone-Chompers' best could not overpower. The Bone-Chompers still live, but are nowhere near their former territory. Like the "Great Forest Battle" from 20 years ago—where the hedgies had united all the prey animals and led a fight against the Bone-Chompers—that brought those wolves' rein of terror to an end, the Bone-Chompers (minus Gabby) were always smart enough to realize when something was too out of their league. Rather than die fighting against the superior Bush-Whackers, the Bone-Chompers decided to cut their losses, let the superior wolves gain what was once theirs, and move to another state.

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Another reason for the Bush-Whackers' fast ascension to becoming the greatest wolf pack in the USA is that their paisanos are not prey animals, but only other predators like the red-tailed hawks. Bu, her mate Teo, and their daughters Jamai, Cen, and Sis had been born and raised in the woods around the Elysian Fields Estates. They had been the victims of constant bullying from their species's natural predators of eagles and great horned owls who, being bigger and stronger than the hawks, would use their size to verbally and physically abuse the smaller raptors. The larger birds' imposing girth, bigger talons, and stronger grip strength made the hawks too afraid to fight back, which only made them every big raptor's foot-wiping mat. It didn't matter where the hawks moved; they were so timid, so weak, and so certain that bigger predatory birds would overpower them that they never dared to resist.

Until one day, Bu, Teo, Jamai, Cen, and Sis were finally pushed too far. It happened when the five hawks were walking back to their home with their heads hung in shame, and they were unceremoniously hit with regurgitated eagle pellets, followed by the hysterical laughter and more insults from the ones who caused it. They had PTSD-induced hallucinations of all the mean things that had been said to them by so many other birds over the course of their lives, and to those visions more than the eagles who had regurgitated on them, the hawks had said, "Stop. Making. Fun. Of US!"

They finally reached their limit, snapped, and unleashed years of pent-up rage against the eagles. That was when they discovered their hidden abilities; that they possessed uber strength, speed, and resilience that allowed them to easily, and effortlessly, overpower and kill the eagles. From that point on, the shoe was on the other foot. Now, it was the red-tailed hawks who were feared and who did the bullying. If their newfound toughness wasn't enough, Bu, Teo, and their daughters enhance their ruthlessness using their self-hatred for how they could have easily stopped the bullying done to themselves if they had only known of their "gifts" sooner. And like the "rogue shark theory," once they had a taste of being the ones with power over others, they never moved away and never stopped.

Today, the hawks' bullying to all others is no longer a matter of personal pride, or revenge, but an addiction. It's a high dose of dopamine and serotonin—the brain chemicals that cause feelings of pleasure and happiness respectively—that they constantly must feel. It drives them, sustains them, and they have no problem with that.

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The ones who do have a problem are the hawks' favorite fellow predators to undermine: the ravens Vus, his mate Co, their cousin Rax, and close family friends Edgar, and his siblings Allan, Poe, and Lenore. Before the hawks' true potential was unleashed, the ravens had enjoyed being the talk of the town when it came to predators who were stronger than they seemed thanks to their strength and resilience. Unlike the hawks, the ravens had known about their abilities from a young age, which is why Vus, Co, and Rax became friends with Edgar, Allan, Poe, and Lenore.

Aside from their massive strength, the two groups of ravens couldn't be any less alike. Vus, Co, and Rax grew up in the rural country in Mississippi (and speak with a stereotypical Southern drawl), while Edgar, Allan, Poe, and Lenore grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey (and speak with a stereotypical nasally accent). But the ravens' personalities are the opposite of the sectional stereotypes one would expect. Vus, Co, and Rax are well-educated in the human world, whereas Edgar, Allan, Poe, and Lenore are not. The highest education the "city-slicker" ravens received was finding out their names came from the world-famous author and character of The Raven. Edgar, Allan, Poe, and Lenore are more headstrong and act on impulses, while Vus, Co, and Rax think things over before taking action. Edgar, Allan, Poe, and Lenore are short-tempered and quick to make judgement or defend themselves over "honor", whereas Vus, Co, and Rax are slow to anger and more level-headed when things get dicey, even when someone offends their "Southern honor."

Note: No, for those of you who are re-reading, you're not experiencing the Mandela Effect. As of December 2024, I changed the ravens' character after giving my story some more thought, and how they act in future chapters.

The two groups had met during their species' migration down South where they got started off on the right foot, instead of wrong foot. Despite their differences and easily-exploitable stereotypes, they took a great liking to each other from the moment they said "Hello." They enjoyed the same food, the same leisure activity of relaxing on a nice and sunny day, regarded themselves as superior to all other ravens due to their super strength and resilience, have hobbies of annoying humans for fun, and making others realize that ravens can be deadly hunters and not just scavengers as most believe. It's as they say, "birds of a feather flock together." And these ravens went up north to New Jersey during the Summer, and back down south to Mississippi for the Winter. For Spring and Fall, they came to an agreed-on halfway point between their home states which is in Indiana.

It was here that they discovered another commonality they shared: a loathing of the red-tailed hawks, Bu, Teo, Jamai, Cen, and Sis whose reputation of being strong and resilient raptors usurped the ravens' own claim to that kind of fame. The hawks bullied everything and everyone, just for the sake of getting on others' nerves. It was so annoying that the ravens offered to become the paisanos of the Bush-Whacker Pack so they could get some protection and retribution on the hawks. But alas, when the deal was finalized and they could not back out under penalty of death, they discovered that the hawks were also the Bush-Whackers' paisanos. Fortunately, the wolves serve as the perfect deterrence of the hawks who obey them no matter how rambunctious they are.

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From the loud, to the reserved, to the elegant. The seven foxes—Vixy, her 13-year old daughter Cassie, 16-year old son Andy, Vixy's brother Vul, her sister-in-law Pine, and their 26-year-old sons Jim, and Adam—fancy themselves as aristocrats. As foxes, they are not only one of the most intelligent canines in existence, but also among the smartest animals on the planet. Like a stereotypical Harvard professor, they speak with grace, pomp, and circumstance; elegance and dignity lining their voices. And with intelligence such as theirs, why wouldn't they?

From an early age, Vixy had a problem-solving mindset, and her brother Vul had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Both asked questions until even their well-educated parents got sick of them. When their parents told their kids all they could, Vul and Vixy discovered that true knowledge is gained form experience as they explored the world to get an idea on not just what things are, but also how and why they are the way they are. Their favorite bit of knowledge they gained was how strong and resilient they were. Most young animals upon discovering this would want to show off to their family, friends, and enemies as soon as possible. But the fox siblings had long ago figured out that brute force without intelligence leads to overconfidence, which in turn leads to death. They wisely decided to keep their "special gift" a secret from others, and only revealed it to opponents right before killing them so the secret would be kept. In fact, their favorite hunting tactic was to act like timid, over-thinking, brainy, nerds who were so physically weak that a butterfly could bench press them. Their opponents easily fell for the façade, were "outfoxed," and never lived to tell the tale of Vul's and Vixy's true power.

Vixy and Vul remained brother- and sister-in-arms even as adults, and garnered a reputation as "The Aristocrats of Crime," whose hunting MO was eccentric and poetic. They make any engagement a battle of wits—to the death. One might assume this is boring and uneventful when compared to a typical action-based confrontation, but nothing could be further from the truth. The mind is the deadliest weapon ever conceived because it is not confined to the limits of the physical world. The mind can imagine things, such as tactics against foes, that are just as intense—if not more—than a physical fight. Because the deadliest game isn't the act of killing prey, but rather how you think, outsmart, deceive, cheat, lie, and play dirty—the process leading to a foe's demise—which is more mental than physical.

A good anecdote of this was when Vul told a wolverine that they should have a race to decide who would eat who. The fox told him of the path they would take and right when it seemed that the mustelid would win, the wolverine fell into a spike pit concealed by leaves and foliage that Vul had created. The art of the kill, in Vul's words, was, "He gambled with his life, and lost."

Another case is when Vixy used her superior linguistic skills to convince a grizzly bear to make a choice of which upside-down cup had a poison dart frog in it before they both would eat the cup they chose. The bear thought hard about the situation and verbally argued some great points about which cup he thought had the poison frog. It could have been the cup in front of Vixy because a bear like him would never eat the cup placed in front of him by a fox like her. But then again, she must have known he would think this way, and may have put the deadly amphibian in the cup in front of him, so that he would chose her cup instead of his own. He then exposited that he had her all figured out and knew which cup held the poison dart frog, then suddenly pointed and behind her and said, "Hey, what's that?" She turned around, said she saw nothing, then turned to face the grizzly who could have sworn he saw something. Then he chose to eat the cup in front of him, and she ate the cup in front of her. He then bragged about how he had swapped cups when she wasn't looking and laughed in victory—which then led to his death. As it turned out, both cups had poison dart frogs in them, but Vixy had offered to spare the frog she put in her mouth if it didn't secrete its poison. The deal worked and she let the frog go. (1)

The reason for Vixy's and Vul's preference of intellect over force is how they reviled predators that kill using nothing but brute strength. To the fox siblings, there must be an art to how a predator hunts and kills, something symbolic or ironic in their target's last moments. Oddly, they married mates who preferred brute strength over wits, but were able to convince their spouses of the superior method. Vul showed Pine and Vixy showed the late Claude the ropes in how to think with their brains instead of muscles. Where once there were two foxes dubbed the "Aristocrats of Crime," now there were four, and later eight when they had their kits. Pine and Claude also had their own way of hunting that made them worthy of being called "smart as a fox." They preferred to give the impression that they were dumb, hot-headed missiles who leaped before they looked.

When Cassie and Andy were born, Jim and Adam took a special liking to their cousins and treated them like their little siblings. Even though all of the kids inherited their parents' strengths and IQs, the older boys became the younger ones' role models more so than their parents. But unlike their parents, Andy, Cassie, Jim, and Adam didn't like the decision to become the Bush-Whacker's paisanos. The kids argued their families were too smart and respectful to become second-class to a bunch of dim-witted wolves. But ever the conniving tricksters, Vul and Vixy assured their kids that it was for the foxes' benefit, not the wolves', because the vulpes' intellects would truly rule the Bush-Whackers' territory and food. The wolves would be the muscle, and the foxes would be the brains.

"Why did we ever question them?" became the answer to the kids' question of becoming the wolves' paisanos. Because yes, it was the foxes' brains that led to the Bush-Whackers' dominance—which was something the wolves forever owed to the vulpes. But rather than using this to curry favor which could lead to resentment, the foxes, in their infinite wisdom, allow the Bush-Whackers to have all the fame and authority over the creatures in their domain, including over the foxes, as much as the wolves want. However, a deal was made: if the foxes ever say "Shall we..." the wolves must obey. (2)

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The snakes' backstory is the most tragic because, unlike the rest of the predators, the reptiles tried so hard to be good, but the prejudice of the world turned them bad. Even in the animal world, snakes have always had a bad reputation since the Garden of Eden. Saul, Kissie, Don, and his brothers Vipe and Pit-V were all warned by their parents to expect nothing but hate from all other animals except other snakes, solely because of their species. But those five were more optimistic than they should have been, and assumed that their parents just had bad luck in life. They had high hopes that they could prove their parents wrong, and took every opportunity to start a friendly chat with other animals. When that happened, the disappointment for the snakes seemed to begin as soon as they looked at a non-snake creature.

Barely anyone wanted to talk to them and ran away screaming, "Ahhhh! A snake! Stay away from me!" The few non-snake animals that actually stood around long enough to listen spent every breath insulting them—calling them names like devil-spawn, sneaky, evil, slant-eyes, venom-breath, and legless outcasts from all Nature—and never listening to anything the snakes said to the contrary.

With their legless bodies that quietly slither on the ground like someone trying to sneak up on an unwary victim, slim build perfect for squeezing through places to set up an ambush, infamously unnerving hissing sounds, slit-pupiled reptilian eyes that look evil, creepy-looking forked tongues that are the epitome of speaking dishonestly to deceive, cold-blooded biology that is synonymous with cruel, and how they swallow their prey whole and let their stomach acids ensure a slow and painful death like sadists, the five snakes weren't too surprised by other animals' revulsion of their species. What did surprise the snakes, and slowly built inside of them a rage beyond measure, was the way in which the other animals addressed them. It was patronizing, self-righteous, shameless, nonchalance; as if the snakes deserved to be insulted, and as if the animals were always in the right and the snakes always in the wrong. Again, just because they were snakes.

Miraculously, the five didn't lose hope in their life mission of giving a good name to snakes just from the failed verbal approach. Once they discovered they were super tough, they used their strength to help others; to try and give snakes a good name through their actions. They saved many animals from falling to their deaths by functioning as living ropes, conquered the fiercest of predators trying to eat prey by using their venom, functioned as a warning system from approaching threats using their infrared vision, and scared away human hunters because of their appearance. The reptiles' reward for their selfless efforts out of the kindness of their hearts? Speciest insults, the dismay and disgust of being saved by snakes, and rescuees fleeing in fear without saying thanks. This disappointment was magnified when the same treatment was given to Saul's and Kissie's children the twins Silas and Aggie, youngest Civorus, and Don's now-late children Cot and Moc. It's one thing for an adult's hopes and dreams to be crushed, but to see an innocent young child's hopes and dreams crushed is downright heartbreaking.

The event that made them give up their crusade was when Kissie saved a fawn from drowning. She almost drowned too while fighting against a strong river current while the cervidae's weight, and ice-cold water would have killed any other cold-blooded snake without super resilience. She even traveled farther—and endured more of that physical fatigue—in order to bring the fawn back to his panicking father on the opposite side of the river. When Kissie got to the shore with the father deer, she was exhausted and half-dead from hypothermia, but decided to expend more of her precious energy to say, "Here you go, sssssssir. Your kid issssss gonna be okay."

The buck caressed and kissed his child, then turned to look Kissie in the eyes. She felt her heart surge with happiness; that finally, after all these years of verbal abuse and misunderstandings, that she had made a non-snake animal friend. The other snakes were watching from the opposite river bank and were just as anxious and happy to hear the deer express his gratitude.

The cervidae did so by jumping 180 degrees and bucking Kissie upside the head back into the freezing river water. He then shouted, "Don't you ever touch my son again! You slimy, heinous, sneaky, snake, devil!"

He and his son then ran deep into the woods, never to be seen again. Silas, Don, Vipe, and Pit-V went into the cold, cold river to save Kissie and bring her back to their side of the river bank. Ever since the hit, her mind replayed every insult other animals had said to her. She ignored her relatives' questions of her health, and their angry rants about what they thought of the deer. Instead, she said with closed eyes, "Ssssssslimy...Heinousssssss...Ssssssneaky...Devil...That'sssss all anyone elssssse will ever think of me, my children, and my ssssssspecies..." After opening her eyes, she gave an evil glare as hatred became her master and said, "You want a ssssslimy, heinoussssss, ssssssneaky, devil? Well now, you've got one. Look out world...becaussssssse what I gave in kindnesssssss, I will now take back in revenge!"

Saul, seeing his mate's resolve and feeling how his own hopes of bringing a good name to snakes has ended forever, added, "No. Not jusssssst you. All of ussssss, too."

From that moment on, the cottonmouths spent all their energy being as snaky as can be. Their words and actions forever reinforce the bad reputation of snakes.

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Not so tragic is the story of the five bobcats Lyn, her mate Rufus, and sons Rob, O-Ce, and Lott. The felines had been close friends of Regina, and upon hearing she had been crippled by Roaster, decided to move into the woods and avenge her. Regina and her mate Parker had just turned 20 when they discovered a teenage, starving, and pregnant Lyn in a ditch. They helped nurse her back to health, and then Regina found a friend of hers to suckle Lyn's kittens when they were born.

The biological father of Lyn's kittens, Francios, had abandoned her when she became pregnant, and because "Heck hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Lyn spent every second hunting him down upon discovering he wasn't by her side one morning. It became her obsession to which she devoted every muscle, thought, and cell of her body. She did get her revenge, but it had taken her so long that even her species heritage of being able to go long periods without eating had reached its limit. All that long time of traveling while not sleeping or eating hit her like a freight train. She will forever regret her action of knocking Francios's body off a high cliff, which could have provided her sustenance. She had no more strength to hunt even the easiest of prey, and would have died if Regina and Parker hadn't come along. Lyn's own malnourishment nearly cost her the lives of Rob, O-Ce, and Lott who were predicted to die after a few days. But they seemed to have a warrior's will to live, and ended up defying all the naysayers and survived.

Knowing from experience how difficult it is to raise kids even with a spouse to help, Regina decided to help her newfound friend and a longtime friend simultaneously when she introduced Lyn to Rufus, an ex-lover of the former. Rufus was a handsome lady's cat full of romance, but ironically was bad at finding a lover because he had been "fixed." He became an orphan when his parents were eaten by coyotes, and was taken to a human a wildlife rehabilitator. When the man came home one day to find that the bobcat he took in had broken out of his cage and eaten the other animals under his care, he lost his license. Enraged that his favorite animal of all would be the reason he lost his job, he used his extensive knowledge of bobcat anatomy to neuter Rufus and then kicked the feline back out into the wild.

No other female bobcats wanted to make a long-term commitment to a steer-of-a-bobcat, no matter how romantic he talked, how strong he was, or how hot he looked. Regina was one of such bobcats, but had broken up with him under the impression that some female would surely marry him. When this thought proved to be wrong after many years, Regina took pity on Rufus who was in need of a female, and Lyn who was in need of a spouse to help father her newborn kittens.

It was necessity that had brought them together. Love came later, and it wasn't an easy process. Lyn got annoyed at Rufus's lovey-dovey talk and wanting to shove his perfect body in her face every second they were together. Rufus didn't like how needy the kittens were or how bossy Lyn was to make him help her take care of them. But they bonded over how they had both been abandoned in some way, had trouble keeping lovers in the past, possessed super strength and resilience, and how Rob, O-Ce, and Lott were so attached to a bobcat who wasn't even their real father. After the five became a true family, their favorite activity is proving to others how bobcats are not just outdoor housecats, but creatures meant to be feared and respected. But they prefer to do so with as little words as possible, because actions are louder.

---

The bobcat family further cemented their relationship with Regina by protecting her and all bobcats with lesser strength from coyotes. Specifically, the five bobcats became the mortal enemies of the coyotes Harry, his mate Canis, and their kids Latresa, Daniel, Ashley, and the late Bob.

Note: I changed Phoebe's name to Canis which is more fitting for a coyote.

Harry's parents were true coyotes in the sense that they weren't a danger to any creature bigger than themselves. They were used to getting the raw deal from any predators biologically greater than coyotes, and thus had an inferiority complex that they tried to pass onto their son. They always told him how, as a coyote, he just has to accept being a scraggly, timid, cautious canine whose place is near the bottom of the American predator tier. But Harry didn't listen to them. He discovered his immense strength at an early age and made it his mission to prove to other predators and humans just how dangerous coyotes really are. Even when he had the strength to do so, his parents still pressured him to keep his super strength a secret under the fear that it would upset the order of "the predator tier" if a coyote dominated over a wolf, cougar, or bear. Being young and naïve, he listened to them, and spent his whole childhood in regret of how he could have easily overpowered other predators and humans (especially hunters), but was forced by his parents not to. He told them they needed a serious confidence boost, but they just brushed him off using their favorite phrase, "Que Sera, Sera: Whatever will be, will be." In their case this meant that coyotes will always be lesser predators, so there's no need in trying to change things. Harry's regret grew into annoyance, then into anger, and finally hatred—for his parents.

Then, when Harry turned 15, he met Canis, and his life forever changed. Like himself, she also possessed superior strength and resilience; however, unlike him, her parents encouraged her to use her toughness. Harry enjoyed having another coyote to talk to about his personal problems, and to let off some steam by using his strength. Both Canis and her parents vowed to keep his secret of using his special abilities from his parents. He came up with whatever excuse he could to go spend more time with her; anything was better than being around his Debbie-Downer parents. Canis never even got to know Harry's parents personally, but the stories she heard from Harry about them made her hate them too.

Finally, when even she got sick of hearing Harry complain about his parents, Canis suggested the unthinkable: for Harry to kill his parents so he could be free. Harry vehemently refused because, for better or worse, they were still his parents who brought him into this world. He literally owes them his life, for life. Then, one day, his parents got wind of how he had been using his super strength to kill other top-tier predators—likely overheard from a bird who witnessed his acts—and forbade him from seeing Canis again. To ensure this, they made plans to move to the other side of the country as soon as they had breakfast a few hours later.

Harry could not let that happen. He was friggin' sick and tired of his parents always trying to hold him back, and preventing him from reaching his true potential. So he made his own plans to get rid of them once and for all. He still wouldn't do it himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't have someone else do the deed for him. He made a deal with a deer to spare its life if it would pose as bait for his parents to kill. The buck was so grateful, that he offered some advice of his own: that there were some very hot-headed hunters trying to kill him who would shoot at anything that ruined their hunt.

The plan worked exactly as it was meant to: the deer pretended to be afraid at the sight of Harry and his parents, led the coyotes to where the human hunters were, acted like an unassuming deer around humans should act, then pretended to be scared off by the coyotes as they attacked. The anrgy humans shot Harry's parents out of rage, and Harry was free at last.

He didn't feel the least bit guilty for ipso facto killing his parents because they tried to limit his potential and make him become just as unhappy and miserable as they were. Now, he could finally use his strength whenever he wanted, and do whatever he wanted with his life. And he wanted to stay with Canis and her parents. From that point on, as Canis had told him: "As long as you're with me, now you make the rules. You make the threats. Now, you are the top predator in the tier." As for her parents, they loved him like their own son, and gave him their full blessing to wed their daughter when the time came.

When their kids were born, they raised them the proper way. Latresa, Daniel, Ashley, and Bob grew up hearing their parents tell them to never hold anything back, and use their strength and resilience as much as they can. They did well in fulfilling Harry's boyhood dream of proving to all that coyotes can be fearsome and dangerous. But one group of animals was preventing them from doing that—the five bobcats Lyn, Rufus, Rob, O-Ce, and Lott. It was Bob, the youngest and most headstrong coyote, who had started the feud with the two families when he ruined the felines' hunt of a young grizzly bear. He killed it and smugly told them, "You 'puddy-tats' are too small to hunt big game. Stick with trying to catching fish in a pond!"

The felines did a number on him, but he retreated after he realized just how strong they were. His parents, brother, and two sisters got involved after hearing his story. At first, they attacked the bobcats to get even with what they did to Bob, but then it became a matter of personal pride as a coyote. As coyotes, they were the dominant predator of bobcats, so they just had to defeat them. But to their chagrin, they could not. Ironically, this is how the two families started becoming friends. They saw that they are evenly matched, which led to talks and bonding. Nowadays, the coyotes and bobcats like to serve as the example of how canines and felines can get along in harmony.

And because Bob had been the one to ipso facto create this friendship, his death is something the coyotes and bobcats will avenge.

---

Then there are the five owls: Bubo/Bo, his mate Virginia, their daughter Stare-Ra, and sons Air Tiger/AT and Strix. Out of all the predators, these raptors are the most cold-blooded, black-hearted, uncaring, and remorseless of the bunch. Bubo had lost his parents to Bird Flu when he was little and had to grow up by himself. This experience was a two-edged sword in that his superior strength and resilience made it easy for him to hunt food and prevent others from hunting him. But he would trade all of that if it could bring back his parents and their unconditional love.

His parents were the best parents in the whole world: a perfect balance of love and discipline, fun and serious, sociable and humble. He had loved his parents more than they loved him, and without them he was heartbroken and lonely. The emotional pain of their deaths actually hurt Bubo physically, and he would spend entire days and nights crying without end. This went on from age six until he turned 20, by which time he had finally shed all the tears he had for his parents. He had also come to a revelation on how to live the rest of his life. In order to never feel the pain of losing the ones he loved the most, he vowed to never love anything ever again.

From that point on Bubo's soul became as blank and predatory as a great-horned owl's stare. He doesn't care about anything anymore. He never feels joy, anger, or fear. He feels nothing.

This apathetic life even applied to when he was almost killed by a bald eagle family. He didn't care if he died, but did end up killing the eagles. Despite his strength and resilience, he actually passed out. When he awoke, he was in a bird cage at a wildlife rehabilitation center in a mountain park. There were other raptors in other cages who had suffered injuries so bad that they were deemed by the humans who rescued them as too unfit to be wild. The humans must have thought the same about him, but he would use his strength to leave his confinement once he had regained it, because, like it or not, he had to take time to heal.

During his year in captivity, he also met his cell mate and future spouse, Virginia. She was like him in many ways besides just super strength. For starters, her parents had been killed by wolves when they had been swooping down for a kill. She had to raise her younger siblings alone, and failed when another great horned owl killed them. This is what made her go through the same years of heartbreak and crying as Bubo, and like him, she also vowed to never love anything again so she wouldn't feel that horrible pain of loss. She wound up in the raptor recuperating facility when her attempt to commit suicide by becoming roadkill failed and left her with only half of her left and right wings. It was like Mother Nature's way of telling her that death was too good, so get used to miserable life.

Although these two owls are so similar in many ways when it comes to their tragic pasts and cynical outlook on life, they still do not love one another. They remained together solely because there are no two owls on this Earth who are as cold and emotionless as themselves. The only reason they had children was because, with everything so horrible going on with them, they just had to feel good...but their apathy prevented them from even that. Not even the birth of their children changed their attitude on how to live. If anything, it just made them more heartless.

Upon seeing his owlets hatch from their eggs, Bubo took one look at his daughter and said in his trademark monotone voice, "One girl among two boys...Hmph. So disappointing."

Virgina wasn't any better when she had said (also in her trademark monotone voice), "Why couldn't it be three girls...?"

The birth of their children did make the two decide it was time to leave captivity. They easily broke through the steel cage and returned to the wild. Keeping to their vows they had made, neither Bubo nor Virginia ever showed love to their kids, who thus never developed a want or need for it. The two raised their children to be just as cruel and emotionless as themselves. Bubo and Virginia brought up their kids by saying things like, "Keep up, or we'll leave you behind," or "You have until the count of 20 to do this, or you're on your own."

When Stare-ra, Air Tiger, and Strix each killed their first prey animal—the pinnacle event of any predator's life that their parents forever cherish most—their parents did not cheer in triumph or shout words of congratulations, they had simply scoffed and turned away while saying, "About time..."

There was a time when the owl triplets tried to make friends upon seeing how much different other families treated each other, but the damage their parents did to them had already been done and left a permanent imprint on how the three owlets acted. They spoke with monotone voices, were never impressed with anything, never showed any emotion, and talked about how pointless it was to live life to the fullest when everything is destined to die—the biggest turnoffs to bourgeoning any relationships. No one wanted to be around such cynical grumps, so most encounters for the owl siblings were one and done. A few tried to make them see the good things and enjoy life, but their parents would only remind them of how getting emotionally attached to anyone is just going to make them feel pain they would never be able to survive. Thus, Stare-Ra, Air Tiger, and Strix never wanted any friends...which suits them just fine.

Note: The following is based on the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Graphic Novel. Copyright by Konami and Kojima Productions.

The most heinous and defining moment of Bubo's and Virginia's parenting of their three kids was on their thirteenth birthdays. Because this was the age when their children are no longer kids, Bubo and Virginia had set up a most special occasion for them. They had gathered 39 prey animals they had crippled and split into three groups of 13, and had said, "Happy birthday, Stare-ra, Air Tiger, and Strix." They pointed at the prey and said, "Now, blow out your candles—13 each, for every year of your lives so far. If you don't blow them out, we will blow you out."

Because of their upbringing, each of the three teens had spoken in their minds, "13 for me. Our parents call them worthless vermin, prey, food. They tell me they deserve to die. I don't care. I only know what I have to do."

They lightly caressed the neck of the first prey animal with the edge of their lethal talons, as if preparing for the first stroke of a shave. Feeling it out. Searching for just the right...

Three slit throats later, and Bubo said, "That's it kids."

Virginia said, "Keep going..."

Three more kills happen, and Bubo said, "Blow them all out, or you don't get your wish."

"I don't care," the three kids muse. "My wishes never come true anyway..."

Six more kills happen, and Virginia said, "That's my kids."

Stare-ra, Air Tiger, and Strix had detected the slightest indication of pride from Virginia's monotone voice—the first time she has ever done that. "I don't care," the three said in their heads.

Another three kills happened. "I'm 13 years old today and I don't care. About anything anymore."

They slaughter the remaining prey animals, turning the once green grass red. Their parents walked forward and said, "Well done. You're not as soft as we thought, so you get to live."

Upon examining the dead bodies, Bubo turned his head at his kids and gives them a scowl. "Can't even cut their throats straight..."

Virginia sighed and shakes her head side to side. "Sloppy, sloppy..." she remarked in disappointment.

The three teens had listened to their parents' nitpicking criticisms. And they don't care.

For the rest of their lives, the five owls lived as soulless killers. Never caring who they hurt or kill. Never caring at all. But just because they don't care doesn't mean they do not mind things. Things such as being ousted from their nests by other raptors, or humans trying to hunt them for killing their pets, which forced them to seek the Bush-Whacker Pack who offered them food and territory as their paisanos. Or, most of all, having Strix captured by the Predator-Quellers and used as a training target for minks and skunks. Oh, yes, they do mind that. A lot. And they will stop at nothing until their vengeance is complete.

Note: (1)=Based on a scene from The Princess Bride. Copyright by 20th Century Fox.

(2)=Based on the deal between Regina and Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon A Time. Copyright by Disney.

---

With the mental recaps finished, the talking can begin.

Godmother Holly Thorn—named for how her heterochromia makes her left eye green and right eye red (the colors of holly), as well as for her favorite pastime of jumping into holly bushes—asks her pack, "How did we lose to 'em?! I thought I taught you's all to win!"

Vul: "Let's all calm down, shall we."

Holly Thorn wants to verbally lash out at him, but must honor her deal to the foxes when they say "the two magic words."

Ted Sr. puts a giant paw on her back in reassurance to say, "Blaming is counter-productive. We're not here to point fingers, we're here to do a head count and come up with a new plan."

Edith: "Did you have to mention fingers, Ted?" (Holds up her left paw with now lacks two fingers)

Holly Thorn: "I'm too steamed ta do anything else, 'cept maybe swim in a holly bush."

Edith: "You're mad?! I have lost my son!"

Saul: "And we lossssst Cot and Moc!"

Monty: "We lost Guarsi!"

Harry: "We lost Bob!"

Ted Sr.: "And we'll avenge them all!"

Edgar: "That'll be a little hard since Poe was captured. That family of animals will torture him and he'll talk."

Harry: "Doesn't he enjoy pain?"

Edgar: "Don't forget, those animals have lots of human tools and weapons. Poe won't last forever. But rest assured, he's the simpleton in our family. He doesn't know too much about us, besides where we all live."

Lepo: "Then why did you originally phrase his capture as if it was a bad thing?"

Edgar: "It still is bad, because our homes might be destroyed by them. But we're wild animals, living in the woods—any woods—is our lot in life."

Air Tiger: "So that's four of us dead from today. We've still got 57 left; more than enough to finish them off. Especially with our strength and resilience."

Jim the fox says, "We need to get rid of their gun first."

Being the youngest among them at age 19, Lott the bobcat urges, "Then why're we standing around here. They're injured and vulnerable. Let's go finish them off!"

Bush-Whacker Rose Stem—a female at age 20, with two red-rose-colored eyes whose favorite hobby is de-thorning roses, and who is known for her pretty looks that can kill those who underestimate her—shouts, "Idiot! We's just as beat up as dem! Not ta mention dey'd have called dare oth'a relatives who went after dose two horny raccoons that Ted and Edith videoed and texted. Dose folks're un-injured and can fend us off."

Kissie: "Which isssss why we mussssst think of a new plan. In addition to lossssing Cot and Moc, Don'ssssssss venom issssss all out. It'll take him daysssss or weeksssss to replenish hisssss venom supply."

Latresa the coyote shakes her head side to side and says, "That goody-good wolf Roaster was right about one thing: you're emphasized S's are so friggin' annoying!"

Daniel: "Yeah!"

Kissie: "Wanna sssssay that again after I bite you with my venom?!"

Latresa: "Bring it on!"

After receiving a nod from Vixy, Bush-Whacker Blackthorn—named after how his heterochromia makes one eye blue and the other green (like the color of blackthorn berries and leaves), and his hobby of eating from that sharp plant without feeling any pain—is the most level-headed in his pack and bellows out, "Enough with the infighting! We formed this alliance to forever put our differences aside, so that we can destroy this prey-animal family. In my many observances of the human world, one of the biggest downfalls to all evil-doers in movies and shows is how they always betray each other. We should be smarter than this. Act like it!"

His correct grammar proves the importance of his words, and Kissie, Latresa, and Daniel look at each other, nod in acceptance, then look at the others.

Latresa: "Sorry, y'all."

Daniel: "Thanks for reminding us, Blackthorn."

Kissie: "Let'ssssss all get back to what'ssssssss important."

Pine the fox says, "Like Rose Stem said, we're not in much shape to do a retaliatory strike. Not until after we recover for a bit."

Her son Adam adds, "And when we do, they'll be on the lookout for us."

Ashley the coyote finishes with, "...Making them harder to defeat."

Edith: "I say we let the drama my mate and I created play out for a while, spice things up inside that family. Those five raccoon brats must be very mad at their heartbroken parents."

Cata the puma nods yes and says, "I agree...but why stop there?"

Vus, one of the Southern ravens asks, "Wha-at dew yewwww me-eeean?"

Cata: "We know all about this prey animal group. The oldest daughter of the five raccoons, Lizzy, is attracted to the female gender." (Rhetorically) "Imagine what kind of strife that would cause if her family and friends found out...?"

Saul: "Yesssssss...Delicioussssssly evil..."

Jamai the hawk nods yes and then says, "And then there's those pathetically insecure bats, Claire and Bert. They can't handle too much pressure or stress...If we caused certain events that robbed them of their little confidence, and forced them to make difficult decisions they aren't prepared for, that would break them and those who would depend on them."

Canis the coyote grins evilly and rhetorically asks, "Why should we get our paws dirty when this family of animals is unstable enough to do our job for us?"

Holly Thorn (rhetorically): "Because what's worse than someone killing your family? Killing your own family..."

Edith: "Hmmm. I guess that would be more satisfying revenge than killing them ourselves…"

Stare-ra: "Killing them is the main goal. I speak for my whole family when I say I don't care if it's fast or slow."

Ted Sr.: "So we agree that, until our injuries have fully healed, we'll cause internal strife among our enemies?"

All predators say, "Yes," in unison.

Blackthorn: "So, who wants to do what to whom?"

Many furry paws, feathered wings, and scaly snake tails raise, and after deciding, the predators break up into their species groups and get to it.

---

Dilbert listens to his friend Sergio say over the phone, "That's the gist of it all, Dill. I hope this helps."

Dilbert: "It does. A lot. Thanks, Sergio."

Sergio's voice: "You're welcome."

Dilbert hangs up and dials his girlfriend's number. It rings three times before Glenda's voice asks, "Hey Dill. What's up?"

Dilbert: "How much longer until all the animals injected with out nanobots become fully under our control?"

Glenda's voice: "A couple of weeks. Why the sudden impatience?"

Dilbert: "A group of people who were attacked yesterday are becoming suspicious of Verm-Tech's methods. One of them is a John McClain-level cop who will stop at nothing to put the guilty in the slammer."

Glenda's voice: "You're afraid the police will stop by Verm-Tech with a search and seizure warrant?"

Dilbert: "Not unless he finds out about the nanobots, which won't happen at Verm-Tech since we moved the computers that control the nanobots to your parents' home. But he does have 10 others who will eagerly serve as witnesses to back up his case against us, should he find out. And neither of us wants that to happen. Especially you..."

On the other end of the phone, Glenda pauses as she thinks over the worst case scenario. She knows from her mom's own experience how bad any jail time can be. How it forever ruins someone's reputation and makes it nearly impossible to get a decent job. If it happens to her, Glenda will be kicked out of Verm-Tech and probably have a no-entry warrant for all other colleges. If she somehow gets a job, it'll be at a local retail store with lousy hours, minimum wage pays, and snobby customers. She absolutely does not even want to get landscaping or construction job. She went to college so she could avoid those kinds of jobs, and she is darn well going to fight with all she has to stop anyone from ruining her life.

Or...she could do the right thing and give the police exactly all the information they need and get a reduced sentence. But that would put an entire college campus—staff, administrators, and students—out of a job and/or learning facility. They will all blame her and never stop blaming her. She is too involved now for this to become a win or lose situation; it's now a lose-lose for her no matter what. "So it's best to do all I can to finish what we started and keep Verm-Tech safe," she mentally confirms.

Dilbert's next words bring her out of her thoughts.

Dilbert's voice: "If it just weren't for that darn state law protecting those woods, we wouldn't have needed the nanobots in the first place..."

Glenda then remembers one of her many "Google adventures" about an event called the Emu War in Australia. This "war" was conducted in response to the destruction of farmer crops caused by emus. So many crops were destroyed by the large birds that the Australian government deemed the species a threat to the country's national security, and the military was tasked with killing as many emus as possible. Though hundreds were killed, the extermination campaign had little to no impact on the emu population—meaning in a war between humans and animals, the animals won. Better fencing permanently solved the issue, making the whole war just a pointless waste of time and resources.

Glenda knows Verm-Tech's situation is nowhere near as serious as Australia's had been back then, so there's no way the state government will get rid of the law just because Verm-Tech needs to kill a certain group of animals. Not to mention with social media and all the animal rights groups around these days, the public will condemn the slaughter of any "cute and cuddly critters" once the news goes viral, and Verm-Tech is already in enough trouble as is. But her mental recap of the Emu War now recalls that the reason the government approved the farmers' requests was because enough citizens convinced the government to cull the emu population. She then comes up with a most ingenious of ideas.

Glenda: "In order to fight against a group of witnesses, we need a group of witnesses willing to defend us."

There is a pause from Dilbert, an indication that he is going over the possible outcomes in his own head. He then asks, "How?"

Glenda: "We know the specific animals that have been injected with nanobots, and their families and friends. We also know they like to steal from houses in the Elysian Fields Estates. Let's go to the neighborhood and show pictures of these vermin to the residents, and get them to claim how their livelihoods have been tampered with by these particular animals. If we get enough support, the people can petition the state government to issue a nuisance wildlife management operation. Bye-bye state-law-protected woods until the problem has been solved. And because my parents' house is several miles away from the Elysian Fields Estates, which is where the animals are, the control center for the nanobots won't be near the place where all the hustle and bustle will soon be happening."

Glenda knows Dilbert so well that she knows he is giving a big smile right now.

Dilbert's voice: "Of course...Glenda, you're a genius!"

Glenda (smirks): "And don't you forget it."

Dilbert's voice: "Seriously, you may have single-handedly saved Verm-Tech."

Glenda: "Don't forget it was my mom's idea to move the nanobot control center to her house. But we all need this job and campus. There's no way I'm gonna let it shut down."

Dilbert's voice: "And soon we'll have a whole neighborhood backing us up to prevent any shutdown. Verm-Tech's low odds of survival will become a guarantee once we are seen as the 'Heroes of the Elysian Fields Estates.' "

Now it's Glenda's turn to give a big smile. She repeats, " 'Heroes of the Elysian Fields Estates'...I like the sound of that. It'll be more prestigious than my mom's former title of President of the Homeowners Association. Gotta get back to work. Talk to you later, Dill."

Dilbert's voice: "You too, Glenda."

Glenda hangs up her phone and mentally goads the suspicious policeman to Verm-Tech, so he can see that everything is normal and look like a fool to his superiors.

As the daughter of Gladys and Dwayne LaFontant, she has her mother's intelligence and her father's Bring-it-on attitude. "Let him come...And let those animals try and stop us..." she mentally says as an invitation. And as a challenge that she will certainly relish.

---

Animals and human have made plans, and yes, this will eventually build into something grander than anything you have read in all my previous OTH stories combined!

I've got a long story to write, and am glad to have you, fellow reader(s), along for the ride!

See you next time!