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There’s nothing I can do but wait with my new friends for whatever happens next.

NINETEEN

Suddenly, there is a loud bang, making me flinch as I cry out.

Trobu jumps to his paws and growls, facing the direction of the distraction.

Chinz jumps up and down, barking.

Even Suzy rises. She looks to me as if I have the answers.

I hug her, but a few seconds later, men start shouting. Scared, I remember that I’m supposed to be under my blanket. I grab the edge of it and pull it over me and Suzy as I curl onto my side. All the way over the top of us, even my head.

Rapid footsteps approach as men call out to each other loudly. They’re getting closer.

Why?

I’m trembling as I hug the tiny, shaking marn. She senses my fear and reacts.

I peek out the corner of my blanket in time to see a huge foot kick Trobu so hard that he goes flying across the room. The action causes me to sit upright, heedless of Daddy’s orders or even my nudity.

I scream as the worst fear I’ve ever experienced consumes me. I wasn’t this afraid when I was drugged and kidnapped from my space station. I wasn’t even this stressed when I woke up in a cage or when I first arrived here or when I learned I was a prisoner.

My dread is bone-deep.

I stare in horror as Trobu scrambles to his feet. Thank heavens he’s not badly hurt. Or at least I don’t think he is. I’m grateful that Chinz is next to him, but I’m worried the smaller shorg might meet a similar fate if he doesn’t stop barking.

Another scream escapes my mouth as the stranger next to my cage lifts a weapon. For a moment, I think he’s going to shoot me. But that’s not what happens. He aims the gun at the bolt in the floor and fires. The bang is deafening. It causes me to drop Suzy onto my thighs and cover my ears.

Suzy immediately scampers to the back of the kennel, squeezes through the bars, and takes off.

I want to call out to her, but I don’t. I hold my tongue. Hopefully she will instinctively find a place to hide from these bad men.

Where is Daddy?

With my hands still over my ears, I look around, but all I see are strangers. One of them rounds to the other side of my kennel, and two of the men lift my entire cage off the floor.

I’m jostled violently as they hurry toward the front of the shelter. This is when I grasp what’s happening. Somehow, these men have brought a weapon strong enough to break the chain that was attaching me to the floor. They’re kidnapping me.

Where’s Daddy? Where’s Daddy? Where’s Daddy? I grab the bars and scream at the top of my lungs. “Help! Daddy! Please, somebody, help!”

But no one comes. As we exit the building into the bright sunlight, I realize we didn’t go through a door. The entire entrance has been blown up. That was the initial explosion.

A large vehicle screeches to a halt in front of the shelter. One man yanks open the rear doors, and the two carrying my cage set me inside.

I continue to yell so loudly there’s no way anyone nearby isn’t hearing my hysteria.

“Help! Someone, please help me!”

The doors slam shut, and seconds later, the vehicle lurches forward and takes off.

I fall onto my butt and slam into the back bars. The kennel slides against the rear doors. The vehicle is moving very fast.

Still screaming, my panic increases. This is what Daddy feared. Did he think there was an imminent threat? Is that why he was in such a strange mood and secured me as best he could in this kennel?

He’s going to be furious when he discovers how easily these men shot through my chain. It shouldn’t have been possible. Daddy has told me my collar and leashes aren’t made from ordinary materials. They’re so strong that nothing can penetrate them.

Except something did.