Attack on the Home
Spring arrived, bringing warmer weather, fresh flowers...and a new member to the Gritpaw family. They named him Orion, and he arrived amid a whirlwind of (almost reckless) spending, which converted one of the second-floor offices into his personal room. Dane and Ares made the space by moving their respective machines into a single room, and reworked their schedules so as not to interfere with each other’s streams. Johanna had offered hers, citing the usefulness of a bathroom right next to the changing table, but given that her work still paid the bulk of the bills, Dane convinced her to keep that space as her own. He could not convince her that she should be excused from nightly diaper and feeding duties.
Gemini would forever treasure the memory of that one night she’d gone to check on Johanna, having realized the Dalmatian hadn’t made it back to bed after one of Orion’s regular feedings. She discovered them both asleep in the chair beside the crib: Orion tucked up snug by his aunt’s side, snoozing contentedly, and Johanna with the empty bottle still in hand, held almost in position for feeding, sound asleep with her head leaning over Orion’s.
“Don’t take this as criticism, honeypot,” Gemini smiled as they all settled in the following night, “I am nothing but grateful for the help...especially right now,” she yawned in spite of herself, sleep having become somewhat sporadic for them all in the last week, “But he’s our pup. Dane and I can handle it. Even the hard parts,” the Doberman promised, nuzzling Johanna while Dane nodded quietly from behind her, “You should get some rest, and concentrate on your work.”
Johanna shook her head firmly, and started to answer...but apparently rethought her words just before they left her lips. After a thoughtful second, she kissed Gemini gently. “He is your pup. If I’m overstepping...inserting myself where you two want exclusivity...don’t hesitate to say so. I love you. But he’s also brother’s pup...my nephew...my family. Just that much, he’s also my pup. I’m not claiming to be ‘second mother’ or any nonsense like that. I just love him, too. And I want to help with everything you’ll let me help with,” she insisted, tail wagging exactly twice against Ares’ leg, behind her, “Hard parts especially. It’ll be easier on you and Dane if the stress is spread between four instead of just two, and that means a happier childhood for Orion.”
Ares chuckled, and kissed the back of her neck. “Thank you. For a moment I thought I was being discounted entirely. I’m in, and I’ll take my fair share happily,” he promised.
Gemini rubbed noses with her fellow female with a smug smile. “Oh, I’m definitely bestowing the ‘second mother’ title on you, don’t worry. You just remember that this newly-minted-MILF takes her responsibilities seriously, too. And thank you,” she kissed them both, then rolled over to share a longer kiss with her husband, “Mmm...family...I think I like it more the bigger it gets,” the Doberman mused with a smile as she settled in. Dane could swear he heard some kind of warning in that remark...
Spring warmed into summer, and Orion began expressing himself in smiles and giggles, and Gemini spent an increasing amount of time as an oozy puddle of delight in the living-room floor, while Johanna’s tail grew thick and strong from all the wagging it had started doing. To help cover the upcoming expenses of baby-food and tiny clothes, Gemini began making larger batches of her home-made lotions and lube, selling them through a little online store. She was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly her first supply sold out...and giggled at a familiar address or two among the buyers. Maybe they’d just been genuinely impressed with her formulas — or maybe trying to impress their new girls — but it seemed some of her past boyfriends were still giving her their support.
With that little extra leeway in their budget and increasingly comfortable daily routines, the greatest challenge remaining in their lives seemed to be raising their pup into a life as satisfying as his parents had achieved...and maybe add a cousin or two, if Johanna had anything to say about it. To a one, and including all the lesser challenges of everyday life, the family was content to settle into their “happily ever after” stage. Even the arrival of some new, not-exactly-welcome neighbors could not tarnish the shine on the future ahead of them.
Summer cooled into autumn, and Orion saw the colors of the mountain change for the first time. Dane and Ares took him into the yard to play regularly while the temperatures were still tolerable, and even G.D. hovered protectively nearby whenever the tiny Dog was rolling in the grass. They got to witness his first attempt at crawling, in an effort to chase after a stick-bug...and Gemini did not forgive them for weeks for failing to snap a picture of that moment. The pair of males also saw a pleasant bump in their streaming revenues, as people around the country began settling in earlier for the long, cold nights of the coming season. Autumn colors slowly collapsed into the gray-brown of winter, and playtime moved exclusively indoors....
Johanna massaged her cheeks and forehead as she descended the stairs into the living-room, then smiled at the little nine-month-old curled up in his mother’s arms. She always made a point of letting him see her smile first thing in the morning and first thing after work. Someday, he would learn why she wasn’t as animated as his mother, father, or uncle. Until he could understand...she didn’t want him to think she didn’t like him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
She didn’t try to hold it long. Just long enough for him to see her, and know that she was happy to see him, and smile back. Then she dropped it, and helped herself to a soda from the fridge. “Rough day?” Gemini asked her, picking up the subtle cues that said Johanna was stressed.
“No. Concerning,” the Dalmatian corrected as she popped the can open, “Business is fine. I only got routine hits on my servers today. Local news is already getting all hyped up for Deep White, and almost nothing else. But police reports show an upward trend of missing persons this year, and it’s spiked in the last two months,” she sighed after the run-down. Johanna’s free-lance “work-day” was full of a lot of reading, in a staggering array of fields. Gemini couldn’t even remember the list of highlights some days, let alone the details.
The Doberman tilted her head, shifting her son onto her shoulder as he finished nursing. “Okay...that’s a little worrying in a vague, ‘world-peace’ level kind of way. I don’t like thinking our town has a crime rate, either. But why is that on your radar right now?”
“It’s nearly double last year’s total,” Johanna stated flatly, “About eighty percent of those who go missing every year are hikers on this mountain, and about the same percentage are found within a couple of weeks. This year it’s closer to ninety-eight percent, and only ten percent found.” Johanna scanned over something on her phone, the tiny reflection of a map reflected in her half-closed eyes. “The high trail has become dangerous. Next time you guys go out walking, stay down near the lodge. Still...based on the reports, all of the trails are risky now.”
“...Oh,” her friend nodded, understanding her concern rather better now, “Well, I don’t see us doing anything like that again until spring, anyway. Dane hates the cold, and I don’t want to foist this guy off on you for that long,” she winked, just as the baby on her shoulder finally belched...loudly. “So...any idea what it might be?” she asked a little hesitantly. If Johanna really meant all the trails...well some of those trails ran pretty close to their property. You could see one from their back yard.
But the Dalmatian just shook her head. “Those that have been found have just been the usual stuff. Kids getting turned around on a trail they didn’t know, amateurs looking for the best view just off the beaten path, that sort of thing. Only the numbers are bothersome right—.”
Gemini jumped so hard she almost dropped the baby when G.D. started barking in the yard. So did Johanna, for that matter, and the pair exchanged uncertain looks. The hefty mountain-dog was generally lazy and very relaxed. He’d never once barked when mail or pizza was delivered, even if the delivery person came up on the porch with him. One poor Goat had even been startled witless to see the massive animal sitting not three feet away from him, quietly wagging his tail, after dropping off a package...and G.D. had not made a sound even after the guy went running back to his truck. So the deep, repeated barking he was unleashing now was unusual to say the least.
Both women got quickly to their feet when Dane also started shouting from outside, where he and Ares had been working on replacing part of the (mostly decorative) fence along the road, and Johanna started for the door before she realized what her brother was shouting: “—Upstairs! Get Orion upstairs! Now! Get upstairs!”
His voice was getting closer, fast. He was running for the house. Unsure of what was going on, Gemini quietly put her trust in her husband and immediately took off for the stairs with their son clutched to her, while Johanna preemptively dialed the number for the police and left her finger hovering over the call button as she opened the door for the men. “What’s going on?” she asked with surprising calm as Dane’s foot hit the porch, G.D. just ahead of him and Ares fast on his heels. But one glance over their shoulders explained everything in a snap, and Johanna very nearly slammed the door on her brother’s tail before Ares could even get to it. Ares wouldn’t have blamed her.
Fortunately for the Doberman, Dane hooked an arm around Johanna as he passed by, yanking her back from the door so hard she dropped her precious phone. “Go!” Dane barked at this sister, shoving her roughly toward the stairs before he turned to help Ares brace the door.
Something heavy hit the other side, thrusting them both a step away from it. The thick wood buckled. The frame cracked. Through the gap, Johanna could see the pearl-and-onyx mask of the monster (she refused to call it anything as simple as “a bear” again) that had chased them from their campsite over a year ago. Johanna could swear it had gotten bigger...
“GO!” Dane shouted again, throwing his shoulder against the door. G.D. huddled up behind him, growling low with all his hackles raised, and Ares braced his back against the cracking wood as well.
“Shit!” the Doberman spat, “Dane, this won’t hold! That thing’s—!”
Johanna was chased up the stairs by the sound of wood splintering and the dog barking savagely, as her brother and boyfriend began a literal fight for their lives in the living-room. Not stopping at the second floor, she continued right on up to the attic bedroom, where she found Gemini huddled on the bed, trying to soothe the baby despite the panic in her own eyes. “Johanna, what’s down there?!”
“The monster we met on our camping trip,” the Dalmatian answered evenly, planting her feet and pulling hard on the rope that would raise the steps up into the room. It took all the strength she had. This thing hadn’t been used since they moved in, and wasn’t light in the first place. Behind her, Gemini was turning nearly as white as the Dalmatian, and sick both at the thought that they were leaving the men down there with it...and that that was definitely what they had to do. If that thing ever reached the steps...it meant their brothers were already down, and the two of them had practically no chance.
“Gods forgotten,” Gemi whispered, nearly smothering Orion against her shoulder, “Johanna...what do we do...?”
The Dalmatian trotted over and unlatched the little window above the bed, sticking her head out. After taking a second to orient herself, she turned in a very specific direction and screamed as loud as she could, “HELP!!” then hopped back down and started yanking out drawers from beside the bed in search of something. “I really hope that guy’s home,” she muttered as she found a certain pair of gloves and began pulling them over her fingers, “Or that these work.” Her phone was downstairs. The gun they’d bought just after moving here was in her office. All she had in here were the talisman-gloves she’d gotten to fight the witch’s ghost...and no way of knowing if that meant anything to the thing downstairs.
Tears began to flow from Gemi’s eyes, and her nose quivered along with her voice. “Johanna...it’s coming up the stairs...,” she warned, listening to the wood groan under the massive beast’s weight.
“...Yeah,” the Dalmatian nodded, backing onto the bed and watching the raised stairs like a rabbit watches a hawk in the trees. It roared as it reached the landing in the hall below, as if it understood there were more potential victims just out of sight. “The window,” she whispered over her shoulder, holding out her hands for Orion.
“What?!” Gemi asked, though she hated to so much as squeak with that thing so close. It felt to her like it would hear even her sweat falling onto the carpeted floor.
Johanna gently pulled the baby from her friend’s arms. “Get out the window. I’ll hand him to you,” she explained, nudging Gemini toward the little octagonal window she’d just shouted through, “Get down, then run for that Rabbit’s house. I’ll try to keep it inside here.”
Before Gemini could move, either to carry out the plan or argue with it, a hole erupted in the floor as two massive paws burst through the wood and carpet, followed by the blazing-eyed head of the beast. It roared again when it saw them, and began tearing a larger hole to hoist itself up through. “GO! NOW!” Johanna commanded, and Gemini started to pull herself up into the window.
She’d barely gotten her head out, though, before falling back in and pulling Johanna down onto the bed with her as she shouted, “DUCK!”
He burst through the wall even more easily than the beast had burst through their door, flying in like he’d simply jumped from his house to theirs. Oro’s eyes swept up the entire scene almost before his feet touched the floor: the women huddled over the baby on the bed, how close he’d come to knocking part of the wall right on top of them, and the enormous black thing tearing down the floor. “Stay down!” the red-and-white Rabbit barked at them, “And you,” he leveled his bat at the creature’s face, nearly touching its nose as it stuck its head through the hole, “Are in the wrong house, Papa Bear.”
It roared, and sank all its teeth hard into the bat extended to it. Oro smirked, grabbing the handle with both hands. “Fucking idiot,” he grunted, hauling with all his might. Even the monster seemed shocked to find itself pulled up into the room and flung over the Rabbit’s head, to go sailing out through the hole he’d made on the way in...even if it did have to widen the gap a bit. It hit the slope of the roof hard, tearing shingles free and cracking the supports before it tumbled off the edge and landed flat on its side in the dirt below.
In the street, not far from the house, Sarahi held her spear lightly in upturned palms, aimed like a rifle. “Fist of Heaven..,” she intoned as the monster shook the stars from its eyes. It might have turned on her if Oro hadn’t drawn its attention back upward with a sharp whistle...not that that would have helped it at all.
Crouched at the edge of the roof, the Rabbit smiled down smugly and gave the beast a little wave. “Bye-bye,” he chuckled as Sarahi finished her incantation.
“...Punish the sinful earth!” The spear shot out like a beam of light, punching into the beast on one side and ripping out the other, leaving a considerable hole in its chest and an even larger one in the slope of the mountain behind the house. The monster looked confused for a second, its eyes never turning from Oro’s, before the edges of that hole in its chest began to peel away like burnt paper. Within seconds, the whole of the creature had collapsed into something like ashes, and been swept away by the late autumn breeze.
“Damn,” Oro arched a brow at the new crater in the mountainside, “That thing means fucking business.” Turning his attention back to the hole behind and a little above him, Oro called up, “You guys okay?” He was not immediately answered. And when he was, it came from further inside the house, down on the main floor. It came in the form of a heart-broken wail, followed by a baby’s cry. Gnashing his teeth, Oro hopped down from the roof and met Sarahi as she trotted up to (what had been) the front door.
The scene inside was something from a natural disaster documentary. Oro couldn’t say if it was more like a tornado or an earthquake, but that hardly mattered. Everything was smashed. The men had apparently tried to use the chairs and even the coffee table as weapons. The sofa was shredded. The counter dividing the kitchen from the breakfast nook was torn off its base. They’d fought like devils, for what it was worth. But now Gemini was huddled over Dane’s body, openly crying with her forehead pressed to his while their son cried between them, ignorant of all except his mother’s sorrow. The Dalmatian had three long slashes running down his face and chest, and even onto his thighs. He was missing his left arm entirely. Johanna was kneeling not far from them, with Ares’ head in her lap. He still possessed all his limbs, but one arm was clearly broken and his chest and shoulder were pitted with the marks of a vicious bite. Her sorrow was quieter, and not yet accompanied by tears, but it reached far enough to be felt by the Rabbit and Sha’khari before they got fully through the door. G.D. whimpered from the closet to their right as they stepped in, trying to pull himself out from between the broken halves of the door with just his front paws, as his back two seemed crippled.
“...Fuck,” Oro grunted quietly, sparing just a second to pull the poor dog out by its collar.
Johanna shook her head. “Thank you,” she answered softly, “For answering. That was—”
“—safe?” Dane asked something in an uneven, gurgley voice, making Oro’s ear twitch in surprise.
Gemini nodded against his forehead, where he could feel her answer even if he couldn’t open his eyes. “Yes,” she answered, picking up his hand to lay on their boy’s head, “He’s fine. Johanna and I are fine. You...you...,” she couldn’t decide what else to say, and the lump in her throat wouldn’t let any more out anyway.
“You’re still breathing?” Oro asked, as if to himself, surprise and something like growing horror spreading across his face. He glanced over at Ares, noting the shallow rise and fall of his chest as well. “They’re still breathing,” the Rabbit whispered, taking a step back through the door as if suddenly afraid of something in the room. Sarahi, standing beside him, blinked in surprise as he turned and shot off for their house in an all-out sprint without a word of explanation.
Hesitantly, the Sha'khari padded on into the house, seating herself close-by but at a respectful distance. She wasn’t sure what she should say just now, much less do...but she felt guilty at the thought of leaving these two alone right now. Nayeli had barely begun her training as a nurse, and these two were clearly beyond any help that could be reached before they bled out, so she wasn’t sure what Oro—!
The most likely answer occurred to her just about the same time he returned clutching three bright-red bottles in his fists. “Make him drink this,” the Rabbit insisted, shoving one of the bottles into Johanna’s hand as she blinked at him through the tears that had finally formed in her eyes, “Any way you can! Spit it in him, if you have to!” Not even waiting to see if she understood, he passed a second to Sarahi, then crouched down next to Gemini and Dane, who looked to be rather the worst of the three. Holding the bottle in his teeth, Oro turned the Dalmatian’s head and pulled his mouth open before popping the cork out and pouring the contents directly into Dane’s throat. “Swallow,” he snarled as the last drop fell into the pool forming in the back of Dane’s open mouth, “Fucking swallow!”
He couldn’t. He was on his last breath, and the potion got slurped into his lungs rather than his stomach as he drew it, setting off a fit of coughing that racked his tortured body. Gemini hid her baby’s face against her shoulder, squeezing her own eyes shut...until she realized that the coughing was growing stronger rather than weaker, and something about that didn’t seem right. Once he got his throat relatively clear, Dane took one more deep breath and coughed out the rest of the irritant in his lungs, then blinked his eyes open. “What...the...wuff?” he asked hoarsely, but strongly. Gemini’s eyes widened, and Johanna nearly dropped the potion in her hand.
Sarahi helped her get Ares’ head up and mouth open, then went to treat the dog (quietly hoping he wouldn’t be skittish of a stranger, especially one trying to pour something into his mouth). Johanna whispered encouragement into Ares’ ear while she let the potion run in droplets along the inside of his cheek, rather gentler than Oro’s method had been. Within seconds the Doberman had also regained consciousness, and was more than willing to down the last half of the potion under his own power. “Wuff, what is this stuff?” he asked once it was all down, and his breathing was coming easily again.
“Healing potions,” Sarahi answered with a smile, scratching G.D.’s chin gratefully as the large dog proved very agreeable to taking his medicine, “Where they came from is a long story...but they’re legit healing potions.”
“Obviously!” Ares breathed, turning his head toward Dane and watching wide-eyed as the Dalmatian’s missing arm started to regrow in front of them. It occurred to Sarahi that this might qualify as more than “healing” at this point, but she wasn’t making any complaints.
Dane slowly sat up, looking around in well-justified bewilderment. “That thing...you fought it off?” he asked Oro.
The Rabbit shook his head, looking annoyed about something, and jerked his thumb at Sarahi. “Sarahi fucking destroyed it. That fucker won’t be bothering you again.”
Dane’s eyes widened again, and his shoulders slumped a little. Gemini nearly choked him with a hug, though, perking up his spirits again, before setting their son in his lap and launching forward to give Oro a similar hug. Oro nearly fell over backward, completely unprepared for that reaction. “Thank you!” the Doberman practically screamed in his sensitive ear.
His response surprised her every bit as much as she’d surprised him: he shoved her back with a reflexive, “Fuck off,” as he got to his feet. Gemini looked confused, but was far too grateful to have her husband and brother alive and well to care if one of their saviors was grumpy. “Glad you’re all safe,” he grunted, sounding more irritated than relieved, and turned toward the porch with his bat across his shoulder again, “Now, I’m done here. Later.”
The turn-around in his attitude was dizzying, even to Sarahi, who was used to his weird twists on moral and ethical concepts. She watched him go with every bit as much confusion as the four Dogs. “Um...no, seriously, we’re glad we could help, and that no one is hurt...now,” she assured them, patting G.D. on the head as the animal shook itself in relief and got to all four paws again, “I honestly don’t know what that was about.” She looked around the wrecked house, wincing a little at what they hadn’t been able to help with. “Feels like we were a bit late, though. Sorry for that.”
“No,” Johanna answered with surprising finality, “You answered. If you hadn’t, you still wouldn’t owe us any apologies. Anyone in their right mind would have run away from a scream like that.”
Sarahi chuckled, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder. “Well, we’re all just a little crazy in that house, so call us any time. Even him. I promise he’s not as bad as he pretends to be.”
“Same here,” Ares grunted, rubbing his previously broken arm as if still not quite believing how pain-free it was, “We owe you guys one. If you ever need anything—”
“Good neighbors,” Sarahi assured him, patting his shoulder in similar fashion, “We need good neighbors. Just stay that, and we’ll be good,” she promised. Then the Sha'khari also stood up, and took one more long look around, noting the sizable hole in the wall, the wrecked furniture and stairs, and remembering the hole in the attic wall. The official start of winter was just days away, and while the temperature was tolerable at the moment it would be cold after sunset. “I’m going to go find out what got into him. Regardless of that, though...come over as soon as you’ve collected yourselves. We’ll make room for you until you can get this patched up. Even Oro will be nice, I promise.”
“Thanks,” Johanna answered absently with a shake of her head, “But no. We can handle this. I just need to find my phone, and we’ll be okay. We will come see you later, though. Thank you,” she promised, and began glancing around for her missing electronic. Gemini and the guys gave her curious looks, but not doubtful ones, surprising Sarahi a bit. Both of their families apparently had highly competent members, if in different fields.
“Okay. Just remember the offer stands if you need it, okay?” Sarahi bowed politely, then trotted off toward her own house.
