All is silent. The air is still stiff with the rain's scent, and spears of sunlight shine through the entrance. My head is still throbbing at the fever, yet I'm no longer shivering. It's like the morning washes away half of my sickness.

Rising from the sweat-stained mattress, I hiss as Sandra presses a cloth around my wounded ankle. How long has she been there?

"I'm afraid there might be some infections. We'll visit a doctor later." Her movements are sloppy and she can barely contain her yawns. Her red-rimmed eyes glint with determination, though slightly dimmed by unshed tears.

I wince at the pain, but keeps the screams in my throat. I'm also gurgling with questions, yet before I utter some out, she interferes, "Did you know what happened?"

Shaking my head subtly, I glance around the silent cave. The twins and their families, also Grand-Mad, are huddled on several mattresses across mine, dozing without a care. Next to me is Roy, his mouth sealed shut, yet his eyelids flutter occasionally. The bandages on his arms and stomach are the silent witnesses of the battle. On my other side are Xin-Yo and Miro, curling together like a pair of newborns, unbothered by the clatters from the filled-with-shrimps backpack.

She gestures at me to lie down again, which I obey since the pain evolves the longer I sit. The dizziness, as the fever's outcome, also grows as time goes by. "We had some sort of... um, disagreement." Fiddling with her ruffled sweater, she continues, "I couldn't just sit down while he took care of everything. Moreover, he was in such a bad emotional state after his dad showed up..."

"He's just worried about you." I let out a sigh. Roy must be pretending to fall asleep; his eyelids twitch more often now. "Anyway, did the dogs manage to break the treehouse's barrier?"

She bites her lips for a few moments and looks away. "Well, almost. You see, I took Miro and Xin-Yo and we dashed together. Those three were still sparring, after all. Then the dogs caught up with us, and I stripped a branch off a tree and..." Her voice breaks as her whitening lips tremble. "I didn't know where I got the courage from..."

Well, that was a heroic stunt. Maybe she got it in the spur of the moment. Yet, it was still dangerous. The feral dogs could've attacked while they were running without any defense.

"I'd be like him too if I saw that, Sandra. Well, you see—"

"Is it because I'm a girl? Or is it because neither of you think I'm capable of such things?" A veil of tears begin to form within her eyes. "I was so worried that the dogs would break into the treehouse... and all you two—"

"I wouldn't spite you for it though," I quickly add. But regret soon follows at how it's like I'm blaming Roy for channeling his frustration. "It was reckless, but like you said... in the end, everything's fine. You showed us how you were capable instead. I understand why Roy was so upset about it, but it shows how much he cares for you." I place a meaningful pause as she rapidly blinks, pushing back her tears.

Later, she puts up half a smile. "If you weren't so oblivious, you might've seen another reason besides that. But let it be"—she hoists herself up, fixing her gaze at me—"you'll know more soon."

🐾

"You don't even know what you're doing. Who else knows what they're doing?"

I jolt up at the high-pitched remark. Did I fall asleep again?

Before long, Miro scrambles to my side, fussing over a glass of water.

"How are you feeling?" Miro eyes my bloody ankle, then my electrified elbow, and the remaining scars from the shrimps. I hunch my body forward to cover the overly-gruesome details. "You slept like a polar bear for twelve hours. Your fever is gone, though, so that's good. For mammoth's sake, Allice, stop overworking yourself from now on." His brown eyes mimic Auntie Morgan's whenever an insect bothered her. "You really like having others worry for you, huh?"

I bite back a chuckle, yet I can't stop a grin from resurfacing. "Who taught you—"

"There's no point of being stubborn, Mrs. Sybil." Sandra's jaws are deadly set, betraying the calmness of the sky-blue cover of her cradled book.

Speaking of which, why is Roy's mattress empty? The twins' and Grand-Mad's too. Where are they?

Mrs. Sybil leaves Roy's desk with a haughty shove of her flip-flops. Her glasses continuously slip down her slender nose, failing the impression of a reliable employee. "Arsy and I want to leave. Like, how far are we from being actual cavemen?"

"I actually think it's rather comfy, Mom—"

A glare from her beady eyes snatches the next words off Arsy's lips. "Julian and I have talked about it. Arsy needs to go back to school. I need to work back at The Office—"

"Your fellow workers gossiped about you yesterday." Sandra returns to the pages of her book. "News of our meeting are widespread around Dogson now."

"You're kidding." She stiffly folds her arms together while her brain still tries to collect the essence. Arsy scrambles to the desk, placing soothing pats on her mom's trembling shoulder. It might be as futile as trying to bottle a volcano's rage, though.

Mrs. Alexa, her sister-in-law, chooses to rearrange Roy's chest of weapons instead. A pouch of fangs lies near her crossed legs. Somewhere around it lies a folded newspaper too. "I found some of these stuck at tree barks, while some on your treehouse's roof," she says, a faint shiver in her voice. "Not all dogs left healthily... or alive."

Maybe Mrs. Alexa might give me some useful clues too, besides Sandra. After all, she's still busying over her book, and our last conversation didn't end well... "Speaking of which, do you know if Mr. Orion and Argus leave safely?"

She inspects a fang with eyes that resemble a weapon collector. "Mr. Orion passed out, so Argus took him to the hospital and returned the dogs to The Office. He was quite persistent to attack Argus and at least injure Roy so he would beg for mercy... that was what he told him."

I exhale in relief at how Argus is fine. Though if something bad happens to Mr. Orion, it'll hit Roy greatly. He already lost his mom eleven years ago, after all...

"Also, Jules and I came to our rented flat to pick up our children yesterday. But they were gone, and the flat was in a mess." Her voice cracks at the edges. "Probably none but Jules noticed, but I left the cave soon after the battle to look for clues."

The words won't leave the ceilings of my mouth for some time. This woman surely resembles Auntie Morgan.

"Lin-Orion was after something. Not every alive dog left with him... there were still some wandering about, even hours after."

Mrs. Sybil and Sandra's bickering dies, blown out by a gust of curiosity. All eyes are trained on the mysterious Mrs. Alexa, whose analysis makes even Roy's accurate ones look like childish guesses.

"Well"—I scratch my head—"Argus also wanted me to find out what Mr. Orion was looking for..."

I spill everything out, from the twins helping me to get rid of the dogs, the lone dog, to our observation near the river, which resulted in nothing.

"But dogs don't like cold water. They won't willingly swim, even when it's raining." Sandra flips her book shut, biting her lip, like whenever she's in a deep muse. "So are you telling me there's something in the river?"

🐾

As I shamble out of the cave, the scarce leaves stagger off their branches, lying in a heap under my socks. A river snakes ahead of me, its transparent current cradling logs and stones.

I lean against one of the trees, sniffing at the sharp chemical from the twigs. I wince once I rely too much weight on it, so I end up sitting on the ground.

Now it's time to brainstorm by myself, free from other voices. But there are too many threads to sew together—Jorge's genocide scheme, the involvement of OCZ and Lin-Irene, Mrs. Alexa's kidnapped children, and Mr. Orion's appearance, along with his feral dogs. Not to mention that suspicious lantern light from last night...

Before I can form a proper analysis, my legs stagger toward the opposite land, where a brown pouch, bundled up with a stern rope, is anchored beneath some branches. Not its common appearance attracts me, but the strong stench of rain instead, mixed with a nose-tickling aroma.

Driven by curiosity, I set off to the rocks on the river, hopping on the bigger ones to get across. Though I slip on a mossy surface and end up getting dipped into the river, I manage to swim to the land and retrieve the ominous item without bothering the itching injuries.

Once I return to the previous land, I untie the bundle, feeling clinks within the rough material. A heap of Onyx Agents are inside. However, there's something off about their innocent glimmers. Again, urged by my unusually reckless curiosity, I throw one of the Onyx Agents to the ground... and it explodes. Sizzling white smoke billows out of the pierced shards.

"What should we do with those?" A groggy voice approaches, and I turn to meet Sandra, leaning against a leafless tree with her arms folded.

"No hurry. They aren't ticking, so they're not timed."

Sandra tucks a strand hair behind her ear. "Okay, we'll wait for Roy then. Anyway, I want to... apologize for snapping at your cluelessness this morning. But actually, it's always a sensitive topic with Roy... getting other people hurt for his sake." She sucks in a mouthful of breath, like it might add to her courage. "You know, this area was once green and bright." Her stare moves to the outer walls of the cave. The dull stones are forged in dark purple and copper, synced with the cracked grounds and extinct herbs around. "Roy was fifteen when he first came here with two friends. Their parents were busy, and you know how teenagers, especially boys, are..."

Hold on, why is she telling me this?

"The trees were so thick, they barely knew where to step. It was a cloudy February day, and they ended up right where we are. But they were interrupting a competition between male platypuses..."

"Platypus?"

The land we're sitting on is cracked and water-deprived, despite being near a river. But the land across is crowded with roots and leaves; I was too busy with the brown pouch to observe the secret lairs. Along the riverside slopes, several small burrows peep out, sheltered beneath the fallen foliage.

"They teased the competing males when it was their mating season. Roy didn't know platypuses have a painful venom for humans." Sandra turns her head and scans the surroundings, as if fearing to be overheard. "His two friends were permanently hurt. But Roy managed to avoid the poison since he was the one daring them."

So Roy was responsible for his friends' injuries. Weren't it for him...

"After that, Migos and Argus' families kept them away from him. His dad also took him to the police department whenever he didn't have homeschooling. His favorite spot was my dad's laboratory." A thin mist covers her eyes. "I should've known. About Roy knowing the Chiroquin, I mean. Dad used to like him very much. They must've talked about lots of things..."

Darkness shrouds the morning like a horde of crows. Hopefully, it doesn't mean things might get worse than this.

"You two should fix things up," I say, mustering a strong tone. "You actually need him more than you think."