*Heyo, peeps! I came to bring the next chapter!! Heck yeah!!! This is published on July 23, 2021. If you guys like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and spam the comment section. This chapter will be shorter than the last but not by much though. The song I used again is called "Way Less Sad" and it's used on a sad note. Warning: It does contain depressing themes from real life. Enjoy!*

Flashback:

Within the dark alleyway, shouts were heard as the little cheetah girl ran through the empty streets of Catalonia in the dead of night. She knew that stealing was bad but her stomach hungered for some flavors touching her tongue. Her father wouldn't condone it but he was starving along with her.

That's why she grabbed two sandwiches wrapped neatly without paying. Her fear and hunger boosted her speed as she stopped quickly and glanced over at the performance happening nearby. She witnessed a small stage of performers singing a song that was too distant to even recall.

https://youtu.be/1O34wAxJnwU

"Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey

Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey (oh-oh-oh), hey-hey-hey

I should move because Redshore City is getting muddy out.

There's Catalonia but it's always kinda sunny out.

And I don't wanna hurt no more

So, I set my bar real low."

"Hey!" The young cheetah girl noticed the tiger who was after her with a growl.

She began to speed away from the tiger as the singers continued to sing.

"I'm a-okay, I'm a-okay (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

You say it but you just don't mean it

You're so insane, you're so insane (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Shut up and just enjoy this feelin'."

The young cheetah reached to the dark alleyway, hiding from her pursuer until she fooled him into thinking she kept running. With a little victory smirk, the young cheetah reached to where her father was, hiding by the trashcan with citizens walking past them like they were invisible.

"Don't you love it, don't you love it?

No, I ain't happy yet

But I'm way less sad

Don't you love it, don't you love it?

No, I ain't happy yet

But I'm way less sad

Hеy-hey-hey, hey-hеy-hey, hey-hey-hey

But I'm way less sad

Hey-hey-hey, hey-hey-hey (oh-oh-oh), hey-hey-hey

But I'm way less sad!"

The young cheetah approached her father with one of the wrapped sandwiches as the chorus was singing. Her father noticed the food, his eyes wide in shock. Part of him was about to scold her for stealing until his stomach was starving along with hers. He received the sandwich his daughter offered up to him, eating along with her as the song continued.

"I wake up and I'm not so mad at Twitter now

Livin' sucks but it's suckin' just a little now

And I don't wanna cry no more

So I set my bar real low."

"Find him!" the cheetahs heard an angry voice as her father peeked out with eyes wide to find cops with guns pointing everywhere as a precaution. Her father glanced back at the young cheetah girl while lifting her hands up to cover her ears and turning her around so that she wouldn't have to witness what he had to do. With an angry determination, her father donned on his cloak and mask, covering his face entirely as he stepped out of his hiding place.

"I'm a-okay, I'm a-okay (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

You say it but you just don't mean it

You're so insane, you're so insane (ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah)

Shut up and just enjoy this feelin'."

As the music raged on, her father began to take out his dagger and fought off the cops invading his space, dismembering their bodies in the process. One of the cops' arms flew out and landed right next to the scared little girl. Her eyes instantly widened as she breathed heavily. She heard muffled sirens while breathing heavily in horror. Her father returned as he picked her up and sped down the alleyway, holding his daughter tightly to his chest.

"Well, I can't fall asleep and I'm losin' my mind

'Cause it's half-past three and my brain's on fire

I've been countin' sheep but the sheep all died

And I'm tryin' too hard but I can't not try

Well, I can't fall asleep and I'm losin' my mind

'Cause it's half-past three and my brain's on fire (brain's on fire)

I've been countin' sheep but the sheep all died

And I'm not dead yet, so I guess I'll be alright!"

Her father looked around and put his daughter down in the trash bin. He cupped her face with tears streaming down on his face.

"Wees sterk, dogter(Be strong, daughter)," Her father uttered while kissing her forehead and sped down the alleyway. The young cheetah girl had to watch as her father keep running until he's surrounded by the cops. The little girl watched as her father had his dagger out to defend himself until something was stuck onto his neck as he collapsed on the ground and his speed was slowed down by this device.

The little girl gasped as she witnessed the cops kicking her father down while he's on the ground. One of the cops had his knee on her father's throat, choking him.

"I...I can't...breathe," her father uttered and the young cheetah girl knew she heard it too.

The young cheetah girl breathed heavily when the cops kept choking him despite his protest. And her father could no longer breathe as he passed out on the concrete. The little girl had her eyes widened instantly as she began to shed tears.

"Papa!!!" the young little girl hopped out of the trashcan and sped towards her father. The cops immediately backed out as they noticed the little girl coming up to her father.

The little girl tried waking her father up with tears shimmering in her green eyes but it didn't succeed. "Papa! Papa!! Wake up! Wake up please!"

The music continued on sadly.

"Don't you love it, don't you love it?

No, I ain't happy yet

But I'm way less sad

Don't you love it, don't you love it?

No, I ain't happy yet

But I'm way less sad

I may be wrong (I may be wrong)

I may be wrong (I may be wrong)

It's stupid but it's all I have.

Don't you love it, don't you love it?

No, I ain't happy yet

But I'm way less sad."

The upbeat music ended as the young little girl cried over her dead father's chest, hearing the sirens wailing in the background.

~.~

Meanwhile, a woman koala was breaking down crying. Her heart shattered into a million pieces once she realized that her baby was dead from her womb. She laid on the hospital bed, eyes full of tears while the doctors explained to her about the situation.

It was another miscarriage, no doubt about that. A missing chromosome and the fetus wouldn't develop normally. But, how could it develop normally out of wedlock? Even that scumbag of a man left her, she wanted to have a child. A daughter perhaps. A little girl she would love and nourish forever.

But that never came. The pink blanket was long discarded. That baby girl had moments before she could live and her breath went out.

Barbara Reeves couldn't bear this kind of pain. After a few days of recovery, she was sent back home...to her lonely home. It's only a small house in a bad neighborhood but it was never enough without baby feet pattering around it. Her mind wandered into deep thoughts unknown to men and women alike.

It was one day that she found hope. She happened to be walking by a house, a nice-looking two-story house with a beautiful kitchen. There was a family of golden koalas, three of them to be exact. A mother, a father, and a little baby girl cradled in her mother's arm. The little girl appeared to be four months old, snuggling into her mother's chest as a source of comfort.

The woman koala looking in from the outside couldn't help but adore that little girl. Her mind was made up that day.

Barbara snuck into the house with a knife in her grasp. She was able to reach the master bedroom where the couple slept peacefully with the baby cradle across from them.

She placed the sharp edge against the male koala's neck, slitting his throat quietly.

The wife woke up to the sound of her husband gasping and choking next to her. Before she could react, Barbara stabbed her in the chest while covering her mouth for her to scream into her hand. The wife's eyes were full of terror, breathing heavily as Barbara twisted the knife around her insides.

The wife's breathing quickly ceased. When sure that she's dead, Barbara pulled out the knife, cleaning the blood off of it.

The baby wailed as she glanced over at the crib with the name embroidered on it.

Maya.

Barbara looked into the crib to see the pretty baby girl with blue eyes staring up at her in question.

Barbara put the knife away and picked up the baby, cradling her in her arms. She felt like she's holding her baby all over again, except the baby was breathing and healthy. No more miscarriages...no more pain. Just her and her baby. Her baby Maya.

That day...Barbara changed her identity, buried the bodies underneath the rich house. She's no longer Ms. Barbara Reeves, the woman unable to give birth...she's Lilith Hart, the woman who had a child and was more than determined to keep her all to herself.

~.~

Present:

Becky, the kind of porcupine who would decorate walls with pink color and had bangs to the side, had recently been dumped by her now ex-boyfriend, Lance. Something about chasing after this random ex who he cheated on.

Becky now understood what Ash must have felt like to see someone else that you love and care for being with somebody else that you don't know at all. After her fallout with Lance, she'd learn to date some guys and then dumped them. That's why being a hooker is a great job for her for now. Her body was only an object until she could invest her time into a real relationship...but she had a feeling that she wouldn't get there soon.

She counted the money she made for the men who came and made love to her until a woman koala came in. Her eyes looked up to see the woman koala entering the building, wearing a pink with black striped top and jeans.

"Sorry, sweetie, we're closed--"

"Oh, well, I was hoping that you or one of your employees could fulfill my request," the koala woman answered, her green eyes locked with Becky's.

Becky furrowed her brow. "Um...I am not particularly into women but I can get some women who are to--"

"Oh no, no, not for me, silly. For a guy, I know. Apparently, he's been itching to-uh-you know what I mean," the koala woman replied with a giggle and a wink.

Becky smiled a bit. "I'd be happy to help in any way I can. Who's the lucky fella?"

"Familiar with Buster Moon?"

Becky's grin grew bigger. "Oh yeah, the owner of the Moon Theater! He's such a nice and encouraging koala."

"Koala?" the woman koala asked the young porcupine with bangs.

Becky nodded, oblivious as to why she's asking this. "Yeah! A koala. He's such a nice guy. But...he has money...why couldn't he--?"

"Oh, I want to surprise him. His birthday is coming up soon and gotta give him the time of his life," the woman koala stated with a cheeky smirk.

Becky laughed. "Oh, that sounds fun."

"Oh yes, it will be fun," the woman koala replied.

~.~

Buster woke up to a bright new day with a smile on his face. He got on his usual blue suit with his silver watch hidden in the bag. The koala brushed his teeth, which were always pearly white as usual.

"Time to get to work," Buster said in a chirpy tone while opening the drawer and popping his head out of it. He hopped onto the office chair with a happy hop and pushed the drawer. He spun the chair he's sitting on around. With a grin, he pointed to the door to his office.

"And cue in the crazy old lizard."

On cue, Ms. Crawly entered the office, in full health and recovery. She gave a gentle smile up at Buster.

"Good morning, Mr. Moon," Ms. Crawly greeted while giving him coffee.

"Good morning, Ms. Crawly. How are your legs doing?"

"Oh, I still got a pep in my step," Ms. Crawly replied while handing him the coffee mug.

Buster tried to drink out of the mug until he realized that it's empty. "You brought me a coffee?"

"Yes."

"Where is it?" Buster showed her the empty mug.

"Oh my, I must've drunk it on the way up the stairs. I guess I got to have some to keep me going up the stairs."

Buster smiled fondly at his lizard assistant. However, what he didn't expect was Maya entering Buster's office with a full coffee in her hand.

"Good morning, Buster," Maya greeted in a chirp as she gasped to realize that Ms. Crawly already beat her to the game.

However, Ms. Crawly chuckled. "I gave him an empty mug by accident, dear. So, by all means, go ahead."

Ms. Crawly gave Maya a wink with her one good eye and went towards her little office.

Maya smiled and placed the coffee on Buster's desk. "I hope you like it."

Buster exchanged a smile back. "I'm sure I will when it comes to you."

Since their first date, the koalas had been flirting with each other. Buster wanted to go on a second date with this girl but he knew he must give it some time for her to be willing to go on a second date.

Buster looked down to see the creamer drawn in a heart shape, making his heart soar. He glanced up to see Maya peeking from the doorway with a teasing smirk as she walked away confidently.

Buster chuckled and sipped his coffee. He didn't think this coffee could be so good!!!! His mind was lost for a moment as he sat back and drink his morning coffee, the one that Maya lovingly made for him.

A few minutes passed by as he could hear the violin playing from downstairs as Buster could only smile fondly in the thought of her. He couldn't stop thinking about her and for once, he wasn't even afraid. He didn't feel the need to slap himself in the face or call himself an idiot for falling in love. This love felt so good, why would he ever leave it in the first place?

Ms. Crawly entered Buster's office with some files that Buster needed to look over. It's not heavy or huge, so Buster didn't want to make a big deal about it. Before a word could be said, something rushed through the window in Ms. Crawly, breaking the glass. Ms. Crawly gasped as Buster lost his romantic thoughts. He stood on his desk and hopped off.

"Ms. Crawly, stay here and hide," Buster instructed softly as he tiptoed towards the doorway of his office.

However, Ms. Crawly didn't do as instructed. Instead, she quickly searched through the office and took out a wooden bat. The iguana quickly came beside Buster and handed him a wooden bat just in case he needed to defend himself.

Buster noticed this while insisting on Ms. Crawly to keep it. The koala peeked out of the office to see blood trails and broken glass on the wooden floor right in front of him. His blue eyes followed the trail of blood to see a familiar cheetah trembling in the corner of the lobby. Her hands were covered in blood as she pressed her hands against her ears.

"Chirea!" Buster recognized happily.

Chirea glanced up at him with green eyes trembling. Buster lost his smile and knew that something was wrong instantly.

"Chirea?" Buster asked gently.

"B-Buster?" Chirea stuttered.

When the koala took a step closer to his friend, she scrambled back.

"Please, run. Don't come near me," Chirea responded, tears in her eyes.

"Chirea? What's going on?" Buster questioned until he noticed something on her neck. It's a collar that could be easily cut off. It would shock her whenever she's doing something that's against the rules. Buster had his eyes widened when her pupils narrowed in a predator gaze. Her growl was muffled as the koala began to take a step back.

"Chirea, can you hear me?!"

Chirea roared at Buster angrily and leaped to attack him. Buster was quick to his feet as he dodged the incoming attack and ran back into his office. Ms. Crawly scampered underneath the desk as Buster closed his office door and locked it. He looked at his iguana assistant as he ran across to the window at the back and opened it. He saw a soft landing on the trash bags in the dumpster just below the window sill.

"Ms. Crawly, I need you to jump!"

"What?"

"Trust me!" Buster shouted as he helped Ms. Crawly up on the window sill.

"I trust you, Mr. Moon," Ms. Crawly uttered as she glanced down to see the trash bags.

Buster heard pounding at the door as Ms. Crawly slid off the window sill and managed to land in a soft landing outside of the theater. Buster closed the window before Chirea busted into his office.

The koala jumped off before she could attack him by the window. Buster tumbled back while papers flew everywhere in his office. His blue eyes glanced over at the scissors, a gasp escaped his lips as if he got an idea.

The koala ran and grabbed the scissors. However, Chirea was too quick and tackled the koala, causing both of them to tumble into the office. Buster was pinned on the wooden floor as he used the scissors to snip the collar off of her. He managed to take the collar and threw it away from both of them. What he didn't know was that there's a needle that was now covered in her blood from being ripped out.

Buster breathed heavily as he glanced up to see if Chirea really did snap out of it...however, her predator's eyes said otherwise. Chirea growled as Buster managed to slip away from her before she could make any violent actions towards him.

"Chirea! Listen to me! It's not you!!" Buster shouted to his childhood friend. "It's the hallucinogen that the Rattler Society put inside of you!"

Chirea didn't listen to his protest as she went on the attack, her eyes plagued by visions of shadows that she must eliminate so that they could leave her alone once and for all.

"Chirea!" Buster's voice was faint from her ears as she was able to grab a shadow by the throat, gripping it.

However, she didn't know she's choking Buster instead of the shadow she wanted to kill.

"Chirea...please," Buster choked out.

"Oi!!" Buster turned to see Johnny tackling Chirea, both of the cheetah and the gorilla tumbling over Buster's wooden desk as the koala gained back his breath.

"J-Johnny, don't hurt her!" Buster commanded. "She--She's under the hallucinogen!"

Johnny gasped in realization as Chirea took out her dagger and swung it out the gorilla, but Johnny swiftly dodged it.

"I need a needle!!!" Johnny managed to shout while putting the cheetah in his hold, wrapping his strong arm around her neck so that she wouldn't move. They both fell onto their backs as Johnny struggled to keep her in the hold.

"I need a needle now!" Johnny screamed as Buster turned to see that the theater gang was watching this with shock in their eyes.

Gunter and Nooshy ran out of the lobby in search of a needle.

Chirea rolled over Johnny while taking out a dagger to stab him, but the gorilla was soon saved by Mike, who just ran up to the cheetah and began to scurry up and down on her to misaim her stab at Johnny, which ended up stabbing the ground next to the gorilla's head.

Chirea threw Mike off of her, causing the mouse to fly to the wall near the front window with a groan.

Chirea took out her claws and growled at Mike, her focus now on the mouse. Before she could even attack Mike, who's almost unconscious, Meena managed to get the fire extinguisher and smacked the cheetah's head with it. This actually worked since Chirea stumbled into the cabinets, with the side of her head swollen from getting hit by the fire extinguisher. Meena held onto the fire extinguisher tightly just in case she needed it again. Her timid green eyes appeared fearful but she looked at the object she held in almost disbelief of what she's done.

Nooshy and Gunter came back with Nooshy holding the needle. Johnny got up from the ground and pulled the dagger off of the wooden floor. Nooshy handed Johnny the needle as the gorilla made his way towards the cheetah. Johnny stuck the needle into the cheetah's neck. She screeched in pain as Johnny began to pull the hallucinogen out of her body. There's a mix of blood and an orange chemical into the tube that disturbed Buster.

The theater gang watched this with gasps of horror as Johnny finally managed to get all the chemicals out of the cheetah. Chirea grew faint and passed out in Buster's office.

Ms. Crawly soon joined the theater group, safe and sound from what happened. Buster walked slowly up to Chirea as he put his hand on her head to feel her temperature.

Buster sighed heavily. "You guys go ahead and go back to practice."

"And make it as if it never happened? I don't think so--"

"I'm serious, Mike," Buster scolded the mouse.

Johnny examined the cheetah. "She looks like she's getting a headache. I think some peppermint tea should help with her headache."

Buster turned to his iguana assistant. "Ms. Crawly."

Ms. Crawly approached Buster. "Yes, Mr. Moon?"

"Do you mind if you get peppermint tea? That would be wonderful," Buster instructed softly.

"Right away, Mr. Moon." Ms. Crawly scurried out of the office to get peppermint tea from a tea shop nearby the theater.

"I'll go help her," Maya volunteered as she followed after Ms. Crawly.

Mike glanced up at Meena with a soft smile. "Thanks for saving me, Cookie Dough."

The mouse made his exit out of the office but shocked Meena that she wasn't getting called 'Jumbo'. However, the elephant smiled at that little nickname given to her. Meena exited out of the office along with Johnny and the rest of the theater gang except Eddie.

Eddie stared at the cheetah in shock while recalling her from another time in his life that he didn't think much about.

"Is that her?" Eddie asked Buster softly.

Buster nodded his head. "Yeah."

Eddie darted his gaze back and forth between Buster and Chirea. "Is she okay?"

Buster rubbed her head to check her temperature again. "Yeah. If she's going through anything like what I went through, she's going to be okay. She just needs a few days to recover from it."

Eddie nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah. I thought you lost contact with her."

"I did for a while until she came into my office."

Eddie pondered for a second. "Do you think she remembers anything about what happened when we're young?"

"Well, I guess she and I remember the past very differently. Do you remember Dad shunning her and her father?"

"Oh boy, Buster, I was so young. I thought my parents were the ones who told him to," Eddie said while trying to remember the best he could. "I mean, my parents and your dad became best friends and...well, they're rich while Chirea and her father were poor and living on the streets. When I was young, they get too judgy on poor people. Well, I think they're still judgy on poor people."

"Do you think our friendship was forced?"

Eddie laughed. "No, we just clicked. Why? Do you think so?"

"No. No, I'm just trying to figure out if our parents' intentions were to get us to be friends."

Eddie chuckled a little. "Okay, my parents may be rich and want things from me as a child but I'm a hundred percent sure that us being friends was not the intention. Although, I did remember them judging your father a lot when we're younger. But it's normal for them to be judgy in everything. Heh, I would even say they're judgy when it comes to me and what types of friends I made."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. But it's something you get used to and you just...started to not care at this point," Eddie said while sighing heavily.

"What about the whole life coach situation?" Buster asked.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I did all the tests and exercise daily to find that my own life coach is...just like me. You know, lazy, am I right?"

Buster laughed a little while giving an unsure frown. "I don't think you're lazy. You show up to work every day and you stuck with something--"

"That's because you're my friend," Eddie replied with a soft smile at his friend. "Besides, even I did have this job, my parents are still going to be judgy about where I'm working at. That's why I'm trying to save as much as I can to get my own place."

Buster had his eyes widened in shock. "You? Getting your own place?"

"Well, not exactly, but I'm moving out in a little bit though," Eddie said with a shrug.

"Eddie, that's great!"

Eddie smiled a bit. "Well, yeah. My parents didn't expect me to share a house with a roommate though."

"Who's the roommate?"

"Oh, Gunter. We talked about it when we take our walks towards his apartment and he suggested that I moved in with him as a roommate. Since we both worked at the same place and get paid the same way, we can take turns on who does the chores and who pays the bills. Which was actually cheap, surprisingly. And his place was small but not small as in cramped though. The apartment also had a pool but it's not as nice as my parent's house. So, since my parent's house is right near Gunter's apartment, I could just walk on over and take a swim."

Buster had his jaw dropped. "That's great, Eddie! I'm so happy for you. What motivated you to move out exactly?"

"Oh, just thought that it's time for me to gain my own independence and I thought being a roommate with Gunter is a great start."

"Wow, that's a great start, indeed."

Buster and Eddie quickly turned their heads to see Chirea listening to them, earning a yelp from Eddie.

"Good day to you too," Chirea acknowledged, unphased by Eddie's yelp. She popped her shoulder into place with a grunt. She tried to stand up but found herself stumbling back against the metal cabinets. "Daai dom slang."

"Okay, Chirea, there's a couch here in my office. We're going to help you over there. Eddie, help!"

Eddie lent out his hoof to the cheetah, who just slapped his hoof in a high-five. Eddie blinked, befuddled for a moment with his hoof still out there. Buster tried to push on her side to get up but, due to her muscular size, he had a hard time lifting her up.

Chirea finally grabbed Eddie's hoof as he lifted her arm around his neck and helped her stand on her feet. However, her muscular weight caused the slim sheep to stumble into Buster's table.

"Whoa, careful, guys!" Buster warned while trying to guide both of them to the couch across the desk.

"Holy cow, she's heavy!" Eddie blurted, which caused Chirea to look at him strangely.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Chirea questioned the sheep.

"No...just muscular is all," Eddie said nervously.

"Guys!" Buster shouted while Eddie and Chirea worked their way towards the couch across the desk. Chirea crashed onto the couch with a flop and groaned.

She looked at her bloodstain hand as she sighed heavily. "Oh boy."

"Chirea...are you okay?" Buster asked. "Are you comfortable?"

"The last thing I need is to be comfortable," Chirea uttered while trying to get up but she ended up flopping her body back onto the couch with a groan mostly to herself.

"That should be the first thing you need," Eddie muttered to himself.

~.~

Norman saw that the kids were sitting in the living room, watching cartoon superheroes while sighing heavily. "Kids, get ready for school!"

The kids groaned in protest until their father gave them a stern gaze. The piglets went up the stairs to their room to get ready for school. Norman heard a knock on the door as he answered the door. However, his eyes went wide when he answered the door. There were animals in black uniforms with the symbol that represented the Rattler Society.

Norman gasped as he immediately shut the door without a second thought. He barricaded the door quickly and turned on the alarm. The father pig ran as fast as he could up the stairs towards his bedroom next to the kids'. He immediately took out a wood that seemed out of place to the naked eye as he grabbed his rifle and loaded the bullets into it. He took a box of bullets just in case he needed to reload as he closed off the secret place with the wood.

He loaded the rifle as he entered the kids' room. "On second thought, don't worry about school."

The kids gasped. Some were happy that they didn't have to go to school today but some were more aware that their father was holding a rifle for a reason.

They heard banging on the front door as Norman closed their door.

"Okay, remember the escape plan your mother and I made for any emergency?" Norman asked the kids, who nodded their heads to recall. "Good. When you go through the emergency hatched, where do you go from there?"

"To the Moon Theater," the kids said anonymously.

Norman nodded his head in approval. "Good. Good. For what reason?"

"To find Mom or Uncle Buster!" the kids replied back to their father at the same time.

"Good. You all pass the test." He said that line as he opened the hatch near the bunk bed that was closest to the window that led into the secret passageway the kids could take to escape danger. Norman locked the window and added bars to it to barricade it further. He closed the blinds as the kids were going through the hatch.

"Daddy, why are you holding a gun?" The little piglet girl, Gail, asked innocently.

Norman darted his glance between his daughter, his gun, and the door. He gave her a soft smile. "Daddy's got to take care the meanie heads breaking into our house."

Norman skulked towards Gail and handed her a pin. "Avoid anything with this symbol on it." He pointed to the symbol for the Rattler Society. "Anyone who's pointing this weapon at you are not your friend. They are your enemies. Got it?"

Gail nodded her head.

"Good. Keep each other safe and showed this to your brothers and sisters."

Gail gave one last nod as she went back to her siblings to explain to them what Norman said to her. Norman shifted his attention back at the bedroom door while hearing pounding from the front door.

When the door was finally busted open, an alarm went off, causing a frying pan to swing at one of them and smacking him in the head.

There's another weapon, a small little flamethrower as it blew fire at the male animals outside of the front door. Two of them ran quickly away from the apartment with their bodies on fire. However, the five others entered the apartment once the weapons ceased to move.

The ceiling above the living broke through by the other animals and the glass from the living room was shattered by the animals jumping through. Their weapons were out and they were on the hunt.

Meanwhile, Norman was able to get all of his kids in the secret passageway before hearing the alarm blaring and the windows from downstairs breaking. Norman closed the hatch and locked it. He put a curtain over it as he strode across the bedroom to get to the door, opening up a little compartment above the small counter near the door. He grabbed two smoke grenades as he opened the bedroom door ajar to witness the red narrow lights searching for the target.

Norman pulled the pin on one of the smoke grenades and threw them down the hall. Smoke came out of the grenade, blinding the men coming after him as they tried to walk straight through. However, using it to his advantage, Norman put the other smoke grenade in his pocket while taking out his rifle. The pig began to pull the trigger with the bullets hitting the men coming towards him whether it would be in the stomach or in the shoulder...whatever would get them to fall down on the floor.

Norman walked through the smoke to take out more men, pushing one of them down the stairs while smacking the other man in the head with the butt of his rifle. The pig quickly made his escape as he rummaged through the kitchen to find a scope in one of the kitchen drawers. He quickly took it out and put it in his other pocket.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Norman was able to take them out with his gun before they could get a chance of advancing towards him. Norman bolted out of the front door and ran down the hall as fast as he could run. Norman entered the stairwell, looking down to see more men from the Rattler Society coming up the stairs.

"You got to be kidding me," Norman growled to himself as he quickly sped up the stairs to avoid the men coming after him. The bullets from the other guns were all over the place, but each was trying to hit Norman. However, they all missed him except for the one that crashed on the back of his leg, causing him to stumble onto the stairs.

Norman got out another smoke grenade, pulled the pin, and thrusted down the stairs, blinding his enemies. The pig got up and limped his way up the stairs rapidly, his heart beating faster than it ever did before. Norman approached the door that would lead him to the rooftop. He pushed the door open and closed it behind him, barricading it to stop the men chasing him from coming up the stairs with a long thick metal pipe going through the hooked doorknob. Norman glanced around to see his kids getting out of the hatch outside in the gardens near the apartment. The pig noticed the black sleek car coming up with the disgusting symbol of Rattler Society as he took out the scope and placed it on the rifle, using his good-eye to aim at the driver. He zoomed the scope to look closer to see one of the men getting out of the car to approach the piglets. Norman pulled the trigger to shoot down the man coming towards his children. He then shot down the driver and the rest of the men in the car so that they wouldn't chase his children.

The children were shocked at this as they scurried across the street as fast as they could. Norman aimed the gun at the two other drivers belonging to Rattler Society. Before they could stop to grab the kids, Norman shot at the driver at the front, which caused the car to veered towards the side and having it collapsed while the car behind slammed into the car at the front from underneath. The kids were quick on their feet as they headed towards the alleyway where it was labeled as: "Safe Route".

The kids scampered towards the hatch hidden in the middle of the alleyway except for Gail. Gail glanced back to see her father lowering his weapon down from the apartment rooftop. When Norman had his back turned and facing his daughter, Gail saw a mysterious figure coming up behind Norman.

Before she could think, a cloth went over her father's mouth. Her father gasped and collapsed into the mysterious figure's arms.

"Daddy!" Gail cried, catching attention from one of the older kids, Caspar.

"Gail, no!" Caspar shouted as he picked his little sister up and carried her towards the hatch in the middle of the hallway. The hatch led into a secret passageway from the place they were all the way towards the theater.

To Be Continued...