Chapter 16

With a groan, Anthony sat down on the conference room carpet.

He was tired.

He was also half amused and half angry at himself. For someone whose job the past few years had been to be on his feet all day, an hour or two walking a market had taken quite a bit out of him. In shape he wasn't. You'd think the sex alone would have helped with stamina. Alas, no.

Luckily, there were more important things to occupy his mind than his physical failings. Or, to be more exact, important people.

The two newcomers sat on the floor in front of him. The boy, Danny, sat Indian style, his kilt luckily covering his junk. Anthony was in no way homophobic, but he really didn't need to know if that looked human right at this moment. The girl next to him, Goldie, was the reason they were on the floor. Her body simply wasn't built for chairs. Oh, she had told him she COULD get into one, but after a bit her back and pelvis hurt. So, here they were. Anthony had led them up to the second floor of the old store, as it was the only place with a carpet and he didn't want their new friends on the cold hard ground. Not that they probably weren't used to it. Goldie lay with her front legs extended, like a dog, although their non-human features reminded him more of a bear. Her furry side was touching Danny, his hand occasionally going to her head to scratch between her ears.

The three sat in silence, each taking the measure of the other. Hannah was downstairs, getting some food and refreshment. The others ... well, Anthony had them doing various other things. They had to get ready to get off this stupid planet, and ... he wanted to ease the two kids into their group. There was no need to have anyone else here just now.

Never one for silence, after a few minutes Anthony decided they might as well do some exchanging of info. He leaned forward, getting their attention.

"So ... Danny, right?"

"Yeah..."

His voice was wary. Doubts about what he had done were no doubt flooding his head. Anthony smiled at him in his friendliest, most reassuring way. Not TOO friendly, though. No need to hit on the kid.

"Are you two brother and sister, or just friends?"

The two teens glanced at each other.

"We had different mothers," Danny replied. "Our ... father..."

"FAKE father!" Goldie spit out the words, venom in her soft voice. Danny nodded.

"Our fake father was the same." Seeing the next question coming, he added, "Our mom's looked like you."

"I hope they looked more like me," Hannah said, walking into the room holding a shallow cardboard box. Walking around the conference table, she smiled down at the kids. "I have food and drink, but wasn't sure what you'd want." Handing the box to Anthony, she gracefully sat down next to him before taking it back and putting it on the floor between the two couples. "I have water, some fruit, and a salty snack we call Doritos."

"I'm thirsty!" Goldie said, eyes wide as she looked at the tray. Hannah laughed.

"Drink first, then! Um, I brought cups and bowls. I wasn't sure which you'd prefer." Anthony could see the uncertainty in her. She didn't want to offend, treat these two like animals, but it WAS a practical question. Danny solved that by leaning forward and taking the empty plastic bowl.

"I'll have a bowl. Goldie uses a cup."

Nodding, Hannah put ice in each, opened the jug of water and filled Danny's bowl, then filled a cup and placed it between Goldie's paws. The girl used her padded clawed fingers to lift the paper cup to her lips. Danny lifted the bowl to his face, lowering his flesh snout as a large tongue came out to lap the water. Both adults busied themselves getting their own drinks so they wouldn't stare.

Over the next few minutes a small lunch of some of the last apples, a hunk of cheddar cheese, and Doritos were quietly consumed. The kids were obviously not used to much, eating quickly. For desert they gave them some packaged snack cakes, which despite rumors don't last forever, but after a month were still good. The girl just closed her eyes and smiled in ecstasy at the sweet taste.

"Hmm!"

Anthony couldn't help but smile. He liked her already. The boy too. Eyes swinging over, he saw himself the subject of intelligent contemplation. As it should be. Nodding to the boy, he put down his glass, twisted his back a bit to stretch out a kink, and leaned forward. It was time.

"Well, now that we're all fed and watered, I think we should talk."

Danny nodded, hand going back to his sister's head. She gave a soft, happy growl. Anthony put an arm around Hannah. She leaned into him.

"There's going to be lots of time to get to know each other, with luck. I'm hoping both of you will want to come with us, although naturally if you don't you're free to go any time." From their expressions, it was clear they did not want to go back. But, neither were they all that comfortable with the idea of having such a choice. Freedom was an idea they'd have to be eased into.

"Have you met others like us?" Hannah asked. "Are there others out there, alive? Where are your parents?"

The girl lowered her head. Danny began to run his hand down her back. His eyes stayed on Anthony.

"Our moms are dead. They were the only ... are you two humans? Really humans?"

Anthony nodded.

"Yup. There's eight of us, as I said. Two months ago we were on Earth, home of all humans. Now we're here wandering around the stars. I ... well, I'm going to assume our story is somewhat similar to what happened to your parents."

"Mommy told me stories," Goldie said, softly, looking up at Hannah. "At night. She'd hold me, cuddle me. Tell me stories of Earth. Of how she came to be my Mommy. And, then, when..." Her eyes began to tear up. "When Mommy could no longer tell me stories, I told them back to her. I'd hold her, and show her I remembered all that she'd taught me."

"Tell me," Hannah said. Anthony could see the tears in her eyes. "Tell me the story your Mommy told you of how she came here."

The girl nodded, face suddenly looking shy.

"Mommy always held me when I told stories..."

Face breaking into a smile, Hannah opened up her arms. With a bound that knocked over the empty water cup, Goldie sprang to her feet and quickly moved into Hannah's lap. She snuggled into her breasts, half little girl, half puppy. Hannah began rocking, face full of emotions. Anthony could see the thoughts of her own daughter once again passing through her eyes. He reached over to pet the girl's head.

"Tell us, Honey. Tell us what she told you."

"Once upon a time, there was a magical world called Earth.

"It was a magical place. Full of people like Mommy, who were all wonderful and loved each other. Nobody was unhappy, or mean, or evil. There were schools, where little kids could go to learn all sorts of things, and playgrounds where they could play. There were stores where you could buy things. One of them was called Child World, and it was full of toys! Every toy you could ever want! And, next to that store full of toys, was a store that sold food called Park Edge. That was where Mommy worked.

"Mommy was seventeen years old, and beautiful, and worked helping people pay for food. There were all kinds of food in the store: there was meat, bread, fruit, candy, cake, cool-aid ... the people who worked there with Mommy were all nice and happy, and so were the people who came to shop. Mommy loved helping them. She loved being with her friends who worked there. There were other girls who she had grown up with and talked to ALL the time, and boys that she liked. Especially this one. Real Daddy. She REALLY liked my Real Daddy. He was cute, and smart, and tall, and named Steve Kline. Mommy had never kissed Real Daddy, but she wanted to!

"One day, there was a party. The owner of the Park Edge, who wore lots of necklaces including a SPOON, let the kids who worked there have parties after the store closed. He was so nice! He even went to the parties to have fun with them! So, that night, they had a party. There was food, music, dancing ... Mommy danced with Real Daddy, drank punch with him, even held his hand! She was having so much fun!

"Then ... suddenly ... the lights went out!

"They weren't scared. Lights went out sometime. Some of the boys went to turn the lights on, but it didn't work. They got small little lights that they could carry, so the girls wouldn't be scared, and everyone went to the front of the store. There were big long windows ... like the ones in this place! They looked out.

"There were no other buildings. No Child World, with all its toys. No cars. No trees. All they saw, in the dark, was sand. Only sand.

"Mommy was scared. The owner told them not to be scared, that everything would be OK. He'd go out and see what was out there. So, he went out.

"He never came back.

"Mommy and the others slept. In the morning, they looked out and saw sand as far as they could see. Sand, sand, and more sand! Nothing but sand! Now, they were all scared. Except for Real Daddy. Real Daddy told them that they'd be OK. They had food, after all, and bathrooms. So they had breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Then slept. They ate and slept for DAYS. It was starting to stink, though. Not only were there no lights, but there was no power for the coolers and freezers! All the food was going bad! They tossed it all out the back door, but it still smelled. They had no water, either. They had fruit drinks, and something wonderful called Coke and Pepsi, but no water. They couldn't cook, as they didn't have much wood to burn. They didn't know what to do!

"Then, one day, Real Daddy decided to go get help. He told them that all the boys would go out into the desert and try and find help. Mommy didn't want him to go. Mommy hugged him, kissed him, told him not to go! But, Real Daddy said he had to. That he would bring back help to save them. He said:

"'Don't worry, Kathy. I'll be back. I love you.'"

"He never came back."

Goldie paused, snuggling deeper into Hannah. Looking over at her brother, Anthony saw his eyes wet with tears. The two had obviously only had each other for a long time. With a sigh, Danny picked up the story.