Jaxsen watched his would-be killers ransack the house in search of him. The screen to the left displaying his mother, her dead arm reaching toward him seemingly from the Great Beyond; the blood pooling, pooling. The screen above showed his father splayed on his back, fallen and still, his gun limp in his palm. As the killers made a hasty exit, one stopped and looked at the camera. The eyes seemed to look directly at him.

“I remember her eyes.” Jaxsen looked between Nizhoni and Sebastian. “Don’t let her get me, Daddy.” And as he dissolved Sebastian took him in his arms. “I don’t wanna die, Daddy.”

“Yanaha, my love,” Nizhoni spoke, low and comforting, her hand on his arm. “You’re safe, baby.”

He lifted his head from Sebastian’s chest, his eyes wide and scared and red. “That’s what my Mommy said, too.”

The next day Sebastian woke early, kissed Nizhoni before kissing a still sleeping Jaxsen. He’d slept with them, but even that didn’t keep the dreams away too long. They walked into the hall.

“Can you stay with him until he wakes up?”

Nizhoni smiled and held up her coffee, “I’ve got all I need right here. I’m sure he’ll be excited.” They shared a smile and Sebastian peeked into the room again.

“I have no doubt.” 

She kissed him slowly, smiling as she drew back. “Feel.” She grabbed his hand and placed it against her abdomen. They waited a beat before they felt the distinct kick of a baby foot. Sebastian smiled, his heart floating, and kissed her again.

“I love you. Be safe out there,” she told him gently.

“I love you, beautiful. And just for you. I’ll be back soon.”

Jaxsen woke up less than an hour after Sebastian left, unable any longer to dream about Death Day. He cuddled into Nizhoni’s side and looking up, smiled lightly.

“Good morning, Yanaha. Sleep any, baby?”

He shook his head. “No. Where’s Daddy?”

She smiled. “He had to go pick up something. He’ll be back later this afternoon.” His eyes clouded with worry. “Yanaha, he’ll be fine. I promise.”

Jaxsen nodded but made no further reply. He simply buried his face into her and tried relaxing as he concentrated on the feeling of her fingers running through his hair.

Around one-thirty the telephone rang and with a big grin Nizhoni answered, listened, responded, and hung up.

“Jaxsen, come outside with me, baby.” 

He took her outstretched hand with a puzzled look and allowed himself to be led outside. Moments later Sebastian pulled into the driveway. He got out and rounded the front, calling Jaxsen over to the passenger side of the truck. Sebastian smiled, his grin mirroring Nizhoni, who gently set her hands on Jaxsen’s shoulders. Jaxsen looked at Sebastian before looking up at her, a question in his eyes. Nizhoni smiled wider.

“Jack, Zhoni and I have a surprise for you.”

Jaxsen smiled. “You do? What is it?”

“You ready?”

Jaxsen nodded, biting his lower lip. When Sebastian opened the truck door Jaxsen gasped.

“He’s mine?” Sebastian knelt down next to the very large dog that sat expectantly at Jaxsen’s feet, and stroked his back.

“Yep. And he’s still pretty young. Not quite a year yet. His name is Cannibal.”

Jaxsen giggled and rubbed behind his ear. “He’s a wolf?”

Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. Three-quarter wolf, one-quarter German Shepherd. I think he likes you.” Jaxsen giggled as his new friend licked the remnants of his lunch off his fingers.

One Month Later

Jaxsen felt a bit more at ease having his new companion at his side at all times. The wolf attached himself quickly to the boy, soaking scared tears into his soft fur, and gently licking the moisture from his face. Jaxsen had taken to him just as easily. He was still quite afraid of when the other shoe would drop, but after long nights of tears and concern, realized as Sebastian said, he couldn’t stop living his life because of it. After a week of mulling Jaxsen approached Sebastian while he was working on his truck. Spark plugs? Jaxsen shook his head of the thought.

“Daddy?”

Sebastian looked to his left and stood straight, stretching a bit after being bent under the hood for so long. Cannibal sat at Jaxsen’s side, an unmovable force from that position, tail wagging in time with the boy’s unconscious attention.

Sebastian smiled at the sight. “What’s up, sweet boy?”

Jaxsen continued petting Cannibal. “Can Basil stay over this weekend?”

“I don’t care, Jack. Go call him and we can go pick him up.”

“Basil?” They were in Jaxsen’s room watching a movie, the lights on and the television low enough not to discourage conversation. Basil turned from the movie he was only partially watching. 

“Yeah?”

Jaxsen didn’t look up, but at Cannibal, and simply kept petting the wolf’s fur. “Remember how I told you that my parents…died…?”

“Yeah?” Basil frowned wondering where this line of questioning was going. 

“They…they were murdered. And…” Jaxsen took a deep breath. “I was supposed to be killed, too. My mom, she…hid me in a panic room before they could get to her.” Tears fell with little shame. It always ripped him apart talking about that day.

“I don’t know how but they found me.” Slowly he recounted the incident at the zoo, trying to keep calm enough to tell the story. He looked at his friend. “I don’t wanna lose my family again. I don’t wanna die, Basil.”

Basil caught Jaxsen as he fell forward and pulled him to his chest. He had no idea what he could say to make this better, so he said nothing and simply held on.

“I can’t do it again, Basil,” Jaxsen cried, his small frame beginning to shake with emotion and remembered fear. 

“Do what again, Jax?”

“Watching my family die. But…foster care. I can’t. They tortured me. Andandand laughed.”

“The scars,” Basil said without question in his voice. He’d always wondered where the scars came from. The story behind the sadness in his azure eyes. He knew Jaxsen had been hurt badly while in foster care, but the details of what happened to his friend was still unknown to him.

Jaxsen nodded. “The scars. Why didn’t you ever ask about them? I mean…you’ve seen the ones on my arms.” Jaxsen asked as he wiped his face and sat up.

“It’s not my place to ask, Jax. And I won’t. If you ever want me to know what happened, you’ll tell me.”

Jaxsen thought about the boys at the home before he left New York. Everyone asked. Some laughed. “I don’t wanna be scared anymore. I was just really starting to feel safe. Now they’ve come back to finish what they started.”

Basil frowned. “How do you know that they wanted to…kill you, too?” He choked slightly on the word ‘kill’, it leaving a sour taste in his mouth. “And,” he continued, “how do you know that it was the same woman from before?”

“I watched them go room to room looking for me from the monitors in the safe room. As for how…I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I just do.” Jaxsen’s voice cracked with the weight of emotion behind his next words. “I don’t wanna die, Basil.”

Basil spoke his next words in a serious, from the heart vow. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Jaxsen.” Little did he know how true those words were, or how soon the validity of that promise would be tested. Basil stayed the weekend as planned, but when Wednesday rolled around, by a small convincing of their parents, found himself still there. That night they lay side by side on Jaxsen’s bed, each with thoughts on similar paths.

Jaxsen believed wholeheartedly that Basil would protect him. He felt safe. Jaxsen scooted closer to Basil, seeking the protection he’d been offered. The house was quiet in the wee morning hours. Cannibal awakened from his slumber with a low grow in his throat, his yellow eyes fixated on the door. Basil put his arm around Jaxsen and listened. They both felt the shift in the air around them.

“She’s here.”

Without a sound Cannibal slid off the bed and onto the floor, waiting hidden in the shadows. The bedroom door crept open and Basil felt Jaxsen’s hold on him tighten, a small, almost silent whimper escaping him. The intruder stepped fully into the room, closing the door part-way behind her. Basil watched through hooded eyes, unsure of what was about to change. Cannibal emitted a deathly growl before leaping from his position. Surprised, the intruder was knocked backward, her weapon thrown from her hands. When the wolf attacked, Basil pushed Jaxsen off the bed, following him to the floor.

In his blind panic Jaxsen scurried under the bed and watched with wide eyes as Basil picked up the discarded 9MM Smith and Wesson. Off to the side Cannibal lay panting, hurt, but alive. 

Basil watched as the woman stood slowly holding her side, blood seeping between her fingers. “What are you going to do with that, boy? Other than blowing off your little pecker with it.”

Basil cocked the pistol with calm, steady hands. If she were paying closer attention, she would have noticed his stance, the expert-like way he held the weapon in his hands. She would have known, as at one time she was in a similar situation, long ago.

“What are you waiting for?” She took two steps closer. “Pull the trigger.”

Somewhere in the distance Basil heard Jaxsen crying and movement in the hall. She took another step. It would be her last. Sebastian shouted at the sound of a gunshot, his mind racing in every direction at once. He felt Nizhoni behind him. He had not been this terrified in a long, long time. As Sebastian reached the door of Jaxsen’s room he saw a body fall, a bullet hole in the side of her neck. Basil, still with the pistol pointing from where she’d fallen, had a complete look of shock on his face, accompanied with the sound of his son’s screams.