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Once we had been on the road for about ten minutes, I tried to see if I could get out of the bounds behind my back. I couldn't, and the more I tried, the tighter it seemed to get. I also tried spitting out the gag from my mouth, but that too failed. I just lay there, on the floor in the back of a deuce and a half truck, utterly useless.

We must have been on the road for at least an hour by the time we finally stopped. The two soldiers got up, and grabbed me and then hopped off the back of the truck. It took me a few seconds for my eyes to readjust to the bright sunlight. Once they had, I realized that I was at the town, which we had taken. The tiger ordered two soldiers to take me to the holding facility. Both were dogs of some sort, and they hauled me off to what looked more like a prison than a holding center.

They checked me for any weapons, first. They then walked inside of it, and then they pushed me into a cell. They also walked in, and the cut my bounds and un-gagged me.

"Thank you." I said. It was good to have them off, and the gag in my mouth was suffocating me!

"You're welcome." Said one of them. He was a Golden retriever, and he was decently toned. He stood about 5'10, and seemed younger than me. The other was a Border Collie, and he was my height at 6' even. He had more of a runners shape than the others, but he seemed very intelligent. He seemed just over my age.

Both of them walked outside the cell, and closed it firmly behind them. They then stood guard outside of the cell. Both had m4's, as well as sidearms. I looked to see if I would be able to reach their pistols, but they smartly had stayed away from the bars.

I looked around the cell. It was in the middle of the room, away from the walls. There was a simple cot with a single blanket, with no pillow. I also had a bucket, which I guessed was for when I had to go to the bathroom. Other than those two items, the cell was bare. Nobody else was in the "holding facility". I decided to go to sleep, and wait for what they wanted from me.

I was awoken in the morning by the sound of the door being slid back. I heard metal scrape against the ground, and then the door close. I turned over and looked toward the doorway. There on the ground sat a metal tray with food and drink.

I sat up and walked over to the tray, and looked to see what they had given me. It was oatmeal, with a few carrots and some water. I brought the tray over to my bed, and sat down with it on my lap.

I muttered out loud, "Well, at least in here I get to do one thing that mother never did. Breakfast delivered straight to my room." I guess both of them heard it, because both started to laugh. I chucked too, and started eating my breakfast. I finished everything, and set the tray back by the opening of the door. I saw the Golden Retriever turn and approach the door, but he didn't enter. I backed up to the other side of the cell, and sat down. He then entered, and grabbed the tray quickly, and hurried out. He pushed the door closed behind him.

I got back up, and walked over to by bed. I sat down, but I knew that I would be unable to go back to sleep. I instead decided to see if the guards would talk.

"So, what are your names? Mine is Christopher Geier." I waited for there reply, but they said nothing. I tried again, but they did not answer. Frustrated, but not discouraged, I tried asking a few other quite simple questions, but they still would not respond.

"Screw it, I am going to sleep." I said, and I noticed that both of them relaxed a little more when I said that.

I did not actually go to sleep. I instead just closed my eyes, and thought about everything. I worried over how Nick and the others were doing. I worried about how the tribe was doing, and how Ahote, my brother, was doing. I also thought of my family, and of what they were doing at this moment. Had they forgotten me? Would I ever see them again?

Dinner was slid in the same way. It was a vegetable soup

Apparently, my thoughts were consuming enough to waste an entire day. I checked my watch, which they had left me, and it read to be about 10:00p.m.

I rolled over, and just before I went to sleep, I said goodnight to the Border Collie, who stood watch while the golden Retriever slept.

"Goodnight." He said in a low whisper. I smiled, happy to make even the smallest breakthrough, and fell asleep.

The door again awakened me, and I waited to hear the sound of the metal tray. I did not hear anything. I turned and looked toward the door. There towered a massive crocodile, who stared at me with his beady little black eyes. He was about 6'5, and he had a decent size round belly.

"Well, what do we have here?" He said, in a deep gravely voice. He approached me, and I rolled off the bed and stood on the other side. I looked to see if he had a weapon on him. He had no weapon, other than what looked like about 30 razor sharp teeth.

He continued to approach me, slowly. His tail lashed out behind him, in what I guessed was excitement.

"Oh, don't worry boy. I ain't gonna harm you. I just haven't ever seen a boy your age this close. Alive, that is." He said, and then chuckled. He got about 3 feet away from me, and then stopped. He smiled, which showed me even more teeth. I shuddered, and he laughed some more.

"I am this close, and you don't even swing at me?" He asked, goading me.

"I am going to have to ask for a rain check." I said, and smiled back. His smile disappeared, and he walked out of the cell, slamming it shut behind him.

He turned to the Golden Retriever, and screamed in his face, "HE DOES NOT EAT TODAY! AM I UNDERSTOOD?" The retriever just nodded, scared out of his mind. The croc stomped off to probably go torment somebody else. The retriever just sighed, and returned to his normal stance.

As the day progressed, nobody else came to see me. I tried to talk to the two who were guarding me. They responded to a few of my questions, and I was happy to see progress made.

The next day seemed to be the same, with the door being opened, and I got my breakfast. I then put the tray down, and stepped back. The Border Collie came in, and took the tray. I waved thanks, and he waved back. I used the bucket, and also put that by the door. I apologized, because they had to take it out.

After about 4 more days of the same routine and no visitors, I had grown bored of this. I would have even taken manual labor over this boredom! All I did all day was think and pace the cage.

"Can you please stop pacing? You are hurting my neck from watching you." Said the Border Collie. It was the first time he had spoken to me without me prompting him.

"Sorry. But what else am I suppose to do?" I asked, thinking he wasn't going to answer.

"I don't know." He said. We both got very quiet. I turned and laid on my bed. I turned my back to him, and was ready to fall asleep, when I heard him speak.

"My name is Will." I got up, and walked over to the bars.

"Nice to meet you, Will." He smiled, and I saw the Golden Retriever walk over.

"My name is Brenden."

"Nice to meet you as well, Brenden. Are you both from around here?" I asked, hoping they would continue the conversation.

"I am, but Will is from Arkansas." Brenden replied, looking at the ground.

"Before I continue, what exactly did they tell you about me?" I asked, curious to see what that tiger had said to them.

"They said that you helped take the town, and that you were too valuable to let go. I heard what you did in the town square. So many people killed, and you only lost one person." Will said, shaking his head in awe.

"I also got a man wounded." I said, to complete their story.

"So the stories are true? You killed over 100 people just by yourself?" Brenden asked, excitement in his voice.

"I do not know how many I killed exactly, but there were over 200 dead or wounded by the time me and my team were done." I said with pride.

"Is it also true that you found the person who had organized the entire thing by killing prisoners, who were human?" Will asked, admiration filling his voice too.

"Yes, and now that I look back, it was a horrible decision to which I wish I had never done." I said, sadness cloaking my words.

"How were you able to kill humans? And why didn't you turn on your team?" Brenden asked. With all of the questions they were asking, I wouldn't have to be worried about being bored again!

" I am able to kill them just as easily as killing anything else. I kill people who have wronged me, or done something to hurt the people I care for." Both of them looked at each other, thinking that I meant them. "I do not mean either of you two. Both of you are just doing your jobs as you were told." I said, trying to reassure them. Both of them had a look of relief in their eyes.

The crocodile came down, after hearing multiple voices. I started singing to see if I could cover for the Brenden and Will. The croc glared at me, and then walked back up the steps toward the town.

I looked at my watch, and it read to be about 5:00p.m. I walked back over to my bunk, to do some more thinking. I really had nothing better to do. I heard one of them knock on the cage twice. I returned the knock from my bed, to show I wasn't mad.

The next morning, I had a visitor. It was the tiger.

"Well, I am happy to see you are still here." He said, and chuckled.

"I had thought you might have forgotten me." I replied.

"How could I ever forget the man who destroyed a town almost single handedly? All you had to do was die there, and you wouldn't be in this situation. But no, you somehow were able to pull off the impossible and survive through an entire town attacking your building, with only one loss. That is unheard of for a child your age." He said, in awe.

"Most of them didn't even have weapons, General. I only did it to protect my team." I said, as if to give an excuse to him.

"Well, protect them you did. I want you on my staff. But, until you accept that, I will have you in this cell, alone." He said, and started to walk out.

"General, allow me one small thing." I called to him. He stopped in the doorway, and without turning around, asked what I wanted.

"I just want to get out of this cell. I will work all day if necessary." I said, hoping to get out. I was slowly dying in the confines of my cage.

"I will grant you that." He said, and walked out. The door closed behind me, shut by Will. Once the General had left, Will muttered something.

"What?" I asked, thinking he was trying to talk to me.

"Nothing, its just that I wish the General would acknowledge me for something. Well, something good!" He said in an excited whisper.

"How bad do you want that wish?" I asked, curious.

"Badly. So does Brenden." He said.

"Alright, I will make the General notice you. Tomorrow when I am working outside, I will attempt to break away. You will stop me, and Brenden will assist. But, you must give me one thing in return." I said, waiting for an answer. I didn't have to wait long.

"Anything!" He said, excitedly.

"From my gear, will you please send the tomahawk back to my village? It means more to me than anything else." I said. He thought for a second, and then stuck his hand through the bars.

"Agreed." We shook, and he went over to Brenden to tell him the plan. I lay back on my bed, and rested for the rest of the day. I did not talk to them anymore, because I did not want them to get into trouble, or be under suspicion from the croc.

I was awoken the next day by the opening of the door, and then two pairs of footsteps.

"Get up." I heard Will call, his voice as cold as ice. I got up, and noticed that the croc was standing at the entrance to the holding pen. That explained why Will was being cold. I got up, and put my boots on. I then walked out of the holding pen under guard from both Brenden and Brett. I walked out and saw sunlight for the first time in over a week.

As we walked, I saw other animorphs of all different species point at me. I though I was going to be ridiculed, or beaten. But instead, as I walked, they saluted me. I returned the gesture to all of them. I did notice that they mocked both of my guards. I guessed that they were pretty low on the totem pole.

Once we got to the actual worksite, I was told what I would be doing. I would be building drainage ditches for the main road. The croc, who seemed to be the work-boss, smacked me across the back with a horse crop. I flinched at the pain, and resisted the impulse to bash his face in with the shovel that was given to me. Instead, I focused my anger on my task.

By noon, the general hadn't show up. Brenden gave me a worried glance, but I just signaled for him to relax and be quiet. I kept working, and by the end of the day, the general had not shown up. As I headed back to the holding facility, both Will and Brenden were obviously quite sad. I ignored them, until they put me in the cell and the croc left.

"Do either one of you like that croc?" I asked.

Both of them answered no simultaneously.

"Good. I am changing the plan. I am going to attack him tomorrow. You two are going to pull me off, and then defeat me. It works two-fold. I get to beat on that sonofabitch, and you two get your credit AND get to watch for a few seconds me beating him. But, I will only attack if he hits me with that crop again. I guarantee he will." Both of them smiled, showing off there impressive K9 teeth.

I laid on my bunk, and fell asleep without eating my dinner. I just wasn't hungry.

The next morning, I could see both of them were visibly excited.

"Calm down you two, or you might be blamed for what happens." I said in a harsh whisper as I walked out of the cell.

As they escorted me to the same work site, I again got nods of respect and salutes. I returned all of them with respect.

Once we got to the work site, I was actually happy to see the croc and his crop.

"Well, well. They brought you back out here again. I get to have you for another day." He said, and then smiled.

"Great, I get to see your ugly mug all day again." I said, goading him to hit me. It worked, better than I expected. He lashed out at me, smacking me across the face with the crop, and once I was on the ground, he smashed me in the chest with his powerful tail. He was about to do it again, when I rolled to the side.

I quickly hopped up, and kicked him in the chest. He fell over, and I grabbed the crop from him, and smacked him on the snout. At this point, I saw both Brenden and Brett run over to me. Brenden used the back of his rifle, and hit me in the back of the head. I saw stars, and went down.

But, I did not go down for too long. I hopped back up, and Will took a swing at me. I backed up in the nick of time to dodge the fist, but I held fast for the second one that hit me in the chest. I doubled over, faking most of the pain. I pretended to get back up, but Will kicked me in the ribs. At this point, a whistle called out, and multiple soldiers ran over to the fight, weapons ready.

I lay on the ground, covered in dirt and blood. I had a pretty deep cut from the horse crop to the face, and my ribs and back hurt. I looked up toward the sky. I saw that a ring of animorphs surrounded me. I tried to get up, but I felt a boot on my chest push me back down, gently. I saw one of them try to put something up against my face, and I struggled to get away. They held me still. It was just a gauze pad, to stop the bleeding. My head really hurt from the blow and the world began to spin. The last thing I remember seeing was the tiger, looking down at me. I blacked out.

About an hour later, I woke up on my bed in my cell. My head was in extreme pain, and my mouth was dry. I got up, and my head spun again. I lay back down, and tried again a few seconds later, but slowly this time. Once I managed it successfully, I looked around. I saw a new guard standing outside of the cell. He was a Stallion, and he stood at an impressive 6'5. He seemed to be my age, and he was jet black, except a broad, white streak that ran down his muzzle to the tip of his nose.

"So looks like they got a new prison guard for me. What is your name?" I asked, hoping he would respond.

"Samson. And I am not replacing the other two. Actually, General Abdullahi asked me if I would help guard you. I accepted."

"And why would you accept such a boring job as guarding a prisoner who does absolutely nothing wrong?" I asked, smiling mischievously.

He smiled, and said, " And what about Sergeant Brayden?"

"Who?" I asked, looking confused.

"The crocodile with a bad attitude." He said, and shook his head. " You don't even know the name of the man you beat." He said. He whinnied, and I took that for a laugh.

"Ah, yes. Well, he gave me quite the attitude. Besides, he hit me with a horse crop." I said, and pointed to my face.

"Yea, it isn't so fun being on the other end, is it?" He said, darkly.

"No, it isn't. But, I also didn't deserve it exactly either." I said.

"Oh, really? You know, I have half a mind to come in there and whoop your ass." He said, and whinnied again. He also put his face just inches away from mine, and snorted.

"Don't worry, I know quite well how to properly ride a horse. And breaking them isn't too hard either." I said, and then stepped as close to him as physically possible. He just stepped forward, and laughed loudly.

"One of these days, we will have to see..." He said, and smiled viciously. He then backed up, and returned to his post. I went over to my bed, and fell back asleep.

The next time I woke up, it was from being shaken awake. Out of habit, my hand dropped to my waist, looking for my pistol. I then remembered where I was, and sat up, slowly.

"Good morning sunshine." I heard, a deep rumbling voice, which belonged to General Abdullahi.

"Morning sir. Do you mind if we push our talk till later? My head is killing me at the moment." I said, as I held my head in my hands.

"I am afraid not. I must commend you on your fight with Sergeant Brayden. Many of the men do not care for his unneeded cruelty. But, I also cannot have a prisoner fighting a guard. So, I will keep you on your work detail. Also, I see you have met your new guard. He is there for extra protection for the others. Good day. I will have you rest today, but you are back to work tomorrow." He patted me on the back with his enormous paw, and then walked out. Samson stepped in, and sat on a chair he brought into the cell.

"What are you looking at?" I snapped at him. He ignored my hostile tones.

"Are you really going to tell me that you were able to crush Sergeant Brayden, but were beaten by Brenden and Will? Tell me another fairy tail while you are at it." He said, and chuckled.

"Well, obviously they beat me, otherwise that croc would have gotten it a lot worse." I said.

"Uh-huh. Captain, I am not going to tell anybody else what really happened." He said, and leaned forward in the chair.

"Fine." I said, and he slid the chair closer to me. "In reality, they just wanted the General to notice them for something good. I decided to help them, because I felt bad for them. Besides, I go to beat the shit out of the crocodile."

"And?" He said, because he knew there was more than that.

"And they sent my tomahawk to my tribe. I don't want that misplaced."

He sat back, happy over his victory about the information.

"But this stays between the four of us. Got it?" I said, hoping he wouldn't cross me. He nodded his head, and we continued to talk for the rest of the afternoon, and into the evening. By dinnertime, it was Brenden's shift. Samson got up from the chair, and shook my hand. He then stepped out, and Brenden stepped in with my dinner.

"How are you doing tonight, Brenden?" I asked, as I started to eat my dinner. It was a chicken, which had been roasted over a fire. It wasn't half bad, and I was starving!

"It was very good." He said at a normal volume of voice. He got closer to me, and whispered, "The General talked to me and Will! We both got promotions, and Sergeant Brayden was moved to another outfit! Also, your package was sent today, and should arrive by sometime next week." He then stood up straight, and walked out of the cell. He closed the door, and winked at me. I just smiled, and was very happy for him and Will. After dinner, I put the tray by the door, and then flopped on my bunk, exhausted. I was asleep before I even realized it.

The next morning, Will shook me awake. I rubbed my eyes, and then put on my boots. I walked out of the open cell door, and all three of my guards were present. I said good morning to all of them, and they returned the gesture.

As we walked through camp, I noticed that everyone now respected both of the pups, and I was happy that to see the change.

They took me to a different place to work today. Samson handed me a shovel, and pointed to what looked like hundreds of tree stumps.

"Your job is to get them out of the ground. All of them." He said, as he smiled. He also took off his weapon and shirt. "I will help you." He said. I was happy for the extra muscle. I also found out why he had taken his shirt off. Across the way lay a few female animorphs. One of them was a horse, so I guessed that he was were trying to show off. I could dig it.

We got to work immediately, and worked out a pretty good system. I would dig most of the stump out of the ground, and he would use chains to haul it the rest of the way out. I did most of the work, and he got all of the credit with the ladies. Well, it was getting the job done.

We kept up the system for about 3 hours, and we had gotten about ten stumps out when it started to rain. The soft dirt quickly turned to mud, and getting the stumps out was next to impossible.

"Should we call it a day?" He asked, having to shout over the rain.

"You can. I am going to try to keep working." I said. I kept digging, shoveling mud out of the way. I hoped that the water would help loosen the stumps from the ground, but it just wasn't helping.

About half an hour later, I gave up. I had removed only one more stump, and it was just a waste of energy. I was escorted back down to my cell. Once inside, I stripped off all of my clothes except my boxers, and then hung all of them on the bars in my cell. I also put my boots upside down so that they would drain a little better. I then walked over to my bed, flopped down, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I was not awakened at the usual time. I grew suspicious, but ignored it for the extra sleep.

I re-awoke at 10:00a.m, according to my watch, and sat upright. I looked around, and saw that Samson was sleeping against the bars. He was snoring gently, and nobody else was in the room. I heard the door of the holding cell open. Without getting up, I threw my boot at Samson. It hit him in the back of the head, but not too hard. He woke up with a start, and turned to look at me. I quickly pointed toward the doorway, and suddenly he caught on. I faked like my back was in pain. Samson shot up from the floor, grabbing his weapon and stood at semi-attention.

It was the General. He walked over to Samson, and talked quietly to him. He then walked over to the bars to speak with me.

"How are you feeling today, captain?" He asked, sarcastically.

"Why don't you come in here and say that to my face." I muttered, still faking the back pain.

He chuckled, and said, "I am good for now. I will give you today off, because you got so much done yesterday. Your quota was set at 10 stumps per day, even with Samson's help. But, I see that you are able to accomplish more." He said, and then he departed, closing the door to the holding facility behind him.

Once he had left, I got up and walked over to the bars. I stared at Samson, who grinned sheepishly back. "You owe me one. I just saved your ass from being reamed out by the GENERAL!" I said, and I started laughing. He did as well. We didn't stop laughing for a good 5 minutes.

Every day for the next week went as the same routine. I was woken up, and then given breakfast. I went out with Sam and we hauled the tree stumps out of the ground while the girls watched, and then returned to my cell for a good-sized dinner. It was a very simple routine, but it was nice to finally have some organization to my life!

On Wednesday, the General came down and talked to me. I wasn't giving in to his side. He was getting more and more irritable with me not joining his side, but he was determined.

Also, I had found out something very interesting. All three of my guards had different reasons for disliking the Animorph army. I asked all three their reasons.

Will answered, "I don't really like all of the violence. I don't mind it when it is necessary, but I hate killing innocent people." Brenden answered the same way, and only Sam's answer was different.

"See, I like violence, but I hate how I have no chance of moving up until I am older. Only the adults are allowed to be officers in the Animorph army." He said with distaste.

"Interesting. So would you be willing to leave?" I asked, curious.

All of them shook their heads yes.

"Why, do you have a plan to get out? Other than us letting you out? Because the entire town has a fence around it, and it is electrified. Also, there are guards who constantly patrol the perimeter." Will said.

"Give me a few days to think out a plan. If I get one, I will talk to all of you about it."

"And where do we go once we get out? They have an army, and we have 3 animorphs and a human. Great odds." Brenden said doubtfully.

"We go back to my team. They are at a location hidden in the mountains. Also the tribe will help us escape." I said, hoping what I said was true.

"I like it." Snorted Sam.

"Good. Now, let me think." I said, as I walked over to my bed.

Over the next few days, I did not talk to them about what I was going to do. Sam and me just kept working, hauling tree stumps out of the ground. One night, I got some visitors, which I never expected.

Sam came down the steps, laughing. I heard a few other higher pitched laughs. I just ignored them, as I tried to think of a way out of the camp safely.

I heard Sam rattle the door a little bit to get my attention. I turned toward him, and got up from the bed. I thought that maybe the General had brought a few friends to see his new "pet", which was me. Instead it was Samson, with two female animorphs stood next to him. He his arm wrapped around a mare, and a female husky stood near him.

She was beautiful. She was about 5'8, and had ice blue eyes. She also had a very charming smile, and I could tell she was nervous about being around me. Also, I noticed that she carried a knife at her waist. She had red and white fur, with an almost star shaped patch on her forehead. She was wearing a tank top, and khaki shorts.

"Hey prisoner, this is Belle," He said as he pointed to the mare. She was brown in color, but had a spotted face. He continued, "and this is Star."

"Very nice to meet you both. And please, as I have told Sam before, call me Chris." I said. Both smiled, and they giggled too.

"Well Chris, I have heard so much about you from Sam." Star said, as she walked closer to the cage. She stuck her paw into the cage so I could shake it. I hesitated, and she laughed. Her laugh sounded beautiful. "Relax, I don't bite. I promise." She said, as she flashed her teeth in a breath-taking smile.

I walked over and shook her hand. I smiled, and after a few seconds, released the grip. She backed up, still smiling. I could tell she was blushing, even if her fur tried to hide it. Her ears gave her away.

"And I hope everything he told you was good?" I asked, chuckling and glaring at Sam. He just smiled broadly.

"Of course. He said that he likes you, even if he beat you in that fight." Star said, as she smiled.

I turned to Sam. "And what fight would that be, Samson?" I asked, while trying to hide a smile. He just grinned sheepishly, and his tail flicked back and forth. Both of the girls giggled at his reaction.

Sam continued, "Actually, I brought them down here because we need to discuss some business with them. They want out of the Army as well."

I turned and looked at both of them. "Is this what you really want, or is Sam lying out of his teeth again?" I asked.

"This is what we really want. Sam told us about your safe haven in the mountains. We would love it if we could go too." Belle said, as she walked up to the bars. She rested her hands on them. "I don't know how you are able to handle this. I would have gone crazy by now." She gave me a sympathetic look.

"I get out during the day, so it makes me happy. Besides, the bars protect me from the wrath of Sam." I said, and gave him a wink. He just shook his head and laughed. The girls giggled as well. "Also, my team would be more than willing to have all the new comers we can get our hands on. You will be treated as equals on all standards."

Star walked up to the bars, and asked, "Are there any other animorphs in your group?"

"Yes, we have a rabbit, a bear, and a lynx. We are all young, and I am sure that you both would be accepted immediately." I said.

"So tell me about yourself, Chris." Belle said, and smiled up at Sam.

"It's a very long story." I said, hoping that would get me off the hook.

"Well, we have all night." She said, and sat down right in front of the bars.

"Well, when you put it like that..." I said, and I dragged my bunk over so I could have a place to sit. Sam sat down next to Star, and Belle sat in his lap. I just smiled and gave him a wink. He chuckled.

For the next hour, I explained my entire trip. I had to pause my story multiple times for questions from everyone. I told them about winning the trip, the flight out, and Camp Freedom. Then I explained the attack on the camp, and our escape. I went on and told how I first met Ahote. Then came the trip to town for the first time, and the fight with Logan. They laughed, and then I continued on with the story. I even told them about the death of Zach.

It brought bad memories, and I paused my story. Star reached through the bars and grabbed my hand. I looked up at her through bleary eyes. She smiled, and that helped. I wiped my eyes, and continued on with the story. I talked about picking up Garret and Sean, and they laughed very hard about that. I also talked about our other adventure in town. They all looked at me with wide eyes. I also mentioned robbing the convoy, and then I talked about Ahote and his father. They all looked at me with sympathy. I the told them about becoming a warrior, and then the attack on the town.

"And now I'm here." I said, now finished with my story.

"Well, that was quite the tale." Belle said. She yawned, and then looked up at Sam from his lap.

"What's your story?" She asked.

"I grew up in Texas, and then I joined the army. They brought me up here, and I here I am." He said. The others laughed, because his story was so short.

"Well, I am tired. I am going to head off to bed. Would you walk me out Sam?" Belle asked, tickling his sides.

He snorted, and then got up. "I am suppose to have somebody watch him at all times..." He said, looking toward me. He did not expect me to break out, but more the fact that if a superior came down and nobody was watching me, there would be hell to pay.

"I will watch him." Star said, as she got up.

"Really?" Sam asked, as if it was too good to be true.

"Yes. Now, get out of here before I change my mind." She said. Both of them headed over to the exit, and Belle mouthed "thanks" to Star, while Sam gave me a thumbs up. I just shook my head, and so did Star.

Once I heard the door close, I asked, "So what is your story?"

She smiled, and said, "I was born in Alaska, and there were so few of us that it was boring. The boys all were idiots, and my mother was pressuring me to find a mate. So, when the army came, I signed right up. To get away from the boys, and from my crazy family. So, they sent me here to assist in re-taking the town. And now, I am talking to a war hero who is in a jail cell, yet is still a gentleman." She said, as she sat back down.

"Very interesting. And have you found out the same lesson I have?" I asked.

"And what lesson would that be?" She asked, leaning forward, smiling smugly.

"That no matter where you go, there are idiots everywhere." I said. She let out a half bark half laugh.

"That is very true. I also miss my family. Even my little brother." She said. She looked down at the ground. I reached though the bars, and grabbed her paw gently. She looked up and smiled. She leaned forward and licked my nose. I heard the door, and she got up.

She whispered one more thing before she got up. "There is another lesson. A mate can be any species." She got up and walked away, just as Sam was coming back down the steps. She said goodnight to him, and smiled back down at me. I still had a stupid look on my face, trying to catch up on the events that had just unfolded.

I heard the door close, and Sam sat down against the wall so that he was facing me. He had the same look on his face.

"It was a good night." I said finally.

"You got that right." He said. We both talked about what had happened. By the time we finished, we were both laughing.

"Alright, we have to get some sleep. We have to work tomorrow." I said, and he just groaned. I lay on my cot, and he fell asleep on the floor. I was out right after him.

And there is Chapter 8! I hope that you all enjoyed it, and sorry it took so long to get out. Drill Sargent has been kicking my ass into shape, and between school and 3 jobs, it has been hard to get free time. but, tis the life of a 17 year old! As always, comments are appreciated!