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red-haired boy wearing a hoodie and baggy
jeans. He was clutching a skateboard at his chest.
    Kevin sighed. “Asleep on the street.”
    “BOO!” The teenager jumped up, startling
Kevin with a sudden shout. When he saw the stunned expression on
Kevin’s face, the skinny boy pointed and laughed at him. “Oh, man!
You should’ve seen the look on your face! Priceless!”
    “You’re awake!” Kevin gaped.
    The teen smiled. “Yeah. You’re awake too.
The name’s Tom Schneider. I used to go to school around here.” Tom
paused. “But as you can see…no school today! Isn’t it great?”
    “Great?” Kevin shrugged. “I guess.” He
gestured toward himself and Andrew. “I’m Kevin and this is Andrew.
We’re trying to figure out what’s going on.”
    Tom patted Kevin on the shoulder. “That’s
cool. I’ve just been chilling. Thought I might as well enjoy the
freedom while it’s there.”
    Helios tugged on the bottom of Tom’s jeans.
“If you are doing nothing, I welcome you to join us,” said Helios
politely, looking up at him. “We could use a few more people on our
quest. It’s a difficult task and we’re certainly short on
hands.”
    Tom goggled at the talking rat.
    Noticing Tom’s amazement, Kevin decided to
explain everything from the beginning. He told him about how they
discovered everyone was asleep and how an organization of pets
known as the HPC was working on the case. Then he talked about
their little adventure in the sewer.
    After Kevin finished speaking, Tom blinked
rapidly as he tried to wrap his mind around what he was being told.
“Right…dude, that is awesome.” He beamed at Kevin. “But I guess
anything can happen now, right? It’s crazy. The streets are totally
empty and all the animals are talking…it’s like we’re in a movie—or
a book .”
    “Speaking of talking animals,” Kevin said to
Andrew, “did you try calling them again?”
    Andrew shook his head. “Should I?”
    “Yeah, call them. Let them know where we
are. I don’t want them worrying about us.”
    Andrew tried calling Kevin’s phone. After
three rings, someone picked up. Andrew said quickly, “Hey. We’re
out of the sewers.”
    Through the phone he heard someone grunt,
“Genesis speaking. Sorry it took so long to pick up. I had
difficulty flipping open this device. Where are you now?”
    Andrew searched for the street sign. “Felix
Avenue.”
    “Stay where you are. We’re coming.”
    Andrew put his phone back in his pocket.
“They told us to wait here.”
    Kevin’s stomach growled. Patting his belly,
he grimaced. “Well then, I think it’s a good time to grab a quick
lunch. I’m starving.” He turned to Tom. “Any ideas?”
    Tom interlocked his hands behind his head.
“Hmm…I don’t have anything at home. I ate it all. But there’s a
grocery nearby.”
    “A grocery? It’s probably closed now.”
    Tom grinned mischievously. “Does that
matter?”
    Kevin nodded. “If the doors are locked, yes,
it does matter.”
    Tom shook his head. “If it’s locked, we
break in. It’s as simple as that.”
    “Break in?” said Kevin, his brow furrowing.
“What about the cops?”
    “They’ve got bigger things to worry about
than a bunch of hungry kids.”
    Kevin said uncertainly, “Still—”
    “Let go of that old way of thinking,” said
Tom. “We’re hungry. We’ve got no choice, right? The law can’t hold
us down. The law was made to protect the people. But right now, the
law can’t protect anyone. From this moment forward, we do whatever
we need to. Agreed?”
    Kevin felt unwilling to accept, but the boy
did have a point. “Agreed.”
    “Cool.” Tom motioned for them to follow.
“Come on. Let’s not keep our stomachs waiting too long.”
    The supermarket was just a little further
down the street. In big blue letters it was called the
“Come-And-Buy-Stuff” or CABS for short. Kevin had never heard of
this supermarket, but it was small, so it might not have been a
part of a larger