VIII

Balto did not sleep.

He did not look at his stamps to calm himself.

He didn't bother asking about dinner.

The dragon paced around his shed for hours, seething and mumbling to himself. He scavenged around inside for leftover tools to cut the chain off, but the place had been cleaned out before Balto had ever settled in.

When night washed over, Balto made his way quietly around the property, sneaking inside and carefully shutting the door so it made no noise. He eyed the insides of kitchen drawers, attempting to use a pair of flimsy, weak scissors until they snapped loudly at the axis.

Balto tensed up, heart-stopped and completely frozen. Only his eyes moved. He looked towards the front of the house, through the door leading into the room. There wasn't a sound anywhere in the house, except for the creaking of pipes and the silent noises rodents made under the floorboards.

His stomach made a noise and it hurt. The dragon looked around the counter, thinking about what they had for dinner. Leftover spaghetti, maybe? Or maybe some chicken?

No! I have to get this off!

The young drake returned to his search, tossing the broken scissors on the counter and looked under the sink. He chirped quietly as he grabbed an odd-looking pair of scissors--strong and entirely made out of metal--from a bag of tools. They were just sitting there, waiting for him.

"What are you doing?"

Balto yelped, dropping the scissors to the floor. It clattered loudly and it made the dragon's eyes dart upwards, waiting to hear Mr. Humphrey stir from his sleep. When nothing happened, the dragon snatched the scissors back up and stared at Harry, dressed in his polka dot pajamas, who stood in the doorway to the TV room.

"H...hi…" Balto mumbled, pressing the tool tightly to his chest.

Oh no oh no oh no oh no...

Harry looked at Balto for a few moments, tired eyes slowly becoming lucid and aware. He stared at the tool in Balto's paw, nodded to himself with a smirk, and finally broke the silence born between them.

"Got stuck in a chain?"

Balto hesitated, but nodded. Harry wobbled over, still tired, and held out his hand to take the tool.

"I have something that'll do better than that."

I don't believe you...

"I...I thought you didn't like me?" Balto held the scissors tighter still.

Harry rolled his eyes, smirking. "I don't hate you. I tease you. We are brothers, right? I'm just bad bein' nice, I guess." He gestured with his hand again. He gave Balto a sincere-looking smile, small on both sides and a pair of empathetic eyes.

Brothers...he's never called me that…

Even Susie...she never called me "brother"...

It started with a faint smile and a moment of blankly looking up at Harry. The dragon's heart fluttered and he wanted to cry. He beamed a joyous grin and almost threw the odd-looking scissors into his brother's hand.

"Please hurry," Balto mumbled as Harry quietly made his way back towards the stairs.

Harry held a finger to his lips and the dragon put an entire paw to his snout in apology. The young man went upstairs, not a sound to be heard from him. Balto paced uneasily, glaring up at the ceiling listening for anything...any movement, any noise at all.

…

…

...

It took Balto longer to realize that Harry wasn't coming back than it did to realize he hadn't made a single sound since returning to his room. Balto had thought it odd, but convinced himself briefly that his brother was simply being extra quiet…

...but Harold Humphrey did not return to help him.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

...and Balto felt so very cold when he knew that.

Balto sat on the kitchen floor...defeated...deflated...cold and so very alone.

He cried.

+++

Mrs. García made her way down the gravel driveway towards the Humphrey home. It was early morning and the world was still tinted blue. The grass was dewy and she was careful not to step in it and track grassy stains inside.

Looking at the front door, she saw Mr. Humphrey appear, gesturing for her to speak with him. She smiled at her employer and said, "A bit early for you, wouldn't you say?"

He did not smile. He never smiled at her, even when she caught him staring at her.

It never occurred to her that maybe he was making sure she wasn't stealing anything.

"Do not remove Balto's collar."

She tilted her head and asked, "Excuse me, sir?"

"He has a collar now. Do not take it off him. Understand?"

Mrs. García knew better than to argue with Mr. Humphrey. She simply nodded.

"I want you to say it."

Gritting her teeth, she whispered, "I will not remove Balto's collar."

The man did not say another word as he moved from the doorway to let her in.

"What would you like for breakfast, sir?"

"Nothing. I need you to finish trimming the bushes out front. Make sure they are perfect. I'm having a party later tonight and Sal's coming over."

Mrs. García had no idea who Sal was. The name had never escaped Mr. Humphrey's mouth before, at least in front of her. She nodded anyway. She was just the maid, and she needed the job. Who was she to argue how to treat his property.

The woman slipped into her gardening attire, stored near the backdoor, and looked out the door, sparing a glance towards Balto's shed.

"Oh good lord!" she exclaimed, rushing out the door to save the dragon.

Balto wedged a piece of metal from the siding of his shed into the many metal links of his collar, hoping to break one with leverage. Instead, he managed to get it caught in multiple links as well as the choker ring, strangling himself.

Mrs. García came to his aid as he writhed and gasped and pulled. A jagged edge in the metal was caught, preventing its removal. Balto stared up at her for a moment before his head went limp and he passed out. The woman deftly unsnagged the metal and yanked it free.

Balto jerked upward, gasping and clutching his throat. He sobbed uncontrollably, eyes red with weariness. The woman soothed him with a kind rub behind his ear, but he recoiled away from her, crawling away from her. He gave her a terrified look, mewling like a child.

"Please help me…" he muttered.

She looked at him, hand still clutching the metal. All she could do was shake her head.

"Please!" he begged, crawling a little closer.

"You know I can't. Your father…"

His eyes widened and ears flattened. He snapped his gaze towards the house before shaking his head at her violently, almost manically.

"Don't call him that!" he whispered, rubbing his side. "He...he's not my father…"

"Oh come now. Having a collar isn't the end of the world. He's still your papa and you should show him…"

Balto growled, scaring her. She had never heard Balto growl before. She took a step back from him.

"He doesn't care about me. He is not my father. My dad gave me big meatballs and a box to play in. Mr. Humphrey…" Balto sneered at the name but kept his voice down. "He...he...he just uses me! 'I feed you. I house you. You're a dumb lizard!' No, I'm not!" His voice rang loudly in the open air.

The dragon shrank in place, rage-shaking claws digging into the dirt. He felt himself about to cry even before the words escaped his snout.

"Why doesn't he love me? I'm a good boy, right? Everyone says that I am...but...but…" He touched his bruised face with his tail. Mrs. García watched as the dragon started to weep more. "Why did he have to hit me? I'm not a pet. Why would he call me that? I'm not a pet..."

He hadn't said it to her. She touched his face gently.

"Please help me. I don't want to be a pet."

Their eyes locked for a few precious seconds. Balto felt kindness in Mrs. García's gaze. She had always helped him, even when she wasn't allowed to. She made him sandwiches and listened him talk when Mr. Humphrey was busy.

She was the closest thing to a mother he actually had, and he leaned into her touch with a quiet purr, wiping away some tears with his tail-tip.

Mrs. García rubbed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head at the same time.

"I can't. I don't want to lose my job." As the dragon stumbled over his words, trying to respond, she got closer and rubbed behind his ear a little. "And you are. You're their pet. I can't take it off."

Who was she to argue with his owner? She was just the maid.

"I have to get to work, mi pequeño diablo. You should…" The woman felt an aching pain in her chest. "You should get ready for your route. You don't want to make your dad upset again."

She hesitated, running her palms over her apron and avoiding Balto's gaze. The woman left him.

Balto watched silently as she left, whole body limp and feeling like there was an ice cube stuck partway down his esophagus.

He chirped quietly but she didn't turn around when she heard. She stopped, but then kept going.