A DOG, A BIRD, A CAT, a dog, a bird, a rat, a rat, and a dog.

Just as after that particular leaf of an Acacia fell to the ground, after the quake could no longer be felt, and when the scream of their Guidance Councillor lasted, followed by one another, the said animals that went missing by the time they were gone, made their entrance to the assembly unexpectedly.

By the very view of them right after a series of events and this. Of what, how and the similar questions that could be ascertained in between, made everyone raise their consciousness at the Stockroom.

Why there are animals in there?

Once again a gust of wind that came from the west, whipped everything in its path and made anything that was light to follow the wind immediately. Including to everybody's scent. An exception to the tension they had on their inside.

The wind was short but strong and nonetheless served as a cue for these lost animals to find particularity in the atmosphere. Especially to the only retriever in the gang.

A shallow blend of chocolate fumes.

Abruptly after it registered to the mind of the said dog and after the stock of data had been recollected, just like a key and a padlock, that source of that scent unlocked the submissiveness of the retriever. He had been tamed once again.

Aurum Cauldron, the Golden Retriever, cocked his head to the right side by the time he recognized that familiar stain in the air.

At first, the sharp brightness of the morning sunlight as it hit the windshield of the ambulance became a hindrance of confirming who bore that particular fragrance that his nose developed a liking. But as the time passed by, two seconds at most, he recognized who was he.

Standing straight with his uniform that's informing everyone that he was on duty of saving the Municipality of Pulupandan, Jim Cauldron, couldn't believe what he saw.

A dog, a bird, a cat, a dog, a bird, a rat, a rat, and his beloved dog: Aurum Cauldron, the Golden Retriever.

It was already been two months since the series of bygones that included household pets had been reported. All of the events happened at night, where everyone submitted their consciousness to sleep. Then morning came they vanished without a trace. And even the securities that held them were also gone.

Though Police finally cracked the interval of occurrence of missing animals, for it happened the same day of every week, to name the Friday, they could do nothing about it and only post the 6"x4" image of animals with the caption of Roman text boldface 'MISSING'. To think that the entire population of the municipal would be around thirty thousand people living around and an estimated ten percent of it had household pets. Not to include the wild ones.

Reports had been just filed by one after another until two months ago, it happened no more.

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But now here they were, not all of them but only some. Vanished by the Friday night and resurfaced after the Monday quake.

"Aurum, is that you?" in amidst of turmoil where most of the residents of Xyrale High had been imprisoned, Jim Cauldron, at his first glance to the group of animals, never did doubt his perception: a well tanned fine golden hair Labrador retriever that weighed eighty pounds.

That was his Aurum. Went on a mission just what his breed should do and reappeared with the animals he retrieved.

It's been two months since they last saw each other. Not knowing the fate of his dog would also be like to those who went missing, he never did anticipate what would happen from thereon: his younger brother, Fred Cauldron, who loved Aurum more than him and more than any member of their family, seemed to be like his world had been turned to smithereens.

They barely communicated with each other, which was more with it was just a bypassing gesture and then it was gone.

But now as he watched his beloved dog and the cure to his younger brother's despondency, made him feel the highest degree of gratefulness, in fact, it made him develop those tears of joy.

As he started to take his first step after the earthquake to warmly greet his long-lost companion to his duty, the dog already ran towards him.

Paws were skedaddling on the land, tongue's out as it lolled, eyes were as happy as they first met, no doubt that the dog felt the same way as he was.

As they made their reunion in a while, everyone around them took a moment to pause to give this instance for the come back of two beings that solved lots of crime in the municipal.

Nobody witnessed this kind of Jim Cauldron, their Chief of Police. From his signature demeanor of supreme, professional, and tenacious, it was very different to now: a fat hearted man that found a fascination with dogs.

They ended up meeting each other under the long reach of shadow emitted by warm sunshine from a flagpole that stood twenty meters tall.

This thin darkness that had been laid between them was actually the time he and Aurum were apart. But as the word thin implied for short term, this darkness was no more. In fact, they about to step on the other side where the obscurity was absent.

Brushing the head of his dog just like he always did, a lot of questions started to sprout one after the other:

Why does Aurum seem to be well taken care of?

As he retrieved his stare from his dog to acknowledge the presence of the other animals, he then confirmed that these creatures, including his buddy, had gone through healthy living. He rephrased that into a statement.

They seemed to be well taken care of.

And another question sprouted.

But if they were, there must be somebody aiding such care. But who will it be?

It must be a person and not a nonentity. For if it was an otherworldly wight, the reality that everyone knew since the beginning of the world would be just a halfway there to the whole truth.

It must be someone who has access to this school.

And another question sprouted.

A teacher? Personnel? Or a student?

To think that the singularity of the event from one another had yet to unfold, Tim felt the squeamish saliva of his dog as it licked his masonic hand. The one that didn't rest at the head of the dog.

Wait! The owners of the pet that went gone, were all students, right. And they all schools in here.

Even though his focus was battling from his dog that was licking his hand, to the rest of the animals that made their sudden appearances, from the quake that lasted thirteen seconds, on that scream of despair in the Stockroom, his mind still perceived a peripheral view of a footstep from afar.

Which immediately followed by one after the other.

Turning his head in that side, he saw a girl, at her fastest one, ran towards the stockroom. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Though his dominant voice could reach out to everyone in the assembly, Chief Tim just only let that series words left his mouth that seemed to be the retriever could only be the one to hear him:

"Some of the animals are still in there right? Inside the Stockroom?"