The next morning, Chase woke up hungry as usual. The sun was just starting to rise and the temperatures were also rising once again. Chase sighed sadly, realizing that the heatwave was not yet over. Suddenly, he remembered Jane was in the bed with him.

“Jane?!” Chase called out.

“Down here…” Jane’s muffled voice called.

Chase got up. He accidentally rolled over Jane as he slept. Luckily, a Werelion cannot be killed by being suffocated or crushed. Jane slithered out of bed, trying to recover from being smashed. Chase helped her off the ground, smiling a bit, though feeling concerned.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Chase asked.

“No, you’re good… I’ll be fine…” Jane said. “At least you didn’t attempt to eat me again.

“Want me to eat you?” Chase teased, grabbing Jane’s shoulders.

“Please don’t!” Jane wailed.

“Alright,” Chase said.

***

Chase cooked up a breakfast feast. Who knows where he got the ingredients from seeing as the house has been relatively untouched for years. After a breakfast of sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, pancakes, French toast, crepes, and cinnamon crumble muffins, it was time to do something about the filthy pool.

“Soooo… That’s a LOT of sludge,” Chase said. “But on the bright side, there isn’t much to drain as the sun has evaporated most of it by now. I’m thinking a lot of this that is still in here is from when it rained.”

“It hasn’t rained in awhile,” Jane pointed out.

“No, of course not, but when it DID rain,” Chase said.

“It’s guacamole, put it on some toast, tubby,” Madeline said.

“Oh! Avocado toast, you mean? That’s some good stuff! I’ll have to make you some one of these days! But no. Don’t eat the pool sludge,” Chase said.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Chase went to the drain valve and twisted the spigot. The drain opened and the sludgy water began to drain. Jane sat down, sweating, as she fanned her face. After a few minutes, most of the sludge water had been drained.

“You got rid of the avocado,” Madeline pointed out.

“Not all of it. Guess what comes next?” Chase said.

“Oh no, we have to touch it?” Jane asked with a groan.

Thomas was in his lion form sprawled out in the grass nearby. Chase briefly walked away. A few moments later, he returned with what appeared to be long scrub brush mops. Generously, he handed one to each of his family members.

“Get to work! The faster we get the sludge cleaned up, the sooner we can refill the pool!” Chase said with a hearty laugh.

“How long is this stupid thing going to take?!” Madeline asked. “And how do you expect me to work when I’m-“

“Disabled, yeah, yeah… I believe in you!” Chase said.

Madeline stared at Chase in disbelief. After some time, she grumbled to herself and started scrubbing. The base of the swimming pool gradually dipped in some areas until it reached a spot where the water would normally be 12 feet deep. As Jane slowly made her way to the deep end, she felt a bit of anxiety building within her.

There was less than an inch left of water in the pool. Despite the lack of water, Jane grew cold with dread as she stepped onto the 12 foot line. She glanced up, seeing the walls of the pool tower around her. As Jane became frozen with fear, Thomas came to the rescue.

“Jane! Jane! Wake up!” Thomas cried out.

“I’M DROWNING!” Jane wailed all of a sudden.

“No, you aren’t drowning… There’s no water,” Thomas said in a soothing reassuring tone.

Chase joined Thomas and Jane at the deep end. His warm food breath washed over Jane. He gently hugged her, guiding her away from that end of the pool. Gradually, Jane calmed down, melting into Chase again.

“You’re alright…” Chase whispered.

“I’m sorry, Chase… I don’t know what came over me…” Jane said, still trembling a bit.

“Let Thomas and I clean that end of the pool. Stay over towards the edge with your mother,” Chase said.

“I just wanted to help, I’m sorry,” Jane said with a sigh.

“I know, I know. I’m not mad. I was concerned,” Chase said.

Everyone got back to work on scrubbing the pool. Jane made sure not to wander back into the deep end again. However, something strange occurred. A snuffling noise occurred along with a clatter.

All of a sudden, one of the drains near Jane opened up. A strange looking creature crawled up out of the drain. It appeared to be a rat, but also a wolf. It then sat there, wagging its slightly hair rat tail.

“Ummmm, hello…?” Jane asked.

“Hello,” the Rat-Wolf replied.

“Oh! You can talk? I thought you were just some strange creature,” Jane said.

“If you thought I was just a strange creature, why did you say hello?” the Rat-Wolf inquired.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Jane said. “I’m kind of a strange creature myself.”

“Really? You look like a human,” the Rat-Wolf said, cocking his head to one side.

Jane set her scrub mop aside. In a flash, she transformed into her lioness form. She stood there on her hind legs for a moment before dropping down on all fours. The Rat-Wolf squeaked and chittered curiously in response.

“So now I see! You are a lioness!” the Rat-Wolf said. “What a pleasure it has been to meet you!”

“And you too! You seem like such a nice guy. What were you doing in the drain?” Jane asked.

“I was eating the guacamole,” the Rat-Wolf replied.

“Mmm, now I’m hungry…” Jane said, her stomach growling.

“Why not get something to eat?” the Rat-Wolf suggested. “That’s what I would do.”

“Good idea!” Jane said.