Caleb skipped along the streets of Three Cities, Gobo in tow behind him. The little goblin had been much more compliant after they exchanged names. Currently, the little monster was following along behind Caleb without any complaint. Earlier, the goblin had tried to run, meaning Caleb had to chase him down and tackle him again.

Now the the little goblin was looking up in wonder at the city. It was currently sitting on top of a hill overlooking an old interstate. The dome of Three Cities had undergone a few more changes over the past weeks. The pillars supporting the dome held new scaffolding around the top. Various workers had drilled holes into the area around the pillar and were in the process of constructing anti-air turrets. On the edge of the city, similar defenses were built. Periodically someone would exchange shifts.

Caleb led Gobo through the large doors, now reinforced and manned by a willing militia. "You're going to love it here," Caleb said.

Gobo wasn't so sure. The place smelled like a mix of sweat and fur to his nose. At least, that was the case until they entered the forger district. The goblin stopped once he smelled the telltale sign of fuel. Caleb turned around.

"Everything good? You don't want to try playing tag again do you?" Caleb was refusing to believe that his new friend didn't run in fright the first few times together. It was a game of tag and nothing else.

Gobo turned back to Caleb. The words were completely lost to the goblin but Gobo had learned that not paying attention would mean more tackles. He didn't want the smelly arms around him anymore. Hurriedly, he moved back over to the man.

Caleb led Gobo through the forger district and into Refuge. The unique buildings of the forger district were replaced by flat buildings copy and pasted along gridded streets. With the instinctive knowledge one gets from living in cities, Caleb led Gobo over to his place. All the while the little goblin stood as close to the man as he could. He wasn't about to get lost in this maze.

Caleb opened the front door of the square house. "Lucy! I'm home!" He called.

No one answered.

Gobo looked up at Caleb, wondering why he was calling. Was there another like him in this house? Was this it for him?

"She's normally back by now," Caleb muttered. "Hailey!"

Caleb walked into the house he shared with his sister and ushered Gobo inside. He then proceeded to push the goblin into the small living/dining room and sat him down on the sparse couch that had been salvaged. "I'll get you something to drink," He said.

Gobo sat obediently and looked at the interior of the house. There wasn't much in it. He looked down and bounced on the couch, it was fluffy. He looked at the other chairs in the room. One looked to be an old kitchen chair, though Gobo could only see it as a woodpile. The other was one of the foldout chairs stored in the back of soccer mom vans that only saw the light of day when their little baby was playing in the big game. Some of the weaving in the middle of the chair had been replaced with grass.

The door opened and Hailey walked in. Things were going well for Three Cities despite her needing to oversee a bit more work. But the forgers had found unique ways to integrate Rover into the whole system. Now the cute dog, or a copy, could be seen all around the city. One was with Hailey now, informing her of any updates.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

This version of Rover was more mature than the one initially made. He was taller for one, and had none of the baby features. Their hair was a dark black with white trim and he had striking blue eyes. The whole thing was rounded off with a pair of glasses.

Hailey walked into the room where Gobo sat and dropped her things onto the end table. That done, she turned around and moved to plop down onto the couch. She needed to rest her feet, today's issues had sent her all around the city. The forgers were requesting more materials but the various jobbers who went and harvested parts were currently all in the city for fear of another attack. She had spent the majority of the day discussing what to do about it with John and Athena, and they never sat still.

Hailey almost didn't notice Gobo, with how tired she was. Even then, it took her a second to comprehend what was happening. Gobo was sitting on the couch, twiddling his fingers as he waited for Caleb to return.

"This is Caleb's fault isn't it," She said.

"What's my fault?" Caleb said, waltzing into the room with a glass of water. "Oh I see you met Gobo."

"You named it?"

"He named himself. I rescued him from a horrible life of slavery and suffering."

"Bullshit, you thought he was cute."

"Lies! Lies and slander! Did June tell you that? She's a no-good, dirty, rotten--"

"Caleb."

"Yes, I brought him because he's cute. You think so too don't you? Don't lie."

Hailey looked over at the small creature fidgeting between her and Caleb. She looked at its hide loincloth and squashed features. "Okay, he's a little cute."

"I knew you'd like him." Caleb smiled with all the smugness he possessed.

"What's this really about?" Hailey looked through her brother's façade. He wouldn't make a Goblin a pet because he thought it was cute. Okay, maybe he'd walk up to the thing and try and make friends but he wouldn't bring it back with him.

"I wanted a pet," Caleb said. He turned away to watch Gobo drink the water. The glass didn't quite fit the mouth and Gobo spilled a bit down his front.

"Do I really have to pry it out of you every time? Out with it." Hailey commanded.

"I'm bored okay," Caleb said, still looking away.

"Okay. And?" Hailey prompted.

"And I want to go exploring, see all the crazy shit going down."

"So you want to leave."

"No! Yes. I don't want to leave you here alone but this entire apocalypse is filled with so much crazy stuff. Like David, did you know he's cursed? Some pig farmer up in Indiana hit him with a nasty one for crashing into his pigpens with a car. It's why everything he does is pig-themed. Krista and the rest are trying to help him find something that can break it. Heck, even the mersharks in Kansas city sound crazy cool. And I have this power that makes it so nothing can hurt me so I'm the ultimate spectator. I could watch Goku and Superman duke it out above the earth without having to worry about the damage. How cool is that! But I can't leave you, not with the rest of the family MIA."

"So the goblin is a way to cope?" Hailey said, diving into the heart of the matter.

"Gobo is a way to keep me interested here while you finish getting Three Cities defensible," Caleb answered.

Hailey shook her head. "You could have come to me with this instead of taking matters into your own hands, like always."

Caleb shrugged. "Eh, you've been busy. This whole town wouldn't run without you."

"I'm sure John and Athena do just as good a job," Hailey said.

"My sister, Gobo, always humble," Caleb said.

Gobo looked up once his name was mentioned. Some water spilled out of his mouth as his tongue tasted the air. "He's like an ugly baby." Caleb cooed.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Long as you clean up after him we won't have any problems." She sniffed the air. "And get him a shower. He stinks."

"Will do councilwoman!" Caleb said, saluting. He grabbed the goblin and walked him over to the shower.