“Alright, boys, I know I’m not usually the one in charge or giving out any kind of orders, but Albert, Bill, and Eddie aren’t here yet. If you want me to step down, I’m totally willing,” Lou’s statement was met with cheers of encouragement.

“Yeah I told him no one was going to demand he pick a new temp boss, but no one ever listens to Gus,” Gus said into the room. One of his arms was arms was in a sling. He was followed by Bug.

“I appreciate it, everyone. I really do, but this means we are down in numbers by a lot, so we gotta pull double, maybe even triple duty around here. We’re at war, and we need to keep everyone in fighting shape. We aren’t resting til we get the boss and the rest of the boys back,” Lou said.

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“Do we even have enough supplies with all the extra people?” The question came from one of the smaller capybaras.

“Doesn’t matter; we will figure it out. I’ve got a meeting with Harold tomorrow to see what kind of connections he has there, and if that doesn’t work, I’ve got some more ideas. No one is gonna starve, especially all those kids Cal rescued!” Several cheers followed this declaration.

“Make sure you guys take some time for games, too. It’s important to relax, besides without Ethel, the school’s off anyway. That frees up some time, and I’m sure we can get some of the other animals to pitch in, even if they haven’t fully awakened yet,” Bug suggested.

“Good idea, but a more important idea. We need more fighters, any of you boys know what happened to Bug’s other mom?” Lou asked.