“Is this really the correct road?” Ratcatcher cocked her head, surprised at the strange route the cabbie had chosen to take them to Morningstar.

The car journeyed through the suburbs, a residential area populated by low-income and middle-class families. The architects had made an entire spectacle out of the place. Rolling hills, covered by green grass, stretched from Morningstar to the distant plains. And on the slopes of those hills stood houses, each on its own flattened platform, assembled in a domino pattern that together created the illusion of buildings climbing to the top. Some still bore the original white paint, but most of the new residents had remodeled their homes, adding their own touches.

Children’s playgrounds and recreation areas dotted the spaces between each cluster of homes, positioned on similar square platforms. Small roads, just big enough for a single car, led from the main street to the houses, and here and there were bus stops where young students gathered during the winter to venture to school. Hooligans had turned these places into a toxic mix, superimposing their own colorful graffiti on the serene paintings decorating bus stops. Several kids were busy cleaning one such stop under the supervision of an officer, and the sight of unhappy adolescents made Ratcatcher chuckle. Curse the unforeseen consequences of my own actions!

“Everything’s fine, Eliza,” Dad told her, and the car made a turn that took them toward a building on the lower part of the hill.

The driver stopped at the wooden fence, reinforced by iron bars. Liam was the first to jump to freedom, throwing his arms high.

“Come on out already, slowpoke!” her brother called.

“What…” she stalled when her nose caught a scent.

Home! She had tasted many scents in her life and could tell for sure when one of her family members was nearby, even without using her Map. But this scent… She hadn’t tasted it in years! Home! Her tail hit the seat, and she left the vehicle. The scent of Scrapyard, the scent of their small hut.

Her heart melted as she recognized the cuts on the iron bars. There was a faint trace of outside material, a material that produced no sound when she tapped her finger against it. Mr. Other. He cut this metal. But what is it doing here? Mom put a hand on her shoulder, beaming with happiness.

The family reached the wicket, where the smell was the strongest and the material covered springs, keeping it soundless no matter how hard someone would slam it. And the handle! Ratcatcher couldn’t believe her eyes. The handle had the shape of a ring, elegantly crafted from four intertwined iron tails. Rat tails. And one had a talon that could be used to give a ringing sound when someone didn’t want to use the bell.

“It, it, it,” she squeaked, not daring to believe, “it smells like our old home!”

“I paid a visit to Scrapyard myself,” Bloodsworn said pridefully. “Took some time to find our rusted hut; the thing was broken, but there was still good metal.”

“How are the Others doing?” Ratcatcher asked.

“Adjusting,” her mother replied. “They are fundamentally different from humans. They do not expand unless they need to procure more space for themselves. And they do not hunt unless they are hungry, meaning there are no reserves or storerooms in their settlement. Such a thing does not even occur to them. I spoke to this Mr. Other, as you call him. He told me he spent the last month standing still, watching for any tourists that might try to sneak into the place. Can you imagine it? Iterna is still trying to integrate them into the country at large, but I don’t see it happening. The others understand our customs to a certain extent.” She nodded at the fence. “And they have good manners. It’s just that they don’t care about living like us. But enough of distractions. Honey. Do the honors.”

Seeker used an old-fashioned set of keys to open the door, then handed copies to everyone. At that moment, Ratcatcher truly believed she wasn’t asleep. The walls of her home resembled roughly hewn slabs of stone, but as she ran her trembling paw over them, she understood the smoothness of their edges. Even if a child ran into them at full speed, he would have better luck breaking his nose on the pavement.

To the right was an empty garage. Her jaw was barely reaching the high windowsills of their two-story home, making it impossible to glance inside. The family made their way through a spacious walkway, and Ratcatcher clapped her hands like a girl when she saw the rest of their property. The house and garage took up a meager third of their land.

“Trees?” She blinked tears of joy.

“Yep. Vat grown. We got them at a sale.” Dad patted her on the back. Tall oak trunks supported the ring fence. Liam nudged her side and pointed to the cabin nestled in the branches of an oak. Seeker coughed when he saw Ratcatcher’s puzzled look at the dangerously leaning thing. “We slightly miscalculated the length. Several times.”

“It fell on Dad’s head twice!” Liam added eagerly. “It was fun! You should have seen how Mom broke into the falling cabin and grabbed me…”

“And let’s not talk about it ever again.” Bloodsworn ruffled his hair. She smiled, gaining the visage of Joanna Vong, a housewife rather than a fierce fighter, unafraid of anyone. And it was okay. “Don’t open your mouth so wide unless you want to swallow a bee or a fly.” Joanna joked.

She gestured to the green field and four beds, dug-up patches of earth surrounded by wooden planks.

“Not the perfect view, but you’ll like it when we plant our first crop,” Joanna said, grinning from excitement. “Pol promised to teach me how to grow potatoes. Said it was the easiest vegetable to tend to. Then I think we’ll try tomatoes, maybe cucumbers. And the garden will be on the west side; I plan to squeeze it in between the greenhouses.” Dad coughed, and Joanna snapped her fingers. “That’s right! We haven’t yet decided on your rooms. We haven’t decided on your rooms yet. There is a room upstairs and one downstairs; which one do you want?”

“I’ll let Lizzie choose,” Liam yawned.

“Don’t have a preference?” Ratcatcher asked as they approached a set of stairs leading to the hallway.

“As a man of the house, it is my responsibility to look after the feeblest members of my family.” Liam lifted his snout, putting his hands behind his back.

“The feeblest?” Ratcatcher bristled. “I am fine!”

“Oh, yeah?” Her brother grinned. “Then the last one to the top is the one who lives at the bottom!”

He pushed her aside, and she pretended to fall, breaking her fall by landing on a hand that held up the rest of her body. The wrist strained from the pressure; her muscles still hadn’t fully recovered, but a clear laugh left her lips, and the long tail wrapped around the ankles of the concerned Liam, jerking him off his feet. His voice joined hers. The boy’s palms grasped the first step of the stairs and lunged ahead, dragging his sister into the open doorway. She grabbed the last step, flexing her muscles to stop Liam’s stampede.

Using her tail, Ratcatcher dragged her brother back and climbed over him, bursting into the house in her street shoes, racing down the empty corridor to the right on all fours, instinctively guessing where the stairs to the top would be. Liam caught her at the bottom of those stairs, and the two of them rolled on the floor, grappling, struggling, trying to push each other back as their parents shook their heads at the competition.

“Let them play,” Mom said. “I’ll bring the broom.”

“I’ll make sure they don’t get hurt,” Dad replied.

Ratcatcher gasped, stopping the struggle to hug her surprised brother. Home! They have a home of their own! Liam hugged her back. The moment of peace didn’t last long; she threw him aside, almost reaching the first step when his tail wrapped around her neck.

They have a home again.

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****

The house was fantastic! Its bathroom didn’t share space with the toilet. Furthermore, both places had individual sinks. The spacious living room stood to the left of the kitchen, and at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor were two rooms. Their parents took the larger one, Liam took the smaller one on the first floor, and Ratcatcher proudly won her prize, a room on the second floor, close to the attic. Her room immediately enchanted her; it had a narrow window looking out onto the slope of the hill, allowing the girl to bask in the morning rays of the sun when it lazily appeared from over the hill. Moreover, it opened up an awesome view of their backyard, and she even jumped from the second floor to help Dad place a grill, earning herself six vicious slaps across the butt from her Mom for the trouble.

They were busy for the past six days. Mom dragged them all by the head to introduce themselves to their neighbors, nice people all, although some Iternians were afraid to shake Dad’s hand, worried about potentially enraging him. They would’ve denied the accusation, but Ratcatcher knew the routine and didn’t hold it against them. The world was a big place. It takes a while to get used to everything.

Then she and Liam washed the house clean — both floors — while Mom toiled in the garden, preparing for the party. Dad had already asked for permission to have a loud party all the way into the evening. A neighbor came over, helping the parents finish the construction of the wooden cabin after it had fallen on top of them four times. The man explained that he worked for Gehenna Infinity’s construction company, and the sight of the wooden structure collapsing physically pained him. He refused any thanks and invited the siblings to come and play soccer with his younger children.

And just like that, the family had passed a test. A pastor visited next, apologizing for not welcoming the family sooner. More visitors followed, giving gifts to the new family and re-introducing themselves. Ratcatcher felt genuine joy watching Liam play soccer with the other children. Back in the apartment, he lacked friends. Only Nadya and Wedge served as his playmates, but both teens were older than him. Hopefully, everything will be all right here.

“Eliza Vong!” Bloodsworn said, lifting her daughter by the nape. “You will behave as a well-adjusted human, or I swear I will turn the rest of your rehabilitation into re-education. Would you like to learn how to sew, dear?”

“I’ll be good, I’ll be good! No more jumping out of the windows today, I swear!” Ratcatcher surrendered at once. She had her own plans for the recovery period. The Academy had sent her a portable workshop as a gift, and the girl had a plan to lock herself in the garage and tinker, restoring the lost mancatcher, making it better in every way possible.

“I don’t like that clarification of yours, daughter.”

“They are here!” Liam’s voice made Joanna jolt.

Ratcatcher darted for the entrance, leaving Mom behind. Guests! To celebrate the purchase of their house and, she suspected, to cheer her on, Dad had invited everyone he could. Eugenia pleasantly declined the offer, apologizing for being busy at work. Enrico didn’t respond. The Ericksons called, asking what beer to buy.

The Rasputins arrived first. Ratcatcher bit back the urge to whistle in surprise and rushed to help them unpack a car full of products. When Vasily told her about his family, she imagined a wizened old lady and an elegant younger sister in a dress. Not the two ripped young women in short sports uniforms!

“You must be Ratcatcher!” Vasily’s grandmother grabbed her in a hug. The trainee struggled to find an appropriate term for this embrace. Bear hug? That would be a disservice. It was like iron bars closing over her body, threatening to grind every bone to powder.

“Nice to meet you,” Ratcatcher whispered, fighting for air. Vasily’s ‘little’ sister wrapped her arms around Liam.

Save us, you bastard! Liam’s and Ratcatcher’s eyes fell on Vasily, hidden behind parcels of food. Her friend came dressed in a strapless shirt, blue pants, and sandals. True to his word, he hadn’t removed his scales, but had gone to the bio-sculpture clinic to have the doctors make him a nose covered with the same hide as his body.

“Don’t worry, they don’t break bones,” the trainee joked. He nodded to the approached Joanna. “Greetings, Miss J. Where’s the kitchen?”

“Vasily,” Joanna stumbled, finding words. “You have arrived too early; the dishes are not yet ready.”

“Then the plan worked.” He smiled. “It wouldn’t be right to pile all the work on you. Leave the cooking to me, miss!”

“But I can’t... I’m the host, it would be improper…”

“And you must be Joanna Vong!” The grandmother put Ratcatcher on the ground. She closed her hand around Mom’s hand. There wasn’t any anger in the women’s eyes, but their muscles bulged as both refused to be outdone. “Amazing! Your muscles remain unhindered by the evenly distributed fat. Posture is perfect despite a weight of two hundred kilos. Sorry if I guessed the weight wrong. The fingers are elastic steel whips. My, a gal after my own heart! Linny, I swear, had Miss Vong been single, I might’ve found myself a new partner right here!”

“Chickening out, then?” Bloodsworn grinned. “It’d be a shame to let such a physique be untested. First one to a thousand pushups wins?”

“Now you are talking! Vasily, honey, will it be okay to leave the cooking in your hands?” Her grandson nodded. “Linny! You are with us!”

There were no further words. Somehow, all three women had reached a perfect understanding, raised their arms high, bulging their muscles, so that ropes grew on their arms. And swung them down, pressing their forearms against the forearms of another woman, forming a triangle of competing muscles. They laughed like old friends, dropped on all fours, and began the contest.

“You didn’t tell us that your family were giants!” Ratcatcher accused Vasily, leading him to the kitchen. Liam stayed behind, taking on the referee’s role. “Why are you so scrawny?”

“I don’t know, why are you?” She shut her mouth. Yeah, it was a fair point. “Think the muscles will look good on me?” Vasily glanced at his arms.

“They are going to be awesome,” Ratcatcher promised him. “You okay, Vas? Nothing’s bothering you…”

“Nightmares,” he said, and she fell silent.

There was no need to elaborate. It was the same with her. In the middle of the night, Ratcatcher would wake up, grab her sides and hyperventilate at the memory of her skin being torn from her body.

She bit her tail in the worst cases, but the low whine still alerted Dad once. The torture didn’t end in her dreams. She’d drop her toothbrush, spotting a rotting carcass in the mirror.

Strangest of all, it wasn’t the injuries Ratcatcher had. She knew that for sure because the nightmare had skin. Sores opened on her body, leaking yellow pus that stained her eyes. The fur coat didn’t fall off. It turned white, each strand as sharp as a blade. Her lips curled, forever giving her a bristly snout. She imagined, feverishly, his commanding voice demanding she step up and rule, announcing her ambition. The pleas of the woman she had left to die permeated the offers of power — a sort of banshee wail and demonic torture.

It was all in her head. It had to be true. The Chosen Prince had never altered her body in this way, and the man was dead. Dead forever.

Liam came to visit her one night. Her brother said nothing, simply sat at the edge of her bed, holding her and offering her a shoulder to cry on. He never told Mom, never teased her, and never demanded an explanation later. She thanked him for this, using his shoulder to hide her face until the panic subsided. But the words, the whispering promises remained. She didn’t tell the therapist about them, too afraid that the man would consider her mad and expel her from the Academy.

Being busy helped. Being surrounded by care and by the constant chatter of her family and friends helped doubly so, and little by little the nightmares receded. On the plane, the ghoulish figure tormented every second of her sleep. Here at home, she had only two really bad episodes. Last night she slept like a child, and for once she had a happy dream. In it, her feet crushed Eight’s face, knocking out the parasite’s lights and saving the man. The Queen herself thanked her in the dream. Of course, the queen’s features later turned into the worried Mom’s face, who inquired as to why her daughter sleeps on the floor. Ratcatcher was so tired that she didn’t even notice how she fell off the bed. Ratcatcher was sure she could handle the problems on her own.

“We’re not okay, are we?” Vasily asked, his hand almost dropping the knife.

“No,” Ratcatcher agreed. “But we will be.” She was surprised to believe in it. “If you ever need help or someone to talk to, call me, Vas.”

“I will. Same offer to you, Lizzie.” Vasily nodded. He shook his head.

They didn’t discuss the topic any further. Her friend turned to work, bemoaning about the wrong shapes for the pies the family had, clicking his tongue at the length of their kitchen knights. His commands saw Ratcatcher put the purchased food on the table while he washed his hands, the knife, and began to cut meat, complaining about some of Mom’s recipes.

“This is too fat. Not thin enough. The steaks aren’t pounded enough; why are you planning to grill them?! God, is this what you pass for a salad?”

Ratcatcher grinned, listening to Vasily’s grumbling, and set up to work. In a dozen minutes, she brought new and admittedly better prepared steaks to Dad so he could start the barbecue. They barely had enough time to finish the table because Vasily insisted on letting him do the deed, asking his grandmother to go and play with Mom some more. His perfectionism demanded the exact amount of spices, the correct placement of silverware, and perfection in the assembly of the seats.

It didn’t last. When Carlos, Elina, Jumail, Rowen, Nadya, Wedge, Esmeralda, and Edward arrived, accompanied by their parents, a shriek of despair left the kitchen when Jumail’s siblings ruined the perfect cohesion in the spacious room. The guests didn’t bat an eye at this; the room was too small for them, anyway. Enrico and Dad left to prepare more barbecue. Mrs. Ericson helped with Jumail’s younger siblings, trying to get the quiet girl speak up like her brothers. Ratcatcher and her friends tossed balls, not caring how strange the image might have been to the neighbors.

A Malformed, mutants, Abnormals and normal teenager playing together. As the day drew to a close, Enrico left, leaving a small group of bodyguards to watch over his wife and children. The rest of the adults moved into the house to escape the night breeze, leaving the teenagers outside to relax. When Ratcatcher looked up and saw stars appearing in the night sky, she exhaled and wrapped her arms around Carlos, Elina, and Vasily.

So what if she is not completely well? Life doesn’t wait for anyone, and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t claw happiness for herself.

She can do it. She will live and get better.