Episode 2. Curiosity

The voices outside did not stop when midnight passed. They called gently for a while, then scratched at the iron door when no one answered. Each time Ruby's ears twitched at a burst of laughter, Junho found himself looking toward the entrance. Cloth soaked with Moa's water had kept the smoke out. It could not keep out the sound.

Junho settled Ruby on his lap and cupped both of the fox's ears. When Ruby tried to lift his head, he tucked a blanket around the bandaged paw and spoke softly.

JunhoDon't listen. We're right here.

Minjeong drew Moa into her arms. Namjeong supported Pori's long ears carefully between his palms. The pets slowly uncurled, closed their eyes, and began to breathe evenly beneath the children's hands.

MinjeongNamjeong, don't let go, even if you doze off.

Namjeong nodded, then fought to lift his heavy eyelids. Junho shifted whenever his wrists began to ache. Each silence outside made them hope it was over, until another voice called through the door. None of the three let go. They stayed awake until morning.

When pale light reached the high air vent, Junho thought at first that it was a reflection from the lamp. Only after it stretched across the wall, with no sound from outside for a long while, did he slowly uncurl his stiff fingers. Darkness had vanished with the voices of the night.

Minjeong looked through the high window while Namjeong nodded off sitting up. The moment she reported nothing but broken walls and empty streets, he lay down on the blankets. Junho and Minjeong could not hold out much longer. All three meant to close their eyes for just a moment.

The pets, well rested, felt quite different. Ruby carefully tested his bandaged paw and slipped away from Junho's hand. Moa rubbed his nose against Minjeong's sleeve, then turned toward the stairs when she did not stir.

MoaIt's quiet outside.

PoriWe only look. Then we come straight back.

Pori left his seedling in an empty tin beside Namjeong. When Moa went to inspect the small escape passage leading toward the water channel, Pori followed. Ruby glanced after them, but the half-open door to the bunker's storeroom had caught his attention.

Ruby entered slowly, keeping weight off his sore paw. Old water containers and empty tins filled the shelves. A round, spiky shape beside a sack at the far end looked, at first, like a brush someone had left behind.

The shape rose and fell with a quiet breath. A hedgehog lay asleep facing the wall, his back turned to Ruby. Yellow lightning marks shone between his purple spines. Ruby lowered his head, curious to see his face.

A pebble shifted beneath Ruby's paw. At that tiny sound, the hedgehog's back jerked. His eyes had barely begun to open when yellow sparks gathered at the tips of his spines.

Chiru...Huh?

RubyOh?

A thin arc snapped backward toward Ruby's nose before Chiru had even turned to see who was there. Ruby felt a sharp tingle across his muzzle and sprang away.

Ruby tried to swallow his startled breath and let out a short burst of flame instead. When Chiru finally turned, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar fox breathing fire. He dropped onto his bottom and raised his paws over his face. Another arc leaped from his bristling spines.

RubyAah!

ChiruOw! Hot!

Ruby jumped sideways to avoid the electricity just as Chiru twisted in the same direction. Both were trying to dodge, but they found themselves facing one another again. A flame grazed the end of a sack. A spark struck an empty tin, and a whole stack clattered onto the floor.

Ruby had no idea why the hedgehog kept sending sparks at him. Chiru could scarcely follow what had happened since waking. Both wanted it to stop, yet each new flash made their bodies react before they could think.

Ruby crouched, and Chiru scrambled to his feet. Gold flashed again between the spines that stood rigid with fright. Ruby tucked his bandaged forepaw against his chest and planted his three sound paws on the floor. This time, there was no room to back away.

RubyGrr...!

A stream of flame shot across the storeroom. Chiru squeezed his eyes shut and twisted; electricity sprang from his spines and struck the fire head-on. Orange and gold burst together, lighting both their faces.

ChiruAah!

The hot gust pushed Chiru backward. Ruby scraped a slipping hind paw against the floor. A rolling tin struck a crate, and both flinched. Each thought the other was attacking again: Ruby sent out another burst of fire, Chiru another arc of electricity. Neither had meant to start a fight, but every frightened counterattack drew another in return.

Footsteps pounded along the passage. Woken by the crash, Junho had almost tripped over his blanket in his hurry to reach them.

Junho ducked as he opened the storeroom door. A little flame passed over his head and struck the wall. Seeing Ruby draw another breath, he called out.

JunhoRuby! Look at me. Stop!

Ruby shut his mouth at the familiar voice. Once the fire and electricity had ceased, Junho knelt between them and held his hands low and open. Chiru's tightly raised spines began to settle.

RubyThat hedgehog fired first!

ChiruI'm sorry... You startled me.

Chiru stumbled through an explanation: he had been asleep, heard something behind him, and reacted without meaning to. Ruby kept rubbing his nose, but lowered his tail flame as he realized the hedgehog had not been waiting to attack.

RubyI only came over to see who was sleeping there.

ChiruI opened my eyes and there was fire coming at me.

Junho looked from one to the other and let out a long breath. He had expected a terrible fight. It had begun with a single footstep. Ruby muttered an apology for the fire, and Chiru bowed his head.

When Junho asked whether he wanted to stay in the storeroom alone, Chiru shook his head. Ruby headed toward the door while Chiru followed at what he hoped was a safe distance for sparks. At the threshold, Ruby waited until the hedgehog could walk beside him.

Moa and Pori emerged from the narrow passage beside the water channel. In daylight, the village was quieter than it had been last night, but it did not look safe. Great holes split the walls, and dark gaps stood where windows should have been.

Pori was about to turn back when he heard someone repeating the same words beyond a heap of fallen stone. The voice was hoarse with crying.

DuriDad! Where are you?!

A little bear was clawing through the rubble with tears on his face. The stones of his necklace knocked together as he worked. Durgan, who had faced Darkness at the village entrance and disappeared the night before, was Duri's father. Duri could not leave the last place he had seen him. He searched the same broken stones again and again.

MoaWait. We can help you look.

Moa reached out a paw, but Duri stared past him. The otter and rabbit seemed to be blocking the only path that might lead to his father. Three rough stones hovering nearby rose sharply toward Duri's shoulders.

Duri turned without wiping his eyes. He could not take in what Moa was saying. His father might be just beyond that corner, and no one could be allowed to keep him from looking.

DuriMove! I have to find my dad!

A stone flew toward Moa. Pori shoved his friend's shoulder, and it passed between them before striking a wall. Duri sent the other two after it without stopping.

PoriMoa, watch out!

Moa pulled water from the channel and raised it in front of them. The stones drove deep into the shield, sending a heavy shock through his paws. Pori crouched behind him, but fallen masonry blocked their way to the side.

While Moa gathered more water, Duri was already lifting fresh earth. Realizing words alone would not stop him, Moa looked back at Pori. The rabbit gave a quick nod and pressed both forepaws to the ground.

Moa drove the shield forward. It narrowed into one forceful stream aimed straight at Duri, no longer merely holding back the stones.

MoaSomeone's going to get hurt!

PoriI'll stop him coming closer!

Green shoots split the cracks beneath Pori's paws. Stems and leaves raced low along the ground, then surged upward around Duri's feet. Moa's water struck the earthen barrier while Pori's grass attack broke Duri's balance from below.

Duri tried to pack the earth tighter, but the soaked barrier crumbled. Water and grass were both difficult matchups for his earth power. The three floating stones dropped one after another. His knees gave way, and he fell onto the wet ground.

Moa cut off the water at once. Pori lifted his paws to stop the stems growing any farther. Neither had meant to leave Duri lying there. They looked at each other, then cautiously approached to see whether he could move.

A white shape bounded over the broken wall. Shiru, Duri's friend, had been searching for him. All he saw now was Duri on the ground, with Moa and Pori standing over him.

ShiruWhat did you do to Duri?!

Pori lifted his head to explain. But Shiru had seen the green stems beside Duri and already stepped forward. Cold swept from beneath his paws and raced toward the rabbit.

MoaPori!

Pori gathered leaves to block it. The instant the cold reached them, their edges frosted white. The grass that had been so effective against Duri could not hold against ice. Pori's defense shattered, throwing him sideways.

He tried to push himself up. His frozen ears drooped, and his body would not obey. Before Moa could reach him, Pori collapsed.

Moa planted himself in front of Pori. Just as Shiru had lowered himself to keep them away from Duri, Moa would not let anyone strike the friend behind him again.

MoaGet away from Pori!

ShiruThen you get away from Duri!

Water and ice collided in the middle of the lane. Ice cut into the current, then broke apart as the spray drove Shiru's paws backward. When he gathered more cold, Moa drew up more water. Neither had a decisive matchup advantage. Even their fiercest attacks could not quickly overpower the other.

Shiru thought Moa refused to stop attacking. Moa feared Shiru would go for Pori again the moment he lowered his guard. Each was trying to protect a friend, and neither could spare enough attention to hear the other.

With each exchange, the water grew thinner and the ice smaller. Moa gathered his next stream with his mouth open for breath. Shiru's forelegs shook simply from holding him upright. Their final attacks pushed them apart, and both sank to their knees a few steps away.

Moa reached toward Pori, but his body would not follow. Shiru tried to turn toward Duri and fell onto his side. The lane was quiet. All four pets lay exhausted on the ground.

Much later, Minjeong woke because her arms felt empty. Namjeong sat up at the sound of his sister calling for Moa. Only the hollows where the pets had slept remained in the blankets.

After hearing Junho's account of Ruby and Chiru's commotion, the siblings searched every corner of the bunker. Moa and Pori were nowhere to be found. Namjeong spotted the seedling in its tin. Minjeong found a trail of tiny wet footprints leading toward the escape passage.

They took cloths to wrap the pets in and went outside. They called their names down each damaged street, but no answer came. Following the water channel, Minjeong noticed fresh wet mud and pieces of ice that had not yet melted. She quickened her pace.

Beyond the corner lay four small bodies: Moa and Pori, a bear they did not know, and a white wolf. The fight had already ended. Nothing remained to tell them who had struck first.

MinjeongMoa! Open your eyes!

Minjeong only let out her breath when she saw Moa's chest move. Namjeong held a hand near Pori's nose, then turned toward the bear and wolf.

NamjeongThese two are breathing too!

Minjeong checked each pet in turn. They could not leave the unfamiliar ones behind. The siblings spread out their cloths and gently lifted the small bodies from the cold ground.

Minjeong wrapped Moa and Pori together and supported them in her arms. Namjeong took Duri and Shiru, leaving enough folded cloth between them to keep their injuries from pressing against one another. Minjeong checked his grip before they began to retrace their steps.

At each heap of rubble, they paused to look down at their burdens. The pets that had poured all their strength into fighting now bared their teeth at no one. The faint rise and fall of their chests kept the siblings moving.

When they reached the bunker stairs, Namjeong called ahead.

NamjeongJunho, open the door!

Junho, waiting inside, pulled back the bolt and opened it wide. The question on his lips stopped when he saw what the siblings were carrying. Instead, he raised the lantern to light the steps.

JunhoThis way! Watch your step!

Ruby and Chiru moved aside. Minjeong came down first, with Namjeong close behind. Once both children and all four pets were safely inside the bunker, Junho carefully closed the iron door.