Hero was absolutely shocked. His jaw slackened as he looked to the door and back to his parents. Everything seemed to be going so well a few minutes ago during lunch. What changed?

“Stay away from them? Why?” asked Cali. “They didn’t seem dangerous to me.”

“What your father means,” stepped in their mother. “Is that you need to be careful around those three. You don’t need to avoid them entirely. That would be rude.” Hero suddenly felt more nervous than curious. If his parents were worried about something, it had to be bad.

“Okay, I’ll repeat. Why do we need to stay away from them? What did Soren say to you?” asked Cali. Soren? Oh! That must be the oldest one’s name. Hero and his siblings quieted as they waited for an explanation.

“We have reason to believe they’ve been seen by one of the humans here,” said their father. Immediately, Hero’s siblings looked tense.

“What do you mean? They thought they were seen? Or they know they were seen?” asked Atlas. “Is that what Soren wanted to tell you?”

“Yes,” replied their father. “This is what he told us. He wanted to be upfront and honest, which I respect. Still, the human he referred to is the one we’ve been watching for some time now. Your mother and I are going to go observe to make sure everything is alright. In the meantime, try to limit contact with them.”

“Do we need to spread the word? Get people out of here?” asked Atlas.

“No,” replied Casper. “At the moment, your mother and I are going to observe. Be polite if you see them, but just be careful.”

“What about Dorian? I was going to introduce him to my friends. Do I need to not do that?” asked Tiron.

“No, you can still introduce him as long as we don’t see anything alarming,” said their mother.

“So, if we see them, we need to be polite and nothing else? Pretend like nothing is weird?” asked Cali.

“Yes,” confirmed Prim before their father could interject. “Be polite and be careful.”

“That seems counterproductive,” pointed out Atlas. “If the worst is going on and they’re working with the human…”

“Right now, we don’t know anything for certain. This is why your father and I are going to go check out what is going on. For now, keep this close to your chest and don’t be unkind. Understand?”

“Yes mom,” replied the siblings, including Hero.

“Are… we not allowed to ask them about it?” asked Tiron. Their parents exchanged an uncertain look, something Hero had seen maybe three or four times in his life in his parents.

“As long as it doesn’t sound like they’re trying to convince you into anything like going with them, I think it should be fine,” said Prim.

“If you can get any additional information from the younger siblings, perhaps it would be better,” said Casper. “Like your mother said, keep your head up and just pay attention to everything they say and do.”

“Yes sir,” replied Hero’s siblings. The circumstances were strange, but there was something else more important rattling around in Hero’s mind.

At the moment, Hero couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement. Maybe this is why the three of them were acting so weird. Maybe this was his chance to find others who weren’t paralyzed with their fear of humans. Maybe he could talk to Rey and convince him that humans weren’t bad.

Knowing his parents were going to be around and watching the family of three and, quite possibly, the human, he decided to wait and try to find Rey sometime in the future so he could talk to him.

Until then, he decided to go and rest in his room for a while. He wished his parents luck, gave them a kiss, and went back to his bed. He pried off his shoes and slipped under the covers of his bed, eyes already drooping.

Hero would have to wait it out, but he hoped it would be worth it. If there was anything he learned about the kind of work he was doing, it was that being alone was tough; and that someone to share it with would ease his mind.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Hero’s parents made their way along the beams to the apartment where Soren said they were staying. They were shaking with nerves, terrified that these three Borrowers were really pets of the human. Was this it? Was this the end of their way of life?

There was a piece of trim by the ceiling that looked down into the living room of the apartment, and this is exactly where they went. They maneuvered around a set of cobwebs until they reached the crusted over piece of yarn holding the piece of trim tight against the wall.

Already, they could hear a feminine voice speaking as if responding to someone. The parents exchanged a fearful glance before pulling the piece of yarn to the side and opening the trim just enough for both of them to peer through. It was difficult to hear, but they managed to pick up most of the conversation as they listened in.

“Soren, isn’t that dangerous? I mean, if they’re serious about the rules, wouldn’t it be, I don’t know, better if we kept it a secret?” asked the human.

“I thought about it, but the fact of the matter is that we wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for long and would break what little trust we have so far. At least now we don’t have to hide while we’re out here,” they heard Soren say.

“Yeah. They thought you were acting strange, so they’ve been staying away just in case someone was seen or whatever. Isn’t that right, Mayzie?” said a softer voice. It must’ve been Rey. The parents craned their necks to see down into the living area. Hearts pounding and breath clutched in their chests, they spotted the Borrowers on the table, out in the open, while the human sat on the couch mere feet away.

It took every effort to keep from running away and to continue watching the scene in front of them. Ultimately, they were mortified. They were walking around without a care in the world. Still, while the Borrowers were walking around down below, the human - Ashlynn - made no effort to lean forward and touch them, something they usually saw humans do with pets like mice.

“Explains why the tacks haven’t been going missing,” the human’s words sent chills up their spine. So, she did know about them after all. She suspected there were Borrowers in the building. How long has this been going on? Why hadn’t they noticed sooner?

What the human said next, however, made them pause.

“Well, I… thank you. I mean, you didn’t have to tell them or anything. I… Well, I would understand if you wanted to use this as a fresh start.”

“We just got back together. After everything we’ve been through, it would be a shame to lose it all…” They didn’t catch the last part, but it was obvious that even the human was thinking this would be a fresh break.

“Did you hear that?” asked Prim to her husband, Casper. “She sounds concerned about them. Do you think she’s tricking them?”

“I don’t know,” growled Casper. “What I do know is they’re a lot closer than I thought they were. It sounds like she wanted to keep it a secret.”

“Yes, but for their benefit. She called it a fresh start,” pointed out Prim.

“That could also mean they were caught before and other Borrowers weren’t lured into their scheme,” countered Casper.

They strained their ears to listen as Ashlynn started speaking again.

“So, moving forward, do I need to do anything or, I guess, stop doing anything to help keep pressure off of you guys?” they heard Ashlynn ask.

“I mean, if you see anyone, don’t acknowledge them? I mean, I wouldn’t start talking to them or anything unless they’re trying to get your attention. I don’t know if that makes any sense or not,” said Soren. Casper and Prim exchanged uncertain glances again.

“Sounds like he’s prepping her for a trap,” muttered Casper.

“So,” they heard Ashlynn say. “Act like I haven’t seen them unless they’re trying to talk to me. I think I can manage.” Just then, they saw Soren’s attention focus from looking up at the human to looking up in their direction. Reacting out of instinct, they pulled the trim shut and secured it back.

“Hurry,” muttered Casper.

“Wait,” hissed Prim in reply.

“What? Why? Prim, we should go before she comes over. We need to warn the others,” said Casper.

“Cas, I don’t hear her coming over. You’d hear footsteps, right? Just wait for one moment,” said Prim. Casper and Prim waited for an entire breathless minute before daring to move again. They did hear footsteps after a minute, but the trim was not peeled away and, from what they could tell, this was the end of the conversation.

“Satisfied?” asked Casper after several more minutes of waiting. “What does waiting prove?”

“If Soren really did see us, and I think he did, it would have been easy for him to tell the human about us. We’d be captured, wouldn’t we?” asked Prim quietly.

“Unless they’re trying to lull us into a false sense of security,” pointed out Casper.

“True,” breathed Prim. “I just… I don’t know… I think we need to keep watch for a while longer before jumping to conclusions. We let others know this area is dangerous and suspicious but keep tabs on them for a little while longer.”

“What are you talking about, Prim?” asked Casper, stepping up to his wife and looking her in the eye.

“I’m just talking about waiting. I… I know it’s terrifying being seen, but they were at ease; and I… feel… like she’s okay,” said Prim. Casper narrowed his eyes and looked into his wife’s eyes.

“Sixth sense?” he asked, to which she responded with a nod of her head. Albeit reluctantly, Casper nodded in return. “Fine. We’ll continue to watch for the time being. But, if she acts even the slightest bit suspicious or puts us in danger, we’re going to have to intervene.”

“I know,” replied Prim.

With that, the couple made their way silently along the beams back away from the apartment and back toward their home. They were taking a chance on a gut feeling, and they could only hope that they were not being misled. It took courage for Soren to come forward with this information, and it would take courage to trust their fellow Borrower. Would it be worth it?