I return the bird to the warmth my hoodie provides as it continues its much needed sleep. I stand before window with the brown mouse. There’s a layer of dust on the bottom of it. I reach out and wipe some of it away. After I do I feel something change. I push the dread away as normal anxiety even though I could swear I felt something important was just physically broken.

The mouse scurries over me and then to my shock climbs onto my shoulder. I try not to notice his whiskers ticking my neck. I grab the latch and put all my strength into opening the rusted shut hinges. The smaller, lighter brown mouse climbs my pant leg, pausing to rest in my hoodie pocket and then climbs the rest of the way.

I grunt as it refuses to budge. I look around for anything that can help me and then as the mouse squeaks again pull the hoodie sleeves over my hands to protect them and hit the hinge hard. I didn’t feel like tearing my skin open on the rusty hinge. Finally after a dozen or so blows and getting winded the horrible sounds of rusty, old metal breaking rather than working reaches my ears. I laugh triumphantly and look down to see the mouse dangling. 

I quickly scoop him up with a whispered apology. He watches as I crack the window open just enough for him and the other mouse to escape. “Be careful.” I whisper to him as he squeezes through. I watch, having to stand on tippy toe, then lifting the other mouse he stays inside and squeaks at the other. I get worried. He’s holding his side. Is he badly hurt? He steps back on my hand when the other mouse tries to grab his hand. 

Something flutters, grabbing my attention and then I exclaim as a loud screech startles me. The window gets slammed against by the largest, scariest owl I’ve ever seen. Talons reach through the window before I can process and curl around the little mouse. The owl flaps aggressively but it can’t get its foot out of the window with its talons in a fist. I scream as its wings beat the window and finally able to move, hold the window shut. 

The owl looks horribly wrong and something tells me that it grabbed the mouse by accident and it’s goal was me. With far too much confidence I press my bracelet against the talons of the strange owl. It screams and I jerk my wrist away at the smell of burning. The little mouse falls and I barely manage to catch its limp body as the madman bursts into the bathroom. 

He takes one look at the owl assaulting the window, trying to get in and the apothecary kit on the floor. Crouching he grabs a vial and then steering me out of the way splashes some of the liquid on the window sill, window, and owl's foot. I cover my ears at the agonized screams, the owl tears its foot off and flies away. 

I back away holding my arms close to my body in shock. 

The man turns to look at me and snaps, “I told you I was protecting us from things like that and you open a window for them to get in?!” I flinch and hold the unconscious mouse against my chest, shaking uncontrollably. He turns back to the window, closing it with apparently no effort. I look down at the mouse, vision going in and out slowly focusing on the blood from where the owl had actually gotten me. I fall to my knees as the pain registers. It’s a horrible burning agony. I watch as the madman realizes I’m hurt and that I’m holding something at the same time. 

“What is that?” He asks. Grabbing my wounded wrist he turns it to see whatever darkness the owl was made off writhing under my skin. Then he freezes seeing the “mouse.” He holds my hand easily as I try to jerk it back. 

“Don’t hurt it.” I say horrified that he would get revenge on it. 

“Not this time,” he says looking and finding some pollen? He sprinkles it over the wounded mouse and then me. I watch in shock as the mouse twitches coughing and gasping as it sits up before letting out a horrified squeak when he grabs it by its tail. 

I grip my hurt arm and exclaim, “Stop!”

He dangles the mouse in front of his face, “Heal him, before it gets too deep or I’ll dissolve your mate in acid.” I don’t have time to process the threat or the “mate” part because he drops the mouse onto my arm. I jerk back from the man shielding the mouse from him. 

“You’re not hurting him no matter what.” I gasp and then see the mouse pull his cloak off he reaches down and more of those pollen particles appear this time glowing brightly. The darkness exits my skin which immediately closes up behind. He throws the darkness to the side and it dissolves into nothingness. The little mouse then collapses exhausted. I hold it close and watch worriedly as he pants seemingly in pain. I cover him protectively with my other hand.

“Don’t.” My fake uncle lifts my hand, “Unless you want to burn him.” He gestures to my bracelet. 

I remove the bracelet quickly and seeing my “uncles” expression say, “I’ll put it back on once he’s feeling better.” The madman makes a sour expression and then turns back to the black gooey remains off the “owl’s” foot on the floor. He wraps it in a cloth and puts it in his backpack.

“You’re in trouble.” He says calmly. “Going through my things, playing with my experiments, letting creatures in.” He clenches his fists really tight and tries to smooth his expression with a smile. His lips twitch, “I think the word I’m looking for is grounded. You’re grounded.” 

I almost laugh but looking at my healed arm ask, “What was that pollen?” 

He ignores me. “Where’s the other one?” 

I look up at the window, black goo is smudged on it. “It escaped.” ‘I hope.’

He goes to the window and looks out of it at the woods. “It’s easier to control them in pairs.” He tisks his tongue unhappily.

I look at the shivering mouse. Its whiskers tickle my palm. He holds his long, slender, tail breathing a little deeper now but flinches everytime the psychopath talks. 

“That’s a shame,” he continues slowly, “I’m starting to see the value of keeping some of them around.” 

I look up as he’s suddenly standing right in front of me. I tense at the void expression as he looks down at me. I can easily see him hurting me and so I lower my head looking away. I flinch a little when he tells me, “Stay here.” I look up a little as he leaves the bathroom and goes to grab something. The door. I stand and he goes still. I could run for it. But I have a feeling he’ll catch me right at the door and if he slams me against it, the bird could get hurt. I have to release the mouse though. 

I sit back down with a sigh and stroke the mouse's head gently more to soothe myself than it.

When the madman returns, he has a cage. I hold the mouse closer to myself not trusting him with it at all. Especially remembering how he killed the last one in a cage. I take in a shuddering breath. ‘They were…humanoid. Smart.’

“Put it in here so it doesn’t bite you.”

“It won’t bite me.” I say and it winces since it did in fact bite me before but I understand why. “Also what’s the cage made out of?” I look at the metal bars and then my bracelet.

“It needs to stay weak.” He says slowly. “Trust me you won’t like it very much if it gets to full strength.” He realizes I’m not going to listen as I set my jaw.

“You owe me this.” I say, “unless your word means nothing.” He lifts his chin a little and then setting his hands on his hips laughs in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.

“Fine. Since you have to learn everything the hard way. Let him get strong enough to really hurt you.” He leans down so we’re eye to eye, “and he will.” He looks down at the mouse and then smirks, “If he even threatens to bite you I’m taking him from you.” 

I bite my cheek, “We’ll see about that.”

He grabs my face causing me to panic and I hyperventilate not hearing what he says as I look through him. He seems to realize something is wrong as he lets me go and I double over twitching a little. I shove him away when he tries to touch me again. 

I think he left at some point because the mouse brings me back to focus as he rubs his face against my thumb. ‘Poor thing. I’m the only person protecting him. I can't freak out like this.’ I look up a little to see he left the cage on the sink. His backpack and apothecary box is gone. I get up slowly from where I’ve doubled over to close the bathroom door slowly and the madman says, “Just don’t try to open the window again.”

I pause and reaching out grab my backpack, which he’d put right outside the bathroom and lay against it covering my eyes with my arm as I try to sleep but I’m shaking. Eventually the mouse squeaks and I open an eye. The brown mouse emerges from where he was hiding. I feel a mixture of relief and anxiety because he’s all right but is now in danger too. I hold out a hand to see he’s a little scuffed up, probably from getting knocked off the window sill. He limps heavily but runs to embrace the light brown mouse. I smile weakly. 

The brown mouse looks up at me and I look away pulling my hood down over my face. I don’t like being seen like this. I watch them kiss and realize once again they aren’t just animals. I fiddle with my hoodie strings trying to distract myself from dark thoughts and realizations. The mice return to me, surprising me. Maybe they’re cold. I lift them to stomach height and wonder if they’ll want to go back in my hoodie pocket. The brown one seemed to not like the bird very much. I wonder why? Instead they crawl up to my chest, they look at me and I look away again. 

I flinch when I feel their little whiskers as they crawl into my hood. Tiny bodies lay in the hammock like space, it’s kind of cute and I guess they’re less likely to get squished if I’m accidentally careless. I listen to them talking in hushed voices in a language I can’t understand and start to relax. I didn’t even realize I fell asleep until I woke up to whiskers tickling my face.

I start a little bit. Eyes focusing on the urgent brown mouse. I rub my nose and immediately understand what he wants. Getting up slowly and stiffly I check to make sure the bird is still okay. I feel it breathing steadily now. The light brown mouse emerges from my hoodie joining the other mouse in my hand. Their hoods are back down over their faces and I see the light brown one holding its tail anxiously. I open the bathroom door to see that the madman was asleep again. 

I go to the door and open it, slipping out into the bright day, heart pounding so hard I’m worried it’ll stop. I practically run down the stairs and then hearing an urgent squeak, stop. The mice scramble down my body and disappear. Just like that. I look around and notice people watching me but no owl. I wait as long as I can to make sure the mice get away safely then finally turn back to the stairs.

My “uncle” is awake and obviously very pissed when I reenter the room. He has all of his things packed and my backpack is with them. Looking at me he stops. I swallow with difficulty. 

“I let them go so you can’t hurt them.” I say quickly. He walks over without any expression and I wince, turning away slightly expecting a slap. He reaches up and I gasp as he yanks my hood back to reveal my face. I’m so startled I don’t immediately space out as he lifts my chin glaring at me. 

My mouth opens and closes as I feel like he can see every secret and horrible thing that I’ve tried so hard to hide. 

I lift my hand with a whimper but he grabs my wrist. I try to free my hand but that just makes him squeeze it tightly. I look up at him not sure what to expect and that terrifies me. He’s breathing heavily. I search his eyes as mine start to tear up and then finally he just lets me go. 

I gasp in and then whimper. Which makes me angry. I exclaim, “You should have just hit me!” He hands me my backpack with a shove that shuts me up as I stumble backwards for balance. 

“Get in the car before I-” He snarls before breathing out, “Before I leave you behind.” 

This gets my attention and I follow him out to the car. Once he unlocks it I get in and he throws me the bracelet. I put it on and he shuts the door. I stay silent as he gets into the driver's seat but he doesn’t immediately start driving. He taps the steering wheel rapidly, his breathing out of control. I keep my head down as he takes a deep breath letting it out.

He whirls around and smacks me violently enough to split my lip. I stay turned away, open mouthed, my shoulders shaking hard as he slowly realizes he went too far. Blood drips down my mouth and off my chin. I stay completely still as he curses under his breath looking at the damage. I zone out disassociating as he dabs it with a napkin. I don’t dare move as he finishes rudimentary treatment and then turns on the car. 

“Give me your hoodie.” He says in a low tone. 

I look up and realize the bird is still in there.

“It makes you feel safe, more confident, and therefore more stupid! Take it off!” He grips the steering wheel so hard I start obeying. 

He puts his head on the steering wheel as I continue, I pull the bird out and hide it in the blanket. Then, shaking, confused and scared I hand him the hoodie. He tosses it into the passenger seat. “Your headphones as well.”

I lick my split lip and hand him the headphones, trembling.

“Get buckled.” 

I sit back and buckle myself in. When he turns on the car it makes a few sputtering noises before coming to life. I pull my knees up to my chest and lay my face on them. It takes a long time to stop shaking. He’s right, my hoodie made me feel safer. Being without it makes me feel naked. I hide as best as I can in my arms. Trying to self soothe and choke back any sobs. 

He says nothing all day and night until we reach the next motel. 

“I will be very clear with you.” He says turning around. I stay curled up to remain as small as possible. “Are you capable of following orders and instructions?” He tilts his head. 

I nod. He looks at me for a long time. I hold myself keeping my gaze averted. 

“I am going to try to explain this in a way that you’ll understand. If you open the door you make it so that the things out there, that are trying to kill us, can get in.” I look at my arm where the scratches healed. 

‘The wooden skinned creature. The owl. What else?’ I think.

He clenches his fist. I swallow and look down again. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt you under very few conditions. If I hadn't of been a light sleeper and heard the door open...” He glances back at me. “You put my life in danger and I need to know that you’re not going to do it again.” I don’t say anything mouth opening to take a shuddering breath. I flinch hissing in shock as he grabs my face hard enough to bruise. “I could have used that pair in case you made more mistakes.” 

I look at him widely, making a whimpering noise, he loosens his grip keeping my face facing him with a tap. I breathe heavily looking at his face.