"Aww, are you okay, baby?" Lola whimpered. Thora scooped her up. "You got a thorn in your paw? Oh, I'm so sorry. Hold still, girl." She gently pulled it out. Lola yelped. It was a glowing black Thorn from one of the Taken plants infesting some of the outer asteroid clusters. Thora had Lola all to herself for two whole months, and she loved Lola with all her heart. She spent hours throwing toys for Lola and cuddling with her on the couch, scratching her behind the ears and rubbing her belly. That lasted until the summer began, and Lidy came home, and then something terrible happened. "She won't stop following me around!" Lidy complained. "I hate dogs. Make her leave me alone!" "I'm sorry, I don't know why she's so obsessed with you all the sudden," Thora snapped, "If I were a dog I'd hate you too." At first Lola's attitude toward Lidy had only been a bright curiosity, but when faced with rejection, the little dog had become even more determined to win Lidy over. It grew worse and worse until suddenly Lola ignored Thora completely, following Lidy around, wagging her tail whenever she walked past and whimpering whenever Lidy locked her door so she couldn't come in. When Thora woke up one morning to find that instead of being curled up on her chest, Lola was sleeping on the floor by Lidy's door, waiting for her to come out, the house turned into a war zone. "Thora! Your dog is by my door! Why can't you keep her in your room at night?" Thora couldn't remember ever being angrier. "You stole my dog, and now you're blaming me? You think I want her to do this?" "Just keep your door shut at night so she can't get out, Thora," Mom ordered. So Thora did. She kept Lola locked up in her bedroom all day and all night, bringing her food and water and treats and all her favorite toys upstairs to her room so she could have everything Lola needed. Lola sat by the door all day, refusing to play with Thora or let her pet her. Thora hid from her family and cried herself to sleep every night, wondering what she had done to make Lola want a girl who had done nothing but shout at her and slam doors in her face more than she wanted Thora. She simply wasn't enough. One day, Lola refused to eat, leaving her food untouched. Thora still wouldn't let her out, figuring the dog would get hungry and eat sooner or later. Sooner or later she'd give up and be all Thora's again. But Lola didn't eat for a whole week. She started to lose weight and her movement was much more feeble, and the brown in her eyes had turned into a strange, glossy black. Thora spent hours one day laying on the floor by Lola, trying to convince her to eat. "Please, just a treat, just a little of your kibble, Lola," Thora begged tearfully. Lola whimpered and scratched at the door, hearing Lidy pass by outside. Thora finally gave up and let her out of her room. "Please, Lidy, just throw her toy for her once. If she keeps not eating, she'll die!" "No! She won't starve herself to death. She'll eat eventually! If I make her think I like her even the tiniest bit, it'll make everything worse!" Thora tried to dig through the future to find a solution, but her powers were still mysteriously dimming. She hadn't been able to see the future at all for the last month. That night, when Lola lay in front of Lidy's door, Thora brought her pillow and blanket out and lay down next to her, determined to show Lola how much she loved her. She gently stroked the dog's soft fur, caressing her face and ears and kissing her wet nose. Lola didn't budge. The next thing Thora new, it was light, and Lidy was yelling, "Thora! Get your dumb dog away from my door! What are you doing here?" Thora sat up, expecting to see Lola wagging her tail and jumping all over Lidy, but instead she was still laying still on the floor. Thora gently picked her up. She was all stiff and cold and she didn't open her eyes or resist being taken away from Lidy. "What's going on?" Dad asked sleepily, coming down the stairs. "Lola won't wake up," Thora whispered, trembling. Glint materialized over Dad's shoulder and scanned Lola. "I... I'm sorry, Thora. It looks like... she died.... sometime in the night." "No." Thora held Lola tighter. "No, no! Bring her back. Do something!" "I can't help a dog! I'm only equipped to heal and resurrect your dad, not a- a dog, or, or any of you." Thora went back to her room and locked the door, laying down on her bed and holding Lola close. She couldn't possibly be dead. Glint was wrong. Her sweet little puppy that she'd only gotten a few months ago could not possibly have died. She ran her fingers through Lola's fur, whispering her name, blinking back tears. Finally, she went outside, still holding Lola, and found a place where the grass dipped away into a circle of soft, muddy earth, like Hjura-1 had sensed her need and made an accommodation. She spent the rest of the day digging a hole to lay Lola in and covering her back up with the loose earth. She wasn't ready to leave Lola yet. She went inside to find her tent and sleeping bag so she could sleep next to her puppy one more time. As she passed the garage, she heard her mother say, "Hopefully Thora and Lidy will stop fighting all the time now. Thank goodness [i]that's[/i] over," and on her way to her room, she hear Lidy saying to Cal, "I would never tell Thora this, but honestly, I'm glad that obnoxious thing is dead. It drove me crazy having to put up with her [i]stalking[/i] me, all the time." Thora felt a fierce anger burning inside her, the desire to unleash the darkness inside her and destroy everything. Didn't they have any sympathy for what she was going through? All she had ever wanted was a companion in her home, and she hadn't even been good enough for a DOG to love. Thora packed a backpack full of clothes and food and all the tools she'd need to survive on her own. She couldn't stay here any longer. [i]I can't leave Lola with these people, either,[/i] she thought. She dug the dog's body up and put her in the giant shoebox Dad's new boots had come in, sealing it shut with duct tape, and carried her down to the hidden lair where Dad and Mom kept all the ships. She put her things on her favorite little warbird, the one she and her siblings had escaped in years and years ago, and made a second escape. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she wasn't coming back.