Echo

And what about our tails? What do they mean? And what—?”
    “Hold on, hold on. I know you have a hundred questions. And I know what you’ve been going through. I’ve dealt with the same thing. I just had the advantage of knowing more about the situation than you, so I didn’t go through the panic like you probably did. It’s amazing you were able to keep this quiet for so long. Weren’t you just a little boy? I sure wish I’d known, champ, I could’ve helped. Some of the info I’m going to give you will knock your socks off. I don’t know everything, but I’ll fill you in as much as I can.”
    Jose related his adventure, crossing through the Womb, finding himself in an enormous cavern. Walking to one side, he examined the wall, his hand feeling warmth and pliancy. It too, felt wet and gooey as his hand sank into the wall. And no surprise, bone dry after he withdrew it. The cavern reflected illumination, although Jose couldn’t see how. As he walked deeper into the cavern, he felt himself descend, although the temperature remained a constant mild coolness. The occasional drop of blood marked Barney’s path. Jose walked for about an hour, beginning to get nervous. Pathways opened, shooting off in all directions. The thought of becoming lost raised goose bumps on his arms. His love and concern for Barney forced him to press on.
    He soon came to a chamber carved out of the cavern wall, like a private room. Entering the chamber, he finally located Barney, lying on his side, in a corner of the chamber. Looking closely, he could see that Barney’s intestines protruded from his stomach, the wound, now deep and profane. In shock and sorrow he bent down to pick up his dog. Barney flinched, finding enough energy to clamp down on Jose’s fingers, out of his mind with pain, severing the thumb. Jose dropped the fatally injured Barney, scooting away on his butt, cursing himself. Any idiot knows not to touch a severely injured dog when it’s in pain. Damn, did it ever hurt . Tears sprang to his eyes from the agonizing pain, blood spurting like a faucet, his head swimming with fogginess. Barney laid his head back down, as if waiting for death, sorrowful guilty eyes awash in shock.
    Out of nowhere, he felt pressure, noticing a new smell. Sulphur? Looking around, he saw the most bewitching sight on a ledge, easily overlooked in his concern for Barney. Yup—Echo; mind blowing, even as his pain overwhelmed him. He watched as her glorious tail lingered up in the air over her head. From the end of the tail came the weirdest mother—f’ing blob of something. He felt pressure; and tingling in his hand. He held it up, double-taking as he realized his thumb was no longer missing. A flash of rainbow color seared his vision, briefly blinding him. As his vision cleared, a barking Barney stood up on all fours. Yes; up on all fours, his tail swinging wildly.
    Barney padded over to Jose, jumping up, putting his paws on his shoulders. He licked Jose’s face, and then loped over to the ledge where Echo sat. His face turned up to Echo, whining softly. Echo stood up and scaled down the wall, her skinny body with its fat stomach strikingly graceful. She approached Barney, tentatively touching his muzzle with a long skinny finger as Barney’s tongue reached out giving Echo’s finger an exploratory slurp. Together, they promptly flopped down on the floor and curled together, kinship clearly established. The pressure and aura intruded into his mind, whispering first words from Echo.
    “Hello Brother, I am Sister and I am so happy to see you.”
    Jose took a break from his story. Scotty noticed he absently stroked his tail.
    “Echo neglected to tell me about the tail on our first meeting. I discovered it on my own, just as you did; quite a shock, huh?”
    Continuing the story, he acknowledged the many meetings he held with Echo. He planned to make this meeting the last one, desperate to introduce Echo to Abby. If Echo could heal her, all their problems could be solved. Now that the discovery of Scotty and his tail changed everything, he wanted Echo to come live with them. As soon as the funerals were over and they moved Mama Diaz to Tomas and Kelly’s house, they would come back to the cavern and bring her home. Auras enveloped their minds.
    “Sister will live with her Brothers. My Barney will live with us too?”
    “Yes, Echo,” Jose said laughing. “We’ll all live together. Once we get settled, we’ll talk again. We need