Echo

Diaz didn’t have a choice. Tomas is going to drive her back to the projects in Short Hills. Isn’t that where you used to live?”
    “Yeah, I can’t believe he would do that to his mother and his sisters. Should we bring them back here?”
    “I don’t think so. We have Echo now. And how do we explain Abby’s recovery? And our tails? I don’t see how you kept it hidden. Give me some time to think about what we can do for them. Don’t worry. I won’t let Mama and the girls be dumped like this. What do you say, time to hit the sack? We can start this in the morning. We’ll pick up lumber at the lumberyard and price out security systems. We start building after lunch, okay?”
    “Yeah, I need to hit the sack. Echo? Barney? You guys want to bunk with me?” Barney jumped to his feet, following Scotty to his bedroom with Echo shuffling quickly behind, her tiny leather feet trying their best to keep up with Barney. Jose turned out the lights and followed them all to bed.

    The house on Lily Pond Road finally settled down for the night. Sleep came to the occupants of all their neighbor’s homes. The night’s creatures woke up, starting their nocturnal foraging. And the predators; oh yes, the predators were afoot. Slowly, ever so slowly, the white Volkswagen on the hillside turned on its headlights, quietly rolled down the hill and silently glided past one particular home on Lily Pond Road, disappearing into the night.

Chapter 9
    The next morning Scotty woke to a harsh pounding on his door. Recognizing urgency when it woke him up, he slipped into his jeans and shirt, not bothering to tuck in his tail. Glancing around, he noticed that Barney and Echo were nowhere to be seen. Dashing to the living room he searched for Abby and Jose, finding them hunched over the back window. Joining them, they silently made room for him.
    “Holy mother of God,” he whispered with awe in his voice. There, up in the maple tree, sat the furry twosome; Echo, stretched out doing her eating and Barney keeping watch, happily slobbering all over the new treehouse. Looking at Jose, Scotty asked, “Did you?”
    Shaking his head, Jose said, “Not me.”
    Looking back at the treehouse, Scotty saw how it gleamed like gold in the sunlight. He couldn’t see any joints or supports. No. It couldn’t be, could it? He noticed the trunk of the tree encased in the same substance the tree house was made of, giving it a solid support. Could it be? And how did Barney get up there?
    Running into the garage, he returned with a couple of cans of black spray paint. Hollering to Jose to get a ladder, he ran into the backyard, starting to spray. Jose dragged the ladder up to the treehouse and begged Barney to come to him. Echo sat up, motioning to Barney. Golden rainbows flashed in their heads.
    “My Barney, please let Brother Jose take you down to the ground. Brother Jose, Brother Scotty, Sister Abby, did you not like my surprise? Now you do not have all of that difficult manual labor to do.”
    “Echo, will you please come into the house? We would like to talk to you. Oh, and yes, we do love your surprise.” Lifting the squirming Barney, Jose eased down the latter. Scotty watched, tapping on the mysterious metal. The tree house sure felt like solid gold. Watching Echo walk down the gold encased tree, he grabbed a spray can, adding more camouflage.
    Abby gathered up the wayward buddies and scooted them into the house, with Scotty and Jose not far behind. Gathering at the kitchen table, Echo climbed up unaided. Abby couldn’t squash a laugh as she watched Echo make herself comfortable on the table. Looking up at her family, Echo stared into their faces, her beautiful golden eyes flashing rainbows.
    “I guess you were very busy last night, Echo,” Jose commented softly.
    “Oh no, Brother, I slept very soundly last night, and so did My Barney.”
    “Well, how did the tree house get built? And is it actually made out of gold?”
    “Yes, my Brother, I hope you don’t mind the gold. I realize it is a soft metal, but the Womb found it the most plentiful metal in the earth near the Hive. Since it was only going to be used for my eating and of course, the occasional company of My Barney, we thought it would be strong enough. Do you approve?” Jose looked at Abby and Scotty, amazement leaving him speechless. It was clear Echo had no idea of the value of gold. And it was just sitting in their backyard.
    “ OH—MY—God .” Abby’s eyes were