Rescue Them All, Sibling Hope Chapter 2

The Williams family owns a world-renowned metal works industry. Margaret and her siblings have worked with metal and were crafting it since the day they were able to walk.

Neo had learned the ways of metal crafting early on and became a quick master craftsman. He started working summers in the shop when he was twelve and many clients came to the shop around that time just to commission works from him. He got jobs done quick and efficiently. He was a natural leader and added extra durability to all his works. He got orders sent out quick and prioritised well, no matter how quick a customer wanted his order done, Neo always sent out a top-quality work out. He usually started the projects and created the main structure of the piece before sending it to the rest of the workers to add the details.

Margaret worked hard to get to his level and succeeded. She specialised in metal details and boosted business when she contributed to the beauty, details and intricacy to the works the family sent out. She liked being last, adding in all the minute details the rest of the workers missed. Whenever she felt like the piece needed something more, she added it. Even when it went a little over budget, but the satisfied customers always paid more for job well done.

Leonard did not fancy hard work and spent his time researching instead. He found numerous ways on how to make metal crafting more convenient and safer. He helped out in the shop at times but mostly worked at the front desk. His smooth talking and confidence made customers pay more than what they originally planned for, but with over-satisfactory works delivered to them, of course.

Logan strived hard to contribute more than his older siblings. He stayed late hours in the shop before an order was sent out, fixing any errors the workers might have missed. He had a quick eye for detail and could tell something was loose even before it starts to wobble. His talent lessened the number of returned orders by almost a hundred percent.

Their parents were extremely proud of them. When they started this business, they were not sure what their kids would think of it, having such a hot, sweaty and painstaking job. But they enjoyed it, just as much as staying inside and playing video games in an air-conditioned room.

***

Margaret woke from her nap when Dancer whinnied.

"Em! Wake up!"

Margaret woke and yawned. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Did you fall asleep or something?" asks Logan. Margaret noticed that they had stopped moving in the middle of the road. There were no zombies or people anywhere, not even corpses, walking or not. "Dancer just stopped and we heard you snoring."

"Whatever, I was tired," retorts Margaret, quite offended by Logan's statement. "Why did Dancer stop?"

"I don't know, you're riding her," mutters Leonard.

Margaret looked ahead and saw nothing. She bent over to look at Dancer in the eye and patted her long neck. "What's wrong, girl? There's nothing there, come on."

But Dancer turned her head towards the side where a couple of overgrown bushes were. The house the bushes grew on had been for sale but there were refugees living there now. The bushes rustled and Dancer snorted. She neighed and pawed the road with her spiked horseshoes.

A pair of brown eyes appeared in the darkness of the bush, Margaret cocked her shotgun.

"Who's there?" she called.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" replies the voice urgently. A girl around Margaret's age appeared. She had long black hair and unnatural bright brown eyes. She stepped out further and Margaret saw that she wore a long grey trench coat and a black t-shirt. Her legs were wolf's legs, covered in brown fur and had two joints on her legs like a feral animal. Her fingers had long sharp nails that looked like claws and she bore a fluffy tail. She had elongated canines and when Margaret lowered her gun, two brown wolf's ears perked up.

"Who are you?" questions Logan.

"I am Sammie Jo Wolfe," she replies quickly. She had the feral looks of a wolf. "And you are?"

"I'm Margaret, this is Logan and Leonard. They are my brothers," says Margaret, pointing out her brothers to Sammie. "You don't look...human."

"Aye, I get that all the time," replies Sammie. "I don't know what they added to that bomb, but it made me this way."

"Yo, dude, she's a werewolf!" whispers Logan excitedly to Leonard, who rolls his eyes.

"Well, that's one way to put it," mutters Sammie uncomfortably. "The full moon makes me go nuts. I can't stand to be under it. The bomb seemed to have different effects than just to resurrect zombies."

Baron grows uncomfortable with Sammie and barks. She bares her sharp teeth at Baron and snarls. The Rottweiler backs off. Dancer paces uncomfortably.

"Any family members?" asks Margaret.

"Two little sisters and a little brother," says Sammie. "They're at my place."

Sammie eyes the horses and Baron. She notices their armour and the siblings' food supply. She licks her lips.

"Say, uh, do you mind sharing that?" asks Sammie. "My siblings and I haven't eaten in days...we have no food. My siblings can't defend themselves yet and I can't go out to raid a store without worrying about them."

"Are you orphans?" asks Margaret, getting off Dancer. "We can help you teach them how to defend themselves."

"It's a full moon tonight," says Sammie sadly. "I don't think it's safe. But we'll appreciate any help you can give us."

Margaret gazed up at the sky, which was orange due to the setting sun. "Are you affected even when not under the moon?"

"Not really," mutters Sammie.

"Then we can stay indoors then, we'll try not to head out."

Sammie smiles, her razor sharp canines showing. "Thank you so much! We won't give you trouble, I swear!"

Sammie the werewolf led the siblings to a place not far from ManaRay Drive. They stopped at a compound with a large white gate. She opened it and it did not creak.

They were led into a large mansion with white walls, a triangular roof with pillars supporting it. It looked like the grand pantheon in Athens. On the second floor balcony, Margaret gazed up at three pairs of eyes staring at them. They all had the feral looks of a wolf and they had Sally's same eye colour. Their furry wolf's ears perked up at the sight of them.

"Sam, who are they?" chirps a small wolf-boy. He did not look much older than six. "There's a doggy over there too."

"They're friends, E," replies Sammie. "Come down here and introduce yourselves!"

The three wolfish faces disappeared from the balcony and the siblings heard the large wooden double doors unlock.

"You can rest your horses by the stables down that way," says Sammie. She points her large fluffy tail behind her to a grand stable. "There are extra stalls where my parents used to keep horses. They're all still clean and there's plenty of food and fresh water for them. Your dog can come inside."

Margaret, Leonard and Logan dismounted their horses and led them to the stable, where it was large and clean. It was empty, except for a few owls who had made their homes in the large area. Leonard removed the horses' saddles and bridles while Logan took care of their armour. Margaret busied herself with Baron's armour. Shadow whinnied as he saw them leaving.

"It's alright, boy," Leonard said, patting the horses nose. "I won't be gone forever."

Sammie waited for them inside her mansion. It was a huge place, the floor was marble and there was a grand diamond chandelier in the middle. A large marble staircase ed to the upstairs rooms in the centre of the area.

A small pomeranian barked and came running towards them. It had short brown fur and short legs. Baron, excited with the new company, barked and played with it, chasing him around.

"That's Caramel," says Sammie.

Baron and Caramel bound after each other in long strides, Baron trying not to step on the smaller dog.

The three wolfish faces the siblings saw before appeared by the stairs. They ran down the stairs as if it was a ramp. They stopped behind Sammie. There were two girls and one boy. One girl looked a lot like Sammie but lacked her height and the second girl looked a little different, having darker fur and she was thinner. The boy was a small one. He looked around five.

"This is Stephy," says Sammie, introducing the girl who looked quite alike to her. Stephy had bright brown eyes and had black hair like Sammie. Her hair was shorter and only reached her shoulders. Her wolf ears were brown and her tail was short. Her legs were also like that of a wolf, with two noticeable joints. Her hands were wolf paws instead of a palm with five long fingers.

"Next is Sabrina," adds Sammie, moving to the one next to Stephy. Sabrina had light caramel eyes and a protruding snaggletooth on one side of her mouth. Her tail was long and her ears were covered in dark brown fur. Her legs and hands looked human, except for the claws on her toes and fingers.

"And lastly, this is Edge," concludes Sammie, patting the small boy's head. He had a mix of Sammie's and Sabrina's eyes. He had a cheeky smile and was considerably plumper than his older sisters. His ears were covered in chocolate brown fur and his tail was quite short, the tip not touching the floor. He looked the most like a wolf out of his siblings. The tip of his nose was black and the tips of his canines were shown from his mouth. He had the feral legs of a wolf and had a wolf's paws. Fur could be shown from the neck hole of his shirt.

Margaret looked around the mansion, dust had already coated the furniture several times over. The only thing that remained cleaned was the path to the staircase and probably the stairs itself.

"Can we play with the big doggie?" asks Edge. He glances shyly at Margaret and then at Sammie.

"Sure you can," replies Margaret with a smile.

Edge ran after Baron on his fours and Sabrina and Stephy went running after him. Logan and Leonard put down their weapons and chased after them.

"How long were you in here?" asks Margaret, walking closer to Sammie. "It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"

"According to the news, this area was supposedly struck last by the war," sighs Sammie. "The zombies had been resurrecting since last month...that's when my mom and dad went missing."

"They didn't come home?"

"No, they didn't. They went on business trip and never came back. I don't know where they could've ended up," mutters Sammie. "We can hardly protect ourselves. We've been giving Edge, everything we find. We're still new to our mutation."

Margaret thought long and hard. "I think I have a solution..."