Half-awake, Jacob couldn't figure it out. Weren't animals supposed to go straight for the neck? Why was this dog so hung up on his leg? And how on earth could a dog be this fat and tough in the middle of the apocalypse? Who raided all the food from his place? A flood of thoughts rushed through his head before the pain finally knocked him out cold. The big dog that had been latched onto him let go once he stopped moving. It sniffed him, then stomped on his face with its paw. When it was sure Jacob was out cold, it spun around, shoved its butt in his face, and left a fresh pile of crap right there. Afterward, it even dragged its butt across his clothes to wipe off, then strutted off looking proud of itself. Hah! That's what you get for shouting at Natalie! Yep, the dog that bit him was Lucky. She could understand human words, but she never grasped the tangled mess of human emotions. Lucky had been apart from her mother since the day she was born and had always been with Natalie. To her, a "parent" simply meant her human. From their conversations, Lucky figured out that Natalie had been abandoned by her irresponsible father. She didn't even want to think about how awful she'd feel if Natalie ever left her. Natalie must have been heartbroken after being abandoned. Her human always kept her well-fed and never abandoned her. Even when her human hardly ate herself, she still got thrown out. That was just so unfair!Lying by the upstairs window, Lucky heard them talk and just got madder. Not only had this man dumped Natalie, but he'd even brought home another dog! That dog's name seemed to be Rosalie. Lucky could sense her bad mood and snuck out, ready to teach that man a lesson. But she didn't go too far—just gave him a taste of payback. If her human didn't kill him, then she wouldn't either. But if he upset her human? He was getting punished. Once she'd gotten even, Lucky's fierceness faded. She slipped back into being a goofy, happy dog, wobbling along on her way home. Back at Ashford Villa, the three women were still waiting for Jacob. Maisie woke up not long after fainting. Rosalie explained what went down at the homeowners' meeting, and Maisie's hatred for Lillian only grew. "Hmph! If it wasn't for you, Jacob wouldn't have tossed Natalie out, and none of this would've happened!" Lillian was already upset over the missing supplies, and Maisie's words only fueled her anger. "Don't pin it all on me! Weren't you the one doing shady stuff and afraid she'd come for you? That's why you wanted her gone!" Maisie was stunned that Lillian would dare to talk back and got even more worked up. "You vixen! How dare you talk to me like that?!" Lillian was done pretending to be nice and snapped back right away. "Quit calling me a vixen, you old hag! I've got a name!" Maisie's eyes went wide in disbelief. "Old hag? Did you just call me that?!"Lillian put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I did! You cranky old witch! When you collapsed earlier, I should've just left you lying there!" Maisie was furious and raised her hand, ready to smack her. "You arrogant woman! I'll put you in your place for my son's sake!" Lillian squared up, ready to fight. "Do it then, you weak witch!" Rosalie rushed between them. "Mom! Grandma! Stop it!" Being the youngest and strongest, she forced herself in the middle, clutching both their arms. "We don't even have a door anymore, and you two are arguing here? The neighbors will laugh at us!" They'd already made fools of themselves at the homeowners' meeting yesterday. Couldn't those two wait quietly for Jacob to get back? Lillian cooled down first, shooting Maisie a nasty glare. "Hmph! I'm too lazy to argue with you!" She turned to her daughter. "Rosalie, stay here and watch things. I'm going to find out why your dad's taking so long." Rosalie nodded, still keeping a firm hold on her grandmother in case the fight started again. Still fuming, Maisie kept hurling curses at Lillian's back as she left. But when Lillian reached the gate, she suddenly yelped, "Ah! What the hell is that?!" A few seconds later, she sounded uncertain. "Honey? Is that you?!" Maisie and Rosalie hurried to the gate when they heard that. "Dad is back?" "What's going on? Is Jacob okay?" They gathered at the door and spotted someone in the yard. His lower body was covered in blood as he dragged himself slowly toward the house.His face was smeared with some brownish muck, so they couldn't even tell who it was, and the smell was unbearable. Maisie was the first to catch on and broke down in tears. "My son! What happened to you?!"