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Part Twenty-Eight

                         EMERGENCY REPORT
FLASH FLOOD WARNING IN THIS AREA UNTIL 11 AM EDT. AVOID FLOOD AREAS.

   "That can't be good," Sam reached his hand out for Axel to grab, who had nearly jumped at the loud pang. "C'mon, we'll go to mama and papa."

   When the two boys reached their parents, still in the process of packing, Sam was the first to speak up.

   "There's a storm coming soon. It's supposed to be bad until tomorrow morning."

   "And how do you know that?" Jack narrowed his eyes down at Sam, who stood even higher at his glare.

   "The phone told me. It's useful."

   "It's a human invention-"

   "Jack," Drizzle's stern voice floated in, her light steps making it nearly impossible to tell she entered by his side. "Thank you for letting us know, Sammy. Do you want to go borrowing for us and gather some things before it hits?"

   The opportunity to go outside the walls with his parents permission? Sam would take it in a heartbeat.

   "No," Jack put his foot down before Sam could even agree. "Not if he's just going to see the humans."

   "Papa, you can't be serious."

   "I'm very serious. I don't know how well we can trust you to get us supplies when I know damn well you're going straight to your humans for help-"

   "I am my own person, papa," Sam replied, giving himself a boost in height by standing up straight. He took a step forward and let go of Axel's hand, making himself as intimidating as he possible could against his father.

   "And yet you hang out with them like a pet," Jack spat back.

   "Jack!"

   "They are what brought you here. If you can't be thankful enough to appreciate what they did for you, I'd much rather stay with them," Said Sam, in a manner that portrayed a calm facade. On the inside, he was practically screaming with fury.

   Sam was not a pet. He was a friend to his humans, and to think any differently would be denying everything they had done for him.

   "It's not about what they did," Jack argued once more. He crossed his arms and let his gaze turn to ice. "It's about what they are."

   "What they are, are my friends, Papa!" He couldn't hold back anymore. Sam could feel the heat behind his eyes, yet he absolutely refused to let any tears shed and prove that he was not prepared to argue his case.

   "Jack, leave him alone," Drizzle intervened with a deep sigh. The white strip in her hair stood out more than ever, and she attached herself to Jack's arm to calm him down. "You're both obviously upset. Axel, why don't you go with Sam and help him borrow. Papa and I will stay here."

   "Why would you let-"

   "Axel isn't going to visit any humans. And he's safe with Sam, so we might as well prepare for the storm while they go borrow." She reasoned with her husband, who's face was only slightly flushed with anger now.

   Axel, for his part, was not a big fan of being pawned off like some object to win his fathers approval. He didn't speak up, regardless.

   "I'll take him," Sam said. "If it means you let me go, I wanna take him with me." Sam said it with venom on his tongue, but it was only noticeable with the burning glare he used against his father.

   Axel felt as if this was not a family he wanted to be a part of for the time being, and so he nodded along to Sam's request, eager to leave the argument.