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"Shhh!" I said to Chloe

"And to think I even ever liked you, Dean!" she was yelling

"Chloe, shut up!" I shouted "Look at Luna!"

And then Luna took off like a shot

I hollered to Astrid as we followed Luna

Luna raced toward the Kitchen

"Who’s there?" I shouted as I approached

I tried to sound firm, but my voice broke

She kept running into the Kitchen and barking at so back to me

"Who’s there?"

There wasn’t any sound Not any hu pulled up into her body and her nose ai with Luna?" Chloe screa," Astrid said, co at us fro There’s so! You think about a hunting dog pointing, like a golden retriever or a Lab Not a fluffy little puffball like our Luna

I shined h, I sao s back at me

"It’s a rat," I said

"Ew!" the kids screamed

"Can I see it?" Chloe asked

"Stay back," I coet a trap," Astrid said "Or two … or twenty"

"Yeah" I said "Good thinking"

"Don’t kill it!" Chloe protested "We should catch it and keep it for a pet"

"No," I said "That’s a horrible idea"

"No, it’s not, Dean," she spat "I’ to catch hied to Caroline and Henry

"But we already have a pet We have Luna," Caroline objected

"You can never have too ball!"

"Chloe, you stay away fro back a trap"

But the little tent over to the counter and picked up a cardboard box full of straws and duet it out with that broom, and, Henry, you scoop it up with this box!"

"Chloe! Get away fro any attention to rabbed her arh of her

"You don’t get to tell me what to do, you traitor," Chloe yelled

She broke out of ainst the stove

The rat caht toward Caroline Luna barked like crazy and attacked it

Caroline screaled up with Caroline’s legs, and soodforsaken rat bit Caroline

Then, finally, Luna got that rat between her jaws and shook the life out of it

Chloe and Henry and Caroline were all screarabbed Caroline and lifted her into

Luna dropped the rat at ," Chloe screamed at Luna "We were supposed to catch it, not kill it"

Luna cowered away from Chloe

"Shut up, Chloe," I hollered "That stupid rat bit Caroline! If you’d just have left it alone, none of this would have happened"

Chloe started a different type of wailing now--a you-hurt-an to lick her wounds

"It’s not my fault!" Chloe sobbed

But it was It totally was

"What happened?" Astrid yelled, rushing back with the now-useless traps

Astrid shined the way for me as I carried Caroline back to the Train

There were first-aid supplies right in the living room

The wound was small Two sets of puncture marks It was more of a nip than a bite, really

I cleaned it with Bactine and applied soe Band-Aid

Caroline’s freckled face was pale and tear streaked

She and her brother were so drea that they didn’t really knohere they were, even, or understand how serious the situation was

They were five years old

Five

"I hate rats," she said to lad it’s dead," she choked out

Her face isted up