Nine days ago he had been hailed by a merchant vessel, while lying in wait along a trade route that William had been tipped off about. After allowing ...he ship to sail up along side The Catherine's Fancy, the first mate of the merchant ship had swung across baring a sealed envelope for the Captain. The message had been necessarily vague but William was able to decipher that Governor Restan had news of the utmost importance that required him to return to Still Water as soon as the winds. “Well, what happened next,” the DO demanded, impatiently.“It was a slaughter. Neither the dogs or the men had a chance.”“What do you mean, neither the dogs or the men had a chance? Those dogs are vicious, and the SPOs are always armed,” the Director demanded.“The creatures, Saint Cirq called them Grroz, were alarmingly quick and ferocious. The men fired at them, but it didn’t do any good, and it didn’t stop them at all. The creatures were incredibly fast, and the few shots the handlers managed. Those two women of ours are about to wear me out.”The comment brought an easy laugh to Ed as the two men walked to the cabin. Sitting down on the chairs on the porch, they each had an iced tea. The rest of the group gathered around them like baby chicks around a hen. John looked at the young couple and said, “What do you think of their story?”Ed took a sip of his tea and looked over that them. They were still holding each other tightly and pressing close to the policeman. Ed said, “They tell. ”“I’ll try to do that,” Sandra said lovingly. “And ... I love you too.”“I love you as well,” Shirley responded, and they hugged for a moment. “However, now there is something else I want to know. How was your first school day?”“That was last week,” Sandra said with a chuckle.“I meant, while you were back in your clothes!”“Oh! Well, it was very warm and sweaty,” Sandra joked.“And probably, very itchy!”“How do you know that?”“I once went without clothes for two weeks,” Shirley said. “And I can.