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away. He looked back down to the dead dog with the lance and wondered who in the hell this was. He turned and gave a single lick onto the stub of his tail. He felt no sorrow to lose it, it was now just proof of his prowess.
    A single bark sounded. Samus stopped, listened and focused. It was deeper inside, behind him, through the mangled mass. He turned to look towards the exit and then plunged inside.
    He leaped over a broken strut and slid down the backside into a passage. His belly scraped the ground and he pushed himself tight to the floor. Another yelp sounded and it was closer.
    “Samus!” Munin barked back in the passage.
    “Take what you can and get out!” he barked through gritted teeth. “I’ll be right behind you.”
    The sounds of thrashing announced that Munin had begun to strip what he could.
    The passage grew tighter, closer, warmer. The smoke tight in places. Then it was open.
    A female dog, brown with a white stomach, lay crumpled on the floor with her legs broken and a wicked gash ruptured through her abdomen. Her eyes were wild with a sickly yellow froth on her lips. She yelped and clawed at the floor trying to reach a pile of pups. She wore brown and yellow chest armor, but most of the suit seemed to be missing, as if it was put on in haste.
    Samus watched for a second. The pups were dead. They were young—too young—and none stirred. No, there’s one. He stepped closer and didn’t know what to do. Could it speak like he could?
    Claws sounded behind Samus and he knew that someone was coming.
    Then a voice spoke. “Denali? Denali? I’m so sorry. We tried, we tried.” The voice was almost a moan, a touch above a wheeze.
    Samus froze and turned his head slowly. A man lay on the edge of a massive chair with wires streaming out from his body. He wore a gray and black uniform with a glossy shroud over his eyes.
    A man! He heard scratching behind him. Whoever was coming was almost there.
    Exile! The words hit him again and he had to do something.
    Samus leapt forward and jumped on top of the man. His heart slammed in his chest and he knew what he had to do. Just beyond the chair was a dropoff into darkness. He reached his jaws down and clamped gently onto the wires.
    The man spasmed beneath him and Samus thrashed his head to the side, tearing the wires out.
    “Oh god! Oh god!” the man screamed and mewed. “Denali! Denali! Save me, oh god!”
    “Quiet!” Samus growled and snapped his jaws shut on the man’s neck. It tasted salty and he almost stopped. Almost. The scratching behind him sealed it. He gripped tightly and tasted blood.
    The screaming stopped. The man pumped once, twice, and was still. Samus gripped the man’s shoulder in his wide jaws and tore him free from the chair. He cast the corpse into the darkness. A thud sounded from below.
    “You,” a low growl said.
    Samus turned his head to the wounded dog. She had propped herself up on both broken front legs and was trying to come closer to him. Her eyes bore rage sheathed in agony.
    So they can speak? That makes her a witness.
    “You,” she growled again, and Samus was on her.
    * * *
    S amus walked slowly past the corpse and stood over the pile of pups. They were small, like the mother, only one still moved. Its eyes weren’t even open yet. He leaned his head down and sniffed it. It smelled so clean, so new. You’ve no place in this world. He leaned closer, mouth open.
    “Stop,” Barley growled. She stood behind him with her hackles high. Her fur matted with Grat’s blood.
    He gently plucked the pup up and felt it squirm in his lips. No, this one might have a place here. “Take it,” he said, and set the pup gently at Barley’s feet. “Raise it as your own.”
    Barley’s eyes looked confused and thankful. She sniffed the pup and raised her nose to Samus. “I will,” she said, and picked it up gently. It cried a tiny whimper in her jaws and Barley’s legs quivered. “Thank you, Samus.”
    “Her name is Denali.” Samus