No feral cats.

No poison ivy.

No ankle monitors.

Just the lake, the car, and the sound of The General’s purr blending with the hum of evening.

The hounds took the walking path first — Jimmy Carl Black with his heavy, deliberate stride, Lucy lighter and quicker, reading the air like it owed her money. The trail curved through pine and sand, the kind of place where a woman could walk without being watched, where the only judgment came from birds and wind.

Spine followed behind them, slow, hands in her pockets, letting the quiet settle into her bones. She wasn’t running. She wasn’t hiding. She was defending herself — her home, her peace, her right to breathe without someone hollering her name from a porch. Lake Mystic wasn’t an escape; it was higher ground.

And she didn’t come alone.

Her animals gave her more than comfort.

They were her army, and honestly, they were more dependable than most adults with working cell phones.

The General —

One‑eyed, smoke‑breathing, morally flexible.

He had the energy of a retired outlaw who still knew where the good snacks were hidden.

He reminded Spine to stay sharp, stay aware, and never trust anyone who starts a sentence with “Now don’t get mad…”

PO — the Magical Fur Goblin.

A creature who traveled between worlds like he was running errands.

He’d vanish into thin air, reappear with pine needles, secrets, and the faint smell of alternate dimensions.

He reminded Spine that reality is bendy and rules are mostly decorative.

The Fluffy Tuxedo.

A loaf with the emotional gravity of a weighted blanket.

He reminded Spine to be soft, to breathe, and to sit down before she made a decision that would require a lawyer, a witness, and a notarized statement.

The Pointers — Jimmy Carl Black and Lucy.

Her scouts.

Her focus.

Her “don’t walk into that situation blind again” committee.

They moved like purpose on four legs, sniffing out danger, opportunity, and occasionally sandwiches someone dropped in 2019.

Together, they weren’t pets.

They weren’t emotional support animals.

They were the Podunk Battalion, and Spine was their commander whether she applied for the job or not.

The path opened toward the lake, and the light hit her face like a promise.

She stopped, breathed, and thought, this is where I start again.