Chapter 2The Godmother of Strays

During dinner, I noticed a strange new app on my phone.

The name was a string of gibberish, and the icon was a single paw print. It looked suspiciously like some kind of scam software. But my anti-fraud app didn't raise any alarms.

Curiosity and fear wrestled in my mind, but curiosity won out. What could a scammer possibly want from a broke, single vet?

With that reassuring thought, I tapped the app open and discovered it was an online forum.

The posts were bizarre:

• Attention! Poisoned bait at Lakeside Park! Everyone be on high alert!

• Successfully snuck into the university. From now on, I'm a top cat.

• Day 67 of my journey to quit eating poop.

These didn't seem like they were written by people. Not even by an AI trying to act like a person.

Based on the keywords, the posts seemed more like they were written by... cats and dogs.

I kept scrolling, trying to confirm my theory.

• The cat I hate most just got adopted by a human. I'm so jealous I could scream.

• WHO THE HELL PEED ON MY TURF AGAIN? DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU!

• A Guide to Gourmet Poop.

Yep. The users of this forum were definitely cats and dogs. No human could possibly write a post as bizarre as "A Guide to Gourmet Poop."

Considering I was still eating, I avoided that one and refreshed the forum.

A new post from an administrator had just appeared:

• Sign-ups for Today's Joint Cat-and-Dog Protection Squad

Scar_the_Ranger: [The Godmother’s getting off work. Who’s on escort duty?]

The_Bitty_Brawler: [Pausing my sparring match. I’ll go.]

Ambassador_of_Good_Taste: [Treasure hunt canceled. I’ll go.]

Mount_Mochi: [Date postponed. I’ll go.]

Cheeseburger: [Mouse hunt called off. I’ll go.]

A little while after dinner, I glanced outside. Cats and dogs stood in neat, orderly rows. Organized. Disciplined. Each one held its head high, its expression deadly serious.

The more serious they looked, the more adorable they were.

A thought crossed my mind. Could this be... the protection squad?