Salamander Girl

Six

"Ammon! Abigail!" I screamed, immediately worried for my younger brother and sister.

I heard Abigail scream,as well, and something exploded down the street. I wondered if it was one of those transformers that always blow up in the superhero movies. The lights flickered, but didn't go out. A good sign.

Sammy seemed to think that we were some kind of super-duo already, back to typing at the computer again.

"What the heck are you hacking!?"

"Only the traffic cameras."

"Only the traffic cameras?" My voice cracked. Another explosion shook the ground and I instinctively ducked for cover. Sammy didn't flinch, but his typing slowed down the tiniest bit, and the roof didn't cave in on top of us.

"Don't worry, the police won't be able to track us." Sammy promised.

"Was that included in the update as well?" I drawled sarcastically. Of course it had been!

I threw my hands up in the air. "Great, we have World War Three down the street and I'm hiding a genius criminal anthropomorphic salamander in my bedroom!" I shouted. At least the distress outside kept my distress from being overheard.

"I am not a criminal!" Sammy insisted. Did you not hear what Doctor Christian and I just told you? We are going to be heroes!"

I froze.

"One day you'll be somebody's hero."

"Samantha! Are you all right up there?" Dad came thundering up the stairs.

"Quick into my pocket!" I told Sammy.He slithered inside my pants just as my dad threw open the door to my bedroom.

"Samantha, come on!" He grabbed my wrist, pulled me to my feet, and dragged my down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I shouted. Mom was downstairs, clutching Ammon in one arm and holding on to Abigail's hand in hers. She and dad were still wearing their vet lab coats as we ran outside. So many other people were running down the street, more than I'd ever seen on our street in one day.

"The the police station, they'll have some answers!" Dad said, pushing through the crowd. He held onto Abigail with one hand, and me with the other. As we reached the corner, easily moving with the flow of the terrified crowd, I realized how light my pocket felt. Almost as if there wasn't anything in it at all.

I checked all four pockets to be sure. I had lost Sammy. Again.

Without meaning to, I let go of dad's hand, standing still as the crowd pushed against me. I turned around to see what everyone was afraid of. Explosions bounced down the street, too chaotic for an answer. But the greatest explosions were farther away, shattering the buildings of San Diego.

"Sammy!" I shouted as the crowd started to thin.

"Samantha!" Off in the distance, I could hear my mother shrieking my name. My first instinct was to run to her side like I was in trouble or Ammon had fallen down the stairs again. I forced myself to stop, turn around, and run back to the house.

"Sammy!" I called five times, quickly skimming over the grass along the sidewalk. All I could spot was a Skittles packaging.

I ran inside the abandoned clinic and up the stairs to my bedroom. Of course, there was Sammy, dirty again and trying to climb up the desk and get back to the computer.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I braced myself in the doorway as another explosion rocked the house and knocked Sammy back to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that your plan for defeating this thing was to run!" Sammy quipped.