Beaten and thrown out of his home by his father, Guy ends up on the streets. A few days later he's 'adopted' by two strays, a German shepherd mix and a gray kitten. Later that night, when he returns to a vacant house he'd found the previous day, he meets three other homeless teens -- Mack, Tone, and Dani. After a false start, because they think he's a punk looking for trouble, they become friends. Dani insists the animals need names, and she decides to call the kitten Ghost, while the dog becomes Shadow. When Mack and Guy are threatened by two real punks in the alley behind the house, Shadow defends them, with Mack's help. This leads to their decision that it isn’t safe to remain where they are. As they move on, the quartet's friendship deepens, and Guy eventually trusts them enough to tell them he's gay ... which they accept with no problem, as it turns out so are Mack and Tone. Now they have to continue dealing with life on the streets while COVID ravages the country, making being homeless a fight for their very survival.

Strays in the Time of COVID

“Eh, no problem. I was there once, way back when. I’d throw in a couple of candy bars but they keep track of the inventory.”


“Then you shouldn’t have let me have the water.”


The clerk shrugged. “I’ll tell them I drank it, if they figure out they’re one short.”


“No problem. Grab some of the plastic spoons from the service counter, and some condiments if you want.”


Guy did, thanked the man again, and left, returning to where he’d left the animals. He wondered if they’d still be there and was very relieved to find they were. He scooped up the kitten and with the dog right beside him walked a couple of blocks before turning onto a street where he knew there was a vacant house two blocks down that he could get into through a broken window in the basement.


Chapter 4