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

Not that Guy couldn’t have figured it out for himself, but he liked Simon’s concern. He put Ghost in, leaving the top partially open, slung the pack over his shoulders, and untied Shadow. “Thank you for…everything.”


“No problem. You made the job a hell of a lot easier. You take care, okay?”


“I will. I’ve started to get the hang of things in the last couple of days.”


“You’re that new to the streets?”


“Umm, five days and counting, or four. Yeah, five.” Guy smiled morosely. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”


“I’m sure it doesn’t. Okay, I have to get going. Maybe I’ll see you again sometime if you’re hanging around the area.”


“Maybe. I’m sort of…wandering I guess. Helps kill the time, and you didn’t need to know that.”


Simon just nodded as he got into the truck, while Guy led Shadow back to the sidewalk so Simon could pull out. Simon waved before driving down the street; Guy waved back and headed in the other direction.


Chapter 9