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

Even with Ghost on his chest again, and Shadow by his side, Guy found he couldn’t fall asleep. He kept running over his talk with Tone. One thing I know for sure, I’m not interested in Mack thatway. He’s a good dude and we’re getting to be friends, I think, but that’s it. His thoughts flashed to Simon. I could fall for him, given half a chance. He’s sort of good-looking, not that that matters, and I think he cares about people if how he treated me is any indication. Of course I’ll probably never see him again. Besides, the chances he gay are ninety-to-one. Still…With that thought, he finally drifted off.   3


Guy figured he must have been more tired than he’d thought, because when he woke up the following morning he was the only one there other than Shadow and Ghost. They were playing what looked like a game of tag. The kitten was definitely in the lead, but Guy was certain that was because Shadow was holding back.


Chapter 12