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

Taking everything to the counter, he waited while the woman totaled the sale. It came within pennies of the twenty Simon had paid him, much to his relief. After squeezing the cans into the outside pockets of his pack, he started to put the collar on Shadow when the woman said, “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right back.”


She disappeared into a back room, returning with a dog brush. “Will he hold still for my brushing him if you tell him to?”


“Probably.” Guy told Shadow to sit, hoping he’d stay there. He did, and soon his matted coat…wasn’t, and he looked like a new dog. He was still long-haired, but it was smoother, which made him appear less threatening. Guy wasn’t certain that was a good thing, but figured looks wouldn’t keep Shadow from going protective when he thought he had to.


Chapter 13