* * * *
Drake repositioned the black box again.
“What’s in that, anyway?” Ben asked. He was trying not to think that just across the room, there was a human underneath his couch. He stared at the dust ruffle, imagining their little eyes staring back from the thin shadow where the fabric parted. His palms itched with the desire to bleach everything.
“The latest in humane human deterrence,” Drake said, popping the lid of the box and motioning Ben to peek inside.
Ben did so cautiously, half afraid that there would be some sort of tiny magical tiger that would leap out and attack whatever was closest. Not that it would be humane, but maybe it would only retrieve the humans and deposit them alive outside somewhere. However, the box didn’t contain anything so mobile. Instead, Ben saw what lo
