My watch passed quietly. When the girls got up at about 5:20, we all moved to the field and laying out our weapons and facing different directions, we started our Yoga practice. After about 10 minutes, the Smith’s all bundled out of the teepee. At that point, Janet went into full Yoga instructor mode. I made sure that everybody had their weapons out and were in positions so they could keep a watch on the surroundings. Mike had my old sword and shield, Consuelo had Mike’s old softball bat. The little ones had nothing. I made a mental note to change that as soon as I could.

We started with some basic stretches, then she introduced them to some poses and finally we ended up with a sun salutation and ended. This was becoming our standard routine. All four Smiths got the Yoga skill and Janet got the Teacher skill too.

We stood and then explained the rest of our routine to them, archery, formations, and martial arts. We also explained that not feeling hungry was normal. That the potion would wear off in 24 hours, so about 6 o’clock this evening. The little ones seemed especially intrigued by this. Baila kept poking her belly as if to restart it.

Just then Roxie appeared at the teepee flap, peering over the edge of the flap and yawning hugely. I nodded towards her and said, “Looks like Roxie just woke up.” As I hoped, the two little ones went yelling over to pet their new friend. Who glared at me.

I motioned Big Mike and Consuelo over and a little farther away from the teepee and said, “I was thinking last night and I came up with some ideas. I’m pretty sure you won’t like all of them, but they may help us all” and here I glanced at the little girls now kneeling and stroking the baby mouse, “to survive, so hear me out. Please.”

They looked a little puzzled but shook their heads in agreement.

“OK,” I said. “First thing is, I’m pretty sure none of us are going to survive if we don’t get stronger. My mom said at least level 11. You two have taken the first steps when you selected your class last night, but you’ve still got a long way to go.”

Big Mike nodded and Consuelo followed him.

“We’re going to need to go inside Maxes again and fight. It’s the only way that you’re going to get the experience you need to grow. We can train and get experience by casting spells and even by cooking, but cooking doesn’t help you when you’re faced with a Level 18 vulture. Big Mike, you were a marine and well, you've probably been in tight spots before. Consuelo, I don’t know your life, but I do know this, you’ve got to get stronger to protect your two little ones.”

She nodded and so did Mike.

“Now,” I said. “Here’s the part you aren’t going to like. When we go inside, we’re going to have to bring the little ones with us.”

Both of them immediately bristled and started to say something, but I held up my hand and said, “Wait! Wait! Hear me out. If they don’t go in with us, where are they going to stay? Out in the teepee? Who’s going to stay with them and keep them safe? We fought four giant squirrels just behind the building. Didn’t do anything to set them off, they just attacked. Monsters attack, that seems to be what they do, why they’re monsters. Could one of you fight four giant squirrels? I don’t think so, and Maxes is weird on the inside now. I don’t even know for sure we could hear you inside if you started to yell for help. And, if we’re already fighting giant rats, how are we going to get loose to fight outside? Think about that for a second.” I paused and gave them a chance to do that.

And then I continued on with, “the other thing that I thought about last night is that I’m pretty sure both Amada and Baila can learn spells. If they go in with us, I want them to go in with spells and to be using them.”

“No,” said Consuelo. “My babies are not going to fight big rats! No! No!” Big Mike’s face got even redder and he started to step forward into my space. I wondered if I should let him. Just let him experience the difference in levels, of a strength of 45 versus whatever strength he had, but I decided that that wasn’t the way to handle this.

I held up my hands again, in front of me, peacefully, and said, “I thought that would be your response, but this isn’t the world we knew. This isn’t a world where your kids can play in their rooms on their iPads and do their homework and go to bed in nice, safe houses. This is a world that has monsters in it. If you try to protect them too much, you’re weakening them and just making it harder for them to survive. You’re not doing them any favors, you’re actually, potentially, killing them. There’s danger in my idea, but there is danger all around us. We need to train for this new world or else, well, or else.”

I stepped back to give them some space. Jackie and Tanya shot me a dirty look, but moved past me and grabbed Consuelo and gave her a hug.

BIg Mike was still doing the stare thing, but I looked away at the girls to not make eye contact, to not allow him to take that path. I wasn’t afraid. I knew my own strength. I knew I could defend myself if it came to that, but it wasn’t about that. It was about getting him and her over the hump, of actually perceiving this new world, making informed choices based on it, not the old-Earth. Those ways of doing things were gone and, if they kept reacting to this new world like they used to, they’d be gone too. Down some monster’s gullet.

“Momma?” I heard little Amada say and she came over and hugged Consuelo. Baila followed carrying Roxie.

Consuelo hugged her back, her body rigid with tension. And then, it wasn’t.

“So, you think they can do spells?” she said.

“I think so,” I said.

“Can we protect them?” she said.

“I can’t guarantee anything anymore,” I said. “I can’t guarantee their safety right now. But the rats will have to chew me up and spit me out before they get a chance at them in Maxes,” I said. “It’s the only way I can think of that I can help make sure that they’ll survive. That and practicing, but practicing takes time and we’ve got to be moving to a safer location. And it isn’t safe to travel with them being so low leveled. It just isn’t.”

“When do you want to do it?” she said. Big Mike was still standing in my space, but he was no longer threatening, more puzzled, uncertain of what he was hearing.

“Tomorrow or maybe even the next day,” I said. “We’ve got enough stuff to do today without adding rats to the mix. Here’s what I’d like to get done before we even think about it. Formation practice, archery, martial arts, unpacking the stuff that I got from Maxes, then training them to use spells, training you and Big Mike to use spells, thinking about strategies, about how to fight monsters.” I left unsaid the words I wanted to add, “about how to fight men.”

We took a Roxie break then. All the girls gathered around and stroking the puppy-sized mouse. Big Mike and I watched from the outside edges of the circle, calming down.