Taking place after all previous fics in this collection, intended as a direct sequel to the previous chapter.

Lucas Jackson-Chase (OC) and James Knowles (OC)

A bull chasing a horse down the street in a New York suburb would have been a strange sight even if there hadn't been a boy sitting backwards on the horse firing arrows at the bull. Priya stared down from her perch on a branch several feet above her backyard treehouse and blinked a few times. Nope, that was definitely a horse, a bull, and a guy with a bow.

An arrow hit one of the bull's eyes and he bellowed loudly.

"Why aren't you dead yet?" the boy shouted. "Luke, how did your dad kill this thing?"

Priya thought she saw the horse roll its eyes, which couldn't have happened because horses didn't roll their eyes. At least, she didn't think they did. She was seven. She was interested in dinosaurs, not ponies.

The boy fired another arrow. That one got stuck in the bull's snout.

The horse and the bull ran past Priya's house. The sprinkler sitting on their front lawn suddenly came to life, shooting out a torrent of water that knocked the bull off of its feet. The boy fired more arrows, and then the bull wasn't there anymore.

The boy slid off the back of the horse, saying words that Priya was sure were adult words that she wasn't allowed to use. She covered her ears and closed her eyes so she wouldn't hear them. When she cautiously opened one eye after a few seconds, there was another boy standing where the horse had been. Priya recognized him. Lucas Jackson-Chase was one of the cool fifth-graders at her school.

"I think I pulled a muscle," Lucas said.

"Quit whining," the other boy said. "Let's get out of here before someone notices we blew up a sprinkler." He bent down to pick up the arrows that were scattered on the ground. "Too bad we didn't break off a horn. You and your dad could have a matching set."

"I'm good with being alive, thanks," Lucas said. "Do you think they sent out a search party already?"

The other boy frowned. "I hope not. Papa's going to be scary enough without the rest of the family getting involved."

"The rest of the family is already involved, James. They're all at Dad's birthday party," Lucas said.

"Maybe Uncle Leo distracted everyone by nearly burning the house down again?" James said. "Come on, I can hope."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Sure, James. Let's go."

The two boys ran off in the direction James, the horse, and the bull had come from. Pryia watched as they disappeared around the corner. She was definitely going to keep climbing trees, no matter what her dad said. It made it easier to see interesting things.