As Jenny hugged her little siblings, she was glad that they were still young enough to have some measure of joy and innocence, for however long it would last. Grabbing a hand from each she led them home, listening to them describe their day at school, though from the way they talked about not coming to school until next week, Jenny realized something. Lizard school was only once a week, no matter the grade her new memories told her, she was lucky she could read a total all!
As she was dealt this revelation, Jenny watched a few trucks of humans, obviously drunk driving, making crude gestures and cussing at the various lizards trying to take their younger ones home. Jenny pulled Ed and Sam closer to herself, trying no to look like a trouble maker and just a worried sibling.
Thankfully they drove off after a few of the guys urinated in public to "Offer the lizards a drink".
Looking down at her siblings she saw that they did have questions about their behavior, but didn't know how to ask. "They just think they're better than us." She said, giving them a hug as they walked, "Not doing anything back just shows that we're better."
They halfheartedly nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything. As Jenny rounded the corner to their apartment complex, she saw the humans parked out front, blocking the road. And they were throwing Molotov cocktails into the building.
It was on fire.
Grabbing her siblings, she quickly turned them around, not wanting them to see this, she hoped that their mom was able to get out in time, but knew if she tried to do anything, she'd get beaten by those guys. Taking Ed and Sam to the local, very run down playground in the empty lot that passed for a public park, she let them play, though their hearts weren't in it.
Eventually, it did get dark, and the three of them walked back to their apartment, the humans gone, and so was their building. Looking around, she saw other families picking through the rubble for anything they could use or scavenge. She didn't see her mother.
"C'mon kids, let's see if we can find anything left that's ours." She said, trying to keep a stiff upper lip, and the three of them started digging through the rubble.
"Jennifer Smith?" She heard a voice calling out, from the normal way it sounded, it was a human talking.
"Here!" She called out, walking up to the lizard.
"I'm here to say, your dads dead." He said in a very bored, matter-of-fact voice, "Got run over. Here's his pay for the days work." He handed hr a slip of paper. "Have a good day."
Shakily, she looked at the check, "$10.00 for three hours worked until death."
Shakily, she dropped the check and started crying, she'd just lost her parents in one day. She wanted everything to be back to normal! She missed her car! Her parents, her friends, her school, heck, her bathroom!
She felt two little pairs of arms hugging her, opening era eyes, she saw Ed and Sam hugging her, tears running down their faces as the whimpered. Bringing them into a hug, she held onto them as tight as she could, she lost everything else, she wouldn't lose them too.