Leo's POV

      I was woken by the sound of barking and a gentle nose nudging my side. I blinked my eyes open and used my elbows to sit up. Festus was whining and pawing at my leg. "What's wrong, boy?" I asked.

     Festus whined and pawed at my leg again. I stood up shakily. My legs were stiff from sleeping the past few nights outside. The sewer where we had slept last night was dank and damp, though it had been a welcome refuge last night when the rain started.

          Festus barked and walked forward before stopping. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and made my way over to him. He went forward a few more steps and then looked back to me with his tongue lolled out. I could just imagine him thinking, why won't this scrawny boy listen to me?

     I smiled and followed him out of the sewer, up a metal ladder, and into the sunlight. My eyes squinted as they adjusted to the light. We were on the left edge of a suburban street. Festus marched onto the sidewalk and I followed. He was my only company and I couldn't lose him.

     I saw a mother sitting outside and gardening while her kids frolicked in the yard. She looked away as I passed. A few houses down, a young boy ran over to pet Festus. There were little dimples on his cheeks as Festus wagged his tail, thumping it against the concrete.

     "Doggie!" the boy squeaked as his mother cautiously came forward.

      The boy's mother was tall with dark hair put up in a fancy updo. Her face was covered with a  scowl that made her look like a statue of an angry, vengeful goddess.

     "Get your hands off that dirty dog!" the woman barked.

     The boy looked up at his mother with huge, puppy eyes.

     Her gaze fixed on me. "And you, boy."

      "The name is Commander Toolbelt," I said.

       Her frown only deepened at my joke. "Get your dirty dog away from my son or I swear that I'll call Animal Control!"

     Festus whined at her words and slunk towards me. The little boy looked tearfully at the dog. "But mommy, playtime!"

      "Shut up," the woman hissed, grabbing her kid roughly by one arm and dragging him towards her house.

     "You," she hissed over her shoulder. "Begone before I call the police or ICE."

      My hands curled into fists. I had been born in the United States; I had just as much right to  walk through this neighborhood as she did. How dare she treat me so poorly just because of my heritage?

      I wanted to tepee her house, but there were two problems: that might cause her to call ICE and I didn't have toilet paper. I looked down at Festus who was circling around me. "Freedom is sweeter than vengeance," I told him.

       As we left the neighborhood, I thought of how much better life would be if I had no cares — no emotions or feelings at all. I wondered if there was some way to transplant my consciousness into a computer, so I could escape the life of an organic life form. I was still mulling over these thoughts when the cops arrived.