by M. A. Owens
I should have thought this time through more. Even though it was just before the shift change, and many of the tired guards left their posts early to get away that much sooner, it meant a lot of unpredictable movement. At nine, the guards might not have been leaving their posts, but their patrols would have been more predictable. Also, ten was when the last calls for the lights to go out happened, and cell blocks locked down. If they saw us out here, and there was a good chance, it would draw more guards near the elevator and make things even harder.
Sure enough, with only a couple of minutes left, two guards noticed us and approached.
I nodded to the other three and mumbled under my breath. “Play along…”
A Collie with a gaze of stone stepped forward, his Schnauzer partner behind him placing his paw on his baton. “You four. Why aren’t you in your cells? You know the rules against loitering around out here. If you get locked out of your cells, you’ll all get thrown into a group cell with no beds, got it? I suggest you get moving,” the Collie said.
“I told you, I never smuggled in anything! You should come clean, to these guards here,” I said, looking to Marty.
“Come clean about what?” the Schnauzer asked, nervously.
“I told you, Trigger, it wasn’t me. If it was me, then how come these other two had a stink bomb in their cells too? Huh? You think I planted it on them? Somebody’s playing a prank and thought it would be funny to keep us up half the night. Besides, why would I stink up our cell?”
Marty was too good at this. Way too good at this. I only gave him a little to go on, and he came up with all of that.
“Alright, so you’ve got a point, but first we get kicked out of the cell block while they do an inspection, and now we’ve got these guards thinking we’re loitering. We’re going to get in trouble twice.”
“And how do you think it is for us?” Mr. B added. “I already get enough attention in here as it is. If I find out either of you had anything to do with this, I’ll see that you pay for it.”
“Try going up and down those stairs with a cane after the lights are out,” Rick said. “Then tell me how bad you’ve got it.”
“Alright! Enough,” the Collie said. “You four sit tight while we confirm your story.”
Perfect. The quicker they get out of our hair, the less likely we have to hurt these two or alert anyone to what’s going on.
“Is… uh… Is that really smart?” the Schnauzer asked. “Better we wait for more guards to come by and have them verify the story. We can’t just leave them unattended.”
Great. Just great. Unfortunately, this was smart on their part. We’d have to get one of the few guards in this whole place with something to prove, more interested in doing his job correctly than going home early. The Collie looked more annoyed than any of us.
“Yeah, guess you’re right. Good thinking. It’s not like I have anywhere I want to be. We’ll sit here half the night and wait for more guards to come along.”
I looked up at the clock. Ten minutes late. Had something gone wrong? The last appointment I had with Lady, where I had half the ACPD dog pile her and send her here. She was right on time, to the second. She wasn’t a dog I ever pictured being late. If they missed the chance, there’d be no way to get in touch with them. Did we blow it after all?
Just then, we heard the elevator descending. I held my breath.
“Good,” the Collie said. “We’ve got a few coming early for shift change. They can sort this whole thing out and we can go home.”
The Schnauzer nodded, looking reluctant, but accepting the word of the more experienced officer.
The elevator stopped, and the doors swung open. It was dark, but I recognized the pants these two were wearing. It was a guard’s uniform.
There goes our one and only shot at ever getting out of this place.
20
As the two walked out of the elevator, only Rick and I realized what was going on, and Rick certainly didn’t understand it. His last encounter with Lady had not been a pleasant one. She’d nearly killed him, but she’d seen him disguised. That didn’t stop him from looking extremely uneasy when she stepped out and approached us.
“What is the problem with these four?” Lady asked, placing her paw on her baton. “Shouldn’t they be in their cells by now?”
“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” the Collie countered. “You night shifters have it so easy. Prisoners already locked up and you get to shoot the breeze all night. They’re telling some crazy story about pranks. You two can verify it with them. I told my wife I’d be home on time for dinner tonight. Been late the last two days in a row.”
“But,” the Schnauzer started.
The Collie reached out a paw and gave him shove. “But nothing. I’ve been doing this for six years. You’ve been doing it for six weeks. You want to stay? Fine. Stay.”
The Schnauzer raised his paws. “Hey, no need to get pawsy. We’ll leave it to them.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” the Collie said, patting Lady on the shoulder. “And while you’re dealing with these idiots, consider that us daytime guards deal with this nonsense all the time.”
With that, he walked away with the Schnauzer following closely behind, giving us one more nervous glance before disappearing.
“Quick, to the kitchen,” Mildred said. “You have everything secure?”
“Wait a minute. What’s going on? I thought we were meeting to discuss an idea you had, Trigger?” Marty said.
“Yeah, we are,” I said. “My idea is that we’re going to escape, and we’re doing it right now with these two.”
“What you mean to say is that you didn’t trust us. Or is it just that you didn’t trust me?”
“Save it, Marty. You want out of here or not? I’m taking you along, aren’t I? What are you, a pup? It doesn’t matter whether or not I—”
Lady shoved me… hard. “No time. Argue on the surface or argue here. We’re leaving with or without you.”
Mr. B and Rick both looked to one another, in agreement on their silence. I understood why Rick would be quiet, but not sure about Mr. B. Did he not recognize his own mother? How would he? It’s been so long. Even if he does, he probably assumes he’s mistaken. He tried to find her and failed. Something he wasn’t known to do often.
We all followed without further objection, into the kitchen, as Lady and Mildred rummaged through the cabinets, grabbing ingredients. “We need a proper container. That small locking ice box will suffice,” Mildred said, pointing to the freezer Briggs has so meticulously placed the meat patties in.
“I’ll dump it out,” Lady said, busting off the lock with several hits from her baton.
“Hold on a second,” I said. “We have to put this meat in the refrigerator. The cats down here are getting sick and they just got these. We can’t do that to them.”
Lady grabbed me by the collar, lifting me off my feet. “Your soft heart will get us killed, Trigger.”
She threw me to the floor, picked up the box and dumped out the contents.
Mildred pointed to the refrigerator. “We have to prepare our little bomb. If it really bothers you, save as many as you can before we’re done. You have two minutes, then we’re leaving this room.”
I grabbed armloads of the meat, and Rick opened the refrigerator door, allowing me to stuff what little I could hold on to inside. There’s no way. I wouldn’t be able to get even half of this in the fridge within the next couple of minutes. Rick couldn’t do all of that bending over and standing up. All he could do was hold open the door.
Mr. B stepped in and started grabbing armloads of his own, and Marty joined too, as Lady and Mildred separated and mixed ingredients that would do things that I never imagined these ingredients could do.
As they inserted the last ingredients, I shoved in the last of the meat and tried to close the fridge door. It wouldn’t quite stay closed, so I wedged a chair against it to keep it closed until morning. Briggs was going to be fu
rious. Maybe he’d at least remember us for saving the meat he’d waited six months to get. It would last long enough in that fridge for him to replace the freezer.
“Move out,” Lady said, grunting as she attempted to hoist the freezer off the ground. Just like I was afraid of, she could barely move carrying that thing herself.
“Marty, help her out, would you? Grab the other end of that,” I said.
“Got it,” he said, running over and struggling to lift even one end off the ground. I knew Lady would be much stronger than him, but I don’t think Marty expected it. They were roughly the same size. Guessing her strength was about double his.
“Holy cow, what’s this dame been eating?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me.
“Dogs like you, Marty. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” I said, hoping it would sound like a joke, but feel like a threat.
He smiled. “Yeah, sure.”
As we made our way to the main ventilation tunnel, the timing of the operation was becoming clearer. We had seen no one. After all, all the prisoners were supposed to be locked in their cells. Soon, they’d start looking around for the ones who were missing. When they realized one of them was Mr. B, it was likely to cause quite a commotion.
We didn’t have far to go before we reached the ventilation shaft’s cover. Lady made quick work of it, then she and Marty lifted the locked chest inside, replacing the cover.
“So, what, we gotta light this thing or something?” Marty asked, looking around for a fuse.
Lady shook her head, moved the handle of her baton between the slits of the vent cover, and gave it a hard punch, sending the chest sliding.
“Run!” she shouted, making her way past the ventilation shaft and toward the shut off supply tunnel. To my surprise, Mr. B bent down and motioned for Rick to jump on his back, which he did. He’d reacted even quicker than I did. This would have been his perfect chance to leave Rick behind or wait for me to jump in and grab my friend, and maybe take us both out. To act that quickly, it couldn’t have been calculated. Did he genuinely want to make sure Rick wasn’t left behind?
Surprised, all of us chased after her. We barely made it inside the supply tunnel entrance before the blast came. If the tunnels had been closer together, this might not have worked. Mr. B let Rick back down.
The sound of loud footsteps and shouting quickly eliminated the brief silence that followed the explosion.
“You’re telling me that’s all it took to detonate that thing, and we were carrying it?” Marty said, grabbing Lady’s arm. Lady was not amused and didn’t offer an answer. Just stared at his paw. I imagined her silently contemplated how she’d break his arm without his scream alerting the guards. I couldn’t be sure that’s what she was thinking, but it seemed like a thought Lady would have.
“Quiet,” Mildred said, nearly whispering. “They’ll hear us over there if we’re too loud. Now we wait… quietly.”
There were lots of coughs in between rapid speculation of what caused the collapse, before the guards accepted the fact that they were going to have a major ventilation problem soon.
“Hit the emergency release on the supply tunnel blast door. We need to get some air in here!” a soldier shouted.
A moment later, the wall we’d been standing against free fell into the ground, coming to a slamming halt that hurt my ears. Behind it, an expanse of tunnel big enough for all of us to walk through. Beyond that, I couldn’t believe what I was feeling and seeing. Was that a breeze… and moonlight?
“Move,” Lady said, as we all made our way down the corridor, around one corner, and hitting another obstacle. But beyond that obstacle, a beautiful sight awaited. The sound of the roaring Arc River, a cool breeze, and a balcony large enough for all of us to stand on. I didn’t see any rails to prevent falls. We’d have to be careful. Falling in the Arc River would mean certain death. The river itself had become synonymous with it.
“I’ll lift the barrier, and all of you have to squeeze under quickly. Then, I’ll ready my rope,” Lady said, squatting into position and grabbing the bottom of the gate.
“You worry about the rope. I’ll lift this gate,” Marty said, moving into position beside her. He grabbed it, and with a mighty grown he lifted with all his might. He strained, and his eyes looked like they might pop out of his head.
“Are you finished?” Lady asked. “The time we have to waste is limited.”
“You’re kidding me. No dog alive could lift this gate,” he said, chuckling as he stood back up and struggled to catch his breath.
Quietly, Lady gripped the gate, and although the effort was clear on her face, she didn’t make a sound. Her arms shook, and she gritted her teeth, but the gate moved. Slowly, she rose to her full height, holding the bottom of the gate to her waist. Marty stood, his jaw agape, dumbfounded. He glanced to me, then to her, and I didn’t like the nervous look on his face. Good, she should make him nervous. No chance he’d try anything now after seeing that.
All of us rushed under the gate, as Lady shifted her body low again, lifting the gate nearly to shoulder level before she squeezed under it herself, letting it go and allowing it to slam back down onto the ground with a vicious thud. She stayed on her knees, only taking a moment to catch her breath.
“Mildred goes first because I know you’ll argue otherwise, then Mr. B, then you’ll need to carry Rick up. Marty and I can pull ourselves up, so you can stay up there after you take Rick.”
Lady nodded. “Agreed.”
She rose to her feet, stumbling toward the ledge before quickly becoming more stable. I shouldn’t have been surprised she recovered so quickly. This dog stood somewhere between Saul and Kerdy with combat skill, but her physical ability seemed to surpass them both. Maybe this magic juice worked even better on young dogs than it did on cats.
Reaching her paw into her uniform coat, she pulled out a device with four hooks. She gave it a pull, taking it from almost flat, to four perfectly symmetrical hooks, attached to what was a strange rope. Must’ve cut it from sheets, but she’d weaved it in a way that made it look much stronger. She removed the coat, revealing the long rope that had been wrapped around her. Once unraveled, it looked plenty long enough to do that job.
She backed against the edge, too close for comfort, and swung the hook in a wide circle before flinging it toward the top of the wall. After giving it a hard pull, she seemed satisfied it would hold. She’d had the foresight to put knots along the rope to make it easier for less skilled climbers, much to my relief. I wasn’t exactly the best climber and now didn’t feel like the best time to bring that to everyone’s attention.
She climbed up with Mildred first. The expanse of this part of the river was terrifying even to look at. In my mind, I expected these supply balconies to have rails. Then again, they weren’t meant for enjoying the sunset. They were only meant for lowering supplies down and bringing them through the tunnel. Each floor’s balcony continued like stair steps that might have been used by giants. Lady could probably make the jump between them. None of the rest of us could, that’s for sure.
She returned down the rope alone. Mr. B was next. Lady made this look so easy. I couldn’t climb up that rope with someone on my back if our lives depended on it. Her second trip was much slower than the first. Even she had her limits.
Again, she returned alone, this time to get Rick, leaving Marty and I to watch the dangling end of the rope blowing in the wind over the ledge. I turned my attention to Lady, who was struggling to make it the rest of the way up with Rick on her back. It was a good thing this was her last trip up, albeit a slow one. Even she wouldn’t make it a fourth. She was at that limit.
Just as she disappeared over the wall, I felt something slip over my head. I turned to find Marty holding the rope in his left paw, close to my neck, and a knife in his right paw. He pulled the rope tight, tightening the noose around my throat. Instinctively, I grabbed it with both paws. He plunged the knife into my ribs, then pulled it out and did it again before le
tting go. I cried out in pain, but there wasn’t much else I could do. He stood back and kicked me hard, sending me over the edge.
21
“Don’t bother fighting it. You’ll pass out from the blood loss soon and that noose will do the rest. Oh, and here’s your one-liner: Saint sends his regards.”
I held onto the rope around my neck, but I could feel myself losing blood fast. I saw the others leaning over the wall, shouting. I couldn’t tell what they were saying. The river was drowning them out. Lady struggled to climb over the edge of the wall. That was the last thing I wanted to see.
“Looks like that freak friend of yours is all out of juice. You can watch me send her into the river before you go to sleep. Consider the free entertainment my parting gift,” Marty said, laughing.
Lady slid down the rope, and Marty attempted to tackle her before she could get her footing, sending me swinging. He’d pushed her all the way to the edge before she finally caught her footing on the wet surface. She reached down with both paws, grabbing the sides of his pants. She stood up fast, slamming her head into his face, then roared as she lifted him all the way into the air. His eyes went wide.
“Now wait a minute. My new boss, he can give you whatever you want. Just name it. He’ll give it to you. Don’t kill me,” Marty pleaded, as Lady slowly turned and held him over the edge.
“The Grand Gobbler. Does he have it?”
“The… the what? That old statue Mr. B wanted? Saint can give you twice what that thing’s worth. Just let me down!”
“No Gobbler, no deal!” Lady shouted, flinging Marty over the edge.
I could feel myself losing consciousness as my grip loosened, causing the noose to tighten even more around my neck.
The faces of the others on the ledge above faded. This was it for me.
Lady jumped down from the ledge, grabbing on to the length of rope above me. She reached down and pulled the knife from my side, sending a bolt of pain through my body.
