“Yeah. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Durdge,” Caper said, his eyes watering, voice quivering with rage. “Leave her alone. This girl has done nothing to—”
The dog hit him in the beak so savagely he felt something crack. Warm blood ran from his nostril and began to soak into the downy feathers of his cheek.
Durdge did not acknowledge the interruption. “That’s sweet, Dreamer. But I have to ask. Does Snapper keep secrets from you?”
“Oh, no. He trusts me.”
“What kind of things does he trust you with?”
“Just anything. Everything.”
Caper’s stomach began to crawl. Oh, Snapper. You disobeyed me.
Durdge’s face was now an inch from Dreamer’s. “What did Snapper tell you about the puppet and the beast?”
Dreamer’s eyes rolled around. “Ponder and Mauler? He took me to meet them.”
“Durdge, you obviously overdosed her. She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Caper said in desperation. The dogs gave him another beating.
“Why did he want you to meet them, Dreamer?”
“He said I could help. I used my psychic powers to show them things in the world that they have never gotten to see.”
“That was very noble of you. Why did they need your help?”
“They’re stuck in the underground tunnel.”
“Dreamer, stop!” Caper shouted, his eyes rapidly swelling shut. The next strike landed in his gut, doubling him over and preventing him from saying another word.
“Well, we better let them out,” said Durdge. “Can you tell me where that tunnel is?”
Chapter 64
Three identical red hounds nosed their way into the supply closet. They sniffed the air and then drew back warily.
Durdge shoved past them, leaving the other two dogs on the staircase with Caper and Dreamer. His olfactory sensors picked up on the scent that had given them pause—something strange and threatening.
It took him only a few seconds to locate the false can and flip the hidden switch inside. The sharp clicking noise startled the dogs into barking. Durdge scoffed at them and pushed the wall in, revealing the tunnel.
“Come on,” he snarled. He led the three clones on a quick but careful advance through the tunnel.
They could not see very far in front of them in the dim light from the string of bare bulbs above them, but they could hear shouting not far ahead. A few hundred feet down, they came to a dead stop.
Boxer was right there in front of them, his shoulder braced against a door set into the stone wall. A massive impact from the other side rattled the door, but he stayed firm.
“This isn’t the way!” Boxer called out. “Getting yourself killed or captured won’t help Dreamer or the professor!”
The next hit jarred the door out of its frame and dented it outward, but Boxer held steady. The dogs shrank back. Even Durdge was not sure of what he was seeing.
“NOT LEAVING WITHOUT DREAMER!” came a deep belly-roar from beyond the faltering door.
“Please calm down,” pleaded a voice that Durdge recognized as Snapper’s. “I want to save her too. But we have to be smart about it.”
Boxer peered into the small window and a look of terror crossed his face. “Snapper, look out!” he howled before diving to one side.
The door flew open, its deadbolt shorn out. The pathetically twisted frame of a small bed tumbled out and collided with the opposite wall. A long-haired, hunched monster bounded out after the bed, a wooden bird held under the crook of one arm. The beast’s round, rolling eyes settled on Durdge.
Snapper emerged from the small room. “Durdge, it would be better for you if you just let us leave!”
“He’s right,” said Boxer. “I promise you don’t want to fight Mauler. Are Caper and Dreamer alright? We can still all walk away from this unharmed.”
Durdge found himself wishing he’d brought more than five dogs into the school with him. Internally, he activated a silent distress signal, which would resonate in tiny receivers implanted in the flesh of the roughly fifty more dogs and warthogs waiting in the courtyard up above. He just hoped they would get here in time.
Bolstered by knowing reinforcements were on the way, the three dogs spread out to half-surround Mauler and Snapper.
Mauler gingerly set the wooden bird down and turned his head to Snapper. “Stay with Ponder. Until I am back.”
Boxer stepped into the half-circle of dogs. “I’m with you, Mauler. They aren’t going to let us go peacefully.”
Durdge smirked to himself as he heard the clamor of fifty cloned dogs and hogs shoving their way into the tunnel behind him. “Arrest them all.”
“I ask you to reconsider,” Ponder said. “Even with your superior numbers, your losses are going to be catastrophic. I can sense the owl and the young sheep are alive. We still have a chance to resolve this without violence.”
“I don’t think so,” Durdge replied. “Violence is definitely happening. To you, at least.”
Snapper looked up at Mauler. “Get Dreamer.”
Chapter 65
The attacking dogs were in a frenzy. Mauler smashed his way through them as if they were weightless. Boxer followed right behind, watching Mauler’s back.
Snapper pressed his shoulder against Ponder and slid her into the relative shelter of the wrecked safe room. He turned to find Durdge blocking the doorway.
“Look at you,” Durdge spat. “You haven’t learned a thing from the consequences of our last meeting. Here you are, still up to the same deluded mutiny that got your father killed. I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Snapper laughed. “You know, Durdge, until you came around looking for trouble, I was a model citizen. I was taking my Vexylam and everything.”
The motor in Durdge’s arm whirred again as the selected chemical was loaded into place and the large needle slid out of his hand. He brandished it as he stepped forward. “Then I think you’re going to need a concentrated dose,” Durdge hissed.
Mauler, covered with bloody cuts and bites, appeared behind Durdge. He held Dreamer and Caper, both semi-conscious and slung over one of his shoulders. He set them both down on the floor just as Durdge spun to face him.
“Come on, beast.” The mechanical pig snickered. “My improved body is far more powerful than yours. I’ll break your bones and haul you to my hometown myself.”
Mauler collided with Durdge and lifted him off the ground. Squealing with outrage, Durdge grabbed Mauler’s neck with both hands. Mauler shrieked and drove the enemy into the stone wall once, twice, thrice. The metal body went limp. Mauler tossed it aside and turned his attention to the regrouping clones.
“Wait,” Snapper said. He summoned his innate power and began to close up Mauler and Caper’s wounds.
“Snapper,” Ponder said in awe, “that is incredible.”
He turned his ability on Dreamer, but she did not seem affected.
“She’s not injured,” Caper said, getting to his feet. “She’s drugged. She will be alright. Let us hurry for the exit on Boxer’s side. We may be able to escape into the trees at the foot of the mountains.”
“Where is Boxer?” Snapper asked with a start.
Mauler pointed. “There!”
The old dog had been pulled into the crowd. He thrashed and snapped with everything he had, but they were slowly driving him to the floor.
Snapper, Caper, and Mauler joined the brawl.
Chapter 66
Ponder stood silent guard over Dreamer and watched the fracas from the doorway. She cast an eye over to Durdge, who lay on the floor near where he’d hit the wall. He appeared half-alert, his recording lens cracked and struggling to function.
In front of her, Snapper was deflecting bites with his forehead and struggling to stay on all four feet. He stayed low and attacked the bellies and legs of the swarming dogs, fighting his way to Boxer.
Caper used his wings to power himself into the air before diving with his talons outstretc
hed. He seized a red hound, pushing it to the ground and squeezing with his impaling claws until it stopped struggling. Then he jumped up again to select another target.
Mauler threw vicious, wide-reaching blows with his long arms, sending enemies airborne with each attack. But he was slowing down and he kept putting a hand to the side of his neck.
“You can help,” Dreamer muttered.
“What did you say?”
Dreamer’s rolling eyes drifted in the direction of the fighting. “Those dogs. They aren’t normal. I can barely sense any brain functions at all. But even they instinctively know what Mauler is and where he came from. They are scared to death of him. You can feed into it. Make them panic.”
Ponder’s eyes flashed. “Yes. I understand.” She disregarded Durdge and focused her energy on the frenzy in front of them. Her eyes became overcast with violet as she urged thoughts of terror and defeat into the snarling army.
The attackers scattered, allowing Snapper to get to Boxer and mend his wounds. The dog howled with the rush of energy and forced his way to his feet again.
But Snapper and Boxer were still surrounded, and they were being grabbed and bitten. In a minute, they would be overwhelmed again. Beside them, Caper had been caught by the foot and was also being pulled down among the snapping jaws.
Mauler turned back to stare at Ponder. With his claw, he pulled a long, thin shard of metal out of the side of his throat. He sniffed it. “Smells like… sleepy Snapper.”
Dreamer gasped. Ponder stopped what she was doing and turned her attention back to Durdge. He hadn’t moved, but clear liquid was pooling around him. Then she saw the broken syringe extending from his hand.
“Oh, no,” she said. “Mauler, move quickly! He managed to put something into you!”
“Pig-drugs!” Mauler bellowed, turning to shove his way back into the fight. Ponder and Dreamer’s tactic had worked—the enemies were retreating from him. But they were dragging the other three comrades off with them.
“Get them back, Mauler!” Ponder yelled. “Before the drug overtakes you!”
“Can’t…” Mauler groaned.
The dogs and warthogs were funneling out of the tunnel now, back up the stairs into the school hall. They were dragging the three fighters along with them.
“They’ve already taken Caper!” Dreamer shouted. “They’ll have Snapper and Boxer too if you don’t hurry!”
Ponder tried to calm her racing mind. “Get Snapper first.”
Mauler waded one more time into the fleeing mass of dogs. Ponder and Dreamer could do nothing but stare and hope.
A second later, Mauler lurched back out of the group with Snapper tucked under one arm.
Snapper kicked and squirmed, trying to get free. “No! Let me go! We can’t let them be captured! Mauler, what’s wrong with you?”
“Pig-drugs…” Mauler mumbled. He managed to stay on his feet long enough to intimidate the last of the dogs into leaving. Then he collapsed forward onto his hands and knees, dropping Snapper to the ground.
Ponder gazed helplessly at the open exit. She realized the whole scene had gone silent. Aside from a handful of dead hounds and hogs in the tunnel, the whole group had vanished with Boxer and Caper. Mauler sat in a daze beside her. Snapper stood motionless. Dreamer and Durdge were sprawled on the floor. They were alone.
Chapter 67
“What did you stick Mauler with?!” Snapper shouted. “Was it that Vexylam you were going to give me?”
He stood on his rear legs, pinning Durdge’s head to the wall with his front hooves. The only answer he received was silence. Snapper gave Durdge a hard shake. “What will the pigs do with them?”
Durdge replied with a faint, tinny urk-urk-urk that sounded like a weak laugh before the red light in his eye went out. Defeated, Snapper dropped the lifeless body to the floor and turned his attention to Dreamer.
He knelt beside her and kissed her forehead. “I thought I lost you for a little while there. Are you alright?”
“I’m OK,” she muttered. “You’re hurt.”
“I can fix that in a minute,” said Snapper. “We’ve got other problems.”
Ponder sighed. “Now what are we going to do?”
“Well, we sure can’t stay here,” Snapper said firmly. He walked up to Mauler. “Hey. Are you alright?”
His eyes drifted. “Yes. Just so tired. Pig-drugs.”
“We have to do it your way now, big guy. It’s time to run.”
Mauler blinked slowly. “Run… yes. Like I wanted.” Seemingly invigorated by the thought, he gave a great effort and pushed himself to his feet. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face. “Snapper can run. I’ll carry Ponder and Dreamer.”
Snapper nodded. “Let’s get going. We can’t go back into the school until we know they’re gone. We’ll take the exit on the Tooth & Claw side and head into the fields. We’re going to have to stay as far away from Fleece City as possible too, I’ll bet.”
“Do we have a destination?” Dreamer muttered.
“Away from here, for a start.”
✽✽✽
The Chugg Report
Wednesday, September 5
Fugitives Escape University—7 Dead
FLEECE CITY—A routine investigation at University has turned to tragedy when authorities were attacked by fugitives, leaving seven dead and the perpetrators still at large.
The continuing search for the missing prophet of the birds, known as Ponder, and the escaped fighting champion of the dogs, known as Mauler, led Pig-Sheep Relations Officer Durdge and a police team to University yesterday afternoon after new evidence came to light. As per standard operating procedure, the dean, Professor Caper, was questioned.
Rather than cooperate with the arresting officers, Professor Caper lured Durdge into an isolated area and then sprang a trap.
The officers were ambushed by the missing Ponder and Mauler, along with several accomplices. Surprisingly, Boxer, a high-ranking official in the canine community, was one of the attackers. Less surprising was the involvement of Snapper, son of the insurrectionist Trampler, with a criminal record of his own. Another young student named Dreamer was involved but cooperated with authorities.
Fortunately, Durdge was able to call for backup during the incident. Professor Caper and First Officer Boxer were apprehended and brought to the Megatropolis for detainment until formally charged.
Snapper, Ponder, and Mauler escaped arrest and remain at large. Dreamer is believed to be with them.
Five courageous hounds and two brave warthogs were confirmed to have perished in the incident.
Durdge, freshly repaired and revived just that day, has been severely damaged and is once again non-operational. A team of technicians is working around the clock to return him to his daily duties. However, they stated he is in critical condition and the chances of recovery look grim.
University classes are canceled for the remainder of the week.
Said a spokesman for the Megatropolis yesterday evening, “The public’s trust in University is of utmost importance to us. We will be conducting a thorough investigation and we will be replacing Professor Caper with a fully vetted candidate for the dean position. The admission standards will be re-evaluated to prevent the enrollment of any more potentially troublemaking students.”
The four fugitives are to be considered extremely dangerous. If you have any information, call the Chugg Corporation helpline at the bottom of this page, or report to your district’s local guard dog.
✽✽✽
Chapter 68
“I’m pretty sure they’re following us.” Snapper glared into the sky at the four birds who had been traveling in their direction for the past few hours.
“Then why are we headed west?” Ponder asked from over Mauler’s shoulder. “We will never get over the wall and into the quarry before they catch up to us.”
“We’re not headed for the quarry. There might be a place out here we can hide. I think. Follow me.”
Snapper led a reluctant Mauler and Dreamer another mile across the plain. They were all exhausted and irritable from walking all night, taking a wide path around Fleece City to avoid detection. The going had been incredibly slow until the drugs had worked their way out of Mauler and Dreamer’s systems. He knew the others were fed up with him acting like he was in charge. Frankly, he was fed up with them thinking he wasn’t.
Finally, a building came into view. Or a hollow shell of one. They passed a rotting fence. The grass ceased to be green and turned shades of brown and black.
Dreamer touched Snapper’s cheek with hers. “Is that… what I think it is?”
“Yep.”
“Are you sure you want to go there?”
“I don’t see what other option we have. We should get in there and try to stay out of sight until we know for sure what those birds are up to.”
They had to step around bones and debris as they approached the burned house. Piles of burnt timber and rusted razor wire still lay where it had fallen months ago.
Mauler hung back with trepidation. “I don’t like this place,” he rumbled. “Smells like fire and death. What happened here?”
Snapper stepped up onto the charred concrete foundation and inspected the blackened brick walls. The interior wood panels had been consumed. He stood in what had once been his front doorway. “This was my house, Mauler. Come on in, it’s safe.” He glanced at the approaching birds again. “There’s no roof, but it’s still probably better than standing out in the open.”
“We should do as he says, Mauler,” Ponder said. “At the very least, it will be good for you to get off your feet for a little while.”
Mauler obeyed. He brought Ponder through the burnt doorway and set her down on the floor of the former living room. He took a seat in the corner and stretched out his legs.
Ponder stood in silence while Dreamer and Snapper pushed aside fallen beams and roof tiles to clear a spot to sit.
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