

### Louis, Molly & the Woodchuck

By Michael Arnold

Copyrighted 2013 Michael Arnold

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Chapter 1

It was clear as it always been clear, every day in the wee hours of the morning, as it has been for the last year, the sounds of squeak clack squeak clack, clack squeak clack, squeak from what was a ways off. But it could be heard as if it was inches away, coming from that empty upstairs bedroom that sat in front of Louis's hut at the bottom of a muddy hill. This day, this hazy raining day of a morning, when Louis could see the shadow of the room's light and the rain that dropped so furiously off the tin roof of his hut, his shack seem to be different, oddly different to him.

He knew it like he knew the smell of pine in the chopped wood used to burn in the fireplace up there in that house that sat awkwardly on the hill in front of his tin shack. He knew that just like he knew the number of shivers in his head that he counted at the start of winter and he was just beginning the counts. He wanted to sleep but sleeping wasn't an option, not with the squeak clack, squeak clack, clack squeak clack squeak of man's shoes stepping on hardwood floor, like they were trying to stomp a hole in it. It had to go, that noise that Louis heard in his head of the squeak clack of man's shoes, or it would ruin Louis's life in his shack. It smelled of bird crap that stained the brown mud and dying grass where Louis would sometimes come out to smell the stink of his own vomit that came up from his skeleton of a body from the beer and wine that Edna would deliberately put in his food then walk off, laughing.

Louis was a mostly thick, white coat Wire Fox Terrier with some brown and black color around his back legs and around his stomach. But with the weeks of brown mud and dirt that derived from the consistent winter rain that Louis had to live in, he looked all brown. As the steps grew closer, he backed out of sight and around the corner inside his dog house.

"Urk, urk, urk!" the dog barked out of its long, narrow, hairy mouth. He waited, he listened for the footsteps but there weren't any. Of course, there wouldn't be the squeak clack, clack squeak of man's shoes on hardwood floor, of the squeaking back and forth pacing of tennis shoes, but there should be some indication of a person coming through thick, brown, muddy water.

Louis heard: "You dumb mutt, you good for nothing dog, if I would have known better I would have never taken you off my cousin's hands. God could not have made a dumber dog."

It was hard for Louis not to believe this. He was told those words almost every day but no one told him the laws of nature or simple instinct, water mixed with dirt forms mud and if you add a person over two hundred pounds' foot-steps to the equation, you get a slopping sound.

Louis waited and waited to hear that slopping sound, but there wasn't any sound – only the rain that fell from the sky and from the tin roof of his house. Finally, after a couple of minutes, Louis backed out of his corner and peeked around it to see if everything was clear. What he had anticipated wasn't going to happen. At least not that morning.

Then Louis heard: "Ah-ah, I got you, didn't I, you overgrown mutt!"

Urk, urk, urk, urk!" Louis said, retreating back into his corner. He looked up at a tall, wide and busty woman. She wore a green camouflage jacket and pink pajama pants. Her brown, streaked of white hair looked like strands of needle thread now that it was soaked with the early morning rain. As she got closer, Louis drew back. He peered down at her big, bare feet.

"I am sure you waited to hear my footsteps, didn't you, Louis? Get out here. If I can stand the cold rain, so can you, you dumb dog!"

Louis jerked as he pulled against her pull. "I said get out here, you dumb dog!" The woman pulled on his thin, rusty chain. But, this time, when the woman pulled, Louis didn't pull back, and they both went forward. She landed in the mud and Louis on top of her. The woman scrambled to get up while muddy water and dog poop splashed up over her.

"Why, you little mutt, you done it now. I'm going to get you." The woman positioned herself in a football stance as if she was going to tackle the dog. He stood there as she grabbed Louis's leash before he was able to run back into his dog house.

"Ah-ah, I got you now. You wasn't so smart after all, were you, Louis? Now I got you!"

The woman took a step that was seconds from turning into some sort of run when Louis pulled on his leash and the woman fell right back down in the mud, poop and urine.

"God, darn it, Edna, are you out there messing around with that God blame dog again?"

"Go back to bed, Charles. It's not time for you to get up yet," Edna yelled as she tried to pick herself up out of the mud and poop and now urine with Louis emptying his bladder.

"Why don't you leave that dog be?"

"Oh hush, Charles!"

"If you out there bothering it how do you expect for it to protect the house, Edna?"

"The dog is in the back of the house and this isn't a watch dog. He is a mutt," Edna said, gawking at the dog.

"I'm not done with you, Louis. You're not going to put me in this..., in your feces, and think you've won. I am going to have my revenge! Here is your breakfast; bones from yesterday's pork chop dinner dipped in your favorite batter beer juice, enjoy, mutt," Edna said, and then slid the bowl of food inside Louis's dog house.

"I said where are my house shoes? You always wearing my stuff. If you going to wear my stuff, after you finish wearing them, put it back where I can find them the next God Blame day, would you, Edna?"

"Hold on a minute. I'm on my way back up the hill, you numb skull; I never wore your house shoes. I haven't seen them. You not looking hard enough."

"Oh whatever!"

Louis slowly walked out of his dog house, the rain reduced to a mist, when he watched the stout woman, Edna, walked up the hill soaked with mud and his bodily despoils. When Louis had enough of watching the unpleasant sight of Edna, he turned to walk back into his dog house, and then saw something come out of the ground. He backed up all the way into it and watched from the entrance. A hole within the muddy hole began to form. Out of the hole, mud and Louis's waste emerged a creature, standing on hind legs. Not even twelve inches off the ground, the creature spoke.

"Don't be alarmed. I'm a groundhog, woodchuck, land beaver, and I have been called overgrown squirrel, but what I won't answer to is a whistle-pig. They are extremely dirty, disgusting, and horrible. And did I mention they love their own slop. What a disgrace to the family of rodents they are. I have disowned them and no more will I be labeled as one of their family members. No indeed, Dog. Hum, this smells like it could be mighty tasty, Dog, what is it?" the woodchuck asked.

"Really?"

"Yes, really, Dog, you must learn good eating versus bad eating. This, I guarantee you wouldn't be just good eating, it would be fabulous eating if you not a vegetarian like me!"

"I don't think I would call something that came out the end of my butt good eating, pig!" Louis said then dropped the piece of dried poop to the ground.

"By the way, in case I didn't introduce myself, I am Woodchuck and I would answer to and only to Woodchuck although adding Mr. to the front of Woodchuck would get you brownie points and benefits. And you are...?."

"Louis!"

"Yea, that's right, Louis, I remember. Nice upgrade from Dog!"

Louis ran out of the dog house snapping at the woodchuck. He backed up until his leash pulled him back. Louis glared at the dark orange, muddy coat of the woodchuck that looked more dark brown. He was snarling.

"You not a very nice dog," the woodchuck said.

"And you not a very smart pig, coming around a dog, are you, Woodchuck?"

"I am not a pig; I gave you the three names you may use; groundhog, woodchuck, land beaver and Mr. Woodchuck. Get it right, Dog!" the woodchuck said, walking closer to Louis and his shack.

"Look, Woodchuck, my morning has not gone so good and you are not making it any better, so if you don't mind, I am going to try and get some sleep. Is that alright with you?" Louis said, and then walked back into his house, completely out of sight.

The woodchuck walked a little closer but kept his distance from Louis, or so he thought, when suddenly Louis charged out of his house, knocked the woodchuck over on his back and pressed down on his very tiny body.

"Please, Dog, I mean, Louis, you don't want to do this."

"And give me one reason why I shouldn't, pig?"

"I have a family!"

Louis put more pressure on the woodchuck's chest. "I could crush you right now, pig, and I won't have second thoughts about it," Louis whispered.

"You are ole so right. I'm not in a position to dispute that and even if I was... Please, just reconsider, Louis. Besides, I don't want to die!"

"I'm waiting for the reason why I should reconsider, pig?"

The woodchuck, gasping for breath, said, "This is a bad place for you. That woman, up there in the house, is crazy. I seen the things that she has done to you over the last couple of months when I moved here. You need a new home. You need to get out of here, Louis, and I can help you."

Louis released the pressure off the groundhog's chest, but didn't take his front paw off his body.

"And how do you suppose to do that, Woodchuck?"

"If you would relax a little I can explain my blueprint, which, in return, Louis, will be how you will be a free man, I mean a free dog."

"I am relaxed now. How do you plan to get me out of here?"

"With the tone of your voice and with that big foot on my chest, I would say you're not relax at all, Louis."

Louis took his foot completely off the groundhog's chest, then pulled him up where he fell back into the mud once Louis let go of him.

"If you wanted to throw mud and your feces on me, Louis, you should have just said so. I would have given it to you to throw on me, geez's!"

"The plan, Woodchuck?" Louis said, snarling at the woodchuck.

"Yes, the plan. I already know, Louis. I am getting to the plan, but first let's get something clear just so you understand, Louis. If I wanted to just go and run away, I can just do that right this minute. Now, Mr. Louis, if you want this to work, and when I say work, I mean us – me and you, woodchuck and dog, Louis and Woodchuck, Woodchuck and Louis...." Louis gave him a snarl and a stare to hurry up. "What I am trying to say is you going to have to work with a woodchuck, okay?"

"So for the umpteen times what is the plan, Woodchuck?" Louis screamed.

"Umpteen, is that even a word?" he said musingly. "Never mind, here's how it's going to work, Louis. If my eyes serve me right, which they do and they haven't failed me yet, that rusty chain that is attached to that ugly collar around your neck, must be taken off in order for you to be free," the groundhog said, inspecting the chain and the collar with his front legs while standing on his hind legs.

"Are you saying that I am dumb, Woodchuck?"

"Umm, what do you mean by that?"

"I think I already know that the leash has to be taken off the collar in order for me to be free."

"Leash, what is that, Louis?"

"Never mind. How are you going to go about taking the chain off the collar and freeing me, Woodchuck?"

The groundhog didn't respond right away. He glared at the chain, touched it with his front paws, climbed all the way up the chain, jumped off, and then looked up at Louis. "Well, what do you have, Woodchuck?"

"Besides hunger pains and a bill for you the size of North Carolina... I have an idea!"

"A bill? What do you mean a bill, Woodchuck?"

The woodchuck didn't answer; instead he pulled gently on the chain at the bottom, where it was hooked on to an eroded pole that was embedded in the ground. Then he bit lightly where the bottom part of the chain connected with the pole. "This job I can do with precise perfection, Louis. But let's get another thing straight. Can we, Louis, without you flying off the handle? Cause, I really want to help you. I really want to see you free from the chains of this woman."

"I am not going to fly off the handle. Go ahead and say what you need to say, Woodchuck."

"Edna, where in the world are you taking me? This doesn't look like the Buffet Canteen."

"I see you got that answer right, Charles, but the one that cause you to remember where to use the bathroom as you seem to always forget and ole yea the other one, where I have to help you back into bed, because you always believe that the kitchen floor is where you suppose to sleep instead of the bed. You remember that, Charles? Sure you don't, but this place is going to help you. They are going to be good to you, they have the skills that's going to get you better," Edna said.

"Why can't you just leave well enough alone, Edna?"

"And I have, Charles," she said with great energy and self-assurance. "That's why we are here in the parking area of your new home, Piedmont Nursing Center."

"I beg to differ, Edna. I want to go back home. I don't want to go inside there. Why can't you just let things be?" Charles yelled out of his loud, raspy voice.

"You need immediate care. Do I have to explain that to you?" she yelled. "Residential care, mental care, Charles. I'm not going to say it again. You are sick and you need to be fixed. You need to heal. Maybe, in a few months, things will be better with that healing process, and you can come back home," Edna said, getting out the car and walking to his side, reaching for his hand to get him out.

"Edna, can I ask you something and you promise you will tell me the truth?"

"Yes, I promise. I will tell you the truth. Go ahead and ask."

"It's that God blame dog, isn't it?" Charles asked. His long, wrinkled face that held slopping yellow eyes didn't blink a muscle. Lips, which once kissed so lustfully in his youth now quivered from age, prevented him from having the desire or even the thought of that ever happening again.

"What in the world do you mean, Charles? Are you saying that I might be...? No, that can't be what you are saying, Charles. Come on, I have to get you in here, register and comfortable. I don't have time for your nonsense or your foolishness," Edna replied. Then, after she got Charles out of her car, she slammed the passenger side of the door.

"Yea, it's the darn dog. Let my arm go I can walk in myself!"

"So what are you saying, Woodchuck? If I agree to this..."

"It's a verbal contract why can't you get that, Louis? Verbal contract, that's what this is. Why can't you get that?"

"Umm, let me see, Woodchuck, the same reason why you can't get or comprehend that this thing that you call a chain, that is attached to my collar is a leash, that's why!"

"Comprehend? I like that word. I am going to have to inject that back into my vocabulary. Haven't used that word in a while."

Louis exhaled and turned as if he was walking back into his house.

"Since we can't write like humans, can we just agree verbally not to screw each other over? We are going to assist each other how do you like that, Louis?"

"I don't like it at all. I think it's a dumb and stupid idea. How could I be so stupid to listen to a woodchuck? My kind would kill you and think nothing about it!"

The woodchuck moved in a little closer. "It's a great idea by the looks of that bowl. And to be honest, I know you're going to kill me after I say this, Louis, by the looks of your frail body, you could use a good meal, well two, three, four..."

"That's enough, Woodchuck," Louis said, rising and standing on all four of his legs.

"The season is ripe and the harvest is plentiful. You go in there, get as many bags of those seedless grapes as you can. I'm not asking for every bag in her refrigerator but I am asking for more than one bag, if you get my drift. Anyway, you drop it down out of the kitchen window, and I will do the rest."

"Wait a second!"

"Yes, what is it, Louis, did I leave something out?" the woodchuck asked Louis, hovering over him.

"Yes, the part as to why you have not considered going in the house and getting your own seedless grapes!"

"For your information, Mister, I keep prolonging the task at hand without of this world question. I have considered it but consideration and performance are two different things.

"I am 26 inches long and approximately two feet tall I am not at the bottom of the food chain; I am the food chain, Louis. How dare you ask me such a demeaning and demoralizing question? Such a heartless dog you are!"

"Wait a minute, earlier, when you were making out this wonderful and glorious plan to free me, you said I was a kind dog and such a great and understanding pooch, and now I am a heartless dog?"

"Yes, a heartless dog that doesn't understand what I am going through. I think I want to cry," the woodchuck said, placing his paws like hands over his face.

"Oh, no please don't, woodchuck."

"I think I am, Louis." The woodchuck's eyes peeped through the crevices of his paw looking at Louis.

"Oh no please don't cry, Woodchuck!"

"I am going to cry, Louis!"

"Don't you dare cry!"

"I think I am. Here it comes – the tears!"

"No!" Louis yelled.

"I changed my mind. I think I will save my tears instead of wasting them on you, Louis!"

Louis looked up from beneath his paws, which were covering his head. He gazed upon the woodchuck as if he was crazy.

"This is real simple, Louis. Once I gnaw through that nasty chain, I get on your back, crawl up to your head and I use this very small stick to pop the lock, once the lock is popped you go in, find the refrigerator and get me all the grapes you can get. It's open season. Anything in that fridge you find to eat is all yours, but only after you get my grapes!"

Louis turned around to his left. The woodchuck, while on Louis's back, leaned in when their eyes met. "Thanks for freeing me. I feel good. I have been hooked to that leash for the last year."

"No problem, my little canine friend. I hope it is worth it or I will have to find a way to get him back in chains," Woodchuck told himself.

"What did you say, Woodchuck?"

"Oh nothing just thinking out loud that's all."

"And where are you going to be to make this pick up?"

"I am going to my prize pick-up at the back. There is a window that's open. She left it partially open last night, when she was smoking. I guess too many pieces of chicken, and helping of mash potatoes made her lazy, too lazy to close the window back after she smoked."

Louis looked at his little companion strangely. "If I didn't know any better you were..."

"Casing out the Joint? Yes, I was, and I think I am owed a big congratulation from you, Louis."

"Why is that?"

"Because I just freed you and now I am getting ready to feed you. At the end of the year, remind me to file you on my tax returns, Louis!"

Remorse, sadness, or mistake were a few words in the English vocabulary that didn't cross Edna's mind when she walked out of the Piedmont Nursing Center and down the steps to her car. What crossed her mind was "goodbye, I hope I don't see you again. They can put up with you, and you would be better off dead, Charles Johnson," and other things pertaining to her secret life and what she so desperately wanted. She couldn't wait to get back to her house, and do what ever she wanted to do. Now, with her husband of thirty years out of the way, her wish would be granted.

I have to get more seedless grapes. Now that Charles is away, maybe I can keep more grapes in the refrigerator, she thought.

Fifteen minutes from Piedmont Nursing Center was Edna Johnson's favorite store, Jenkins's Nic-nakes. She smiled and not one muscle moved in a way of a frown when she thought about what her husband Charles use to say to her when they drove into Jenkins's Nic-nakes when Charles was free of wrinkles and Edna was wearing a size five and strutting in heels around the house.

Jenkins's Nic-nakes, hum, that sounds more like a corner store than a place you can go to and buy grocery. You sure we've come to the right place, Edna? I am absolutely positive, baby, Not only is this a place where we can buy all our groceries, they even have a place where we can sit down, catch our breath. That's sounds great. Let's go then, baby. Not only did Edna quickly clear her thoughts of memories from yesterday, she also cleared the path in front of her.

"Hi, would you like to buy a dozen donuts or make a small donation to help the Girls Camping Club of Charlotte? Any donation is very much appreciated," said a young girl of no more than twelve year's old, standing in front of Jenkins's Nic-nakes.

"Be honest with me, little girl, about something and I may just give you a donation and by a box of those donuts."

"Okay!" the little girl said with excitement.

"Did someone put you up to say that? Your mother or your father?"

"Umm...," the little girl said, surprised and nervous at the same time with this strange woman's words and appearance.

"Never mind, you don't have to answer. I already have my answer. I don't want to buy any of your donuts, they look stale and outdated. I don't know who has you out here like some sort of homeless person, but you and all of you band of donut sellers need to pack it all up and go home. I wouldn't dare give a donation to the Girls Camping Club of Charlotte. Have a good day now!"

The little girl looked straight ahead with her mouth and eyes open as if she had just been hypnotized, then she dropped the box of donuts and started screaming and crying, "Mommy, mommy, that lady is so mean!"

Edna found the part of the store that sold fruit. She pushed her buggy to where the grapes were. Green, purple and bright red grapes. "Ah, I'm in heaven. Grapes. Which one shall I get?" she said to herself. She picked up five of the red grapes then she threw all five of them in her mouth at one time!

"Umm, I never tasted grapes this good. I think I am going to get these. No wait..., oh yes, come to big momma Edna. I see you hiding over there!" Edna grabbed a hand full of the purple grapes and popped them in her mouth.

A store attendant, who was on the next aisle over, gave a brief glance but when Edna started popping grapes in her mouth, like assorted candy, he walked to the fruit aisle. "Miss, can I help you with something."

Edna, for a moment, acted liked she didn't hear the store associate. This time she was eating a combination of the red, purple and green grapes.

"Miss, you cannot stand there like some sort of..."

"Yes, you can help me," Edna said, interrupting the associate.

"And how may I do that? Looks like you already been helping yourself to our grapes. Are you planning on paying for all those grapes you just ate, lady?"

"No, absolutely not, but what I am going to do since I read that sign when you enter into the store that says customer is always right. You see that sign too, right?"

"Yes, what about it?" the associate said with an upturned frown on his face.

"I can easily go and tell them since I do work for the Charlotte Mecklenburg police department," she said, pulling out a silver badge, "That you were harassing me. And if they don't do something about it, I will have you arrested!"

"Oh, miss, please I..., I didn't mean to. I will do anything. I didn't know you were a police officer. Please, just don't do that. I didn't mean to harass you!" the associate said.

"I will be willing to remain quiet, if you get on your knees and bark like a dog!"

"What, I..."

"Do it now! I'm the owner and you are the dog, an ugly pit-bull. Now do it, if you want to keep your job and not risk being arrested, you moron!" Edna whispered.

The associate got on his knees and began barking like a dog in the middle of the aisle while she bagged up her grapes.

"Louder, dog, I can't hear you!"

"Ruff, ruff. Ruff!" the man barked.

"Now I am going to checkout and I will have my eyes on you and if you even stop to breathe, I won't hesitate to spill the beans and tell your supervisor how badly you harassed me. Is that understood? Bark, if you understand me!"

His agreement was confirmed with a bark. Customers looked at the associate as if he was insane. Kids thought it was funny and even one in particular, tried to pet the associate as if he was a real dog, until he was pulled away by his mother.

"What a dog, if I say so myself!" Edna said as she passed customers on her way to the checkout counter.

Chapter 2

At Edna's residence, the groundhog jimmied the lock on the front door open. Louis went in cautiously. He found the living room to be exceptionally clean, except for the muddy footprints that had been tracked in from Edna's bare feet earlier that day. Louis found the warmth of the house cozy and the rug in the middle of the living room attractive. He walked closer to the rug, sniffed it and backed away in a hurry.

The woodchuck came to the conclusion that what Louis said in the middle of his attempt to jimmy the front door was wrong, but when he saw the door without a doorknob on it, he realized that Louis was right.

"Wouldn't the smartest thing to do would be to go through the back than the front, Louis?"

"No, not at all."

"Why is that?

"For some reason that back entrance is boarded up."

"Are you sure about that or you don't want to let your pride go and say you made a mistake?"

"Don't you have a job to do, Woodchuck?"

"Why yes, and aren't I doing it?"

"Looks to me like you doing more talking than trying to get that door open."

"Last I check, Louis, this was a free country and that means for groundhogs, too, Mister."

"Shut up, Woodchuck, and keep your mind on the door, okay?"

"I'm just informing you."

"Enough of the informing and more on getting the door open."

"Alright already."

"Looks like I owe Louis an apology, but he wouldn't dare give me one, so I guess I will keep it to myself and forget I owe him one," the woodchuck said, finding his way from the heat and air conditioning unit, to the tree that hung in front of the window then to the window sill. He looked in. There was the kitchen. He saw footprints – her footprints and the tall and wide refrigerator.

"Oh the grapes, the grapes, the grapes, the grapes!" the woodchuck rehearsed, standing on the window ledge on his hind legs, his front ones spread out like eagles' wings and his eyes shut.

"Earth to Woodchuck!" Louis said in a calm voice.

"Oh the grapes, the grapes, the grapes, the grapes!" the groundhog continued to say.

"Earth to Woodchuck!" Louis yelled.

The groundhog opened his eyes, yelled then fell a couple of feet down onto the air and heating system. "Dang it, Louis, you bout scared the poop out of me, literally. I was close to crapping on myself. I'm glad I didn't, though. Anyway, you see the refrigerator, right?" the woodchuck asked from down below the window sill.

"Yea, I see it."

"Can you get it open?"

"That's what I am trying to do right now. Hold on a minute," Louis said.

The groundhog found his way back up to the ledge; this time he focused on keeping his balance rather than on the grapes in the refrigerator.

"Okay. Looks like I got it open, Woodchuck."

"Very good, Louis, you are now a certified thief. Once we get out of here I will present you with your award."

"I got it open!" Louis said his manner turning ecstatic. "There's everything in here, chicken, cheeses, lunch meat!"

"Stay focused, I need you focused, Louis. It's the grapes first then the chicken or whatever you eat. Come on!" the groundhog yelled into the kitchen.

Louis pulled the bowl of chicken when it fell on the floor. As if Louis hadn't eaten in days, he began to devour the pieces of chicken.

"You should come down off the ledge and get some of this chicken, Woodchuck."

"I'm a vegetarian and fruitarian."

"What's a fruitarian, Woodchuck?" Louis asked.

"It means I like only fruit. Now can we get on with your part of the deal?"

"What's the hurry? Wasn't it you that said it was a feast in here? And boy, were you right."

The woodchuck scowled. "No, I didn't! I said it was a fancy feast in there. Sometimes, if you want something done you have to do it yourself!" the woodchuck said, then jumped down off the ledge and into the kitchen.

"I got it. We had a deal; you got me loose. So I am a dog of my word and I will get your grapes!" Louis said while he searched for grapes in the refrigerator. After throwing everything out onto the floor, Louis located the grapes at the back, on the second shelf. He pulled them out.

The woodchuck began to drool. "Oh the grapes, the grapes, the grapes, the grapes! I can't wait to get the grapes, the grapes, the grapes!"

"Oh no, here we go again!"

"Now wait just a woodchucking second, Mister. I gave you your moment while you were eating that..., that bird, so I need a moment as well!" the woodchuck said, grabbing the bag of grapes.

"Can you handle that bag by yourself?" Louis asked, chuckling.

"I'm not going to worry about that right now. I'm going to take me an eating break just like you!"

The woodchuck grabbed a grape out of the bag and began eating it while Louis went back to eating one of the pieces of chicken that was still in the bowl.

"You are right; this is a fancy feast in here!"

"Well you should thank me not one time but twice. You are a free dog and from the looks of your greasy hairball of a mouth, looks like you are a full dog."

Getting carried away with their indulging they began to relax, so relaxed that the woodchuck lay against Louis's stomach while Louis lay down comfortably in front of the refrigerator. Suddenly, they heard a key then the turn of the knob. They both looked at the door. The woodchuck thought to grab the bag of grapes then thought against that idea and stood behind Louis.

"You got me into this mess, Louis, so you get me out of it!" the woodchuck said.

"Me? What do you mean I got you into this mess when this whole thievery thing was your idea?"

Before Louis could say anymore, the doorknob turned and the front door opened. In front of Edna's eyes were muddy dog paw prints that tracked from outside, into the living room and all the way into the kitchen.

"What in the world is gone on here? That animal is in my house? Dang Charles left that God blame window up again. But these tracks are from the front of the house!" With her bags in her hands Edna hurried from the small living room into the kitchen. Standing before her was Louis with the groundhog behind him. "What the heck you think you doing? How did you break the chain and get in my house and in my refrigerator?"

Louis snarled. Edna dropped her grocery bags.

"When I get my hands on you I am going to remove your head from your body and feed it to the birds. I hate you, dog!" Edna said right before she charged him. The woodchuck came out from behind Louis. Edna saw the woodchuck, the woodchuck saw Edna, The two of them made eye contact.

"Whoa, a rat!" Edna yelled as she tumbled backward and fell.

"Did she just associate me with those black things that have long skinny black tail?"

"Yes, she did."

"Well, now listen; I have a plan that will get us out of here."

"You and your plans!" Louis said. "But since you've given me no other choice I'm all ears."

"Let's get out of here, Louis."

Edna, of course, couldn't understand their language, but laying there on her kitchen floor she understood very well that she hated Louis and she was fearful of rats, which she perceived the woodchuck to be. One of the items she bought was a can of cream corn. She picked it up and threw it in the direction of Louis and the woodchuck. They both scattered while Edna got back to her feet as the woodchuck ran toward her.

"I am not a rat! How dare you insult me like that? I am a woodchuck and woodchucks rule!" he hollered, reaching for the hem of Edna dress but was met with a kick. "Take that, you stinking rat!"

"Uggh!" the woodchuck screamed as he landed against the wall. "If not woodchuck, land beaver would have been suitable," the woodchuck retorted, half dazed.

"You come in my house and that rat..., I don't know what the two of you are up to but when I'm done with you, dog, you going to wish you never got loose from that chain. I am going to finish what I started!"

This time Louis didn't wait for Edna to charge him with her big hands, he went at her first, pulling at her long dress then yanked it from side to side.

"You stinky, dirty dog, let go of my dress!"

"Woodchuck, I need you!" Louis yelled.

The woodchuck shook himself, trying to shake loose the cobwebs, doing what he did best with what little he had. He ran up her leg, and leaped up on her hand. She swiped but the woodchuck was already halfway under the sleeve of her dress and up her arm. "You belligerent rat!"

"I told you and I am done telling you that I am not a rat, I am a woodchuck! How would you like it if I called you a wildflower, a really big ugly wildflower?" the woodchuck groaned then bit into Edna's neck.

Louis still pulled and yanked on Edna's dress until finally it ripped down its middle, revealing long shorts with pictures of green frog all over them. Louis stepped back, the woodchuck jumped down. As he beheld the sight of the green frog underwear, he began to laugh. But the way it looked to Edna was that the woodchuck was sick and was about to fall over in death.

"Come on, Woodchuck, we have to go!"

"This is just too hilarious. She looks ... hilarious!"

"Why you, ugly animal, I am going to get you both!"

"Let's go, we have to get out the window, Woodchuck!"

Edna's whole face was red, her hand open and clutching. She wiped the mud that got on her from the woodchuck off her neck and ran after Louis and the woodchuck.

Louis, with some trouble, was able to jump out the window then behind him was the woodchuck. Caught up in the moment and the momentum of the chase, Edna reached out for the woodchuck and only clutched air.

"I will get you yet, dog and rat!" she yelled, stretching two clutching hands outside of the window when she saw that Louis and the woodchuck had escaped out of her grasp. She pulled her hefty and sweaty body back into the small opening in the window. Nudging the top of the sill, Edna caused a slight move in the already feeble window pane, causing it to come down before she could get her wide body through the narrow space.

"Louis, I am going to get you for this!" she yelled out.

Louis and the woodchuck had not gained much ground by the time Edna was able to free herself from the window. But they were several blocks up the street, past several houses and were in an old high school baseball field.

"Wait a second; slow down a minute, Louis."

"What do you mean? Slow down. We have to keep..."

"The grapes!" the woodchuck interrupted.

"Okay, what about them?" Louis said.

"I ought to slap you one good time across your hair-stricken face, Louis, we went in the house of Miss Teffey-heavy not so you can say whatever about them, we went in for the grapes and your plan, your bright little plan, Mr. Brainy, was not for you to sit on your doggy parts, eat bird and then escape without my grapes," the woodchuck yelled.

"What is about you and these grapes, Woodchuck? Why is it so important to you? We was stuck right there in Edna's house, she wanted our heads on a platter, but we are free. We got away. Can't we take a moment to rejoice that we are free and we are no longer in the house?" Louis asked.

"If I recall, Louis, last I check I was always unrestricted, not bound at all, unless you're not counting the foxes, coyotes, hawks and whatever else is out here that want to eat me. But don't try changing the subject. I am not done with you. And don't walk away from me. You think you're Mr. Goody-two- shoes since you're chainless? Well, I will go back and get that chain and put it back around your neck," the woodchuck said angrily. "No..., I won't... Hey, Louis, wait up!" he yelled, when he realized Louis was running away.

After she pulled herself out of the window, Edna found that her neck was stiff and she couldn't move it from side to side without pain. "Dog gone it, that God blame window, I should have gotten it fixed a long time ago, and I wouldn't feel like fifty thousand pounds just fell on my neck. Maybe I ought to go to the doctor. He can find out if that dog and rat caused any damage to my neck."

Edna contemplated not going but when she found the pain was unbearable she went.

"Mrs. Edna, test shows that there has been no tear in your muscles or tendon but what I am showing is that the neck itself is sprained."

"That means take pain pills and call you in the morning?" Edna asked stupidly.

"No that does not mean take pain pills and call me in the morning. It means you have a sprained neck, Mrs. Edna. The only way possible to get your neck back, is a neck brace. You see, it needs to be aligned, while it is healing the perfect way." Edna looked at the doctor goggled-eyed. "Yes, that is correct, Mrs. Edna, a neck brace. We have three left, blue bird, pink butterfly, and last but not least this is my favorite, Johnny the cute puppy."

Edna's face turned a lighter shade of pink at the sound of 'Johnny the cute puppy'. She groaned under her breath. She sounded like a raving pit bull.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Edna? If you want to wait for a better neck brace, we can. But I am not guaranteeing, by the time the plain one comes in, that your neck would have all the care it needs up until that point, without a neck brace. I am sorry if this causes any inconveniences, my apologies."

"No apologies. I will take the pink butterfly, Dr. Andy."

"Pink butterfly it is, Mrs. Edna."

While Dr. Andy walked out of his office to get Edna's pink butterfly neck brace, the thoughts of Louis and the woodchuck began to press hard on her mind. She gave into the thought while looking into the mirror in Dr. Andy's office. When I get my hands on you, dog, and I bet my bottom dollar on it I will, I am going to crush you like a butterfly. I don't know how you broke the chain and how I had a rat in my house, but if I come across a rat again, any rat, I am going to stomp it to the ground like a butterfly.

"Mrs. Edna?" Dr. Andy said, his voice showing concern.

Edna turned toward Dr. Andy in a hurry as if he heard her thoughts. Her puzzled face of embarrassment for a moment overshadowed her whole reason for being at the doctor's office until she saw what Dr. Andy held in his hand. From the look on his face, the doctor appeared embarrassed as well. He held the neck brace, but it wasn't the one that Edna was expecting, it was the neck brace with the cute puppies on it.

"I want to apologize, Mrs. Edna, but the only thing that we have left here is the neck brace with the puppies on it. I must say these puppies are really adorable. I really like them and..."

"Give me that!" Edna yelled, snatching the neck brace out of Dr. Andy's hand and walking out of his office.

"And thank you, Mrs. Edna. Tell your husband I said hello!" he said with a smile.

"One way or the other I will find you, Louis, and I will have my revenge, you will not get away with this you mangy mutt! Oh, my neck!" Edna yelled when she turned her head slightly to get into her car.

In the part of town in Charlotte, North Carolina where people drive expensive cars, pay eighteen dollars for a single serving of mash potatoes without the gravy, and have pets who have their own heating and air conditioning unit in their own personal home, lived a married couple by the name of Elvin and Fannie Dalton who had a pet but without the extras of heating and air conditioning. Why would they? Their pet, a white longhaired cat, with light blue eyes and a streak of light gray that went up its tail to do what she wanted to do where she wanted to do it in the Dalton's house. Her name was Molly, and to the Dalton's, since they didn't have any children, Molly was just like their daughter. They treated her like a daughter, fed her the best kind of cat food, never table food of any kind, taking her on trips whenever they went on trips. Even once, Fannie bought a body dress for Molly, when she attended one of Elvin's work dinners.

"Oh, honey, you think that dress may be a little..."

"A little what, Elvin?"

"Well, Fannie, Molly is a cat not a little girl and I think she should be treated as such. I think putting a dress on a cat is going a little overboard, don't you think?"

"Absolutely not. And look, I think Molly understood you. She ran into the guest room. Molly, Molly, oh..., come to momma! Elvin, you have to have a little more sympathy and respect. Molly isn't a human being like you and I, but she still has feelings that must be taken into consideration."

From that point, Elvin took in consideration Molly's feelings so much that when he saw Fannie look out the glass door in the kitchen with tears streaming down her face, he walked behind her, and instead of dodging the problem, he asked, with an understanding voice: "You think we should tell her, Fannie?"

She turned to him and kissed his lips.

"I was waiting for you to get home and talk it over with you. I was wondering how you felt about it, Elvin. Look at her. She looks so happy swimming out there in the pool, almost as if she is human. She is so amazing."

"More like as if she owns it."

"What's that, baby?" Fannie said, turning to Elvin as he poured a cup of ice tea."

"Oh nothing, baby. What I was thinking, in my honest opinion, is that we don't tell her – if she actually knows what we talked about – then the old saying should apply to her as well," Elvin said.

"I don't think I know that saying. What is it, Elvin?"

"The ole saying is what we don't know won't hurt us, just like me, I was okay with the last piece of the vanilla cream pie being eaten by your mother, but when she told me she didn't eat the last slice and that she didn't eat any of it because it was gone before she got a piece, I came to the conclusion that you ate just about all that pie, Fannie. Not good if you are trying to diet."

Fannie didn't have a reply to that until she squinted and turned back to the glass door. "So, are you mad at me, Elvin?"

"Of course I am!"

"You are?"

"No. I was just joking. I am not mad at all. I just want to make sure you are happy with this situation. I think first thing tomorrow morning or a couple days from now, the sooner the better, but since it is your cat it's your decision, we prepare to part way with the cat."

Fannie walked to the table and sat down with her husband. "Oh, Elvin, that is terrible. How in the world am I supposed to do that? Molly has been a part of this family for the last three years."

"Fannie, you have always figured things out. That's one thing that I love so much about you, you always no how to figure things out, Fannie. You figured out after one year of dating, fifteen years ago, that you couldn't live without me, so you married me. Remember that?" Elvin said.

"Umm, no I don't, Elvin."

"Now what I want to see on your face is that beautiful smile. I will be upstairs. Call me if you need me."

Minutes later, Molly got out of the pool, shook herself off, walked into the part of the house that blew out the most heat, which was the floor vent in the living room, and then climbed up on the couch where Fannie laid asleep.

She laid there until she felt Fannie's warm body begin to move. Fannie's lips, that sloped down to one side and drooled, drew a smile when she felt Molly's cute fur ball of a face snuggled up against her saliva-stricken cheek. "Aw, Molly, I love you so much!"

"I love you much more, Fannie!" Molly said, but of course, all Fannie heard was a "meow, meow, and meow."

"I think tomorrow is going to be a pretty big day for the both of us, Molly. So I think we better get some sleep. That time will be here very quickly."

"What does she mean a very big day for the both of us? And why are there tears in your eyes. Is something wrong with Fannie? Who hurt you?" Molly asked her head turned to the side.

Fannie gazed into Molly's beautiful light blue eyes, as she held her in her arms and she stroked her head gently. Molly, after about four strokes and Fannie's soothing words of I love you, and we are going to have so much fun together tomorrow, her pink unblemished tongue licked Fannie until she found herself nestled against Fannie's chest, then fast asleep.

The next morning the beautiful sounds of birds singing in Molly's ears that she usually heard, and which motivated her to get up, weren't there. And wasn't there crying of some sort that Molly couldn't quite pick up? Her eyes widened when she heard: "This is too hard for me, Elvin. I'm not sure if I can go through with this."

"Honey, you don't have to. If you really want to cancel this, we can. But we both know what is going to happen down the road. It's either now or waiting till down the road, and down the road may be a little harder."

Now wide awake and wondering what her owners were talking about, Molly stood up and stopped. She looked at her surroundings and to her amazement; she was sealed off from the world that she had been accustomed to for the last in three years.

"Oh No! I'm in a kennel!" she said, terrorized now.

Chapter 3

"I will admit I owe you one, Woodchuck."

"Now that your little conscience is bothering you and you can't stand how it is eating up your doggy skin, now you want to own up to your wrong, Louis? Well, save it. I don't want an apology from you. I'm going to tell you what my girlfriend, well my ex-girlfriend, told me before she ran off with the last woodchuck; you have nothing to offer in hard times but your disappointment. And I'm tired of it. I'm going to let you know before I forget that you disgust me, Louis."

Louis stopped, looked at the woodchuck and the woodchuck looked back at him. He stood on a rock that made him almost as tall as Louis. "What? You want to step on my chest like you did back when you were on your leash?"

"No. Actually I don't. I want to say in a nice and kinder voice, not the bickering, angry voice that you used, that you disgust me and you disgust me a lot more than I disgust you!"

"Wait a second. Where do you think you're going? Where are your debating manners, Louis? It is a rule that you don't bow out of a debate, unless both parties of the debate have made their point," the woodchuck yelled.

"I never heard that rule before, Woodchuck. Was that something you just made up?"

The woodchuck hesitated then spoke. "Well, yeah, it is my rule, Louis, but what's it to you?" he asked, hurrying to catch Louis. "You know something, Louis; you're being too difficult right now. I save your life, and you walk away while I was still talking to you, as if I don't matter, as if I don't matter in the world?"

"You were debating with me, Woodchuck. There is a difference."

"Same difference, that's the difference, Louis. Then, on top of that, you promised me grapes, and I never got them. You know something, this is over, Louis. I am going back to..."

"That's where I'm going now. To get your grapes!" Louis said.

"I am going back to.... What did you say, Louis?"

"I said that's where I am going now. To get your grapes. Like I said, I owe you. You freed me from Edna and you got me inside of the house where I was able to feed myself until I was full. I can't remember the last time I had a full course meal, like the one I had there where I could eat until I was full. If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now; thank you, Woodchuck."

The woodchuck began to mumble in a choked voice, "No, no, you never said it, and now you almost making me want to..."

"Don't you dare do it, Woodchuck, or I will take it all back," Louis yelled.

"Okay already, Louis. Just take me to the grapes!"

When Louis and the woodchuck got out of the field, they came to a residential community. The community, was not only filled with houses of all kinds but with people, people that were buying and selling things of all sorts in front of those houses, in the yards of the houses and in the garages.

"Come one; come all to the greatest extravaganza that our community has ever seen. We have kitchen set, garden appliances, clothing, ranging from shoes, pants, shirts and underwear, but I wouldn't advise the underwear part anyway. Last but not least, everyone's favorite; we have food!"

"Okay, Woodchuck, you stay put. I'm going to get the grapes. A dog is okay out here but a woodchuck; I think you will scare a lot of people."

"Well, excuse you. Who crowned you Mr. Pretty Dog of the year, Louis?" the woodchuck asked.

"Just stay put. I am going to get as many grapes as I can possibly get. Then, once the task is over, you go back to your hole in the ground wherever it may be, and my quest to find a nice home will begin."

The woodchuck felt out of place but when he dwelled on the words 'as many grapes as I can get', he felt happy and very much overjoyed.

Louis walked on the side, away from where they exited from the field.

Some people didn't notice him but others who did (mostly children) found Louis to be cute.

"Oh my, look. A furry dog. He is so cute. Can we take him home?"

"No, a stray dog like that one is filled with disease and rabies. Remember, no stray dog of any kind."

Others' thoughts were accurate but they didn't know it. "Hey, shoo, dog. Get away from here. This isn't a place for you!"

Louis didn't budge or bark, instead he kept his eyes open for grapes and if not grapes the closest thing to them.

Molly panicked. She pressed her body against the cage on all sides to make sure her theory was true and she wasn't dreaming, imagining, or simply day-dreaming it. "What is going on? Why am I in here? Who put me here and why would they do such a thing? All I ever been was a good cat. Maybe someone is going to steal me away from Fannie. Yeah, that's it, someone has broken in the house and they love cats, so they are going to take me with them. Oh my, I hope it isn't the case."

She got closer to the front of the kennel and listened for either Fannie or Elvin but she didn't see either of them. She looked around in the kitchen then when she thought she hadn't seen anything that would indicate something; she saw a bag at the back door. "Oh that's right; Fannie said that we were going to have a very big day. We must be going off somewhere. But why am I stuck in this kennel? I'm no stray. I have my shots and I have two people who really love me and care about me so much."

Then Molly heard the clicking of keys and footsteps. "Maybe there is no robbery, yeah!" she said. Then what she dread, what she hoped was one of the three – a dream, an image or daydream – was neither. It was Elvin and Fannie, hand in hand walking down the steps into the kitchen and in front of the kennel.

"Good morning, Molly. I know you are wondering why you are in the kennel," Fannie mumbled. She tried but she couldn't stop wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Why are you crying? What's wrong with the people I love? Why the tears," Molly said.

"Molly, if you can understand me, which you may not, but I think you are just as smart as we are, so you may be able to understand what I am saying."

"I do understand what you are saying, I do, I do!" Molly's meows were her words to the Dalton's. They cracked a smile when Molly meowed and turned her little head from side to side.

"I think she understands me, Elvin."

"Of course she understands you, Fannie. She's just as smart as us, possibly smarter."

Fannie turned to Elvin, her amber eyes filled with the tears that slowly dripped down her cheeks again.

"Molly, you have some minor health issues, and you must go away to get those issue taken care of."

"Some minor health issues? I feel great, I feel like I am in my best condition, but I guess you know better than I do," Molly replied.

"Oh my God, Elvin, this hurt so bad. I can't do this!" Fannie sunk her head into Elvin's chest.

"Fannie is lousy at explaining things especially when she is upset," Elvin said, "You have something call arthritis in your back legs. At this moment it doesn't cause you any problems. Your legs do not hurt, right?"

"Why no, of course not. I'm not old. I am a young, vibrant female. Speak for yourself!" Molly replied, turning her head from side to side quickly.

"Okay, I take that as a yes. The arthritis will get worse before it gets better, and you are going to have to go for surgery today. Fannie knew of this for quite some time now, but, as I said, she is really lousy about explaining things."

Molly didn't say a word. Fannie looked up at Elvin. "We haven't fed you yet because its doctors' orders to feed you right after surgery. Why, your guess is as good as mine, Molly. Well, since we got that out of the way, shall we go? And oh yeah, Molly, we didn't want to put you in that kennel, but the new law is we must have a cat, or any animal for that matter, in some sort of confinement when transporting them from place to place, so, if it is a little uncomfortable, my apologies."

Elvin loaded everything in the vehicle. Molly was last to go in their car. Elvin took a deep breath then exhaled it. "You have to trust me on this, Fannie. Where she is going, she is going to be perfectly fine. Remember, there are always other..."

"Elvin don't say it. She is different. She isn't like any other cat I've had. There isn't a replacement for Molly."

"Okay, Fannie, but you know I hate to see you down in the dumps over something that you can't do anything about. Things will get better for Molly, but you have to let things be as they are. Those things cannot be changed. Come on, I'm sure if we stay here any longer, Molly will start worrying about us. We should get out there. Come on, honey."

As bad and as addictive as it was to Louis to pass up the grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and his favorite chicken, he did.

This time it can't be about me. It is about the woodchuck. He helped me and I vowed to help him. Louis stiffened, trying to pick up a scent of grapes. The sent is so vague. Are there any grapes out here? Louis wondered. Then, when he lifted his head up in haste, another scent rushed to the nostrils of his little black nose. It's her, I smell her, he thought. The smell became stronger and stronger by the second – the smell of human waste. The steps, these forward footsteps that came toward Louis, those same steps that he held so many times in his head before he was finally rescued by the woodchuck, were the same steps made by her man's shoes. They were not stomping that old wooden, creaky floor in the house, but the ground, that sodden ground that held the stalls in the housing community.

But those man's shoes weren't the shoes Edna wore but the shoes of a customer. And the smell of human waste came from the port-a-potty right in front of Louis.

I need to get my brain off Edna. I am a long way away from her. She will never find me. Let's just stay focused and all of this will be over very soon, then I can look for a home, Louis thought.

His mind wanted to enter into that life where he had a home of love, a place where he could eat all the chicken in the world until he was full. A home where humans loved him and where no humans wanted to hurt him every chance they got.

The door was open to the world but Louis could not go right in yet. In front of him was a fruit stand and in the customer's hand standing beside it, were a bag of oranges and a bag of grapes. It crossed Louis's mind that it could have been the woman's last bit of money, which she was spending to buy the fruit. Then he thought the bag of grapes could have been the last of the grapes she may have wanted to eat, as she was shopping for other items. Nevertheless, nothing empowered Louis more to get the grapes out of the customer's hands, than the fact that Louis was ready to start a new life. It hadn't been twenty-four hours since he had been freed from the clutches of Edna, but he wanted to be away from the woodchuck forever and in a decent home as soon as he could.

Louis charged the woman that held the grapes and oranges in her hand.

"Look out, a dog!" the fruit seller yelled.

The customer screamed then swung her handbag. "Get away from me, you bad dog, go!" she shouted, nailing Louis with the handbag.

Louis didn't want to bite the woman or hurt her in any way, but if he was going to give himself a chance to get the green grapes, he would have to do more than just take hits from the woman's bag. He would have to do what he didn't want to do.

"Someone get this dog!"

"Get away from her!" The man behind the counter threw apples and oranges at Louis. The commotion at the fruit booth caused other customers from other booths to stop and observe the incident.

"Someone help me!" the woman yelled, swinging then backing up toward the curb near the house at the back of the booth.

"Well, don't just stand there; help the darn lady!" the fruit seller said, running around his booth and swinging a broom.

Others came running toward the disturbance. Louis saw it out of the corner of his eye and made his move. With his large and vicious teeth, he gripped the woman's coat sleeve and pulled on it. Weighing about one hundred and ten pounds, the woman being pulled backwards, tripped over the curb, and fell back onto the lawn and into the puddle of muddy water.

The oranges and the grapes flew in the opposite direction from where the woman landed.

"Oh, I am all muddy in my brand new coat. Someone help me!" the lady cried out.

Louis ran for the grapes. Meanwhile the fruit seller, with two others, who worked at the hamburger and hot dog stands, together with the woman from the clothing booth rushed him. But not knowing that the water in the yard wasn't just where the woman laid, but was soaking the lawn, they fell in the muddy puddle in the yard.

"Sorry. I wish I could have done it some other way, but I couldn't," Louis said, grabbing the bag of grapes. He then took off running back toward the field behind the community houses. Many of the community people tried their hardest to catch Louis, while others got out of his way and watched him as he ran down the road with a bag full of cold, seedless green grapes in his mouth.

In the open field the woodchuck stood on a rock on his hind legs. "Grapes, grapes, grapes! Ah, I can just taste them now. Oh what a wonderful feeling to have a nice grape in..." He stopped and listened. "What's that I hear? Is something out here?" the woodchuck yelled. He surveyed the open area but he didn't see anything.

"It must have been my imagination, as I was saying grapes, grapes, and grapes. Should I eat the whole grape or should I split it in two and have two for the price of one?"

He giggled long enough to hear the footsteps in the grass surrounding him. "Oh no, something is out here with me. Where is help when you are about to be eaten."

"Don't you move, groundhog, or else we will eat you right here. That way we can save our wood and fire to roast you on."

Fannie tried giving Molly wheat crackers but she refused them.

"Why should I take your crackers when I have no idea where I am going? You said the doctor, but this is too quiet in this car for me to be attending another doctor's appointment. What's up with that doctor's appointment anyway?" Molly asked.

"Elvin, she's not eating her wheat crackers. Wheat crackers are her favorite snack. I don't understand what has gotten in to her."

"I guess the same thing that's in all women, Fannie. That's stubbornness. Besides, I can't remember a day in any of the three years that she has been with us that she has ever been in that kennel. Those things have got to be just as bad as a human in prison. Take her out of that thing, Fannie," Elvin urged.

Fannie opened the kennel as her husband suggested and when Elvin turned his head to the back, Molly seemed to hesitate.

"Come on now, Molly, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. You don't have to be in there anymore," Fannie said. "She's strange, different somehow, Elvin."

"Sure she is. And why would she be anything less than strange now? Everything is foreign to her. I would seem strange too, if I had been imprisoned for a while."

"I'm not strange. I just don't want to come out of this cage into your lap where it is cozy and..., and feel relax. Well, on second thought, I do want to come out of my cage, and I better get out before she changes her mind," Molly said. She walked slowly out of the cage then jumped quickly on Fannie's lap.

"That's my girl. How are you, Molly?"

"I don't think I'm doing that great, Fannie. I'm scared, scared of the cage, scared of where I'm going," Molly replied.

Fannie took Molly in her arms and held her close for several seconds before she began to stroke the top of her head. "Oh, look at her. Isn't she cute, Elvin?"

"Yes, she is. She is very cute, Fannie."

Elvin and Fannie arrived at the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. "I think she's asleep, Elvin."

"Okay, we don't want to wake her by putting her in the kennel, I will carry the kennel and you can walk her inside." Molly didn't wake up on the way inside the facility. For her that was good; she wouldn't be able to read where she was going. Yet inside it was another story – a total madhouse.

"Oh, isn't she such a beautiful cat? What kind is she?" the woman at the front desk asked.

"She is a Turkish Van Cat."

"Wow, she is just the cutest little thing. Are you giving her up for adoption?" the lady asked.

Elvin and Fannie exchanged a glance before looking back at the woman behind the counter. Elvin gave her the paperwork concerning Molly. It was Molly's doctor's records, shots, and even a birth certificate. When the desk attendant pushed her blonde hair back and read Molly's report, she too had a somber look on her face.

"So, this explains why she is sleeping?" the desk attendant said.

"Yes, it is because of the medication that she is taking."

"Ok, I am so sorry, Mrs. Dalton."

"Oh it's okay, I think - according to my husband Elvin – that if I cut ties with Molly now versus later, the pain of losing her then would be much greater and probably unbearable, than losing her today." Fannie kissed Molly on the forehead then gave her to Elvin. "We are going to miss you, Molly. We know being here with other cats would need some getting use to, but it's for the best."

Elvin wiped away a few tears then passed Molly to the desk attendant. "She will be treated well here, Mrs. Dalton. She will have the best life, just like the other cats and dogs do."

"Thank you, and oh, by the way, her favorite snack is wheat crackers."

The attendant smiled. "Okay, we will make sure Molly here has all the wheat crackers she wants."

When the woodchuck opened his eyes, he saw dimmed lights and small foot prints all around him. He tried hard to move, but he felt that his front and hind legs were tied with some type of coiled rope. When he tried to fight against it the coil got tighter around his ankles.

"Help, somebody, anybody...? Please, come help this poor woodchuck. I believe I've been taken by the Fox Gang!"

"Oh shut up, Woodchuck, your voice is carrying."

"What do you think I want my voice to do? You kidnapped me and if you were a human you would be locked away in jail."

The fox began to laugh. The woodchuck, who was lying in a puddle of dirt water, squirmed around when he saw a set of white paws approach him. He then closed his eyes and shook his head in defeat when he saw who was in front of him.

"How quickly we forget, Woodchuck? If I can recall, you broke into my newly structured home. You and some of your woodchuck buddies cleaned me out. I didn't give you permission to take anything out of my house. If you wanted to take something, why didn't you ask? I could have told you no," the fox said.

"Come on, White Paw, you have to let me out of here!"

"No can do," said the baby fox, "you owe me the winter supply of food you took from me last winter, and just as I recall you telling me once that you clean my family and I out, Woodchuck rules, well now, White Paw rules!"

If I can chew through rusty metal, I am sure I can chew through this rope, the woodchuck thought. "What do you want from me, White Paw? You have me tied up like I am some type of criminal."

"You are a criminal. You stole my supply of winter food. I just told you that you are a very forgetful groundhog. Here's what I am going to do, groundhog. I have changed my mind. I'm not going to eat you," White Paw said.

"Yes, you have to be the best Fox in the whole entire world. I was starting to think the worst; fire, wood, the smell of burning. Ugh, I don't think you would have liked the taste of woodchuck. I have heard I taste just like human waste. I don't think you would like human waste, would you, White Paw?" the woodchuck asked.

"No, I wouldn't, but I know who would like human waste and woodchuck meat."

"I don't know what you mean. What are you talking about, White Paw?"

"Over a period of three days, you and your woodchuck thieving friends took all the food that I had in my house, so I take it from the looks of you with all the mud and the smell that is coming off you, you are living like a drifter from hovel to hovel."

The woodchuck wasn't feeling optimistic. He was a few seconds from White Paw going on more than once about him cleaning White Paw out and him living from pillar to post, so to speak.

The woodchuck thought some more about tearing the coiled rope by chewing through it.

"I believe that since you are living from hovel to hovel, Woodchuck, even if you had the time to get all of what you stole from me, you couldn't. The only inventory of food that you have is what you steal from other fox holes and other holes that have a resource of food in them. As I said before, you took everything I had and it took me months to build up my inventory. And even longer for my fox gang to sniff you out and finally find you. I would be a bad, bad fox to let you out of my fox cave. So, although I'm not going to eat you, since you will make such a horrible meal for me, but those hawks that hover over my cave from time to time, waiting for the next woodchuck, would find you quite tasty," White Paw said before he vanished out of sight.

"Please, White Paw, you must reconsider. I didn't mean to do it. I wasn't thinking. I had a lot on my mind. My woodchuck buddies blackmailed me. They told me if I didn't show them to your cave, they were going to do something very, very bad to me and I wouldn't like it. I didn't know what it was, so I was like, 'yeah whatever, I'll do it'. Come on, White Paw, you got to understand," the woodchuck yelled, his voice sounding as if it was about to give up the ghost any second. He felt his hind legs being released from the coiled rope, then the fox broke the coil band on his front paws. When the woodchuck realized he was free from the coiled rope, he attempted to make a dash for it, but was stopped in his track, when the fox with black paws, who freed him, swiped at his back leg. Woodchuck fell over on his side.

"Awh! Come on, why did you do that? I could have been out of here!"

"Alright, let's get him out of here."

"Darling!" White Paw yelled.

"Yes, honey."

"I'm going to take care of this woodchuck; the one that I told you stole all of our food last winter."

"Yes, I remember."

"What should I tell him? Is he going to meet the hawks?"

"Tell him that the hawks love woodchuck meat."

"I told him, but I don't think he is much in a talking mood, honey."

"Okay, tell him good luck."

The fox with the black paws carried the woodchuck out of the foxhole along with another black paw fox and White Paw. The woodchuck looked around, but he didn't recognize the area. There were several other rock made holes, an old run-down office and several trees spreading around this open space.

"Where am I, White Paw?"

"Does it really matter where you are, Woodchuck? The only thing that matters is you paying for what you done to me last winter. Now hold him up so when those birds fly across the skies they can see that they have a free meal!"

"Come on, White Paw, you don't want to do this!"

The fox that held the woodchuck walked out from the cave and out to the middle of the field.

"You will pay for your crimes, Woodchuck. How does it feel to know that you will be taken by the birds, Woodchuck?" White Paw asked.

"I told you that I was sorry. Can't you take a simple sorry? What do you want me to do, beg?" the woodchuck asked.

"I don't want you to do anything but keep quiet. If you can do that, which I don't believe you can, Woodchuck."

"I think I see them, White Paw. They see us!" one of the black paw foxes said.

"Very good. I see them. It looks like it's two of them."

The woodchuck tried to wriggle his way out of the grip of the fox, but the fox mouth was unmovable.

"Hey you, foxes, what you holding down there and why are you standing there in our field?" one of the hawks asked, flying down closer to the foxes.

"I have your dinner. Nice fresh woodchuck, fresh out of this field," White Paw yelled up to the hawks.

"Fresh woodchuck? Ummm, delicious. So what are you proposing in exchange for the woodchuck, fox?" one of the hawks asked.

"My name is White Paw. I think since we are going to be business partners, we need to introduce ourselves," White Paw yelled.

"No, I don't think I am going to be doing that. You refer to me as Hawk, and I refer to you as Fox."

"And you can refer to me as Worm," the second hawk said. He was very different from the first hawk. He had a light red beak.

"Who's in charge here?"

"I'm in charge, but Worm is second in charge."

White Paw shook his head. He was disappointed in the disorderly actions which the hawks displayed. "I have a woodchuck here that I am willing to give the both of you, since woodchucks are so hard to come by. And I know they are. I have seen other hawks in other areas wait and wait and still no woodchuck would appear. Woodchucks are becoming wiser since they are traveling under the ground."

"Wow, why haven't I tried that?" the woodchuck said.

"What am I asking in return, hawks? All I am asking is to plant some fruits and vegetables out here in this field, without you or any of you hawks coming by whenever you get the notion, and eating up everything before it is ready to eat?"

"Yes, that is a great deal. We agree to it!" Worm yelled out, flying closer to where the fox held the woodchuck.

"No! That is a bad and unreasonable deal, I will not accept. Your planting bring worms, mice, rats, and of course woodchucks. We will pass on the deal!"

"Let me get this right. You hawks are going to pass up on this fresh, delicious piece of woodchuck?" White Paw asked.

"What part of "no" don't you understand, White Paw? The hawks agreed that it's a no!" the woodchuck said.

"Just be patient they are going to come to an agreement shortly and when they do then..." As White Paw assured the woodchuck that he would be given over to the hawks, they began tossing about and fighting in midair.

"I said I want that woodchuck!"

"And I said no, I want the fox's garden!"

With excessive tossing and fighting, soon the two hawks were out of sight.

"Come back! I have a woodchuck for you, you birds love woodchucks!" White Paw yelled.

"If you want something done right than you have to do it yourself!"

"Until I figure out what I am going to do with this groundhog, let's get him back to the hole!"

"We are friends, White Paw, remember? I help you build your first hole, I was even there when you needed someone to talk, after you decided you wasn't going to eat me," the woodchuck said.

"Yes, you are absolutely right. I can't deny that. That is why I can't understand; the foxhole you helped me build was the same foxhole you, along with your depraved woodchuck friends tore to the ground when you ransacked it. I am mad. I am very mad. Now get him out of here!"

"Wait, White Paw!"

"What is it now, Woodchuck?"

"I think this relationship between you and me is workable. We can work this thing out. Come on; let us reason together over..., over coffee cake, tea and milk. I say milk because I like milk and most like tea. I hate tea almost as much as I hate meat, you know something, White Paw I..."

"Save it, Woodchuck, I have nothing else to say to you," White Paw said.

Then, suddenly, out of the bushes came Louis. In his mouth he held two bags of grapes and a bag of oranges.

"You may not have anything to say to him but I have something to say to you," Louis yelled.

"Louis!" the woodchuck shouted while trying to twist his way free.

"Oh no! Run for it. It's a wire fox terrier!" one of the black paw foxes shouted.

"If you are going to run for it, wouldn't you like a bag of grapes and oranges? That's at least a start in replacing what that bad woodchuck stole from you, isn't it?"

"Louis, you have to be kidding me. I know you're not going to give these bandits my grapes."

"Shut up, Woodchuck," Louis yelled.

"Just what are you saying? I may look like an idiot, but I am not an idiot. You are a Fox Terrier. I know one when I see one and your kind hunt my kind for sport."

"Yes, that is true, but I don't. I am one of the good guys. My name is Louis and I am willing to make a deal with you foxes, if you are willing to listen."

White Paw looked at his two comrades then back at Louis.

"My name is White Paw and that fox with the black paw is Black Paw and the one who has the woodchuck is Orange Paw. He has a little black in him but mostly orange, that's why his mother named him Orange Paw. I'm not too certain on that though."

"Enough with the preamble. Geezs! I feel like I am at a woodchuck family reunion. Can you please let go of me? Looks like you have no other choice, Louis. You've to get ready to make a bargain for my grapes," the woodchuck said.

"The woodchuck is right. You hand him over to me and I hand over all this fruit. What do you say, White Paw?"

"I'm thinking!" White Paw deliberated with his two comrades then came up with a question. "If I chose not to take your offer, then what, Louis?"

"Then I will have to take other measures, White Paw, and I don't think you have enough members out here to prevent me from taking the woodchuck from you."

"I think the deal is perfectly alright with me, Louis," Orange Paw said.

"I have no problem with the deal either. I will hand him over to you now, Louis," Black Paw replied, ignoring the stare that he felt from his leader, White Paw.

"Okay, what can I say? I am out-numbered. He is all yours," White Paw said.

The woodchuck ran as fast as he could away from the three foxes and in the shelter of Louis. "You are three all of you: Black Paw, Orange Paw and White Paw. If it wasn't for my friend Louis holding me back, I would be beating the living grapes out of you three. Let me at them, Louis. Let me at them."

The foxes paid the woodchuck no mind. "Is there any way that we can make amends for all of this? The dog, the woodchuck and the foxes? I vow to respect all foxes that I come across, only if you vow to do the same with all woodchucks that you come across, White Paw."

"Louis, this freedom has really gotten to you. The foxes will only turn against us woodchucks, and in the back of their minds they will always consider us as a meal!" the woodchuck yelled.

"And you, Woodchuck, especially the ones who hang out with you, will always be thieves. And in the back of their minds, they will always want to steal from every fox that they befriend and everyone else with you, Louis. I want to make amends," White Paw said.

White Paw and his two comrades nodded and agreed with Louis's offer.

Then, unexpectedly, as their paws interlocked with each handshake, a glow lit their paws and went through their bodies.

"Now, with every Fox Terrier that may cross your path he or she will not want to hunt you or your kind, but help anyway we can and vise-versa."

"I like that, Louis. Welcome, friend," White Paw said.

They all looked at the woodchuck. "What? Just because Louis wants to be gullible and sell his soul to the foxes, that doesn't mean I have to. They were going to kill me. They were going to give me over to hawks," the woodchuck said in a huff.

Then Orange Paw stepped forward. "Yes, White Paw was, but I felt in my heart that it wasn't right. I would have stopped it before they got to you, Woodchuck."

"Yeah, yeah, sure you were. And I am supposed to believe that now since all the hoop-la is over, and Mr. Resolution here has saved the day. Save it. I don't want to befriend the foxes. I want to go and continue my grape hunt," the woodchuck declared staunchly.

He turned his back to walk off when Orange Paw began to speak again. "My sister Foxy Paw makes a fantastic grape cream pie. I think you would really like it. I could invite you back to the den, not to eat you but so you can have your very own grape cream pie!"

The woodchuck turned to Orange Paw, his eye-lids fluttering in the glimmer of the words that were spoken to him. "Grape cream pie? That sounds awfully good, a little too good to be true."

Louis looked at him and said, "It's your decision, Woodchuck, but if it was up to me, I would take that offer really quickly. You never know if you will have an offer that good ever again."

"I guess I was unaware of the benefits a treaty has. Let's make this a treaty."

Chapter 4

The destruction that Edna saw in her yard was almost as bad as the pain she felt in her neck. She examined the chain from the top of the hill that led down to her back yard. She felt deep down in her dark and callous heart that what she saw out there in her yard was something more, something a little more sophisticated. She didn't want to jump to conclusion too soon, or make the situation worse than what it really was. If she didn't keep a cool head about it all, it would make it harder to solve the mystery of what happen in her house and yard while she was away.

I want to keep this as simple as possible. If I do that than just maybe I will be able to piece this puzzle together and they will help me find that mangy mutt and that pesky little rat, Edna thought. She walked down the hill to the back of her yard where Louis had been held captive, picked up the broken chain and held it in her man-size hands.

"He must have found a way to bite through the chain. I should have been smart enough to buy a better chain than this rusty one, God Blame it!" she yelled, dropping the chain and kicking at it, almost losing her balance. But she managed to grab hold of the broken down dog house in which Louis used to live to steady herself. When Edna realized that she wouldn't find any answer in her backyard, she walked back up the hill and inside her house.

"This is a mess. How in the world did this happen? If only I could get my hands around the neck of that God Blame dog and that rat. Where are you dog and rat? Are you working as a team and are you going to try coming in to cause me more trouble later on while I'm sleep?" she said aloud.

The footprints didn't give her any clue that Louis and the woodchuck were around or any idea where they could possibly be. But it made her realize that she couldn't get around until she cleaned that muddy floor and picked up all the food scraps from around the kitchen.

It wasn't until she began cleaning her house that something came to her Louis-hating mind, something that made her evil grin turned into a pleasant smile. "Son of a gun, I will put out some flyer and asked people if they've seen that pesky little rat and that mutt. And when I will get Louis back I will do to him what he has done to me. He will feel my misery and my pain," she yelled.

"Flyer it is. I will find you, Louis!" Edna felt so happy that she decided to demonstrate her excitement. All of her two-hundred-and-twenty-five-pound body leaped up in the air, her arms spread like an eagle and she shouted, "I should have thought of that before!" When she came down, she didn't come down on her feet as she expected, but on her butt.

Molly was coming to when she heard, "Hi, you pretty thing, you are finally awake?" Not knowing for sure if what she heard was reality, she didn't open her eyes and laid in her cage, in her new home, and decided she was going to be unconscious to the Hi you pretty thing you are finally awake? But when she heard the noise of the other cats in the facility, she woke up and stood up on her feet."

"It's okay; there is no need to be frightened. My name is Kelly and I am a facility worker here at the shelter." Kelly stood in front of Molly's 6 by 6 cage and looked at her. "Where is my family, Elvin and Fannie? I want you to take me back to them. What did you do with them?" Molly said as she began to panic. She walked backwards until she had retreated to the left corner of her cage.

"No need to run away. I want to be your friend, Molly. Elvin and Fannie told me so much about you. I am sure everyone is going to love you here," Kelly said.

"I wouldn't spend my time talking to that cat. There are more coming in just a few seconds. We put them in their cages, leave them there and let them adapt to their new surroundings. They are cats not dogs!"

"Molly, don't pay any attention to Pete. He is the third shift associate. He does the same thing I do," Kelly said. "I think he is a little upset because he has to work over. That's what we do here; work over, because some have things they have to do and some call-in sick." Kelly wanted to take the last word back but she realized that she had already said it and according to the Dalton's, Molly was a very smart cat and could pick up things."

"Molly, I have some work that I have to do, but I promise I will be back to check on you," Kelly said.

When she got out of Molly's presence she felt what is normal for human beings to feel when they have made a mistake. That mistake was to pronounce the word "sick" in front of Molly.

How could I be so stupid to mention that word around her? Molly is sick and then I have to go and remind her. Come on, Kelly, that wasn't very smart of you, she thought before walking into her office.

"I hope Fannie comes back and get me. I miss Fannie. She was so nice to me. I really want to go home. This place seems really, really scary," Molly said from the corner in which she was most comfortable.

During the hour in which Molly was wide awake, she saw several dogs and cats being brought into the facility. Of course this scared her. She remained in the corner of her cage until all the traffic through the hall was clear, then she walked slowly from the corner to the front of her cage.

"You must be new here," a cat twice her size and weight with a lot of gray hair in its coat said from across the hall. Molly didn't respond. She just looked toward his cage. "What you in for, yongen?"

Molly refused to speak to a dog on the left of her, and the cat on the right of her was asleep. When she glanced over into their cages she noticed that their food bowls were full.

"You're either in here because your parents were just flat out honest with you that they can't afford to take care of you any longer, saying that old familiar phrase: we're cutting back on bills, and guess what bill they start cutting first?" the cat asked.

"The darn pet bill," a dog yelled a couple of cages down.

"That's right, you said they start cutting with us but the lucky part is you get to meet another family until they get tired of you then it's back to this metal box again!" the cat yelled. "Or it could be reason number two, you're sick to the point of death and your custodial parents don't want that long and enduring grief, so they bring you here to wait, suffer then die. And if we are in too much pain we are taken behind the gray door immediately, where we die, where there is no more of our existence. We are wiped clean from this world just like that."

"Oh my, that is so terrible and bad. Why would they bring me to such a place as this?" Molly yelled, running back to her corner.

"Well, what do you know the young girl can talk? By the way, my name is Russell and you are?"

Molly didn't reply; instead she shrank further into the corner of her cage.

"Look, this happen with all new comers. They find out about the gray door and they freak out. It's nothing. Trust me; it's nothing it's..."

"It's something. It's bad, Russell. They are killers, murderers here," Molly interrupted.

"What do you know, she talks again!"

"Killing is wrong and if there is a gray door somewhere in here, it needs to be destroyed," Molly replied.

Russell laughed, and now he was up and limping to the front of his cage. "You may not see me again because I am on my last leg, literally. I'm dying. The only reason I haven't been to the gray door yet is because they haven't got to me on the list. That old fat cat with the shedding gray hair and a bum back leg, that's me. I will be called sooner than later," he said.

"I lived for a lot of years on this planet and I haven't amounted to anything, going from house to house, fighting with dogs, raccoons, other cats and any animal that I can pick a fight with and they would fight me back. Well, I picked a fight with the wrong dog on the wrong day two weeks ago and got bitten badly by a mean pit bull. They don't play. I am a living witness. Well, the pit bull tore a hole in my leg and they brought me here. This place done all they could do but at the end of all of this, my leg still got infected and for some odd reason they can't stop the infection from moving up my leg. They believe that the infection will eventually move to my heart. But before it gets to my heart, I will be behind that gray door, embracing it like it was tuna."

Molly swallowed hard.

"I will be in a lot of pain when my medicine wears off, but at this time I am okay and it's okay to feel okay," Russell said with a smile.

"But once I have taken my last dose of prescription medicine and, by the way, it's the best. It's like, it's like you are in heaven," Russell added.

"Anyhow, once that is the last of my medicine, I, too, will have my time behind that gray door. We all may have fear of it somewhere down that road, but for now, you are young, vibrant, and full of life. It scares you right now, but for me the gray door is my best friend. It will take me out of my misery and escort me into a place where I will never, ever have to worry about pain and suffering again. We all will go behind that gray door one day, maybe not the one here in this facility, but each one of us have a gray door in our future."

Russell held his head down peering at the gray that appeared in the hair that covered his paws then looked back up at Molly. Her big blue eyes shed the tears that were a buildup of hurt from being separated from Elvin and Fannie. But most of all, when she saw Russell hobble back away from the front of his cage, she couldn't help but let those tears fall. Meanwhile, one of the associates, who did not introduce himself to any of the animals, like Kelly did, placed a bowl of dog food in Russell's cage.

"You should eat all of that food, Russell. It's going to build your strength and where you're going, you're going to need all the strength you can get!" the associate said.

"And if I was in my younger years and out of this cage, I would tear you from limp to limp, boy," Russell said, his words coming out in a gruff growl. The associate didn't care about Russell or his growl. He walked away as if he had somewhere to be. Molly gazed at Russell from a distance. She saw his limp, his pain when he stretched himself out in a laying position. She walked to the front of her cage.

"Are you okay, Russell?"

"Who, me? Awh yeah. I'm fine. If you're saying that because of what he said, that's nothing. Try being tossed in the trash can by someone who gave you food and water for eight months? One day he gets drunk and then he wants to screw around with the cat. So, not only am I in this horrible place called a trash can, but I'm being tossed in front of a moving truck. Never mind me. I heard the next door neighbor say to someone, "Get that trash can, it's brand new." So my life here is great! Well, I'm going to get some shut eye. I've been up the last couple of nights when I should have been asleep. There's a lady a couple of cages down that I would like to chat with, and..." Russell paused. "Maybe we can talk when I wake up and then maybe you could tell me your name, kid." Russell then laid his head down on the floor of his cage.

"I'm Molly; my name is Molly, Russell."

"Good name, Molly. We shall talk when I wake."

Molly stared through her cage. She felt sorry for Russell but she felt sorry for herself even more. "What is going to happen next? I want to go back home."

The pain in Edna's neck aggravated her so that she thought a second trip to see Dr. Andy wouldn't be bad. But her job was half done. She had the proofs for her flyers but she needed them printed out into the actual flyers. "Going to see Dr. Andy will just have to wait. I have to get these flyers out. I am sure someone has seen him and if I go to see Doctor Andy now I risk losing time, and I need time. Louis hasn't been gone that long and I should have him back by nightfall," Edna said, glancing at the proof.

"Now then, that looks splendid. I know the perfect place that will make me the perfect flyers," Edna said. Her dark, sullen grin went with her then turned into a fake smile when she pulled into Walmart's parking lot. She walked with the grace of a show dog after she parked, taking up part of a second parking space, and the anger of a person whose parking space had just been taken.

"I think if you want people to even stop and take a look at this flyer, it has to be different, it has to be original!"

"What do you mean original? It's just a flyer."

"All I want is a picture of my dog with my telephone number stamped somewhere on it, so people can call, so I can get my dog back. What's so hard about that, Roscoe?" Edna said when she read the kid's name tag.

"My name is Robert, but hey, if you want to call me Roscoe, I am all for it. Besides, I been called worse," Robert said, showing a mouth full of metal braces when he smiled. "What I am saying is that if your dog is really that important to you, and you want to find him, I mean you want people to find him, don't you?"

"Of course I want people to find him. That's why I'm here," Edna said in a calm but forceful voice.

"Okay. To get your dog back, Miss, a picture with you hugging, kissing, washing him or something like that, would make a better picture on the flyer than just a picture of your dog and a telephone number on it. The flyer needs to be original as possible; just like your neck brace. And from the looks of it, you must really love dogs," Robert said.

Edna rolled her eyes. "I would say that I love my dog, yes, but a lover of dogs personally, no, I wouldn't say that, Robert. Can we get on with this? I have a lot of things I must get done before tonight, like getting those flyers up. So what do we need to do?"

"Okay, first things first. I need a picture of you and your dog."

The entire process took about two hours, since Edna had to go home to find a picture of Louis and a more recent one of herself. Once that was done, the process of cropping those pictures and photo-shopping began.

That evening Edna had two hundred plus fliers in her hands, with her and Louis hugging like one would with their pets, thanks to photo shop. Edna felt totally different, despite the picture. Of course, she didn't like Louis. She never did. It didn't just show how she treated him the day the woodchuck freed him, but how she treated him until the day he was freed, when she saw him with what she called "that rat" in her house. To see her embrace Louis hurt her in every way, just as the constant hurt she felt in her neck. The flier was just a stepping stone to her bigger plan towards what she really wanted.

Edna was torn inside, because of what she had told people about that darn mutt. She said he was "her baby".

"If I don't get him back, I don't know what I would do. He is such a big part of my family. Losing him is like losing your own child," she told one lady who was with her young son.

"I am so sorry, we don't have a dog or a cat, but I can feel your pain. If I was to lose little Johnny, I would be devastated."

"I hate dogs. I hate cats, too. And I am going to run over your dog with my mom's car if I see him!"

"Johnny, you owe her an apology. He loves to play around. He is only eight years old. It's something about him and animals he hates. Anyway, I will keep my eye open. If I happen to see your dog, I will try to get him, but I will notify you as soon as I see him," the lady with the child said.

When they moved on, Edna smiled and thought: Little boy, I may have to find you soon and when I'm done with him, then I will give you the honors of running Louis over with your mother's car.

Edna ended her evening posting those flyers of hers on trees and telephone poles, and then drank a tall glass of hot chocolate while watching Family Guy.

Edna felt hopeful. He isn't far away. He won't make it out there in that night air. He will either come back here or he will.... She paused when something came to her mind, something that made more sense than posting her fliers on every pole and tree in the city. "Why didn't I think of this before?" she said to herself. She then grabbed her cell phone and a telephone book. "Ah-ah, I found it!" She slammed the phone book shut and quickly dialed the ten digit number.

"Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter; this is Kelly speaking. Would you like to adopt a cat or a dog this evening?"

Night had fallen when Louis and the woodchuck made their way out of the fox hole and back toward where Louis stole the grapes.

"I don't know about you, Louis, but I'm full. I ate like a king in there. Those have got to be the finest group of foxes that anyone would want to meet. They are simply the best, Louis. They gave me all the grape cream pie that I could stand. I mean I would put one away then the woman, ummm... I think her name is Foxy Paw. She is White Paws wife. Anyway, when I got to the third pie, and I saw all that cream running down the side, I wanted to pass on it, but I couldn't. I had to find out what was it about that particular pie that made that cream run down the side. It didn't do it with the other two pies that I ate before the third one."

Louis didn't say anything. He looked forward while the woodchuck continued his tirade.

"And, oh I can't forget about the cool scarf that Foxy Paw gave me. Man, they are some great foxes." His voice was somewhat hesitant, but the woodchuck walked on his hind legs and continued to keep pace with the unresponsive Louis.

"I was just thinking, Louis, what a lake of water and fox shampoo can do to a dog. Man you look good, I feel ... feel like I don't have to walk at a distance. Now, word to the wise, Louis, try to keep yourself clean this time. Am I talking to the ground here? At least say screw you, Woodchuck, or I like the food, I like your scarf. What happened? You lost the knowledge to talk or something when you got a bath?"

"Just thinking, Woodchuck. A dog can't think?" Louis replied.

"Well, yeah a dog can think, but can you at least think out loud, so a woodchuck knows what's going on."

"What's going on is that we are going to get some rest. Today has really been a busy day. I'm tired. I want to have my strength at full capacity when I wake in the morning. Tomorrow is of the essence, so sleeping is a must, for me at least, Woodchuck," Louis said.

"Louis, I don't like the way you're speaking to me, if you want to know my opinion?"

"Actually I don't, Woodchuck."

"Well, too bad, you're going to get it anyway. I don't like your terminology, Louis."

"Why not, Woodchuck? I'm being honest. You know what honest is, don't you? Well, then again you stole from your friends, so I take it that you don't know what honest is. I'm sorry for thinking more highly of you, Woodchuck," Louis said, walking past the woodchuck who had stopped and watched as Louis kept on moving.

"Oh so that's how you want to play? You are a dirty dog, and that was a low blow, but I can fire back. But I will let this one slide, although if I was a policeman, I would be arresting you for breaking and entering and being a thief, Louis. But I won't mention it, nor will I mention that before we made that little truce with the foxes, which I was very happy with, I'm not complaining, but you, you, Louis, took something that didn't belong to you. The grapes, you stole grapes, so if I don't know about honesty, I guess you need to include yourself as well, Louis. And don't give me the crap about it that you did it for me. No, it just wasn't for me, Louis; you had your hand in the cookie jar too, thief."

Louis said nothing. He kept moving.

"So as I was saying, moving the topic of discussion back to you, your terminology, in the last few minutes of our journey to nowhere, has sickened me, Louis. You want to know why?" the woodchuck asked.

"No, I don't." Louis replied.

"Well, I am going to tell you anyway."

"Yeah, I figured that."

"You throwing out words and statements that I don't understand like 'full capacity' and 'of the essence' and then your last bit of words, I understood perfectly well, because it was a indirect punch toward me," the woodchuck said.

"And what was that, Woodchuck?" Louis asked, exhaustion in his voice.

"Glad you asked, Louis. So I'm going to tell you. Your last bit of wording was 'sleeping is a must for me at least'. So, I don't sleep or something, Louis, is that what you're trying to say?"

"Just let it go, Woodchuck, alright? I'm too tired to battle with you right now."

"If I wasn't afraid of laying you out right now, Louis, I would give you a two piece right square in your black button nose," the woodchuck said.

"Oh you would?"

"Yes, I would. When I was coming up, when I was a little younger one, things that you don't know which you need to know just in case you cross me, Louis, is they mistaken me for Muhammad Ali!"

Louis busted out in a laugh.

"Oh it's true, Louis. One punch it was over. You heard the saying: I float like a firefly and I sting like yellow jacket!" The woodchuck held his arms in a fighting stance and rotated close-fisted back and forth.

"You have it all wrong, Woodchuck. It was "I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." That's what Ali said."

"Well, you get the picture. Change your phraseology, so I can articulate my retort to you, Louis. When we engage in conversation, I need you to speak, so I can get an understanding, not this extraneous language of yours."

Louis glanced down at him then shook his head. "What I am just saying; I can speak my mind, can't I?"

An hour later, Louis and the woodchuck came to a shopping center. Most of the people they saw were going to their vehicles, as the evening was drawing close.

"Where are we? And what is this place, Louis?"

"It's a shopping center. It's where humans go to shop and carry on with their everyday activities."

"Like what? I have never been this far into the city. This is new to me," the woodchuck replied with a dismal glare on his face.

"They buy things, Woodchuck."

"I don't get it. Correct me if I'm wrong. Here we are, not human, so and again why are we here?" the woodchuck said.

"We are going to do what you do best, Woodchuck?"

"And what is that?"

"We are going to steal. How does that sound, Woodchuck?"

Chapter 5

After Molly was given her medication, which she hated – she preferred liquid instead of a shot in her butt – she found herself fighting sleep and reciting in her head what Kelly told her before she stuck her with the needle.

"I know you hate shots and I would too if a total stranger, who you only saw once in your life, had this big long needle and was getting ready to poke me with it. But it's much better, Molly. It's stronger and the effects of it are much better than the liquid you take every day. You only have to take this shot once a week and that's all."

Molly didn't feel comfortable at all, letting this tall, young-looking woman stick her with a needle. "What choice do I have? What do I do, attack her with my claws? Or bite her with my sharp teeth? Molly thought. I won't do either. I think Kelly may be one of the nicest ones I know. But if something is going to make me feel better than I already feel.... Although I'm scared, I'm all for it."

"Just relax, Molly. You won't feel a thing," she heard as Kelly rubbed her little round head gently. Kelly even held her for a brief moment before placing her back into her cage. Kelly was a lot slender than Fannie, nevertheless Molly was able to find a comfortable spot where she could lay her fluffy head.

When Kelly thought Molly was asleep, she put her back into her cage. Molly looked up at Kelly. She saw Kelly's gleaming white teeth through her lips smiling down at her.

"Sleep tight, Molly."

Molly walked around her cage as long as she could before giving in to her drowsiness.

She slept all through the night and into the morning, way into the morning. When she woke, there was a bowl of soft cat food, milk and her favorite snack – wheat crackers – beside it.

Fannie must have brought me breakfast, but why didn't she take me back with her? Molly thought, then when she saw a woman-much older than Kelly with a bag of dog food in her hand, she concluded that neither Fannie nor Elvin had brought her food. It was the woman who carried the bag of dog food. Sad but hungry, Molly began eating her soft cat food when she happen to look up. The cage in front of her was empty. Hey, isn't that Russell's cage? She asked herself, then walked to the front of her cage. Everything inside Russell's cage was gone. It was empty. Where did he go? Did he go to get a shot like me because he was just too stubborn to take his shot inside the cage?

Her big blue eyes peered through the mesh of her cage. She looked down the hall. It was empty. The cat and dog on each side of her were sleeping. She didn't want to bother either one of them and she wasn't going to scream: "Where is Russell?" Instead she held it to herself, hoping that the cat and the dog on the left and right of her would wake and tell her Russell's whereabouts.

She walked back from the front of the cage, tears in her eyes. "Russell and I were supposed to talk today. He promised. I don't see his food bowl or his covers," Molly said. She then walked past her food bowl where she sat down, hoping that someone would tell her what happened.

In the main lobby of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter, to the left of the building's meeting room, Edna was waiting at the front desk. Kelly walked up from the back.

"I apologize; we are a little short-staffed this Monday morning. We have had a couple people call-in sick today, too," Kelly said.

"Oh so you're not the regular receptionist here?" Edna asked.

"No, sorry I'm a little lower on the totem pole. I normally give out medicine to our pets and try to comfort them in their time of need, whether it be from loneliness, fear, or right before they are put to sleep from uncured sickness, I'm there. So how may I help you today? Would you like to adopt a pet today, ma'am?" Kelly asked.

"Humm..., that seems to be very interesting!"

Kelly smiled awkwardly. "May I ask you something?"

"Yes, sure. Go right ahead, and I'm Kelly, by the way."

"Kelly, you say that you are there for the animals. How are you exactly there for something that can't communicate with you? And you have no idea nor can you relate to their nature and how they live. Wouldn't someone of their own kind be better suited to be there for them? You wouldn't have a dog to prepare a bottle for a new born baby, would you, Kelly?"

Kelly's smile disappeared while her full lips closed tightly.

"I don't want to sound out of the way here, Kelly, but that was something I always wanted to know, so what better time to ask than to ask now, I thought."

"Oh no, not a problem at all, ma'am, I get all types of questions concerning the pets here and if I can answer I will do my best to answer," Kelly replied. "First of all I don't look at them as being 'animals'. They are 'pets'. Our place of business here is finding great homes for them. I look at all of them as being pets, because I believe every one of them is someone's pet. They just haven't adopted them yet." Now Kelly's smile was back. "As for our sick ones, they are pets until they take their last breath, or because they are so badly off that we have no choice but to put them to sleep. This may sound strange and odd to you, but there is a part of me, a very small part of me I might add, that believes that animals will let us know if something good or if something bad is going on with them. I am very careful what I say around each and every one of our pets here, because there is something in me that believes that they understand everything we do and say. My belief is still in its infancy stage but one day I may be able to prove my theory. But for now, how can I serve you?"

Edna, with tight lips, gritted her teeth then spoke in a soft but harsh tone of voice. "Kelly, your theory is wrong. You have no evidence to prove such claims. These creatures here are nothing more than just animals until you domesticate them. Then and only then, will they become pets. So if I were you, I would never ever tell a soul in this life or the next, what you just told me. Now you may help me, since I just helped you," Edna said, giving Kelly one of the flyers with her and Louis on it.

"After you sat and grilled me on the way here on how bad I was, and in so many ways because I stole from White Paw and his family, now you're asking me to do the same thing with you, after you said it was bad a moment ago! I thought some humans were the most hypocritical people walking this Earth, but dogs are too, and one of them is Louis!" the woodchuck yelled.

"I have no wood chucking idea how you're going to justify this one and I don't care to know, but my answer on this subject is an absolutely, positively, definitely no, Louis, with a capital NOOO!"

"It's spelled n-o, Woodchuck!"

"Well whichever one, you got what I'm saying. So next, please?" the woodchuck said. "If you can tell me where my sleeping quarters are, and show me, then I will be off to sleep."

"We're going to sleep here then move out in the morning."

"Here, you mean in the woods?"

"Yes, in the woods. We will be out of sight. If humans see us wonder around, they will know we were up to something, and they may try to throw something at us to hurt us in some ways," Louis said.

"No problem. I can sleep anywhere on top or under the ground."

"Woodchuck, before you go to bed, I just want you to know that there is a lot of food that you would be passing up out here, if you chose not to get it while the getting is still possible. I know you are more than a grape eater. If you are a vegetarian then there are more foods out here for you to get. And again, Woodchuck, I'm not sure there will be another opportunity like this for either of us."

The woodchuck turned to Louis and said, "So, what you're trying to say is you need me, right, Louis? Come on, say it; you need the woodchuck!"

"We need each other, if we are going to do this, Woodchuck. If you want to continue eating and have a great big supply of food now and all winter, my suggestion is we do this together one last time. What do you say, Woodchuck? One last time?"

The woodchuck still wasn't sold on the idea of them going to steal, simply because he didn't want to appear like the bad guy later on if he complied with Louis's wishes now. With beaming eyes, the woodchuck stared at Louis. Louis glared back, waiting on an answer.

"Okay, let's do it. But don't wake me too early I like to sleep in," the woodchuck said.

"Good, sleep tight so you will be ready in the morning," Louis replied.

The woodchuck dug a small hole, a little bigger and deeper than he was. He jumped in, using his scarf that he received from the foxes as a pillow.

Louis didn't do that much sleeping. His mind was in active mode. He couldn't stop thinking about the cruelty he suffered at the hands of Edna, and every time a thought of those various events popped up in his mind, he snarled and spoke softly to himself so that he wouldn't wake the snoring woodchuck.

I don't understand how we are considered man's best friend when we are treated so badly. The woodchuck may feel as though I am contradicting myself when I told him I thought stealing from White Paw was wrong. It was because he was the woodchuck's friend, but these humans that I see now could care less about me or the woodchuck. They would rather throw food away than give it to a hungry dog or woodchuck. So with that said, I take nothing back. I am not sorry for what I am about to do, but I have to do what I have to do, for me and for the woodchuck. If I am a contradiction for it, than I will be a contradiction.

After that Louis finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning instead of rising at first light, the cry of the rooster, birds that spread there wings lifting their voices high in song, there was the cracking voice of a yell in Louis's ear.

"Get up, dude, I'm hungry and time waits for no woodchuck, get your hind part up, Louis!"

"Woodchuck? What is wrong with you? Can't you see I was sleeping? And I thought you said that you sleep-in late. What happen to you sleeping-in late?" Louis asked, his voice dwindling down to a whisper.

"Got hungry and we need to do what we going to do as quickly as possible if we are going to load up for the winter, so get yourself together and let's do this, Louis. I'm ready!"

"Sleep really turns you in to a vibrant woodchuck, doesn't it? Let me ask you this; why don't you have a name?" Louis asked.

"The reason why I don't have a name, Louis, is because I'm not a pet, nor am I domesticated. It would be cool if I had a name. If you have something pretty cool I want to hear it, Louis."

"What do you mean, Woodchuck?" Louis asked.

"I mean if you have a good name for me, like a nickname or something, I would love to hear it," the woodchuck said.

"Oh, a name like mine, like Louis, you mean?"

"Duh, yeah, Louis. You are slower than Christmas, gee wiz!"

"I have the perfect name for you, a name that is suitable and well-fitting for someone like you."

"Really, Louis?"

"Yes, I think you will really like this name."

"Cool! What is the name, Louis?" the woodchuck asked, standing on his hind legs, jumping up and down in excitement.

"The name I have for you, your new name is Little Jackass."

"What?!"

"I think it's very fitting for you. Now wear it proudly like that orange and white scarf you got around your neck."

"Very funny, Louis, very funny!"

"I am going to check out the surroundings and find out which place would be more profitable first. So, you stay put, I will be right back," Louis said.

The woodchuck didn't respond. He stood there as if he had been struck by lightning. He scratched his head, confused and out of sync. "Jackass, no I don't like the ring to that. Jackass?!"

"I'm not sure if your dog, Louis is here if he was lost yesterday. At least I haven't seen him. But you are welcome to check."

"Thank you, Kelly," Edna said.

They walked to the back where there were several hundred dogs and cats. "You have a very beautiful dog, ma'am," Kelly said.

"Edna!"

"Okay, Edna. You have a beautiful dog," Kelly repeated.

"I don't know if I would say all of that about my dog. I had him for such a long time; I don't look at him that way as being cute. I look at him as my dog. I need to find him, bring him home where he is most comfortable. Being out there in the wild or even in here; I'm not sure how at home he would feel," Edna said.

"If he is here, Edna, trust me, Louis is being treated very well. I have seen pets better treated here than they were in some of the homes they came from. There are some that came from very good families. So if we can treat these pets just as well or even better than in the family they came from, I think we have done our job here at Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter," Kelly said.

Edna smiled. It was a fake smile. Kelly thought there was something strange about Edna. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it irked her. She's just someone who lost her pet and she wants him back, that's very understandable. But if this is a pet who loved her and she loved him, then how did this pet get lost? Did this pet actually run away from her or was it truly lost? If it is an older pet, this would be the last thing on Louis's mind – to run away that is. Maybe I should ask her. It would give me a better idea of the relationship that she may have had with Louis. But I know it would be only speculation.

"So, Edna, if you don't mind me asking can I..."

"Oh I mind, I mind what you ask me, Kelly. Some people ask me some off the wall stuff, stuff that I think is stupid, and I think they should keep to their selves. Those questions I don't indulge in. Therefore, if you want to get an answer from me, go ahead ask away, kid," Edna said.

"From this picture it looks as if Louis is a Fox Terrier. They get pretty big that their age can be very deceiving. They could be six month old and some look full grown. My question is how old is your dog, if you happen to know?"

"Why does it matter how old he is? I just want my dog and so far I haven't seen him."

Kelly now felt a sense of desperation. She didn't feel as if Edna was the dog lover that her neck brace indicated. "You are right, Edna, and I apologize. The most important thing is getting your dog back."

"Yes, now you are seeing things correctly."

"Well, Edna, as I said before, we don't have a Fox Terrier here, but if you could leave your information, I will make sure to get in contact with you when, or if, Louis comes in."

Edna didn't respond. Her large, brown eyeballs examined the dogs and cats she saw on the first level of the dog and cat facility. She had something in mind. Her creepy mind began to vent. She had something in mind that would compensate for Louis's escape. And although she didn't have Louis anymore, she would have something, and to her having something was better than not having anything at all.

"Is there something else I could help you with, Edna?" Kelly asked.

"Of course there is something you can help me with, Kelly, but I'm not sure if that is the proper way for you to address a potential customer, now is it, Kelly? When I arrived here some thirty minutes ago you asked me if I was ready to adopt a dog or a cat. You remember that, Kelly?"

"Ugh..., I'm not sure what you are insinuating here but if..."

"What I am insinuating," Edna interrupted harshly, "Is that I want to adopt. You should have offered me that option instead of 'Is there something else I could help you with'. But this world is a forgiving world and it would be totally out of my character not to forgive you for your insensitivity. We will chalk this up to immaturity."

What in the world? This lady has got to be crazy; Kelly thought but held her personal feelings in check. "If you want to adopt a pet from here, Edna, I can help you with that today. Do you know what you would like to adopt today?"

"I'm not sure. Do I have time to think about it before I make up my mind, or you giving me a time limit?"

Kelly didn't lose her temper, contrary to what Edna expected. She remained calm. "While you are deciding, I will..."

"Oh, no need to run off, Kelly. I think I have found the pet that I would like to adopt today."

"Okay, great. If you tell me what pet you would like to adopt, we can get the paperwork started and he or she will be part of your family within forty-five minutes," Kelly said.

"Okay, alright then. I think I want to adopt that cat that's in the corner of its cage," Edna said, pointing to Molly.

The shopping center was filling up with people faster than Louis could decide which way he wanted to go with his plan of attack when he got back.

"So, mastermind, do you have a clue which way we going to go with this? You been back for a while now and you haven't said anything. Is it too hard? Have you changed your mind? Let me know something," the woodchuck said. "If you don't have any kind of plan, I'm not going to stand here like a knot on a log figuring out nothing. That grape cream pie isn't going to last that long before I'm hungry again. And to be honest I am so very hungry, Louis!"

"If I could recall last night when you were about to go to sleep, I had to pump and prime you to agree with me on getting this food. Now it's a mandatory answer," Louis retorted.

"Well yeah, it's a mandatory answer now, because I want to eat. And since I am still stuck with you and you want to go that route to get us food, why stop you. Sometimes, when you feel a certain way about crime, your stomach has the final say. So and when my stomach speaks, I shut up and let him speak until he is finished," the woodchuck argued.

"Okay, since your stomach is just like you want to talk and don't know when to shut up, I am going to put you and your stomach to work. This time you are not going to wait around here while I do all the work. As I said yesterday morning, we are going to do this together. We are going to help each other," Louis declared.

"Now wait a second, Louis."

"There's nothing else to talk about, Woodchuck. I am going to tell you my plan then we go forward with it. We don't have a lot of time, so we need to move as fast as possible on this. Here is the plan, Woodchuck."

Louis then explained the plan in details to Woodchuck. Although he understood it perfectly, he acted as if he didn't understand any of it.

"I don't know what you mean by a dancing woodchuck. I am totally lost, Louis."

"What do you mean you are lost?"

"I am lost on this whole entire dancing thing. I have no idea what that means. Just because I chose to walk on two legs like humans, doesn't make me human. Just because we talk to each other like humans, that doesn't make us humans. Come on, Louis. I thought better of you than you sounding like a crazy human being."

"I'm not going to play dumb with you. You are very smart, Woodchuck. If you know how to dig holes and build the things that you told me you built over the course of your life, surely you can dance before two men unloading a truck to distract them! I'm not asking you, I'm telling you if you want to eat this time, I am going to need your help."

"Okay already, Louis. But I am warning you, if something happens to me while I am working your stupid plan, I will make sure that this help stuff will be over. Mark my word, Louis!"

"You want to shake on it, Woodchuck?"

"No! I want to get this over with. So can we proceed, please?"

The place was called Apples and Oranges. An eighteen-wheeler truck was backing into the rear of the building to drop the trailer to be unloaded. There were two men attending to the unloading, one inside the trailer and one that was wheeling the fruit in the store on a dolly.

"Our dock plate is broken. Don't worry about backing up to the dock, just park wherever you can back there and just get that fruit in as fast as possible," a man the size of a pencil yelled out the back door of Apples and Oranges.

Louis said, "Remember all you doing is distracting them, nothing more. When I feel like you have their attention, then I will move in to get as much fruit as I can. Then we are done. You got that, Woodchuck?"

The woodchuck didn't say anything; he just looked off in the distance as if he didn't hear Louis.

"If you're thinking that something is going to happen to you, like those men on the back of that truck are going to do something to you, well you might as well include me. I'm the one that's going to get the fruit off the truck, which means I will be doing the hard work," Louis said. "I believe the reason why I'm getting so much quiet and not a yes or no from you, is because you think I am putting you in danger somehow."

This time Louis walked up to the woodchuck and got in his face. Now the woodchuck's eyes were wide, holding fear in them as they beheld a stern, fearless Louis.

Then Louis and the woodchuck together turned in the direction of the parking lot of the shopping center where the voice of one of the workers spoke out. "Come on, man, if you're going to drop all the product on the ground, then what are we going to have to take in the store?"

Then Louis and Woodchuck turned back to each other and at the same time, they yelled: "food!"

"You're ready?" Louis asked the woodchuck.

"Yes, I'm ready!" the woodchuck replied.

"Then that means you know what to do. I will be right behind you."

As Louis was just about to make his way out of the high grass and bushes, the woodchuck had a condition – one condition.

"I will do this with one understanding in mind, Louis!"

"And what's that, Woodchuck?"

"That you don't help yourself to a great part of the food we get and you leave me with not even enough to feed ants."

"Okay, that's a deal, Woodchuck."

"Sure it is. We will see, Mr. greedy."

Louis made sure that the woodchuck was clear on his part of the strategy just as the woodchuck was briefed on what Louis would be doing. Nervous and not very optimistic, the woodchuck ran out from their sleeping area and walked slowly toward the eighteen wheeler truck.

Just the thought of this seems wrong, although having a chance at another grape is right. But this; Louis throwing me out to the wolves, I don't know. Last time this happened I found myself having to fight Louis's owner off me. I mean I could have knocked her silly with one punch. I am just like Ali, but she was madder than fire. Luckily, we got out of there intact. Now I find myself right back in the same position, with humans, and this time not with just one but with two men, the woodchuck thought as he looked back and saw that Louis was nowhere to be found.

The woodchuck blew until air had filled his cheeks then he exhaled it. Well, here goes nothing. I guess it's something. I will be rewarded for my hard work with hopefully a lot of grapes.

The woodchuck walked to the empty incline that was connected to the back of the truck. One of the guys was already in the store with a dolly full of produce. The woodchuck figured that he may be in there for a while, if the produce worker had to break the boxes open and unload them, but he wasn't sure.

Without warning given, the woodchuck walked on the ramp middle ways, put one of his front paws in his mouth and blew. A whistle came out. The worker who wore a blue and white company shirt and the letter A on his hat stopped what he was doing and looked up. The woodchuck jumped off the ramp before Worker A could see him. When Worker A didn't see anyone, the woodchuck jumped on the ramp, whistled again then jumped off.

"Who's out here? I know I'm not crazy. I just heard someone whistle?" Worker A said, walking from the front of the trailer to the back and standing on the top of the incline. When he didn't hear or see any signs of anyone, he walked back inside the trailer and resumed pulling boxes from the front of the trailer.

"What do you think you doing, Woodchuck?" Louis asked. He had come from the other side of the shopping center and to the left of the trailer where the woodchuck stood behind the trailer door.

"Louis, you scared me out of my skin! A hello, how are you, or something next time, will you?"

"I asked you what you are doing."

"I'm making the best out of a bad predicament, Louis. That's what I'm doing. Your idea, well if that's what you want to call it, is going to get me hurt. So I came up with my own. I have to go back in now. You might want to get out of sight, Louis, so you won't be detected," the woodchuck said then swatted Louis away.

He gritted his teeth inside a snarl but he backed out of sight on the left side of the truck.

Again the woodchuck jumped on the incline ramp and again he whistled. This time it was longer and louder. The woodchuck, before jumping right off the incline, stayed on it just a little longer, not revealing himself but allowing Worker A to see his shadow.

"I caught you red-handed, I saw your shadow now. I'm going to find out who you are snooping around my truck."

"He's coming out now. It's time to make your move, Louis!" the woodchuck yelled.

Both Louis and the woodchuck ran toward the front of the truck. The woodchuck climbed up the driver wheel, to the hood then leaped on the top of the trailer.

"Gosh, I hope this works if not I will never hear the end of Louis's mouth," the woodchuck said.

"Who's here? I saw you. You was on my ramp!" Worker A yelled.

He stood, looking wherever he thought someone might have run off. The few minutes out of his trailer Louis was already inside tearing through boxes to find potato chips, candy bars and bread.

I don't have time to look for grapes. I will try on the next run, Louis thought then loaded his mouth with as much as he could hold.

On the roof of the trailer the woodchuck watched as Louis ran past the store just as Worker B was coming out of the back door. The woodchuck knew what Louis had in his mouth weren't grapes. He also knew that if both men got back they would discover that someone was in their trailer. Then just as the woodchuck was close to jumping off the truck and hopefully scaring Worker B, there was a sudden change.

"Hey, sir?"

"Yea, ma'am!" Worker B turned to the woman, with a coat on, who stood in front of the back door. "You gave us French Fries. We don't have French fries here."

"Dang it! Why in the heck would you wait till I unloaded them? I wish you would have told me. Jesus!" Worker B yelled then walked back inside the store with his empty dolly.

I am feeling like woodchuck rules again. I'm going inside myself and I am going to scare the pants off that worker. When he gets back in here, maybe he will run out of here and I can have time to search for grapes, while Louis is gone.

When the woodchuck got in the trailer, the extensive variety of foods had him so mesmerized that he almost lost his train of thought. I can't mess this up, I have to remain focused. He slapped himself lightly and said: "Focus, focus now, Woodchuck, or become controlled by the grape just as Louis is by the chicken!" He heard the steps of Worker A. They were faint at first then they became louder and louder, and with each step the woodchuck was totally aware that Worker A would be back in the truck any second.

"I can do this because woodchucks rule!" the woodchuck said in a calm but convincing voice. As the woodchuck saw Worker A put one of his black booted foot on the ramp, he prepared himself by hiding behind one of the tallest boxes in the trailer. Once he sees the mess that Louis made, he will come back here and that's when I will get him, the woodchuck thought.

But his plan of attack went much differently than he assumed.

"Well, I'll be dang! He's just going to go in the store and make this mess and not clean it up? I thought I trained him better than this, it looks like a pile of crap in here!"

To Worker A's surprise, when he lifted up his head, standing on one of the boxes was the woodchuck.

Chapter 6

Worker A's eyes bulged like a flaring sore. He had taken a few steps forward but now he retreated backward, staring at the animal on top of the boxes. His hands jittered, as he tripped over the open cartons.

A pat on my back, looks like he may be a little scared of me, the woodchuck thought, flashing Worker A a menacing grin, showing his white, sharp teeth.

"I knew you would come back. You want answers. You want to know why I sold you to the cheapest buyer. You were tearing up all my furniture, Wilber. I couldn't afford to take care of you and take care of my furniture. It was getting too expensive. It was either my love seat or you, and I picked you," Worker A said.

He sold Wilber – me – to the cheapest buyer? What in heaven's name is he talking about, the woodchuck wondered. His mind drifted to figure out what Worker A was talking about. But to figure out would take time, and to take time would be taking away his opportunity of getting grapes out of that trailer. He would have to act fast. Either Louis or Worker B would be back soon and if that happened, it could spoil everything.

"I loved you. I really did. I didn't want to let you go. But you didn't understand how to keep clean. You were a dirty little hamster," Worker A said, tears pearling at the rim of his eyes.

Hamster, what? So I was a pet? Hum, this is getting very interesting.

"I don't know how you found out that I was going to be here today, but please, Wilber, can you find a place in your heart to forgive me for what I am about to say?" Worker A asked.

The woodchuck swung his head from side to side like dogs do when they seem to be trying to comprehend what humans are saying. This gave Worker A some indication that the woodchuck, his Wilber, was paying attention. "I know you want to come home, but I have another hamster that I take care of now."

The woodchuck wanted to laugh for once. He wasn't in a predicament where he was facing an apparent danger. From the look on Worker A's face, the woodchuck was a danger to him. When the woodchuck didn't respond, only because he didn't know what to say, Worker A decided that he was going to get out of the trailer.

"Are you really him, Wilber, or is he dead and you're his ghost?" Worker A asked. Before anything could take place after Worker A's statement, a growling snarl ascended from behind Worker A. He turned in its direction in a hurry to see a sizable dog, a multicolored dog at that. Worker A was sure of what his mind was telling him all along, and that was to run.

"Nice doggy, don't you come any closer," Worker A said as he rested a steady gaze on Louis. Louis realized that there wasn't enough time to toy with Worker A. He saw considerable fear on his face. Before Louis could get up the ramp, Worker A was out of the trailer, screaming as he ran out of the shopping center.

"Well, I officially have another name for you!" Louis said as he climbed into the trailer.

"Don't even tell me. I figured that you were somewhere around and you heard everything!"

"Yes, I heard everything, hamster. How do you do, hamster?" Louis said.

"Alright, knock it off, hairball. You had your laugh for today," the woodchuck said.

"I must say, I am surprised. Your plan actually worked better, Woodchuck," Louis said, tearing boxes and pulling out more of the store's produce.

"What do you know? Louis is giving me some credit for once in his life. It's going to snow pink grapes!"

"Yeah, I did. Don't let it go to your head though. We have to hurry. The other one will be back out of the store soon."

It wasn't until they tore through three more boxes that they found the grapes.

"Yes, I'm in grape heaven. The grape Gods have seen my great and unbearable distress, and they took pity on me. Thank you, grape Gods!" the woodchuck said, lying amongst the bags of grapes.

"Alright, Woodchuck, we don't have all morning. Get as much grapes as you can carry. What you can't get, I'll carry it out."

"Sounds like a plan to me," the woodchuck agreed.

They didn't have time to get two bags of grapes before Worker B came up the incline. Louis and the woodchuck spotted him first, but it didn't matter, they were suddenly faced with what would have been a cake walk out of the trailer, which now turned into a real problem. How were they going to get out, not only with the store's produce, but without being harmed?

"Louis, what are we going to do?" the woodchuck whispered.

"Why are you always asking me that when we seem to be in trouble? I don't have any ideas right now. I'm fresh out."

"Fresh out? What does that mean, Louis?"

"It means, because you didn't follow my plan from the beginning, it means that we don't have a plan anymore, okay?" Louis retorted.

"Wait a second. You just said that my plan worked better, remember?" the woodchuck asked, eyes of concern locked on a confused Louis.

"Well, I have the right to change my mind. This is a free country, I thought, Woodchuck!"

Worker B stopped mid-way up the ramp when he saw several candy bars lying unopened on the top of the ramp.

Dang it! Does he have the sense he was born with? If he is going to open the boxes and take something, he, at least, need to be discreet about it. I will deal with him when I get in the trailer. I don't want to say anything that anyone can hear, Worker B thought.

When he got in sight of the torn boxes and the store's produce scattered all over the trailer's floor, Worker B dropped his dolly right where he stood, and if that wasn't enough of a surprise for him, he saw Louis and the woodchuck standing at the back of the trailer, the woodchuck holding a bag of grapes.

"How did you get in my trailer, you ugly dog? And a rat? You messed up my trailer!" Worker B yelled.

The woodchuck saw something that he didn't see in Worker A's eyes.

"I guess that, again, you leave me with no choice, Louis!" the woodchuck said. He stepped out from amongst the clutter of boxes and the store's produce that covered the floor. He advanced toward the worker, walking as if his name had been roll called. Worker B bent down to get a better look at what was before his eyes.

"What do you know; a real live hamster. This thing is wearing a scarf. It must belong to someone!" Worker B said then glanced up at the dog.

"I see a name tag on you. Come here, dog. Let me see who you belong to." Worker B said.

Louis didn't budge. He stood there like he didn't hear Worker B or understand him.

I guess I better do it now, the woodchuck thought. He started a wild dance, moving his front legs about, spinning on one leg, all while propped on his hind legs.

"Hey, Nelson, where in the world are you? You got to see this dancing hamster! Come on, hamster, I have to put you in a safe place. I can make some big money with you dancing like that."

Worker B reached out his hand to pick up the dancing hamster when the woodchuck snapped at his thumb, biting it.

"Aah! You little sharp teeth hamster, you bit me!"

"That's for calling me a hamster!" the woodchuck yelled.

But to Worker B, his clear and blunt words, sounded like an incomprehensible squeal.

"Quick, we have to get the grapes and get out of here, Woodchuck," Louis yelled.

"Got you, Louis," the woodchuck shouted in reply.

As he ran toward the back to retrieve the grapes, Worker B swatted at the woodchuck like a fly.

"Where do you think you're going, hamster?"

"Louis, I need you like right now!" the woodchuck screamed from inside a box of popcorn.

While Louis stood his ground, barking at Worker B, he went after the woodchuck.

"You're nothing but a sheep dog. Now if you were a pit bull, that would be a different story, but since you are nothing more than a big, ugly sheep dog, you won't harm a fly!"

Worker B got to the box in which the woodchuck was, and before the woodchuck could get out, Louis jumped up, grabbing Worker B's shirt and pulling on it, then the both of them pulled in opposite direction. When Louis let go, ending the tug of war, Worker B ran head first into the wall of the trailer.

"Whoa! My head! I hurt my head!" Worker B shouted, holding his forehead while lying in a pile of boxes.

The woodchuck was up and finally out of the box. Worker B was slow to react. He was still lying there in between the boxes when the woodchuck took one of the grapes out of a bag that had been torn during their clash and slung it at Worker B. The grape did nothing, except smash against his face and slide down on to one of the boxes.

"Now maybe we can try this again, Louis!"

They quickly went back to the scene of their crime. But, apparently, from the upturned scowl and the yell of, "I'm not done with the two of you yet. Nelson, where are you?" Worker B wanted to prevent Louis and the woodchuck from getting out of the trailer.

"Grab what you can grab, Woodchuck. I will take care of him."

"You're sure you don't need my..."

"Go now, Woodchuck!" Louis yelled.

The woodchuck hurried to the very back of the trailer.

"I see what this is. This is some kind of animal versus human thing." Worker B's voice sounded off just as much as his balance. "You two done something to Nelson. I know Nelson and he just doesn't disappear like that!" Worker B yelled.

From time to time the woodchuck shot a glance back, hoping that whatever Louis was going to do to get them out of the trailer, he'd do it once he was able to retrieve the bag or bags of grapes out of the boxes and off the tin floor.

Worker B charged Louis. He wasn't ready but was able to counter Worker B's attack by going between his legs.

"You dog, where did you go?" Ignorantly, he searched in front of him. "You! There you are. I'm going to get you." Worker B returned his attention to the woodchuck then walked through the mess on the floor in an attempt to get to him.

"I'm almost done, Louis. We have a lot of bags here!" the woodchuck yelled.

Worker B could see Louis drawing closer to him, but he continued to move down the path of busted up boxes and produce to get to him. Louis followed closely. Worker B kicked the boxes out of his way. When the woodchuck was in his grasp, he reached out for him as Louis pushed on his inner leg. He dropped on his knees.

"Quick, the box!" Louis shouted.

The woodchuck, with very little assistance, helped Louis get a box on top of Worker B's head.

"Take this box off my head!" Worker B yelled as he tried to lift the carton off his head.

"Come on, Woodchuck, we have to go."

"Wait! There is one thing I have to do before we go, Louis!" the woodchuck said.

As Worker B tried with extreme effort to extirpate himself out of his new headdress, the woodchuck put up his dukes into two little fists, reared back to gain momentum, charged at Worker B's head-box and slammed his balled fists into it. Worker B's swayed for a second and then fell over.

"Now, I'm ready to go, Louis!" the woodchuck said, as he and Louis ran together out of the trailer.

There was something very strange about Edna. It was not her appearance. Anyone is entitled to dress the way they wish and if anyone is in favor of this, it was Kelly wearing her bugs bunny t-shirt and pink pajamas to bed. More often than not, she sported her squirrel rock star shirt with a pair of jeans to the movies when she was off work. But Edna; she was different in her jeering words, her haughty strut throughout the animal facility. As Kelly came to the realization that her outer appearance may have nothing to do with her character, Kelly wouldn't dwell on it as a reason not to allow Edna to adopt. Yet, how Molly would react to Edna and how Edna would react to Molly's health situation, remained to be seen.

"May I speak with you for a second in private, please?"

"Look, Kelly, if you are..."

"If you want to adopt Molly...," Kelly said.

"Molly?"

"Yes, Molly; that's the cat's name. I think there is something you should know about her first, before anyone can adopt her. Those are my rules and whoever doesn't like it, then, well, they don't have to adopt her!"

Edna smiled. "Okay, but can we make this fast, Kelly? I am behind and I don't want to spend my entire day here at the shelter."

Molly caught a glimpse of Kelly and walked to the front of her cage. She drew a little inspiration from seeing her, then disappointment when Kelly disappeared out of sight. A moment later Molly, for the first time, saw the dog, which was smaller than she was, and shaped like the sausages she saw Elvin and Fannie eat during family cookouts and many times for dinner.

"What are you staring at? You never saw anyone wake up before?" the dog in the cage next to her asked.

"Yes, of course I've seen someone wake up before. You don't have to be so rude about it. I just wanted to ask you something if it wasn't going to be too much trouble," Molly replied.

"Well..." The dog's voice was raspy, wavering in its decision. He walked to the side of his cage where he was almost nose to nose with Molly as if the cage didn't separate them.

"I don't have a problem with that. If I can answer the question I will answer it. What do you want to ask me?"

To Molly he sounded moody and not very friendly. "What happened to Russell, the dog that was in the cage in front of me?"

The dog looked over at the empty cage then back at Molly. "I don't know much about him. You say his name is Russell?"

"Yeah. That's what he told me and that's what I heard some of the other call him, Russell," Molly said.

"All I know is, while you was asleep, snoring up a storm, the one you called Russell was having some kind of convulsions, trying to break out of his cage or something, when the medicine they tried to give him, well.... Well..."

"Well what? What happen?" Molly asked.

"They took him back to the gray door. If you don't know what that is; it's a place where us dogs and cats go when things are not quite right and we are not normal. You know what normal is, don't you? It's not how Russell acted, keep that in mind. Now, if you're not going to eat that, I would really appreciate it." He nodded in the direction of Molly's food dish. "If you pass it over to me.... I don't believe in wasting any food."

After Molly passed her food to the dog, she felt unhappiness begin to surface again. Her questions centered on whether she was in the right place. Although Kelly was very nice to her, she wondered if her Fannie would come and get her or not. Molly believed that she would be going to the gray door soon. She was afraid to befriend anyone else there, thinking that they, too, would be a victim of the gray door.

"You don't know what you're missing. These wheat crackers are good," the dog said.

Edna walked to Molly's cage, who, shelled in grief, was sitting down, her head lying on the cover floor of her cage. She raised her head when she saw the tall, busty woman wearing what she thought was an awful and hideous neck brace approach her cage. The more this strange woman got closer to her cage, the more she backed away.

This cat would be perfect. It may be able to help me get that rat that was in my house. First, I would have to break it into what I want it to be. It may take some time, but I will get it done, Edna thought.

"Kitty, Kitty? I'm Edna. I'm taking you home with me. How would you like that?" Edna said. Her lips looked scary to Molly as they scowled and quivered.

Molly moved backwards where she found the most comfort in her corner.

"That's one ugly woman. Good luck on your new home arrangements," the sausage dog said.

"I do not want to go home with you. Fannie, Fannie, where are you?"

Then it dawned on Molly that Elvin and Fannie weren't coming back. They put her there because they wanted to get rid of her. The thought saddened Molly. She turned from Edna and Kelly, and then, with her left paw, she wiped her eyes.

"She is a little shy, but I think once you show her that you love her, and once she gets use to you, I think she will come around," Kelly said.

"I'm good with animals. If I ain't good at nothing else, Kelly, I sure am good at making animals come around."

Kelly only response was a half grin. "Molly, this here is Edna, she has a great home for you. She is going to adopt you today."

Edna turned toward the front of her cage. Molly couldn't get over the hurt of Fannie and Elvin dropping her off at the shelter. She had found some comfort in Kelly as a sort of confidante, before she too made her feel unwanted by allowing her to go with Edna, who looked downright scary. She began to pounce about her cage as she glared into Edna's huge brown eyes.

No one that I want wants me. I must be a bad cat, ugly perhaps, or they hate my white fur, because it so thick, and my blue eyes. I, I am not liked and just maybe, I need to go to the gray door and maybe things would be a lot better for me. I won't have to worry about being thrown away by the people I think should care about me, Molly thought. Then as if she didn't have any other choice, she walked slowly to the front of her cage and waited for it to be opened.

"It's going to be okay, Molly. Edna has a great home for you and she is going to take very good care of you. You are going to be perfectly fine," Kelly said.

Yeah, sure, tell me anything, so you can get me out of here and this strange woman can take me away.

"I will admit, Molly, I may be a little hard at first to get used to, but once you gotten used to me, then things will be a lot better for you," Edna said.

As bad as she wanted to tell Edna that Molly was special to her and that she was the only one in their facility that was un-adoptable, Kelly couldn't. Same as she couldn't tell any of the other pets that came before Molly that they couldn't be adopted. Those were the ones with whom she talked as she had done with Molly. They were people, or better yet, they were her very close friends. Those pets who were sick and on the road to dying, and their destination was the gray door; those that she held in her arms while the doctor injected them with the medication that would alleviate their pain and their suffering forever; those that trusted Kelly with their lives when they glared up at her with wide eyes, then a few seconds more their gazes would turn into discontented eyes that slowly closed to this realm of life forever.

"You have to make sure you hold the cage perfectly still, Edna. With some of the pets, a little rattled or the wrong way of holding your hands during the transition from the cage to their kennel, could scare the cats, and that's something you don't want to do, if you can help it."

"I'm glad you made me aware of that, Kelly," Edna said scornfully.

Kelly gave her the kennel for Molly along with a bag of her medicine.

"Okay, Molly, are you ready to say goodbye and go to your new home?"

Molly looked around then back at Kelly and Edna. If I would say no and you heard me say no, would it really make a difference? Molly thought.

"The quicker we get this over and done with, Kelly, the faster she won't have to see this place."

"Yes, yes, you're right, Edna. Okay, Molly, I am opening your cage..."

Molly stepped back, away from the cage; Kelly unlocked it and lifted the latch. Soon the cage door was open, open to a world in which she came from. A world where she was free, free to walk, free to run, free to swim free to be the Molly that she once was before entering the facility. The facility that held the gray door, the facility that isolated all pets was now opened to the one pet, Molly, the pure white fur cat with the beautiful blue eyes.

"Make sure you hold the cage steady," Kelly repeated, attempting to show Edna how it was done properly.

"Okay, Molly, come out," Molly heard Kelly say. Although her tone was friendly and comforting, Molly couldn't and wouldn't allow that to be the hinge that brought her out of one cage and into another. It would have to end. And it would end right where the two cages were close together. There was a gap – a space between the cages' openings. Kelly reached out her long, slender hands to grab Molly. Molly figured that if she didn't do what she planned on doing, it would never get done and she would be right back in a cage and even worse, chained, same as some of the dogs she saw in passing as she sat some time ago in the front seat of a luxury car.

Molly sprung from her cage and through Kelly's hands.

"Get that cat!" Edna yelled.

Kelly, who looked in horror at the entire ordeal, was speechless. In her few years working at the animal facility, this had never happened. Molly ran toward the door leading to the pet center just as it was about to close, and got through the opening. The front door that led to the outside world was shut and there wasn't anyone going out or entering the lobby.

Molly hid behind the desk. Only seconds went by before the staff heard of Molly's escape. Not that she was an inmate, but because she was a resident of the animal shelter, and soon to be adopted by Edna, and she wasn't a wild animal, it was necessary that Molly be caught before she got outside in the wild.

"She could not have gone too far. The only place left to go is outside and this door hasn't been opened," Kelly said, speaking to two of her co-workers and Edna. This was the second time that Edna had been the victim of something escaping from her vigilant so-called care. Inside her busty body and beyond her mean heart was a prideful soul that wasn't going to allow that 'animal' to get away.

If I have to tear this place up myself, I will. I will not leave here without that wretched cat, Edna thought.

She walked around, guarding her neck closely, making sure she didn't make the wrong turn, encouraging pain that, so far, seemed to have abated.

Molly heard the members of this search team and panicked.

They're going to find me. I know it, she thought. She looked in front of her. The desk was closed on the one side and opened on the other. There was also a place underneath the desk with a small door where the administrator stored files, signed-in sheets, and other company-related material.

Molly was faced with two choices; either she would hide in the file drawer of the desk, where there was a door and hope that the search crew overlooked it, and when the coast was clear would run to the front door. Hopefully a few customers would be entering or exiting the building at the same time. Or she could chance it and wait near part of the front desk where she could keep an eye on the door, and the first customer that came in, she could dash to the door and be out of there.

Both choices to some animals would not have been any better than getting caught, but for Molly the two choices were a lot better than none at all.

"I would say that I'm tired, Louis, but that word just doesn't do my body justice, if you know what I mean. How far away are we from that man I gave the two-piece jabby-jabby to?" the woodchuck asked.

"We are in the field where we were when we began scoping out our plan."

"No, robbery, Louis. Call it what it is. Robbery; we were stealing, we stole produce from the store, okay?"

"Thanks for reminding me, and don't act like it's so wrong. As I recall, you were the one to yell out, "hold on, Louis, let me get more bags!" Remember that?" Louis asked.

"Of course, I remember all I was saying. It's honesty, Louis. As they say honesty is the first step in admitting you have a problem."

"Okay, will let me start off by being honest then, Woodchuck."

"Okay, go right ahead, Louis. I am all for honesty!"

"I thought woodchucks were clean..."

"And who is saying that we are not, Mr. Louis?"

"I am! You stink something awful, Woodchuck," Louis said, chuckling to himself.

"Well, excuse you, Louis, that's me that ate all the grape cream pies Foxy gave me, so my stomach is a little messed up. I'm not holding anything in on account of you, Louis. Whoa, that felt much better," the woodchuck said, farting to high heaven.

The place where Louis and the woodchuck ate their food was much farther beyond where they first scoped out the shopping center. They had brought back some bread, potato chips, several packs of salami and, of course, grapes.

"We have a lot of food here, Louis. This is simply great. We have so much food it should be a crime!"

Louis turned to the woodchuck with eyes that had the woodchuck's full attention. "I mean there is a lot of food here that's when the humans say, "dang my mess," Louis," the woodchuck said.

"Where are we going to put this food? There is a lot here and it can't stay out here too long. There will be predators everywhere after this food."

"You have asked the right person, Louis, my friend. I am going to dig large burrows right here. I'm glad you picked a nice, soft ground where I won't have that much trouble digging. Or maybe instead of giving the credit to you, Louis, I will give it to all that rain water we had here the last couple of days. Anyway, I am going to dig burrows – pretty large ones – five feet deep and about thirty feet long where we can store our food," the woodchuck explained. "I will start digging right here, behind the shopping center. You will give me the food and I will put it in under the ground in the burrows I create. How does that sound, Louis?"

"I think it sounds good. How are you going to protect the food from say a squirrel, or a fox though?" Louis asked.

"That's a good question. I'm glad you ask, Louis. That shows the evidence of a potentially great student."

Louis shook his head as to say 'would you just answer the question, woodchuck?'

"When I was figuring this all up, it was sort of a dilemma for me at first until I found this, Louis."

"What is that, Woodchuck?" Louis asked.

The woodchuck plucked what appeared to be fresh green grass out of the ground.

"Looks can be deceiving, Louis. It looks just like regular grass but this is called witch's grass and within this grass are witch's berries. If any of our food thieves even think about making a move on our food, it will be all over for them."

Louis didn't understand the method behind what looks to be the woodchuck's madness. "I know you chew through a chain to free me, but the chain was close to breaking anyway because of how rusty it was. And I also give you credit for dancing, but you almost got yourself caught, if it wasn't for me. And you did a superior job in sorting through things to get to your grapes, but that was because I was watching over you. But this witch's grass and witch's berries, I'm not sure if I can help you with this one, Woodchuck."

"And who is asking you to, Louis? Certainly not me. So, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I am going to place this witch's grass and berries in the chambers where our food will be. It's going to work as a sealer, Louis, so when they get to the chamber, just in case I'm not here, they will eat the berries first and it will set them ablaze. It will numb their mouths first then burn them. Creative, right, Louis?"

Louis didn't say anything right away, instead he inspected the berries. "Hum, they smell really good, they smell like fresh fruit!" Louis said.

"But as we just went over, they are not fresh fruit, Louis. Looks like to me not only are you a slow learner, based on what I am hearing, but you are going to make the poisonous mistake of eating one of these berries, if I don't get rid of them all," the woodchuck said.

"Let me know when you are going to start your digging, so I can help. But for now, I think I am going to take a much needed rest."

"Sounds like a winner to me. Since it seems like I'll have to wait for an eternity to get a solid, cold grape, I think, before I pack them away underground, I will have one while I find out which part of this area would be best for me to start digging."

"Go ahead; knock yourself out, Woodchuck," Louis said, finding himself a nice spot on the part of the ground that wasn't soaked with rain water.

"Louis, these grapes are really good. You should try one of them?"

"Naw, I will pass right now. Maybe later," Louis replied his eyes closed.

"These red grapes are really good. Since when have they mixed green and red grapes together?"

Louis lifted his head.

"Oh no, Louis, I ate the witch's berries. I need water, water! I say, I need water!" the woodchuck hollered before jumping in the muddy rain water.

Chapter 7

The Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter still had a job to do. They had to run a business as they did before all the hoopla occurred. Since Kelly joined in on the search and did a little bit of everything, there wasn't any possible way she could run the front desk and search for Molly, which was now her top priority, at the same time. Almost everyone who started at the animal shelter started out at the front desk, learning the register. Huel was an exception. He learned fast and he learned well.

Kelly pulled him from the back, where he was a part of the cleaning crew. Huel, an older man with big square-rimmed glasses, was in the middle of cleaning a kitten, when Kelly rushed in, huffing and puffing, and leaned on the grooming chair.

"Either you gone stop and take a breath or you gone fall out on this floor."

"I know, Mr. Huel. I'm sorry, but we have a big emergency." Kelly paused to take a breath.

"How big is big emergency? Don't you see I got work to do? And I want to be done in time to eat dinner with my wife."

"I know and you will. We have a long time before dinner, Mr. Huel. It's still morning."

"I said that because I would like you to keep that in mind just in case you want to pile on extra work."

"I understand, Mr. Huel, and I won't do anything of the sort," Kelly replied with a smile. "We have a serious situation going on here. One of the new cats, one that was in the process of being adopted, jumped right out of my hands and took off running somewhere. We are looking for her. We've got to find her so we can finish the adoption process. We have never had this happen before. I am sure you are aware of that."

"And how does that involve me, Kelly?"

"I need you to run the register until we find Molly, that's all. Can you do that for me, please?"

Kelly had calmed down and the breath that Huel told her to take, she took. "Yea, I don't mind going to the register, no problem, but what am I going to do with little bitty kitty here."

"Dry her off as best you can than put her back in her cage and come on up to the register," Kelly said and made her way back to the front lobby.

"Sorry, kitty, she's the boss. I am going to dry you off than off to the front I go. But it's been good while it lasted. Hopefully we will see each other later, hey?" Mr. Huel asked as if he was expecting an answer from the kitten.

"I will be glad to be back in my cage. You people around here mistake me for a kitten as if saying I was having the short cat syndrome, like I do is something bad!" the cat said after he was dried and placed back in his cage.

"Where can she be? She has legs but she isn't smart enough to open up the door and walk out of here, is she?" Edna asked.

"No, but I know she has to be pretty smart if she knew to get in the kennel and jump away from it and out the door. That's a smart cat," Kelly replied.

"She's here, I know she's here somewhere. We just have to be as smart as she is. If we were all cats and we wanted to get out of here, but all we could do is walk on four legs, what would we do?" one of the young man in the search asked.

"We would hide," the girl with the pointy nose answered.

"That's right and if we hide, where would we hide?"

"I thought this was a place where we help pets, not a school where we answer questions. I want my experience to be less about school and more about the pets, Kenny!" Mr. Huel blurted out.

"I'm just trying to come up with some sort of way where we could find her."

"Kenny's right. We have to have some sort of educated thought on where Molly may be. All of the places where we looked, she wasn't there."

Mr. Huel was looking at the computer on the desk when he heard a movement coming from underneath it. It was a vague movement but it was a movement. He heard it clearly but the search for Molly had left his mind oblivious of the noise. He became engrossed in the computer and the basketball game, he was playing on it.

Molly was struggling to keep the bag of her medicine from making noise just as much as she was straining physically to keep her pulse rate down. She was too long and big for the shelf on which she laid inside the desk.

The search crew looked behind the four decorative plants that occupied the front lobby while Edna found an open office room.

"I know you're in here somewhere. Where else can a hairy feline like you be? I have some work for you to do. You're going to catch that rat for me. You think you been living like some sort of feline queen here? Well, not anymore. I have a collar and a chain that will look good right around your fat little neck, cat. I've done many dogs in with the collar and chain deal, but it works. It keeps you meaningless animals under subjection. You will be under my rule, Molly. Well, Molly, your name will be changed by me and your new name will be doomed if you don't do as I well please!"

"Excuse me, Edna?" Kelly said, walking into the office unexpectedly.

"Oh yes, what is it, Kelly?" Edna asked, turning her body from the front of the room to the entrance in the back of her.

"Is there someone in here with you? I thought I heard another voice or maybe it's just my imagination," Kelly said.

"Our imagination has a way of playing tricks on us. Unless that smart cat can talk, I am the only one in here."

"Sorry, did you find anything close to Molly in here, Edna?"

"No, I haven't. I don't know where the cat went but she is here somewhere. I will bet my life on it," Edna replied.

Molly tried hard to stay on the shelf but the harder she tried, the more the pain induced her not to stay on it. "I might as well give up. Once I open this door I am caught. But I don't want to go with her. She doesn't seem nice," Molly said to herself.

Then when she was about to open the door and reveal herself to Huel and give up her attempt to freedom, she heard: "Hi. Welcome to Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter."

To Molly's ears it sounded like someone was saying, "there is a whole box of wheat crackers in your cage and once we are done bathing you they are all yours and you can have them whenever you are good and ready for them." The thought was tremendously good just as the sound of the ring from the opening of the entrance into the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter was. She had a little time, maybe a lot less than a little, before that front door would pause then slowly close again.

I want to get out of here. I don't want to be around any humans anymore. They are mean and they kill us animals behind that gray door, Molly thought. The bag with her medicine, which she allowed to fall out of her mouth, made a click sound inside the door on the concrete floor. Even as engrossed as he was in his computer game, Huel couldn't ignore the noise he heard under the register's desk.

"I'm sorry, sir, for all of us being out here like this, but we have a cat that ran off and it's lost here, somewhere here in the lobby, and we are trying to locate her," Kelly explained to the customer.

What in God's name was that? Huel thought.

"It's not a problem. My son and I came in to adopt. He wants a dog and since they are out of school, I thought this would be a perfect time to take him to find himself a dog."

"I'm not sure now, Dad, I think I want the cat that is running around loose out here," the kid said.

"Sorry, kid, that's my cat," Edna interposed. "There are plenty more where my cat came from."

The father and child looked at Edna in utter surprise. They both stood with poker faces.

More noise came from underneath the desk. Suspicious, Huel was finally ready to satisfy his curiosity. He opened the small door. His mouth dropped open first, then a yell came out of it. "Oh, goberly-moo, it's that cat!" He jumped back, away from the desk.

Kelly and her search team ran toward the desk. Edna just held her gaze at that desk.

"There it is! It is running for the door. Go, cat, go!" the little boy shouted encouragingly.

Edna gave the boy a huge scowl.

Just as the door was about to close, Molly ran through it as fast as she could like a marathon runner. Edna was right behind her. She squatted down and reached for the opening of the door, when it closed on her arm. She yelled, yanked on her arm until it was out of the door then she collapsed on the floor. Her thick neck snapped back and then forward as her head bounced upon landing on the floor, igniting new pain.

"Are you okay?"

Edna didn't know which search party member said those words, but for whomever it was, Edna had a response – a hard response. "Don't worry about me, gee-wiz. Just get that cat. That's my cat, you numb skull!"

Edna was on her feet. She opened the door and looked out.

Molly, who was several feet away from Edna, shot a glance at the facility.

You animals make me sick. I wish I could rid the world of you all. First, it was the mangy mutt, Louis, then it was that rat, then you, Molly the cat. I will find the three of you if it is the last thing I do in my life!

Molly turned from Edna and the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. She picked up her bag of medicine with her mouth and began running again. She was going somewhere. She didn't have any particular destination, but it would never be the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. She was truly grateful that she had been able to escape that prison.

Molly turned several more times; looking back at the facility once she got to the other side of the street.

I think I made the right decision. They didn't want me and that woman with the ugly dog neck brace wasn't going to treat me nice. She didn't look friendly at all, Molly thought. Or she would have treated me nice until she thought I was bad and ugly to her then she would have taken me back to that horrible place. And if not that place, then she would take me to another one. It wouldn't matter because I am sure all of them have gray doors somewhere.

Molly was still homesick and the thought of being away from the shelter gave her joy, but the thought of being out in the world instead of being in someone's home scared her.

"I'm not an outside cat. Someone will get me out here, won't they?" Words that were just thoughts at first were now words that ended up coming out of Molly's small triangle-shaped mouth as her belief system.

The cars – the few that were on the road – paid little to no attention to Molly. No matter, she still chose to be fearful, but she didn't choose to be stupid. In order to go on living, she had to get off the roads and travel amongst the trees, woods, and fields.

Where Molly was, there wasn't any of that – nothing but a road coming and going. She thought it would be safe to be on the side of the road where the traffic was coming toward her, rather than against her.

If one of these humans decided to kill me, at least I could see them coming and I'd have a better chance of escaping, she thought. As the walks got longer and the seconds became minutes, Molly's body began to speak. It spoke of weakness and hunger.

I should just rest first then find food somewhere. I will find food, won't I?

If she expected an answer there wasn't one. However, what she didn't expect was that the two-way road came to a four-way stop. Molly was sure that up to that point the drivers who had passed her, saw her and questioned themselves concerning what was in her mouth, and why she was walking as if she was a person and knew exactly where she was going.

"I can't stop here. I have to keep going. I am too, too scared to sleep out here."

Her instincts gearing her every step, she ran across the street she thought was going straight then making a left or right turn. Suddenly, that road didn't turn into a four way stop, but into a dead end. "Where do I go now? What do I do?" She sat down.

Edna could have readjusted herself and adapted to the fall and the embarrassment just as she did when Dr. Andy told her it would be a mandatory adjustment for her to wear her neck brace in order for her neck to function as it had been before the incident with Louis and the woodchuck.

"I'm leaving right this minute!" She made that clear when Kelly asked if she would like to adopt another pet.

"I have other things I must attend to, Kelly. This whole cat and mouse thing is more than I can handle."

"Cat and mouse thing? I'm sorry; I don't think I quite understand what you mean by that."

Edna rolled her eyes in disgust. "Cat and mouse, you know how the cat chases the mouse and most of the time the cat never seems to get that pesky mouse? I am the cat and I will get that pesky mouse one way or the other. You mark my word!"

Kelly's thoughts about Edna hadn't changed. In fact, Kelly was now more convinced than ever that Edna was not an animal lover. Her latest action proved her point.

After everything had come back to normal and Kelly had some down time, she walked out the door, the door through which Molly stormed out. She walked out onto the pavement and picked up a piece of Molly's hair, a piece that had not been blown away yet.

I like this cat, I wonder what was going through her mind when she jumped past the kennel, then hide and ran away with her medicine? That is a very smart pet. They know just as much or probably more than humans do.

She laughed to herself while holding back those tears when picturing Molly laying in her arms and cuddling against her chest. She loved wheat crackers. I hope she is able to get her wheat crackers wherever she is.

Kelly ended her grieving as best she could while customers were coming in and while she thought there was something wrong with Edna. She didn't want the customers to think anything less than Edna being sane. Yet, for Kelly, Edna wasn't all there....

Edna was so angry and frustrated she decided that putting up another sign of her lost dog would make things worse and she didn't want worse, she wanted better.

"My neck hurts!" she yelled. "I would do just about anything to get my hands on the three of them. If I only had a clue of where one of the three might be, I would feel a lot cheerier than I do right now."

"Oh well, they will come up soon and when the three of them do, I will be right there waiting for them!"

The woodchuck didn't make the hole leading to the burrows large enough for Louis to fit in it, but large enough for him to see inside the hole and into the two burrows he had created. Louis wasn't just pleased; he was impressed with the woodchuck's ability to create a storage facility for their food.

"I want to say something about what I'm seeing, Woodchuck. I am going to be as perfectly honest as I can. So, I do not want any hard feelings after the fact, okay?"

"Oh, man, pick on a woodchuck today. Whatever, Louis!"

"Oh, now honesty isn't a good thing since it involves you. Is that what I'm sensing, Woodchuck?" Louis asked, yelling down into the hole.

"Nope, not at all, Louis. Whatever you have to say, I'm all ears. Say what's on your little furry mind, please."

"Okay, I will. What I see down there, in that hole, is something unbelievably great, Woodchuck."

Woodchuck dropped the grass and berries he held in his hand to fill in the last hole and turned his body toward Louis. "Is this some type of joke or something? I get it. You're trying to butter me up, so you can get me to go on another stealing maraud with you. Are you? Don't lie. Remember, honesty is the best policy," the woodchuck said, sucking the grape juice from his two front teeth.

"What is a maraud? I never heard that term before. Are you making something up, Woodchuck?" Louis asked.

"No! Why would I? I tell you to be honest and yet I'm telling you a lie. A maraud is a raid, invasion, take what we want from humans and leave them with nothing, or if you prefer, marauding is what we did to the two on that truck. Anyway, that's what it means, Louis."

"Cool, but no if I was going to lie about something, it wouldn't be about you. I think this is great, Woodchuck. A place to store food, I couldn't have thought of anything like this," Louis said.

"Yeah, you could, Louis. If you were a woodchuck, you could. It's nothing out of the ordinary. This is what we do." The woodchuck turned back and began filling the hole again.

"Don't take your work for granted, Woodchuck. No matter if it is something that woodchucks do. But what all woodchucks can't do is what you did for me. You helped me escape from my terrible home and to me this storage facility is something that is not just what you do, Woodchuck, but it's what you've done for me."

The woodchuck climbed up out of the hole. He stood on the rock where he could be almost as tall as Louis. He looked him up in the face. "Thanks, Louis. I..., I..., I just want to thank you for your kind words. They..., I mean, Louis, I have to say it. I know you don't like it when I say this but..." The woodchuck's sniffles gave Louis an indication that not only aggravated him but got under his skin.

"Why must you go on sniffling and crying every time, Woodchuck? Why?"

"Sniffling and crying are two different things, Louis. When have you seen me cry? I will answer it for you. Never. So what makes you think I was actually going to cry this time? I'm going to finish my work in the hole. I will be back up once I'm done."

Louis laughed, watching the woodchuck go back into the hole.

While the woodchuck was finishing up his newly created storage facility, Louis thought that taking a walk back to the area where their invasion took place would be a good idea. He didn't come out of the woods, he just peeked out. Then what he saw on one of the walls, as bold as neon lights: Food thieves stay clear, just floored him. Then, on the bottom half of the poster it had a picture of what was supposed to be him and the woodchuck. The woodchuck looked more like a rat sporting a scarf around his neck.

"Humans get it wrong so many times, yet we are the bad ones, because all we want is a little food, and because they won't give it to us freely, then we are wrong for taking it," Louis groaned, watching the people as they walked by. They noticed the post and looked out for Louis and the woodchuck by holding their food bags close to them.

As bad as I hate to see humans act like this, I know there has to be a home somewhere for me. There has to be some kind people somewhere in this world. Someone who doesn't mind giving a portion of their sandwich to a dog, or a slice of their pizza up, or if you are the woodchuck, give a couple of grapes away without feeling as though you lost something. I know you are out there. Out of all of you that I see, I believe you are out there, and I will find you.

Unexpectedly and out of the blue, Edna's home phone began to ring. She wanted to lie perfectly still and rest her neck, but her phone would not stop ringing because she didn't have an answering machine.

I reckon if I don't get up now, then whoever is bothering me, will keep on bothering me until I answer, Edna thought.

It took her a while to get up since whenever she was getting up from a nap or a sleep she sat on her bed or couch for a couple of minutes before moving.

"Would you hold on? Give a woman time to get up. Although I look twenty-five, I don't move like I use to," Edna yelled, walking to her kitchen to pick up her cordless phone. Wearing her long, flowery, cotton nightgown and her matching, green man-slippers, Edna strode to the kitchen. "Okay, I'm here now. What do you want?" Edna spoke forcefully.

"Is that anyway to talk to an old friend and cousin, Edna?" The voice was a man's voice but it was calm and relaxed.

"Randall Filming? How did you get my number?"

"I'm fine, too, thank you! Anyway I got your number from Dr. Andy when I asked if he had seen you and he told me to call you and find out how you were."

"And he gave my number out? If he wasn't tending to my neck, I would tell him a thing or two." Edna shook her head in annoyance, but she didn't hang up like she wanted. She stayed on the line. "After our last little deal that didn't work to my liking, you ran off and I was left doing community services. And the entire community was filled with nasty, smelly dogs, so this better be good, Randall, or you better be hanging up that phone right this second."

"Oh it's good alright. I think you will like this one pretty well, Edna. But I would prefer to talk about it in person rather than on the phone, if that's alright with you?"

The pause signified that Edna wasn't too interested.

She thought that trusting Randall again wasn't something she wanted to do. Whatever bright ideas he had for the two of them wasn't something that would make her feel any better. But, right when she was about to decline, something changed her mind. It was something which Randall made clear while she was trying to guess what he was up to.

"You can make a lot of money doing this and it involves animals-cats and dogs."

Those words not only brought Edna out of her house but forty minutes later she was in front of Randall's house still dressed in her nightgown and her man shoes. When he opened the door to let Edna in, he was walking on crutches with a leg in a cast. She peered awkwardly at Randall.

"Don't look like you're happy to see me or even judgmental." He stretched a hand toward the living room. "Come on in," he added, following Edna and taking a seat in the chair facing the sofa, where Edna plopped down heavily. "For a woman who hates dogs, I find it stupid and rather funny to see you in a dog neck brace," Randall said.

"I am too. This is all he had and I couldn't go without anything. Dr. Andy said my neck had to be fixed and the only way was with a neck brace."

"What happen?" Randall asked.

"First you then me."

"I asked you first. Come on; tell me what are you ashamed of?" Randall asked.

"I'm not ashamed of anything, Randall. For your information, what I'm about to tell you is classified and classified information means no information to the public, okay?"

"I see you still haven't changed any, Edna. You still the same ole Edna that I am sure that filthy dog, Louis, loves."

"I see you have changed a lot, Cousin Randall. You're losing all your hair at the top and manage to grow a hump in your back since three years ago when you gave me that disgusting dog."

"He wasn't disgusting when I gave it to you," Randall said, propping his leg up on the coffee table.

"You are wrong. I thought I would get some use out of him just like I thought I would get some use out of you when we started the Peanut Gallery. But all I got out of you was a scam that left me holding the bag. Now this better be good. If it's not, whatever is wrong with that leg of yours, Randall, I am going to do it to your entire body," Edna said with a straight face.

"Now wait a second, Edna. There's no need for that. The two dogs I had weren't happy with the three meals I was giving them. They wanted more and when I wouldn't give them more, they pushed me down the steps two weeks ago. I had to leave my beautiful apartment because I couldn't get up and down the stairs. So please, show me a little sympathy, would you?" Randall asked.

"You get on with the show and tell me about this plan of yours, Randall, and I might consider it," Edna said.

"Follow me and I will tell you all about my plan for the both of us."

They walked to the kitchen; well, Randall hobbled to the kitchen. There was a laptop on the table. On the screen were several images of dogs and cats in a cage and at the bottom of the ad it said, "Sell your dog to me, as many and as many times as you want and get paid for it! Why give your dogs or cats away for free, so they can kill it and you get absolutely nothing, when you sell it to us and we have them for our chop-sue wong?"

Edna didn't say a word. She re-read what was in caption under the picture. "And what am I suppose to do, Randall?"

"I thought since you can get around a lot better than I can, you could get the dogs and cats from that dog and cat place."

"That dog and cat place isn't called a dog and cat place, it's called an animal shelter, Randall," Edna replied.

Chapter 8

The road which Molly took was in fact new and it frightened her. I miss Fannie. I want to go home. I'm so scared out here; her mind confirming her feelings. Molly stood there in the middle of the dead-end street. She gazed at the trees on the right of her along with the dead-end sign surrounded by more trees. Then to the left of her was a steel railing and fence that separated the road from what was behind it. Curious, Molly walked slowly to the fence and peeked through the hole in it. The hole was narrow and tight so Molly couldn't get a clear view of what was down, beyond the fence. She tried with relentless aggression to force her way through the hole of the fence, regardless of her muscular frame being too bulky to get through.

That sounds like... That noise, it sounds like water, Molly thought. Her desire to get through the hole of the fence made more sense now. Her head and front legs were through the hole when a car horn, that didn't want to let up, blared in Molly's ears. With the same aggression to do the opposite of what she was doing, she forced herself out of the fence's opening and back onto the street.

"There you are. I knew I would find you. Come on, Kitty, come to me?" said a tall, slender boy with long, brown hair, who could be mistaken for a girl, if he didn't speak. His voice was deep for his age and didn't match his boyish face.

Molly didn't move. Her blue eyes didn't just look at the boy, they examined him.

"Come on, come to me. Don't be scared. I am going to take you home with me. I have a nice place where you can sleep and play, and have fun."

"Billy, son, it looks scared. Come on, let's go. If you want a cat that bad, we can go first thing tomorrow to the pet store and we can get you one that has all of its shots. That way you will know that it is a good one and not a stray."

Molly backed up, her bag of pills laying on the road a couple of feet from her.

"Mom, they won't be the same. This cat trusts me. Look at this cat. When I saw it up the road a few seconds ago, I could tell it was a Turkish Van breed!"

"A Turkish what breed, Billy?"

"Never mind, Mom, they don't have these types of cats just lying around at the pet store, okay. These types of cats would cost you a fortune. I bet that someone lost it. I would be willing to bet Dad's farm that someone lost this cat," Billy said, drawing closer and closer to Molly.

Molly saw that Billy was going to run at her – at least that's what she thought – but any counter attack would have to be after she got her medicine.

"Come on, Billy, back in the car. The cat is not going to come to you. You are like a stranger to it. I'm not going to stay out here all day while you're trying to catch a stray cat," Billy's mother yelled from the open car door.

"I wish you stop saying stray cat, Mom. What if it knows what you are saying? Jesus Christ, Mom. Have some respect for the cat, why don't you?"

"Well, you know how I feel about animals, especially cats. So if you do happen to get this cat, make sure it is totally away from me!"

If Molly thought about allowing Billy to catch her and take her with him, that was off the table now. What Billy's mother said were reopening Molly's wounded feelings of being neglected and hurt. She ran toward the bag of pills which Billy ignored since his focus was capturing Molly the whole time. Billy was surprised; when he reached out to grab Molly, it was way too late.

Molly grabbed the pills and ran as far back as she could.

"What do you have in your mouth? Come on, come on, kitty, I want to get you out of here and bring you to my room. You will love it there."

"Billy, we have to go now. That cat is a stray cat. Apparently it doesn't want to go with you or else it would have come to you already."

Yeah, Billy, you should listen to your mother. I don't want to go with you or any human for that matter. You don't seem like you would take good care of me like Fannie did. You probably would have me in a cage, just like they had me in that cruel place for us pets. You, humans, have no appreciation for us pets. You care nothing about us. So, I must go on. Although the offer is tempting to go with you, Billy, I will pass. I must go now.

Molly found a bit of pleasure in her thoughts. She almost wanted to smile. He doesn't need to know that we are just as mortal as he is. With that information he may possibly use it against all pets somehow. Molly weighed her option as quickly and precisely as possible.

"Now, Billy, if you want a ride home..."

"Alright, Mom, just a few more minutes. I think he really wants to come with me!"

Did you say he? I'm no he. How dare you confuse me with that species?

"I got you now, you little kitty." Billy lunged at Molly as if he was going to tackle her.

Molly ran in the opposite direction, back toward the trees, back toward the fence. Billy got hair and a face full of dirt and rocks.

"God darn it, cat! Come here!"

"Billy, leave that cat alone," his mother yelled. She was out of the car now and beside herself.

"You are my cat now. Get over here, kitty. Don't make me come after you." Billy's voice sounded desperate and out of control, as his dirty face eyed Molly at the fence.

What do I do? There is nowhere for me to go. I'm trapped. I can't go back! Then it dawned on Molly how she could get out of there. If I can't get beyond the fence through the hole, maybe there is a way I can get out on top of the rail. Quickly, Molly leaped through the thin bush and onto the rail. Beaming up at her, from feet below her, was water. It looked like an ocean to her.

"Come here, cat," Billy yelled as he reached both hands inside the bushes. "I feel him. There he is!"

Molly pulled away. Scared but free, she jumped off the rail down more than fifteen feet into the water below.

"I said, let go, Billy!"

"Mom, you are such a pain in the butt. I had that cat in my hands. I could feel him and you had to go and mess everything up. Why did you do it, Mom? Why?" Billy said, crying and wiping the tears that fell from his cheeks.

"I think, for now, and you are my witness, we have more than enough food to last for a while, at least through part of the coming winter. Wouldn't you agree, Louis?"

"Yes, I think you have enough food probably for the whole winter, Woodchuck," Louis replied.

The woodchuck was in awe. So much so that he stopped eating his grape. "I don't quite get what you're saying, although I hardly ever get what you're saying. But that is beside the point. At least with the last statement you made, Louis, it may be possible that I can get a full understanding of what you are saying if you explained yourself perhaps?"

Louis ignored him, got up from his laying and walked back to the bushes that led into the shopping area. The woodchuck followed him.

"Is something bothering you, Louis? You seem to be a little frustrated about something. You don't seem like the Louis I know and it's worrying me," the woodchuck said.

"Is it worrying you or is it really scaring you, Woodchuck? Which one is it?"

"I don't understand why you are talking like this, Louis?" the woodchuck asked in reply to Louis's loud, uneven voice.

"I'm just asking a question, Woodchuck. What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with that, Louis. And to answer your stupid question, it's both. I'm worried and I'm scared. You're scaring me with all of this new Louis stuff, alright. Now you know."

Louis inhaled then exhaled. "The last couple of hours I've been doing a lot of thinking. No, I take that back. I've been doing some thinking."

"Yeah, you better take it back, because the last couple of hours when I saw you, you were eating, and then when I saw you again, you were sleeping. I said to myself; can't Louis make up his mind what he wants to do."

There wasn't a smile, or a response of any kind that gave the woodchuck any indication that Louis was in the mood for joking and laughing, and that made the woodchuck worry. "Sorry, Louis, go ahead. You said you have been thinking. I interrupted you. What have you been thinking?"

"First, I want to say I really appreciate everything that you have done for me thus far, Woodchuck. Without your help I would still be chained up at the back of that house, in all that mud. Nor am I forgetting about the runs we went on to get food. I know you call it 'maraud' but to me it was a matter of survival, Woodchuck."

Louis bowed his head. His sunken eyes blinked rapidly. This is the right thing to do. Part of being a dog and not a puppy is making the best decisions. The decision that I believe I am going to make is one that I have to live with for the rest of my life. This decision is the one I have to speak about now.

"The cat got your tongue or something, Louis. I'm not being smart; I'm just asking a question because I don't know." The woodchuck was calm, relaxed as he stood on his hind legs.

"No, the cat didn't catch my tongue, Woodchuck. I hate cats and if there was one here, I probably would have his or her head," Louis replied, laughter in his voice.

"I don't care for them that much either to be honest, but then again I don't know, Louis. A cat may be able to say what's on his mind and wouldn't stall me out like it feels you are doing."

"It's not that I'm stalling, Woodchuck. What I am about to tell you is very difficult for me to say, that's all."

"Since when has something been hard for you to say, Louis? If it's about grapes, Louis, I know I told you that I didn't want your paws on my grapes, but if you would like some, we can talk about it." Louis smiled. "Oh I see, it's not the grapes. Hum, well, I know I said that those chips, those spicy ones made your breath smell horrible, and I don't want to be around you when you eat them, Louis. So, if it's bothering you that bad, go ahead, eat those horrible garlic chips around me."

"No, Woodchuck, that's not it. None of it."

The woodchuck, such as he did whenever he confronted Louis, walked as close as he could to get to him. Then he stood on a rock and looked him in the eye. "Then what is it, Louis? What is it you have to tell me?"

"I'm leaving, Woodchuck. My mind is here but my heart wants to be in a home around people who care for me, kids who want to run around with me. They throw a ball and I run to catch it, and I bring it back to them. I am a domestic pet, Woodchuck, and that's where I belong."

With one grip the woodchuck held his throat. He swallowed hard as if he was choking. "I am having a hard time stomaching this, Louis. So bear with me." Louis shot the woodchuck a curious glance.

And just as Louis was making an attempt to walk through where there home was, and venture out into the shopping area, the woodchuck started to speak. "So you mean you're leaving just for a little while and then you're coming back, right? That's what you're saying, Louis? Or you mean you're leaving as in 'I'm going to get rid of your part of the food you and I got the other day'?"

Louis took in a deep breath then exhaled. "Yes, woodchuck as in you going to have to get rid of all my food."

The woodchuck bowed his head, feeling the emotion of sadness coming on stronger than he had anticipated. "Louis, you know what it's like out there. And yes, I agree, you are a domestic pet but what about..." Then as if he was lost for words for a second, he suddenly lifted his head, tears in his eyes, and said, "Us, you and I, our friendship, Louis, We are friends, right?" the woodchuck asked.

Louis didn't say anything right away. He hesitated. "Yes, of course, Woodchuck. Why wouldn't we be?" The woodchuck didn't answer. "Look, just because I want to make good on a decision that has already been in my heart before you so courageously rescued me, Woodchuck, which I do not take for granted, is it supposed to be a bad thing?"

"I didn't say it was a bad thing, Louis," the woodchuck said in a soft and somewhat overwhelmed voice.

"Then why even make a big to do about it with the friends and all? We are friends but you know, just as well as I do, Woodchuck, that somewhere down the road this would happen. Lighten up. You are a woodchuck and woodchucks make it on their own. Remember when I first met you, Woodchuck; you were by yourself, weren't you?"

"Yes, you're right. When I met you, everything I did wasn't just for me anymore; it was for you as well, not because I had to do it, but because you are my friend, Louis, and friends stick together no matter what.

"Now then, if you are truly leaving, I suggest that you go ahead and go. Besides, it will be for your own good if you don't want to see me cry, Louis."

Louis didn't say anything. He felt as if he was a victim. He stayed long enough to see the woodchuck turned his back and walked to the burrow.

Once the woodchuck knew that Louis was gone, he came back out.

"Now since Louis is gone, I can cry."

Winter hadn't made its appearance yet but the freezing water hitting Molly's body didn't feel any less than a cold day in the middle of winter. She yelled out as the cold water hit her thick coat of white fur and penetrated beneath her muscular skin. For a moment the cold of the water paralyzed all of her body functions, except for her mouth.

"This, this is so cold!" Her words gargled as they came out and blended with the water. The water tasted like salt as it flowed in and out of her mouth. Her little pink nose moved as Molly began to pick up a scent. She recognized that smell. It was the same smell that she hated when she was at home. The same smell that almost made her vomit if she didn't get to the other side of the house. But she wasn't at home anymore, so there was nowhere for Molly to escape. There was just cold lake water that extended as far as she could see.

I have to go. If I don't go, that smell of tuna is going to kill me, Molly thought. She managed to retrieve the bag of pills with her paw. She brought the wet plastic bag up to her mouth. I have to swim. I have to swim, if I want to get out of here. I have to start swimming now. Move your legs now, Molly, if you want to start swimming and if you want to get out of this cold water.

Molly began to swim. There was nothing in front of her in back of her or on either side of her but water. She moved her front legs more than her hind legs, all in sync with one another, hoping to swim as fast as she could to get away from the smell that was very slowly fading, the farther up Molly swam. I don't see anything. There must be something up ahead..., something, anything. I am scared.

Molly's thoughts of fear from being in the cold, icy water began to talk to her. You are not in good health, Molly. How do you think you are going to get out of this water? Don't you feel your legs weakening as you swim?

"Wow! That voice in my head sounds just like me. I must have a twin in my head!" Molly said out loud. "Yes, come to think about it, I do feel my legs weakening. It is my left back leg actually," Molly replied to the voice in her head. Despite the voice, Molly continued to pedal her legs as fast and as hard as she could. That's why Fannie and Elvin didn't want you. They didn't want you because you are sick. No one wants you, Molly. Not even Kelly at the shelter wanted you.

"They did want me. They were coming back for me until I escaped. Yeah, they were going to come back for me. They are probably at the shelter now."

Don't be so dumb, Molly. If they wanted you, if any of them wanted you, wouldn't they have kept you, and not lead you to this?

"The mean lady wanted me I think. She had her cage and all. Does that count?" Molly asked her thoughts, but this time they didn't respond. Molly pushed harder through her weakness. The water current along with her swimming pushed her to nowhere. The more she saw nothing, the more she saw that her life was just a number, just a cat that lived to be hated and unwanted. What Molly did want at that particular moment was to release all the tears of accumulated hurt from her blue eyes. She wanted to be rid of the sadness that she was feeling and had felt in the last couple of days. "I don't know if I should cry here. My tears mixed with the water wouldn't be a great mix for my eyes," Molly whispered.

There wasn't anything that proved to Molly that she was drawing close to something, a board, a tree or land. Nothing was in sight until she heard something beyond her pedaling and the swish-swash of the water moving back and forth. What is that I hear? What is it? Molly searched for the sound she heard in the distance. She didn't know where to look with the noise of the water and her own negative thoughts.

Then she heard it again. The sound went droop. Then another, then another droop. Sounds like something is falling in the water. Is something coming after me? Molly swam harder as she listened for the droop sound again.

Maybe I will stop swimming for a second so I could hear it. I can get a better and clearer hearing on where it is if I stop swimming, Molly thought. She stayed put in the middle of the lake. She had been right. Molly not only heard the droop sound, but she saw what caused it out of the corner of her eye. "I see it; it's coming from over there," she said, directing her attention to the left side of the lake. Her eyes grew bigger as the place that bordered the right side of the lake was a rocky ledge.

"I see the rocks. What I heard was the wave lapping against the rock and the falling rocks in the lake." Molly pushed and forced herself toward the falling rocks. Once there, as exhausted as she was, Molly dropped her bag of medicine and collapsed on the ledge. She didn't know how and why some of the smaller rocks were falling from the top but at that point Molly didn't care, she was hopeful that her weariness would finally abate for a while.
Chapter 9

That morning the temperature had not started to drop as the weather man promised. For Louis that was great news since he wasn't sure where he was going and how long he would be outside in the gradually colder wintry days. He was very pleased with his decision, so much so that he smiled. If he had his favorite dish and a bowl of water he would celebrate that decision. But as his positive and jubilant thoughts progressed, he couldn't help but think of the woodchuck and how much of a friend he really was to him. Then his smile drifted, and disappeared completely. There were some questions that were coming to the forefront of his mind which he tried to push away. Yet, the more he tried the more he couldn't.

I did the right thing. I'm no woodchuck so why would I subject myself to living as he does? Some humans can be mean and I wish I could do without them, but I want to be with a family, a good family of people. I know they are out here. I just have to find a way to connect with one – a family that is. And my life will be the life I want. I am sure the woodchuck understands that. If he is a friend to me like he says he is, then my going away to find a home should not bother him in the least. Besides, I'm sure that if he was me he would do the same thing.

When Louis came out of his tergiversations, it appeared that he had overcome any of the senses of guilt, blame or responsibility, which he felt when he left the woodchuck. He didn't go through the shopping area or in the direction from which he came. He avoided the crowds of people but he didn't avoid the signs describing him and the woodchuck as criminals on the run. Louis stopped for a moment to look up at the posted flyer.

In a sense we are just like humans, and they don't even know it. The only difference is that they don't have a legal jail for those secret household that are not ashamed to mistreat us, Louis thought.

"Hey you, food thief!"

Louis turned from his glaring at the poster to the voice he heard from behind him. In front of the trash dumpster was a man holding a bag of trash. He held it in his right hand. His shock immobilized him. "Shoo, get away from here, you mutt. I don't have any food for you. Now, get away from this store, go." The man remembered his last encounter just recently with a raccoon so he thought it would be a great time to try it with Louis.

"I said get away from here!" the man shouted, stomping hard on the wet ground.

So I guess I am supposed to be scared of someone who wears an ugly burger joint uniform and have feet smaller than the palm of his own hand? Louis thought. He chuckled under his breath. I want to know what you have in that garbage bag, Louis snarled, stomping the pavement with his front paw.

"Awh! Help! That's the dog that is stealing people's food. Help!" the man yelled, dropping the bag of garbage right where he stood, beside the garbage dumpster.

"More of them will be coming. I better take the garbage with me before they get around here," Louis said to himself. He then pulled the entire trash bag out of sight where he tore it open. From the people passing by in their cars, many saw Louis but didn't recognize him as the food thief. Instead most made comments like: "the dog must be really hungry. Yuk, that is so nasty, looking for food in the trash can. Mom, look at that dog."

When Louis got to digging he found all the old food that got too old to serve, from burgers to fries, from fries to chicken nuggets, to chicken to apple pies. He was in food heaven. He ate until he was full. He attempted to eat more until he saw five of the Burger House employees come charging to where Louis was. Of course he took off.

When Louis got out of the area and clearly out of danger, he harped on what one of the Burger House employees had said. "Run, mutt, but your days of running are over. The Animal Control people are going to get you and you will never be able to take anyone's food again or scare them."

Animal Control? What in the world is that? That sounds bad. It doesn't sound like something I want to be a part of. I am quite sure it has to do with humans. Louis laughed to himself. "Animal control, I guess that has something to do with the control of domestic animals. I could be wrong but I will try my hardest to stay away from the Animal Control people."

Louis pondered over the thought while hurrying to get to the next place. When starting out on his mysterious journey, he didn't have a clue as to where he was going and what methods he would take or had to take to find a home and try his best to avoid Animal Control. But the longer he walked, the more comfortable he became, and the more comfortable he became, the more his mind opened up to new ideas.

"I'm going to find a home. I am going to find some human that will like me. When they see me, they will want to take me home." Minutes after that thought became words Louis found a park, after extensive walking. He entered the park away from the few people walking about. There were swings for children, Merry-go-rounds, slides and other things that were designed for young children's amusement.

This is it. This is the place where I will find my home, Louis thought. But how should I do it? Do I go running to the first kid I see and then he takes me to his family and I go home, he asked himself. Then he answered, naw, that's too risky. That would mess up a perfect opportunity to get into a home. I would scare the kid and run him or her away. Naw, I have to come up with something different, something smart.

Louis thoughts weren't coming together until he saw an old, dirty baseball roll right under his feet. Louis looked up and saw a little boy run in his direction. The little boy, about ten years old, stopped before he got to Louis.

"Hi, dog! If I walk up to you to get my baseball, will you bite me?" the kid asked.

Of course not. I think you are adorable and I would like to go home with you, Louis thought, then backed away.

The kid ran, got his ball then ran back to his initial position. He took a few seconds to stare at Louis.

I don't know if he is checking me out. I don't think he likes me, which means I won't be getting a home with this fellow.

"Hey, doggy? I want you to catch the ball when I throw it. I'm going to throw it hard, so be ready," the kid yelled.

I think I like you already, kid!

The kid threw the ball as hard as he could. It landed in some bushes. Louis went in after it.

"Honey, it's getting a little chilly and I think we better be getting back to the house."

"Mom, can we stay here just a little while longer?"

"Where is your ball, honey?"

"Someone is getting it for me," the kid replied, looking up at his mother pleadingly.

"What do you mean someone is getting it for you, honey? You know you shouldn't be talking to strangers. Remember us having several conversations about that?"

"Yes, Mom, I know not to talk to strangers unless you would call a dog a stranger," the kid said.

"A dog? What do you mean a dog, honey?" she asked, wiping the grass off her son's shoulders, unaware of Louis who had come out of the bushes with the dirty baseball pinned between his top and bottom teeth.

The mother screamed. Louis, startled, yelled too, but it came out as a "Yurk."

She grabbed her son by the hand and pulled him by the arm. "Come on, let's go!"

"Mom, my baseball," the kid yelled.

"I will buy you another one, honey. If that is a dog, it looks hideous."

Louis watched with downturn lips as the boy and his mother ran off as if he was displeasing to the eye.

"I guess I could throw that plan out the window. I tried, and that's all I can do," Louis said to himself while he resumed his walking through the park.

Overall, Louis liked the idea of using the ball as a medium to have someone take him to a nice home, but everyone he passed had no ball or anything that could be thrown by a kid. He thought, then thought, then thought again when his third thought came with a bright idea. Since there is nothing to throw like a ball, how about I take what they have and give it back to them? Louis wasn't sure he understood correctly what he was going to do, and if it would work. The only way to know if it will work is for me to try it, he thought.

There was another kid in the park that Louis believed would be a great as a possible playmate. She looks fun. She played well with the swing and the sliding board, and she doesn't look destructive. That's always a plus. Kids her age don't tear dolls apart, they tear pets apart.

Deceitfully, he walked to one of the toys she was playing with. Louis took the baby doll in his mouth and waited while the little girl finished talking to her parents. Not able to stand the wait, Louis took a chance. I think it may work out a lot better if I walk up to the family with her baby doll in my mouth, and give it to her. That is a great idea! They'll all think I'm some sort of show dog and they'll scoop me right up, and I will be a part of their family. That's it, boy. Louis then made his way over to the bench where the family of three sat.

"Wow! Look, Libby, is that a dog with one of your doll babies?" the father asked.

"Oh, how cute. He is such an adorable-looking dog. I wonder who it belongs to?" the mother said.

Louis reached the bench. I belong to absolutely no one. I am all yours. Get the leash ready because I will officially be your pet.

Louis was boiling over with hope of finally becoming a member of a new home – Libby's home.

But then something unexpected happened. When Louis was about to lay his head on Libby's lap, she took the baby doll from Louis's mouth gently and popped him on top of his head.

"I don't like dogs. I like cats. Why couldn't you be a cat, you big, old dog?" Libby yelled, hitting Louis not once but at least four times before her parents told her to stop because she might hurt the dog.

Louis ran off in the direction of the back of the park. Libby's parents look at Louis with sympathy. He looked back at them as if he wanted to run to that bench and say: "I don't care that Libby doesn't like me. That is quite all right, but I know you all like me, so please take me. I am still willing to go home with all of you."

But they didn't say that. "Come on, Libby, let's see what other things you can play with out here," the father suggested.

Louis didn't move. He watched his potential owners walk away without him. It was tough for him to accept that his plan to find a home and his optimism to be part of a family were slowly drifting away. He was so depressed that when he saw other families which could possibly consider Louis as their pet, he turned and walked away.

I can't see myself going back to the hole with the woodchuck. I have to find somewhere else, a place other than here at the park. I don't think this is where my future family is. I am sure they must be some place else, Louis thought, then changed his mind on how he felt about his situation. He got back on his feet and gave the park one last walk through. I guess it doesn't hurt to take one more look. I do believe in looking, and last I checked it wasn't the end of the world, so maybe one more try wouldn't hurt anything.

He walked through the park. Nothing unusual. The same type of families roamed the park. As he moved further through he tried to conceal himself when he smelled some hot dogs and hamburgers cooking on an open grill. His first reaction was to take some of the already cooked food from the nearby table. I can't steal. If they are going to be my family then taking from any of them would be wrong and down right cruel.

Louis sat down away from the cook but close enough where most of the people who took part in the cookout could see him.

"Oh look, there is a dog. Can I give him one of the hot dogs?" one of the children asked.

"No!" a commanding voice said. A huge man stood at the grill, urging the child to get away from the pan of hot dogs and hamburgers. "This food is not for stray animals. You don't know what that will get you. You start feeding him, he won't go away. They will keep coming around and I ain't got no time to be feeding an old mutt full of rabies. You need to find somewhere to sit until this food is ready!"

Louis now was in tears, but he held them back. "Now," he sniffled, "Now I know how the woodchuck feels when he is upset. I kinda feel like him right now."

"Get on now! Get away from here, you old mutt. If I have to come after you it ain't gonna be too pretty," the man working the grill declared.

Louis had enough. He wanted to leave and never come back to that park or any other park in his life. He sprinted down the grassy path that led to a rocky entrance and heavy traffic going in opposite directions. "Maybe I should cross the street," Louis said. Then he figured that since he was on the sidewalk that led north and south, it wasn't necessary for him to cross the street at all. For a moment he didn't do anything except deplore the outcome of not finding a family.

"What am I doing wrong? Ah, it's nothing to figure out. I just have to go somewhere else. This place is not it." Louis went to turn the corner, when he heard something behind him. "Here, doggy, doggy. Do you like beef biscuits?"

Louis found the voice to be pleasant. He turned slightly to the left. The gate that isolated the park from the street was open. The man with the pleasant voice stood there by the open gate. He appeared distinguished in his dress shirt, dress pants, and hard bottom shoes.

In front of Louis were the dark brown beef biscuits that the man had thrown to him. Without thinking twice about it, Louis gobbled up the four beef dog biscuits as if he hadn't eaten in days. "That's it, eat up. I have more where that came from," the man said.

Wow, don't tell me this is it. Can this man be my home? Louis wondered.

"Now that I gave you something, I shared the beef biscuits with you; if I pet you will you bite me?"

No, I won't bite you. I think you are a nice man and you fed me those tasty beef biscuits, so no, not at all. Louis slowly moved toward the man submissively.

"Oh yeah, you've been out here in the cold way too long. I got a nice place where you can eat, sleep and live without being out here. How does that sound?" the man asked.

Is this for real or am I having a nightmare? Louis questioned.

The man petted him as if he knew Louis, as if he wanted to make Louis's dream of being a part of a family a reality. "I wish I knew your name. If I knew your name... Oh wait a second; you have on a dog tag. Let's see what it says."

Louis licked out his tongue and wagged his tail like all dogs do when they are happy and excited. "Louis, so Louis is your name? What a cool name, Louis. My name is Peter. My friends call me Pete. Come on, Louis, I have some more dog biscuits for you," Peter said.

I am following you. This is so wonderful. Finally my decision was the best decision. Thank you, Peter. I think I like Pete better, it fits you.

When Louis got to Peter's vehicle, he looked at it strangely. It was a white truck with a black camper on the back, a high camper with a small door on the back. This truck looks weird it looks... The man cut Louis's thoughts short when he unlocked the door with a key and opened it.

"Ah, no need to worry, Louis, you will be perfectly fine. This is one of my trucks. I pick up anything that may be out there on the streets and place it in here. I close it and lock it, so nothing falls out. Go ahead. Get in, you are perfectly safe."

Louis walked up to the door, sniffed in and around it to detect if there were any suspicious smells. He couldn't smell anything odd because, inside the camper there were beef biscuit treats that Peter had promised. Louis leaped up into the camper. Peter shut the door and locked it behind him.

As in a human's jail cell, Louis peered through the open glass and saw Peter's lips move. They are saying something. What is he saying?

Peter pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket along with a cell phone. He unfolded the paper and pressed it against the glass of the truck's camper.

"You are such a cute dog, but she promised twenty dollars and a dinner to whoever finds you. I couldn't pass that up. I'm sure she can't wait to get you back. Come to think about it, Louis, I know she can't wait to get you back."

NO! You have no idea who she is and what she will do to me. No, please don't! Louis screamed out the back of the camper. Peter read Louis's desperate yapping as vicious barks.

"Yes, this is Edna, what do you want?"

"I have your dog, Louis. Now where is my dinner and the twenty dollars cash you promise as a reward?" Peter asked.

"I do know why you did it, Louis. Yeah I do. I do know why you decided to just up and leave as if you didn't have it made here in your fabulous home. It's because you are a self-centered dog, who cares about nothing. If you were standing right here, I would tell you to your face, Louis," the woodchuck said. "Well, there is no sense crying over squashed grapes, He is gone now and he isn't coming back. I guess I will start getting all his bad diet food out of here. I don't need it!" The woodchuck grabbed all that he could and carried it out of the hole. He did that until he became tired. "A woodchuck's work is never done. I wish I had Louis here to help me. Wait a second. That doesn't sound too intellectual. If Louis was here, then I wouldn't be spring-cleaning. Duh, snap out of it, Woodchuck!" After he came to understand that cleaning out all of Louis's food would bring forth predators to the food and, of course, to his home, he decided that the food would stay where it was for now, until he recovered a little from his latest efforts. Besides, without Louis's assistance, it would almost be impossible for him to defend himself and his home.

"Louis's food is going to be here for a limited time. After that time, I will get rid of it or it will stink up my house. I don't want anything pertaining to Louis stinking up my place! He is long gone and I hope he stays gone!" the woodchuck concluded. He sounded very convincing but in reality he wasn't just a thief, he was a liar.

It had only been several hours since Louis had left, but hours the groundhog wished he could have spent with Louis. The fact is that I hate that Louis is gone. I wish you were here, Louis. You didn't have to leave, the woodchuck thought. He moseyed out of his home and into the shopping center leaping onto a tree.

"Maybe I can spot Louis somewhere and maybe I can give him his food. He is going to need his food, right?" he asked himself. I know Louis wants to be on his own, so I wouldn't dare try to bring him back. I'm not that stupid. I know him. If I were to try and reason with him, he would only find my help useless. So I won't dare. It would only be to get him his food. Heck, he worked for it. He deserves it. Besides I can't eat any of it. I am a vegetarian, the woodchuck thought from about twenty feet in the air in the tree. Then as he surveyed the area, the woodchuck didn't see Louis or any sign of him. But what he did see was the most bizarre thing that he had ever seen.

"What on earth...? Are they dressed...? I'll be a bag of grapes! Those people are dressed up like me and Louis," he blurted in utmost surprise. He adjusted his body to get a better look, then lost his balance.
Chapter 10

What's up there? What's making the rocks fall down like that? Molly inquired. Her examination only brought her more speculation. I must get up this hill now, she thought. Although those words started and remained in her mind, they were louder than any words she had spoken since she had been separated from Fannie and Elvin. As if pondering her decision to go up the rocky hill, Molly turned toward the water. She kept her eyes focused on the lake for all of forty seconds before shaking herself out of her reveries.

"I can't go back in the water. I don't know where it will take me. I feel better going up this hill. I will take my chances up the hill rather than in that cold water," Molly said. She used her claws to begin climbing. The hill was steep and the rocks unsteady. Every step, every move and every grip was critical. She would have to take extra care. The pebbles and stones falling from the overhang didn't matter as much as those beneath her paws. They seemed to break away with every step she took.

Midway through her climb, Molly saw a shadow that stretched over the rocks which were close to the top of the hill. She wasn't sure if it were trees or bigger rocks. She continued to climb but now she was distracted. Her speculation about the shadow took her mind away from the climb until one of the rocks under her grip came loose.

"Awhhh!!" she yelled out. Her front paw hung for dear life as the rocks that were under her two hind legs tumbled down the hill and fell in the water. Such as a tree limb that was broken and close to falling off from the tree, so was Molly hanging on to the one rock. "No, no, no. I don't want to fall. I will die because I will hit the rocks below me," she whined.

Just as she spoke, Molly forgot that the medicine was in her mouth. The bag of medicine hit the rocks then tumbled down into its final stopped then rolled in the water.

Molly strained her body and her head to see how far her bag of pills went and if it was virtually possible for her to go down and retrieve it. But as she watched them drift away downstream, she was happy with her choice to hang on to the rocky hillside rather than let herself fall into that awful, cold water. She returned her attention to the climb and progressed to the top of the embankment with renewed vigor.

When she got up to the top of the hill and pulled herself over the ledge, Molly would have collapsed right there where she was, but the valley stretching into the distance kept her on her feet and in awe.

"Oh, wow! This looks amazing. Would you look at that?" Molly marveled at the landscape before her eyes. What Molly saw wasn't a trick, or a figment of her imagination but a page taken out of the book of reality. Before her eyes were flowers, many flowers. Yellow, green, pink, orange, blue flowers. Flowers that bloomed from deep lilac grass, flowers sprouting from leafless stems, flowers exhibiting splendid beauty before a russet sun, flowers as far as the eye could see.

This is beautiful. What kind of place is this? I have never seen anything like this in the entire world, ever! Molly reveled in her joyful mood while walking away from the rocky hill. As Molly walked toward the array of beautiful flowers, the inside of the flowers projected a rain like mist that came up and then came down over each and every one of the flowers there, turning them a different color.

This place, wherever I am, makes me feel so happy, I want to be here for a while maybe, for a little while or maybe even forever. That would be a start to my life getting better. Several more steps brought Molly within inches from the flowers, when they separated to form a purple pathway from where Molly stood to a mount of yellow trees and dark green leaves. If Molly had been surprised before, she was stunned and soon mesmerized by those wondrous trees.

"So, am I supposed to run or something, or walk through here? What do I do?" Molly asked herself. Then as if she heard an answer, she walked down the purple trail. The perfume emanating from either the mist or the flowers themselves drew Molly into the marvelous world of perfumed flowers and yellow trees. Walking was great and it felt good. For the first time since she had found herself alone out there in the middle of nowhere amongst the unknown, she forgot about her situation, her loneliness, her hurt, her pain. For the first time she forgot how she had been left in what she believed to be a prison for pets and now had found the freedom and the joy that enveloped her in this foreign place.

This foreign place was new to her and her to it. But no matter, it didn't take her long to adjust and become comfortable. Molly took off in a sprint. "This is great. I love it, I really love it!" she yelled. Then she heard her words spoken back to her in a loud, high-pitched echo. It startled Molly at first, but when she saw another row of flowers clear out another pathway for her and the chant of a song in the background, she dashed upon the pathway.

The purple pathway took her to a valley of more flowers where the song became more vivid. Pianos and violins, violins and trumpets, trumpets and the lyrics, the only lyrics Molly held to and remembered: "Joy! Joy, joy, joy! Joy! Joy, joy, joy!" Molly felt the cold purple grass under her feet. She ran as far as her legs could take her and that until she saw more flowers that stood off in the distance. She recognized these flowers. These were daffodils.

"Those are absolutely beautiful too," Molly said, running toward them. She expected the purple path to open up and allow her to reach the daffodils, but it didn't. "Maybe I can just go through." Molly was set to move through the colorful flowers, when they pushed her back.

"What is going on? Why can't I go through?" she yelled.

Not only was Molly unable to move out of the colorful flowers and onto the path toward the daffodils, the song that sung joy, joy, joy had stopped. The thrill of this place suddenly turned, and Molly was overtaken with anxiety and fear again. "What's going on?" Molly whispered. When she attempted to fray herself a passage through the purple flowers, they broke away from each other. The purple road appeared through the grass and led to an unknown dwelling. Molly didn't know what it was, but what she did know was that she wanted to be where those daffodils were.

"Thank you, thank you!" Molly said as if she was royalty that presented herself before great men and women.

Then surprisingly she heard: "You are quite welcome."

Molly was surprise that the flowers spoke back to her, but this time she wasn't afraid, she was happy. She continued to tip-toe her way toward the daffodils and onto the purple path.

"I see them. They are so beautiful! Joy, joy, joy, joy!" Molly's lips quoted the lyrics out of turn. It was embarrassing because she didn't know all the lyrics to the songs but they rolled off her tongue as if she was waiting on the choir.

I feel them. They, they feel wonderful. They love me. They want me here. They care for me. They want to walk with me, Molly thought while stopping in the middle of the purple road. The daffodils moved from side to side with a certain intelligent sway. This brought a smile to Molly's little face.

"Hi, I am Molly. I feel your energy. It is very strong here, stronger than where all of the wonderful flowers I have seen so far," Molly said.

"Yes, we are very strong. Our energy is, yes. Welcome to the Valley of the Flowers, Molly, where we, here, want to..." Then the words, that were so strong from perfectly beautiful daffodils, died down and within seconds the daffodils began to sink in the ground.

"Hey? You are my friends. Come back. Please don't leave. You are my friends," Molly yelled. But not even a vibrant yell could keep Molly's new friends above ground. They were gone. The flowers and the glimmering purple road were also gone.

"No one likes me; I'm not even wanted by little innocent flowers!"

Molly's assumption brought her a puddle of tears on a black powdered ground. She had every reason to wallow in sadness; she had nowhere to go and nowhere to be. Nothing was going right for her, even when she was in the right place. She wanted to elaborate on how bad her troubles were by lying right there in that powdered ground, but she didn't. And she wouldn't. Coming across the empty field of the Valley of the Flowers was a varicolored coyote with tousled and spiky hair that lay in the distance amongst what the ground had produced – black powder.

In the direction to which she went, she heard the yellow-faced coyote yell at her, "Where are they? I was told of this place. I know you know them, because if you didn't, you would not be here. Now answer me, cat, where are they?"

Of course Molly was scared. She was almost scared of herself, but it wasn't the voice of the coyote that scared her. His voice was just loud, not threatening. It was the coyotes' bright colors, long, busy tail and furry tattered body that did. The coyote had just as much blue and yellow fur as she did.

"Are you going to stand there, like dew on a daffodil, or are you going to tell me where the red flower is?"

Red flower, what is that? Molly questioned. She wanted to answer, and probably would have, if she hadn't been so distracted by the yelling coyote.

"I want the red flower. I know you know where it is. Now give it to me, you puny little cat!" The coyote stomped on his left foot. "I see you're not going tell me where the red flower is. Maybe you will tell me once I get my massive paws around your catnip-eating neck, cat!"

By this time Molly was already looking for a way to run.

"I'm coming for you now, kitty-kitty."

At that command, Molly was in flight. Where the many colored daffodil lay isolated from all the other plants, Molly's footprints now were a decorative stain on the ground. Molly didn't know where she was running to. It didn't matter. All she wanted to be was away from the coyote.

"I haven't lost a race yet and I always catch what I am after, cat. So, today will be like anyone of those days, I will not disappoint myself."

Molly turned her head slightly to one side. In her sights, very close to her, just inches away, was the gaudy coyote.

There wasn't a crease, seam, crack, or crevice through which Louis could wiggle his way out. He was caught and there was no possible way that he was getting out, unless for some odd reason Peter, a.k.a. Pete, would have a change of heart and open the cage door to let Louis out.

"Look, Louis, you don't have to look at me with those sad, puppy dog's eyes of yours. It's not that bad. Really, how bad can it be?"

"If you only knew how bad it was for me," Louis said, "I'm sure, if you are a dog lover, which most humans are, you would let me go really quickly and never allow another pet in her hands, ever in her life. That goes for my enemy the cat, too. As bad as I hate them, I wouldn't give any of them over to her."

"Look on the bright side, Louis. You're not out here wondering around in the cold looking for food, or get taken by animal control or worst of all, get hit by a car. It's really bad out here and you need a loving owner who could give you the love you need. Awh, Louis, you are such a beautiful dog. Come here, little doggy," Peter said.

Placing his face in reach of the door, Louis barked loudly. Peter stuck his hand through the cracks in the bar and Louis swiped at Peter. He jumped back. "Oh my God, Jesus, you are a psycho dog! I don't know if it will be safe around you. I feel for your owner, umm... Edna."

Louis snarled, shaking his head from side to side frantically, as if he was infected with rabies. Peter backed away at the same time as Edna pulled up in a rundown, paint peeling, balled-tires pickup truck.

Out of the truck climbed Edna herself. "You have my dog, mister?" Edna yelled.

"Why yes, are you the...."

"I'm Edna James, the one and only. Back out of my way so I can get a better look at that mutt," Edna said rudely.

"Excuse you," Peter said.

Ignoring Peter, Edna walked right past him and to the white paneled truck that held Louis.

"Would you look at that there? Louis the mutt, we meet again. Did you think you was going to actually get away without seeing your loving master in this life time? Never, ever!"

The first thing that Louis found funnier than strange was Edna's neck brace. Louis did all that he could to hold in his laughter, but not his comments. You look absolutely hilarious, Edna, Louis thought, coming as close to the bars as possible without actually touching them.

"You looking at my neck brace I see, mutt. This is what you and that rat done to me, and if I could only get my hands on that rat, I would sprain his whole weasel body."

The things we would do to you, Edna, if he was here, but he is not. So I'm on my own and I deserve to be on my own. Louis rehashed those thoughts of him and the woodchuck together humiliating Edna. I done that, the woodchuck done that, so whatever you have plan for me, Edna, I'm okay with it. I got you once and if I have another chance, I will get you again.

"Where is the key to this blasted door, Peter?"

"Hold your horses. Before I open this door I believe there is something you owe me for finding that crazy and deranged dog of yours," Peter said.

"Yes, I believe there is something I need to give you. How rude of me, Peter," Edna said. Then out of the pocket of her bronze-colored, silk pants came what looked to be a black ballpoint pen.

"What is that?" Peter asked, taking a closer look.

"It's a writing pen. Doesn't it look like a writing pen to you, numbskull?"

Peter's face turned red and every attempt to smile it off didn't work. He still held a dumb and ignorant glare that wouldn't go away.

"Is that what you're going to write out my check with?" Peter asked.

"Yes this is what I am going to write out your check with, Peter."

Edna removed the top from the pen then pressed the blue button on top of the pen. A combination of blue and black electric current made a whisking sound as they enter into Peter's chest. "How do you like your check, Peter? It's written in black and blue!"

Louis backed away from the bars and as if he were outside in the wintry cold and the summertime's heat when he used to hunker down and back away in the corner of his dog house, so did he in the corner of Peter's truck. He heard everything from that corner and what he would be hearing once Edna had dealt with him.

Edna let go of the button and yelled; "Now the keys, or else I will give you another dose of that, Peter!"

He fumbled in his pocket before finally drawing a key ring out of it. Edna didn't wait for him to sort through the key ring to find the right one, she snatched the entire key ring out of Peter's hand, watched him dance wildly and awkwardly while the blue and black electric current passed through him.

"Now, Louis, I want you to know I've missed you. Have you missed me?" Edna asked.

"If you're going to shoot me with that pen, I wish you go ahead and do it. I'm sure you don't have all day to get me back in your hut," Louis growled. He closed his eyes, watching Edna as she stuck the tip of the ball point pen inside the bars and pushed the button.

Louis opened his eyes to a splash of cold water and heckles. When he woke suddenly, his body reacted in a jump and shivers. It took him only second to remember Edna striking him with her stun pen. He looked around.

Just as I figured; a cage. At least I'm inside but cold.

"Welcome to my world, Louis!" Standing before him, was of course Edna then there was Randall, his former owner.

Who is he? He doesn't look like Charles, not even in the slightest. Louis shook himself as much as he could of the cold water while not recognizing Randall.

"Mighty cold isn't it, Louis?"

And you are one ugly-looking woman and I thought I was ugly too, Louis thought.

"Well, well, well if it isn't that dirty, stinky mutt, Louis. How do you do, Louis? We have plans for you, dog," Randall said.

Whatever plans you have for me, you better make sure it's a good one, because if it's not, I will make sure you will never find me again, Louis thought.

"Welcome back, Louis! This is some home you're thinking, right? Edna said. "It's temporary until I figure out what exactly am I going to do with you."

"You know what you going to do to this..., this mutt! We are going to..."

"Shut up, Randall. What we are going to do to this dog is none of his business. We have a plan and together we will have a say in this world of pets, cats and dogs to be specific. Now getting back to you, Louis, you are there and I am here and I thought to keep you safe, what better place than a kennel!"

Yeah, whatever, Edna. It beats outside in that cold any day.

"I always thought somewhere in that head of yours, you could become somewhat of a special dog, like one of those dogs that I often see on television, but na, you nothing but a mutt, a dog that is fit for the slums of not just of Edna's backyard but anyone's back yard," Randall said.

Edna gave Randall a sulky glare.

"Well, I always wanted to say that. What's wrong with that?"

Edna ignored Randall's silly rhetoric and focused back on Louis. "I haven't forgotten what you done and before I ship you out of here, I will have my revenge on you, Louis," Edna declared. "Come on, Randall, we have work to do!"

Edna and Randall walked out. Louis couldn't see where out was, he could only hear it. The white light bulb shone from the ceiling of a smelly warehouse where wet wood was stored. This was a similar odor Louis had smelled when he was chained up behind Edna's house.

"What's going to happen to me? I don't know if I should answer that truthfully, and not feel bad after I give myself an honest answer," Louis said. "Honesty, ha-ha-ha-ha!" Louis laughed. "Honesty, I'm sure that Woodchuck would appreciate that coming from me, if he was here right now."

Louis always felt upbeat and optimistic, no matter what the circumstances were, but this time, in that cage, he didn't feel any optimism. "I know she is going to do something to me. I can feel it. And Randall, the man I lived with since the time I was a pup, until he gave me to that Hell-on-Wheels woman, Edna. My life was perfectly fine until Randall had to go and get evicted from his apartment and couldn't take me with him. Now the two of them have something up their sleeves for me."

Louis spoke as if he was speaking to someone else until it turned into a question and answer session with himself. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped.

When Louis pushed the front of his kennel, it didn't budge, not even the cage itself moved.

Of course it's not going to move, it has a deadbolt lock on it, Louis thought. "These bars are solid steel. I'm not sure if the Woodchuck's teeth could bite through this. I'm doomed." Louis had absolutely no inspiration and no hope. He backed up into the back of the cage and lay down, peering out of the cage's bars and into the white light.

Like the various beats that make up the sound of a marching band, so were the sounds that were made when the groundhog tumbled twenty feet out of the tree into a pile of trash in a bin next to the shopping stores.

"Crap, crap, crap! Trash. There's nothing like the smell of trash, especially when it's all on you!" The woodchuck spoke from the top of the pile in the bin. When he heard a customer approach, he buried himself under the tissue paper with the fresh snot on it, part of a double burger, cream soda, dirty napkins and other similar, disgusting things. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he climbed out of the trash bin and hurried behind it where he shook the food and other trash off his body and scarf. He knew the odds of him being discovered were practically a hundred to one against him. Not sure that behind the trash bin was going to give him enough privacy, the woodchuck thought of something different - a better idea.

"I got it! Under the trash bin is better. That way they will never know that I'm here. I couldn't think of a better idea!" And so that's what the woodchuck did. He was very nervous under the bin. He was hearing the footsteps of humans, their interaction, loud talking, and one person in particular who had a dog who barked at the trash bin incessantly.

"Come on, Sparky, that is nothing but a trash bin. You don't eat trash, now come on!"

Yeah, Sparky, beat it, the woodchuck thought as he made contact with the dog and its leash being pulled away from the trash bin. In no time, the woodchuck got used to the human coming by and throwing trash in the already full bin, and soon was able to focus on what was going on in the middle of the shopping center parking facility.

"All I want is a little bit of your time today. Please, lady. Please, sir!" someone yelled. The groundhog couldn't tell if it was a woman or a man with the costumes these three wore. "We have a problem in our shopping community. It's with man's best friend and man's most hated house invader!"

"A dog and a rat," someone yelled out from the crowd that had gathered around the three people who were dressed up like Louis and the Woodchuck. "That's right, a dog and a rat. She is absolutely right!"

The woodchuck strained his eyes and then saw what was stamped on each of the three's chest.

Is that an X, the woodchuck wondered.

"We have allowed dogs the privilege to come into our homes, our neighbors, and our place of work. We treat them as if they were humans. We feed them and we treat them as if they are part of the human race, but the moment we started to trust this dog, man's best friend, he turned out to be man's worst enemy! The people of this shopping center and two in particular were terrorized by this dog I described today, along with his cohort, a rat, and I brought one of the men with me today. The other one chose not to come. He is in his house hiding from the dog and the rat."

Yeah, sure, if he is hiding from us my name is Mr. Lilly-blue!

One of the three people, who pulled off the rat mask, was Worker B.

You should have given us what we wanted and things would have been a lot different. You had five boxes of grapes and I couldn't have a couple of bags, the woodchuck thought.

"I tell you; I never been so scared in my life," Worker B said. "It was so horrible; that rat had some type of scarf on, he looked like it may have been someone's lost rat or something. I don't know. I tried to show him out of the trailer of my truck but he just stared. Oh, he stared at me with those horrible blue eyes. I never saw a rat with ugly blue eyes like what I saw that morning," Worker B continued recounting the encounter he had with the woodchuck and Louis.

More of the shopping center's patrons gathered around Worker B and the other two costumed people.

After Worker B concluded his tirade, the person who hid under the Louis costume resumed his speech.

"Thank you, Mr. Watson. I really appreciate you telling us how bad rats can really be.

"Now the few people who have taken time out of their busy schedule to gather out here to listen to what we are all about today, first I want to say thank you and second we have an animal problem here. It's sad that this shopping community had to find out the hard way that animals are not humans and they should not be treated as such," the masculine voice under the costume went on. "I have two daughters and we go shopping regularly. I would hate to take them both out and, out of the blue, a dog, a rat or possibly even a cat jumps out and attacks them. I'm not worried about me. I spent time in the hole in the military. I know how to survive. It's just my daughters I'm worried about.

"If you are anything like me, you want your loved ones to feel protected." Then the man held his head down. Mumbling cries could be heard through the costumes. One of the other people beside him patted his back, soothing his sorrows.

"I'm so, so sorry. I just get a little shook up thinking about the two of them and that sneaky dog and that dirty, nasty rat. I hate them. I hate them both to the bottom of my heart," the man said.

I am tired of listening to this. We aren't bad. We were just hungry. All we wanted was food, the woodchuck thought as he prepared to get out from under the trash bin. Then the costume man said something that not only stopped the woodchuck in his tracks but scared him.

"I have been fortunate to use all of my inheritance that my mother left for.... Oh God, my mother. Bless her heart. I miss her so badly." You could hear the crying in the man's voice again. "I'm sorry. My mother always has a place in my heart. Anyway, I have come up with something that will protect us all from these bad, bad animals. I call it the Stun Duh pen. What this does..., and I am going to show you an example."

He called the rat costumed lady by name to be his example.

"Martha works closely with me and so she doesn't mind helping me here." She took off her mask and did as she was told. She ran at the costumed man. He pushed the button on the pen device, and blue and black stream of current went into her body. Mr. Watson caught her as she dropped to the ground.

"You see how her mouth went Duh, Duh, Duh when the current hit her? You can do the same as I did if you feel threatened by any animal that may try to harm you or your loved ones."

The woodchuck was in utter shock. He thought about his friend, his best friend, Louis the Fox Terrier, how he could be alone and there was some human waiting to strike him with the blue and black streaks of electricity.

That is mean. These are the terrible things that you humans want to do to animals. How can they be so cruel to us? All we wanted is food. All we asked for was food, nothing else. And although Louis and I didn't go about it the right way, I'm sure we would have never gotten the food, if we hadn't shown a little bit of force.

"What I have for you today may not last long and what I have for you is this same Stun Duh pen. Did you all see how my associate's mouth went Duh, Duh, Duh?"

"Yes, it was so funny," a young child said among the crowd.

"It may have been funny, but it's also very effective against those animals that want to try and hurt you, young man. Now, for a very special low price of ten dollars, you can have this same Stun Duh pen. It shoots up to twenty five feet away. With this incredible piece of equipment, you will be able to defeat any animal that comes your way. And oh yeah, ladies we have them in pink. Once they get a load of this, it will stop them in their tracks."

The woodchuck thought that it was hard enough keeping an eye on the predators who want to eat him, but now he would have to keep an eye on everyone who had a Stun Duh pen.

The crowd rushed the costumed man who ran to the back of his truck.

Louis has to know about this. I need to find him and tell him. I know what he said, but if he doesn't know about this, he could be in real danger. I think that and that alone, is why I have to find him.

The groundhog got to the back of one of the department stores, and upon standing on his hind legs he beheld the street across from him. Heavy traffic was raiding his brain. "I have to be stupid. I am an endangered species. I can't go after Louis!" As the groindhog turned to leap on the tree and go home, he saw something come after him. He knew exactly who they were. He turned to run, yelling, "Help me!"

Chapter 11

Short, spasmodic breathing and gasping for air signified one thing; the coyote was tired. That was the good part. The bad part was that Molly didn't know where, in the Valley of the Flowers, she could hide from the coyote. Yet, soon the coyote would run out of gas completely and then she would be able to take her time finding a hiding place. When will the coyote run out of gas completely was the question.

"You know of the red flower. Tell me, and I will stop chasing you."

"I know of no red flower. I promise I don't know. I didn't even know this place existed."

"I don't believe you, cat! Anyone and everyone who is here know of this place. Now tell me where the red flower is."

The coyote's breathing got more labored. Molly could hear him panting the more they continue to run.

I have to keep him running. I have to find a place out of here and never come back here ever, ever again, Molly thought. Up ahead was a small grassy hill. The grass seemed to have been burnt by the sun. Above the hill were trees displaying hanging branches barren of leaves.

Maybe I can lose him through the trees and climb a tree, once I get far away from him.

"I'm going to catch you, cat. Mark my word," the coyote said.

"Well, we will see about that, won't we, color ball?" Molly yelled.

"No one talks about my colors, you cat nipper!"

Molly saw the small opening in the trees once she got over the hill. When it was closer, as close as she could get, Molly jumped for the gap between the trees that were lined up in some sort of order. Then it was the coyote's turn. But instead of him running through the gap in the trees, he jumped like Molly did, and hit the tree.

"Ugh! That hurt!"

Molly turned and saw that the coyote was down on the ground. She laughed for a brief moment before she realized that she had to continue running if she wanted to escape the coyote once and for all.

"Come back here, you cat. Come back here and show me where that red flower is!"

Molly could hear him; his steps sounding miles away, when, in fact they were only some feet away. Maybe he really needs help. Maybe, if I go back, I could help him find the red flower. After all he doesn't look at all like a bad coyote and he is an animal and not a human, so, in that case it is worth a try, isn't it?

Although the question teased her mind, it didn't give herself an answer, at least not verbally. She waited before she jumped into that head start which she would need to get away from the coyote. The coyote wasn't just a multicolored, scraggly looking coyote; he was also a broad-shouldered animal that had a lot of trouble fitting through the trees that separated him from Molly.

"You know of this flower, don't you? And you want to make my life harder than what it really is, don't you, cat?"

The more the words "red flower" came out of the coyote's mouth, the more Molly felt uncomfortable.

Molly than heard something from one of the trees begin to fall. She peered up first to see if she could see exactly what it was, then she returned her gaze to the coyote. When she saw that the coyote was attempting to push one of the trees down and the snarling anger on his face, Molly had her answer.

"No, you aggravating cat, you come back here. I say, come back here now!"

Molly was ahead of the coyote by at least a mile before he finally squeezed his way through the trees and was in search of Molly.

However, Molly soon realized that her surroundings were quite different from the Valley of the Flowers.

Where am I now? This is different from where I came from. It looks scary! Molly didn't keep running. She stopped to look around her. Thickets, dead grass, weeds, fallen bark, trees slumped over like a man in his old age. This was confusing just as much as finding the Valley of the Flowers. Then in an instant all of it was gone.

Behind Molly's eyeballs she could feel it coming just like the splash that she would sense when she jumped off the diving board and into the pool. Staying there, crying, wasn't an option. I have to keep going, I don't know where I'm going, but I just want to be out of here. I just want to be in a home again, not out here.

Molly took her own advice and put her legs in gear. The scenery didn't change, but neither did the ground under her paws. She became really heavy, so heavy that Molly could put holes in the ground as big as her body with every step she took. The ground came up just as her feet came up from the ground. Molly noticed that the hair on her back was getting longer and getting thicker around her legs.

"Oh no, help! Help, someone. Help me!" she called out and in a panic, she stopped to look at the world instead of the ground under her feet. Molly felt her heart drop in her chest at the same time as she saw her hind legs drop beneath the broken ground. Scared half to death but not giving into her fear, Molly started to run again. Up ahead she heard something, something that drew a smile on her face. "Water, I hear it. I hear the fish swimming. I have to get there. Water. Come on, move it, Molly," she yelled to herself but as she gained on it and was seconds from launching into the water, everything from under Molly came apart. She began to fall.

As if the yells for help were his solution or as if that was a reaction animals have just like humans do when they are in trouble, the woodchuck's pleas of distress weren't going to be his safeguard, not when two birds were flying his way from across the street and two shop patrons were right in the back of him waiting to pounce on the woodchuck.

"Hey, it's that little runt of a rat," one of the patrons yelled.

There was space, more space than the woodchuck needed, to get away from the two bat-toting varmints, but he wasn't at all sure about the two air adversaries that were aiming at the woodchuck at full speed.

"Come here, you little runt!" One of the patrons ran and grabbed at the woodchuck as if he was going to scoop him up off the ground.

It seemed like a good idea for the two patrons, since with this maneuver they would finally have their rat and possibly the both of them could become the town's heroes, if they presented him to the group of Louis and the Woodchuck haters, or just call the local paper and let it be known that the city's nuisance (one of them at least) had been caught unless they fell for the false reward Edna was offering. But none of that would happen, at least for the two patrons anyway, because right when it seemed as though one of the patrons had the woodchuck in his grip, the second one swung his metal bat up to meet the first man's head as the woodchuck jumped up.

"Darn it, Willie, can't you look what you're doing? Do I look like a rat to you?"

"Well, if you wasn't in my way, James, I could have hit him!"

"He is getting away! Don't let him get away, Willie!" James yelled, holding his forehead.

Oh, no I can't go that way, I'm leading myself right into more enemy territory, the woodchuck thought. He didn't have a choice and with trees ahead of him, the woodchuck had a slight edge.

"Get him. Don't let that rat get away!" James shouted.

Then, when he saw the woodchuck make some headway, Willie pulled what look to be a marble out of his pocket and threw it at the woodchuck. It connected with his right side immediately and knocked the woodchuck into the bushes right in front of the field leading to where he had all of his and Louis's food stored.

"Get him!" James yelled. The woodchuck turned to the two klutzes as they bumped into each other in an attempt to grab the woodchuck. Weak but still energetic, the woodchuck made his move. He wasn't sure what to do first. All he knew was he had to make some type of move, especially when he saw the two Hawks fly his way.

The woodchuck ran up one of James's pant legs while the Hawks flew past James and Willie's head.

"Awh, now that rat is in my pants, he is in my pants!"

"I see him, James. Hold still and I will be able to get him out of your pants," Willie shouted.

James was hopping all about and slapping at the places where he saw the woodchuck's shape inside his pants. Willie took a grip of James's shoulder and with one hard swing he slapped his thigh where he saw the woodchuck.

"Awhhh, Willie! You hit my leg. Can't you do anything right?"

The woodchuck moved up James's thigh. Luckily he wasn't wearing a belt and his t-shirt and sweat shirt were hanging over his waist. Instead of jumping out, the woodchuck ran up James's fat stomach and up to his hairy chest. He peeked out the top of his shirt.

Over ecstatic James began to run and swiped at the woodchuck every time he would pop his head up out of James's shirt.

"Someone get that rat. Get that rat out of my shirt!"

All of James's yelling and he and Willie running around like they were crazed men drew the attention of a few people who were buying Stun Duh pens. Willie swiped at the woodchuck. Of course, he missed and smacked James's right cheek. With the two men swiping at nothing but air, the woodchuck jumped out of James's shirt and without even knowing it, he ran toward the crowd of people.

"It's that rat! Get that rat!" people began to yell. Then out of control the crowd of patrons began to shoot their Stun Duh at the woodchuck. The woodchuck looked back, obviously frightened.

"I have to get out of here," he shouted. He had lost the two patrons and he didn't see the Hawks overhead. He was far ahead of the patrons with the Stun Duh and there was a tree close by, which he would climb, jump off and head to his home.

Yes, yes, I am home free, the woodchuck thought. Then, all of a sudden, he felt his body snatched up off the ground and taken up in the air, way up in the air, so far up it scared the woodchuck.

He didn't have to wonder long what was going on or who was behind all of this. One of the Louis and Woodchuck haters yelled out: "Oh my God, that bird got the rat get them!"

"Wait a second, I know who you are," the woodchuck shouted. "What are you doing to me? I have, I have a friend who knows I'm gone and if I'm not back, he is going to start looking for me. I made a truce with the foxes and I thought you all were part of that truce, too."

"I don't recall you making one with us personally, do you, Worm?" Hawk asked his companion.

"No, I don't, Hawk!"

"Wait, wait! What are you saying? You are going to eat meat after all?"

The two birds laughed. Hawk held the woodchuck by his thick shoulders and made a sudden U-turn in the air.

"I see that's how it is. You're going to wait till my friend is gone and then you're going to steal me away as if I'm some..., some..., some property that you can just take from someone. Well, you're wrong, so if you're going to eat me... Well, do it....

The woodchuck paused to focus on the familiar trees, the scents of sour cream and onions potato chips, and the open field with the woodchuck's holes in them. "Hey, hey that's my home below, that's my home!" the woodchuck shouted.

"Yes, of course it's your home, Woodchuck," Hawk said. From a distance the crowd could see the birds and the groundhog but once they flew over the highest trees, the angry patrons lost sight of the three of them.

When he was coming close to the woodchuck's home, Hawk began to swoop down toward the field.

"This is my home. Why don't you just let me go for goodness sake?" the woodchuck yelled. And that's what Hawk did. When the woodchuck reached up in an attempt to release himself, Hawk dropped him from about ten feet in the air.

"To be honest I'm not sure in whose hands I'm better off; in those crazy humans out there who want to taze me to death, or with you two predators who want to eat me. Geez, can't I get a break? And what's this all about anyway? You want to eat me here or something? If you are, you should have eaten me when you had me in the air. Now you're going to have to fight for your meal. Come on!" the woodchuck shouted, grabbing his scarf. Then with balled fists, he rotated around as if to say: "If you come near me, I'm going to punch the both of you out."

But Hawk and Worm look at each other, dumbfounded and without anymore sense than the muddy rock on which the woodchuck stood.

"I wasn't going to eat you. Were you, Worm?" Hawk asked.

"Well, to be honest with the both of you, ugh... A piece of you maybe, ugh..., but all of you na, too much rat meat is too much grease on my stomach. And, hum, that's not good for my body!"

The woodchuck dropped his fists, gave Worm more than a brief look. He was agape, eyes wide, and turned his entire body away from the two birds.

"You have to excuse Worm. He slept on the wrong side of the nest last night. He is a little senile. Then he hasn't had his brunch, so that all plays a part in what he just said, Woodchuck, okay?"

The woodchuck turned back to the two birds and said, "So I guess I was going to be his brunch, right?"

"Ugh..., yes," Worm replied at the same time Hawk said "no".

"Look, to be honest since it seems like Worm is being very honest, I don't like either of you. I didn't like the way you all were flying over me and Louis's head when we were leaving the Foxhole. You were up to something then and you are up to something now. The only reason you didn't try anything then is because Louis was with me, and he would have ripped the both of you apart just like I would do!" the woodchuck snarled, his fists balled up while he walked and directed his attention to Worm.

Worm quickly got behind Hawk. "Ugh, let me at um, ugh let me at um!"

"Worm here is a little beside himself, aren't you, Worm?"

He didn't answer.

"Speaking of your friend, he isn't here, is he?" Hawk asked.

The woodchuck wanted to lie and since he didn't have any idea why they were there and how they found him, he believed it best to lie instead of telling the truth and risk being part of Hawk and Worm's plan, whatever plan that was.

"Umm... Well..."

While the woodchuck was still figuring out how to lie truthfully, Hawk was on to him and he wasn't about to play anymore games with him.

"He's gone and he's been gone for a day now. Honesty is the best policy, right, Woodchuck?"

"Of course it is. Don't try and patronize me, bird," the woodchuck yelled. Patronize, wow I like that. I might have to use that one more often, the woodchuck thought.

"I'm not trying to belittle you, Woodchuck. I was asking you to be honest with me!"

"Ugh, I think you were trying to belittle him, Hawk. He was trying to belittle you, rat. But he was trying to do it like ugh... you know like ugh... sneaky!" Worm said.

"Well, at least someone agrees with what I said, Hawk, and for the hundred, million, trillion, zillion time, I'm not a rat. I am a woodchuck! Get that through your little bitty mind, Worm, okay?" the woodchuck yelled. "And since we are being honest and since that is the name of the game here, yes, Louis is gone. Now there you go, you have it, honesty!"

"Since we're still on this honesty thing, I have another for you. Since I hate the both of you, now just go, go, get out of here!"

"Ugh..., is he mad, Hawk?" Worm said.

But Hawk didn't answer. He glared at the woodchuck.

"Let me guess this is the part where one or both of you threaten to eat me? Well, go ahead. I have lost everything, so why not? Go ahead, eat me, if you so desire!" the woodchuck said, turning his back to the birds. He walked toward the entrance of his hole.

"We didn't come here to eat you, Woodchuck!"

"Ugh, speak for yourself, Hawk!" Worm said in a whisper, only loud enough for Hawk to hear him.

"We came here to tell you about your friend..."

"Yeah, what about him?" the woodchuck asked.

"He is in trouble. He has been caught by some lady that has posted flyers across town. She claims to be his owner. I saw him hauled off on the back of a truck with bars on it. Then I saw that woman taze him with that same device those humans have out there."

The woodchuck's lips quivered as he stopped to hear Hawk's words. Then he thought before he spoke, so I guess that home deal didn't work out for you after all, did it Louis?

"So what were you all doing following him?" The woodchuck still had not turned to the two birds.

"Ugh, I guess you can say that, Woodchuck!" Worm said.

"We are birds, Woodchuck. We just don't sit in one place and fan ourselves with our wings, you know. We have places to go, things to see."

"And things to eat," Worm added.

"This here is one of the places where we found something. And when you guys set up shop here, we didn't want to bother you about this field. You found it, groomed it, and made it you all home," Hawk said.

"My patience is getting low, so can you get on with this please?" the woodchuck said, holding his position at his hole.

"Yes, we followed him once we saw him walk off. We wanted to know what was going on and what caused him to walk away."

"Well, I'm sure if your hearing is the same as the desire to eat woodchucks, I'm sure you heard every word. I don't have to repeat myself," the woodchuck retorted.

"I thought since the two of you are good friends, the right thing to do was to tell you. I'm sure if I was in trouble, Worm here would want to know. Wouldn't you, Worm?"

"Ugh, to be honest probably not, less headache, and I wouldn't have to share my food with anyone," Worm replied.

Hawk's elongated, colorful beak smiled.

Then, as if it was never going to happen, the woodchuck turned from his muddy little hole. "Thanks for telling me," he replied, attempting once again to turn back to his hole and, hopefully, this time walk in it.

"Is that all?" Hawk asked.

"Oh yeah, I think there is something else. I almost forgot. Next time you see the furry overgrown dog, you make it clear to him that I'm glad everything worked out for him in finding his home," the woodchuck said. "Now if the two of you would excuse me, I have some rest I have to catch up on. Between you two and those exacerbating people out there, I missed out on my rest. So have a good day!" Exacerbating. I think I like the word.

If he thought because he was confined to the inside of a steel building, Louis's life would be any better, it wasn't. I might as well be outside. It's so cold in here. It's no different from the outside, Louis thought. For him this new circumstance was nothing new. For most of the three years he lived in captivity, he lived outside. Given that he was mentally trained to sustain these conditions and since he had fur the thickness of five winter coats, he would adapt well to the cold of his steel prison.

While getting as much rest as he could before Edna got back, cold wasn't the only thing that floated around his head. He thought about the Woodchuck and what he was doing. I hope he is making it out there on his own. He is a loner. He has always been on his own. So, I can almost bet that he is in a better position than I am.

Louis tried to convince himself that the separation from the woodchuck was a positive thing. The outcome of the separation was as it should; he is looking for a home. And the woodchuck is a loner. "So I was wrong for wanting a home instead of living from pillar to post as the humans call it? Was it a bad idea, because the humans that I tried to give myself to didn't feel the same way I felt?" Louis yelled.

In the mirror of his mind he tried very hard to make sense of what all of this meant. Was it really his fault that he was caught by the infamous Edna after being freed by the woodchuck, or were things just happening because of some bigger plan? He knew of no bigger plan, except finding a home – a loving home. To Louis that was part of life just as breathing is life.

I'm just a dog. I'm an animal and ultimately we have no voice. That's how creation is. We do as the human say, and if we don't, we wind up here, locked away on a chain in the cold. Louis remembered those words from last winter when Edna had been determined Louis wasn't going to stay in the house with her and her husband. He was going to be a thing outside on which she could take out her anger and frustration when she had a bad day.

I would say I'm fighting a losing battle. All of us, every last pet in the entire universe, are fighting a losing battle. Only if the one who loves us and care for us just as they do for each other, then maybe, just maybe, we could rid this world of all the hate and hurt that the bad people want to inflict on all the pets in the world, Louis thought.

"I can say being in here today made me think," Louis told himself. "The Woodchuck wasn't half bad. I really like that guy. If I could do it all over again, maybe I would have, maybe I could or should have stayed there with him a little while longer, but I didn't. My decision was my decision, so I will live with it."

Louis wasn't one who mourned his bad situation with the spilling of tears and he wasn't going to start. But right there, in his cell, as he held back those burning tears, Louis found out that the heart is stronger than the mind. Again he didn't have a say in the matter of heart versus mind. He was hurt. He was not mourning his situation, but he was hurt by his situation.

Chapter 12

It all happened so quickly but even in its quickness, Molly thought falling from The Valley of the Flowers was another one of her dreams. But when the fall ended with her hitting a soft patch of grass several feet down from where she was, then and only then did Molly grasped reality. "This is not a dream, this is not a dream. This is for real."

Although a different scenery, it was the same place where Molly was before her fall – a strange land. Molly didn't think to check for any sprain ligaments or broken bones, instead she got up and checked her surroundings. She was cold, hungry, and the pain related to her sickness began to surface.

How long will I be able to go before I can't go anymore, Molly wondered. "Maybe there is the lake out here, and maybe, when I locate it, I will be able to find my medicine. Yeah, that's what I will do. I will find the lake and I will find my medicine."

Optimism kept Molly smiling but the drizzle of rain and the increasingly cold weather carried weakness with it, not counting trees, rocks, weeds and other forestry scenes that nagged at her optimism. Feeling as if she was running in circle and her weakness bringing about drowsiness, Molly found a large tree with large leaves, some of them the size of her own body.

"Wow, those are some pretty big leaves," Molly said to herself. When she got mid-ways up the tree, she saw that the big leaves were shaped with a deep hollow on one side of them. Then her mind regressed to a couple of days ago when she was home with the two people she loved, Elvin and Fannie.

Elvin, could you go get Molly a blanket? I believe she is cold. Oh, honey, you and that cat, with all the fur she has, I'm sure she is quite warm. She is not a human. She is an animal and you shouldn't allow this cat to have a say. You and only you, Fannie, have the final word, not the cat.

Okay, Elvin, since I have the final word as you claim, then, as I just said, please go and get Molly a blanket, because I believe she is cold.

Molly smiled at the thought. She admired how much love Fannie showed her, well beyond what she expected. Then when her mind switched gears to Elvin, her smile disappeared.

"I wonder; did Elvin ever love me? Of course not like he loves Fanny or any other humans, I'm asking like humans are supposed to love their pets?" Sadness came next, when she answered her question. "I don't think he loved me like a human is supposed to love their pets, but I loved him just as much as Fannie loved me."

She paused to think about her answer. Then, with her right paw, Molly wiped away her tears. "Maybe he loved me, but he just went about showing it a different way than Fannie did," Molly said. "Yeah, of course that's what it was. Elvin loved me. He just went about it a different way or he really didn't know how to show love for a pet. Yeah, that's it."

Molly found a thick tree branch then broke the large leaf off the tree and used it as a blanket. Within seconds, Molly was sound asleep until she heard the sound of birds, then a song, a song that she knew. Her eyes burst open. She rose from the third branch from the top of the tree, the leaf that she used as a coverlet, fell from her body and disappeared before it hit the ground.

"Hey, maybe I am back where I was, where all those flowers were." Her excitement drew her down from the tree carelessly. The ground was the same and so was the tree. But the song. Joy, joy, joy, joy, she heard it vaguely. To Molly a vague song of Joy was better than no song at all. Molly smelled the fragrance of the flowers. It was a different fragrance from the one she smelled in the Valley of the Flowers.

"Hum, the flowers smell so beautiful. Where are you, beautiful flowers?"

When Molly got to the ground, her pain dissipated and the weakness due to her pain and sickness were no longer there. "If this is where I was before then.... Oh no," she complained suddenly, "the mean, mean, coyote is somewhere lurking, and he will get me!" In spite of her seeding fear, Molly left the tree and walked through the grass of the forest. The smell grew stronger but there still wasn't any sign of the flowers.

"Please come out? There is no need to hide anymore. The bad coyote isn't here. He is gone," Molly yelled and yelled, although her assessment could have been wrong. As she got farther, there was a flower, a daffodil to be exact, floating in the air, about five feet up and about ten feet away from her. The flower moved forward fast, distorting Molly's view of the entire dynamics of the flower.

"It looks different. It looks like a.... like a..." Then before she could get the last part of her thoughts out of her mouth, Molly began to run after the flower. Through trees, down branches, and rocks, Molly was determined to find and capture the flower. Quickly, she caught up to it. When the flower stopped before what looked like fog, Molly saw it clearly. It was a small bird that looked like a flower.

"Wow! You are a bird. How beautiful you are," Molly said.

The bird lit up with golden light. "Can you take me to a home? I want to be with a loving family again. My family cast me out of their house and took me to this place, a mean place where pets like me are hurt and they die there," Molly explained.

The daffodil bird turned to Molly. The bird didn't speak but one tear dropped from its eye and fell to the ground. Then an amazing thing happened. The flowers, the flowers that covered the valley in which Molly found herself earlier, emerged from that tear.

"I'm here! I'm here again with all the wonderful flowers. This is great," Molly screamed with joy. She looked upon the flowers. They all had beautiful smiles and they were singing that song which Molly learned. In the middle of the Valley of the Flowers Molly saw water – clear blue water.

Yet, the fog masked the view beyond the paradise scenery.

"What is that? What is that place?" Molly asked when she saw the bird point to it. But the bird said nothing. Her wings fluttered in the air. "I can't see it, it's getting really dim. You're getting dim. What's going on?" Molly yelled.

Then, all of a sudden, the coyote came out of the forest. This time Molly could not run. She wanted to, but something prevented her from doing so.

"The flowers are not hiding anymore. They are not going inside the ground." Molly saw the bird fly off over the water and toward the building. Then her attention went back to the coyote. He looked different. His coat of fur was purple, orange, white and gray. He was no longer rough around the edges. He was well groomed and beautiful.

The coyote walked toward Molly but before he ever got to her and before Molly could react, the coyote said, "Here is your red flower."

Molly screamed then felt herself fall again. Her eyes closed then opened once more.

"Oh my, I was dreaming. It was only a dream. I have to settle down. It was just a dream," Molly told herself. She then got down from the tree making sure she was safe, that nothing around her could cause her any harm, then moved on. She didn't understand the dream any more than she knew what the Valley of the Flower was and why it made her feel so much like a new cat.

Another mile or so and Molly was out of the woodlands and on the main roads. She hated the main roads. It put her out in the open for people to see her and in greater danger of being hit by a vehicle or possibly stalked and hurt by a predator. I will go. I will find shelter. There has to be somewhere I can go out here. Every place can't be about running and hiding."

She turned her head back from where she came. Going back in the woodlands seemed like the best thing to do, but when it dawned on her that the coyote could be there, waiting for her to come back or he could be close to finding her; she decided not to return to the forest. Which way do I go? Molly was at the crossroads again. She didn't know which way was the right way to go. All she knew was that the places where she had been and perhaps where she was going were all wrong. Up to now, she was lucky to have survived it all. The more she moved away from the wastelands, the more the coyote didn't seem a threat anymore. Yet the memory of him chasing her became something she wanted to forget at all cost.

Molly looked up when she saw the daffodil bird zoom out of the wastelands and fly around an empty store. Molly was excited, but she didn't want to run there without using proper precaution. It was a store. A store has products, and products attract people.

Maybe if they see me they may try to do something bad to me, like capture me or something. I don't know what to do really, but I have to find that bird, Molly thought. Her suggestion wasn't air talk it was truth talk.

She looked both ways then ran as fast as she could, and entered the parking lot. Not only did the parking lot look empty, but so did the store. It was indeed strange but not unlikely. The store could have been closed, it could have been gone out of business or the workers there could be on break. They were all possibilities. But when Molly followed the strange bird around the side of the store, she saw a pick up truck with a half broken camper on it and a man coming from around the back of the store.

"Drank too much lemonade, Daisy, but I'm alright now. Thank God for abandon buildings!"

Daisy? Who is Daisy? Molly wondered. Then she heard a dog bark. I guess that's Daisy! What would be best? Run off or try to find the bird? Where are you? I saw you run back here. You can't have gone too far?

Daisy continued to bark. Molly made out every word that the dog was saying. "You said, after you used the bathroom, you would feed me, now I want something to eat and I'm not going to shut my mouth until you give me something to eat! You fed your fat face, now I need my fat face fed!"

Ugh, dog I can smell you from back here. You smell awful, Molly thought.

"Alright, Daisy, would you cut me a little slack?" the man said, peering through the side window of the truck. Daisy, a large black German Sheppard, was barking and returning her owner's glare out the window.

"Would you? I forgot. Okay my memory is not as keen as yours. I'm going to get your food now. Give me a second, will you? Calm down already," the man replied.

"Yeah, it's about time. I have been waiting for hours to eat!" Daisy said.

The man walked from the driver side of the truck to the back of it.

Oh no, he is coming this way. I should run. Yeah that's it, run out of sight. He will never be able to catch me. No, no, no, I can't run. He will put that nasty, smelly dog on me. There aren't any trees out here, so I would be caught. She would catch me, Molly thought. Then she did the next best thing; she went around to the passenger side of the truck and lay down, curled up against the back tire.

She saw the man's brown, dirty work boots. They moved closer and closer, so she moved farther away to keep from her cover being blown.

"Hey, you? What in the world do you think you're doing?" Molly heard a female's voice say from behind her. It startled her as she thought it was right over her, which it was. She swung around only to see Daisy's head hanging out the passenger side window.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you, cat!"

"Quiet down, Daisy. I'm getting your food. Can't you wait patiently while I get it out the back here? I have a lot of junk here, you know that," the man shouted.

"There's a cat out here, and you know how much I hate cats. So I'm going to keep on barking until you let me out to get her," Daisy yelled.

Molly put her paw over her mouth indicating to Daisy to be quiet.

"Are you shushing me, you litter bag?"

Molly couldn't make a sound. If she did the man would discover her, then it would be all downhill from there. But she had an idea and she was going to try it. She ran up to the passenger side of the truck.

"I'm here by mistake. I'm looking for something. Now maybe if you keep quiet, then, just maybe, I can find what I am looking for," Molly said.

"Looking for something? Looks to me like you are hiding," Daisy said.

Molly inhaled than exhaled. "Could you please do us both a favor, old hag, and shut up. Besides you smell really, really awful. I just thought you would like to know!"

Daisy looked at herself, smelled different parts of her body, and then looked up at Molly as to say, "You are correct. I smell awful," but Daisy did have something to say just not that.

"How rude of you! I wish I could get my paw on you, I would...." Then Daisy stopped. She looked toward the back of the man's truck.

"Yes, it is what you see: a cat! He is going to get you and bring you to me!"

Molly turned in haste and as Daisy stated it, there he was; a man with muddy boots, standing over six feet tall.

"Oh, would you look at that? My, you are one beautiful cat. Where on earth did you come from?" the man asked.

"Wait a second. I will not approve of this. I am your favorite, so how dare you compliment that litter bag," Daisy groaned.

"Oh, Daisy, would you calm down? Is this what you griping about?"

"Yeah, quiet down just like your owner said, flea bag," Molly replied.

She was surprised by what the man said, but wasn't ready to trust him until she saw the bird. It flew from behind the man and inside the camper of the truck.

"I tell you what; if you want to get out of the cold, I can take you with me. I have food and a place for you. Oh, and don't worry about Daisy, she will be nowhere near you," the man said.

If this had been any other time, Molly would have turned down this man's offer, but because of the bird it was a definite yes. Molly walked submissively to the man. He picked her up in his arm – the one that didn't have the dog food – and walked back to the driver side of his truck.

"Oh my goodness, you have to be kidding me. He has turned on me for a litter pouch," Daisy said.

"And I'm much better than an old drooling flea bucket like you, Daisy," Molly replied.

"You will be perfectly fine up here with me. Daisy is just a little upset, but she will get over it. You are going to be part of our family. What will I call you?" the man asked, looking closely at her name tag as he sat Molly on the opposite side of Daisy. "Oh, it says "Molly". Would you look at that? Someone must have lost her, Daisy. She has a name tag and it looks pretty new to me."

"Who cares about her or her name tag? As long as you keep her away from me, everything will be okay," Daisy replied.

"And if I don't, I'm sure you will drool me to death with your foamy mouth, you mean, mean hag," Molly added for good measure.

"Oh, and she even meows. I like her already! And for the last time, would you please be quiet?" the man said to Daisy. "Here is your dog food. Maybe if you eat, you will feel better about Molly. I know you don't like it, but she's going home with us. She is part of our family now, so you get use to it or you will be back in your dog house outside. Now please, be quiet!"

This was too much for Molly. If there was a family for her, it wasn't that family. She had enough of one person in the family liking her and the other person not. I want to be a part of a family like that, but it can't be one person who likes me. It has to be everyone in the family that likes me, Molly thought.

Daisy heeded what her owner said after he poured her dog food in a bowl. She glared at Molly then turned to eat her food.

Molly mentally reconsidered her decision when she didn't see any sign of the bird. What if I get to where he is taking me and I am not able to escape, Molly wondered. The humans are good for making everything they say seem so real and so genuine, but then when you get used to them, they want to take you away. We have no say in the matter. Whatever they want is whatever they get.

Molly gazed up at the man. His dirty hands stroked the top of her head. It does feel good actually, but I guess I can't get too used to this. She looked at the man then turned to the driver side of the window. To her surprise the bird was there. The bright and colorful bird that reminded Molly so much of the lovely flowers that she saw in the Valley of the Flowers was fluttering on the other side of the window. Then the bird skyrocketed high in the air. To Molly it looked like the bird flew within the clouds.

The man rolled up the window on Daisy's side.

"I'm sorry, Daisy. I know you like your side of the window opened a crack, but the rain looks like it is starting to come down a little faster than what I thought. And I wouldn't want the rain to come in on Molly here, so up the windows goes," the man said.

"Just as I thought. I could see it when you were outside. You like that cat because she is young and pretty, and I guess I will be a castaway because I'm old and not pretty anymore," Daisy said, looking up at her owner and Molly.

Molly ignored Daisy's ranting. There was a bigger picture to consider. She had no desire to live with or anywhere near Daisy. She didn't want to live with this man. She wanted to be back in the Valley of the Flowers and if not there, somewhere similar.

"Trust me, Daisy. You have nothing to worry about. I won't mess up this already happy home."

"It looks like with all the dirt and the filth that you have already given him it would take to much time to clean. So hat's off to you. Isn't that what humans say?" Molly said. Her words came out to the man's ears as soft purrs.

Daisy snarled, because she bit her tongue, literally.

"Oh, no need to whine, Daisy. Everything is going to be fine. You will have all the air you want when you get home. If that's what you want," the owner said.

"I bit my tongue, you stupid man," Daisy retorted.

Molly laughed as quietly as she could without giving herself away.

When Daisy realized that things weren't going to change, at least for now, she didn't mumble a single word or bark to her owner, all the way home.

Molly was reassured a little when she saw the rainbow and the bird in front of it. She laid her head on the lap of Daisy's owner. There she would find comfort and sleep.

Hawk and Worm weren't sure if the woodchuck was serious or if he just wanted them gone.

"Come on, Worm, we should go now. There is no need in us sticking around here. We have other important stuff to do than be here. He isn't going to help the dog and for whatever reason, it's his reason. So, let's go!"

Worm didn't move. He peered around him, sniffing, then his orange, sparkling eyes met Hawk's.

"What is it, Worm? What's on your mind?" Hawk asked.

Worm's eyes turned up. He exhaled then he spoke. "Ugh, you think it's a good thing to let him walk away?"

"What do you mean? Do I think it is a good thing to let him just walk away?" Hawk asked. His facial expression was that of a confused bird.

"Ugh, the groundhog would be a tasty treat and I would even give you half of my half, if, ugh, we go get him."

Hawk shook his head in disgust. He was fed up with this. Yet, he would not let his friend and best buddy know it. "There will be no more of this eating him or any other groundhog. They are not for eating. When was the last time either me or you ever ate a groundhog? If you can give me an honest answer than we both can eat him," Hawk yelled.

"Ugh, I can't give you an honest answer, Hawk, but can I give you a dishonest answer?"

"Case's closed. Let's go, Worm!"

It was after the sun began to disappear slowly behind the clouds and the drizzle turned into hard rain, when the patrons of the community shopping center cleared out with their deadly weapons that they believed was going to stop not just Louis and the groundhog but every other animal which posed a threat to humans.

Thank goodness they're leaving, but I'm sure they will be back soon, the woodchuck thought, looking at the scene from the top of a tree nearby. He didn't return to his hole until the last patron was gone. What else could be worse than the way I'm feeling? What could be worse than these stupid, idiotic humans? Oh, I like that word "idiotic". Anyway, what is worse than these idiotic people acting like this? More idiotic people acting like this, the woodchuck answered his own question, then returned to his hole, sealing it off.

His name was Onree John Thomas. He was five feet two inches tall and weighed no more than a hundred and fifty five pounds, even with several hundred bricks tied to his back. Onree and Edna had one thing in common. When they met for the first time, they both wanted to see every dog, cat and whatever animals they could get their hands on, out of their city.

"I have created this device. It's called a Stun Duh. It's strictly for the animals. One blast of this and they are on their backs for the count. So, I suggest that once you get your cute little hell-raising dog back, Edna, you use it on him and he will be an easy catch, and back in the cage he will go!"

That was the part that Edna liked about Onree, but there was a part that she didn't like about him; a part that got under her skin more than Louis and the groundhog.

Yes, you have reached the incomparable inventor of the dog and cat catcher. Right now I can't answer my telephone, but if you would be so gracious to leave me a message, I will return the call. Always remember that the dog and cat may be your friend today, but will be your enemy tomorrow.

"How does he expect me to do business with him, Randall, if he can't find the time to answer his phone?" Edna asked.

"When you walked in his office today and he gave you that Stun Duh he wanted to do business with you."

"This is Edna. I can't seem to get any of those pesky cats or dogs today. It's closed for a mandatory meeting, which I was told would last one day. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow."

"While we wait for him to call back, would you like tea or coffee?" Randall asked, hopping from the kitchen table, where he and Edna had been sitting, to the kitchen cabinets.

"No, I will pass on both. I have some much needed business that I want to take care of before it gets too late. Now, if it is alright with you, I'm going to need the key to the warehouse," Edna said.

"May I ask what do you need it for?" You could have heard a feather hit the floor after Randall's question. "I was under strict orders only to access the warehouse if we have animals. For any other purpose, it's off limits."

Edna bit her bottom lip and both of her flabby cheeks turned bright red.

"Edna, I know we are cousins, close cousins at that, but I have to follow Onree's orders," Randall replied.

"Do you even have the key, Randall?" Edna asked.

"Well, of course, I have the key. It's laying right there on the couch in the front room. Why you ask?"

Edna's only reply was to walk to Randall's living room where she picked up the key and walked out of his house without a word.

"Wait a second! Come back here with that key! You can't take that key, Edna. We don't have any animals to put in that darn warehouse, remember?"

Louis was close to dozing off when he heard a door slam and hard shoes walk over the concrete ground. He knew who it was. Louis didn't hunker down this time or back away in the corner of his cage; instead he stood to attention and waited for Edna to stomp her way to his cage.

"Louis, did you forget about me? Did you forget that you and I have a score to settle?"

You have to be the funniest looking woman that I have ever seen in this whole entire world, Edna. You look stupid with that neck brace, Louis thought but held off laughing.

"Where is that rat? I know you know where it is. You two vandalized my house, and I haven't forgotten," Edna yelled, pulling on Louis's cage with such force that Louis thought she would pull the entire cage down to its side.

"I know you know where he is. He is probably here in this very warehouse just waiting to jump out on me. Isn't he, mutt?" Like a dog Edna snarled than let go of Louis's cage. "Never mind, I got something for him just in case he wants to play unfair, but for now I have some unfinished business that I want to finish with you, Louis," Edna said. Her voice was much calmer and through her bright pink lipstick there were teeth, small white teeth without a spec of tarnish on them.

Louis expected Edna to throw in a bowl of bones with hot sauce, or beer and wine mixed for water, but what she had for Louis wasn't bad food and drink, but the Stun Duh pen.

Louis backed away. He remembered the last experience he had with that thing. He hoped that it wouldn't happen again, but his hope was soon dashed to be replaced by horror and desperation.

"You and that rat tore my house up. I don't know how you got out of that chain, you mutt, but I am willing to bet it was the rat, that ugly nasty rat, who helped you."

Louis pushed on the sides of the cage, then on the top of it, hoping that either side somehow would come open, but it didn't. There was no secret door to Louis's steel prison. The only exit was the one he conceived when Edna came closer to Louis's cage with the Stun Duh in her hands.

I don't know what is going to happen next, but I hope that if I am struck with that electricity again, it takes me out of here forever, Louis thought, but then decided to confront Edna all the way.

"Whoa, would you look at that. You know what is about to happen. You know if you resist it will be a lot worse, right, Louis?" Edna asked.

"Come on and do it, if that's what you going to do, because if I get out of this..."

Those were Louis's last words before a bolt of the electricity from the Stun Duh struck him right at the bottom of his front legs.

Chapter 13

"I'm going to say it one time and one time only, Daisy. I don't want any trouble out of you. You will stay in this house as long as you stay away from Molly. If I see that you are bothering her, then out of the house you go!"

Then suddenly Daisy attempted to lick her owner's hand but was stopped and pushed away.

"Not now, Daisy. I have had my fill of your mouth's slime for one day. Can you please, just give it a break?"

Daisy felt awkward. How could you treat me like this? I've been with you for as long as I can remember and you never, ever complained about my mouth's slime! Now since you have young and pretty here, it's forget about old and not so pretty Daisy. She found that thought hard to accept, but to her, it was true. She allowed her owner to take that cat in the house. Although she was an old dog, she still liked to jump up on her owner, but that too became a no-no.

"And before you do it, I am giving you fair warning, Daisy. I have Molly in my arm, so please don't jump on me; you may hurt Molly!"

"Oh, give me a break about the young kitty. I get it already. You go and have your kitty. I will be fine," Daisy said then lay down on the living room floor.

"Sorry, Daisy, but since I have to make a run, I am going to have to keep you tied up at the back door until I get back. I want to find more than white hair when I return."

Daisy's reply came out in a bark.

"Oh I know, Daisy, but sometimes you have to move over and let the less fortunate have the house," he said patting Daisy on the head and chaining her to the back door.

"I think before I go, I better give Molly something to eat. I wouldn't want her to be hungry while I'm gone," the owner said.

"This has to be the most embarrassing time of my life. I can't believe what he is doing to me all over a stray cat, who hasn't had her shots."

When the owner left and placed Molly on his bed to sleep, she dreamed. She dreamed of what she had been through over the course of a couple of days; the Valley of the Flowers, the flower bird that Molly so desperately followed and, of course, the coyote. She dreamed that she was in the Valley of the Flowers and so was the coyote but he didn't pursue her, he was just there, laying on the ground surrounded by those red flowers that he so desperately wanted to find. Then there was the flower bird, many flower birds, flying around up in the sky. There were beautiful light blue clouds and from the clouds a cool autumn color mist that came down.

This is so very beautiful, Molly thought in the dream. Then she saw Kelly. Her tall, lanky body was dressed in a long flower sun dress. Her bare feet walked slowly amongst the flower but they never made contact with any of them. Just as they did for Molly, they did the same for Kelly. They cleared a path for her as she walked toward Molly. Her face was a mirror image of the smiling sun that sat in the corner of the sky.

Kelly, oh Kelly! Molly remember saying, when she heard screams at her back. They were coming from the flowers. Then she heard the gigantic sound of single stomps making contact with concrete ground. She saw the coyote turn to a colorful butterfly. It's her, it's her, don't let her hurt me. Don't let her get me!

Molly screamed but the sound only came out in her silent dream. The coyote, which was a butterfly now, provided a distraction by flying toward this woman who had the massive foot-steps.

"Go from her. Run!" the butterfly yelled as he transformed into a coyote again. But as Molly moved her feet, nothing happen. Her front legs moved as if they were going somewhere, but she didn't move her hind legs. They felt as if they were dead. Then it happened. Edna overcame the coyote and got to Molly before Kelly did.

"No, no, no, leave me alone, you bad woman. Leave me alone," Molly shouted as she woke abruptly. Molly woke not to Edna seconds from apprehending her, but to a bedroom cluttered with shoes and clothes thrown everywhere. The smell was a smell of mildewed socks and sweaty shoes. Molly never smelled anything as bad as what she smelled in that room that day. She felt the desire for sleep still on her, but she wanted to focus. She wanted to know what was going on, so sleeping would have to come later, possibly, depending on what happened between now and when the owner got back.

Molly saw a window to the left of the bed and dirty curtains stained with food and greasy spots.

I wonder if the bird is anywhere around, Molly thought. She jumped off the bed and since it wasn't her house, her bedroom, her curtains, she pulled on them until they came completely down, together with the curtain rod.

"What are you doing in there, kitty litter?" Daisy yelled, her cracking voice confirming her age.

The loud, aggravating screech of Daisy's voice startled Molly, but it didn't scare her. At that point, Molly was done being scared. She had enough of it in the animal shelter and out there in the wintry outdoors. She wanted to move forward to different circumstances, which did not include being afraid.

"That bird led me here and I don't believe it led me here to a trap, did it?" Molly whispered, jumping onto the window sill. Out the window, there was evidence of cold all around the barren yard. There wasn't any sign of the rainbow or the bird. "Where are you? Why did you bring me to such a place just to leave me here? I don't deserve this. I don't have to be here, of all places. Is this where you took me?" Molly's eyes began to water. Hope for what she had expected didn't happen. What was out there beside the cold, in Molly's eyes was discouragement, obstacle, sadness, fear and loneliness, if she returned out there. She turned away from the window and jumped down onto the dirty floor rug. "I guess I will have to make my home here. It's not like my real home with Fannie and Elvin, but at least it is a home. I'm not out there," Molly whispered. She found the bedroom not uncommonly dirty but abnormally cold for the beginning of winter.

Where would I hide if I had to? What will be a suitable place for little old me?

"I said: what are you doing in there? I heard you and it didn't sound like you are lying down, Catnip!" Daisy asked. Every so often she yanked on her chain, hoping there was a weak link in it somewhere, so that she could defy her owner's orders, go after Molly and do something bad to her.

"I think we could be friends you know, Daisy. It would take some time getting use to, but I think after a while, it would work," Molly shouted. She meant what she said but she didn't want her words to be true. Yet, there wasn't any other way. If she was going to find peace in this life, she would have to find a common ground between her and Daisy. She walked out from behind the owner's bedroom door leading to the back and into the kitchen. Molly noticed that the house was a little cleaner, much cleaner than the bedroom in which she had been resting.

"What has gotten into you, cat? I'm a dog and you are a cat. We have nothing in common; except I am a fabulous woman and you are a simple cat, just here in the world. The only reason why I haven't kicked you out is because I am tied up with this stupid chain and I can't break it. But, the moment I get free from this chain, you mark my word; I am going to let you have it!"

Molly walked closer to Daisy, only close enough to speak to her. Daisy was fuming mad. If she could get one swipe at Molly, she would, and that's all she wanted. "What do you want?" she asked.

Molly didn't reply. She glared at Daisy, not backing away at all.

"You took my bed. Yes, that is the bed I sleep in with my master, and you rudely took it," Daisy yelled then yanked on her chain. "Let me out of this chain and I will get you for this, Catnip!"

"We have no other choice, Daisy. Why don't you accept the fact that we are going to have to co-exist? Why don't you just accept it?" Molly said.

The kitchen contained food that, from the smell of it, had been on the edge of that kitchen table for days.

"I don't want to be your friend," Daisy barked out. The word "friend" came out of her mouth forcefully, right along with thick, white saliva.

"Where are we anyway?" Molly asked, jumping on the table. She wasn't a bit interested in the one-week old food. She wanted to look out the window above the kitchen sink and what was out there beyond the rainbow.

"Why does it matter where we are, Catnip. It's not like you're going to pick up a set of keys and leave this house in a car like humans do. You are where I am. And you do absolutely nothing in here or out there unless they tell you to," Daisy said.

"Who are they?" Molly asked.

"Come on, Catnip; are you that out of sync with humanity?"

Molly didn't reply. She listened. "They are the humans I love. They're my owners, and I love them with every part of me." Her voice broke into whimper.

"They have all of the control. We have to listen to them. We have no power whatsoever. If it's what you are looking for out there, you should have stayed out there. You belong to him now."

Molly wondered about that statement and it confused her. Why would she say that I belonged to him now as if being here in this dirty, dirty place is a bad thing? She is right about one thing; we have no say about anything they rule. That is accurate.

She jumped down from the window sill and directly in front of Daisy. Molly tensed up a little, thinking that, as angry as Daisy was, she could, at least, take a swipe at her. But she didn't. Daisy stood there on all fours, white liquid dripping from the corners of her mouth.

"You are right about something, Catnip," Daisy said.

"What I'm right about something?"

"Yes, you are right about something."

Molly didn't question Daisy's sudden inspiration in her being right. It was a compliment that made her feel good. With what she was going through, every little compliment helped.

"I think you're right about us, about us living here, so we girls need to act like girls, and get along, if not for anything else, but for the fact that you and I are going to be house mates."

Why now? Why is she so happy about us being house buddies now? Don't over-think it, Molly. There are other things to over-think than this. She has come to her senses. That's a good thing. Enjoy it while it last. You need this, right? Molly was encouraging herself in her mind when Daisy asked a controversial question, ending these good thoughts all at once.

"Hey, if you let me out of here, and since we are friends, maybe I can help you find what you are looking for, out there in the cold," Daisy suggested. "You are looking for something, aren't you?"

Molly felt weird. She wanted to say no but what came out was the opposite of no. "Yes, you are right, there is something out there that I am looking for," she replied.

Daisy's facial expression showed something resembling a sneer. "I think two is better than one, and when my owner sees that we are working together, I think he would like that more than anything."

"So what are you asking me to do, Daisy?" Molly asked as if she didn't know already.

"All you have to do is help me get out of this chain. It is a headache when it is around my neck for so many hours," Daisy said.

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

Daisy held up both of her paws. There were no claws in the inside of them.

"Wow, a dog without claws is like a human without any hands," Molly said.

"Okay, I guess you are right; two is a lot better than one. Yes, you can help me!"

Out of Molly's paws came sharpened blue claws. She severed the neck collar on Daisy's neck then cut the chain that connected to the collar into two separate chains, freeing Daisy.

I can't believe I did something that was pretty cool! Molly thought.

"How do you feel, Daisy?" Molly asked.

"To be honest I feel good but I would feel a lot better if I could really get my paws around your neck and squeeze you to death!"

"What? I just helped you out of that chain, and you said that...?"

"Forget what I said and remember this...," Daisy growled, the saliva dripping from her mouth to the already food stained floor. "I hate cats. Now you come here, catnip!" Daisy scrambled to get to Molly before she could get away.

It was air and because Louis didn't feel any liquid hit his face this time, he was sure that he was outside. He woke suddenly, his small but yet alert eyes opened wide. The first thing he saw besides the bottom of a front porch, that was several feet across a street and inside a fence, was mud, fresh mud. And then he heard words from a woman that sounded familiar to him.

"I told you we would finish what we started the other day, Louis!" The voice was a little hazy but Louis was clear that it was his worst enemy, Edna.

He thought seriously about laying there in the thick, wet, cold mud rather than having to get up and battle against the cold and whatever else Edna had in store for him.

"You made me look like a fool; this is why I am wearing this neck brace around my neck. You and your rat friend did this to me!" Edna squatted down, pulled Louis up by his name tag and up to her face. Louis was dealing with the after-effects of the Stun Duh. "Get on your feet, Louis. Come on; get on your feet I said."

Edna had Louis secured with a collar and a chain that was locked around a steel post at the back of the building in which Louis was before he woke up from being stunned. She pulled on his chain when Louis refused to get up out of the mud.

He was on his feet and with the pulling on his chain and the cold air, Louis was up and he was steady. Edna was tall, busty and tough. She stood with the stance of a football player; dressed in long, black spandex pants, a bleached-out jacket, and a hoody that cover her head and her hair. Louis stood still. His thoughts began to shift as he took a few seconds to figure out what was going on.

She has to be out of her mind. She wants to wrestle? Is that it? Louis thought. Before he could get in any position, besides his standing position, Edna pulled on Louis's chain. When he came lunging forward, she kicked at him with one of her muddy feet, the momentum took him backwards but it didn't put him in the mud as she expected.

"I see that didn't move you, did it, mutt? How about I give you another one then? Come on over here, you dirty old mutt!" Edna yelled, pulling his chain again. This time Louis didn't budge. He stared Edna down then snarled.

"I'm not scared of you and I won't let you get the best of me out here, without me getting the best of you first," Louis said.

"You don't want to move, I see, mutt. You're playing hard. I will show you hard," Edna yelled. She let go a bit off Louis's chain, giving it a little slack and some running room for Louis. He took advantage of the slack in the chain and charged Edna. His head hit her right below the knees. She dropped down, almost in the mud, when she grabbed her neck.

"That's what I'm talking about. I want a fight and now I see you want to give it to me, dog!" Edna said, yanking on Louis's chain as hard as she could to bring him forward.

Molly found a place in a room with the door closed. There was a window in there, but it was nailed shut.

"You have no way out now. If you come out of there we can talk about this," Daisy yelled from the other side of the door.

"You said we can work together. You said we are friends, so why have you changed your mind now?"

"I hate cats, for the thousand times. You had me on a chain. It was because of you my owner has me second and has you first," Daisy said.

With her clawless paws she beat on the door. She even tried to turn the knob. Molly locking the door was one of the main reasons Daisy couldn't get inside, but her feeble paws had little to no strength in it to turn the door knob.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Molly yelled.

Before her beautiful blue eyes she saw a vicious, Daisy, coming through that door head first, smiling an evil smile, grabbing Molly by her throat and throwing her against the window in that room. She backed to the corner that was littered with books, computer parts, and, of course, dog hair. It was a room of clutter and dog aroma.

Molly didn't notice the clutter even when she tripped over a book wet with fresh urine. She backed into one of the four corners of the room, the one closest to the window. The boom and then the boom, boom, boom of Daisy's huge body slamming against the door was horrifying. Molly had never been so scared in her life.

What am I going to do? Maybe if she gets in, I can claw her? Yes, that's it, I will keep her off me by clawing her and then I can make my escape and I will be free from her. Yes, that's it. Then, as if someone told Molly something different, she retracted those thoughts.

No, no, no! I can't claw her or anyone. That is mean and it may hurt her really, really bad. I'm stuck on what to do? Molly's thought ended with a boom then the door opening with a slam against the wall. Through the door walked the angry, drooling Daisy.

"Come to me now, Catnip. Don't make me come and drag you out of that corner," Daisy groaned, her voice straining to produce words.

"You promised. You said we were friends. What will your owner say if, if, if..." Molly looked for words but all she found was that sloop face, drooling woman dog, Daisy, slowly walking toward her.

"I'm going to put you in the basement until I figure out what I want to do with you. If I let you out of this house than it is a good possibility you may return here. This is why we are in this whole mess to begin with, because you are here, CAT!" Daisy growled. With all the speed she could muster, Daisy was slow. In Molly's opinion, she had a fifty-fifty chance to get away from that big dog. So, instead of gambling her life away, she picked up one of the books and slugged it in Daisy's direction. She batted it down.

"Come here, you little annoying cat!" Daisy yelled.

Molly was faster than Daisy, much faster than Daisy, but Daisy was smarter. She knew she was way too old to out run Molly. The one thing she could do would be to stop Molly from going out the hole in the door. Daisy had to get to the broken door before Molly got there.

"I got you, Catnip. Now you're all mine!" Daisy jumped from the window to the door and caught Molly with her drooling jaws. It was like Molly was in a pair of vice grips.

"Let me go, let me out of here!" Molly yelled.

"No can do, pretty kitty! As I said before, I am going to take you to the basement until I decide what's next."

"Your owner is going to be mad, if something happens to me. He made that very clear before he left. Weren't you listening?" the dangling Molly asked.

"I'll figure that out when the time comes for him to wonder where you are."

Molly should have been scared but she wasn't. The more she was locked in the vice grips of Daisy's mouth, the more she felt like something good was going to happen. Molly didn't know what this was about, but she didn't push this feeling away.

When they got to the door of the basement, which was directly beside the back door, Daisy tried her hardest to turn the knob but it didn't budge. "What is wrong with this stupid door? It can't be locked. It's never locked!"

"So if it's locked and you can't get it open, what will you do with me then?" Molly asked.

"I'm still thinking, so be quiet while I'm thinking," Daisy replied.

She thought about squirming one more time and put her good energy to use when the front door opened. It was Daisy's owner with a brown paper bag and a kennel. Daisy turned at the sound of the door opening and ran for the room where the urine drench books were.

"Let me go now. He is here, and once he knows you have me, you are in big trouble," Molly said.

"He won't find out!"

"He will find out because your chain is broken. I demand that you let me go right now!" Molly screamed.

"Molly, is that you?" the owner said, hearing a loud meow.

"You dumb cat, why can't you shut up?"

"I got you something that I am sure you would like, Molly; it's your own personal house within a house!"

Molly didn't see that the house the owner was referring to was a kennel that he had in his arms, toting it like a new born baby. Molly could hear the owner's footsteps. Even though Daisy was able to get to the room, it wasn't enough. When the owner saw the broken chain, he said, "Daisy, did you break that chain again?" as he got to the kitchen.

"Wow!" Then the owner laughed. "I didn't think you were that strong to break the collar too. I guess I don't know her strength!" the owner said, taking a glance at the chain and the collar that lay by the back door. Then he heard another meow and the muffle sound of a bark. He dropped the bag and the kennel where he stood.

"Molly, Molly, where are you?" the owner yelled, rushing to his bedroom where he had left her. Daisy had made a bad mistake but she had come to grips with it when her owner walked through that spare room with the pissy books.

He was struck with immediate anger. Molly fell from Daisy's open mouth. She ran out of the room and behind Daisy's owner.

"What did you do?" Daisy's owner yelled. His up-turned scowl wasn't the only thing that showed his rage. His eyelids were red from the late night drinking and television watching. While Daisy's owner was scolding her, Molly made her way into the kitchen. She looked at the broken chain, collar and brown paper bag, and then lifted her eyes to the table. Then she saw it; right before her eyes, that thing she hated. The thing that held her in bondage. The thing that always brought her fear and shame and the feeling of not being wanted; it was the kennel.

So this is why he wanted me. These humans, I can't understand why they want to do this to us. We don't belong in a cage and if they don't realize that, then they will never have a pet who can love them unconditionally!

Molly jumped on the table just to be sure that what she saw from the floor was in fact the kennel, and it was.

It is time for me to get out of here with or without the bird. If I stay here, I will either be in a basement or in a kennel and I deserve better than that. I will not live in either one, Molly thought.

"Hey, Molly, are you okay?" the owner said. He opened his arms and reached out for Molly.

Molly's heart and mind told her the half closed front door was her out from the stretched arms.

"What's wrong, Molly? Did Daisy hurt you or something?"

No, but a half a second more and I would have been in a basement, in confinement, just the same as you were going to lock me away in the cage that you bought, Molly thought, glancing at the kennel.

"No, Molly, it's not what you think. It's for your own safety. You saw what happened when I was gone, didn't you?" the owner said.

Molly jumped off the kitchen table. She walked away backwards.

"Molly, if you want things to be alright, you are going to have to come with me now!"

"Help me, help!" Molly heard Daisy yell from the room.

"I have Daisy locked away in a closet to protect you. Now get over here, now!" In the owner's voice was frustration and anger.

Locked away in a closet? Molly thought. I guess you were going to lock me away too, I bet!

Molly forgot that seconds ago Daisy was going to lock her away in the basement until she found out what she would do with her. Molly only saw that the owner was trying to do the same thing to her.

"I said come here, cat!" The loudness of his voice told Molly one thing: to run. The owner had a head start on Molly and he would have caught her if it hadn't been for the glare of light coming through the crack in the FRONT door. Molly slipped through it without being bothered, but the blinding light stopped the owner from grabbing her.

The bird, she thought then ran toward the light. "No, my cat, come back here, Molly. Please don't leave me!" The owner's words were like an echo. When he got to the door the light was gone and so was Molly. The owner, who had only shown signs of happiness and excitement when Molly was with him, now showed sorrow. He dropped down to his filthy carpet and began to cry.

Louis was used to the battles and the disrespect that he got from Edna. From the way it looked, he not only had a few tussle in his life, but the way he was fairing against Edna, he had won those tussles. She was eye to eye with Louis, one hand gripping his chain, the other balled into a fist as if she was going to hit Louis, but in her hand was a ball of mud.

Louis saw this, so he moved about like a wild, deranged animal.

"Hold still, mangy mutt! I'm going to give you something that I think you are going to love a whole lot. Hold still I say, or else!" Edna yelled.

He didn't and he wouldn't. He was sure of himself, chain or no chain, he had Edna's number. He believed he had the wrestling match wrapped up. All he would have to figure out now, was how would he get free without the woodchuck around? If being free yet again was in the cards for Louis.

Chapter 14

Ring, ring, ring was the sound of Edna's phone as it went off in her bleached out jacket. Louis heard it but Edna didn't, or maybe she did. But the idea of humiliating Louis to the best of her ability before taking the phone call was more important. She swung the pile of mud at Louis but, as she did, Louis used his strength and his knowledge of a fox terrier to outsmart and out-think Edna.

Louis nipped at her face. She jerked back slightly, which caused her sore neck to turn and aggravate Edna's already painful neck.

"Oh my neck, my neck, you stupid dog, you hurt my neck again," Edna yelled.

"Good. I want to hurt it again. Come on, I'm not done with you," Louis said.

His words which were barks to Edna didn't intimidate her, instead it made her angrier. "You, God Blame mutt, I have had it with you!" Her yells were booming, identical to the pounding in the middle of her chest. She ran towards Louis in an attempt to grab his chain. Louis pulled back. She reached and Louis pulled back again, then the ringing phone distracted her not once but twice, preventing her from concentrating.

Now I got you. Take that, you mean old lady! Louis thought as he charged her as fast and hard as he could with great momentum and power. The old lady, Edna, fell back head first into the deep pile of mud.

Louis was confused when he saw Edna's eyes closed and her arms flat against her side. Louis pulled back and pulled on his chain. His neck hurt the more he pulled on the chain.

I have to break it, if I am going to be free, he thought.

He then heard Edna's sporadic breathing. It was awkward but she was breathing and that's all that mattered since Louis was not a killer.

Molly could feel her back legs ache the more ground she covered but she didn't show any sign of slowing down or stopping completely. She wanted to get back to the Valley of the Flowers and she believed the bird was her ticket back.

The woodchuck rested for a time and when he woke up he was thirsty. He remembered that on their last and final raid, Louis had acquired small bottles of clear liquid, small to humans, but to the woodchuck the bottles were a couple of inches shorter than he was. With all the to-do and not-to-do with Louis, Hawk and Worm, the woodchuck didn't remember where the small bottles of liquid were stored. Nevertheless, with extensive searching, the woodchuck was able to locate the bottles under a bag of grapes.

"What does this say? Fruity Juicy!" The woodchuck read on the blue label across the front of the bottle. He looked down and saw that Louis hadn't got one bottle of the Fruity Juicy but three of them. "Ah, I bet this will be good. It's nice and cold," the woodchuck said, turning the small silver cap on the bottle.

I think this will hit the spot! He took a sip first. "Umm, they weren't lying; this is really fruity. I even taste a sliver of grapes in it," he said. He turned the Fruity Juicy up, then stopped to let the fruit flavor go down his throat slowly and make the taste of the fruit last longer since he almost had drank the whole bottle empty.

When the woodchuck turned up the second bottle, he didn't stop to take a breath. All that could be heard in his furry little ears was gulp, gulp, and gulp. After finishing it, he threw the empty bottle to the side and downed the second and the third bottle. He burped after those second and third bottles were empty. "I feel ...soused but oh does it feel, oh so good!" the woodchuck said. "I think I cou-could u-use something to eat now, but I want something out on the town, I desire a night o-on the town!" His words came out in a stuttering sentence. He got as far as to the top of the exit hole of his burrow, and fell down backwards. "I see stars. Is it night already? They are so magnificently beau-beautiful," he muttered. "I like that word. I..., I'm going to use that word. I have to save that one," he said, turning over on his side to burp out a big bubble.

In Molly's perimeter vision, she saw a warehouse. "Where are we going, where are you taking me this time. If it is another trap, I suggest that we stop this instant," Molly yelled and stopped where she stood. The bird stopped as if it was going to address Molly's rhetoric verbally. It fluttered its brightly colored wings. Its green, radiant yellow narrow beak shone a ray of light on Molly's back legs.

Molly turned and looked at her left back leg. It was trembling. The pain that she began to feel was the pain that was eased by the medicine she had been taking. "My legs hurt. What are you doing to my legs? You are mean. Stop it now!" Molly yelled. When the bird's mouth closed and the light didn't show any more, Molly slowly began to weaken.

For a moment Molly laid there aching from the cold, growing pain, while her mind was drifting and confused. "What, what am I supposed to do? You expect me to keep going to a place where you probably laid a trap for me?"

The bird didn't say anything. Its wings continued to flutter. It flew over Molly's head and then flew forward, expecting Molly to move along in pace with it.

"Why did you bring me to that house with that bad, bad man who has that bad, bad dog Daisy? I didn't have to be there, you know. I could have stayed where all those beautiful flowers were. They wanted me. They all wanted me until that bad coyote came and wanted that red flower. You should have given him the red flower and everything would have been okay. I could have stayed and all my friends there would not have run away!" Molly said. "It's no use; you're not going to say anything, as Fannie use to say when talking to Elvin. Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. Brick walls don't talk and I guess you don't talk either," she added, regaining some strength in her legs as she stood up. She glared at the bird.

The bird, of course, flapped its wing but it did something different this time. When it flapped its wings, a rainbow appeared from where Molly stood, stretching its way forward across the sky.

Molly heard a sound in the distance, the sound of singing birds. The sound sang a specific song, a song that Molly didn't know in its entirety, but a song of which Molly only knew the chorus. It was clear as the clouds in the sky, what those words were and what they meant to Molly.

Louis heard mumbles coming out of Edna's mouth. He even thought, at one point, when he reached up to try to disengage the chain from his collar, that he saw Edna put one of her hands on the side of her head. He wasn't sure, so he didn't dwell on the thought. Instead he tried strenuously to get the chain off his neck.

"The chain seems pretty weak, but I'm still having a hard time getting it to pop," Louis said softly, hoping not to wake the out-cold Edna. He worked the chain to the point where one of the links in it popped. The single link in the chain dropped to the ground.

"Come on, chain. I had one link pop. I need another one to pop too."

Out of desperation Louis attempted to pull the collar off with his front paws, to no avail. It was on too tight and he couldn't get through the lock in the collar. "I am fresh out of ideas. I don't know what to do now," Louis said, when pulling on the chain and trying to take the collar off didn't work.

The loud mumbles became words and those words became sentences and from those sentences came an angry woman's voice. She sat up like the rise of a dead zombie in a horror film. "You mangy mutt, you stinky, dirty mangy mutt, I have had my share of you completely. I am done playing games with you!" Edna yelled from a sitting position in the mud.

Louis wasn't going to wait nor did he hesitate. He charged Edna before she could get up. But this time Edna wasn't going to be out-done or out-gunned. She raised her heavy leg out of the thick mud where Louis's face met her muddy boot.

Louis felt the power, the abnormal power of a boot to the face. Edna then drew a light green pill from her coat pocket and threw it in her mouth.

That ought to stop the pain while I finish what I started here, Edna thought, rising to her feet. "I hate you, dog. I hate cats, and I definitely hate rats. I'm going to dispose of all of you single handedly, but first I am going to start with you, mutt. Then I am going to dispose of every animal that I can, until I get to that rat friend of yours. Then and only then, will I be happy!"

Edna popped every knuckle in her hands when she stood up. Louis thought this to be strange. Not because she didn't like animals but because of her actions, he thought she was strange altogether. Edna reached for his chain and yanked on it. Her strength was brutal. Louis's massive size neck fit easily in Edna's gripping palm of the one hand.

"I don't know if there is a God that looks after mutts, which I don't believe there is, but if you think there is, dog, I suggest you figure out how to get in touch with him."

Louis felt the grip around his neck get tighter and tighter. Yet he, who was strong and a fighter, could only do so much with a woman who displayed the strength of a man, and with the electric power device she had in her pocket.

He, too, had to surrender.

"You're not so bad, now are you, dog? You see I have the power. I am the power and you are nothing but a pawn to me. All you dogs, cats, and of course rats, who I had no idea befriended dogs," Edna yelled.

As Louis was being lifted off the ground, he also felt his sight slowly becoming dim and his air harder to get.

I wish I could have told the woodchuck that..., that I..., I loved him, Louis thought. Then, when he was seconds from closing his eyes for good, he plummeted to the ground, the mud splashing up onto Edna's face. Louis gasped for air while trying to regain his senses.

"Why, you. It's you!"

Edna turned and, to her surprise, she saw Molly. She held the back of her pants just like she held her neck when she pried out of the window when Louis and the woodchuck escaped that morning several days ago. Not giving Edna any chance to react to her tearing a part of her black spandex pants, Molly pounced on her chest and pasted mud on Edna's face cream.

"You, cat, I am going to ring your neck!" Edna flared.

Molly was now mounted on her face. "I don't know what I am doing, but I hope I am doing the right thing."

"You are, just hang on until I tell you to jump, okay?" Louis said. He had regained about eighty-five percent of his faculties by then.

"Okay!" Molly yelled.

Louis snarled, pin pointing the exact spot on which he was going to attack. I did it before and I will do it again, Edna. This time I am going to make sure you go down for good, Louis thought. Then, at the only speed he knew even in thick mud, he ran at Edna, aiming at her legs.

"Now! Jump off now!" Louis yelled.

Molly jumped off Edna and into the thick mud. Louis's hard head rammed Edna's knee caps. A popping sound erupted as she dropped down to her knees, holding her neck.

What the heck, I might as well do it; Louis thought as he closed a paw and gave Edna a straight jab to her muddy face. She fell over.

"I think, I think I see stars," she yelled.

Louis then turned to Molly who slung a paw full of mud at Louis.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"For being a dog and me being a cat! Since when has our kind become a likable pair?"

"Okay?" Louis said in a question statement.

Molly shook her head in a downward motion while Louis looked at her strangely. He was speechless for a moment.

"Thanks for helping me out a few seconds ago," Louis said.

"Well, you're welcome."

He peered down at Edna, expecting her to get up at any moment. "You better get going. She will be up soon. I am sure the punch I gave her isn't going to keep her down. Besides this is my problem and I wouldn't want you to have to deal with my problem."

"I have no place to go. I have no family. I thought I had a friend but as it turned out, I was chasing something that I don't think ever was, and the owners I thought loved me." She paused. Molly could feel the tears coming. As bad as she wanted to fight them, she wanted to be honest, so she allowed the tears to fall as they may.

"My owners never loved me. They placed me in a cage and took me away to this place which hates animals. This place is very, very bad. They hurt and kill animals there. That's where my owner took me," Molly said.

"I never been to that place, but I understand what it feels like not to be wanted and not having any friends. Well, I had one friend but... well, that is a long story and you have to go. And I..., I have to find a way to survive here," Louis said, turning from Molly, when he heard the mud splash and his chain fall off.

"Now, it will be easy to take the collar off your neck."

Louis turned to Molly. He was covered in mud again, and Molly was bathing in mud for the first time that she could remember.

"Thank you!" Louis reached out his muddy paw. "I'm Louis. You may not be able to read the name tag. It's kind of old and muddy."

Molly laughed.

"I like that name. it's kind of cool. Nice to meet you, Louis. I'm Molly!"

"Nice to meet you too, Molly. Friends?"

"Yes, friends," Molly replied with a huge grin.

"We have to get out of here. I will find us a place for the time being. I think she is planning something really bad for us pets. We have to go before she awakes," Louis suggested.

At first the coyote thought pursuing Molly, since he was stronger and faster than she was, would have been a positive thing to do. But examining the situation from a broader perspective and what was at stake, he felt it was a bad idea. Just like Molly, the coyote was weak, broken and wasn't young enough to keep up with Molly, so he headed back to the Valley of the Flowers.

"I really could have had her, I needed the rest. But I could have had her. If I would have knocked down those trees and ran after her, I would have had her, no question, because I am a coyote."

"I am strong, fast, and alert. I would have caught her and she would have given me the red flower. She would have given me what I needed to overcome what has been done to me. She could have saved me and freed me from the curse of the water," the coyote said. He ran as fast and as far as he could go before giving up. He lay in the woods before getting to the Valley of the Flowers.

"I'm not going to make it. I'm so weak, I will pass away very soon and if I do, it will because I deserve it. I was told that the rabbits were not for food and those that I found...." The coyote's voice weakened into the depth of sleep or perhaps his last breath was coming, but confession was on his tongue and honesty was in his heart. "After all, there may be no red flower here, for me that is. I don't deserve one after thinking about it long and hard," the coyote continued while his coat of fur fell off in spots, burning the area in which he laid, then dissolving into the ground amid all the dead leaves, branches and grass. Apparently the coyote was used to this. It happened to him several times before and he didn't think anything of it.

He found strength to move though, yet every step and every move became harder and harder. I should have done the right thing and maybe things would have been different. No banishment, no curse, none of the pain I feel. He wanted to stop again, but when he thought about how much of a task it was to stop and go, he pressed his way through. He could see the Valley of the Flower some ways ahead. If I have to get past these trees then I am not going to make it. I will never get through to the Valley of the Flowers." As the coyote made a move to step over the wild weed and through the trees toward the Valley of the Flowers, he felt a wrapping then, a tugging on his legs.

"What, what is this?" the coyote said, his strength being pulled away from him just as the dark brown weeds wrapped around his legs and vowed to drag him away from the Valley of the Flowers.

"No, no, you can't have me. I won't let you take me!" the coyote yelled, trying his hardest to pull away from the dark-brown vines. "Help, help me!" he shouted. His screams of desperation carried but soon broke off into gasps of strained words.

The nightfall was being ushered in by cold rain. The woodchuck had yet to close the holes in his entrance and exit part of his underground dwelling since he had been lying flat on his back from the Fruity Juicy. The rain drops came down on him, which was good, because without the rain, he may have slept even longer than he did.

He woke up, an eye opening suddenly. "Oh, no, I can't get away from the aliens. Help! Someone, help me!" he yelled, eventually sitting up and remembering what had happened to him. That was really some good stuff. Whatever they put in that bottle, it has some kind of a kick, he thought, then lazily got up on his hind legs.

He read the label on the bottle, not to be sure what it was, but where it came from. The label didn't have the information he was seeking, but it did have a barcode. Somehow he was able to interpret the information from the bar code on the bottle. Archer and Rash bottling company is what it read. "Archer and Rash bottling company," the woodchuck said out loud.

Where is that located, he wondered. He didn't know where to start to find out the location of this bottling company. "I have to get more bottles of the Fruity Juicy, but would I actually have to go to the bottling company or could I just go where they carry it?" he asked himself.

He smiled, his two white front teeth glimmering and his tongue still savoring the taste of Fruity Juicy. "I wish there was another way, but there is no other way. I have to be valiant in my search for Fruity Juicy," he yelled. "Valliant, hum..., I like that word. I'm going to have to use it more often," he said. "But, for now sleep is upon me, so I must lie down because in the morning I have to hunt for some more Fruity Juicy out of that truck when it comes in tomorrow. I want to be right there when it rolls in."

If mad could be defined in one word, that one word would be Edna. When Onree and Randall got to the warehouse Edna was nowhere to be found. She had not returned Onree's phone call.

"I don't know where she is. She said that she was coming..."

"I don't care what she said, she knows about my secret operation and what I plan to do with these animals. Then again she may not, but I want to make sure she is loyal to this operation. If she isn't, I want you to find a way to get her completely out of this operation. Is that clear, Randall?" Onree asked.

"Yes, that is clear!"

"Good, very good. First thing in the morning, I need a load of animals to this warehouse with or without Edna. I'm going to need at least three hundred animals before I can ship them off. If Edna is not available in the morning then you will have to find a way to do the bulk of the work and get those animals out of that Animal Center and into this warehouse by yourself," Onree said.

When the night arrived and the cold was at its worst, Louis and Molly found a resting place inside a huge tree that had an opening inside of it.

Louis made sure there wasn't anything inside the tree that could hurt Molly. Once he found nothing that could hurt either of them, Louis cleaned out the opening and the entire matt of soft pine needles, making sure it was presentable for Molly.

When she entered it, she said, "This is really warm. I like it, Louis!"

"I think it would be a good place for us until we find out where we will go from here."

"I know that lady, Louis, I mean I've seen her before."

"You mean Edna, the lady that had me chained up back there?"

"Yeah, the one that I jumped on," Molly replied.

"How do you know her?"

"She came to the animal shelter and tried to adopt me, but I ran away before she could get me in the cage. There was something about her that was very, very strange. I felt it in my body, so that's why I am out here. I've been out here since I ran away from her. How do you know her, Louis?" Molly asked.

The thought of what Louis had been through with Edna was sickening. Every time he thought about her, was time spent in sadness and depression.

"If you don't want to talk about it, Louis, I understand. Some things are best left unsaid, especially if it is something bad or something or someone that caused hurt, just like my owners caused me."

"It's no problem at all, Molly. I am not bound by the bad she's done to me so much that I can't talk about it. I can tell you!"

It was late. 9:30 when Edna called Onree back. He wasn't happy and neither was she.

"I thought you forgot about me and what your part will be in what we have to do in the morning, Edna!" Onree said.

"I am not only qualified in common sense, Onree, but I am also smart enough to comprehend a duty without someone reminding me of my responsibility," Edna said, adjusting her neck brace in the bathroom mirror.

"Is that so, Edna?"

"Yes, that is so, Onree!"

"Looks like to me that you entered my warehouse without proper authority. You took something that didn't belong to you and you done something that wasn't part of your job description. And that, Edna, is evidence to me that you do need a reminder of what you are supposed to be doing for me. But since you did call me back, it is evidence that you want to do the job that I require you to do!"

From the silence on the line, Onree believed that he had gotten through to her. But if she had gotten off track, she would be back on track very quickly. "So I am going to ask you as honestly as I know how; do you want to do this job or not?"

"Yes, of course I want to do the job or else I wouldn't have called you back," Edna said with a scowl.

"Good, that's sounds very good. I need to meet you and Randall first thing tomorrow at the warehouse at five minutes after seven," Onree said. "I need you there on time. We have much needed work to be accomplished and being late won't and never accomplish anything, Edna. Have a good night and see you in the morning, on time!"

Onree hung up before Edna was able to respond with a good night of her own, not that she wanted to wish Onree a good night, but she wanted some respect and she wasn't getting any, not from her business partner, Onree, Randall, and of course, not from Louis.

She snarled like a rabid dog and rammed her head several times against the hard edge of the mirror. "Who does he think he is? I deserve more than a hang-up. I deserve a good bye, Edna, I hope you have a good night sleep, and I hope to see you in the morning," Edna complained before she rammed her head into her bathroom wall, this time making a small dent in it. A red mark appeared at the very top of her forehead.

Then as if there was something to laugh about, Edna began to laugh. The laughter grew proportionally to the amount of pain she suffered during the bout that she endured with Louis. But that was the least of her worries. She was taking pain killers that masked the pain while she handled her immoral business.

"I may not get you today or tomorrow or the next day, Louis, but I am going to get you one day. You will show up again. This is your destiny. And when I find you for the third time, I will make sure you will never eat a beer batter bone again. I will find you and that rat, but for now, I have business to take care of," Edna said.

She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of ice-tea that she pulled from the back of the refrigerator; in her hand was the Stun Duh pen. "Everyone is laughing, but soon there will be only one laugh, there will only be one standing, there will only be one standing, when I am done with everyone!"

Chapter 15

"Help me!" the coyote kept screaming. He was losing the fight against the brown weeds. It was evident. But he was known for fighting and so he vowed in his heart to get out of this situation. I have to find a way to get out of here. Even though I am under a curse, I must get to the Valley of the Flowers!

"You are ours now; you belong to all of us, coyote. You will make a good meal!"

A good meal, the coyote questioned. I had no idea that plants ate meat. I guess it is a first time for everything, he thought.

He was able to get one leg out of the grasp of weeds, then his right front leg out, but the moment he moved forward a couple of paces, more weeds grew out of the ground and wrapped themselves around his two front legs.

"No! Let me out of here!" The coyote was losing his voice along with his grip on things. More weeds began to come out of the ground and joined in the fight to pull the coyote below the ground. He wrestled as long as he could before giving into what was vital to the weeds.

"This is my punishment for what I have done. If this is it, then so be it. I don't have to have the red flower!" The saggy coyote with the multicolor patches of fur etched out the words out of his mouth before he caved in and gave up. He closed his eyes as he felt more weeds come out of the ground and wrap themselves around him like a blanket.

"Open up thy eyes, coyote, for your Red Flower is nigh!" Those words sounded like a calm, beautiful whisper in the coyote's ears. His eyes opened. The pulling of the weeds hadn't gone, but along with it came the sunrays that were peeking through the black trees and the leaves that had turned a burnt orange from the extreme heat. "I see the sun. I also see the ray of the sun come down. It's here with me. It's so beautiful. Only if she could see this, she and I together," the coyote whispered. Beholding the glow of the sun rays there was a dark orange beam possessing a part of the sun itself. From his eyes and throughout his body the coyote felt a certain kind of strength, a kind of strength that wasn't his own.

"I am getting my legs back. I feel powerful. I never had this much power before," the coyote yelled in triumph. When he stood up, the weeds, one by one, weed by weed broke away, while others came apart at the root and disappeared. Those that had had a grip on his legs didn't anymore. They were dead. He was a free coyote again. In front of him was his destination – the Valley of the Flowers.

All he had to do was step over the downed trees and the coyote would be right there. And he did. He still felt the power of the sun residing in him, but what he saw before he pursued Molly, was the same thing he saw when he took his first step on the ground of the Valley of the Flowers.

Nothing has changed. Everything is so dead here and I know why, the coyote thought. He sniffed the ground at times but he never stopped walking. The more he walked the more strength he regained. Then he came to that part of the valley where there were four trees, and hanging from them, were beautiful yellow and orange flowers. The coyote lay down as if he was going to sleep. He closed his eyes after looking up at the trees.

"I have done this. It's no one's fault but mine. I have had the curse of desolation on me for quite sometime now. I heard about this place from the book of healing. My wife read it to me. It described this red flower that will wipe the curse away forever. But I want to say something. Even if the red flower can heal me, if I never find it, what use will it be?" he said; his head turned to the barren ground in which he lay. "I don't care about that anymore. If those beautiful flowers can come back and they can sing their beautiful song, and that beautiful little cat can come back here for whatever reason, so be it."

"The curse was on my life not theirs. I am sorry," the coyote said.

With happiness and somehow relieved, the coyote opened his eyes. The power and the strength that came from the sun were gone. He wasn't weak but he wasn't strong either. He examined the horizon of the Valley of the Flowers. Then he knew where he had to go to get back to his wife and son.

The coyote didn't walk cautiously until he felt the hard ground under his paws turn soft. It felt like garden soil under his paws. Even then he tried with the greatest of ease to ignore what he felt, but the feeling was close to be a bother. What is going on here? He turned back to the four trees under which he had lain. The leaves were changing colors. "Okay, what is going on? Did I do something wrong again?" the coyote asked.

This was a one-sided conversation, unless the swaying of the flowers on the trees and the sudden gust of wind was the response. "If I've done something wrong, please, please tell me and I will..." His words trailed off when the wind swept the coyote off his feet and in the air he went.

"Please, please don't do this. I am truly sorry for all that I have done. I didn't mean it!" He closed his eyes, placing his two front paws over his eyes and holding on for dear life as the airflow took the coyote higher and higher...

All of a sudden, in the background, somewhere beyond the cloud, there were voices singing, "Joy!" Then there was a pause then the chorus. This time it was accompanied with three words: "back, back, back. Joy, joy, joy, joy!"

"I..., I know that sound. I know the voices. Hey, I know that sound! I know the sound. It is the song!" The coyote yanked his shabby paws away from his eyes. Way beyond the clouds the coyote saw beautiful birds fly in the thickness of the clouds.

"It is so..., so..., heavenly!" the coyote said.

As the gust of wind began to turn him around and around, the coyote happened to look down to see the ground. That barren ground, dark ground produced a lime green cover that extended as far as the coyote could see. As the ground was being laid anew and the singing in the clouds chimed in his ears, the lime green, flat land began to give up the flowers, the same flowers that were present when Molly was there. Yellow, green, pink, orange, blue flowers. Flowers that bloomed from deep lilac grass, flowers sprouting from leafless stems, flowers exhibiting splendid beauty before a russet sun, flowers of all sort and sizes, flowers that talked back to Molly when she needed to hear a voice of comfort and peace.

What is going on? I don't understand, the coyote thought. He wanted to speak, but the impressive transformation to the Valley of the Flowers put him in a trance. Slowly the gust of wind began to lose its strength and power. The coyote could feel the wind take him back down. The closer he got to the ground, the more he felt physically different.

He never took notice of his saggy fur fly away while he was up there in the air and started shedding fur seconds into his curse. It wasn't until he landed and all the singing had stopped that the coyote inspected himself. The first thing he saw when he put his paw to his face was a new coat of fur, dark orange, burgundy and pearl white kind of fur.

"I think, I think I am different, I have changed," the coyote said. Where he stood and where he walked, everything was the same color as his fur. When he reached a pond of clear blue water, he saw the reflection of himself – pointed white ears on a narrow white furry face. He looked like a mixture of cat and fox.

"I have a long white and orange bushy tail. I like it," the coyote said. There was giggling in the background. "Who do I need to thank for giving me a life without a curse? I'm free," he yelled. There wasn't an immediate answer to his question but, over the horizon, and walking toward him was a large coyote a little smaller than him. Following him was a third coyote that was very much smaller than the second one. Yet, they both had the same appearance as he did. The coyote stood and watched from a distance. "Is that my...? Yes, that is my wife Lora and my son Jacob!"

The coyote ran as fast as he could to meet them. "Lora, Lora, I missed you. Oh, you look different. And, little Jacob, my little Jacob, how you have grown!"

"Hi, Dad, I missed you," Jacob replied when his father lifted him off the ground and held him close to him.

"Oh, how I missed you too, son, but I am back now, me, you and mom, and look, I don't have the curse on me anymore. I am back to normal..., well, a little bit better than normal," the coyote said.

"Yes, we are different, Noah." Tears fell from her eyes.

"But why, why all of this difference? What does it mean? I don't understand. But don't get me wrong, I love our new change," Noah said.

"Your repentance, your true repentance, Noah, made the difference. The beautiful life form here, Noah, is the reason for all of this. There is something about you, Noah, which is the core of something greater. The creator heard your plea and he honored it."

"Wow, I never thought about it like that," Noah said.

"Look up, Noah. What do you see?" Lora asked him.

"I see my old fur and an old man. Doesn't it look disgusting?" Noah replied.

As Noah continued to watch his thick, shabby fur drifted around in the sky. He saw it coming together with other fur besides his own, forming something.

"What's going on, Lora? Whose ugly fur is that?" Noah asked.

"That ugly fur is Jacob's and mine, Noah. Not only did the curse affect you, it also affected me and Jacob. Since we are family, it trickled down from you to us."

"But that still doesn't tell me about this fur so freely flying in the sky, Lora," Noah said.

Lora didn't answer him. Hers and Jacob's stares was the reply. Their old fur was turning into colorful butterflies with short skinny tails from which emanated a lovely fragrance.

"Oh, that smells so good, Lora."

"How do you feel, Noah?" Lora asked with a smile.

"I feel so loved. I feel as if someone really, really cares about me," Noah replied.

"Yes, that is correct. But humans don't care or love each other like this, so maybe, just maybe, what you see now may restore some of that care, which was lost, like it did for you and me. Come on, let's go home," Lora said.

"Thank you, thank you, all of you here," Noah said.

"You are welcome," the flowers replied, giggling.

The many butterflies didn't fly in the same direction as the coyote went; instead they flew in the four areas of Charlotte, North Carolina and beyond – north, south, east, and west and everywhere in between.

Throughout the many parts of the north, south, east, and west where they went, there were lands that had nothing but dead plants and weeds or unplowed soil and dirt. When the midst that they sprayed out of their tails reached the ground in the designated places, multicolored dots appeared out of the ground – each dot was the same color as the butterfly which had sprayed it.

The morning light came two hours after the woodchuck had awakened. He was already up, he had eaten, and had found something as good as the Fruity Juicy in a trash can, but it didn't make him feel tanked-up like the Fruity Juicy had done. Any hesitation to go with the garbage liquid over the Fruity Juicy to ransack the truck had just been a passing thought.

"Maybe I could make me a wooden sword and then I would be the Woodchuck Zoro! If I come in contact with any predators I would slash them to smithereens! Naw, I don't know if that will work. I will go just like this; me and this beautiful scarf the fox gang gave me. I have to go. No one is going to help me, so what choice do I have, if I want to get some Fruity Juicy?"

The woodchuck wasn't just early to rise; he was also early to get to the raid site. It was an extremely cold morning, which explained why the parking lot to the shopping center was totally empty.

He got on a roof of a building where he thought the delivery truck would come. "Ah, come on now; how long do I have to wait on this truck? Gee whiz you come every day. Now that I decided that I want to – I guess I will call it what it is – rob you, all you want to do is to take your own woodchucking time. Come on, guys, drive up into the parking lot as you do every single day. Park and go in the store. And while you're in the store giving them their stuff, I will be inside your truck, taking your Fruity Juicy."

The woodchuck was impatient but when he thought about opening the bottle of the Fruity Juicy and turning it up, the impatience went away. He took off his scarf and used it as a blanket and wrapped himself in it. "This is much better while I wait for the truck to get here. It won't hurt anything to catch up on my rest," he said, lying on the roof. He was almost gone to dreamland when he heard the blaring sound of a horn. He scrambled to get out of the scarf and to his feet. He then walked to the edge of the roof. It was a truck but it wasn't the eighteen-wheeler truck he expected, as the one he always saw when products were delivered.

"Wait a woodchucking second, that isn't the truck, but I bet they have Fruity Juicy on there." His excitement was aroused as his thirst was.

While the single driver was out of the box truck the woodchuck was planning his raid. He was surprised that the single driver didn't have someone watching, to avoid a raid. Then something else dawned on the woodchuck.

If that truck is backed up and the door isn't open in the back, then apparently the driver isn't going to deliver anything, he thought. "This doesn't make sense. They get a shipping of supplies every morning, why doesn't he have that back door open so I could get the Fruity Juicy?" he yelled.

Then as if he was left without a choice, he jumped ten feet down from the roof of the store. His landing was a little rocky, but since he didn't make much noise, he was happy.

It has to be in this truck, the woodchuck thought. He searched the top of the truck for an opening that would get him inside the truck, but came up empty. "There is only one way; I don't want to do it, but I can do it, and I will do it for the Fruity Juicy. You are my love and I will find you and we will be together. I have to get it!"

The woodchuck's final act of courage found him at the door, trying to get it open. This is nonsense. I am not strong enough to get the handle of the door open, darn it! This is dumb. While other options were displayed on the big screen of his mind, the door to the store opened and out came the driver of the truck. By the time he got to the driver side of the truck, the woodchuck was hiding under the front tire. It wasn't until the woodchuck's desperation set in, that he eased his way into the door opening without the delivery driver knowing he slipped in.

Oh no, what have I done, the woodchuck thought. The door sounded like a bomb had hit the truck when the driver slammed it shut.

Louis was the first to rise from his slumber. He looked at Molly. He didn't want to wake her, but food was a must, not so much for him but for Molly.

I'm sure she will be hungry when she wakes, but leaving her here while I go to get some food, she'll panic. No doubt about it, Louis thought. It won't hurt to wait until she wakes, that way we could go together, if she wants to.

What is Edna up to? What is she trying to do to pets? There has to be some way that I could find out and stop her. "Very funny!" Louis said to himself. "Like I can really stop someone and save the entire pet population. I can't..., can't find a home," Louis said when he sat down as if he was on guard in front of the tree. He bowed his head toward the thistles and shrubs. When he was about to shake his head in disgust, Molly came out of the hole in which she had slept comfortably.

"You saved me, Louis. I would not have known how or where to keep warm through the night, if it wasn't for you," Molly said.

"Thanks, but if I recall, I was the one covered in a pile of mud trying to survive a fight with my former deranged owner," Louis said a glimmer of laughter coming out of his mouth. "And how long were you spying on me, Ms. Molly?" he asked, a smile forming on his muddy mouth.

"Well, let's say that we helped each other. Is that better, Mr. Louis?" Molly replied.

Louis laughed. "Thanks for helping me, Molly. Would you like something to eat?" he asked.

"Yes, that would be nice, but where can we go that has cat food or wheat crackers?" Molly asked.

"Wheat crackers? That's no meal for a healthy and growing cat like you."

"What do you mean, Louis?"

"We have to get something with a little more substance than that in your system," Louis said.

"Okay, that sounds good. What do you have in mind, Louis?" Molly asked ignorantly.

"If you follow me, I can show you."

Morning came fast and Edna wanted to sleep through it slowly, but she adjusted to the ringing of her messaging system on her phone and Randall calling it five times straight.

"Randall, do you think I don't know what time it is, for Christ sake."

"I tried to contact you last night but I figured you were asleep," Randall said.

"So, at four something in the morning you think that I would be up?"

"We have a meeting today at seven and I also wanted to tell you that what you done by taking those keys from the couch would have got you cut from this job, Edna," Randall said, his voice rising with every word.

"Well, it didn't. And if you have a problem with me taking your keys, then you know where I live," Edna said. Randall laughed. "Or better yet, before the meeting that we have with Onree, we could settle our differences in the back of the warehouse, Randall."

"I love to get you stirred up, Edna. You are one character that means business. That's why I like you so much."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I will see you at seven sharp. Don't bother me until then."

When she hung up on Randall, so did his hilarious grin. Afterwards, he made another phone call, this one was to Onree.

"Is she still in, Randall?"

"Yes, sir, everything is a go. She is still in."

"Good, that's a plus. I thought we were going to have another problem, but since she is still in, I won't have to resort to plan B," Onree said. "So, is she still buying the entire advertisement page that I created?"

"Yes, she bought it like a magic trick, sir. She really believes there is money in it for her, if she gets all of these animals," Randall said.

"That is how we are going to keep it, Randall. We have her along with others who were working in that shopping center parking to get me all the animals from every shelter in this pet-loving town, until I am done transforming them into mannequins in my warehouse," Onree said.

"I think Edna is going to be a big problem. We need to find a way to get rid of her."

"You are my right hand man and I agree totally. But it has to be at the right time. While those people are running crazy buying my Stun Duh pens, I will be busy making my masterpieces, my dog and cat mannequins. And when I have enough, then and only then will it be suitable to get rid of her," Onree said. "I will see you at seven sharp; in a couple of hours, Randall."

"I don't think I ever ate anything this good in my life, Louis. I was told by my owners that cats should only eat cat food, and the only thing close to table food that I could have were wheat crackers," Molly said. "And you said this is called a Big Mac, Louis?" she asked.

"No. It's a Breakfast Wrap, Molly."

"Oh, this is a great Breakfast Wrap."

"Yeah, humans are so wasteful; I knew that I would find a wasteful human somewhere."

"Maybe he got the wrong order or something, or maybe his food was cold and he wanted something hot?" Molly said.

"Naw, I don't think so. If that was the case, he would have taken the bag of food back into the restaurant instead of throwing it in the trash," Louis replied.

Molly didn't say anything; she continued eating her breakfast wrap. Then she peered up at Louis, who was eating five different types of biscuit sandwiches that he nabbed from three different customers. "If you're looking at me because I stole this food, I do say I'm sorry for offending you, but a dog and a cat have to eat," Louis said.

Molly giggled. "That's not why I'm looking at you, Louis. I wanted to tell you that you are brave, braver than any person or animal I ever seen in my life."

"There you go again with that..."

"Yes, I am at it with the same thing again, Louis," Molly interrupted. "I think you are brave and the reason why I think you are brave is because you were defending and protecting yourself from that horrible woman. The only reason why I was able to save you, Louis, is because while you were getting the best of her, I was able to help you."

"That's what brave pets do, and I'm no brave pet, Louis, I'm just..., I'm just here in this world taking up space. I will never be brave. For me that doesn't matter as long as I'm happy, Louis, and right now I am happy."

Louis stopped eating when he saw Molly's blue eyes fill with tears. He walked over and hugged her. Her heart was pounding hard against her little chest.

"You are brave, Molly. What you've done for me and trusting me to be your friend, that's brave. In my world, this world that I live in, you're not only brave, but you mean something, and together we will prove that you, me and every pet in this entire world, mean something special to every owner that wants us."

Now Molly began to cry as she held Louis tightly. "How are we going to do it?"

"I'm not sure, but I know that we, me and you, are going to find a way to do it together. Okay, friend?" Louis pulled away from her to get an answer from her.

She smiled. "Yes, friend, we will do it together."

Although it was hotter than a midday summer morning in the delivery truck, the woodchuck held on to the skinny pole that connected to the driver's seat.

Everything looked so big to the woodchuck from behind the driver seat. With every little turn and jerk, it felt as though everything that he saw inside the truck was going to fall over on him. He gazed at the back area. There were two more seats and a wall that separated the cab from the back of the truck.

That must be where the Fruity Juicy is. I have to find a way to get back there, the woodchuck thought, his blue eyes focusing on the wall. Then he thought of a way to go through the back. He was almost driven to do that very thing when he felt a cold, rough hand touching his tail behind the seat.

"My cigarettes have to be somewhere around here. I know they didn't grow legs and walk out of here," the driver said.

The woodchuck turned his body around toward the front of the truck. The red cheeked man hadn't noticed that he had touched the woodchuck.

If he finds me, I am a cooked woodchuck. Crap!

The woodchuck was able to get behind one of the seats while the driver found his cigarettes under the front seat. He opened the window at the same time as the woodchuck placed both of his front paws over his mouth to hold in the cough.

That smoke is strong. What is he trying to do, kill me and him at the same time?

"I guess I didn't know how cold it was out there." The driver rolled up the window so far up that the door panel and the window were keeping more smoke in than out. The smoke was strong. By now more of it had filled the truck. It was too much for the woodchuck to handle. He coughed and coughed.

"What was that?" the driver said in a loud voice.

The woodchuck was behind the second seat, behind the driver's seat. The driver strained to look around but when he saw nothing, he returned his attention to the road.

When the woodchuck felt another cough coming on, he snatched off his scarf and coughed in it, which masked the noise.

Soon the woodchuck and the driver were back at the grocery store. When the driver got out, the woodchuck was able to get the scarf back around his neck and jump out before the driver slammed the door shut.

The woodchuck hid under the front wheel of the tire. The driver walked carefree to the back of the truck, opened the door – the very same door through which the woodchuck wanted to go.

"How you doing this morning? You have us some fresh bread today?" The woodchuck heard the lady say from the back door of the store.

He continued to listen to the exchange while he thought; I have to figure out how I am going to get on the back of the truck without being caught. I know there is a way. There has to be a way.

The conversation continued all the way into the store. He didn't close the back door. Maybe this is my chance, the woodchuck thought, and then ran out from behind the wheel and leaped into the back of the truck.

"It's going to take me forever to find the Fruity Juicy," he said. He was discouraged by the great number of brown boxes he saw in front of him. "Oh no, don't tell me I wasted my time by coming here. How am I going to get home? How am I going to eat if I get stuck out here?" Then he saw the hand truck roll up a metal ramp to the inside of the truck. The woodchuck squeezed his way between one of the boxes and the truck's wall. He continued to slide down between the boxes and the wall while the driver loaded up boxes on his hand truck. Once he believed the driver was out of the truck, the woodchuck came out of hiding.

"Where is the Fruity Juicy?" Frustrated, the woodchuck jumped on the top box in hopes of getting behind it to see if his new drink was behind the front row of boxes.

About three of the boxes came tumbling down and one of them was the Fruity Juicy. The box split down the middle and a couple of the plastic bottles rolled out of the open boxes and onto the floor of the truck. "This can't be for real. This has to be a dream! Yes, the drink that I came for," the woodchuck said to himself, trying to take the whole box out with him. When he realized it wasn't going to work, he used his scarf as a sack and placed four of the bottles inside the makeshift bag. "I can't leave here without drinking at least one of these, right here and right now." The woodchuck opened one of the bottles and turned it up.

"Aww, yes, this is what I've been waiting for. This is it." The woodchuck only got the Fruity Juicy down to about half, when he heard another conversation between the delivery guy and the lady in the store.

I have to get out of here before he gets back. The woodchuck jumped on the ramp; it made a loud clink noise when the plastic bottles hit against the ramp. Immediately the woman began to yell but before the driver could turn his head, the woodchuck was gone.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay?" the driver asked.

The woman pulled out a Stun Duh pen and pushed the button that released the current. By accident she struck the driver with it.

"No, everything is not okay. I've seen a rat," the lady hollered.

Edna and Randall arrived at the same time. Onree was standing by his luxury car, obviously waiting for the both of them to get there.

He's got a hurt leg and she's got a neck brace. I'm not sure how they are going to work for me and do the job. Only time will tell, I guess. I'm sure of Randall, but I'm not one hundred percent sure about her, Onree thought. "Glad to see you, Randall, and Edna. I must say I am very impressed with your punctuality. Being on time is the number one thing that makes a business work. If you're not on time then as an owner of the company, you hate that as much as you hate your enemies." Onree's voice became low and creepy. He gave Edna a hard glare but if he was trying to put fear in her, he failed. She wasn't the least bit afraid of the skinny-framed, short man. Onree led them to a room inside the warehouse. It was a dull office space that consisted of a long, rectangular table with six chairs on each side and one at each end.

"Oh, don't be shy, sit anywhere you like. Randall, I am sure you are going to be more comfortable near the front, so you can stretch out your hurt leg. By the way, how is it doing? Is it getting any better?" Onree asked. "Yes, it is feeling much better actually. I should have this cast off in a couple of days," Randall said.

"And what about you, Edna, how is the neck going? Randall tells me that you had a bad run in with a dog. I hope you used my Stun Duh pen next time."

Edna didn't feel like talking. She wanted to know the extent of her job, instead of talking about her neck. "I'm fine, but I think the most important thing is for us to know what the job is going to be – correct me if I'm wrong, Onree."

Onree had his hand on his Stun Duh in his pocket and he was two seconds from pulling it out and stunning Edna right there. This woman is trying my patience. I swear, if I didn't need her, I would do away with her as quickly as I could!

"Yes, you are right, Edna. The most important thing is you doing a specific job, and for me to make sure that the job is handled correctly. Now, let's proceed with what your job is, Edna." Onree's voice was soft and calm but inside he was fuming with anger and retaliation.

Chapter 16

"So, where do we go from here, Louis?" Molly asked once they were done with their breakfast.

"I'm not sure. I wish I could find out what she is planning on doing to all these pets that she talked about," Louis said.

"I think she was bluffing, probably trying to scare you, Louis."

Louis shook his head. He believed what Edna told him. He believed her and he was persuaded that she hated him and possibly every animal she came in contact with.

Suddenly, Louis's concentration was broken. He looked in the direction of the noise. When he didn't see anything, he decided to look for it. But then he felt a cold paw on his shoulder. "No, I think we..., umm, I think we should moved out of here, Louis," Molly suggested.

He didn't give her an answer. He wasn't sure that he wanted to follow Molly's suggestion or follow his own instinct.

"I am sure there is something up ahead, like food and shelter, Louis. We don't have to stay here, especially if there may be danger here."

He still wasn't persuaded and his quietness confirmed it.

"Please, come on, Louis. There is better for us ahead. It doesn't have to be here, but forward. Who knows; we may find clues about that mean, old woman," Molly said.

"Okay, you're right. Come on then, let's go."

The noise in the trees just didn't get louder but it got closer. It would be minutes before they realized who and what the noise was.

"Ugh, he don't look too happy and if he finds out we're following him, Hawk, ugh, he ain't going to be any happy, is he?" Worm asked.

"I thought we owe it to the dog to tell him that his friend is not doing too good. He is on a delivery truck."

"And since when do we start, ugh ... being the keeper of a groundhog?" Worm asked.

Hawk thought about it before he replied, "We are not, but if we are on the road to doing things right, then the best thing to do is to tell the dog that his friend is suffering from what appears to be depression."

"Ugh, I guess so. But what happens if we get too close to him and... And..."

"And what, Worm? Whatever you are trying to say it wouldn't hurt to spit it out." At the words "spit it out," he slapped Worm on the back. "Spit it out!"

Worm stumbled off the tree limb and hit a patch of leaves below the tree. "What if that dog decides that he wants to ugh..., I don't know, take his doggy angry out on us and eat us?"

"We keep our distance from him is what we do, until we know he isn't going to eat us. Since you're so worried about getting eaten, come on, we have work to do."

The woodchuck could hear the yelling, then: "Oh my God I stunned you. I'm so sorry," over and over again why he sat up high in a tree drinking his second bottle of Fruity Juicy. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I bet he didn't know what hit him when, ha-ha-ha, when he felt the electricity hit him. Cheers to you, dumb delivery man and dumb lady in the store. I think I'll drink to that," the woodchuck said, taking another swig of the very strong drink. "This is the life, this is what..., what I been missing all my life..., Juicy, Fruity Juicy, juice," he said as he tried his hardest to keep his balance. He didn't take into consideration how long his life style of drinking Fruity Juicy would last, but he didn't care. He was just concerned with the moment and that moment was the more Fruity Juicy he drank, the merrier he got.

By now Kelly had heard that the Stun Duh was getting around the city and selling like hot cakes but to see the number of pets in her establishment adopted by people like Edna – who were working for Onree – made her feel a little uneasy. "This is really a lot more pets that we have set for adoption in the last three days than we have in the last month, Huel," Kelly said.

"Yes, you got that right. Adoption is on the rise. A hand clap for that, Kelly," Huel said, his smile larger than the room in which they stood.

Kelly was moved by the number of adoptions but there was something more to this whole thing. The Stun Duh guy; who exactly is he and where did he come from?

"They seem to be coming in by the droves, Kelly. Don't you want to meet some of the people who are adopting?" Huel asked Kelly.

Her tight full lips didn't let go of that smile. "I do want to meet some of the ones who are adopting here, Huel. You are right. And I will meet them. I don't think this run of adoptions is going to end anytime soon. But I have something I have to check. I need to get a little information about next month's inspection, but I am sure you will keep me posted, as you always do, with some of the strange people that we have come through to adopt," Kelly said.

"No problem, Kelly. I will let you know," Huel replied, as he left Kelly's office to return to the thick of the excitement, leaving her to her work.

Awh, come on I know that it has to be some information about the man or the woman who created this Stun Duh. You have to be a person who dislikes animals to create something like this!

Kelly looked at the pictures of the Stun Duh on the internet. Some pictures just showed the device and others showed people holding the device in a pointing gesture but it didn't show the animals or the pets the electric charge was hitting.

How can this be legal? Creating a device that is made purposely to hurt pets!

Kelly shook her head in utter disbelief. It took a few minutes before she found the owner's name in connection with the Stun Duh. "Onree John Thomas, creator of the Stun Duh device." Kelly was happy, happier than she did when she witnessed people coming in to adopt her pets.

Onree Thomas; lets see what you are all about.

It wasn't until the walk to find better shelter and food that they could carry with them on their journey when Molly's limp became noticeable. Louis thought that since Molly didn't mention it he, too, wouldn't mention it but when Molly started to favor her right back leg even more, Louis couldn't go another step without saying something.

"Molly, you're limping, what's wrong?"

"I..., I'm okay, Louis. Thanks for asking."

Louis wasn't buying that answer but if that's what she said, then that is what he was going with. That's when he saw several restaurants but what was more important was finding a safe place for food just as he and the woodchuck had near the shopping center.

"What are you looking for, Louis?" Molly asked as they drew closer to the restaurants. Molly followed a short distance from Louis, when she saw a couple of patrons throwing a glance in their direction. "Are you sure this is the right place to go. We may need to turn back and find another way, Louis. Those people don't look too happy," Molly said.

"Since when do people actually look happy? They are few and far between," Louis replied. "I see some trees way up ahead by that store. I will deal with these people if it comes down to it."

"I think since we came here together, shouldn't we stay together?"

"Hey, I think there is a reward out for that dog," Louis heard one of the patrons say.

"I want you to run and not stop, head toward the wooded area, by that big building up ahead," Louis urged.

"But I don't want to just, just..."

"Go now, Molly, just in case they got something. I don't want you to get hurt!' Louis yelled.

Molly took off running in the direction that Louis told her to go.

"Well, what do you know, it's the dog that has a big reward on its head," the patron said as he walked closer and closer to Louis.

The name of the store was Jenkins's Nic-nakes. This store was the one where Edna and her husband went most of the time in their youth, but this was now the woodchuck's new hang out spot. Late, late at night, when all of the workers had gone home, and all the customers had cleared the parking lot, the woodchuck had found a way inside Jenkins's Nic-nakes through the chimney and to the aisle where his favorite types of Fruity Juicy were shelved. But after several hours that turned into several days of straight drinking, the woodchuck found himself sick one morning.

"Where am I? I don't know where I am, I feel sick and I just want to throw up my guts," the woodchuck said, wiping his mouth from the residue of grapes and Fruity Juicy that looked like dark chucks of red meat on his lips. I know they will find me and they will eat me when they do find me. "Well, by all means, if that is what you want to do, come on, here I am, eat me, I am all yours," he yelled, as he stumbled around in the back of the store. He wanted to climb the trees and possibly hide, but he didn't have the strength or the will anymore. I will just sit here until they get me and eat me. I hope they will make it fast, get it over with. I rather be eaten than caught by those crazy humans that dress up like me and Louis.

"And..., oh yeah, speaking of Louis, where, where, wherever you are," the woodchuck stuttered as he walked and tripped over his feet along the back area of Jenkins's Nic-nakes. "We were best pals. We were comrades, friends. We were pals and I want you to know, buddy, that we are friends then friends again." The woodchuck's voice carried, carried loud enough for Molly to hear it when she got to the trees. "I wish you would have got your trash up before you decided that you was going to just walk away."

Molly hid behind some trees near the wall leading to the back of the store and then saw the fattest, dirtiest, tanked-up groundhog she had ever seen in her life.

Sounds like he said "Louis" or am I hearing things? He can't know Louis, can he? Molly thought.

Time is of the essence. I can't watch this crazy groundhog while Louis is probably out there fighting for his life, right? Molly's words sounded as though she was trying to convince herself rather than anyone else. She couldn't see anything from around the front of the store since she was near the trees right behind the back of Jenkins's Nic-nakes. Quickly coming to the conclusion that the groundhog was a distraction and the name of "Louis" that she may have heard was just a mishap of her brain overcrowded with what she'd been through. As she decided to check on her new bow-wow friend, the groundhog started with his bizarre rhetoric again.

"I'm going to lie here now. I'm finish, I'm done, I don't want to fight anymore." When he got the word 'anymore' out, he threw up all over the pavement. And with his next words, Molly couldn't leave him there. She had to do something. "Louis, I know you don't like the term 'dog' but that's what you are, a stupid, self-centered dog that only cares about yourself. I think we both have something in common. I care about grapes and you care about yourself," the groundhog said, falling over on his side.

Oh no! Poor groundhog. And he knows Louis. How do they know each other? Molly thought.

"So you're the mystery dog that everyone wants. What's so special about you, dog?" the patron asked.

Louis thought the best thing to do would be to run. He tried it but he was stop seconds into his flight.

"Got you, this is one heck of a tazer," the patron said. "It wasn't one of Onree's tazer but it did the job all the same. Louis felt the tingling in his muscles. Although the voltage wasn't as powerful as Onree's Stun Duh, the effect was just as damaging.

"Is the dog dead?"

"No, he isn't dead. I just stunned him to cash in on the reward, that's all," the first patron said to the second one.

Louis wasn't going to strain to see what the first patron was going to do next. He could smell his eggs and bologna breath drawing closer and closer. He knew that patron number one was on his way to him.

Louis was aching with pain but when he thought about the results of being caught with Molly left alone to defend herself, he pushed through the pain and got to his feet.

"You stay right where you are. I am going to take you with me. If you decided you want to run off or attack me and my friend here, I'm going to give you another taze, and this time I'm not going to let up," the first patron said.

"We have to hurry up and get this dog out of here before someone sees what we are doing."

"It's none of their business what we are doing. This dog attacked me and I am protecting myself. That's what humans do against mean animals like this, remember that," the first patron said.

"So I'm supposed to stand here and let you do to me what you want to do to me which is hurt me? I don't think so!" Louis said, as he ran at the first patron, catching him off guard. But Louis was way too slow in his reaction.

The first patron raised the tazer then pressed the button. Louis didn't waver one inch; he was ready to take the blast from the tazer. Even in taking the blast he was going to make some contact with at least one of the patrons. Louis saw the electricity ignite from the tazer, and then, out of the corner of his eye he saw wings, large black wings. When they came closer he recognized Hawk and Worm.

"Now get the tazer, Worm," Hawk yelled when Louis's momentum ran him right smack dab in the middle of the first patron's stomach. The patron fell backwards on the concrete ground. He held his stomach while Hawk assailed him with powerful pokes to his head and his hands. Worm went after the tazer that had slid several feet out of the patron's hand.

"Help, help! That killer bird is after me," patron two yelled in a frenzy to get away from Worm. He then knocked other patrons down, who were leaving and going to the parking lot. "Please, birdie, I didn't mean to, ummm... I was trying to just get the dog," the first patron said.

Louis stared at Hawk for a second and then said, "Thanks for your help." As their attentions were on each other, the first patron was able to get to his feet and run. Hawk spread his wings and attempted to go after him.

"No," Louis yelled. He is harmless without that taser. "Let him run. We don't want to stir up more than what we see out here. Where did you come from? And why did you help me, Hawk?"

"That's part of the treaty. Besides, you and the woodchuck are friends. I was worried about the little rascal. So when we came to check on him, I saw that you needed our help," Hawk replied.

"Wait a minute. You mean you came in to check on the woodchuck?" Louis asked.

By that time Worm was coming back toward them, the entire parking lot at the store was in a frenzy. "Ugh..., I think we need to get out of here. Those rowdy people will be coming after ugh..., me soon. I'm sure one of them has a bird catcher."

"Wait a second; we are not going anywhere until you tell me where you've seen the woodchuck, Hawk."

"Hey, Louis I'm up here! I'm on my way down."

Louis watched Molly come down the tree. He gazed at Hawk, wondering if seeing the woodchuck was something he made up. But as she came down he saw the woodchuck in Molly's mouth.

"Woodchuck? It really is the woodchuck."

"You know him, Louis, but who are they?" she said, referring to Hawk and Worm.

"She is ugh..., one foxy lady Hawk," Worm whispered.

"First, I know the woodchuck." Louis paused. "We are..., we were friends and these two birds here are my friends – Hawk and Worm. They helped me out. If it wasn't for them..., well, I needed them."

Molly looked Hawk and Worm over for a brief moment then her attention was on the woodchuck that lay before the four of them. "He smells like he drunk a whole container of fruit juice," Louis said.

He looked up at Hawk and Worm who were positioned on the ledge of the store about five feet from them.

"It's a little stronger than Fruit juice Louis," Hawk said. "It's what human drink to get tanked-up," Wormed blurted out.

Louis laughed. "So he is tanked up? That's his problem? I think the best thing for him is get a lot of rest, not here, of course; he needs to be in a place where he is used to being and away from the..." Louis searched for a name for the beverage that had the woodchuck tanked-up.

"It's called Fruity Juicy," Hawk said, picking up one of the seven empty bottles that lay on the ground.

Louis shook his head in disbelief, but not without a smile.

"Okay, they will find us soon if we don't get out of here," Louis said.

"Where are we going to go, Louis, with all of them out there? We will surely be discovered, right?" Molly asked.

"We have to get the woodchuck back home. That is where he belongs and that's where I am going to take him," Louis replied.

"Ugh, he is going to be mad when he wakes up without his Juicy Fruity. You think I should take a bottle, so he could have it when he wakes?" Worm asked. "Oh I'm ugh, sorry," Worm added when he got a weird stare down from Hawk, Molly and Louis.

"And it's called Fruity Juicy, Worm," Hawk replied. "I know a quick and easy way to get back to the woodchuck's burrows."

"I'm all ears. Take me to it," Louis said.

Hawk took them to a flat-bed train car, Molly and Louis reached the train car without too much difficulty; Molly holding the groundhog close to her body, keeping him warm and out of the cold air.

"Thank you, Molly," Louis said.

"Thank you for what, Louis?"

"For helping me. Without your help I couldn't have done any of this," Louis said.

"You're welcome again, but I feel the same way; without your help I don't know where I would be right this second," Molly said. She walked over to Louis with the woodchuck in her bosom and cuddled beside Louis.

The CEO of the Animal shelter where Kelly worked was a hard man, unsmiling, always wearing this ireful grimace the last few times she saw him. She never understood why his attitude was that of an angry person when he was a wealthy man who was doing something positive in establishing the biggest shelter in all of the east coast in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was a giver to those who were less fortunate, and partner with Glazed Doughnuts, so that the employees of the animal shelter could have fresh, warm doughnuts every Friday. So, when she went to visit her father on her lunch break to see if he needed anything before she scurried off back to work, and he asked if everything was alright. She wanted to lie to him but she couldn't.

"Dad, I don't want to worry you about my problems. I wanted to check and see if you wanted anything before I went back to work from lunch."

"No, baby girl, I think I'm alright, I got my pork skins and my soda pop but if you want to do something, why don't you tell your old man what's got my baby girl looking so sad this evening? You're too pretty to have that ugly frown on your face," Kelly's father asked.

"You wouldn't understand, Dad," Kelly replied.

Her father was sitting on the couch, his legs crossed, with a mug in his hand that read "Top Dad" on the front of it. "Oh, you think because I don't like pets if this is pet-related – which I believe it is – I wouldn't understand. Is that what you're saying, baby?"

"Yeah, kinda of," Kelly replied.

Her father chuckled under his breath then took another sip of whatever it was in his Top Dad mug.

"I don't like pets, baby, but I love my daughter and whatever is bothering my daughter bothers me."

"Thanks, Dad," Kelly replied.

"Did one of those dogs bite you or something while you were walking them?"

"No, Dad." Kelly was smiling now.

"Oh, let me guess when you were cleaning one of the cat kennels, he scratched you on your pretty little head? Is that it, baby girl?"

Now Kelly was really laughing.

"Of course not, Dad, ha-ha-ha! What has gotten into you? You are too funny this afternoon," Kelly said.

"Now that's the daughter I am use to seeing; the one who's wearing that pretty smile that I am use to seeing and been seeing ever since you were a little girl."

"Oh, Daddy, you're too much. Are you saying that because I'm your daughter and you want to make me smile or you really mean it from the bottom of your heart?"

Kelly's father uncrossed his legs, placed his drinking mug on one of the end tables that was holding the lamp next to the couch. His smile left as he stroked his beard lightly. "No, not at all, Kelly. I may joke sometimes but when it comes to serious matters like your feelings, it's serious. Therefore, I am serious when it comes to things regarding your feelings," her father said. "So to answer your question, I wasn't just saying that; I meant it from the bottom of my heart. You are special to me and because you are, I want to try and say things that are going to help you, so if you are willing to tell me what's on your mind, I am willing to hear you out. That's what I am here for."

Kelly was a little reluctant to proceed with the conversation. She remembered past conversations concerning dogs and cats; they usually got so heated Kelly left angry and hurt and wouldn't talk to her dad for several days. So she vowed that if the conversation got anywhere close to intense, she would find a way to cut it short.

She started off by telling her father what he already knew which was that she loved pets, especially cats and dogs. He didn't seem too interested. He turned to pick up his coffee mug, turning his head slightly to the left then scratched his beard. But the second she mentioned Onree John Thomas, she had his attention.

Chapter 17

"You said his name is Onree?"

"Yep, that is the name of the person who created what all these people have been using the last couple of weeks on these poor pets. You know what I showed you on television the other day, Dad," Kelly said as if her dad didn't know what she was talking about.

"Oh, you mean that stun gun thing?"

"Yeah, except it's not called a stun gun, Dad, it's called a Stun Duh. He calls it that because when he used it on the animals to protect himself it makes them go duh, duh. That's what the animals are supposed to do! Anyway, on to the point, Dad...," Kelly said.

Her dad smiled. "Oh I'm not in a hurry. Take your time,"

"To make a long story short, Dad, my CEO will be in tomorrow morning. He will already be here when I get here in the morning and I want to talk to him about getting those Stun Duhs off the street here in Charlotte or wherever else they may be. Honestly, Dad, does that sound a little out of my league by wanting to talk to the CEO of my company?"

"No, it's not strange at all, but what does your CEO have to do with this Onree John Thomas and the Stun Duh he has created, Kelly?"

"It's simple, Dad. What he has created is something cruel and it's a crime against nature. Someone needs to put a stop to it!" Kelly's voice became louder.

"How do you prove that Onree hasn't just created this Stun Duh to protect people from dangerous animals that are trying to hurt us, Kelly?" her dad asked.

"What about the animals? We have protection every time we walk out in society, Dad, and it is called the police. But when it comes to innocent animals, they don't have police pets. They have nothing. They are always at the mercy of mean humans like Onree. So, tomorrow when I go to work I'm going to let the CEO know how I feel about the Stun Duh," Kelly said. "I'm glad I could get your two cents worth regarding this situation, Dad. Now I can go back to work!" Kelly was angry. That smile, which her dad bragged about, was gone. Her light brown cheeks were filled with the heat of rage.

"Honey, wait a second. Can you at least stay just for a few more minutes so that you can hear me out?" her dad asked.

"Dad, I have to go back. If I don't leave now I will be late getting back to work."

"You just got here. You haven't been here thirty minutes."

"I know I haven't, but I have to figure out what I'm going to say when I see my CEO tomorrow morning," Kelly said.

"Sorry I couldn't be more help, baby."

"When are you ever helping, Dad, when it concerns my job?" Kelly asked, storming out of the house. She slammed the door and sped off.

Kelly's father closed his eyes and then looked up at the ceiling and took a drink from his coffee mug. I really wish she could have seen where I was coming from. I want to save her a lot of pain, but, after all, she is a grown woman and grown women make their own decisions.

When Hawk gave the signal to get off the train car, Louis jumped off with the groundhog then Molly followed. It was a smooth landing for Louis but for Molly it wasn't without pain. She grimaced but did a good job of hiding it. They got to the burrows which was farther than Louis had expected, but when he got there he was happy.

"I thought I would never see this place again," Louis said.

"Is this where the woodchuck lives?" Molly asked.

"Yes, and I did, too, before..." Louis stopped, remembering why he walked away and what it was like when he walked away, and so did Worm.

"Ugh, he was going to say "leaving". When Louis left it wasn't recently but he still left," Worm said.

"Is these the type of friend you are? If so in just about three seconds I am going to be friendless," Louis said, growling and walking toward the tree branch where Worm stood.

Molly jumped in front of Louis, preventing him from going any farther.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to say that," Worm said.

"I'm sure if Louis left here he had a reason. He just didn't leave this poor little woodchuck," Molly said, making sure the groundhog's entire body was securely wrapped in his scarf.

"Of course, I had a reason for leaving the woodchuck but I believe there are more important matters at hand. Molly needs a home and we need to find her one as soon as possible," Louis said.

"Hey wait a second. Speak for yourself, Louis. If you are throwing me away just throw me away, but don't put words in my mouth. Besides, you know what you promised way before Hawk and Worm came along. So, I do hope you keep your promise," Molly replied.

"Yeah, you are right, Molly. I am a dog of my promise, and I will keep my promise. But I want to make sure you're not hurt. You are a lady and ladies need to be protected at all times."

"What are you referring to, Louis?" Hawk asked.

"Molly and I had a run in with my owner. Her name is Edna," Louis said. "I think she is up to something and I think it has something to do with the pets. At least that's the indication I got from her when she had me in chains at a warehouse."

Hawk placed a wing on his head. "Warehouse? I think we may have come across a warehouse. You remember coming across a warehouse, Worm?"

He, too, gave the impression as if he had to give the question some thought.

When Molly had the groundhog tightly secured in the scarf that was somewhat dirty, she reached down in his hole and placed him in it on his side.

Sleep tight, little woodchuck. I hope you feel better when you wake, Molly thought.

"I have an idea, Louis," Hawk said, excitement in his voice.

"I'm all ears, Hawk."

"While Worm here is wasting time trying to figure out if he saw a warehouse or not, he and I can go see what we can find and we will get back soon. Right, Worm?" Hawk said slapping him on the head. A few colorful wings fell to the ground.

"Ugh, yes sure. I thought I saw a warehouse..., maybe I didn't," Worm added.

They flew up out then they were gone.

"Maybe with the information that Hawk and Worm get, we can find some sort of way to relay a message to the people who care and they can stop her, or maybe I can," Louis suggested.

"Whatever you choose to do, Louis, it's fine with me. All I want is to help you in anyway I can. We are still friends, right?"

There wasn't any hesitation. "Yes, we are still friends, Molly, without a doubt."

The groundhog tossed and turned for a while. The smell of the food that was stored in the hole with him did absolutely nothing to wake him. He slept peacefully and quietly.

Hunger was slowly creeping up in Molly and Louis's stomachs. It wasn't a question of what had to be done; Louis vowed to do it, even with Molly telling him that she didn't want him to go out on another raid.

In the long time Louis was gone she worried about him and she worried about herself; how bad her legs would get and would she ever find a home like the one she had weeks ago. These questions scared her not because she didn't find positive answers, but because she wasn't sure these positive answers were really the right answers.

From time to time she checked on the woodchuck to see if he was still breathing. He must have drunk a lot of the Fruity Juicy, Molly thought, trying to take her mind off the situation at hand.

Louis thoughts were to get as much food as possible without getting hit with anyone's Stun Duh.

I don't know how easy this is going to be. I'm sure I have to be "America's Most Wanted" and now I'm putting myself back in danger. What we do for the female gender, Louis thought.

Hawk and Worm soared through the air. They ruled the air with each and every glide. Their massive wings spread majestically to their sides, hugged the air with each and every space their forward progress took these two beautiful birds. In the air they flew in perfect harmony, knowing where to look, when to speed up, when to crisscross the air and taper off into a slow flight. Hawk and Worm didn't have a worry in the world, although everything beneath was falling apart, where humans were involved.

I just want to help, and as long as we are friends you will help too, Hawk, Worm thought when they flew high above the clouds then down out of them as something attracted his attention. It was maybe a hundred or possibly two hundred feet off. He wasn't sure, yet Worm was sure that what he saw may have been what they were looking for.

"I think I..., ugh, see something, Hawk."

"You do? I don't see anything and I'm telling you if it's something related to eating, save it. This isn't what this is about," Hawk said his voice stern. "This is very important, so what you see can't be about food and eating all the time, Worm," Hawk said.

"I wasn't going to say anything about that, ugh. I was going to say I see something like ugh..., what Louis was talking about."

"You see the warehouse?" Hawk spoke in utter surprise as he made a strong effort to see through the fog that was passing through. He strained his eyes. But when they got through the clouds, Hawk turned to Worm and Worm embraced his stare.

"I think you might be right, ole friend, ole pal."

In the back of the warehouse there was an office and inside the office sat Onree John Thomas with his short skeletal crossed legs, leaning back in a leather desk chair. Open, in his hands, was the latest comic book by Michael Arnold called The Soul Project.

"Awh, not really fond of this story; I rather be reading Stephen King's, The Dark Tower, but when every comic book store is sold-out of it and you want something, and you come across this for 99 cents for a 65-page comic book, it will do me for now," Onree said to himself.

He placed the comic book on his desk when he heard a timid knock on his office door. There was a total of four knocks before Onree got to the door. "I'm coming; I'm coming. Hold the dog and keep that cat at bay. I'm on my way," Onree said. Because of his height he needed a stepping stool to look out.

"You are back early and I see you have the cast off. How does your leg feel, Randall?" Onree asked, able to hide the stool behind the door in the dark before opening it.

"It feels fine."

"Then that means you're not going to stand here all day and talk to me because there are some dogs and cats at the facility that you are going to be adopting and bring here to my warehouse, right?" Onree asked.

"Of course. I have already started that process. So far I have adopted three cats and three dogs. It was all my car could hold and for some reason they give you a limit of how many pets you can adopt in a day. So, it looks like I have maxed out for today, Onree," Randall said.

"Well, why didn't you say something? Let's go and take a look at what you have for me," Onree said.

Amazingly Randall didn't favor his leg nor did he have any type of limp but what were more amazing were the pets that were sitting there at the front door.

Onree peered into the cages at the pets.

"They are going to have to be much bigger than this. I need bigger, Randall. Bigger animals are better. They are always better," Onree shouted.

Randall took several steps back in fear.

With Onree's upturned grimace, his small slanted eyes and his eyebrows that went up in the corner, he looked not like a different man, but like a monster in Randall's eyes.

"Sorry I didn't know you didn't want puppies and kittens. You never told us what you wanted. If so I would have gotten what you wanted, Onree." Randall didn't trust his feelings about his friend and business partner, so he allowed his body to feel the way that it was supposed to feel, when it was fear that shook it.

Then, as if Onree's feelings were never that of an irate man, he spoke with calmness and a satisfactory attitude as if he was always happy with the kittens and puppies in the kennels in front of his warehouse door. "I will have to improvise. Small or large, nothing goes to waste in my lab of experiments, Randall. I want you to know that."

He wanted to grab Randall around the neck, but couldn't since he was so short, he put the word 'improvise' into effect quicker than he had anticipated. He reached for Randall's hand like a husband would his wife, squeezed it and rub the top of it with his free hand.

"Just remember next time, Randall, it's big and not small. I have something I have to take care of, so when the others get here, make sure you tell them that it is big and not small animals that I need. Can you remember that, Randall?" Onree asked as if he was a father and Randall was his young son.

"Yes, Onree, I can remember that. No problem."

"Very good, and if any of them have a problem with big instead of small, you let me know," Onree said. "There are shelves on this walkway. Put these lab animals anywhere on the shelves. When I get back I will figure out what I want to do with them from there."

It wasn't long before Molly was caught up in her thoughts. She was so worried about Louis that she forgot about the woodchuck. Being out there alone she gained more courage than she ever had before; only enough to peep through the leaves to see if she could see Louis.

He could be anywhere. That place is so big out there, she thought. She walked around and found a different vantage point where she hoped she would see Louis. But all it did was make Molly nervous. She remembered the store patrons with anger in their eyes wanting to capture and hurt animals.

Why did I allow Louis to go out there? Those humans are going to do something bad to him if they catch him, Molly thought. But he won't get caught. Louis is strong, brave, and more than anything he is confident he will make it back. Yeah, he will make it back and he will be okay, and he will have food. She then turned around to walk back to check on the woodchuck, when, looking her in the face, was an orange-hair creature standing in a fighting stance with balled fists.

He screamed. Molly screamed then both of them back away from each other.

"Who are you and how did I get back here to my home?"

"You must be the woodchuck?"

"Yeah, and you must be the cat," the woodchuck replied.

Molly gave him an evil glare. "I mean..., my name is Molly, thank you."

The woodchuck felt a little embarrassed but he tried to shake it off. "I'm sorry, I didn't know your name but now I know. Hi, Molly," the woodchuck said.

Molly didn't respond at first, believing that this first encounter with the woodchuck wasn't going to go as smooth as she thought, with him apparently being a rude animal.

"It's a long story. How you got here? But Louis, you know him, right?"

"Ummm..., you mean Louis the dog?" the woodchuck asked.

"Yes, Louis the dog. It was his idea to bring you back. You were behind a store, tanked-up."

The woodchuck remained quiet as he took some time to put away his confusing thoughts and said the next thing that came to his mind. "Well, I had to do something and when I..., I...drank the stuff for the first time, I like the fruity taste in it and how it made me feel alright. I wanted to stop but I couldn't." He bowed his head, his eyes watered with tears. "How..., how did ... Louis know? How did he know I was at the store getting tanked-up?"

"I found you while Louis was protecting me. I wasn't trying to, but it happened. I knew I couldn't leave you there tanked-up and passed out," Molly replied.

"Oh boy, you are such a nice girl, I think I'm going to..., going to ... CRY."

Within those few minutes of the woodchuck meeting Molly, her feelings toward Woodchuck changed. He wasn't the mean and disrespectful groundhog that she thought he was. He was the gentle, innocent, adorable woodchuck that stood before her. She stood on her hind legs and embraced the woodchuck as if he was a new born kitten.

"Thank you for saving me. I didn't know where I was or if I was going to ever make it back here. Louis..., where is he anyway?" the woodchuck asked his faced buried in Molly's thick, white fur.

"I'm right here, Woodchuck. Welcome back to the world. I thought you would sleep through the night."

"Louis!" the woodchuck yelled, jumping out of Molly's embrace. "Louis. I can't believe it. Is that you? Is that Louis?" he asked, looking at Molly's smiling face.

"Yes, as far as I know that is Louis."

Woodchuck ran toward Louis. Louis dropped the bag of food he was holding and met the groundhog halfway.

"Louis, I just want to say thank, thank ... thank you for bringing me back and Molly the cat for saving me." The woodchuck held a tight grip around Louis's neck.

Louis strained to talk. "If you give me a little slack and my neck back, I could tell you something, Woodchuck," Louis said as the woodchuck released his neck. "I want to say something to you, Woodchuck. First because it's been on my heart and mind since I was away from this place, and if nothing more, I owe you what I am about to say to you."

The woodchuck looked at Molly. He then pointed to himself. Molly pointed back at the woodchuck, giving him a small smile.

"Woodchuck, I was wrong for what I've done when I left here. You had saved my life and gave me a new life, although I wanted a home with humans," Louis said. "My home was with you, my friend, my buddy, and my pal."

The woodchuck began to whimper. Oh no, Louis, you're going to make me do it, I can feel it coming, the woodchuck thought, whimpering and wiping his eyes from the tears that had not fallen yet.

"If I truly wanted a home with humans, it should have been a package deal; me and you, not just me walking off. Like you always say: leave you to be eaten by the predators since you are not at the bottom of the food chain, you are the food chain. So, I ask if you would forgive me, Woodchuck, for my selfishness."

The woodchuck stood between Louis and Molly. He gave a look back at Molly as to say: "What shall I do? Should I really trust what he is saying?"

The woodchuck heard her whisper, "Go ahead, Woodchuck."

Louis's frown wasn't obvious through his thick facial hair but in his heart the frown was enormous.

"It's alright if you decide not to accept my apology, you will be well within your rights, Woodchuck," Louis said.

"I'm going to accept your apology, only because you are my friend, the only true friend I've had since I first met you. Besides, I need someone to clean up the mess that you left in my house," the woodchuck said.

Louis and Molly laughed.

The obsession with Louis had gotten to Edna. She set aside Onree's orders to go to the shelter and adopt some large animals. Instead, she went on a one-man search for the dog that caused her to walk around in a neck brace with puppies' illustrations all over it.

When Onree learned of her deliberate disobedience from one of his workers who spotted her at a pet store instead of the animal shelter, Onree was furious. He would have dismissed her from duties after her part of the job had been done, but not before. So when he was informed that she was doing her own thing, he knew it was time to dispose of Edna sooner than later, no questions asked.

"Now this dog whistle will only work for a Fox Terrier, so if you are trying to attract another type of dog, then..."

"What part of I lost my Fox Terrier don't you understand?" Edna yelled.

"Sorry, I just want to make sure, because you have pit bull puppies all over your neck brace," the store associate said.

Edna ground her teeth and blew air out of the side of her mouth before slamming a closed fist on the counter. "I have had it up to here with you!" Edna grabbed the clerk by the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward in kissing distance from her.

"I said I lost my dog. I told you he is a Fox Terrier. I asked if you had a dog whistle to help me find my dog. You said, yes. So, just give me the God Blame dog whistle for my dog. That's all I ask. Any other smart question is not needed," Edna said, releasing the store associate and pushing him back behind the counter.

When she did and the both of them turned around, there were several customers glaring at the associate and at Edna.

"Oh, no worries. Go on shopping, people. This is my son and sometimes I have to let him know who is in control – like who's the boss." She tried with every muscle in her body to laugh it off. However, the customers weren't buying Edna's words. Nevertheless, they went on shopping and Edna got her Fox Terrier dog whistle.

"Are you sure she is at Pet and Go Whistle?" Onree asked the worker who was keeping track of Edna.

"Yes, she is checking out now, Mr. Onree," the worker replied on the phone.

"Good, we are making perfect time. Well, you are that is."

"What do you mean, Mr. Onree?"

"I mean since you have one of my Stun Duh's and I am about ten minutes out, in order to get a handle on her, someone is going to need to stop her, right?" Onree asked.

The worker paused. "Ummm..., well, I was..."

"You were going to pick up animals. I am very aware of that, and Randall was supposed to be the lookout man, but like I told you before, you are now the lookout man. You are to stun duh her as quickly as possible when she gets to her car. And don't ask any question. Just do it. By the time that's done, I should be pulling up," Onree said.

"What do I do once I stun duh her, boss?"

"What do you mean what do you do, Nitwit? You get in your car and you drive to the animal facility and you get me dogs and cats. Is that so hard for you to understand?"

"No, it isn't, but I mean...., I mean her..., the lady, what do I do with her?" the man stuttered. Onree's worker was scared and timid.

"What we do with her is simple; we leave her there beside her car. She was a temp worker anyway. And now she's become a problem in my work environment."

"Oh, boss, that is cruel and mean! What are we representing by doing this to this lady? She gave me a piece of bubble gum when I asked for a piece this morning."

"Shut up, I heard enough of you. She will be coming out of that store anytime now. So if you don't want me to report how you threw berry cherries at the birds the other day, you better stun duh her before she gets in that car and drive away."

"Please, please, please, Mr. Onree, I didn't know the cherry berries would make the birds sick. I was just trying to feed them."

"Well, animal control knows someone made them sick and I know you are the one who made them sick, so if you don't want me to tell your secret then you..."

"Alright, alright, alright already! I am going to do it now. She is coming out now..."

"Good. Call me when the job is done," Onree said, hanging-up abruptly.

Onree's flunky ran across the street where Edna walked out with her head down, inspecting the dog whistle. She didn't notice the worker running toward her until she heard him yell at her.

"Hey, Edna, Edna, remember me?"

"Yeah, I do. You are Sam, one of Onree's assistant, right?"

"Yes that would be me! I was in the area and I saw you. So I wanted to say hi."

"Okay, hi! What do you really want, Sam?" Edna said, stopping right before she got to her car.

"Onree wants me to stun duh you and leave you lying beside your car. He should be here any second, once I have stunned duh you."

Chapter 18

Edna wanted to think Sam was joking, so she did a double take when she saw his words flash before her and his hand move all about in his coat pocket. She dropped her dog whistle as she reached for her car keys. Both Edna and Sam battled, trying to get their respective items.

"Be still! How do you think I'm supposed to stun duh you, Edna?" Edna wasn't just stronger, she was taller, smarter, and bigger, and whatever other advantage it took to win a fight, Edna had it. But the one thing she didn't have in her favor was agility. Sam got his stun duh out before Edna got to her car keys. He pointed it to her.

"Hold it, Sam, one second," Edna yelled.

"What do you mean 'hold it, Sam'? I have been given specific orders to stun duh you. And that's what I'm going to do. I don't have time to hold it," Sam replied.

"I understand and I want you to stun duh me."

"You do?"

"Yes, but I want to eat my last piece of bubble gum before you do it. Can I, at least, have that request, Sam?"

"Um..., I don't have a problem with that. Let me know when you're ready, okay?"

Edna dug in her purse then took her hand out revealing nothing. "I can't seem to find the piece of bubble gum. You think you could find it for me, Sam?" Edna said.

"Yes, why not?"

When he reached his hand out for her purse Edna threw it at him. Sam grabbed his head as the purse fell to the ground and so did Sam's Stun Duh.

"Oh, you hit me! Now I'm going to really stun duh you," Sam yelled.

"Oh yeah? We will see about that. With little effort, Edna pushed Sam down, and picked up his Stun Duh. "I want you to give Onree a little message, okay? I don't work for him or anyone else."

"Please no! Don't do it. I will buy you a pack of gum. Wait, I will..."

That's about all the words Sam got out of his mouth when the bright blue and black whirlwind of the electric charge struck him in the middle of his forehead. As if he was being controlled by a blast of electricity, his arms and all of his body flailed all over the place. Edna would have continued pressing the small button on Sam's Stun Duh and enjoy watching him do the Stun Duh dance, but when a gray van with an emblem of an ice cream cone on the side of it sped across the parking lot, Edna stopped.

Her eyes glared at the van. A man, a woman and Onree jumped out of the side door. "If you want something done right then by golly you have to do it yourself."

"Stun duh her and seize that animal hating woman," Onree yelled.

Edna would have loved to have stunned duh the woman and the man but by the time she had the Stun Duh up it was way too late. She too was doing the electric dance.

Onree yelled: "Keep it up, don't let up. I want her at my mercy. She will learn her lesson never to defy me."

When Hawk and Worm got through the fog what they saw was not a warehouse but a house with a backyard full of vegetables.

"I told you this just can't be about food, Worm. When will you get that through your brainless skull?"

Worm stopped in midair then Hawk stopped too.

"Why are we stopping? We are here now, so we might as well feast," Hawk said disgustingly.

Worm didn't reply, instead he dove into the garden at full speed.

"Hey, where are you going?" Worm picked up several different vegetables then he took flight once again.

What is he doing? I better not ask. I know it is one of his crazy ideas. I will make sure he sticks to what the plan is. And I'll be sure to put an end to all of his foolish ideas.

The ride was bumpy but Edna didn't feel a thing on the way to the warehouse. "I want her in restraints before she is moved into my warehouse and I want Sam in my office immediately after he awakes," Onree said, directing his attention to the young male and the young woman. After the young woman had Edna in handcuffs, that Onree had supplied, she and the man got each end of Edna and took her inside the warehouse.

"Where shall we put her, Mr. Onree?" the woman asked.

"Oh, I have a spectacular place for her. I knew this day was coming, so I prepared for it," Onree replied. On one of the poles in the middle of the warehouse was a green and red button. Onree pressed the green button and a human-sized cage rolled down off a chain from the top of the warehouse. It continued to come down until it landed on the ground.

"Voila! This is where she is going to be for a while until my project here is done and I'm long gone. Which one of you fine people want to do the honors of opening this cage?" Onree asked.

The man and the woman dropped Edna on the hard concrete floor. "If you don't mind, boss, and if it's who I think it is, I would love to do the honors of opening her cage and put her in it," Randall said, suddenly favoring his leg again.

"Randall, I didn't know you were here. I thought maybe you went out or something, but yes, come on, my pal, my friend, my buddy, the honors are all yours," Onree said. "Sorry, guys, I just remember she is his cousin but he hates her guts, so I think it's only right to give him the honors. Now step away."

Randall looked down at Edna for a long moment. "I hope Onree has you in this cage so that you think you are a dog and you start barking."

"Well, what are you two waiting for? Let's get her in her new home," Randall said once he unlocked the cage door.

Hawk thought Worm's idea, whatever the idea was leading up to, didn't make sense at all, but for the first time in a long time he followed his lead except without picking up any of the vegetables.

"How does any of this have anything to do with us finding the warehouse, Worm?"

"Ugh, because it just does, Hawk. Why does ugh..., my way of doing thing always has to ugh..., be the wrong way?"

"Worm, listen, I didn't mean it like that at all. What I was saying was..."

"I know what you're saying. You ugh..., you think I'm stupid like ugh..., dumb, Hawk."

"No, no, I don't mean that you are dumb, Worm. I just think sometimes..., like sometimes..."

"Go ahead and, ugh, and say it, Hawk." Hawk paused. Then as if he was about to open his long beak to say something, Worm spoke out.

"I kind of figured you wouldn't say ugh..., what I thought you would say, Hawk! One thing you should know, we are a..., ugh team and there isn't an "I" in a team is there?"

Hawk didn't say anything. He glared at Worm as if he was trying to figure out his point as if he didn't already know.

"Ugh..., I was asking you a question."

"No, no of course not there is no "I" in team, Worm, not at all."

"Okay, I thought I may have been wrong but ugh..., I'm right," Worm said as he flew to the core of an upcoming fog.

"I guess you can't have just the good, but the bad has always to show its ugly little face at the most joyous time of my life. This can't be right."

"What are you griping about now, Woodchuck?" Louis asked while he and Molly ate from three double-quarter-pounder burgers.

"How rude are we, Louis," Molly said, lifting her head from their feast. "We didn't even ask the Woodchuck if he wanted some of our meal."

Louis put his head up and started laughing. The woodchuck put both of his hands over his eyes and shook his head in a disgusting gesture.

"I don't eat meat. I am a vegetarian and a fruitarian."

"Fruitarian? I never heard that term before. What is that, Woodchuck?" Molly asked curiosity painted all over her muddy face.

"Just what I thought. I knew that Louis was up to his old tricks again. Sorry, Molly, but I have to let Louis know something and know something really fast. But to answer your question first; a fruitarian is a woodchuck that eats only fruit and this little weasel of a Louis has turned you."

"Turned me? What do you mean, Woodchuck?" Molly asked.

"Well, I guess the woodchuck is back to his old self," Louis said.

"I mean, Molly, in all my living years, I never seen a..., no disrespect to a cat who eats meats, and I'm not blaming you, I am blaming you, Louis."

Louis continued to laugh while Molly found his high-pitched scolding to be somewhat amusing. She showed a smile.

"Blaming me for what? What have I done?"

"You turned my new friend with that horrible, horrible meat. She looks like she was a vegetarian and a fruitarian just like me until you, Mr. Louis Meatman, gave her a taste of that cow's butt and she..., she..., she has turned and that's no way for my new friend to be," the woodchuck said.

Louis whispered something in Molly's ear. Molly looked back at Louis. Then her smile drifted away and she turned to Louis to murmur into his ear.

The woodchuck cleared his throat and spoke in a quiet voice. "You two are not the only ones out here, you know. Woo-hoo?"

"I was on a very specific diet, Woodchuck," Molly said. "But being out here, not knowing where your next meal is coming from, you have to take what you can get, so that's where I am with my diet. Now there is plenty here, and the burger sauce is really good. You should try it," Molly suggested.

The woodchuck took a couple of seconds to think about it.

"Did I mention the sauce is really, really, really good?"

"Oh, what the heck, my diet has been grapes all this time. I need to just live a little. Why not?" the woodchuck said.

Louis put up his front paw in a high five gesture. They smacked hands then he repeated the same thing with Molly.

"Welcome to the meatarian club, Woodchuck," Louis said. But Woodchuck didn't respond. He was too busy gorging on the meat sandwich.

For a longtime Hawk didn't say anything. There was nothing for him to say. He was well aware of how he treated Worm at times. He would belittle him, leave him, talk him down, and more recently, find his idea to be nothing more than just a dumb expression that should never come out of his head. Before they got too far off course, Hawk thought he needed to ask Worm why they hadn't come across the warehouse that he thought he saw.

But he held his piece, and knowing Worm as long as he did, he believed he would say something. If he didn't, he would look for the warehouse himself and Worm could be on his own with all his fruit and berries. But it didn't come to that. Worm finally broke his silence when they got out of the thick of the fog.

"The warehouse is ugh..., right over these trees. They got those electricity things, so we can throw these ugh vegetables down to where ugh..., those men are outside of the warehouse. That will distract them long enough to get those things ugh..., away from them. And then we can find out what's inside the building," Worm said.

Hawk was surprised and somewhat envious that his longtime best pal had come up with a great idea without his help, but he wouldn't reveal his slight jealousy toward Worm's great idea. Why would I? It's a great idea and I believe it will work. Like the humans always say, "two is better than one." I like that saying. Hawk could see the huge warehouse in the distance.

"I see the warehouse and it looks like a couple of people are standing at the back of the place," Hawk said.

They looked at each other. Worm gave him a small onion. "This will stop them good," Worm said.

"Yes, it will. Let's go." Worm's plan worked like a charm. The onion distracted the two men at the back of the building and the Stun Duh lit them up once Hawk and Worm had given them a taste of their own medicine.

"I think we'll have a better way in there, Worm." Hawk pointed to the large opening in the chimney in the roof. Worm agreed that going down that hole in the chimney would work better. They wouldn't be detected.

"Ugh, now the question is who is going first?" Worm asked.

"This whole thing was your idea so you're going first I would think."

"Ugh, your idea was the chimney. So I elect you, Hawk, to go first," Worm said without a smile or a smirk.

"Okay. How bad can going down a flue hole be? If I have to go first then I will go first, Worm," Hawk said and then went down the chimney.

Worm flew closed by. Then, as he had expected in the back of his mind, he heard it. "Worm, this was a bad idea." Worm laughed, opened the back door of the warehouse and let himself in. He knew it would be a big deal finding out where the chimney led to, but he wanted to be discreet in doing it. He smelled the scent of cheap cologne. Ugh, there are humans in here. They will get me if they see me.

There wasn't anything special about the warehouse. It contained shelves everywhere on each aisle of the many aisles; too many to count. The shelves started from the ground all the way up, missing the ceiling by about six feet. The ceiling itself had to be at least fifteen to twenty feet away from the ground with large pendant lights lighting up the place with stark whiteness. The aisles went from where Worm stood at the backdoor, all the way out of sight on each side, as far as he could see them. A concrete floor lined and separated the aisles. Worm could hear talking from a cage hanging by a thick steel chain in the middle of that aisle.

"I see you're awake, sleeping brute! To prevent you from straining that badly damage neck, wondering where you are, Edna, I tell you where you are. You are in my warehouse. I would say welcome back, but I suppose with all the electricity I filled your old, fat body a couple of hours ago, I'm sure welcoming you anywhere is hardly and invitation you want to accept."

"When I get my hands around your scrawny little neck, I am going to..." Edna said to herself then stopped. Her eyes became wider but her lips held one nasty, drooling grimace as she sat Indian style in the corner of the cage.

"Your jabbering lips will get you nowhere, Edna. What you will do from here on out is sit in that kennel or lie in it, which ever you prefer, until I am good and done with you," Onree said.

The front door opened and out of the outside shadows, Randall walked in. When Edna caught a glimpse of Randall walking inside the warehouse, she forced herself to her feet and like a prison inmate; she peered out between the steel bars.

"Hi, Edna, how are you?" Randall asked.

"I could have your head on a platter right now, Randall. What is going on here? I thought we had a deal to get as many animals as we could get and sell them to that weasel down there and we get paid."

Onree shook his head and smacked his lips at the same time. "She doesn't sound like a happy camper, does she, Randall?" Onree said.

"No she doesn't."

"One thing you should know, Edna, is no one works for me and defy my plan, my work, my vision."

By that time the young man and the woman, who jumped out of the van and stunned duh Edna, walked up to join Randall and Onree.

"Who are you all supposed to be: the get along weirdoes?"

"You take that back right now or I will stun duh you myself, Edna."

She laughed at Randall's rhetoric.

"Calm down, pal. She's just mad because she is in that kennel and you are walking free as a bird," Onree replied. "My plan is much bigger than the likes of a busty brute who can't follow orders but can run her lips off."

"You see, Edna, it wasn't a true website, it was all a hoax to reel you in."

"What in God's name are you talking about, weasel?"

"Randall dislikes you just as much as you dislike pets. He has told me the things you done to him over the years, taking his lunch when you two were in grade school, stealing money and not to mention my keys to my warehouse."

Edna's scowl became more intense by the second.

"I don't tolerate people like you nor do I like them, Edna, but I thought you could turn your dirty ways loose and come to join me, but your cousin here was right, you can't and you won't. You are just a dirty, scheming, bad, bad brute. Yes, you are, Edna. But since you are here, I might as well let you in on our little secret. What do you say, guys, do you think we should let her in on our secret?"

He has got to have every last screw in his head loose! Hawk thought from behind a vent where he had landed.

"Edna, my dear, if we can't agree on everything, we can agree on something and that something is that we both hate all animals. What the animal shelters call pets," Onree yelled. "They say it is inhumane to kill them, but I found a legitimate way to bring fear upon every last one of them and that's better than death. It's better than their demise, Edna. It's called my Stun Duh. And you have felt the power of my Stun Duh, didn't you?"

Edna, like an angry pit bull, growled under her quivering lips while pulling hard on the bars of her cage.

"But now I have a great plan, Edna. I have moved up in the world if you will. I am not satisfied with putting fear in them. That's not enough. I want more, Edna, I want more."

When Onree said the word "more" for the second time, he dragged it out in a very eerie kind of way which brought a chill down Worm's spine. He was hiding between two of the shelves.

"It's called "Project E", Edna, and it involves all the little weedy animals you don't like," Onree said.

"Oh so you..." She stopped to exhale. "You, little weasel," she said under her breath.

"Project E is simple. It's just the short form for extermination, but not as you see it. This process uses a perfect embalming fluid and a rare type of blood, called type D blood. Type D blood is only found in certain types of dogs and cats. When I find this type of blood, then I will mix the two, inject the mixed fluid into the animal of my choosing, and in twenty-four hours they will be mannequins of themselves. These mannequins will sell overseas very well, ha-ha-ha-ha." Onree laughed hysterically then put on a serious face. "Now then, brute, you pathetic woman, you want to mess with me? You want to go and buy a dog whistle while you are on the clock working for me. Although you weren't getting paid – but you didn't know that – you carried on with your stupid obsession. Anyway, now that you know my secret, I think a brute with a dog neck brace would make a good mannequin in someone's home," Onree yelled.

Oh no, that is bad news, Hawk thought. I have to find a way out of here and locate Worm. He can't still be outside, can he?

Then, as Hawk leaned forward from where he watched the whole ordeal, he made a loud clink sound that carried through the warehouse. It didn't take him long to make the decision. He had to get out of there once he heard: "Find out what that noise was." Hawk flapped his large wings as fast and as hard as they would go, turned to his left when he saw the woman and the man come at him.

"It's a big bird. It looks like an eagle," the man said as he fired his Stun Duh.

"Where is help when you actually need it? Worm, where are you? If you are in here we need to go very fastly – if that is a word."

"I will deal with you later. Looks like we have a bird problem that I didn't know we had. Come on, Randall," Onree said forcefully.

Hawk flew straight ahead covering a lot of ground quickly. His heart pounded in his throat every time he thought: What if there is no exit where I'm going. Where am I supposed to go? But Hawk was mentally strong. He wasn't going to let that situation get him down, but when he saw a few of the cages fall and one of them nearly hitting him, he had second thoughts.

As mean and as raw as Edna was, she didn't overlook what Onree had up his sleeve, but she wasn't willing to admit her wrong-doing toward Charles, people at the stores, the restaurants, and toward pets, and most of all toward Louis for the three years she had him. The idea that she was reaping what she sowed came to mind while she was isolated in her steel cage. Yet, she wasn't willing to surrender to the idea of fate; instead she continued to pull on the bars, hoping to pop the lock.

"Let me out of here! Once I find you, Onree, I am going to break your pencil neck with my bare hands." That was her standard retort when she was offended, but then there was the certainty of it all, which was much more than Edna's vicious bite. It was her being locked down like a dog in that steel cage. What would become of her? And if she did get out, how in God's name would she have the savvy to go after Onree and Randall while also keeping Louis and the woodchuck on her hit list.

There were a few hiding places that caught Hawk's eye, but rather than hiding he was seeking a way out. Other than the hiding places, all he saw were shelves, shelves, and more shelves and not to mention the walls that he almost ran into.

When Worm didn't hear anymore noise from the ranting people below, he came out.

I have to find ugh..., Hawk, before they ugh..., get him, Worm thought as he flashed across the crowded warehouse.

"I want that bird. We can add him to my plan for making mannequins! So far there is no bird. Get him out of the air and bring that bird to me," Onree yelled.

Randall, the man and the woman, farther ahead than Onree, still had the bird in their sights.

As Worm headed in the direction where he heard the most noise, he stopped when he saw Edna's cage hanging by a thick heavy chain. He was hesitant but not too hesitant to fly in front of the cage where Edna was peering at him. "Hey, shoo! Get out of here, bird."

Hawk saw a side door and above it was a two by two window that looked like it had not been cleaned in years. I have to break that window on the run to get out of here; Hawk heard his brain say at the same time as he heard Randall say: "You have that bird in the open, now take the shot!"

Chapter 19

When Hawk heard: "Take the shot" he turned, out of concern. He didn't know if the shot had to do with a shot gun, a dart gun, or a bow and arrow. For Hawk 'take the shot' was a death warrant. The moment he turned, Hawk saw the blazing strike from the Stun Duh. He dodged it with great accuracy but although the strike missed him, it didn't miss a cage directly above him. One of his wings got caught in the bars of the cage. The cage and Hawk tumbled down, crashing to the floor.

"Dang it, I was almost out of here," Hawk said as he heard three sets of footsteps running toward him.

Even if he was to get out of this snag, by the time he was up to take flight, he would be stunned duh by at least one of Onree's henchmen.

"Would you look at that, that is some beautiful bird," the young man said.

"It kind of looks like an eagle. I didn't know we had eagles like this around here," the young girl said.

"Okay, you boy and girl, enough of the admiration. I'm sure if this bird could talk he would probably say thank you to the two of you, but since he can't, get me a cage ready, so I can stun duh this bird really good, so we can take him to Onree."

The man and the woman both pulled a huge cage that was in a reachable shelf.

"You think this one is good enough, Randall?" the girl asked.

"That is great, perfect. Alright, bird, any last wish before I put you to sleep?"

Yeah, I hope this doesn't hurt too bad, Hawk thought then closed his eyes tightly.

But before he could prepare his mind and body for the impact of the blast, there was a loud crashing noise coming from the back of Randall and the man and woman. "That sounds like cages. Go check it out. I will stay here with the bird," Randall said.

A moment of inspiration popped in Hawk's mind. Maybe someone is coming to stop them. Maybe one of those people got hurt and they need some help. He continued assessing the situation until he saw a single black feather fly in his direction. Worm, Worm, it's Worm. It has to be Worm! Now Hawk was moving hysterically. Even though the tight grip the cage bars had on his wing was painful, he pulled harder.

"No matter how you pull on that cage you're stuck, bird." When Randall's efforts of pushing the button on his Stun Duh didn't work, out of frustration he hit it against his hand and shouted: "Work, you piece of crap." Again he went to slam his Stun Duh against the palm of his hand when he felt something pointy and clammy in his head, and then felt himself being lifted off the ground and tossed aside like a rag doll.

"Worm, thank goodness you were here all along!"

"Ugh, yeah, I came through the back. I can get you out of there if you ugh..., would like out of there."

Before Hawk answered he gave Worm a short stare then he said, "What would I do without you?"

With one talon, Worm held on to one of the bars then yanked on Hawk's wing that was stuck between the bars with the other. Hawk yelled but his wing was free.

Randall saw the ordeal from the floor right under the side door. He wanted the Stun Duh but he wasn't getting it. Hawk got to it first.

"Please, pretty please, bird, don't do it." With the first impulse of his orange beak Hawk pressed the button on top of the Stun Duh.

"I think the better way will be out the..., ugh..., way I came in," Worm suggested.

"I don't know. They are probably up there and if we get shot with those rays they are going to have us," Hawk said.

Then out of the shadows, someone was looking over Hawk and Worm. A Stun Duh ray came from one of the aisles, striking the handle on the side door. Hawk then gave it a shot from Randall's Stun Duh and they flew away out of the opening in the door.

When the sun broke through the clouds and a beam of warmth shone through Kelly's animated cat curtains, she sat up straight in her bed. "Oh no, I'm late for work," she exclaimed. But when she remembered that she had to be at the shelter by eight thirty instead of seven, she relaxed. She had told her associates and her shift supervisor, who was out of the shelter more than she was in, that she had some personal issues which she had to handle before work.

No problem, Kelly, but if you decide that you can't make it at all just give me a call. Kelly smiled when she thought of the kindness and the love her supervisor showed to her, not because she gave her time off when she needed it but because she cared so much about the few of them who volunteered, including Kelly.

When Kelly had put her sweatshirt on that said, "Pet are number one" and parted her dark brown hair to comb it in her favorite style, her smile disappeared in the mirror. "Dad, you don't have to sneak around the corner. I can see you in the mirror, you know."

"Honey, I know that you are preparing to go to work and I don't want to hold you up but..."

"Then why holding me up, Dad?" Kelly interrupted.

"Because I love you and I care about you, and you being mad at your father does bother me, Kelly," her dad said. "No matter what you think or how mad you get, I'm still your father, Kelly, and all I want is the best for you. That's it."

"Dad," she said, tears now streaming down her face. "Pets are my life. It's all I know since I was a little girl. The way that we humans treat them isn't right. What I see on television with these stun guns isn't right either. All of the pets that are being stunned aren't bad pets, they need an advocate. Someone that can speak for them! And today, Daddy, when the owner of the company comes in, I will talk to him."

"Honey, honey, why are you...?"

"I don't care who thinks it's dumb, but something has to be done about what I'm seeing and it has to be done now." She turned to her father. He looked back at her. He felt burdened with shame, so much so that what he knew was right all along, what he had been holding in all this time, had to be said.

"I'm sorry, Kelly, you are my daughter and whatever you choose to do in this life, I respect it to the utmost. I was being selfish all these years, why..." Now his words became harder to come out. His eyes watered with tears. "Because I was so afraid of losing you like we lost your mother ten years ago in that car accident, I thought I was protecting you, but I wasn't. I've been holding you back. Yes, those pets need an advocate, someone who can give them a voice and what better voice than my daughter's, Kelly Bernice Adams. I hope the meeting goes well for you, baby girl."

There would be no walking out for Kelly this time – only after the two of them were done crying and embracing each other and saying I love you.

In the parking lot of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter the tears had dried up minutes ago and the sorrowfulness that she felt while driving from her house to work subsided some, but not enough.

I can't go in here crying. I have to talk to him, Kelly thought, referring to the CEO and President of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. But then as bad as she didn't want to see, she did. She went to the picture part of her cell phone and opened the photo album where there were many pictures of Kelly and a very small Pomeranian puppy.

I hate that we had to move and I couldn't take you with me, Jasper. Then you ran after me and got hit by a car. I haven't gotten another dog yet. I haven't gotten over you yet. I know it's been two years. I guess I will always have a place in my heart for you, Kelly thought as she wiped away the tears that dropped out of her eyes and on to her shirt.

She switched off the phone, dried her eyes then resumed thinking of something entirely different from her Pomeranian puppy dying in her arms. What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What about my hair? Does my hair look presentable? Is this the way a nineteen-year old woman's hair supposed to look when they want to talk to the CEO of a company?

Those thoughts weren't just nerve-wrecking they scared her. But she refused to let fear get the best of her. She put on her coat and walked into the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter. It wasn't as it had been when she walked into work. "Hi, Kelly! Love to see that beautiful smile. We have some coffee brewing for you."

Then it was: "There is a poodle that came in last night right after you left. It's a boy. It was found on the side of the road. We gave it some meds for the pain, but it's going to need your loving care if he has any chance of surviving." Then there was Huel, way in the back, who tended to himself most of the time, until he saw Kelly.

"Well, well, well, look what God brought in this morning; that beautiful smile. Good morning, young Kelly. Glad to see you this morning."

But that particular morning, there was none of the usual greetings. It was: "Kelly, the CEO is here! You're lucky you're just getting here. We had a meeting with him already."

While Kelly walked through the double doors and toward the back where the animals were, she saw a tall man.

Oh God, that must be him, Kelly thought. No, maybe it's not him. It has to be him. What other person dresses nicely like that, Kelly questioned. She didn't know the CEO and founder of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter personally, of course. She had only seen him once and that was when she shook his hand along with the other employees. Other than his name she knew nothing else about him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Johnson?" Kelly said in a soft, timid voice.

"Yes, and you are...?"

"I'm Kelly Adams. I work here first shift. I do a little bit of everything from giving the pets their medicine to walking the dogs. I even..."

"What is it that you need, Kelly?" Mr. Johnson interrupted.

Kelly's smile disappeared and her heart sunk in her stomach.

"Kelly, Mr. Johnson is a very busy man. Don't you have...?"

"Oh, it's okay, Linda, not a problem, she's fine," Mr. Johnson said.

"I know that you are a busy man but if possible, could I speak with you, please?"

Linda, who was Kelly's supervisor, looked on with great concern. What in the world do you have to speak with Mr. Johnson about, she wondered.

Mr. Johnson looked awkward then peered down at his cell phone. Kelly swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Sure, not a problem. Linda, can we use your office?"

"Sure, Mr. Johnson," Linda said, still wearing a confused look on her face.

"Is it alright if Linda sits in on this meeting as well, Kelly? I don't ever like to be alone when I'm in a meeting with employees. Why? I don't know it's an old habit of mine. Okay, Linda, lead the way," Mr. Johnson said when Kelly agreed with the suggestion.

Kelly was extremely nervous and scared. The clean cut, brown hair and mustached CEO wanted her to get straight to the point. "So what is it you want to talk to me about, rather than to your supervisor, Kelly?" Mr. Johnson asked.

When Kelly thought about all the pets, including her deceased Pomeranian puppy, Jasper, and all of those that had died since she began working at the shelter, the ice of nerve broke into pieces. Kelly went straight to the point when explaining how wonderful Mr. Johnson was for creating a hospital-like facility for dogs and cats. She then went on to say that it was a humane society inside the shelter, but when she looked at her TV screen the picture was very different.

"I believe the Stun Duh that Mr. Onree John Thomas has created and is selling out here is not only bad but it is inhumane, and most of all, it is mean."

"And your point is what, Kelly?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"My point is since you are the CEO and founder of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter; I was thinking that there was something you could do about it. Some of those pets out there are being hurt bad by the Stun Duh."

Mr. Johnson smiled. "I understand your concern, Kelly, but there's nothing I could do. These animals are not people, they are animals. They don't have a spirit like we do. They are just animals. People have to protect themselves and if a vicious animal tries to attack me or you and I have a Stun Duh, I am going to protect you and me both. Our lives matter, Kelly, theirs don't."

Kelly's lips began to quiver, her wide eyes filled with tears which ran down her cold cheeks.

"I'm sorry to cut this meeting short. But I want to thank you for expressing your concerns and I hope you understand." Mr. Johnson rose from the desk chair and walked to the office door.

"They are just like us, Mr. Johnson," Kelly blurted, wiping tears from her eyes and cheeks.

Mr. Johnson turned around.

"Animals or not they deserved to be treated with compassion just like humans are, and I will never stop believing that," Kelly added.

Mr. Johnson forced a smile then walked out of the office.

Linda quickly grabbed Kelly and held her by the arm.

"It's going to be alright, Kelly. You've done well and you are right, but sometimes you just have to let things be; leave them the way they are."

Kelly sniffled and pulled away from Linda. "I can't, Linda. If I don't speak for them, then, who will?" Kelly asked.

Linda shook her head in sympathy. She understood her passion for her pets, but in Linda's heart she believed that with all the care in the world, they were just animals, and at the end of the day you could only do so much.

"I want to take a five-minute break alone, can I do that?" Kelly asked Linda.

"Sure. Not a problem. Take as long as you want, Kelly."

Kelly walked to the front of the shelter. She didn't see the stares, but she could feel them piercing her face. Outside it was cold, but Kelly didn't feel the cold, she felt the sting of Mr. Johnson's words as they replayed over and over again in her mind. The pain of what happened when pets were hit with the Stun Duh bothered her to the point she felt weakened in her faith. Maybe Mr. Johnson is right. They are just animals and I should leave it at that, she thought. Then she replied with a rebuttal thought. If they aren't any more than just animals, why do they have emotions? Why do they care for humans with more care than we care for each other? Why do they save lives and why are German Shepherd dogs used as guide dogs for blind people?

There wasn't a reply, but there was the cold air now beginning to bite at her coverless neck.

I guess I better be getting back in and do some work. I know there has to be some pets in the back who need my help, Kelly thought.

Then she saw something move fast across the sky overhead. "What in the world? What is that?" She looked up. Two birds? Oh wow! Cool! They look like eagles. What are they carrying?

Kelly didn't have to wonder long because the two hawks were coming at her full speed. "Is that...? Oh my goodness! That's Molly. That eagle has Molly!"

Before Kelly had time to process what was going on, Hawk was coming in for a smooth landing while Worm, who was carrying Louis and the woodchuck, was far off but drawing closer.

"Molly, Molly, is that you?" Kelly said.

Molly was hesitant but hobbled to Kelly. She scooped Molly off the ground, hugged and kissed her. "I missed you, Molly. Where have you been?"

Molly jumped out of her arms and sat slowly on her hind legs. She stretched out her front paw.

Kelly bent down on one knee. "Okay, you want me to shake your paw? Kelly smiled. "Sure, I will shake your paw," she said.

But when Kelly gently grabbed Molly's paw the rush of excitement that came from Molly's paw went through Kelly's arm and up to her mind.

The rush felt relaxing somehow. "Hi, Kelly. I am so happy to see you again."

Kelly snatched her hand out of Molly's paw.

Hawk, who watched from a tree, moved in slowly and flew right beside Molly, as she backed away from Kelly.

"If you want to back out of this, we can. I'm sure there is another way, Molly," Hawk said.

"Oh my, this beautiful bird can talk. This is wonderful. This is great. I knew it. I knew it was something special about you pets," Kelly said.

Then Hawk and Molly turned to the air when they saw Louis, Worm and the groundhog but they heard the woodchuck first.

"I made it very clear that this was a bad idea. We would have been better off walking here. But no, Louis, you had to listen to Worm and just when I thought you were past this letting someone think for you," Woodchuck said, "Well, you couldn't come up with anything better. So I went with Worm. He flew us here okay, but now, please, put a muzzle on it."

As Worm began to shake from side to side, Louis and Woodchuck yelled. "I think you should just let us go when we get close to where they are, like close to the ground, Worm," Louis said.

"Ugh..., okay. I can do that. I think we are close to the ground, Louis," Worm replied then let go of them.

"You call fifteen feet in the air close to the ground, you stupid bird?" the woodchuck said. They dropped, rolled and hit the soft patch of dirt under a tree in the yard of the shelter.

"Ouch," Molly whispered.

Kelly couldn't stop smiling.

"Ugh..., are you guys okay?" Worm asked.

"Yes, but I think someone will need to ask you that once I get my paws on you, and Louis isn't going to hold me back this time," Woodchuck yelled, chasing and jumping, trying to get Worm.

"Those are my friends," Molly said with a smile.

With his teeth Louis grabbed Woodchuck by the nape of the neck and walked to where Molly, Hawk and Kelly were.

"Let me at em, I said let me at em, Louis. He deserves a good punch and I want to be the one to give it to him," Woodchuck yelled.

"You are so cute, Mr. Woodchuck," Kelly said, bending down to eye level with him.

"Oh, you must be Kelly. I know you don't understand me but how do you do?"

"I'm doing perfectly fine, Mr. Woodchuck," Kelly replied.

"Yikes," the woodchuck said, scurrying to hide behind Louis. "She..., she understands me?"

"Yes she does, Woodchuck," Molly said.

"You gave her our secret?"

"Yes, I did."

"Have you told her the terrible news, Hawk?" Louis asked.

All the animals looked at each other as if one was waiting for the other to talk. Kelly frowned and couldn't figure out what the animals were talking about. Whatever they were up to, it didn't bother Kelly. She was just so happy to be interacting with animals, just as she had been with her human counterparts.

"Ugh..., can we trust her to tell her? Or will she turn on us if one of us decides to tell her?" Worm asked.

"Of course she won't. That is why I suggested coming here once you, Hawk, told us what Onree was doing."

At the word 'Onree' Kelly's eye grew the size of silver dollars. "Onree John Thomas you mean?"

"Yes, that's him," Hawk replied.

"I wish I could shoot him one good time with his own stun gun so he could see how it feels."

"Yes, she is on our side," Woodchuck declared.

"Why wouldn't she be on our side, Woodchuck?" Louis asked.

"I just wanted to say that there's nothing wrong with having a cool human on our team. Please, Louis. Cut the nonsense," the woodchuck said.

"There is a major problem going on, Kelly, and since you are our friend, I believe you can help us."

Chapter 20

"This is Onree speaking."

"How close are you to finding the combination?" a hard, vicious voice asked on the other end of Onree's phone.

"I have some good news for you, sir. We just found the animal with the match. It took all last night and into the morning..., well, half of the morning."

"It's about time. It took you forever in a day."

"You can't rush good services and that is what I am providing, or else we wouldn't be working together," Onree retorted.

"Yeah, tell me anything. I hope, now that we have found the match, you will get those stupid stun guns off the street."

"Stun Duh, sir, Stun Duh! When you get shot with one of them you go duh, duh, duh!"

"Whatever you call it I want them off the streets. I have an employee who works at my facility who cried her eyes out, seeing all the carnage that your Stun Duh or whatever it's called is doing to those animals out there. Now with that said, as you are aware, Onree, I am the CEO and founder of the Charlotte Humane Animal Shelter, Mr. Ray M. Johnson. And I don't need my "nice guy" cover – one who gives to our community – blown with this little side job."

"I'm usually lost, sir, but I'm more lost now by what you said, not to sound rude about it," Onree replied.

Mr. Johnson grit his teeth and shook his head in disgust. "I'm going to put it to you in layman terms, Onree. That was the reason I had you staying away from my animal shelter because you don't have any common sense. It's simple to get the animals out of the shelter into your car and to the warehouse, but it's not simple to figure out a mathematical combination, to create your Stun Duh. That's why I keep you around; because of you're book smart," Mr. Johnson said. "So, don't ever come to my shelter. You are a distraction. Don't link me to any of your invention, not even this one. All I want to know is when the deal will be made and when I can collect my 75% of the deal with the Chinese. And now, when will it be a suitable time for me to see the final product?" he asked.

"You have a way to crush a man's heart and hurt his feelings, sir," Onree said.

"Someone has to do it. And I'm sure the peons you have working for you aren't ready to tell you what's what. Anyway, I will be expecting your phone call in the coming hours with the finish product," Mr. Johnson said before he hung up abruptly.

The dial tone in Onree's ear was disrespectful. He was very angry. He drove along with the young woman and man from his office to the front of the warehouse. Joining Edna, in her separate cage, was Sam. He, too, was hanging from the ceiling in a cage like a chandelier by a thick chain.

"I just want to say good morning to the both of you. But to you, Sam, I want to say, for your incompetence, for your incomplete work and that brute that sits beside you, you and I are going on an excursion. How does that sound?"

"Boss, I don't know what that means. I'm lost," Sam replied, visibly terrorized.

"Good. Then what's about to happen to you shouldn't bother you. You can get lost in it." Onree then turned to the man and woman who had been listening to him. "Okay, you two, I want you to take him, and hopefully this time you won't let him get away like my prize bird."

On the way to the back of the warehouse there were several dogs and cats that Onree and his team had gathered from his partner in crime, Mr. Ray M. Johnson.

When they arrived at the back of the warehouse on the other side of the building, there was a white sheet about ten feet wide that spread out across the space. There was a slit in the middle of the sheet. "Alright, get him out of his cage and into the lab."

"Noooo! What are you doing, sir," Sam screamed.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Sam."

Randall came out of the lab when he heard the commotion. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I want to use Sam here for a test subject. We can throw him in as a freebie," Onree said.

"No problem, sir, come right in! I want to warn you; as you can see we are past the test process and we have gone to the completed phase."

In the lab there were tables, cages, stools and various beakers of all sizes, not to mention caged dogs and cats.

Hooked up to a machine was a furry, Poodle dog. The rare green colored blood came out of the dog and into a clear beaker. The green blood then was placed into a short plastic tube labeled 'the blood'.

Randall then turned off the machine while the Poodle dog hung his head down in weakness.

"This is the blood you tested, sir, and this is the embalmment fluid," Randall said, pouring both the blood and the embalmment fluid into a tube with a needle extension.

"Before I started with the job of the transformation, I wanted to make sure that I had enough of the supply first, sir."

"Very good, Randall."

"Now if some one would do me the honors of strapping Mr. Sam down; I don't want any mishaps during the injection process."

"No! You don't know what you're doing!" Sam screamed.

"Man, I didn't know you were such a squirm. Calm down and relax, Sam. Breathe; this won't hurt a bit."

Louis and the Woodchuck were sitting in Kelly's car. She suggested that Molly stayed at the shelter for some medical attention. Hawk and Worm were flying just above Kelly's battered Chevy Caprice Classic, leading the way to the warehouse.

"I've been there. I know what it is like to be isolated in the cold with no food. Edna had me there in that warehouse," Louis said.

"Edna used to be his mean owner until I helped him escape and then Louis helped me get grapes. He is my best friend."

"Whoa, that is too cute. I like you guys," Kelly said, rubbing Louis and then Woodchuck on the head.

"If you don't mind, can I ask you something, Kelly?" Woodchuck asked.

"Sure, why not?"

"This is like totally off the subject, but I will ask you anyway," Woodchuck said. "Could I sit on the other side of you, please?"

"Yeah, but may I ask why, Woodchuck?"

"Well, I don't know what Louis has had to eat in the last 24 hours but I can smell it on his skin, and it smells like rotten eggs."

"Woodchuck, that was very, very mean. You shouldn't talk that way about your best friend."

Louis smiled while reaching out to grab Woodchuck who dashed across Kelly's lap, peering out the window. She was full of joy and excitement. At times the conversation that she had with the CEO Johnson dampened her joy and excitement, but she wouldn't allow it to depress her.

She gazed at her new friends and thought how adorable they were. Maybe I'm ready to get over the death of Jasper, and ready to take a couple of pets in. Then it dawned on her this wasn't the time to think whether or not she was ready to take on a pet, but to think about what Onree was doing to the pets that were locked away in that warehouse.

She realized something just as real and present as her life. I may be going into danger and for what? For Louis, Molly and the Woodchuck and whatever other pets are in this warehouse. I am their advocate and this is the way, the road map in which I had faith. And now it is coming to pass before my very eyes, Kelly thought, indulging in the warm feeling, when Louis took her out of her reveries.

"Hawk and Worm are stopping now. You can see the warehouse up ahead," Louis said.

Hawk and Worm came to the driver side of the car.

"You all know what we talked about. Right?"

"Yes, Kelly, we know what to do."

"Louis and Woodchuck?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, we are ready," Louis said.

"Can I speak for myself? Yes, we are ready," Woodchuck replied.

Louis gave him a hard look.

"Okay then, let's go," Kelly said.

Louis and Woodchuck hid in the tall bushes away from the warehouse, peering at the two people in front of the building.

"This is pretty cool, Louis."

Louis gave him a stare. "What's cool about it, Woodchuck?"

"Me and you, I mean like Starsky and Hutch, Bonnie and Clyde, Superman and Super-girl, of course."

"So, I'm the boy, and you're the girl? Very funny, Ms. Woodchuck."

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Grumpy," Woodchuck said.

Then at the sound of loud screaming, Louis said, "Okay, Woodchuck, that's our cue. You got the rope?"

"Yes, I got it."

"Come on then, let's go."

Louis and Woodchuck moved fast out of the high grass and into the dirt gravel surrounding the warehouse.

The woodchuck used the rope that Kelly gave him when they were mapping out the plan. Once the two men were tied up, Louis pulled them out of sight and into the high grass on the left side of the building.

Kelly, who was parked in some grassy area across from the warehouse, saw the plan unfolding. She adjusted her scarf and ran toward the front of the building.

"It sure is taking you a long time. Can you get in the door, Woodchuck?" Louis remarked.

"Hold your darn horses, Louis, would you? I'm not a locksmith; I'm a thief, alright. It's fundamentally different."

"Thief or locksmith, I need you to put a rush on it, please," Louis said.

"And I need you to hold your big head still. How about that, Louis?" Woodchuck said.

Seconds later the lock popped and they were inside the door. When Louis and Woodchuck got through the front door, they saw the cruel, black hearted woman in a cage, hanging by a chain.

"Edna?"

"Why you...? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't come up there and lay you out with my hands of stone?" Woodchuck yelled.

"Looks like you have fell victim to your own trap I see, Edna," Louis said.

"Yeah, and what do you care?"

"He doesn't and neither do I is what he is trying to say. I just said it for him, Edna. Now tell us what's going on in here?" Woodchuck asked.

By that time Kelly opened and walked through the front door.

"Oh my God, Edna. Let me help you out of there," Kelly said.

"No," Louis and Woodchuck yelled in unison.

"She is the one who mistreated my friend, until I rescued him. Remember?"

"He's lying," Edna shouted. "Just get me out of this cage!"

Then as if that was something Kelly had to think about, out of the shadows, Onree appeared. "Well, well, well, welcome, my animal-loving friend, I see you brought me ... animals," Onree John Thomas said. "I finally see you face to face. Where are the animals? I can smell them."

"Wow, he is as small as me. I should rush him," Woodchuck said.

"No, we do nothing yet, Woodchuck," Louis said.

"Mr. Onree John Thomas...," Kelly began.

"Whoa, you know my name. How rude of me. You know mine, but I don't know your name. Such a pity. If you are in here and no one has come after you, I guess you must have done something with my men. Where is good help when you need it?" Onree said.

"Where are you holding the pets, Onree?" Kelly demanded.

"They aren't pets anymore, they are mannequins now." Onree reached for one of the shelves and pulled a cage out. Inside the cage was a black haired poodle stiff as a doorknob, with one of her front legs up.

"Oh my God, what have you done to that precious dog?" Kelly blurted in a whimpering cry.

"Oh, no need to feel sorry for that mutt, she was dying anyway."

"Why, you...," Kelly yelled, drawing the Stun Duh that she got from Hawk out of her pocket, and firing it at Onree.

However, the Stun Duh didn't have the desired effect; for Onree opened his shirt revealing a black metal vest. The electric ray bounced off the vest and hit the chain of Edna's cage.

"Scatter," Louis yelled.

They all separated. Kelly ran between the shelves, where she spotted Onree running toward the back. She pointed the Stun Duh at him but he was a ways off.

Outside, at the back, Hawk and Worm were high above the warehouse in a tree. "Ugh..., you think they are going to need our help now, Hawk? I heard that stun duhnny go off."

Kelly gave us a plan and we have to stick to it. When they come out, we fly them out of here. If we go in, we blow our cover," Hawk explained.

"I will deal with you later," Louis yelled at Edna's cage.

She snarled at Louis before he and the woodchuck ran off toward the back. In her pursuit of Onree, Kelly saw and heard the cries of her pets in cages. Weak and deprived of food and water, she could hear what they said and they could hear her.

"I will be back, I promise. I will get all of you out of here," she said. Then she heard: "There he is," one of the pet said.

Kelly pointed the Stun Duh at the midget-like man and fired. It caught Onree on the back of his leg. He screamed out. "Oww! Why did you do that?" he hollered from the cold cement floor.

The dog and the cat began to cheer her. "Where are you working your evil, Onree? Tell me or I will give you another blast of your own medicine."

"It's over. You are too late. The process has already begun. You may hurt me but you will never be able to save any of these animal, girl," Onree yelled.

Kelly struck him again.

He tried to get up and she pushed him back down roughly. Not only was Kelly getting cheered, but she also heard, "Put him in a cage," and so that's what she did. She put Onree in a cage and placed it back on the shelf.

Meanwhile, Kelly wondered where Louis and the woodchuck were, but she wasn't going to take any chance looking for them, she had other work that had to be done.

"Oh, would you stop with your crying, Sam? I can still hear you with my ear phone on. I thought the ear phones would help, but they don't."

"Please, I am getting stiff; please reverse the process, Randall."

Randall was placing more inventory on the shelves.

"Don't you move or I will blast you," Kelly said, walking through the white sheet. As hard as she tried to keep her composure she couldn't.

"Hey, I remember you. You are that lady from the animal shelter place, right?" Randall said.

She just gazed all around the room at the horrors before her.
Chapter 21

Before Kelly left Randall's lab she took a series of pictures and emailed them to her supervisor, and then called the animal control forces. Although the cage was a little smaller than Randall, she forced him into it anyway.

"You don't know what you're doing, lady," he said.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," she retorted as she stunned duh him. Now armed of all the incriminating evidence against Onree, she grabbed his cage from the shelf and dragged it toward the front of the building while promising all the pets that she saw that she would be back for them.

Louis and Woodchuck, where are you guys?" she yelled, looking in every corner and crevices that she came across. When she turned the corner she saw Edna's cage empty and the young man and woman.

"Stop right there, or I will give you one hard electric shot. I would tell you to ask your friend Onree, but he wouldn't be able to answer. He is asleep." Kelly sneered. "Louis and Woodchuck, where are you guys? Did you do something with my friends?" Kelly demanded.

The young man and woman pointed to the aisle beside the door. Then out of the aisle walked CEO Johnson with Louis and the woodchuck in a cage.

"Mr. Johnson, boy, am I happy to see you... Those two people right there work for..."

"Of course, I know who they are; two young people that need to be fired because they can't do anything right," Mr. Johnson replied. "Find me a cage to put her in, now!" he yelled.

Kelly's face changed. "Mr. Johnson, what are you talking about? Put me in a cage?" she asked, horrified.

"If you don't want me to hurt this dog and this woodchuck, I suggest you drop that Stun Duh and kick it over to me, now." Mr. Johnson extended his hand in the aisle and set Louis and Woodchuck's cage in front of him.

"Louis and Woodchuck," Kelly yelled.

"They will continue to be the Louis and the Woodchuck, if you comply with my commands, Kelly. Slide that Stun Duh over to me now, then bring me Onree and we will have an even trade," Mr. Johnson yelled.

"I don't understand. You, Mr. Johnson, are working with Onree? You are behind all of this?" Kelly asked, sliding the Stun Duh over to Mr. Johnson. Then cautiously walking toward Mr. Johnson, her sensitive self began to tear up. She stopped when she saw the young man and woman come back with the cage.

"We found one," the girl said.

"Good. Too bad I won't need the two of you, especially since you failed Onree. What services do you think I would have for you two?" Mr. Johnson said then stunned duh the both of them.

Come on, police, where are you when we need service? Kelly thought, stretching out her right hand in which she held Onree's cage.

Mr. Johnson grabbed the cage.

"I speak on behalf of Louis and me; we're sorry about this," Woodchuck said all of a sudden.

Kelly looked down at the cage and smiled.

While she was distracted, Mr. Johnson grabbed Kelly's arm. "If you would have kept your nose out of my business, I wouldn't have a mess to clean up. Your mess, Ms. Kelly. I have to protect the dogs and cats," Mr. Johnson said.

Kelly screamed trying to break away from Mr. Johnson's grip. It was a waste of time; the man was much stronger than Kelly. "You leave me no choice. If I leave you, you would go tell on me, wouldn't you?" he yelled, taking a needle filled with the liquid combination out of his coat pocket.

"No, please don't, Mr. Johnson. Don't do it," Kelly yelled.

"I have a plan, Louis. I think it might work," Woodchuck said.

"You think it might work? This is no time for thinking right now. Kelly is in trouble."

"I know it's going to work! Is that better?" Woodchuck said. "You have a pretty hard head, right?"

Louis gave him an evil glare. "Dang it, Louis, make me a big enough hole so I can get out of here, then I will let you out and we help Kelly."

"Now that sounds like a plan," Louis replied.

Louis pounded and pounded, and, on the third attempt, the door of the cage popped open.

"Sorry about this, Kelly, but I have to do what I have to do," Mr. Johnson said, leaning over, ready to inject Kelly with the deadly combination.

"Oh no you don't, you leave her alone right this minute," Louis yelled, taking a huge bite off Mr. Johnson's leg. He screamed in pain and dropped the lethal injection on the floor.

"Hold him, Louis, hold him steady." Woodchuck ran up Mr. Johnson's pant leg then up the right side of his shirt. He balanced himself on the top of Mr. Johnson chest, and with his hind legs he threw a punch at him.

"Haven't your momma ever taught you how to treat women?" Louis demanded.

"Get this crazy animal off me," Mr. Johnson shouted while managing to break away from Louis and knocking the woodchuck off him.

Kelly, who had been tossed to the ground when Mr. Johnson had been bitten, tried to regain her strength. The blow to her head caused her to lay there without pushing herself to get up.

Mr. Johnson had some running room. He saw the back door and ran toward it. "Ha-ha-ha, I out-smarted you crazy animals," he yelled when he reached the door. He would almost have made a grand escape since he was so far ahead of Louis, but a flying cage caught Mr. Johnson and knocked him to the ground.

Louis and Woodchuck looked in the direction of where the cage came from.

Woodchuck peeked around the corner.

"Come on, Woodchuck, he is out. Let's drag him to the front and check on Kelly," Louis said.

Outside, Hawk and Worm detained four more of Onree's workers. They had fallen in a mud hole behind the warehouse, trying to run away from Hawk and Worm.

"Worm, we have to get back to the back of the warehouse and check on them. They should be coming out soon," Hawk said.

"Kelly, Kelly, are you okay?" Woodchuck asked.

Kelly was sitting up now but she was in a daze.

"What did you do to her, you stupid man?" Woodchuck asked, kicking Mr. Johnson several times.

"Hold your horses, Woodchuck; kicking him isn't going to snap Kelly out of this."

"You have a better plan, Louis?"

"Yes I do," Louis replied. Then, with a long, wet tongue, he began licking Kelly's face. It took several licks before she shook herself out of her daze. She saw Louis and Woodchuck.

"Louis and Woodchuck."

"Yes, that's us," Louis replied.

"Hi!"

"She's alive! She's alive," Woodchuck yelled, jumping in Kelly's arms.

"Yes, I am alive." Kelly held Woodchuck in her arms and rubbed him on his tummy and caressed Louis on his head.

Five minutes later the animal control police and ambulance arrived on the scene.

Linda came too. "Oh my God, Kelly, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine but there are some pets here that are not."

Kelly, Louis and the woodchuck walked to show the authorized personnel where the animals were. But first they took Mr. Johnson, Onree, and Randall and placed them outside until a vehicle big enough to haul the three of them arrived.

Several hours later, when Kelly and her two friends returned to the shelter they rushed to where Molly was. Her skin felt hot. She was nursing a fever.

"What's wrong with her?" Kelly asked.

Louis and Woodchuck gathered around her. Everyone in the back didn't want to tell Kelly of Molly's fate.

"Hi, Molly," Kelly said, picking her up and holding her in her arms.

"Hi, Kelly, did you get the bad guys?"

"Yes, Molly, we got the bad guys and your friends were of great help. Without them it would not have happen," Kelly replied. "How are you feeling, Molly?"

"To be honest, not so good. I'm dying, Kelly. They said there is nothing they can do for me. I have an internal infection that is spreading from my legs and it's moving up to my head. Once it gets there, I will sleep forever and sleep isn't that bad," Molly whispered.

"You are going to be fine, Molly, no one..."

"It's okay, Kelly. You don't have to say anything. I am willing to accept what is coming. But what I didn't tell you all is that I knew of my condition a long time ago. That's why my owners got rid of me. I know that's the reason now. I knew my illness would get worse as time went on," Molly whispered. "I was taking medication that my owners gave me. I loved that medicine, Kelly. It was so good it tasted like pop-tart candy."

Many of the workers looked in from the doorway but none of them went past the door. Kelly turned to them. She didn't know if she should yell at them for telling Molly there wasn't anything they could do for her or just have a mental breakdown for everything that happened within the last several hours.

Kelly then thought about the animals that were retrieved from the warehouse. They would be arriving soon and that would be another problem that she would have to deal with, if some of those animals had been injected. Kelly eased herself down on the ground. Molly was cuffed in her arms. Louis and Woodchuck came closer.

"Molly, oh, Molly, you saved my life when I was drinking the Fruity Juicy. This is not fair. Louis always gets on me for crying but this time I can't help it. I love you, Molly," Woodchuck said.

"I love you too, Woodchuck." Molly stretched her paw out. Woodchuck embraced her lightly.

"Molly, you didn't just save the woodchuck's life, you save my life as well. If it hadn't been for you when Edna was hurting me, I wouldn't be here today. It is because of you I made it, Molly. Your friendship made me respect and honor my old friendship with Woodchuck. If it was anyway possible that I could take your place, I would, without a doubt," Louis said, joining in the hug, while the woodchuck wiped Louis's tears from his face.

Kelly leaned down on the three of them very lightly.

"Kelly, could you do me a favor, please?" Molly whispered. Her voice cracked. The more she talked, the more her words became slower and slower and were almost down to a murmuring purr.

"Yes, of course, Molly, anything you want."

"I am getting really, really hot. I think the fever is getting worse."

"I can get you some medication. It will ease the..."

"Kelly..." The word "Kelly" came out in a hoarse mumble.

"Yes, Molly?"

"If you don't mind, please, no more medication. I told those doctors I don't want any more of that medication, it makes me feel bad and it doesn't taste like candy anymore. But if you could, do you mind taking me outside so I can see the bright sun and feel the cool air of the beautiful winter on my body?"

Now Kelly was choked up. "Yes, yes I can, Molly."

The shelter personnel watched as Kelly held Molly close to her body while Louis and Woodchuck followed her outside.

"I think right here the sun is the brightest and the wind is pretty high here too," Kelly said.

"Could you lay me there please, Kelly, in the grass?"

Kelly did as Molly requested.

"Oh my, the air feels so good. Guys, you can come and join me if you like." They sat there with Molly and although the cold was a task to handle for Kelly, for Louis and the woodchuck it felt like a summer breeze that day. Within a few seconds, Molly's eyes began to close and her legs turned with her body in a fetal position.

"I love you all, and I believe in you, Kelly, and I believe in you, Woodchuck, and I believe in you, Louis. Goodbye."

"Molly, please don't go. Stay with us," Woodchuck said.

Louis turned away while Kelly bowed down and kissed her little face.

"She's gone, guys. Come on, we have to go back in," Kelly said, wiping her face. Then from out of the sky the three of them could hear something.

"What is that I hear; a song?" Kelly asked. "Do you guys hear that?"

Louis and the groundhog listened.

"Yes, I hear a song," Woodchuck replied. "And it's saying: joy, joy."

They turned to where the song came from and out the lining of the sky came a bird; not a bird that any of them were accustomed to seeing, but the bird Molly had seen. The bird whistled with the power of the song and with the air in its wings. It was flying at great speed when it got closer.

"Joy, joy, joy, joy...!"

"It's coming this way," Kelly yelled.

The bird landed onto the ground silently. Then, suddenly, Molly, then Kelly, Louis and Woodchuck were in mid air.

"Oh no, what's going on?" Louis asked.

"I don't know, but it feels good," Woodchuck yelled.

Kelly smiled then the three of them came back to the ground while Molly was still in midair.

"Welcome to the Valley of the Flowers."

They peered down. Under their feet there was a purple path and on each side of it was a variety of different colored flowers.

Molly began to turn in midair in a rainbow of lights, then brightness and a glow of assorted daffodil flowers covered her.

"Oh wow, those flowers and that light are changing her," Kelly yelled.

Suddenly the flowers began to bring her down. They laid her on the purple road at her friends' feet. They peered at her.

"Molly?" Kelly said. Louis and Woodchuck peeked from behind Molly. Kelly bent down and began to caress her fur. "We love you, Molly, with all of our hearts, and as long as we live, Louis, the woodchuck and I will forever be an advocate for every pet in the world."

The one tear that fell from Kelly's eye dropped onto Molly's face. Kelly got up and as the three of them were about to turn and walk away, words were spoken; words of strength, power and love.

"I love you too, guys."

They turned only to see Molly standing where she had laid dying minutes before. They ran to her. "You are alive," Kelly yelled.

"Louis, Molly is alive, she is alive."

Not only was there excitement from Kelly, Louis and the woodchuck, but it seemed that joy and happiness had reached the entire Valley of the Flowers.

Thank you for my friends and thank you for not leaving me, Molly thought. Then she saw the coyote in the distance holding a red flower. He smiled.

A little surprised to see him, Molly returned the smile.

THE END

Epilogue

Molly was one hundred percent free of any infection and, to add to that, she was stronger and more vibrant than ever, but the animals that were coming from Onree's warehouse weren't.

Molly told Kelly of the remedy that was going to be needed to cure those animals that had been injected with the mixture of green blood and embalming fluid. "You need to have red flowers," she said.

It took over fifty red flowers that were, of course, picked by Hawk and Worm, and turned into red liquid to heal Sam and those injected animals. Under Kelly's care and love, all of the animals recovered.

Meanwhile, Onree, Randall, Mr. Johnson, the young man and woman, and the four men that Hawk and Worm captured were all put away for their crimes against the animals and what they had done to Kelly.

As for Edna and her obsession, she was also apprehended for cruelty against an animal and incarcerated for several months.

And last, but certainly not least, the animal control police, together with a number of organizations looking after the protection of animals, searched and seized all the Stun Duh pens that had been sold to the people in the neighborhood of the mall. Kelly exhaled a sigh of relief when she heard that practically every Stun Duh sold in and around the city, including those that had been sold on the internet had been returned and destroyed.

With the shelter being probably returned into State hands since Mr. Johnson had relinquished his ownership, Kelly didn't shy away from her speech that would be televised a week after the incident.

"Pets have meant the world to me since I was a little girl and now that I am a nineteen-year old woman, they still mean the world to me.

"What was done to these pets was inhumane. And if it had not been for my friends, Louis, Molly and the woodchuck and my two bird friends, Hawk and Worm, stopping the madman who caused harm to these pets would never have happened," Kelly said. "So to the State, City or whatever board is going to take over what is my second home, please allow us to protect the animals that have no rights, please!"

Everyone clapped and thought her speech was superb, so superb that the co-owner, Mrs. Jane Floyd – Mr. Johnson's ex-wife – paid Kelly a visit at her second home, while she was giving one of the pets a bath, and made her part-owner of the shelter.

"I want to work with you to ensure that your vision for all pets around the world comes to pass, Kelly."

Hawk and Worm had a job of transporting injured or lost animals and were also appointed guard birds of the shelter.

"Ugh..., I think this is pretty cool!" Worm said, while sitting on a branch of the tree outside the animal shelter. "Will we be going on, ugh..., a break soon? I have a taste for some groundhog meat today!"

Louis, Molly and the woodchuck ended up living with Kelly and her dad in her brand new house. Molly went to the shelter with Kelly most of the time to help as much as she could.

As for Louis and the woodchuck, some things would never change.

"Louis, since when did you start eating grapes?"

"Since Kelly said I could have them. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes, I do, but for right now I am going to let it slide. But I am warning you, you have to go to sleep and when you do, it's over. And I don't want to hear you crying for Molly and Kelly either, you fur ball!"

"What did you call me?"

"A fur ball. Or didn't you hear me?"

"I'll show you a fur ball, you pig!"

"Help, Molly, Kelly! Someone, anybody help me!"

