iWhat Happened?
Chapter Eleven: iMeet Disaster
Spencer sat at the kitchen table staring at a plate of half eaten spaghetti. His Labrador dog lay asleep on the living room floor. The apartment was silent and empty. The overhead lights glowed brightly and the flat screen TV was blaring. A Tom and Jerry cartoon was playing on screen yet the volume had been muted and the television remote lay on the sofa.
All the kids had gone out to explore the new area where they lived. He had allowed them to go, made jokes and acted stupid but in truth he was really concerned. His younger sister was out there and so were all her friends. They had taken his permission and were his responsibility. He was really scared and could not help worrying.
His real worry was the wild dogs. Packs of feral dogs roamed the streets, fighting and looking for food. Tigers and elephants were leaving the suburbs to migrate into the wilderness, but the dogs weren't. Dogs were used to living in the city. They gathered near the city centre yet during the night they would fan out into the suburbs to hunt cats and rodents. He could only hope Carly and her friends would be ok.
Normally he wouldn't be so concerned but now they were the only ones in the city
There were no police offers, no firefighters, no paramedics, no doctors and no nurses. There was no-one around to help if something went wrong. Just him and there was no way he could help. Carly had assured him they would be fine but he had a bad feeling building inside him. Something was going to go wrong tonight…
Carly laughed and slapped Brad teasingly on the shoulder. "Brad, quit it!" He merely grinned and moved in to continue and giggling, she pulled back. "We have to go back!" The two were sat on a park bench in Seattle Park. Sam and Freddie were off in a supermarket flirting, kissing and messing around while Gibby was off walking his dog.
The scene in the park was somewhat eerie. Tall, dark trees lined the edges of a huge open area of bare grass. Rusting vehicle's lined the streets and the buildings around the park were all pitch dark. Moonlight filtered down from a clouded sky and occasionally they heard dogs growling and barking. As far as Carly was aware though, the noises sounded distant and far off.
Brad leaned in and their lips touched. She wrapped her arms around him and they kissed again. The kiss deepened and he placed his arm around her. Suddenly a rustling sounded in the bushes. Carly chose to ignore it and they kissed again. Their tongues battled for dominance. Suddenly the bushes nearby shifted and she pulled away. "What's wrong?" Brad asked. Her face drained of color "I, I thought I heard something." "Where?" "O-over there." She pointed to the clump of bushes.
He glanced over then slowly reaching down he grabbed a stone and quickly hurled it into the shrubs. Carly cringed. The stone hit the bush and silence fell again. Both teenagers visibly relaxed and grinned sheepishly at one another.
Suddenly a vicious dog erupted out of the bushes. Long brown hair covered its body and it had a long tail. It had wild eyes and bared its teeth. It was snarling. Carly screamed and spun around just as a second larger dog sprang out of hiding. Its eyes glowed in the moonlight.
Brad scrambled to his feet and grabbed Carly's hand as a Siberian husky covered in greasy white fur stalked into view and barked viciously at them. The three dogs stood their ground, barking and snarling. These were predators not pets. Driven by instinct, they had turned savage
"What do we do?" Carly whispered. "Uhh, I'll think of something." Brad replied. The hairy dog barked angrily at them. "Please hurry!" Carly urged. Brad looked around. He grabbed a thick branch and lifted it just as the husky lunged at him. Carly screamed as he swung the branch around, slamming the dog back down. Snarling, it twisted onto its feet and barked back.
The hairy dog snapped at Carly and Brad quickly turned, striking it with the branch. The dog yelped and quickly drew back. Barking, the Siberian dog made to lunge and Brad slammed the branch down onto it. Yelping the dog hit the ground. The hairy dog retreated. The husky scrambled up and bounded away
The third dog bared its teeth at them then turned and swiftly ran off. Carly turned and smiled though her face looked flushed "Brad, thank you. You saved my life." He smiled back "Hey that's why I'm here." The pair hugged and shared a quick kiss. "Come on we have to head back and warn Spencer!" Brad nodded and the pair ran back towards their apartment.
In a Wall Mart supermarket, Sam and Freddie sat on a bench in the storeroom, kissing passionately. Sam had her arms around his back and he was holding her. Their lips collided time and time again. Their kiss deepened and their tongues battled for dominance. Freddie was in heaven. Sam could tell she felt the same. At last they pulled apart and gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Soft, brown pupils met shining, turquoise blue ones.
"I love you." Freddie whispered. "I love you too you nub." She replied. He merely smirked as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He pulled her close and held her. The pair sat in the empty supermarket, simply enjoying each other's presence. This evening was going well for both of them.
Spencer sat on the sofa watching a DVD of an adventure film called The Hunger Games on his TV. He had eaten dinner and his mood had lifted somewhat. The film was interesting and he was alone to watch it. Suddenly a knock sounded at the door. Spencer ignored it. "Spencer! Let us in." He started. His sister was back. He paused his film and quickly opened the door. Carly and Brad stumbled in.
They looked sweaty and tired. He immediately felt suspicious." Guys are you ok?" A moment passed as Brad caught his breath then replied "We were attacked." Spencer's eyes widened "Wait, what?!" He cried. "We were attacked by wild dogs!" Carly blurted out, looking exhausted.
He grabbed Brad by the shoulders. "How did this happen?" Brad looked worried. The two finally caught their breath and sat down. "We were sitting alone in a park and…talking." Spencer frowned as he fished out the lie yet remained silent. "And then we heard noises and the bushes moved. Brad threw a stone and these three dogs jumped out of the bushes."
"So what happened?" Spencer asked "Brad grabbed a branch and beat back the dogs each time they tried to bite or attack until at last they gave up and ran off." She then looked directly into her brother's eyes "He saved my life Spencer" At this he turned to Brad and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you so much for saving my younger sister." He said sincerely and the teenager nodded. "You're welcome." Then Spencer turned to his sister "Wait where are Sam and Freddie?"
Carly looked anxious. Just then the door swung open, Sam walked in hand in hand with Freddie. Both were grinning. "Hey guys." "What's up Carlotta?" The two said enthusiastically. "Are you two okay?!" Carly asked urgently. Sam nodded "Yeah why wouldn't we be?" Freddie asked. Brad and Carly shared a look "We had a run in with some dogs." Brad admitted.
"What! Are you okay?" Sam asked. They both nodded. "Brad protected Carly." Spencer said. Both turned to the computer geek, amazed. "Seriously? YOU protected Carly from wild dogs?!" He nodded "Yeah." Then Spencer spoke up "Alright everyone let's all go to our apartments." No-one protested as everyone was now tired out. Carly hugged Brad before heading up to bed and Brad left for his apartment. Sam and Freddie trudged back to their apartment and after turning off the lights and the TV, Spencer headed off to bed.
That night they slept soundly each pleased with their or another's accomplishments. Early the next morning, Carly trudged downstairs in a tank top and jogger bottoms to find Spencer grabbing his keys and wallet. "Good morning Spencer. You were going out?" "Yeah we need some more cereal and bread. I'll be back soon." "Ok bye." "See you soon little sister!" Carly smirked and rolled her eyes as her older brother exited the apartment.
She ate breakfast and sat watching an old Tarzan DVD. Then a knock sounded at the door. "Come in." She called and Mrs. Benson stepped in, cradling John. "Oh hey Mrs. Benson."
"Carly could you take care of John today? Sam, Gibby and Freddie have gone off to look around again and I really have to clean and tidy up. I'm sorry to ask but…" "Oh no its fine. I love John." She replied. The older woman smiled "Thanks so much Carly!" She nodded "Sure thing." With that, Mrs. Benson headed back to her apartment.
Carly smiled at the baby and spoke to him in a kidlike voice "Aww aren't you cute! Yes you are!" She cuddled him and sang songs. The baby gurgled and laughed to her singing and she bounced him up and down which made him scream with laughter. She really did have a way with young children.
Across town, Spencer's car moved across the street. He had to drive carefully. The streets were covered in leaves, broken glass and two fallen trees. Spencer shuddered and focused on driving to the supermarket. He went over the list in his mind Bread, cereal, milk, eggs, bacon AAAH!
A huge shadow loomed right ahead of him. Screaming, he slammed on the brakes and screeched to a halt just as a Bengal tiger walked across the road directly in front of him. The big cat turned and growled. Baring its teeth, it turned and padded off down the street.
At last, Spencer turned the key and quietly drove away. Behind him, the tiger began creeping up on a loose horse grazing on grass that was beginning to grow in the streets. The stallion had escaped from the Seattle petting zoo. It didn't stand a chance against the powerful predator. Grass growing in the streets. Tigers hunting in the city. This sure was a bizarre reality to be living in.
Where the hell did that come from? Spencer wondered as he drove away. Then it hit him. There was a wildlife park in the city centre where they had two tigers. That was where the animal had escaped from.
He drove to the supermarket and headed to the storeroom where he quickly picked up the supplies he needed. He headed to the counters and stuffed the food into bags before carrying them to the car and putting them in. He got back in, started the engine and then drove off.
As he drove he kept an eye out for predators. Luckily on the way, he only saw a dog feasting on the horse's mangled body. As he passed however, it barked wildly at him with a crazed look in its eyes. Shuddering, he quickly pressed the accelerator and sped up. He pulled up outside the apartment building and climbed out of his car before calling for his sister. "Carly! I need some help!"
Carly smiled as she gently tucked John into his crib. He looked so cute when he was asleep. So sweet and happy. She turned to go wash the dishes used in lunch when suddenly she heard shouting from outside. She went over to the window and looked outside "Spencer what's going on?" "I need your help!" "Ok I'll be right there." She looked reluctantly at John yet decided he would be ok for five minutes and ran downstairs.
After three trips, all the groceries were in the kitchen and Spencer's car had been parked in the street outside. The two headed into their apartment "I'm gonna go take a shower." Spencer said. He turned to his sister "Carly you need to talk to Brad." "Wait why?" "Today I saw a tiger on the way to the supermarket and a wild dog on the way back." Carly looked surprised "I thought Brad said the zoo animals migrated to the countryside?" "Some did. But not all of them have left." She nodded "Ok but how can Brad get tigers to leave Seattle?" She asked jokingly.
"No he and Freddie might be able to get the cellphone network up and working again then we use our cellphones to tell everyone else if we see or hear wild animals in the city. We can even call up different places in the city to see if we can find other people!" He explained. Carly's eyes widened "Spencer, that it! You're a genius!"
He laughed "Uh yeah I know." She laughed "Alright I'm going to go track down Freddie, can you look after John?" "Yeah sure I'll look after him, and Titan." At the mention of its name, the dog ran up and Carly petted him before leaving the apartment. Carly's dog and Gibby's dog seemed to be the only domesticated dogs left in all of Seattle.
Further from the city suburbs, Sam and Freddie were walking hand in hand down a deserted highway. Smashed cars lay crumpled against the highway sides and other cars lay abandoned or overturned. Broken glass and pieces of metal lay strewn along the highway. Several cars sat as burned-out wrecks after catching fire.
Wisps of smoke still wafted from two of the burned-out vehicles. "Wow jeez! What happened to these cars?" Sam asked and Freddie smiled "Sam isn't it obvious?" "Uh no that's why I'm asking you?" She stated.
"People were driving these cars and vehicles along both sides of the highway. Then some strange thing happened and suddenly all the passengers and drivers were gone. Now none of the vehicles had drivers to control them. All the cars crashed into each other. Some cars slammed into the highway barriers."
"Other cars that were speeding actually shot over the barriers and tumbled down onto the road below with great force." As he spoke Sam pulled him over to the edge of the highway and looked down over the 70 feet drop.
Battered cars lay broken on the road below the highway. Many vehicles had lost their doors in the impact. Shattered glass covered the road like a glittering carpet. Headlights and wing mirrors had broken off the twisted vehicles and lay scattered around the area. Even a huge white transport truck lay crumpled on the ground. They both cringed at the mangled truck's nasty fate.
"Yeaaah." Freddie went on but his voice had lost its matter-of-fact tone "Some vehicles caught on fire and exploded when the petrol lit. Others flipped over due to the force of the crash." A moment passed in silence "I think we should go back…" Sam suggested and he nodded. Suddenly this highway no longer seemed fun to walk along. After twenty minutes of walking they had arrived back near their apartment.
"I'm sorry." Freddie said finally. Sam shot him a questioning look "For what?" "Today was meant to be another cool day and I spoilt with my stupid car crash facts." He muttered. Sam looked at him and burst out laughing. "What?" He asked feeling confused. "It's not your fault. I asked." That statement made him think. Then he smiled "You're right." Now she smiled "You nub." "Aww come here." The two shared a long, deep kiss before heading back towards their apartment.
Spencer was not having the best of times. With everyone out he had been left in charge of all the pets; Carly's dog, Gibby's dog, Sam's cat and even Brad's parrot. He was stranded he was not allowed to leave until Carly, Sam, Gibby, Freddie or Brad returned. Before Mrs Benson left she left Gibby's dog in his apartment saying she would not have a dog alone in her home without her present.
The dogs had been fed and their water bowls were full. Frothy, the cat had also eaten and his water dish had some water still in it and he had fed Brad's parrot before leaving it in its cage.
He was sat on the sofa watching the rest of the Hunger Games on his flat screen TV when he heard barking. He turned just as Titan and SirLicksALot bounded up, barking and tongues lolling. He felt a grin spread across his face. He had always loved dogs and even though the pair were a handful he still loved spending time with them. He was still grinning when he heard a hiss and turned to see the world's ugliest tomcat coming downstairs. "Frothy." He sighed. He was certain that feline hasted him. The cat blinked its unpleasant yellow eyes. He was in for a long afternoon…