It was five-thirty in the evening and there were still no signs of Blythe. It's weird, she'd usually be back long before now, even if she was to stay behind at school to catch up on her classwork or hang out at the city park with her friends. The pets were beginning to feel quite nervous for their missing friend. Nothing like this had ever happened before except for once, but that was when Blythe had missed the bus because the Biskit twins scattered her papers across the hallway floor in another attempt to get under her skin. Even then, however, she had still made it back home at five o' clock.
The pets tried to break the uncomfortable, wary atmosphere by going off and doing what they did best. But through all the singing, dancing, painting, and hobbies of the like, nothing could erase their deep concerns for their human friend. What's worse is that the pets were expecting their owners to come and pick them up at any moment, so they wouldn't be able to know if Blythe really was okay or not.
Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door of the pet shop, and the pets heard Ms. Twombly yelp as she was startled out out of her dozing; it was a pretty slow day for the pet shop. The pets slowly clambered out of the day care center through the wooden pet door and hid behind the main counter, peering out to see a tall man wearing a police uniform walking into the pet shop. The lights on his cop car were turned on, and the pets assumed there was a problem that concerned either the shop or Ms. Twombly herself. They gulped nervously, but stayed silent to listen.
"G-Good evening, Officer," Ms. Twombly stammered, standing up straight and brushing her hands gently down her dress to straighten it out. "Welcome to Littlest Pet Shop! Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Are you Ms. Anna Twombly?" the officer asked firmly yet respectfully.
"Y-Yes, I am. I haven't done anything wrong, have I? I don't believe I have..."
"You can rest assured, ma'am, that you have done nothing wrong. I was told that one of Downtown High School's students Blythe Baxter works here."
"Blythe?" the pets couldn't help but gasp quietly, looking at one another with shock in their large eyes. They shushed one another briskly before turning back to listen to the conversation.
"Yes, she does," Ms. Twombly confirmed with a nervous nod, "yet she hasn't been in all day ever since she left for school."
The officer suddenly removed his hat in a sorrowful manner. "I regret to inform you that... well... something has happened to Blythe today."
The pet shop owner gasped loudly, her eyes now bloodshot in disbelief. "What happened?"
"We don't know exactly what happened as of yet - my team is still investigating the scene - but we're theorizing she was walking home from school late and got hit by an irresponsible driver while walking on the crosswalk."
"What? My Blythe was hit by a car?"
The pets all cried out in shock before they erupted in panicking flurries of barks and squeals. Russell managed to shout a, "Quiet, everyone!" loud enough to quiet down the rest of the pets. "Let's not assume the worst here."
"What are you talking about, Russell?" Sunil exclaimed, raising his skinny arms into the air to emphasize his point. "Blythe got hit by a car!"
"I knew those pieces of machinery were evil!" Zoe snarled, baring her teeth. "Why do you think dogs chase them? To make sure they don't step out of line!"
"Come on, you guys, you're assuming the absolute worst happened to Blythe," Russell pushed on, trying to sound as calm as he desperately wished he was - he was just as scared as the others. "Let's just listen to the rest of what this officer has to say before panicking, please." The hedgehog sighed in relief when the pets decided to calm down, yet they were still fidgeting and whimpering a bit.
"Luckily she was still conscious when we took her to the hospital," the officer continued. "We hope and pray that she will be okay, as I know you do as well."
"Oh, my poor little Blythe..." Ms. Twombly wept, plucking out a tissue from a tissue box under the counter and using it to dry her eyes of her tears. "I-Is there any way we could see her now?"
"You most certainly can. Visiting hours are almost over, however, so you must make haste. I'm terribly sorry..." Placing his hat back on his head, the officer walked out of the pet shop and drove off, turning on his siren as he made his way back to the crime scene.
Ms. Twombly immediately picked up the phone from its charger podium and dialed a number, then held the phone up to her ear. "Please pick up, please pick up... Roger! Thank Goodness I could reach you! Something terrible happened!"
The pets backed away, leaving the shop owner to inform Blythe's dad on what the officer told her, and gathered around the pet door. Russell was the first to speak with an urgent voice. "You see that? Blythe's in the hospital. She's going to be fine."
"How could you possibly know that for certain?" Sunil panicked. "She could... She could..."
"Stop it, please!" Penny Ling wailed, her eyes brimming with tears. "I don't want to think about it!"
"Face the facts, Penny!" Pepper growled. "Blythe's in the hospital."
"But she could be in a worse scenario, couldn't she?" Russell suddenly pointed out sharply, silencing the skunk with a glare. His voice softened as he carried on, "Listen, you guys, I'm just as scared for her as the rest of you, but worrying about her isn't going to help. What we need to do is keep our heads on our shoulders and support Blythe to the best of our abilities. If we freak out, she'll freak out, and that's the last thing she needs in her current state."
"Oh, Russell's right," Zoe agreed. "We have to stay strong and positive for Blythe's sake."
"Okay, I'll see you there..." Ms. Twombly spoke when the pets fell silent before hanging up the phone, her eyes red and her cheeks wet with tears. She grabbed another tissue and wiped her eyes, then made her way to the front door. "I'm gonna need to find someone who can watch over the pets while I'm gone, and fast."
"What?" Pepper exclaimed. "She's not taking us? But we wanna see Blythe, too!" She was the first to run up to the shop owner's legs, rearing up on her hind legs and barking sharply.
"What is it, Pepper?" Ms. Twombly asked. She gasped as her eyes widened with realization and ran to get the leashes hanging next to the day camp center door. "Of course, how could I be so foolish? You all want to make sure Blythe's okay as well, don't you? Well, hopefully I can bring you lot in to see her."
"Nice going, Pepper!" Penny congratulated the skunk as she trotted back to the others. "Now we get to see Blythe!"
"As if I was gonna let her leave without us anyway," Pepper grunted.
Ms. Twombly took a few minutes to fasten the collars and leashes on each pet, then she helped them into the Littlest Pet Shuttle parked out front. After fastening everyone in their pet seats, she drove off to Downtown City Hospital as fast as she could.