Over the Fence
I kept tugging on my chain, trying to get loose while Scamp was singing doing different and weird stunts, trying to get free.
Scamp: "Far from here is where we want to be. Somewhere out there, loose and running. Nobody's leash to hold us, nobody's hugs to crush us, nobody's soap and scratchy combs to bathe and brush us! A world without fences! A world where we can run free! And be with real dogs and bring the real dog out in us. No walls and no boundaries. Where we can be free! A world without walls and fences, that's exactly where we want to be! These pups just won't sleep their lives away, on some sofa, like their father. Too many bones to chew up, too many smells to sample, too many fancy flower beds to rip and trample. No rules to control; to stop what we want to be. A world without fences, that's the world for us! No rules, no responsibilities. On our own, completely free! A world without fences for us!"
Eventually, Scamp got free and helped me out. We looked behind us and saw the chains, abandoned. We cheered and started digging under the fence. Finally we hit the other side and ran for it, not turning back. We ran down the neighborhood, barking and waking everybody up.
We got to town but got lost. I kept looking around for any directions but I ended up just following Scamp. We looked almost everywhere but found nothing. It was getting later and later and the more we were gone and didn't find anything, the more I wanted to go back home. I wanted to go back to dad, tell him sorry I blew up on him; I wanted to go back inside the house, be by the warm fire, listening to Darling read Junior a bedtime story.
But we were lost; we didn't know where to go. And dad said if I didn't straighten up then I can find myself a new home…if that's what he wants then he'll get it. We continued our way and stopped in the middle of the road, under a lamp post. When I thought all hope was gone, we heard squeaking and a puppy growling. We looked up and saw a shadow of the girl we saw earlier and followed it.
I climbed up a trailer and saw her digging through the garbage. I jumped down and Scamp followed suit. I was about to greet her but Scamp had to be his usual arrogant self, trying to act cool, like he knew what he was doing. He stuffed his face in a garbage can and looked at her with a banana peel on his nose. "Pretty good pickings, huh?"
"Oh, I can see you know your way around an alley."
"Is it that obvious?"
I shake my head and roll my eyes at his patheticness, flirting with her in front of his sister. I jump in before anything is said and I get a glare from my brother. "Hi, my name is Champ. This is my brother, Scamp."
The girl turns to face me and gently smiles. "Nice to meet you. My name's Angel. Listen, you guys don't belong on the streets. You won't last five minutes out here."
Before we can say anything, we hear a horn and I realize it's already morning by now. Angel runs away, jumping over a fence. I follow her move and got outside the fence. When I wait for Scamp, I see half his body stuck. I roll my eyes as I see Angel running down the street. She was our only way of knowing where to go so I knew we had to follow her, even if my brother had a different reason in mind. "Scamp, come on. She's getting away, we have to follow her!"
"Hey, chill out! I'm kinda stuck here if you haven't noticed and I would appreciate it if you would help me out!"
"Oh my gosh, you're so hopeless." I grab the front of his collar and tug as hard as I could and we both go tumbling to the ground. We get up and start running. We almost got hit by a car and nearly got squashed by a horse.
We stayed behind her but I don't think she knew we were following her. Sometime around mid-day we found her little hideout. It was the county's junkyard. I smiled and ran through the tunnel, my brother following me. I looked around and saw the dogs we saw from earlier. Everyone was doing something different.
One dog was jumping on the sofa, two dogs were playing tug-a-war with a hat, and Angel was kicking glass bottles around, breaking them. I kept watching the two dogs who were fighting for the hat, as was everybody else. It was an old dog and the leader dog who we saw. Eventually, the alpha dog won and I overheard them yelling his name, Buster.
Buster started running around, declaring that junkyard dogs ran the town. The other group of dogs started howling and soon enough Scamp and I joined in. But once we did, everybody else stopped. When we realized we were the center of attention, we stopped also. Buster quickly ran over to us, telling us what we needed to know. "I'm the top dog around here. Nobody joins the junkyard dogs unless I say so. So, what are your names, sports?'
I slightly tremble with fear from Buster but thankfully, my older brother answers for me. "Name's Scamp. This is my sis, Champ."
He chuckles a bit, circling us. "Well howdy, Scampero, Champion. So, saw some fun, thought you two would join right in, huh?"
"Sure."
"Well, I hate to break the news to ya but not many house dogs get to run in this pack."
"We're no house dogs!"
"Oh, you're not? Then what are these 'badges of respectabilities' doing around your necks?" Buster gestured to our collars, laughing at them.
I get offended by this action, making fun of my collar. I get my confidence back and growl slightly at the leader of the pack. Bust looks down at me and smiles. "Well, looks like this house dog is a bit arrogant, huh boys?"
I was about to throw an insult but I was cut off by Scamp. "No way! We've had it with the house dog life! Nothing there but rules, rules, rules. We wanna be wild and free…like you guys."
Buster turns away from his, having us follow him. "I don't know, kids. Your average house dogs ain't got what it takes."
I stand up first and say, "Believe me, I think we got a bit more than what it takes."
One of the bigger dogs, who I know as Mooch, starts jumping around, yelling, "Tell 'em what it takes, Buster! Tell 'em what it takes!"
One of the old dogs, Sparky, kicked a piano and some music started playing.
Buster: "In junkyard society, we're repelled by all propriety. Humility and modesty. Good manners and sobriety. We always gulp our meat, our coats are never neat. Alas we lack all poise, we're full of natural noise. No pets you stroke and pat. You might as well be a cat. In junkyard society."
Group: "Society."
Buster: "We are the mutual un-elite. An underclass from our head to our feet. Our deeds are spiteful, our mischief pure. We got a natural disorder for which there's no cure. Down to the junkyard, straight to the junkyard, step to the junkyard, society rag."
Francois: "Where your nobody's perfumed pets."
Sparky: "Where you can wet where you wanna wet."
Ruby: "Where you put charity on the shelf."
Buster: Then only one that you'll look out for is you, yourself."
Group: "Down in the junkyard, check out the junkyard, doin' the junkyard, society rag."
Sparky: "No distemper shots from the vet."
Ruby: "Show your temper."
Sparky: "Mean as you can get."
Group: "Down in the yard where we live and let…"
Francois: "Chaos and trouble, oh we do it double."
Buster: "None of this play-it-safe house dog stuff. Our days are risky, our nights are ruff! The peaceful life leaves us ill at ease. We're crowd and loud in a crowd and very proud of our fleas."
Group: "Down at the junkyard, check out the junkyard, step to the junkyard, straight to the junkyard, doin' the junkyard, society rag!"
Once they stopped, I realized how much more fun being a junkyard dog can really be. Scamp and I started cheering, having a blast at the mess we had made during their singing. Buster came back over to us, looking pleased. "So, you kids think you got what it takes to be a junkyard dog, huh?"
I hear a familiar voice and turn to see Angel. "Oh, they got what it takes, Buster. All I saw what they can do back in that alley."
Scamp starts jumping around, wanting to prove it. "Yeah, yeah! Check out this slick move." He jumps on a mattress and ends up getting a spring stuck on his tail, looking embarrassed.
I calmly walk over to him and kick it off his tail. Buster walks over to a garbage can, smirking. "As talented as you two may be, it ain't that easy, sports." He grabs the garbage lid and throws it, Angel catching it after it almost hit Sparky in the head but thankfully he ducked.
Angel walked over to us, balancing on the lid then jumping off. "Every day out here is like a test of survival."
"A test! Beautiful! Baby, I always get my best ideas when you're around, that's why you're my girl!" Buster claims.
"I am not your girl! "
Buster turns back to us, looking like he has a plan. "Ok, Scampers, Champion. We'll give you two a shot. But you both have to pass the test of courage…in Reggie's Alley."
Everyone suddenly gasped. They started saying that it was too dangerous but Buster blocked them out. "Aw, don't listen to them. It's just a little test to see if you can both stay on your own four paws."
We all walked out of the junkyard and later ended up as a large fence with the sign saying 'Keep out.' It looked pretty bad and scary but I wasn't gonna show them that I was nervous. "Ok, Scampster, Champion, fetch the can outta the alley."
Buster lifted us up and dropped us into the alley, over the fence. To be honest, I was getting annoyed with the stupid nickname this guy came up with. Only dad could give me a nickname and that name was Rascal. We looked around and gasped at what we saw. There was this huge looking animal that didn't even look like a dog. He was sleeping but with the can in his paw.
I slightly leaned over and whispered, "Scamp, you get the can while I get something to replace it with."
He slowly crept forward as I searcher around. I saw he was close to the animal and I quickly grabbed a random object which turned out to be a piece of wood. Scamp grabbed the edge of the can while I put the piece of wood in its place and breathed a sigh in relief as we saw he didn't wake up. I was gonna keep walking slowly to be cautious but Scamp already started to run, looking backwards and ran into a garbage can, making lot of noise.
I cringed, knowing we were in huge trouble. The dog growled slightly before actually waking up. I tried to push Scamp towards the exit but his feet were frozen. We both ran to the fence to find it locked and the dog came charging at us.
Before I had time to react, Scamp pushed me out of the way, shoving me towards the exit, telling me to go and that he'll catch up. I didn't want to leave him at all but he was my older brother and if there was one thing I actually listened to what my parents, it was always listen to your older siblings. Sadly, for me, that meant all of them and frankly, I was the smallest and youngest of the bunch and that might be a reason why Scamp is always trying to protect me.
I keep running out of that alley, away from that huge dog that Buster called 'Reggie'. I hear crashing and yelling behind me but it grows faint as I ran more. I found myself running down the sidewalk. A car came up next to me and I saw a net above me, holding Angel and Scamp was holding onto the wood part. I jumped up and ended up biting the driver's hand and he let go the same time when Reggie came out on the street.
Scamp, Angel, and I went flying into some bags of flour, giving us a soft landing. The dog catcher caught Reggie and dragged him in his car, taking him to the pound. We watch him get farther and farther until Angel said something. "Hey…you guys….saved my life. Nobody else would have dared to do that."
I swear I could see Scamp blush but I smiled and said, "Hey, what are friends for?"
