Chapter 12
"A Date from Hell"
Danny and Sawyer carefully drove past their striking colleagues at Mammoth Studios and despite the fears of being targeted; they allowed them to pass through, knowing that some of them showed respect for Danny and Sawyer. This made the two cats feel relieved for a second as they moved on towards their destination, which by its location was like night and day as it was located in a location with only the sounds of Hollywood for company.
A little while later, Danny and Sawyer arrived at Luciano's restaurant, a famous Italian restaurant frequently occupied by Hollywood's elite, including Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, W.C. Fields, Clark Gable and L.B. Mammoth himself. But, tonight, with news of the war and the fear of the strike, the restaurant was not doing well tonight. But, the owners knew Danny and Sawyer well as they sat at their usual table and had their usual waiter and ordered their usual food. But, when Mickey and Minnie failed to show up, Danny and Sawyer were beginning to worry.
"Gee, I wonder what is keeping Mickey and Minnie," wondered Danny. "They should have been here by now."
"I know," added Sawyer, adjusting her hat. "Mickey and Minnie would never miss out on something like this."
"What do mean by that?" remarked Danny. "We had just met them in New York."
"I know," continued Sawyer. "But, I have heard stories about them and one of their favorite places was to come here."
"They should be along," reassured Danny. "We'll give them a few more minutes."
So, Danny and Sawyer waited and waited for Mickey and Minnie to arrive and by the time their food was served, they were still nowhere to be found. But, Danny and Sawyer then heard the sound of the band beginning to play and decided to do some dancing.
"It's a shame that they are not here," said Sawyer. "I guess that they had a last minute emergency or something."
"Yeah, that's unfortunate," said Danny. "But, aside from that, may I have this dance, my beautiful Sawyer?"
Sawyer removed her blue cover skirt and allowed her green dress to flow freely as she removed her blue hat, while Danny removed his green jacket.
"You certainly may, my handsome Danny," replied Sawyer sticking her hand out to his and the two cats hit the dance floor and danced to several Cab Calloway and several big band songs. For a while, it seemed that the memories of the strike at Mammoth and Disney studios had fluttered away from Danny and Sawyer's minds as they continued to dance to their favorite songs.
Shortly after 11:00pm, they put on their outer garments and went back to their car for the drive home. For a while, it seemed that the drive was uneventful as Danny and Sawyer took in the sounds of the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and allowed them to continue not focusing or even thinking about the strike at their studio. However, as they continued to drive back towards their apartment, Danny saw what appeared to be a large bonfire in front of the Walt Disney studios. He wanted to take another route, but there was no other way. Sawyer, who had been sleeping soundly, was woken up by the large sounds of cheering and yelling that was going on in front of them.
"Seriously?" yawned Sawyer. "Don't these people ever quit?"
"I don't think that they are going to quit as long as Disney refuses to give into their demands," said Danny. "Whatever happens, Sawyer, don't look at what they are doing."
To prove his point, Danny turned off the headlights to their car and it seemed for a while that they were going to go through undetected. Then, suddenly, the light from the bonfire exposed them to the strikers and upon seeing Danny and Sawyer, they charged towards their car.
"It's those Disney supporters from Mammoth!" shouted a striker.
"Get them!" shouted another striker and Danny floored the gas pedal to get away from the rushing strikers and it seemed it was going to work, but then suddenly, another group of strikers came right in front of them and Danny accidentally hit a few of them and sent them flying into the air. But, this only made the strikers grow even more angry as they grabbed rocks and threw them at the car windows.
"Danny!" cried Sawyer as tears of fear were beginning to form in her eyes. "Do something!"
"I'm trying to!" shouted Danny, as he backed up the car again. "But these guys don't give up! Hold on, Sawyer!"
But suddenly, a large rock was hurtled into the back seat of their car and broke the rear window. Two men started to break into the car and Danny got out and tried to swat them away. However, while he was trying to fend the men off, the door to Sawyer's side was flung open and she was pulled from the car with tremendous force.
"Sawyer, No!" cried Danny and grabbed Sawyer's hand and held it tight, trying to keep his girlfriend from being pulled into the crowds. But just then, the strikers on Danny's side yanked open his door and pulled him away from Sawyer as the crowds separated them and began to beat them and pull on their stylish clothes.
However, Danny and Sawyer were knocked out as the strikers continued their relentless assault and flipped their car over. No one seemed to realize what was going on, however, Pudge had been sleeping and had heard the screams from as far away as his house and ran downstairs to his parents who then called 911.
A little while later, the police and fire departments moved into the studio and dispersed the strikers by spraying water and tear gas. Many strikers were arrested and the situation was seemingly over, but there was a slight problem for the police. It appeared that Danny and Sawyer's car had been found, but the two cats were seemingly missing from view.
No one knew where Danny and Sawyer were located, but somehow, everyone knew that they would be found alive somewhere inside Disney studios.
