They found the double doors that served as the entrance to the bowling alley at the north side of the building. Herbert got a first aid kit from the grass near the entrance. Dan joined him and they began to go inside, noticing that Maggie hadn't budged.
"I'll wait here," she finally said. "I hate bowling."
"We didn't come here to play, aren't you are aware of that?" Herbert asked, brows knitted and arms on hips in anger.
"Hurry back, Dan, okay," Maggie said to Dan. She glared at Herbert to let him know she didn't feel the same way about him. He just smiled at her in return.
They went inside and saw Rufus and Edwin together. Edwin was sitting in a booth, eating pizza. Rufus was sitting on the table next to him, and it almost looked like he had a questioning expression on his feline face.
"I didn't do anything like that," Edwin responded to the look on the cat's face.
Rufus was practically laughing at him, or would be if cats could.
"Why did you have to say that?" Edwin asked, hurt.
The cat gave him another questioning look.
"No, I just ran 'cause I was scared. I don't know what the cops are doing." He noticed that Rufus' body language had changed again. "It's no good. They wouldn't listen. Nobody will ever forgive me."
Edwin noticed Dan and Herbert. "Did you two find the lady you were looking for...what's her name...Meg?" he asked them.
Dan and Herbert approached him. They saw that he was still sitting in the booth eating pizza. However, Rufus had disappeared. "Edwin?"
"Oh...umm, yer..."
"Dan Cain."
"West. Herbert West."
"We met each other in the apartment building," Dan and Herbert said together.
"Yeah, I remember, but..."
"Are you alone here, Edwin?"
"Uh, no..."
They heard some unearthly meowing coming from the other direction. They turned and saw Rufus by the door. Rufus opened the door by pushing it and ran out.
"Wait! Come back!" Dan shouted. "Let's go after him!"
Herbert had to hide his laughter over Dan's frustration behind his hand, but it didn't muffle well.
"Huh? Rufus? But why...?"
"This town's full of monsters! How can you sit there and eat pizza?"
"He seems fine by himself...I'd just slow him down."
Herbert and Dan walked off. "Forget you..." Herbert said in an annoyed tone for both himself and Dan.
"We might as well look around the place for items," Dan said. "We are already here, and this might be another location that's got a lot to share."
"What a wonderful idea, Dan."
Dan went to the end of the third lane from the right. He came back with some ammo and they left the building through the doors used by Rufus. Maggie was nowhere in sight.
"I thought Maggie would be waiting," Herbert said to Dan. He grinned smugly, partially in Dan's direction.
"We should look for her." Herbert frowned at Dan. "I'm sorry."
They began to go east and that was when Maggie ran toward them. She was out of breath, and it seemed like she was chasing something or someone.
"Did a black cat run out of here?" Dan asked.
"Yeah, it was too fast for me! Aren't you gonna go after it?"
They turned right and went through the side parking lot. They turned a corner and saw a gate not too far away. They went through and headed south until they hit a dead end. Dan and Herbert looked through the small space between buildings.
"It went through there," Maggie told them.
"Is there any other way?" Dan asked.
"Yeah, there is." Maggie pointed at a door they passed. "Right through there."
They approached the door. Dan went in front of Herbert and Maggie and tried to open it.
"No good, it's locked."
Maggie shoved him out of the way and got a key from her waist. She unlocked a lock with it. She got another one out of her boot, which she used on the second lock. She turned away from the men and put her hand down her shirt. Dan stepped up and tried to put his head over her shoulder to see where the third key was, and he could barely feel Herbert tugging him away. She turned back and unlocked the last lock with the last key.