Chapter 17:-A goodbye to old wounds
The walk back to Nancy's was slow and exhausting, the group mostly sticking to alleyways. Tramp and Rita continued to drag the sheet, with the pups walking close by. When the got to an wide alleyway Tramp asked if they could have a rest. Stopping in a patch of light created by a lamp post, Tramp laid on the floor, legs aching. The pup snuggled up to their dad, all of them with big smiles on their faces. Rita approached Dodger and Nancy. "How are you two feeling?"
"Ok. The bleedings stopped, but my shoulders getting a little stiff," Nancy answered first. "I'm in peak physical fitness," Dodger quipped sarcastically, "How are you?" Rita didn't answer the question, she just stared of into the distance, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "Hey, hey, Rita. What's going on?" Dodger cooed in concern. "I... I thought I'd lost you again," she whispered, collapsing next to Dodger, tears flowing more freely down her face now. "Hey, its all right now, I'm here. I'm ok," Dodger tried to comfort her. Rita stammered "It's just... I thought you were dead. I thought Roxett killed you, and the thought of finding you again only to loose you an hour later, I don't think I could take it."
"But its all right, you managed to make it out of the houseboat."
Rita sniffed back some tears, "but I almost didn't." They looked into each others eyes for a moment. "Tell me what happened."
One year & six months ago
It was just an ordinary night on Fagin's house boat, Rita was relaxing in her tent bed, Frankie and Tito were bickering like an old married couple, Einstein was slobbering on Fagin's chair, Dodger was out collecting dinner and Fagin was trying to pawn some things for money. Rita sighed as the stretched out, relaxing after a long day. Suddenly, they heard footsteps on the deck above and thought it was Fagin, but then they heard multiple other footsteps, heavy ones, and shouting. "What's that?" Tito asked. "I don't know, I'll check it out," volunteered Rita. She went to go upstairs but before she got half way up something was standing in the door at the top of the stairs. A silhouette of a dog blocked the door, a dog that was as big as Einstein. "Hey! Who are you?" Rita demanded to the shadow, who at first didn't respond. "I'll ask you again," Rita growled. "Who are y-"
"Where's Dodger?" the dog cut in, her voice sharp. More shouting came from the top deck, and Fagin sounded more panicked. "Move out of our way," Rita growled, the rest of the dogs crowding round behind her in a show of support. More shouting came from up top, with Fagin sounding more scared and desperate. Then a gun shot rang loudly in the air, Rita bolted up the stairs and tried to slip past the intruder, but the dog moved faster than Rita, shouldering her back down the stairs in a violent tumble. Rita landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, her friends crowding around her unconscious form.
Sounds of shuffling came from the top deck, along with the smell of something unpleasantly strong. "Where is Dodger!" The dog commanded again from the top of the stairs. "He not here," Tito screamed back, "he went off to get some grub." Sounding fed up, the dog turned and muttered, "No need for you then," before slamming the door at the top of the stairs, leaving them trapped. The group continued to try and wake Rita, who eventually stirred after a couple of minuets. The first thing to greet her was the smell of burning, "Uh, guys, what's on fire?" They all looked around until Francis noticed the red and orange flickering in one corner of the wooden ceiling. He let out a gasp and the others turned round.
"They set the boat on fire," Einstein said. "Quick, we need to get out of here," Rita said, limping to the top of the steps. The door wouldn't open, something was blocking it from the other side. She threw herself against it, but was too weak to do any damage, she went back downstairs. "Einstein, I need you to knock down this door." The fire had spread across the whole ceiling, lighting up the room in dangerous colours of red and orange. Burning bits of wood fell from the top, spreading the fire. Einstein lined himself up with the stairs, took a few steps back, and charged up the stairs. From down below they heard wood splintering as the Great Dain rammed into the door, followed by "Its open."
The gang rushed upstairs, out of a door split almost in half and swinging on its hinges, and onto the open deck. They looked around for a way of escape but the fire surrounded them, Rita imagined this must be what it felt like to be a turkey at Christmas. Frankie ran to the plank that connected to the dock. "They've untied us from the dock!" he yelled in panic. Rita rushed over to join him, as they saw they were now floating in the middle of the river. Standing on dry land, there was a group of five people all dressed in black suits, watching the houseboat burn with satisfaction. with them was the dog, the one from the stairs, staring coldly at them. Rita locked eyes with her, staring her down while her home burned around her, realising how hopeless they all were.
Rita heard a cry of anguish, and turned to see Fagin. His silhouette on the floor, a small stream of blood winding along the floor, bright colours dancing around his corpse. It was Einstein who cried out as he ran towards him. That Great Dain had been with him the longest out of anyone, and was defiantly the most emotional out of all of them. He poked at Fagin's lifeless body gently, whimpering for him to get up, but the fire was no calmer. "Einstein! We need to go!" Rita yelled over the crackle of the blaze. But Einstein ether didn't hear her or didn't care. Rita went to go over to him, but the floor creaked and broke, leaving a splintered barrier between them.
"Einstein!" Rita yelled again. The Great Dain looked at her, all sense of life and motivation gone from him. "Go," was all he said, before turning his back to them and curling up to Fagin's body. "No, no, no man," Tito was shaking his head in disbelief. "Tito, we need to go," Francis said to him, pulling the Chihuahua away. "He's right," Rita said. The smoke surrounded them, burning their eyes, blocking their smell and choking their lungs, Rita realised now was their last chance to escape. The floor splintered beneath them as they ran to the end of the boat. "We need to swim to the shore," Rita yelled. "But the waves man!" Tito yelled in concern. "Don't worry, I've got you," Rita promised; she turned to Francis "Will you be ok, Frankie?" More creaking from behind them as the boat was being consumed by the flames. Francis looked uncertain, but nodded firmly. Rita nodded back, "On three. One. Tow. Three!"
They plunged into the freezing cold water, the stark contrast to the hear of the fire that surrounded them only moments before shocked them. Almost immediately, the waves and the current swept them away. Rita heled onto Tito's scruff as she paddled hard, with Francis only just keeping up. The swim was gruelling and painful, but with determination and adrenalin, they made it to the bank about half a mile down stream from the houseboat. They crawled up a ramp, dragging themselves out of the water, and collapsed on dry land. Rita let go of Tito, who was shivering uncontrollably, like the rest of them were. Francis was on his back, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, chest pumping up and down. Rita was on her side, crying her eyes out, her tears blending in with the puddles of water on the floor. "I-don't-think-they-saw-us," Francis panted heavily. They just laid there for a moment, watching the smoke rise up into the sky. Rita looked with tear filled eyes as the life she once new burned in front of her.
Dodger stared at Rita with despair as her eyes started to water. When she looked around it turned out everyone was looking at her, fixated on her story. "Oh Rita," Dodger whispered. "That's horrible. But don't worry, you wont be loosing me again any time soon," Dodger smirked, "give me a bit of time and you'll be sick of me." Rita managed to smile, then she started to laugh. Tramp waked up to here, and so did the kids, to comfort her. "Thanks guys. Now lets go home." They all nodded in agreement, Tramp and Rita picked up the sheet and continued to drag it along. The sun was starting to rise as they made it to Nancy's house, they stopped in the back garden to have a break and watch the sky, the mix of early morning colours, the oranges and yellows painted across the light blue canvas. In the distance, the birds started chirping.
"So what now?" Dodger asked out loud. Everyone looked around at each other. "Well you've got to stay here with me," Nancy said. "We need to get you fixed up again." Dodger sighed at this, but was secretly pleased. "I need to take the children back," Tramp summarised, "could use a bit of help finding my way..." he turned to Rita. "Sure thing, handsome."
"Wait," Collette piped up and turned to Dodger, "Well we ever see you again?" She asked, lips quivering. "Yeah, we can't just leave without saying goodbye," Scamp agreed. "How much longer are you in town for?" asked Dodger. "Should be another five days," Tramp shrugged. "Then don't worry kids, I'll see you again," Dodger smiled at them. "Now go on, I'm sure your mama's missing you." Scamp and Collette gave Dodger a hug, burring themselves right into his fur, making Dodger wince with pain. "Yeah, yeah, alright. Get outa here," he smiled gently at them. Tramp approached him next, "there is no way I can ever express my gratitude enough for what you done to keep my children safe. If you ever need my help in anything, please let me know."
"Oh, it's alright pal, to be honest they helped me out with a few things as well. You've got good kids there Tramp, and I'm glad I could help." Tramp turned to walk away, "Hey, one more thing" Dodger added, Tramp turned round, "Your kids say you were once the greatest street dog ever." A broad smile crossed Tramps face, "left that life behind for this on."
"Do you regret it? Leaving that life for this one?" Dodger asked. Tramp stared of into the middle distance, searching for an answer. "I wouldn't go back to it," he said simply, "Doesn't mean I don't miss it, but I'm sure in my choice, I'm happy." Dodger considered his words as they shared a nod with each other. Tramp went to his children.
Finally, Rita approached him and got down to his level. "I'm so glad I found you," she whispered to Dodger. "Yeah, I am too. We've got a lot of catching up to do." Rita nodded, "We do. Like who's this mysterious Nancy you've never told me about," she smirked as she got up. Dodger got all nervous and fidgety, blushing behind his fur. "Old friend," he sheepishly said. "What type of old friend?" Rita smiled and raised and eyebrow. But she pulled away from Dodger before he could reply. "Right, common people, we need to get you back home, your mum's missing you," Rita commanded to the group, and they walked out of Nancy's back garden and on their way home. "I like her," Nancy mused to Dodger, who again fidgeted uncomfortably. "Can you stop messing around and get us inside," he nagged her.
Giggling to herself, she went through the doggy door and started baking. Inside, Charlie could be heard stomping down the stairs, followed by his mum. "Nancy! You're back! Oh, I've missed you so much. Are you ok? Where's spots?" Nancy barked at that name, as she slipped from Charlie's grip and led them to the door. Charlie's mum opened the door and saw Dodger curled up on the sheet, covered in more bruises, scratches and ash. "Oh my god, how did you get in this state again," she sighed. Dodger just whined in response. "OK, Charlie, grab the other end of the sheet, we'll see what we can do for him."