101 Dalmatians II: Black and White

XVIII - The Devil's Trick

00000

Ringing.

There was a nasty ringing in Two-Tone's ears when she awoke.

Her entire body was buzzing.

It felt like her bones were vibrating.

"Ow."

Two-Tone stood up on her four legs. They felt like jelly.

As she came to her senses, she felt a stinging, burning sensation in the back of her neck.

"What...what's...going...on?" She said woozily.

"Two-Tone?! Two-Tone!"

The tomboy pup shot her head up, her focus returning in an instant. "Jewel? Where are you?!"

Two-Tone looked about and saw that she was in some kind of metal box.

She saw that the way in front of her was clear.

Before she could try to leave however, she remembered when she was first brought here.

Her family was taken.

They were put in a truck.

And then brought to this awful place, placed in cages with a clear, plate glass door.

Two-Tone had to find out the hard way when she crashed into it, thinking there was nothing there.

It took her eyes a moment to clear from the impact in order to see the transparent surface before her.

"Jewel!" Two-Tone called once more. "Where are you?!"

"I'm here! To your left!"

Two-Tone could not see her sister. But it was clear from the direction of the sound of her voice as well as her unique scent that she was outside her cage and in the cage to her left.

"Jewel, are you ok?"

Two-Tone heard her sister sniffle.

"No," she answered miserably.

"Are you hurt?" Two-Tone asked with some alarm.

"Well...my neck is burning a bit."

Two-Tone almost choked. "Mine too."

"What have they done to us?" Jewel asked fearfully.

"I don't know." I don't think I want to know.

"More importantly, who are they?"

"Dipstick?" Two-Tone said. "Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm in the cage below Jewel's."

Two-Tone paused for a moment. She called out. "Thunder?"

There was no answer.

"Thunder?"

"Yes Two-Tone, I'm here."

"Where are you?"

"I don't know," Thunder said. "But I'm above you somewhere."

Two-Tone heard the tough pup chuckle mirthlessly. "I pity the pup who's in the cage below Whizzer's."

"Hey."

"Thunder!" Jewel snapped indignantly. "Really!"

"I'm sorry," Thunder said, humbled. "This whole thing...us getting taken again…being put in these awful cages…" He sighed. "...sorry Whizzer."

"It's ok."

"It's you, you're some of the Fifteen, aren't you?"

Two-Tone did not recognize that voice or that scent.

"Who's that?" She asked.

Two-Tone heard who she was sure to be Dipstick remark, "She's not one of ours."

"Are you sh-sh-sh-sh-sure?"

"I'm merely sure of it, Fidget."

"Hold on," Jewel said. "Darling, do you have a clear face with only one tiny spot under one of your eyes?"

There was a pause. "...yes," said the voice sounding amazed. "But how did you-?"

"And do you have a red bandana with a white stitching along its edge tied around your neck?"

"Well, I did but how-?"

"And do you have a vague pattern of spots on your side that's shaped like Ireland?"

"Ok ok, how could you possibly know all that?! We never met! You can't see me right now! Not even Patch noticed those spots!"

"We saw you on the telly," Dipstick said excitingly. "And Jewel has an eye for detail, even if she only saw glimpses of you."

Two-Tone grinned. "We also saw you stand up to Thunderbolt after he laughed at Patch! Nice one!"

"What's your name dear?" Jewel asked.

There was no reply.

"Hello?"

"You...saw all that? All of you?"

"Well…" Dipstick said. "...not all, some of us were asleep. Some of the others were up the night before, they were so upset after the farm got attacked."

"What? What are you talking about? Weren't you taken?"

"Yes," Dipstick answered dejectedly. "After whoever took us attacked the farm again."

"They hurt Nanny!"a shrill voice shouted. Was that Purdy?

"And Maddock," Thunder said sadly. "He fought so hard."

Two-Tone lowered her head. "...Beatrice."

"I'm sorry, who are they?"

Two-Tone pursed her lip sardonically. "Why don't we start with your name before you start asking questions?"

"Tony," Jewel said exasperated. "That was very rude."

"My name is Precious."

"What's that?" Two-Tone said.

"I said my name is Precious."

"Oh no, I heard you. It's just...your name is Precious."

"You got a problem with my name?"

Two-Tone shook her head, even though she knew Precious couldn't see her. "Nope. It's a very fine name. A perfect name to pair up with our Patch."

"W-What?" Precious sounded very flustered.

"Tony," Jewel scolded. "That's enough. We need to figure a way out of these cages."

"I agree," Dipstick said.

"Fine," Two-Tone said, slightly uncaringly. "Beats waiting for someone else to save us."

Before the pups could devise a plan of escape however, the sound of a heavy steel door unlocking, opening and closing was heard.

The sound that followed was the sound of soft footfalls.

Whoever it is, they're very quiet.

Given the limited range of sight from their cages, the pups couldn't see who it was that just entered.

Was this their captor? The one behind their capture as well as the attacks on the farm.

And judging by the sharp, warm odor in the air, it was clear that Whizzer was starting to have trouble containing his fear and himself.

Two-Tone stepped back from the glass and she realized she was shaking.

A huge shape passed her cage, clothed in white. Whoever it was, the way he or she moved, it was paced and almost silent.

The person moved like a ghost.

"Can anyone describe what the person looks like?"

"It's a man," Two-Tone heard Perdy say.

"An old man," Spotty said.

"With very defined cheekbones," Inky said with a shudder.

Jewel exclaimed in horrified disgust. "He looks like a walking dead man! How horrid!"

"What are you talking about Jewel?" Two-Tone asked, worried of what answer her sister would give her.

"His skin is like ash! Like rags drawn tight on a hideous skull! And his eyes are like some kind of predatory animal!"

"Makes me g-g-g-g-glad that I-I-I-I can't seem him from he-he-he-here," Fidget stammered.

Then the footfalls stopped.

And the next sound that followed was the soft clanging of metal and the clicking and whirring of machinery.

"What is he doing?" Two-Tone said, raising her voice in an attempt to hide her fear.

"He's turning on some kind of machine," Dipstick said. "And he's...he's…" He gulped. "...he's taking tools out."

The clanging of tools stopped, but the machinery continued in its unknown purpose.

And then for the first time since he entered, the man spoke in a voice that was cold, calculating, and full of malice.

"So much trouble, so much trouble, over less than a hundred mongrel pups. A few got away, but I'll find them soon enough."

That voice chilled the pups to the bone. The man spoke in a deep voice. It had a thick accent to it and yet it was perfectly comprehensible. And it had a certain gleeful anticipation to it as though he were excited to start whatever sinister project he had in mind, assuming he didn't start already.

"There's work to be done, so much work to be done."

Two-Tone observed the man in the white coat with growing fear.

She couldn't see his face but she could at least see the back of his head. He was bald and his skin was drawn tight indeed as well as the color of ash.

He was arranging tools from the looks of it with such energy and dexterity which shouldn't be possible for a man his age.

And suddenly he stopped.

He stood up, completely erect.

For a moment, he did not move.

It was as though he had been turned to stone.

And then, very quickly, he turned to look at Two-Tone.

Two-Tone shrieked in horror.

The man's face was perhaps the most horrible face she ever had the misfortune to behold.

His skin had deep creases and his eyes were sunken as though there was very little skin protecting his skull.

His lips were thin and curled which revealed yellow teeth, which disgusted Two-Tone horribly.

His eyes were the worst part.

They were dark and they seemed to have red pinpricks in the dead center of his pupils as though within them, there was an unholy flame radiating out of a great depth.

Only Cruella de Vil was so terrible to look at.

The old man smiled maliciously, clearly taking pleasure in Two-Tone's raw fear.

"You remind me of my latest quarry," he said.

What is he talking about?

The man stepped back and looked into another cage out of view.

"Precious, my dearest Precious. You've evaded me for too long. But now...you are mine."

He said the last word with such vile enthusiasm that it made Two-Tone sick.

She heard whimpering.

It undoubtedly came from Precious' cage.

Two-Tone's anger overcame her fear and she stood up on the glass hatch of her cage and growled menacingly at the mad scientist.

"Leave her alone!" Thunder barked.

"Yeah!" Spotty cried. "Pick on someone your own size!"

Soon, the entire lab was filled with young angry barks.

The old man turned to look at them. He looked from here to there to see most to all of the Dalmatians barking at him.

He did not look pleased at this show of defiance.

He whistled.

And out of nowhere, Nero popped out and barked madly at them.

The remaining 99 shut up at once.

"You keep quiet you little rats," Nero said. "Make trouble for the good doctor and you'll get something to keep you quiet."

"Y-you," Dipstick stammered fearfully. "You're supposed to be dead."

Nero regarded Dipstick with unfettered hatred. The pup almost screamed when he noticed the Rottweiler was missing an eye. "You mistake me for my brother, mention him to me again and I'll eat you first."

Near-panicking, Dipstick scooted to the back of his cage, trying in vain to escape.

"You touch him and I'll take your other eye!" Two-Tone screamed.

Nero looked at her with indifference.

He smiled.

And then he chuckled darkly. "I'm going to enjoy watching you tear your big brother to pieces."

Two-Tone gawked. "What are you talking about?"

Nero just laughed.

"Come Nero," the old man said as he opened the heavy metal door to leave.

The Rottweiler obeyed and followed after him.

"Hey!" Two-Tone called out. "What were you talking about?! Tell me!"

Nero still did not answer. He just gave a cruel laugh which echoed in the lab.

00000

"Patchy?"

"Yes Caddy?"

"We are going to save them, aren't we?"

"Absolutely."

"How can you be so sure?"

Patch paused for a moment. "I have to be sure, I...I have to believe it. Never mind the what if's. We just have to believe."

An impact.

And the pups launched nearly a foot in the air before falling back down where they sat.

Freckles groaned. "Another pothole."

"How much farther?" Patch asked.

"Just a turn or two," Roly said, sniffing the air. "And then the place is just down by the harbor."

Patch and his siblings held their breaths in anticipation.

The open truck they stowed themselves away in was a perfect way for getting around quickly.

And quickly they most certainly did.

Over Blackfriars Bridge they went.

And then they took a left.

And then they came to a stop.

"I think this is close enough," Roly said.

"Right then," Patch said.

With that, all seven pups, one at a time, hopped off the truck and took to the nearest alley way they could find to hide themselves in.

Hiding behind an aluminum trash can, they waited until the truck had gone and until all was clear.

Pepper peeked out from behind the van and very carefully scanned the environment.

His eyes settled on a solitary building that he hadn't noticed at first.

It appeared to be a gutted husk of a hospital.

It's foundation was barely holding itself together. The majority of its windows had been broken. It's walls and brickwork was strewn with grime and filth.

But the faint scent of smoke, machinery and chemicals made it clear that it was still in use.

"Is that the place Roly?" Pepper asked anxiously.

Roly emerged and he sniffed sharply. "Yes, they're there. I'm sure of it."

Soon, all the pups peeked out from behind the can and they observed with growing dread the terrible abandoned building.

Penny looked at the place with horror and disdain. "Our family is in that awful place?"

Freckles bit his lip to keep from crying.

"Keep it together Freckles," Patch said. "For them."

"How do we even get in?" Lucky asked.

"We can't go in directly," Penny said.

"Why?" Roly asked. "There are no guards."

"There's also no cover," Penny said, pointing a paw toward the open lot of the abandoned building. "No place to hide ourselves. Whoever is in there would see us coming. And if we're caught, we're dead."

"Penny's right," Patch said, nodding. "We can't go in through the lot. We need to find another way in."

"Let me guess," Freckles said in dismay and disgust. "We get in by going through there?"

Freckles was motioning to an open sewer drain.

Patch and the rest of his siblings wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"It may be the safest way right now," Patch said regrettably.

Freckles groaned.

"Hey, I'm not too wild about it either Freckles."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you're fussier than Jewel."

00000

"I don't like this."

"There's nothing to like Purdy," Two-Tone said. "Not a thing since we were brought here."

Not long after the doctor left the pups, their cages opened but not leading to the lab, but right behind them. Apparently, the cages opened both ways and it lead to small passageways, just big enough for the pups to go through.

Some of them refused to go in, until the mechanics operating the glass door shifted and proceeded to push the pups through the backdoor.

The passageway led the pups to a dark room. And as soon as all 93 pups, including Precious came through, the passageway closed.

They were effectively trapped again.

"What is he going to do to us?" Rose asked, whining beginning to cry.

Jewel nuzzled her, trying to comfort her. "I don't know," she said. "But we need to stay calm and wait for Mum and Dad to find us."

"You really think they will? You really they think your mummy and daddy can save us from, from this?"

Precious stood straightly and her look was that of fear but also anger. Anger at her circumstances, anger that this happened to her and to the family of her friend.

The friend who saved her own life and at his own risk, very nearly gave his to protect her.

But above all, she was angry that the world never seemed to be on her side.

Jewel bristled. "Of course I do," she said firmly. "They journeyed across England to rescue us, they'll do it again."

"But they have never dealt with Black Umbrella."

The pups' looks all stemmed from confusion and bafflement, and some with looks of apprehension.

"Black Umbrella?" Dipstick stammered fearfully. "That sounds familiar...and ominous."

"That man you saw," Precious said. "He was their chief scientist, until they were outlawed and disbanded."

"How do you know all this?" Two-Tone asked suspiciously.

Precious looked at Two-Tone anxiously and uncomfortably, as though she were struggling greatly to muster up the answer.

"Because Winston was one of their lab rats, if you will. And...and…" Precious sniffled. "He...he had died in order to keep me from following the same fate."

The 92 pups gave Precious looks of sympathy and sadness.

Two-Tone spoke up. "Who's Winston?"

Precious choked but she shook herself to keep from crying. "He...he was in the cage next to mine. He was a police bulldog."

"What about your parents dear?" Jewel asked.

Precious clenched her eyes. "I never knew them. I barely remember their faces. They were taken from me, just like Winston."

Precious bared her teeth in frustration as she was forced to dredge up the memories.

"That doctor, he's the one that did it Winston told me, but he wouldn't tell me what he did exactly." Precious bowed her head. "Said that it was...too ghastly."

Horror dawned on the puppies' faces.

"What is his name?" Dipstick asked, a quiver in his voice. "The doctor's."

"Simon Seville."

"Never heard of him."

Precious gave Dipstick a deadpan look. "That's because he's been keeping his doings here a secret."

"No, I mean I never heard of any Dr. Simon Seville and it should at least be familiar to me. I'm usually very astute about this."

Precious stared. "You must be Dipstick."

Dipstick looked somewhat surprised. "Did you recognize my voice from when we were in the cages?"

"Not exactly, Patch talked about you all and he said you're very smart and book-savvy."

Dipstick looked abashed. "He did huh?"

"Do you know where he is?" Whizzer asked anxiously.

"I...I don't know," Precious said grimly. "Last I saw him, he was at that audition with Thunderbolt."

Two-Tone smiled slyly. "Way to put him in his place by the way."

"What?"

"Thunderbolt," Two-Tone said. "We saw what you did on the telly. Nice one!"

Precious' eyes widened and she groaned.

Then she quickly stood upright in shock. "That must've been how Nero found me! Seville must've seen us on the telly and sent Nero after us!"

"Why is this Seville so fixed on catching you anyway?" Spotty asked.

"Because I'm the one that got away. I've dealt with Nero in the past. He's never been able to catch me. Until now."

"Um excuse me," Thunder said, looking rather uncomfortable. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Huh? Oh!" Two-Tone said. "Right, we should focus on how to get out of here." She turned to Precious. "You've been here right? Any ideas?"

Precious looked Two-Tone dead in the eye. "There's only one way out of this room that I know of. That big door." She pointed to a massive steel door. "But this building is old, very old. There may be some weak spots in the walls. It's how Winston helped me escape."

Before the pups could execute Precious' suggestion, a high-pitched whine was heard.

And it was getting louder, more high-pitched.

This sound disturbed the pups as it grated their ears.

"What's that?!"

"No idea!"

"Ow! It's hurting my ears."

But it only got worse.

As the pitch heightened, the more painful it got.

And then Precious felt a tingling, burning sensation in the back of her neck. And the pain seemed to be climbing.

She felt for it with her paw and she felt the familiar sensation of a fresh incision which was getting hot.

Precious knew what this meant.

"No no no no no no no no!"

The sound was now causing the pups to yelp and howl in pain.

Jewel screamed as she writhed in pain. WHAT'S...HAPPENING…TO US?!"

Then one by one, they collapsed.

Precious was the last to fall.

And she knew no more.

00000

A sewer grate was gently moved from its place as seven Dalmatian puppies, now riddled with filthy sewage, climbed out of it.

"Mother is going to be so cross when she sees us like this," Freckles groaned.

"We had no choice Freckles," Penny said. She looked about the hallways of the abandoned building. It was even worse on the inside as it was on the outside.

The place was strewn with refuse and disorder.

The place stank of dogs and what could only be chemicals.

"Roly," Patch said. "Can you smell our family out?"

There was no reply.

Patch repeated his question. "Roly, I said can you smell them?"

Not receiving an answer, Patch in frustration turned and with great alarm saw that Roly was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Roly?"

The others were equally baffled.

"I don't know," Lucky said. "He was right here with us, I saw him."

Cadpig tried to call out to her brother. "Rol-!"

But her mouth was stopped when Penny covered it with her paw.

"Shh," Penny said. "We need to be quiet. We may not be alone here."

"You're right about that," Pepper said in apprehension and alarm.

He was pointing his paw.

And when his siblings what, or rather who, he was pointing at, they had to bite back cries of surprise when they saw a black figure approaching them, clearly dog-like.

Patch, mustering his courage, overcoming his fear, stepped in front of his family, standing between them and the intruder.

He growled menacingly.

And the intruder stopped.

"Patch, it's me," the intruder said fearfully.

Patch's eyes widened in surprise. "Roly?"

And it was Roly, not an intruder at all. He was covered from head to toe in some kind of ashy-black substance.

"Roly!" Penny said. "Look at you, you're filthy."

"So are all of you."

That was true enough, given the pups' recent journey in the sewers.

"I could smell all of you from the kitchen," Roly said.

"Is that where you were?" Lucky said in disbelief. "Really Roly?"

"I was hungry."

Cadpig rolled her eyes. "You're always hungry Roly."

"Alright alright," Penny said gently. "No fighting. Please."

Patch stared at Roly's condition. He wondered at it, how smearing himself with whatever substance this was had made him almost recognizable.

And even better, the smell of sewage was all but smothered by the substance.

This gave Patch an idea.

"Roly, how did this happen to you?"

Roly was terribly embarrassed. "I don't know, it's a bad habit, and I've always had trouble controlling myself when I'm hungry."

"No no, not that, your fur. How did you come to be that color?"

"Oh," Roly said in understanding. "Got in a fight with some soot."

"Is there more of it?"

Roly nodded. "Bags and bags."

Patch beamed. "Perfect! Where are they?"

"In the kitchen, by the fireplace."

"Patch?" Freckles said quizzically. "What's this all about?"

Patch did not answer. "Lead the way Roly." He turned to Freckles. "Just trust me."

Patch and his siblings followed after Roly as he led them to the kitchen. It was relatively clean and appeared to be well stocked.

There was an overturned bag of Kanine Krunchies, which Roly had opened seemingly.

And right by the fireplace, as Roly had said, were bags and bags of soot, most of them overflowing and covering the floor in piles.

Without warning, much to the bewilderment of his siblings, Patch jumped into a pile of soot and started rolling around it like mad.

"Patch?" Penny said, utterly baffled. "What on earth-?"

Patch hopped out of the soot and now he was completely black.

"We'll all roll in the soot!" He said with excited vigor. "It'll help us blend into the shadows of this place and it'll disguise the sewer smell."

"Why would we need to cover our sewer smell?" Roly asked. And then his eyes shot open in realization. "Oh! Because Nero and his dogs would smell the sewer on us. Because Nero knows we've been there when we escaped before."

"Precisely!" Patch said with gusto.

His siblings groaned.

"Are you going to keep doing that?" Freckles asked.

"I don't know," Patch said. "Probably. Well, alright everyone. Roll in the soot, you need to be completely covered and smelling of soot so that Nero can't smell us out."

"Patch, I don't know," Freckles said.

"Didn't you always say you always wanted to get good and dirty?" Cadpig asked.

"Point taken."

"Penny, do you think we should?" Lucky asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lucky shifted uncomfortably, "I mean we've been getting pretty dirty lately. When mother and dad see us...and smell us, they're going to have a cow."

"I think they'll be less concerned about that and more about our safety at this point Luck," Penny said.

00000

In a matter of minutes, all seven pups were covered from head to toe in soot.

They'd almost pass as black Labrador pups.

It would serve as the perfect cover and disguise once they got the others out and have them do the same.

"This place is like a maze," Pepper said.

"No kidding," Freckles said.

"Roly, are they close?" Penny asked.

"They shouldn't be far," Roly said, sniffing the air. "But it's hard to get their scent with all the other smells interfering."

"What else do you smell Roly?" Patch asked.

"Chemicals, medical chemicals I think. And...smoke, thin smoke, as though machines are working hot...and...and…" Roly's mouth dropped open in shock. "Nero...he's here."

The pups all stopped dead.

Cadpig started shaking terribly.

"Keep it together," Patch said, though he himself was equally afraid but he held himself together. "Stay together and stay alert."

"What were we thinking?" Freckles said. "We're in over our heads here. We never should've come."

"If not us then who Freckles?" Lucky almost snapped. "We may have been the only ones who knew how to find them."

"We don't know that."

"But we didn't know if there was anyone who'd find them in time either," Patch said firmly. "Even Ryder didn't come until just the nick of time. Any later and Neville would've-"

Patch was cut off when Penny cleared her throat. He looked at her and saw that she was motioning with her eyes towards Cadpig who looked increasingly upset.

Patch mentally slapped himself. Caddy's frightened enough as it is without me speculating what would've happened if Ryder didn't come to the rescue in time.

"My point being," Patch said, redirecting his statement. "We can't wait." He spoke in a clear, strong voice. "We had to act. We can't always wait for the heroes to arrive. Mum and Dad didn't."

There was silence.

Patch's siblings were for the moment at a loss for words.

Penny smiled with pride.

Lucky grinned widely.

Pepper smiled as well, shaking his head as though he was expecting nothing less.

Freckles bowed his head by a fraction, trying to hide the smile that was forming on his face.

Roly had forgotten how hungry he was for the moment.

Cadpig was shaking, this time not out of fear, but joy.

They all regarded their eldest brother with brimming wonder and respect.

And love.

One by one, as a group, they embraced and nuzzled Patch, being careful not to rub the soot off.

"Guys," Patch said bashfully. "I don't think this is the time for-"

Cadpig interrupted him when she very strongly snuggled her head beneath Patch's chin. She cooed sweetly while doing so.

Patch had been dreadfully uncomfortable but now his heart was melting.

He surrendered to the embrace.

And then there was a loud, metallic click.

Surprised, Patch and his siblings parted from the hug to see a large metal door vertically opening.

"Was that door always there?" Roly asked.

As the door opened halfway, all was dark inside. Nothing could be seen.

But something could be smelt.

They didn't need Roly to know the familiar scent radiating from that place.

"They're here!" Pepper cried excitedly. He called out. "Thunder? Whizzer? You guys?"

When he got no answer, Pepper slowly advanced towards the dark room.

"Wait!" Patch said urgently. "Pepper, don't go in there. It might be a trap."

"I a-agree," Freckles said shakily. "What if whoever put our family in there did so to trap us?"

In the fraction of a second, the dark room was lit up and there standing were all of Patch's brothers and sisters.

But there was something peculiar about them.

They looked as though they were asleep and yet they were standing upright.

"Guys?" Lucky said. "Hello?"

There was no sign that they even heard him.

It was starting to get unnerving.

"I'm getting a little nervous," Freckles said, backing away.

"You're not the only one," Cadpig stammered.

Patch scanned the faces of his family until, to his relief and joy, saw the one face he was dearly looking forward to seeing again.

"Precious!" He shouted elatedly.

He approached her.

"Patch," Cadpig said warily. "Don't."

No sooner had she spoken, a high-pitched whirring whistling tone rang in the building's audio system.

It was grating.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Penny asked aloud.

"Yeah," Roly said. "What is that?"

Cadpig, realizing that all was up, looked to her stone-still family, and alarmed, saw them begin to twitch and spasm.

"Patch!" She cried. "Get away from them!"

Before Patch could respond however, it was already too late.

At that moment, something snapped.

Patch, while still looking at Precious, saw her countenance change in an instant.

Her eyes shot open.

They were bloodshot, completely red, wide open and wild, inflamed and hungry.

And she snarled madly, mouthless, thrusting growls and howling came out of her maw as though some horrid, otherworldly creature had replaced her voice with its own.

And her filthy, spotted, white fur stood on end in such a way that it gave her a mangy, mean look.

This reaction was followed by all the others.

All 93 Dalmatian pups, without warning, had gone stark-raving mad.

Patch, shocked to the core, had no time to react before Precious lunged forward to take a bite out of his face.

If Patch hadn't had the foresight to wear Precious' red bandana around his neck for safe keeping, Pepper would not have reached his brother in time, and pulled him back with his teeth by the bandana's tied knot, narrowly saving him from having a piece of his face being bitten off. .

Precious' teeth snapped hard, biting at nothing.

The rest of them bared their teeth and crouched, preparing to spring.

"EVERYONE! GET OUT NOW!" Patch screamed.

Penny had the same idea. "RUN!"

And so they ran like mad.

And the mad ones gave pursuit.

All that could be heard was the mad snarling of pups and the frequency that triggered them.

To be continued...