Chapter Twelve:

Flight Escape

FRODO'S POV

Frodo searched the study room thoroughly, but without much success for he failed in finding the parchment paper he needed to prove that Dave and he were not crazy. Even with parchment showing proof of Cruella's exploits, Frodo was still left asking about what would happen if more Big Folk found him and started asking questions about his arrival in their modern-day world. Although the idea sounded like rubbish, he figured he had to try something to make people believe him. Just as he finished scanning the area with his eyes, Frodo heard a loud crash from somewhere on the second floor, right above his head. As the same monotonous crashing sound grew louder, Frodo darted out of the study.

The moment he entered one of the hallways on the first floor, Frodo saw no one except his own shadow. Turning his gaze to a window that stood high above his head, Frodo saw a full moon and its light glisten through the glass, down to the old red rugs on the floor. After a day's journey, the moonlight behaved in a way that reminded Frodo of the Shire, of his home at Bag End and the fond memories he used to have with his Uncle Bilbo. Though he would have given anything to stay in that one spot, something inside told him to keep moving. In a moment's time, Frodo came across a stone stairway that led straight down to the mansion's ground floor.

The stairway, though it was a steep climb, proved not to be an easy task. The moment after he was down the first three steps, Frodo heard the front double-doors open wide, which released cold air into the mansion. Despite the chill that was now settling inside the old, stone mansion, Frodo continued his descent. He was halfway down the staircase when he turned towards the open doorway. Frodo backed up on the stairs as a tall man – who wore a black trench coat and hat, black galoshes, black suede shoes, and carrying a thin, black briefcase – entered the mansion. The man's face showed a serious look that spelt trouble for any innocent creature that was not ready to be killed by him. Frodo did not need to guess who the man's name was, for Cruella had given it to him the same morning he began his search for the missing chipmunks. The tall man with the black briefcase was Mr. Skinner, Cruella DeVil's third henchman and perhaps the deadliest one Frodo had to face.

Just as he reached the top step, Frodo noticed gold dust whip around him in a graceful way. As he looked down the hallway, Frodo caught a glimpse of the same golden dust horse gesture with its head towards the other end of the passage. He nearly followed the dust horse when his foot slipped on a patch of ice. In seconds, he lost his balance and slid down the stairs. At the bottom of the stone steps, Frodo toppled and skidded across the wood floor in the entrance hall. By the time he had stopped tumbling over himself, a stone wall broke his fall.

While in pain, Frodo could hear Mr. Skinner tell him in a cackling response, "Mr. Baggins, I believe. Miss DeVil meant to have someone dispose of you. I guess that someone is me." As Frodo rolled over, still dazed, he heard Mr. Skinner ask, "Oh Mr. Baggins? I do hope you're prepared for…" He cut himself off, when he pulled out a sharp blade from his briefcase.

Recovering from the blow almost too quickly, Frodo stood up and told him in a nervous response, "Uh… I don't think you want me on your list. I am not an animal, Mr. Skinner. Maybe you should find some wolves. I'm sure they would be glad to…"

"Enough!" shouted Mr. Skinner, charging towards Frodo at full force.

Frodo ducked and dodged most of Mr. Skinner's advancing swipes. Only once did Mr. Skinner nail the hobbit with his knife, which left Frodo wounded on the left arm. As Frodo lied sprawled out on the stone floor, he turned his gaze towards the open front doorway. There, he saw a golden-brown dog with curly fur enter the mansion. Astride the back of the dog were the chipmunk trio and the three chipette sisters. As he returned his gaze to Mr. Skinner, Frodo's thoughts fled back to the Shire, Bilbo, his young friends, and his gardener. Upon thinking he would never see home again, Frodo rolled out of the way, right as the knife clanged against the floor. Seconds passed as Frodo moved into a kneeling position; by then, he heard a loud crunch that was followed with a ripping sound. Frodo soon guessed the dog had done something to Mr. Skinner's throat, but he did not feel like asking any questions. The answer was clearly shown and that was enough for him to bear.

"Frodo, come on!" cried Theodore, snapping Frodo's attention back to the present.

A few trips and stumbles afterwards, Frodo stood up long enough to dash out of the entrance hall, past the double-doors. The moment he was outside the mansion, Frodo heard more high-pitch squeaks coming from the back of a deep-green Nissan Navara pickup truck, which was parked a nearby distance away. After he stumbled down the stone steps, Frodo clambered through the growing snow pile until he reached the truck. A moment after he grabbed the opened back lid of the truck's bed, Frodo was approached by a blond-haired woman in her mid-thirties.

"Are you Frodo Baggins?" asked the woman, curiously.

Frodo faced her with wary eyes. "Yes?"

"Frodo!" cried Theodore in an excited tone. "You can trust her, Frodo. She helped my brothers and me against those Baduns."

"You'll have to forgive Theodore. He's a bit sensitive," said the woman in a polite response.

Frodo rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't blame him, miss. He's well-behaved, unlike his eldest brother Alvin."

"I heard that, Frodo!" declared Alvin, now enraged.

The woman extended a hand out to the hobbit. "I'm Ginger Snaps."

"Huh?" asked Alvin, Simon, and Theodore in unison.

"I think her name means 'food', Alvin," whispered Simon in Alvin's ear.

"I think it's a false name," muttered Alvin a little loudly.

"Hm… food," said Theodore with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Ignoring the chipmunks, Frodo introduced himself to the woman, "I'm Frodo Baggins." He then added on a polite note, "Thank you for protecting these three scoundrels, before they found more trouble and…" He was cut off as his left arm pained him, forcing him to wince and feel slightly dizzy.

In the passing seconds that followed, Frodo saw himself dragged towards the passenger's seat of the truck. The moment the door opened, all six chipmunks bounded inside the pickup truck.

At once, Frodo told the woman, "You're being very kind, but you don't need to do this…"

"Yes I do. Here. Get inside the truck, before you pass out on me," ordered the woman, trying not to sound harsh.

Frodo spoke another word, as he was helped inside the truck by the woman, who then closed the passenger side door for him. Once he saw the woman inside the truck, Frodo's vision began to go on him. Before he knew what had happened, the woman sped out of the driveway, as a black-and-white panther drove slowly into the front driveway of the mansion.

DAVE'S POV

Once he paid the cab driver the rest of his money, Dave watched the cab as it sped off down the road. The moment the cab vanished within the line of traffic, Dave turned around and saw a police station, which had a sign in bold font that said: The City of London Police. After taking a deep breath, Dave walked towards the police station. Inside the narrow entrance hallway, Dave asked for the policeman who spoke with him last over the phone. A police sergeant escorted Dave inside one of the departments, where they met with two inspectors.

The first inspector greeted the sergeant, "Sergeant Dobbs, who have you brought?"

"I'm Dave Seville," said Dave, charismatically.

"This kind man tells me his three chipmunks have been stolen by Miss DeVil, along with friend Frodo Baggins. I think he's messing with our heads. Shall I have him thrown out?" asked Sergeant Dobbs in a sarcastic tone.

"I find that surprising. Of course, Miss DeVil has an interesting taste for fashion." The first inspector turned to Dave and told him, "If anything of interest comes up, then we…"

Interrupting, one of the police officers told the first inspector, "Inspector Wren! Someone is on the phone for you. She says she won't stop calling until she receives an answer."

"Hold on," said Inspector Wren, as he picked up the phone and answered, "Hello… Yes, he is right here… Yes… Very good, we will meet you at the London Zoo in an hour and don't let those chipmunks be eaten by any owls. Goodbye." He then hung up the phone, and turned to the others. At once, he declared, "We have one hour before our furry friends reach the London Zoo. I suggest we drive over there now and catch the criminals in the act. Then we shall have our evidence that Miss DeVil is behind this strange kidnapping. Let's go."

Inspector Wren led the second inspector, the sergeant, Dave, and a couple of police officers out of the station and to their cars. Upon seeing the concerned look on Dave's face, the inspector told him, "You can accompany me, son. After we find your chipmunks and your hobbit friend, we will release the chipmunks so they can return to the United States with you. That is where you are from. Is that right, Mr. Seville?"

"It's Dave, and yes I am from America," admitted Dave, stepping inside the inspector's police car on the passenger's side.

"I thought you would be," said Inspector Wren with a wary gaze, as he and Dave slammed the car doors shut. Seconds later, the inspector pulled out of the parking lot. Behind his car were five other police cars and a van.

FRODO'S POV

Within a few seconds, Frodo entered a continuation of one of his previous dreams: after jerking away from the stone basin, Frodo watched the golden-dust horse Silverlow as he charged across the leaf-covered woodland. Although the journey felt like hours across the wooded area, Frodo eventually found Silverlow drinking some water from a stream. As curiosity drove him towards the dust horse, Frodo could not help but feel as if something dark and sinister was now creeping towards them. Before Frodo could approach the horse, Silverlow galloped further into the forest without stopping once to warn him of oncoming danger. Right as Frodo began his chase after the dust horse, he was ambushed and thrown to the ground by a fleet of orcs. From the fleet, Frodo caught a glimpse of a dark feminine figure that now stood on top of him. When Frodo realized who the dark figure was, he fell into a sea of darkness…

"Frodo, wake up!" cried a familiar high-pitched voice, somewhere off in the nearby distance.

Just then, Frodo jerked forward from the seat. Luckily, a seatbelt had been strapped around his waist, protecting him from further injury. As he faced the woman who claimed to be 'Ginger Snaps', he heard the woman say in an angry response, "Stupid henchmen. Those idiots can't just leave us be…" she was cut off as another crash was heard, coming from the back of the pickup truck.

"Who's causing this to happen?" asked Frodo, looking distraughtly at the woman.

In fury, the woman replied, "I believe it's those same two henchmen who won't stop leaving you, the chipmunks, and the chipettes alone."

"Do we have a Plan A?" asked Eleanor, curious.

"We already covered Plan A and that was to arrive at the United Kingdom, which we have done," said Simon, clarifying the first part in his plan.

"Then what is Plan B, Simon?" asked Jeanette, confused.

Frustrated, Simon implied for the three chipettes, "Plan B was to find Frodo and help him escape the DeVil Mansion, which we have already done."

"Okay, then what's Plan C?" asked Eleanor, cheerfully.

"Plan C?" asked Alvin and Theodore with confusing looks across their faces.

"Uh… Simon!" cried Alvin aloud, in a nervous tone. "Simon, what is Plan C?"

"I'll tell all of you when we reach the London Zoo. I have a plan that might get Jasper, Horace, and Cruella off our backs for good," said Simon with a devious expression written across his face.

"I hope this is a good plan, Simon…" Alvin was cut off, as the woman stopped the pickup truck along the side of the road. In confusion, Alvin told the woman as she stepped out of the vehicle, "Hey, you don't have to leave!"

"She already did leave, Alvin," said Simon. "If anything, we should…"

Frodo lost track of the rest of Simon's short speech to Alvin. He watched from the rear-view mirror, embedded to the side of the passenger seat door, as the woman punched Jasper and Horace hard against the sides of their faces. Frodo watched the woman as she returned to the pickup truck and slammed the driver's side door after her. Even though he felt dazed and bewildered by how quickly the adventure was coming to an end, Frodo could not help but notice the chipmunks and chipettes staring with concerned eyes up at him. The last thing he wanted was to have the chipmunks and chipettes agree to stay with him at Bag End for a few days, or at least a week…

"Frodo, are you okay?" asked Theodore, showing a worried look on his face.

"Of course I am. Why shouldn't I?" asked Frodo, chuckling guiltily.

As he turned away from the chipmunks and chipettes, Frodo heard Alvin ask him with a calm, concerned voice, "So, there isn't anything we can do to help?"

Staring out the window, Frodo admitted, plainly, "I think you three chipmunks have already done plenty." He added, "I promised you three I would return you to your… fatherly figure."

"Yes, and you have already done that," said Theodore, and added on a curious note, "but won't you miss us in the Shire? It's so lonely at Bag End. It's… a frightening place alone."

"Theodore," said Simon in a stern tone. "Come on. We've caused him enough trouble for two days."

"But… how will Frodo go back to his home? We haven't covered that yet," said Theodore.

"I know, but we'll think of something. Hopefully, we'll find that book again, but it was stolen from us by that girl with the blonde hair and hazel eyes. I think her name was Jessica Nytch," said Simon, as if he remembered who the new owner was that had claimed the battered up copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

CRUELLA, JASPER, AND HORACE'S POV

Stepping out from her panther car, Cruella advanced towards her two henchmen and woke them up with her loud, harsh tone. Her face showed Jasper and Horace, a split-second after they were roused awake, that Cruella was furious with them for losing the chipmunks and their Halfling friend.

"Ah, good evening madam," said Jasper, cheerfully. "How are you tonight?"

"Furious," said Cruella, her expression unchanged. Aloud, she asked him and Horace, "Where are they?"

In an attempt to sound reasonable, Horace answered in a hesitant tone, "Well, given the circumstances, we've lost them."

"It's nothing to worry about, madam. We have a guess as to where our furry rats and their Halfling companion ran off. Not to worry, madam. We will catch those seven soon enough," exclaimed Jasper, sounding optimistic.

"Get up and catch – those – chipmunks!" Cruella snapped at Jasper and Horace, forcing her two henchmen to obey. Enraged, Cruella added, "I know one place they could have fled: the London Zoo. Now get a move on!" Softly, she muttered to herself as she stepped inside her panther car, "Idiots…" she let her voice drag on in fury, seconds before she started her car's engine and sped down the road.