12 years ago...

"You're almost there Mrs. Mitchell! Just one more push!"

"Come on sweetie! One more push and we'll have our first child!"

The situation inside the hospital room was intense. Rebecca Mitchell was in extreme pain as she was trying to give birth to her first child. Luckily for her, she had her husband, Derek Mitchell, by her side. He had promised that when she was pregnant, he would be by their child's side, boy or girl. Later it was determined that their kid was going to be a boy. They were excited to be parents, being that one of their first goals, when they got married, was to start a family. Now it's becoming a reality.

Rebecca let out the biggest push she had let to offer, hoping that it would be the last. All of a sudden, she could hear crying. She looked up at the nurse, only to see a baby in her hands. That baby was their child. Their very first child.

She took the baby in her hands and held him gently. She couldn't stop crying, knowing that she's a mom now. Meanwhile, Derek was filled with joy and happiness. He let out some tears too as he saw the baby boy in his wife's arms.

"This is our baby. This is our little boy," Derek said through the tears.

"Yes, honey. This is our son," Rebecca replied.

"Our little Colton."

Now...

I heard my alarm clock blare from my nightstand. It was time for another day of school. I quickly got up, turned off my alarm, and got out some new clothes.

Oh, where are my manners? Hi, I'm Colton Mitchell. I'm just like any ordinary 12-year-old boy. Nothing exciting. I'm into space a lot, and I'm interested in being an astronaut in the future. I don't have many friends, but that's okay. I have an amazing best friend that I've had since even before we started school. His name is Dylan Dalmatian.

Dylan and I became friends when we were about 3 or 4. His mom and my mom are both nurses. They are best friends even to this day. We almost consider ourselves brothers, even though I'm a human and he's a dog. I wish I had a sibling, but I grew up an only child. My parents never even bothered to have any more children. That's why I saw Dylan as my brother. He has a sister named Dolly too, and we talk a lot too. Not as much as I talk with Dylan, but still a great amount. Not only does Dylan have Dolly as a sister, but he has 97 other siblings! Every time I hung out with Dylan, it always shocked me how his mom and dad could handle 99 kids. My parents could hardly handle me. But I liked being around them since I always had an option of who I could talk to.

"Colton! Breakfast is ready!"

"I'm coming mom!"

Enough chatting. I had to hurry up so I could get to eat my mom's delicious pancakes. They're the best pancakes ever.

"Good morning sweetie," my mom said. My dad added, "Hey kiddo! Ready for another day of school?"

"Yeah dad. I'm ready."

"That's what I like to hear."

My mom handed me my plate of pancakes, which I gobbled up in just a few minutes. While I was eating, I watched the news that was playing on the TV in the living room. The main story was being reported, and my attention switched in a second.

"Police have confirmed that a Camden Town resident was found shot and killed at around 10:30 last night. This is the third person that has been found murdered in the past week in Camden Town," the female reporter claimed. "Police have also found that the murders seem to be connected. The unidentified suspect has been linked to all three of the killings. People have been advised to stay cautious because the suspect is still on the loose," the male reporter voiced.

I have been hearing this story all week. Since we lived in Camden Town, my parents have been watchful of all of our surroundings. My mom started driving me to school instead of walking to school myself so I could stay safe. After school, I went to the Dalmatians' household until my dad got out of work to pick me up. They were not taking any risks.

"Colton, brush your teeth, please! We have to go," My mom yelled.

"Okay mom," I responded.

After I brushed my teeth, I said bye to my dad and got into my mom's car. She is in her nurse's outfit because she is going to work the morning shift at the hospital today. After a 5 minute drive, we arrived at my middle school, St. Bridge's School.

"Bye honey. Stay smart and stay safe, ok?"

"I will mom. Thanks. I love you."

"You're welcome. I love you too."

I got out of the car and walked up to the entrance of the school. There I saw Dylan waiting by the front doors of the school. He did not look too pretty. His fur looked kind of raggedy and he had bags under his eyes.

"Hey Dyl. You don't look that good today," I joked.

"Hey, you try taking care of 97 siblings with a crazed murderer on the streets," He remarked.

"Did your little siblings get scared with the news again?"

"Yes, and Dolly wasn't much help either," Dylan said. "I hope the police catch this guy soon."

"Me too. Until then, we have to stay alert and stay cautious. I'll help comfort the little pups today."

"Thanks, you're a really good friend Colton," He complimented.

"I'm here to help. No need to thank me."

The bell rang which meant that we had to get to our first class. Dylan, Dolly, and I all had science first period, so we went the same direction. Just another day in my normal life.

For now...

School was going by pretty fast today. I only had my math and English class left to go. Now, it is time for lunch. I found Dylan in the hallway, and then we went to the cafeteria to eat there. We found our usual lunch spot, which is a round table meant for 9-10 people. However, it's only used by myself, Dylan, sometimes Dolly, and occasionally some guests.

"Hey Colton, what did you pack for lunch today?"

"I packed a turkey club sandwich, sliced pineapple, a water bottle that I mixed with lemonade drink mix, and for dessert, a snickerdoodle cookie."

Immediately after I took out the cookie, it was snatched from my hand into someone else's hands. Or should I say, paws.

"Dolly! That's mine!"

"Sorry dude. You were too slow. You have to be quick so you don't get your stuff stolen," Dolly said.

"Dolly, give Colton his cookie back," Dylan commanded.

"Fine. You guys are no fun," She complained as she handed the cookie back to me.

"So Colton, did you hear about the new murder," Dolly asked. "Someone was found in the street with a fatal bullet wound."

"I did hear about it. Every time I hear about someone getting killed here, I get anxious about who the murderer might kill next. At this point, they can kill anyone. Including us."

"Yeah. The first person that was murdered was a 25-year-old female Pomeranian and then the second person that was shot to death was a 52-year-old male human," Dylan remarked.

"I've already said this before, but we need to be watchful. The suspect can be anywhere at any time. We can only hope that he does not get anywhere near us," I added.

We avoided talking about the murder so that we wouldn't feel scared more than we already were. Nothing like this has ever happened in the years that I've lived here, so this is unusual to say the least. Lunch lasted for about 45 minutes until it was time to head back to class. My first class after lunch is math and my teacher, Mr. Furnell, welcomed us at the door by handing us a pop quiz. Oh, if this murderer is not going to kill me, my math teacher will.

School ended at 2:45. Dolly and I both had the same last period so once class was over we walked together in the hallway until we found Dylan. Once we were all grouped up we walked from the school campus to the Dalmatians' home. It was only a 5-minute walk, compared to the 20-minute walk I usually have to take to get to my house.

The first thing we were welcomed to when Dylan opened the door was a tsunami of Dalmatian puppies. That was their way of greeting us after we came home from school.

"Hi Colton," The puppies said at the same time.

"Hey pups! Ready to have some fun?"

"Yeah!"

We spent the whole time playing tag, hide and seek, or we jumped on the trampoline that the Dalmatians owned. I did anything to prevent the puppies from thinking about what was happening right now. Unfortunately, as things were starting to calm down, Dizzy asked a question that left all of the puppies afraid.

"Colton, do you think the evil killer is going to get us?"

All of the puppies whimpered at the thought of that happening. I didn't want the puppies to get any nightmares if I told them yes. But, at the same time, it seemed better if I just told them the truth that there is a slight possibility of that happening instead of lying.

"No. They're not going to get you. As long as you have Dylan, Dolly, and I to protect you, they won't get near you." I said most calmly.

"Yeah, because we are brave and strong! We don't fear anything." Dolly mentioned.

I knew that Dolly was lying but I didn't say anything because the pups seem to believe it. If they felt protected by us, then that is all I needed for satisfaction.

Dolly continued to play with the puppies while Dylan, being the clean freak that he is, cleaned around the house. He cleaned the bowls, he vacuumed, and he cleaned the windows until they were squeaky clean. Meanwhile, I started some of my homework so that I wouldn't have to do it all later. It was easy for the most part. I didn't finish all of it, but I still had a lot of time remaining in the day to finish it. So I didn't worry too much. I decided to get up and maybe help Dylan with anything he needed help with. Before I got to him, one of the Dalmatians popped up in front of me, almost scaring me to death.

"THE END IS ALMOST HERE!"

"Dante, don't you realize how tiring that gets?"

"I FORECAST AN UPCOMING DISASTER! HERE, IN CAMDEN TOWN!"

"Ugh. Alright then. If I believe you, will you stop bothering me for the rest of the time that I'm here?"

"Sure. Why not? I'm not going to be the one begging for help."

"Okay, I believe you," I said sarcastically. "I gotta hand it to you though, your delivery is becoming much more dramatic. I like it."

"Thanks man, I appreciate it."

I walked past Dante, still looking for Dylan. In my head, I couldn't help but think, is Dante right? Could his silly prediction come true? I was starting to consider it. But, in the end, he is wrong about 90% of the time. I am not going to be fazed just yet.

I found Dylan in his treehouse playing Poodlewolf by himself. I am not a big fan of the game, but I still play it with Dylan so I can make him happy. I prefer to talk to him about space. Like all the different moons of Venus, the asteroid belt, and so much more. But if he wanted to play Poodlewolf then we're playing Poodlewolf.

We played Poodlewolf for about an hour until it became 6 in the evening. That's the time I got picked up by my dad. My dad had arrived from his work at a local company where he works as a design manager. He waited at the front door until I had packed up all of my stuff.

"Wait, Colton, before you go," Dylan interrupted. "I'm having a sleepover tomorrow at 9 pm to calm our nerves a bit. Do you want to come?"

"Of course, I'll gladly go to your-" Before I could finish my sentence, my dad stopped me from talking.

"Hold the phone junior. We gotta discuss this with your mother. Sorry Dylan, but we can't confirm that he'll go tomorrow. Colton will let you know if he can go later."

"Wait, why?"

"Well, tomorrow's my monthly meeting at the office and your mom told me that she has the night shift tomorrow night. You should stay at home where we know you're safe rather than take you to your friend's home and not know what you are doing. Don't worry though, maybe plans will change and you'll get to go to the sleepover. Until then, don't keep your hopes too high."

"Oh, okay then. Make sure to call me if you're coming or not Colton," Dylan told me.

"No worries Dylan. I will let you know. See you later. Hopefully tomorrow."

"Bye brother."

My dad was driving us home when he noticed the disappointed look on my face. He could see it, but he didn't say anything about it. I always want to spend time with Dylan and the other pups because I do feel lonely sometimes. Whenever Dylan hosts something like a sleepover, I take every opportunity I can to be there because I have the most fun when I'm near the ones I love. I'm hoping a miracle happens that allows me to go to the sleepover. If not, I will not be a happy camper.

Hello, everyone! This is my first ever fanfiction that I'm writing and I am so excited! I would appreciate it if you could leave a review and help me improve anything I need to fix. I do not own 101 Dalmatian Street, only my OCs. Until then, peace, love, and stay amazing!