(AN: I'd apologize for not updating sooner, but you all probably expect it by now, so I'll just save my breath. Enjoy yourselves a healthy helping of Chapter Five, a la mode.)
"Is it just me, or is it even colder here than it was at the airport?" complained Schwartzkoff, rubbing his front paws together as he walked on his back paws.
"Well, the town of Yorgishmeyer is a bit farther north than the airport…" Clay's voice trailed off.
"Yeah, well, I'm freezing my tush off," shivered Arlene.
Winnie, who was at the front leading the troops, snapped her head around and gave a warning growl. "Oh, stop complaining. We're lucky enough to be here anyway. Imagine where we'd be right now if there hadn't been a delivery truck going from the airport to the town of Yorgishmeyer. We'd be two miles away from the airport, waist deep in the snow."
"Oh yes, and our present conditions are so much better," countered Garfield, a slow, shaky rage becoming more and more profound on his face. "Now we're one hundred miles away from the airport, chin deep in the snow."
"Stop fighting!" whimpered Odie. "Let's just try to go find this cave!"
"Very good suggestion!" cried Winnie, who seemed grateful that there was at least one person in her party who wasn't prone to arguments. She lifted her nose up and sniffed the air. "I think it's… there! That's it!" She pointed to the faint outline of a cave, not too far in the distance.
"How do you know?" sniffed Garfield.
"I can smell it," said Winnie simply, effectively ending the conversation.
The travelers plunged on. Through the town, through the snow, and into the depths of the cave.
"This is insane." Garfield still looked a bit frantic. He shot a look back at the cave entrance, getting further and further behind them. "We need to turn back now. Look at that storm! We're going to be trapped in here before too much longer!"
"But so will the puppies!" cried Odie.
"Forget the puppies, I just wanna go home!"
Garfield had a feeling, a strange notion that the stares he was receiving were laced with anger.
There was a long, tense silence.
Finally, Arlene said, "Garfield, don't you care?"
Garfield was completely flustered. "Well, should I? I mean… you guys don't actually, do you?… You do…" Those soft hearted weaklings… why did they all hate him for… telling the truth?
"I'm not going to have you tugging at my heartstrings," said Winnie firmly. "Odie and I were the only ones assigned to this mission. The rest of you came on your own accord. So no complaining."
"Hey, Winnie!" Clay pointed his paw down the tunnel. "I think I can smell the puppies, and they're close!"
"I can smell them too!" cried Nermal. He leapt down the tunnel. "Oh, cute little puuup-piiies!"
A small whine echoed against the walls of the tunnel. The rest of the companions followed Nermal and saw, happily, a litter of St. Bernard puppies.
Winnie did a quick count. "Eleven. And they're all alive. Thank goodness…" She flumped on the ground next to the puppies. "I've never had puppies before, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do this or not…" She reached out with one paw and pushed a puppy to her side. The puppy, after a few brief moments of searching, found a teat, and immediately began sucking.
"Oh, good luck getting all of them fed." Arlene lay down next to Winnie. "I'll assist in the feeding." She pushed about half of the puppies towards her.
"Hey puppies, I hope you're feeling better," said Gizmo gently. "Did it get very cold?" No answer. "Why aren't they answering me?"
"Because they can't talk yet, stupid!" yelled Clay, whacking Gizmo on the head.
"So what are we going to do now?" asked Odie.
"Well." Winnie talked as normally as one could with six puppies squirming and suckling on her. "Once they're done feeding, we'll each take at least one puppy and get them out of this cave, find a transport heading back to the airport, and bring them back to Louisa… in two days."
"We can't leave now." Everyone spun around and stared at Schwartzkoff.
"What makes you think that?" cried Winnie.
Schwartzkoff jerked his claw towards the cave entrance. "That storm. It's picked up. Honestly, are all you house pets' senses that dulled? We get out there, the cold and wind and snow will probably kill us of flat."
"He's right, you know," said Arlene. "My alley cat senses are just as good as his… I just wasn't paying attention."
"So what do we do?" asked Nermal, who was snuggling up by Arlene for warmth.
"We wait in here, where it's warmer." Schwartzkoff looked a bit leery. "Hopefully the storm will have died down enough tomorrow to venture out of here… But anyway, we've all had a very long day, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm pooped." He stretched out and laid down on the cave floor. "Not a warm blanket, but it'll do."
"Keep some puppies by you, so they'll stay warm," said Arlene sensibly. The dogs and cats lay in a circle, pulling sleepy, but happily well-fed for the time being, puppies close.
Only Garfield slept outside of the circle. Fine, be mad. Of course he didn't care about stupid puppies! There were far more dogs than what humans wanted, anyway! Why did it make a difference if eleven died?
He did his best to sleep, but his mind wouldn't let him.
How long have I been up? he thought in anguish. All the others had gone to sleep… at least an hour ago. And yet Garfield lay awake, his eyes bloodshot. If there's one thing I'm not, it's an insomniac. An anorexic insomniac. And look at me… I haven't eaten for probably eight hours, and it's been even longer since I've slept!
"Can't sleep?"
Garfield nearly yelped. He hadn't noticed that Arlene had risen and was now standing over him.
"No," he mumbled, "but I don't suppose you care."
"Why wouldn't I?" Arlene nuzzled next to Garfield and lay by his side. Garfield could feel his heart leep up in his head, almost behind his ears. His face turned red.
"Aah, so you care for the uncaring one, huh?" he managed to say.
"Oh, I don't believe what you said earlier," said Arlene, much to Garfield's surprise. "You were just hungry, tired, cold, and cranky. I know that your conscience wouldn't let you take more than ten steps away from these puppies."
"You have way too much faith in your fellow cat," said Garfield, although he knew that Arlene was right. Curse his conscience. He rested his chin on Arlene, feeling strangely… warm.
Arlene stood up; Garfield's warmth was rudely shattered. "Well, I guess I'd better get back to that puppy. Nermal is helping me, but he doesn't give off near the body heat that I do."
For the first time in days, Garfield felt a glimmer like himself—his selfishness rose with an alarming rate. With one snap of his jaw, he clamped down on Arlene's tail.
"You're not going anywhere," he said playfully.
Arlene snapped her head back on him, looking shocked, and even… Garfield blinked. Was that an amorous look?
"Wow…" she said quietly. "Bite my tail again… I liked that."
At that instant, Garfield realized that he would be able to keep warm all night.
(AN: Another quick end to a short chapter, but it's the best I can do. I have no inspiration at all. And yes, this chapter is why the story is rated PG-13. Ha ha. Well anyway… I shall return… soon! (I hope!))