Chapter 15: Dragged to Hell
Cody's POV
"Come on, Dixie… Please pick up."
I had already attempted to call Dixie four times already after not hearing from her this morning and every attempt always went to voicemail. Now I was starting to get worried. I really hoped nothing had happened to her. Maybe she was just wasn't a morning person and was still asleep. Speaking of which, I hadn't heard anything from Hunter last night either. Maybe he was busy working?
I went downstairs, figuring that maybe some time with my siblings would help dispel my worries. Thirst started to get the better of me as soon as I reached the last step so I headed straight for the kitchen and looked into the fridge. Soda, OJ, Purple stuff… Ah, milk. That should be fine. I poured myself a glass, putting the container back in the fridge and turned to suddenly see Dylan with a look of horror on his face as he looked into the living room.
"...Dylan? You okay?" I asked as I walked over to him. He didn't say anything, rather he shakily held up a hand pointing into the room. I stepped into the living room to see everyone watching the TV of a newscast.
"And so it has been confirmed that Cruella De Vil the Fourth and Kevin Wester, criminals known for the offences of attempted mass genocide of a family of Dalmatians and child abuse and attempted filicide respectively managed to escape from the H.M.P Wandsworth prison in London several days ago and as of today, their current whereabouts are unknown. If anyone has any possible info on the two fugitives, please alert the authorities as soon as possible."
Every drop of blood in my body ran cold as I processed what I had just heard, the glass of milk slipping out of my hand and shattering onto the floor. N-No… There was no way.
"O-Oh GOD!" I stepped backwards until my back hit the wall behind me as I was on the brink of hyperventilating. "Dante was right! HOW DID HE KNOW?!" I screamed as panic was easily overtaking me, recalling what Dante had said a few days ago about a storm coming. "Worst enemies… Doomed to death… 12 years ago..." It all made sense now. They were coming back for revenge.
"D-Dawkins, get the entire house in lockdown, NOW!" Dylan demanded, trying not to panic as Dawkins was already in the process of doing so, activating several electric locks on the front and back door. Meanwhile it was total chaos in the house. Everyone in the house was screaming in hysteria with only Dylan, Dolly, mum and dad trying to calm them down. I meanwhile just collapsed onto my rump, my back leaning against the wall. This just had to be a bad dream. Please tell me this wasn't actually happening.
"IT'S THE END FOR US!"
"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
These among many other shouts of terror raced around the house until suddenly everything went silent after the sudden loud blaring of an air horn got our attention. We all looked to see Dolly holding the noise maker in question before she put it down and addressed us.
"Guys! We're NOT gonna die! None of us are going to lose anybody! Not when we have each other! All I ask is that you all please get a grip and calm down! We've dealt with the devil woman and Cody's jerk of a dad so we'll be able to again!" She pleaded, trying to keep herself as composed as possible.
"...Dolly's right." Mum stood next to Dolly. "If we do nothing but panic, it'll make the situation worse for all of us. After what happened twelve years ago, Dawkins has been very hard at work to make sure the place has been fortified so this won't happen again."
Every one of my siblings looked at each other with a hint of worry on their faces but I could tell they decided to give mum the benefit of the doubt as they all nodded. "Good… All we have to do is stay in here until we hear anything else regarding those two and make sure everyone keeps a level head." She instructed as many of the Dalmatians hugged each other. I wasn't so sure however. If my birth dad was able to find me sometime after the family took me in then who's to say he wouldn't be able to get me again.
"Cody…?" I heard Dolly try to get my attention, concern laced over her tone before she knelt down to me and held my face by the cheeks with her hands. "You're okay… We're okay… Everything is going to be okay..." I blinked, unsure of how to respond as we kept our eyes on each other's.
"Trust me, alright? Come maybe tomorrow, this'll just blow over."
I wanted to believe her. I really did. And even though I had my doubts, I didn't want to make her and Dylan worry about me. "Y-Yeah..." I finally managed to stammer out as Da Vinci joined me, pulling me into an embrace which I didn't hesitate to return.
The whole day was a lot more quiet than it usually was. After the news about Cruella De Vil's ancestor and my birth dad at large, everyone had been trying to keep a level head about the situation and stay quiet, probably to prevent attracting any attention if those two find our location. No one even dared to go into the back garden should they attack from there. Dread however began to grow on me upon realising how late it was getting and Dixie still hadn't called me or anything, nor had Hunter contacted any of us since he would've done so if he knew that his great aunt had broken out of prison.
I tried to sketch on my notepad to take my mind off what was going on, my drawing hand shivering slightly, making the lines wavy and distorted. It wasn't working, I was just getting too worried. I had to know if Dixie was alright.
"C-Cody?" A scared young voice softly called out to me as I looked up from my sketchbook to see Dorothy approaching me before sitting on the floor next to me. "I-I know Dolly and mum said not to worry. But… Is it okay for me to be a little bit scared?" She whimpered out her question as I wrapped an arm around the twelve year old pup and pulled her close to my side. "Honestly… I'm scared too. I'm especially worried about Dixie." I started to hyperventilate again as horrible thoughts started to race around my mind. "W-What if she…?" I asked to myself in fear. Now it was Dorothy's turn to comfort me, hugging my chest tightly. "D-Don't say that! We don't know if she even knows Dixie!" She begged, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"Come on… Let's see if any of our brothers and sisters want to do anything to help us relax." I suggested, holding Dorothy's hand as we went back in the living room, finding nobody else but Dizzy and Dee Dee looking out through the window. I slowly walked over to the two, looking through the window as well.
"What are you two looking at?" I asked quietly as Dee Dee pointed to the other side of the street and we all saw a husky looking man in an Iron maiden hoodie and dirty pants standing under a street lamp, holding some kind of long tool. The light wasn't enough to show his face, shrouded by the shadows from his messy hair. He stood there for a few more seconds before slowly approaching the window we were watching him through. And then suddenly, he raised his tool, revealing it to be a crowbar as he swung it and smashed it against the window, causing it to crack a little. The three Dalmatians near me yelped before clinging onto me.
"C-C-Cody, I think it's your dad! He's here!" Dizzy screamed in panic as we all stepped away from the window, the man continuing to slam the crowbar against the window but having no luck breaking through. Thank god Dawkins refitted the windows with bulletproof glass. The man stepped away from the window before turning to the nearest street lamp. We leaned over a little to see him jam one end of the crowbar under the lamp's metal pole and very slowly prying it up by a few inches before reaching under and pulling some wires out. We then suddenly heard a bang and a flash of light from where he was before the lights in the room we were in suddenly went out, shrouding us in darkness.
"Uhhh… What just happened?" Dolly asked with a hint of worry as she entered the room.
"I think the guy we saw outside just took out the electricity. Which means that..." Dizzy replied as we all slowly approached the front door and suddenly hearing what sounded like someone ramming into it from outside. With every time we heard a bang on the door, the disabled locks started to become more loose, falling apart piece by piece. Dolly quickly ran to the door to try and keep it shut, only for the door to burst open. The man we saw outside standing at the doorway as we all got a good look of his face. A greasy unkempt hair like he hadn't shaved in years, and yet through that beard, we saw a nasty grin form on his face as he said only one thing.
"Long time no see, Cody."
"RUN!" I immediately cried out as we rushed straight upstairs, the sound of a million panicked footsteps rumbling across the house before we were all hidden, trying our best to keep quiet so whoever that person was wouldn't find us. Oh god, why. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't those two have just died in prison or something? It wasn't until a minute or so later that we heard faint thumping come slowly up the stairs, followed by a slow singing coming from the man.
"How much is that doggy in the window?"
"The one with the waggly tail."
"How much is that doggy in the window?"
"I do hope that doggy's for sale..."
As soon as we heard him reach the top step, we heard faint feminine whimpering as I peeked from my hiding space and I froze at what I saw.
That very man was on the landing with Da Vinci in a headlock with one arm, his other hand holding a pistol pressed against Da Vinci's head. The Dalmatian shivering with tears in her eyes as the man glanced around.
"Alright, Cody! This can go two ways for you, one way I don't think you'll enjoy more!" He called out to me before continuing. "You can get out of your pussy-hiding spot and face me… Or this paint-sniffing little bitch will be painting nothing but red!" He clicked his gun for emphasis. Dolly and Dylan who had been hiding with me gasped in horror at what he meant. We all glanced at each other before having no choice but to all step out and slowly walk up until he could see us. I looked to my side to see Dolly's look of fear replaced with protective anger as had Dylan as they both growled at the person.
"Let. Her. Go." Dylan demanded threateningly as the man chuckled.
"Oh, I will. When you and the rest of your family do exactly what I say." He replied before facing me. "I bet you don't even recognise me, do you? You really are a fucking retard. Well, maybe this will jog your memory." He then turned to Dolly, still with that nasty smirk.
"Hey Dolly. Before you kill me, get a tic-tac or something. Your breath smells like my grandpa's ass!"
Me and Dolly's eyes widened in shock as we recalled what he just said, the memory eleven years ago way back at the London monument.
"...Brian?" I mumbled fearfully.
"Ding ding ding, give the dipshit a prize!" He exclaimed in sadistic pleasure. "W-What do you want from us?!" Dylan stammered out, his former anger slowly reverting back to fear. "Oh, it's simple, mutt. This bastard ruined my life when he beat my ass just to protect his dumb mutt of a brother. I ran to my mom and dad so I could file a lawsuit on you until this horse came and told everything I had been doing and dragged me straight to juvey. Ten. Goddamn. Years I suffered in that hell-hole because of you."
"That's not Cody's fault! You were the one who decided to be a jerk towards hi-" Dolly was cut off with another click from Brian's gun.
"It is now. But that's not all I'm here for. I'm here for all of you."
"W-What?"
"Cody isn't the only one that's coming with me. All of his family is coming with as well. And I mean every single one of you." Oh my god. Brian was… working for Cruella De Vil?! Does he even know what she was arrested for?!
"N-No! Just take me alone! Leave my family out of this and please just don't hurt Da Vinci!" I begged as Brian just laughed at me. "Protecting your family as usual. How cute. But I'm afraid you have NO say in this Cody." He shoved Da Vinci to the ground, aiming the pistol at her. "You dare make a sound and I shoot." He threatened before pulling out a tablet and showing the screen to us as we saw a camera feed showing a teenager strapped to a chair and blindfolded. Next to him was a fox in the same position.
"Trevor?!"
"Fergus?!" Me and Dolly exclaimed in shock respectively. "Oh. So you do know him? Then how about this lady?" Brian tapped on the screen, changing the feed to another camera and showing…
"Oh god, no..."
Dixie was tied to a metal table, gagged as she struggled in her binds, letting out muffled screams. Now I knew why she hadn't answered my calls at all.
"Now let's cut the shit. Are you all going to where I tell you? Or will you say goodbye to your precious girlfrie- AAARGH!" Suddenly, we all looked to see Dimitri 2 with his teeth clenching tightly onto Brian's leg as the latter tried to shake him off, dropping the gun and tablet in the process. Fear induced adrenaline ultimately kicked in as I quickly tackled Brian, causing us both to roll down the stairs. Just as we hit the floor below, I managed to get Brian into a headlock as he attempted to struggle free from my grasp, Dimitri 2 still hadn't let go of his leg.
"Dimitri 2, just run with everyone else!" I called out to him as everyone else was already running to another room in the house. "Cody, no! I won't let him kill you!" Dimitri 2 let go of Brian's leg to protest.
"JUST GO!" I practically yelled as Brian managed to reach my hair and pull at it violently. Dimitri 2 watched me with worry before reluctantly following behind the others.
…That is until he was stopped as we all heard a bang and Dimitri 2 suddenly fell to the floor, clutching his leg and letting out a pained cry. I looked at him in terror before slowly looking up to see the one of two faces I'd never want to see.
"Such a shame. Hopefully no one will notice a little bullet hole in my new clothing." Cruella De Vil's ancestor grinned menacingly before she looked down at me. "And you, my boy, must be the one Kevin talks about. I'm sure it'll be a fun father and son reunion between the two of you." Her voice. It was like a spider telling it's prey how it was going to enjoy devouring them before delivering the killing bite. I slowly looked back down at Dimitri 2 who stared back at me with pained tears in his eyes having completely forgotten about Brian in my grasp as I tried to reach out to him.
"Dimitri—URGH!" Suddenly I felt Brian's fist hard against my own head as I fell on my back onto the floor. My view disoriented as I looked to see two blurry figures. One of white and one of black. My mum was trying to fight off Cruella only for Brian to immediately subdue her by holding a rag over her muzzle as she fell to the floor unconscious to which dad immediately rushed up behind him and tried to knock him out, only for Cruella to grab the rag and shove it in his mouth. All the while I heard faint voices begging me to get up as I looked above me to see Da Vinci looking back at me, trying to get me to stay awake but she was pushed away by Brian who looked down at me one last time, his expression now bearing a look of hateful disgust as he raised his booted foot over me and slammed it down on my face to which finally…
I blacked out.