Chapter 16: Around Every Corner
Uuugh… God, my head hurts. I can still feel the very area where I was struck on the head combined with a cold hard floor under me. I slowly urged myself to get up, blinking to fix my blurry vision. Worn stone walls meet my vision, making me look around to find myself boxed in a small square room almost like a cell with the only one door having a single slot window. I struggled upwards in an attempt to find my feet, my legs quivering as I approached the door and tried the handle. Locked. I looked around for any other possible exits such as a vent or a window but all the walls were completely blank. It was then that I realised where I could be.
Brian and Cruella's descendant had no doubt dragged me and everyone to their hideout, wherever that was and has thrown me into this cell. Then that meant…
Oh, god! Dolly, Dylan, Da Vinci! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL THEM ALL!
I started ramming myself against the door, trying in desperate vain to bust it open. Even if the door itself looked to be many years old, it just didn't budge even an inch.
"Hey! Is someone in there?!" A very recognisable voice called from the other side of the door as I looked through the slot.
"Hunter! Thank god you're here! Cruella De Vil and Brian captured us and dragged us here and they're gonna kill my family! THEY HAVE TREVOR AND DIXIE AS WELL!"
"I know! I saw someone drag her away from the park the other night, I think it was one of them! That's how I found out where they are! Hold on, I'll try to get you out!" I stood away from the door as I heard a faint rattling of a handle before the sound of a door being unlocked as it slowly opened with a loud metal creak, revealing the long haired man himself.
"Okay, I'll find the others! You find the exit and call the police, hurry!" I urged as Hunter nodded and rushed down into the hallway whilst I went in the opposite direction, making sure to listen intently for anyone.
Trevor's POV
I heard the door of the room I was locked in unlock and creak open, seeing a Dalmatian I hadn't seen before get shoved in before the door closed back up. Like me, she was also tied up so there was no chance of us escaping. Was she another of Cody's sisters? Then shouldn't she be with the others, wherever they were?
"Say hello to your cellmate, Trevor! I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about!" A voice from a tannoy suddenly rang into the room and I snarled as I instantly recognised it as the very woman that guy who captured me and Fergus worked for, Cruella De Vil the fourth.
"What have you done with Fergus, you deranged old bitch?!" I yelled out in anger as I got a response of laughter, almost as if she was revelling in my rage.
"Oh don't worry about your so-called 'daddy'. He's just fine for now. When I'm done making my fine coat of white and spots, he'll make a nice fox skin scarf!" My eyes widened in terror as she revealed this. That fucking witch was going to kill Fergus! "Oh, but here's the thing, Trevor… I had a little chat with this Milly Volent person and she gave me some interesting documented information about you. Your late birth mother was in a relationship with a Dalmatian until the former had an affair with an Irish man, doesn't that sound suspicious to you? Perhaps it will once I tell you that the Irish man got that woman impregnated behind that Dalmatian's back and died with her soon after you were born. I'll leave you and Dixie to put the pieces of this puzzle together with your last moments alone!" She then turned off the speaker system, but not before letting out a cruel laugh.
Wait… Dalmatian… Irish… Me and this Dixie girl looked at each other for what felt like an hour and both our eyes widened with realisation.
"YOU'RE MY HALF-SISTER?!"/"YOU'RE MY HALF-BROTHER?!"
Brian's POV
Only a matter of time before me and Kevin get to beat the living shit out of Cody until we're both satisfied. Until then, I was tasked with keeping guard of some of the dogs of the family, who let out small yet quite hopeless whimpers as they all had leashes on their necks tied to the wall. God knows where this Cruella women is but I really wish she'd hurry the hell up and get on with whatever she has planned for these mutts.
My pacing stopped as I heard footsteps from outside, followed by growling that sounded like it came from a little girl. The door suddenly swung open to reveal Kevin gripping a young dog by the neck of her shirt. I blinked, thinking I was seeing things as I looked at the dog. No. It couldn't be.
"You! Watch this little shithead like the others! She's been nothing but a god damn thorn in my ass ever since we dragged her here!" Kevin demanded me before throwing the girl onto the floor, making her yelp. I quickly ran over and knelt down to her, giving Kevin an annoyed glare. "What the hell, Kevin?! She's just a kid!" Kevin just spat in response to my protest before slamming the door shut whilst I helped the little dog girl up. She was in the very same clothes I first met her in, orange bone shirt and denim shorts. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me.
"Y-You..." She stammered out in shock. Frankly, I was as shocked as her. "Kid, what are you doing here?" She only responded by growling before trying to punch me in the stomach multiple times, which barely even hurt. "What am I doing here?! You kidnapped Cody and all my family, you big jerk!" I blinked as she said this. These Dalmatians were her family?! I never saw Cruella take her with them!
"W-Wait! You're related to these dogs?" I asked as she glared up at me. "Yeah! And you're gonna let that monster kill my big brother!" She now had tears in her angry eyes as I tried to stomach what I was hearing, but my slowly growing guilt was replaced with the reason why I was doing this in the first place. "Why?! Why would you help that evil witch and that monster?!" I returned with a glare of my own.
"You wanna know why I helped Cruella with whatever she has plans for you and why I'm helping Cody's dad deal with him?! Fine! You anthros are the fucking reason why I decided to be an obnoxious asshole! Everywhere I went when I was younger, every anthro treated me like shit and called me "monkey"! So you know what, I decided to fight back! Yeah, if they're gonna treat me like shit, then I'll make them know how it feels! And when that jackass Cody came in and got my ass thrown in juvenile prison over a decade ago and those two called me in for revenge, I gladly said "Yes"!" I blew my rant out in her face as she stepped back, trembling fearfully at me.
"Y-You were mean… Because other anthros were always mean to you?" One of the pups on a leash asked me. I didn't bother to face them however as I grunted. Now I just felt bad for yelling at the little pup like that after what she had done for me.
"Kid… I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just had to deal with a lot of crap when I was younger and… that isn't your fault." I apologised before slowly opening the door and turning to her. "Just run. Run while you still can." She shook her head, quickly running over to one of the leashed dogs and hugging them. "N-No… I can't just abandon them. C-Cruella will..." She stammered out, her words suddenly fell as she looked in the direction of the doorway with a terrified look on her face, the many dogs in the room all had faces matching hers. Confused, I looked in their direction to see a door opposite of the doorway I was standing at.
"T-T-That's the room the devil woman dragged some of her clothes into." I merely rolled my eyes at what one of the dogs said. "Seriously? You're scared of a bunch of clothes?" I groaned at how much of a pussy this one was as another one spoke to me.
"D-Do you even know what they're made of?"
That was a weird question but with the kid with them, I reluctantly decided to humour them a little as I walked to the door and opened it. The inside had countless coats made of different textures, the majority of them looked hairy, almost like… fur. In the middle of the display room was a metal box on a table. I looked behind me in case if anyone was watching me as I approached the aforementioned table and opened it.
What I saw inside made me fall silent as I was faced with photographs of that woman skinning anthros alive, leaving some of their body parts with nothing but exposed muscle. All the while, she had that very same grin on her face I had known all too well. My heart fell to my chest when I ultimately found out that the majority of the anthros she was mutilating were…
...They were children.
I immediately stepped back away from the open box, feeling bile start to rise up in my stomach. Just what the fuck is wrong with that woman?! This is the lady I was working for?! Someone who takes pleasure out of killing kids just for wearing their skin?!
I heard sniffling near me as I turned to see the little dog girl look at me, about to cry. "S-She almost murdered us before twelve years ago… And now she's gonna do it again." How could I have been so stupid? How the hell did I not know how fucking sick this woman was? She was going to kill this kid and her family just to make clothes!
Well, not if I have anything to say about it.
I stormed back into the room, unleashing all the dogs that were in the room as they hastily rushed out the door, leaving me alone with the kid as I looked down at her.
"Find the rest of your family and get out before she finds you." I simply said as I was about to head out the room when I felt a small tug. I looked down to see her hugging my legs as she sniffled out a "Thank you" before following after the others.
I kicked the door to the room Kevin and Cruella were currently in, fire in my eyes as I glared at the both of them.
"YOU NASTY FUCKING BITCH! YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO KILL THOSE DOGS! ONE OF THEM IS A CHILD!" Cruella appeared to be taken aback by how angry I was being, but her smirk just returned as she stared back at me. "You never knew? Quite a shocker, my boy. At least Kevin here is more accepting of my life's dream of wearing spots!" I stared at Kevin incredulously. "Y-You can't be serious! This woman wants to kill an innocent little girl and you approve of this?!"
"Yeah, so what?! Those dirty mutts got in the way of dealing with Cody myself and got my ass thrown in jail! I should've just beaten him to death rather than throw him over the bridge!"
My heart lodged in my throat as I registered what Kevin had said.
...Cody was right the whole time. All the time I was an ass towards him, I thought those wounds from his dad were just Cody himself doing those for sympathy just so he'd get me to leave him alone. Up until my arrest, my parents never treated me the way Cody's dad had actually been treating him. And now… I was helping his dad actually finish the job. I never even wanted to actually kill Cody, I just wanted to teach him a lesson!
Oh my god, I… I now know why I was put into juvenile prison. It… really was never Cody's fault.
"You… You both are sick! Sick to the fucking head! I should've never agreed to work with either of you! You know what?! The deal's off and I'm not going to let either of you get away with this!" I snarled as Kevin suddenly snarled back, getting more angrier than I was.
"Oh, so that's it?! Is it?! When an opportunity to get revenge on the one who ruined both our lives is opened, you pussy out at the last minute?! I gave you another chance at life! We promised you enough money to start afresh! You'd still be dead on the road without us! And this is how you repay us?! No bloody gratitude, that's the problem with people like you! You just take, take, take, like a selfish child!"
"I don't want to hear your bullshit, Kevin! I know what I saw and heard from both of you and I'd rather be dead than be known for someone who helped two people with mass genocide! I SHOULD FUCKING KILL BOTH OF YOU MYSELF! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SAFE HOUSE!"
Cody's POV
BANG!
My heart stopped as I heard a distant gunshot echo through the hall. Oh god, no… Did they already shoot one of my family?! I quickly increased my pace until I found a set of stairs going upwards but before I could walk even a step upwards, a body suddenly rolled down them stopping at the hallway floor. I took a quick look to find that it was Brian, grunting as he clutched his chest. My fear was replaced with rage as I latched onto him and pulled back a fist ready to punch his lights out.
"Where's my family and everyone else, you son of a bitch?!" I yelled in his face as he coughed before looking up at me.
"Cody… In the cells… Cruella… Gonna kill them… I didn't know..."
"You didn't know what?!"
"I… I didn't know who Cruella was… And… You were right… all along..." After he said those words, his eyelids shut and he fell completely limp. "Brian?! BRIAN! What do you mean I was right?!" I questioned, shaking him as his hand fell from his chest and I saw a large gaping hole where his hand had been, leaking blood.
I cursed in frustration before rushing up the stairs, where I was met with another hallway of doors. I quickly paced through the hallway until I heard two faint voices from one of the doors. Heading straight for one of them, I opened it and I nearly collapsed with relief on who it was.
"Cody!"
"Dixie! Trevor!" I rushed over to the two and untied them as Dixie quickly wrapped her arms around me whilst I returned the embrace. "Cody, those bastards have Fergus, we have to find him now!" I nodded before getting up and rushing down along the hallway with the two behind me.
"Ugh, what a fucking waste. You give your trust to someone and they just stab you in back at the last minute."
"No matter. At least now he won't have to go back to juvenile confinement if he gets caught. Now get the machine ready, it's time!"
The voices of my birth dad followed by Cruella's rang from a distance and we all increased our pace, instantly knowing what the latter meant before we found a pair of double doors, but before we entered, I turned to Dixie and Trevor.
"Both of you… Go back and see if you can find any of my other siblings. If anything happens, Dixie… I love you." Both their eyes widened in horror at this.
"W-What?! Cody, no! They'll kill you!" Dixie protested as I shook my head. "I have to do this, Dixie. I nearly lost you once and I don't want to give Cruella the chance to do it again. Besides… It's me my dad wants. Not you." I stared at her firmly as I said this. She inhaled before hugging me tightly.
"Just please be careful..." She pleaded as I kissed her on the cheek, nodding before entering through the double doors and entered a huge room coated in walls of rotting plaster. A huge mechanical device at the very end with Cruella herself, her back facing me.
"You really are a brave boy sacrificing yourself to protect your family, aren't you?" Cruella said with a bit of a mocking tone as I just snarled at her.
"No more games, Cruella. Where are they?" The devil woman turned to me with that horrible grin. "Oh no need to worry. They don't have a single scratch on them. Yet. It is getting to the time where they become useful to me, so if you'll excuse me, I have a coat to make." She began to walk away to the double doors until I quickly ran back to them before she could reach them, blocking her way.
"You're NOT gonna take a single strand of fur from them. I won't let you." Cruella's grin turned to an aggravated snarl as she gripped my shirt. "You're more of a little pain in the ass than I thought. Looks like we'll just have to deal with you first before I get what I want." She spat at me before tossing me aside. "He's waiting for you at the roof. Get going before I get impatient." She demanded me, but before I could move…
"Skin this, devil bitch."
Cruella didn't have any time to react as an iron pipe swung across her face, knocking her out cold as she fell to the floor. The iron pipe being held by none other than my eldest sister.
"Dolly!"
"Cody!"
The two of us embraced each other tightly for a brief moment before letting go.
"Where are the others? Are they okay?"
"They're fine! Dixie and Trevor have so far found nearly all of us and are getting us out of here! We should go too before your dad finds us!" I shook my head in response before turning to the staircase.
"C-Cody, no. You don't have to..."
"I have to know, Dolly. I have to know why..." I said, heading for the stairs not hearing Dolly's voice until I reached the first step.
"Cody." I turned behind to see hold a fist up with a determined snarl on her face.
"Kick his ass, bro."
I merely nodded before turning back to the stairs and making my way up to the roof.
It's time I confronted my dad once and for all.
Author's Note:
Warhorse, I don't do requests.
Garrus Skywalker, the story takes place in London, not Cornwall so why would Chips be in this?
Brody R.E. Hall, as interesting as the idea sounds, I want to focus a little more on my YouTube channel for the holidays so that story may not be possible.