I have returned, lovely readers! I don't have much to say here, so I guess I'll explain what happens in this chapter.
Charlie brings Oaklyn and Anne Marie back to the old church after 'escaping' from King Gator. The little girl has fallen ill, and while Charlie worries over her condition, Oaklyn, having gone outside, is kidnapped by Carface. He has his henchmen take Oaklyn away, while he waits for Charlie to leave so he can take Anne Marie. Charlie has an argument with Itchy after he's beaten by Carface's thugs, and it progresses from there.
Also, in this chapter, my friend animationgirl89's OC, Cassidy, will be mentioned, so I'll say it now to prevent any confusion :) Please enjoy!
Crickets chirped outside as the sun began to set, turning the sky purple and pink. Across the city from where Charlie was, Itchy was busy cleaning up their casino after everybody had left, humming the tune to their song as he rubbed a rag over the surface of the shiny bar table.
"Da-da-da-dee-da-da..." He turned to wipe down the other side of the vehicle's table surface, tapping his back foot as he hummed. Then he paused, breathed on the surface, and wiped it once more. Then he turned around, looking around the room. "Rocky! We need Jocko on guard duty!" he called, "I need some help in here!"
Receiving no reply, Itchy leaned forward and peered down over the edge, looking around. "Rocky! Rocky?" He cocked his head, standing straight again; however, the poor dachshund didn't notice that Carface, with a wide, malicious smile, was slowly creeping over the other side and staring at Itchy.
"Uhhh... Jocko? Rocky?" Sensing something behind him, Itchy turned his head, but he was terribly surprised to see that familiar stubbled face staring back at him. "HIJA- ohhhh!" Itchy whispered, sinking down into the bar table fearfully. Knowing how scared he was, Carface chuckled and stood over Itchy, legs on either side of the table.
"Where's the girl?" he asked without missing a beat. Heart racing, Itchy stared back up at him, beginning to tremble. "I... I... I dunno," he whimpered, trying to make himself as small as possible. Growing angry, Carface wound up his arm and swung it across the area, smashing every glass bottle on the surfaces. Itchy's breath caught in his throat, and he flinched. "I think ya do."
Carface looked down. "What do you think, boys?"
Itchy didn't have to see them to know they were there; the growls and chuckles on the henchdogs were enough for him. Killer looked up, grinning. "Well, boss, if you want my opinion-"
"Shut up."
Carface slowly looked back at a now terrified Itchy, who squished himself against the back of the car. "Oh, p-please, don't do this..." he begged, weakly kicking his legs. "Uhhh- Charlie?" He resorted to trying to summon Charlie, as if that would save him. Charlie was very capable of fighting, but even he couldn't face up against all of these dogs. Carface quickly sharpened one long black claw on the table.
"To Charlie..." he said, smiling down at Itchy, "with love!" He lowered it toward Itchy's belly. "Oh, this is a very bad idea-" Itchy tried to say, barely dodging Carface's claw as it jerked down and broke through the floor effortlessly. "Agh!"
Growling, the henchdogs began to crawl up, and Itchy realized that he could very easily die, right then and there. "No!! Charlie!!" he cried, but it was no use. He was no match for nine threatening, large dogs. Now all he could do was wait for it to be over and hope he wasn't killed.
However, things weren't much better at the old church. Oaklyn sat beside Anne Marie as she lay on a blanket, looking down at her nervously, and Charlie sat a couple feet away, and Flo padded back over to him after feeling the child's forehead. The girl coughed several times, groaning softly.
"She's burning up with a fever, Charlie!" she whispered, concern in her eyes. "She could have... pneumonia!"
Charlie's heart plummeted; worried, he cringed and stared back into Flo's widened eyes. "Think she needs a vet?" he asked hoarsely, but Flo only lowered her ears. "Charlie... she's a little girl! She needs a doctor!"
Oaklyn looked up, also concerned. Charlie looked at her and then at Flo, at a loss. "Doctor, right... Doctor? I-I don't know any doctors..." He shook his head, standing up and hardening his gaze just a bit. "I'll find one," he vowed, looking at Anne Marie. He gently came over and sniffed at her; he was surprised to smell the illness on her. "Don't worry, kid," he muttered, stepping backward. "You'll be alright."
Oaklyn glanced at Charlie, turning her head upward to meet his eyes. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna go outside, Charlie, ok?" She didn't have as strong a bond with Anne Marie as Charlie did, but she cared, too; she didn't want to see the girl like this. Pale, sickly, weak. Charlie nodded, and Oaklyn made her way downstairs.
Oh, Anne Marie, I'm sorry, she thought, sympathetic. Nobody likes feeling this way. She began to walk outside, feeling low, but then she looked up when she heard Itchy coming. However, she was startled; Itchy was covered in bruises, cuts, and walked with a limp. Spooked, Oaklyn leaped over to him.
"Itchy, what happened to you?" she demanded, and Itchy flinched; then he relaxed a bit. "Oh- it's just you. Uh..." He paused, whining as he accidentally put pressure on his injured paw. "Carface and this buddies, Oaklyn, that's what happened to me! I got punched, I got bit, and... I-I don't remember what else. I don't wanna talk about it."
He tried to walk past, but stumbled a bit. Oaklyn quickly turned to his aid, stabilizing him. Itchy only blinked and kept on. He paused. "Is Charlie in there?"
When Oaklyn nodded, he limped inside. Her mind was spinning. Carface had beaten poor Itchy to this point? Well- him and his henchemen? It was a wonder to her that her friend wasn't dead, but she was glad he wasn't nonetheless. Oaklyn sat down on the cracked cement outside, deep in anxious thought. Itchy's almost dead, Anne Marie's sick, and I haven't seen Charlie this concerned about someone else in a while... She lifted her head to the slowly darkening sky, suddenly feeling very weary with emotion.
Maybe I should've asked Cassidy about all this, she thought. She knows Carface like I do, anyway. Cassidy was one of Oaklyn's friends, too; she was a brown and white papillon with a purple ribbon around her neck and soft blue eyes. Cassidy had also dealt with Carface's wrath, and Oaklyn had asked her before if Carface was this dangerous. As if I didn't know. But she didn't really get a real answer.
Oaklyn realized too late that someone was sneaking up on her. When a paw clamped over her mouth, her eyes went big, and when another wrapped around her body, she screamed; however, it was muffled significantly by the paw over her mouth, and she struggled, squeezing her eyes shut.
She was dragged a few feet away, kicking wildly, before being pinned by someone who towered over her, and duct tape was quickly slapped over her mouth before she could yelp. A orange/brown furred mutt was standing over her with his yellowed teeth exposed in a smile, and Carface came strutting over, cigar in his teeth. No!
"Well, hey there, Snowflake," Carface said, raising one of his eyebrows. "I see you've been caught by one of my boys here!" Oaklyn's breathing quickened until she was almost hysterical; she continued struggling fiercely, but nothing was working. Carface blew smoke out, grinning in mock sympathy. "Ohhhh, you poor little thing. Now I wonder how Charlie would take it if I... roughed his little pal up!" He looked like he was going to hurl his fist at her, and Oaklyn flinched. But he didn't; instead, he just put out his cigar and grabbed Oaklyn, easily tossing her into the arms of another henchdog.
Oaklyn tried desperately to wiggle free, but to no avail. Suddenly she became too dizzy to notice anything, though, and then their voices sounded far away. Black spots clouded her vision, and then she knew no more.
The first booms of thunder echoed across the sky as Itchy limped into the church, not hearing what had happened just before.
"Charlie...? Charlie? You here?" he called, panting slightly. Charlie whipped his head around, glaring, and then he ran over to the small overhanging balcony. Itchy was down there, in between the rows of pews.
"Hey!" Charlie's harsh whisper echoed all around. "Be quiet!" he scolded, standing on his back feet. "Squeaker's sick, she needs her sleep!" Itchy lowered his head. "Oh... you're breakin' my heart..."
Charlie noticed his friend's limp then, and his pained whimpers. He watched the injured dachshund make his way over to the staircase. "M-maybe you want I should go upstairs and kiss her goodnight?" Itchy called, voice laced with bitterness and pain. Charlie watched him, concerned.
"Itch... Itch, what happened to ya?"
"What happened to me- you wanna know what happened to me?!" Itchy called up, and Charlie's gaze softened as his ears flattened. "Yes."
Itchy cautiously limped up the stairs. "I'll tell you what happened to me..." Charlie turned himself around and hurried out to see his friend, whose condition he could see more clearly; the small dog's body was littered with cuts and scrapes, including what Charlie thought looked like a bite mark on his ear.
"Carface happened to me, with about fifty of his thugs!" Itchy said, struggling to climb the steps. Charlie, inside, wanted to run up to his friend and look him over, but he stayed next to the glassless window beside them. "That dirty rat..." Charlie mumbled, "I'm sorry, Itch." He looked at his friend, who was making his way over with a painful "oh," as he finally made it up. "I-... I really am sorry..."
But Itchy continued. "Well... look what else happened while you were sidetracked." Charlie came over carefully, looking out the window when Itchy gestured outside with his muzzle. He was shocked to see a burst of black smoke and then orange flame, which reflected in the shepherd's wide eyes. "See that?" Itchy muttered, "that's our place!" Charlie stared as an explosion erupted, along with the faint ring of the fire engines. He felt numb for a second, but it was quickly replaced by guilt.
"You we're gonna fix Carface, well... well, he fixed us!" Charlie sat back, blinking slowly in surprise; then his expression fell, and he found it hard to meet Itchy's gaze. "You see, boss! It's gone too far! You wanted revenge on Carface, and I said 'no, please! Let's get outta town'!" His friend looked distraught, and part of Charlie was screaming, this is your fault! Fix it! The other said, it's Carface's fault! He's a monster!
"But I stayed because... because you're my friend!" Itchy continued, and Charlie was shocked at the intensity of Itchy's words, staring wide-eyed at him. He turned to face Charlie, making his way past him slowly. "And then you wanted to kidnap the girl, and I said 'this is crazy'! But I helped ya... and-and then we gotta dress the girl, an-and read 'er stories..." Charlie's guilt grew stronger as Itchy kept talking. "...and she wants we should- feed the poor! And the whole while I'm thinking, 'this is stupid, she's gonna get us killed!' But I stayed because..." Itchy's voice began to quiver, "I'm your friend!" Charlie watched him, and thought he heard Itchy's voice break once.
"But tonight... tonight- Charlie, he tried to kill me!" Itchy yelped, suddenly scared, and Charlie stood up to walk behind him as Itchy came over to the window frame, leaning outward. "He tried to kill me, Charlie, and you was out gallavantin' with this- with thisgirl!"
Charlie for sure heard Itchy's voice break now, and tears fell from his eyes, but that part Charlie didn't see.
"I say we should lose the girl, get outta town, Charlie, you, me and Oaklyn... and... call it even!" he cried.
"Aw, Itch..." Charlie sat down. "Now the casino's gone! We gotta start all over!" He laid down. "We need the girl more than ever!" Itchy faced him, looking startled. "No! Boss, you're crazy!" Itchy whined. "It-it's not business anymore, it's personal!" Charlie rolled his eyes. "Aw, c'mon, Itchy." He crossed his forelegs, wearing a soft smirk. "Sure, it's just business, I mean-"
"You're in love with the girl!" Itchy said, "y-you've gone soft! You care about her-"
Itchy's words made something snap inside Charlie. Soft?! ME?! Oh, say that AGAIN, you little twerp!!
"Look, I don't CARE about the girl!" he spat, fur bristling angrily. "I tell her things now and then... I pretend to be her best friend, but it's baloney!" Itchy looked hurt. "I thought I was your best friend..." Charlie's anger grew to the point of shouting.
"You ARE my best friend!!! With her it's just business!! It's ALWAYSbeen business! I'm usin' the girl!" He threw his arm up. "And when we're done with her, we'll DUMP her in an orphanage!! Is that ok with you?!" Charlie got up in Itchy's face, snarling ferociously. He stepped away, thinking Charlie may actually harm him.
"Sure, boss... anything you say..." Itchy whispered, hanging his head. Then he looked startled. "Uh oh..." Charlie followed his gaze; Anne Marie was standing, clutching her bunny toy, at the foot of the stairs. She looked so unimaginably hurt that Charlie's anger vanished instantly.
The child sniffled, eyes filled with tears. "You're not my friend," she whispered in disbelief. "You're a bad dog!"
"Squeaker..." Charlie started, but Anne Marie sprinted downstairs, crying harder. He groaned, overwhelmed and struggling for an action.
Thunder boomed loudly, and lightning crackled overhead as Anne Marie ran outside. "Anne Marie!" Charlie called. "Squeaker!"
Heart thundering, Charlie took off after her, but he crashed into a pew; not stopping, Charlie kept on until reached the entrance to the church. He caught Oaklyn's scent and saw Anne Marie's toy. Charlie didn't need to be told Oaklyn was gone- he knew by the lingering fear-scent. Then he heard Anne Marie's scream as rain began to fall with another boom of thunder and crack of lightning. Charlie's head snapped up. "Carface!" he whispered, horrified.
Oaklyn and Anne Marie- they were gone. And it was all his fault.
"Anne Marie!!" Charlie called, forcing himself to jump down and sprint after the scents. "Oaklyn!"
Itchy finally caught up, too, but he glared after Charlie as he vanished into the stormy evening. Then he noticed the toy as well, just as Flo was running up. She was panting too much to talk, but then she did, staring with wide, worried eyes at him. "Take this to 402 Maple Street! She has friends there! They'll know what to do- and hurry!" Itchy grabbed the stuffed animal in his mouth and ran off into the streets.
Despite the rain battering him, Charlie could only think about one thing: I have to save them.
Bad (sorta) ending to this one, huh? Yeah- well, I hope you enjoyed anyway!
