Note-Massive time jump, but all shall be revealed…Now for some action!
"Ok, explain to me again why we are doing this!" growled Dr Cox. I was standing on his hand, and he was giving me a leg-up onto a wall.
"Because the guy who stole Rowdy won't give him back willingly. He said he wanted to use him in his entry"
"But why does it mean we have to break into his house?"
"Because that guy's beat me for the past three years!" said the Janitor. "I want to crowbar his work!"
"And why am I helping you ladies?"
"Because the Janitor has your loose change, so you can't do anything about it! Plus we appealed to your ego for about an hour"
"Fine…"
My mentor pushed his hands up, and I flew up in the air. My stomach landed on the wall. Winded, my legs flailed around a little before I pulled myself up.
"Well done, Scooter! Now the other side!"
I looked down behind me into Robert Basole's garden. I awkwardly vaulted over so that I was hanging off the wall by my arms. I took a deep breath, and let myself fall into the yard.
"Oof!"
I stood up, and brushed myself down. I looked around the garden. It was wide, with a small pond and neatly trimmed flowerbeds. Suddenly, I jumped. A stuffed cat was sitting in a tree, watching me with glassy eyes. As I walked around the garden, I realised that it was speckled with other stuffed animals. A few frogs and tortoises sat by the pond, and a bird was perched on a log. The place was eerily silent.
"You there, Anna?"
"Yep!" I called out, ignoring that Dr Cox had now run out of state names.
"Great!"
There was a short thud, followed by another thud and a groan. I turned around to see that the Janitor appeared to have fallen on Dr Cox!
"Get off me, Lurch!"
"Right" said the Janitor, getting off my mentor. "If I remember correctly, he told me once he keeps all his animals in a project shed"
I almost asked why he had told that to his opponent, but then remembered that this was the Janitor, so it probably involved acid, alcohol and some form of threat or bribery.
"Is that it?" Dr Cox said, pointing at a rickety wooden shack.
"Probably. Oh, he keeps his key under that stuffed snail on the rock!"
"How do you stuff a snail?" I muttered to myself, but followed hesitantly.
Sure enough, Dr Cox produced a small key from under a snail, and held it up. It glinted in the midday sunlight. The Janitor took the key, and inserted it in the lock. I held my breath as it clicked, and the door swung open.
"Oh…my…god…" breathed Dr Cox. I followed them in, and gasped.
On a table, a group of dogs sat around a table, playing cards. One of them was smoking; another had a glass of beer raised to its mouth.
"That's horrible!" muttered Dr Cox.
"It is…" the Janitor agreed.
"You stuff animals too!" Dr Cox pointed out.
"Not the taxidermy! He stole my idea for next year!"
Suddenly, I recognised one of the dogs.
"Rowdy!" I yelled, and grabbed the dog. I hugged it to my chest.
"Oh, Rowdy, I've missed you, boy! Now let's get out of here before that crazy man gets back!"
"Not so fast!" came a voice. We swung around, terrified.
An old man was standing at the door, carrying a rifle. He inserted a pellet into the barrel, and aimed it at us. There was a manic glint in his eye.
"You aint going nowhere till I'm done with ya, fellas! And Bobby aint done just yet! We's gonna have us some fun first…"