A Human Among Dalmatians

Chapter 5: Sneaking Out

"Okay Lukas, time for your biggest chore yet." Dylan advised me as I followed him to the kitchen sink, which was filled to the brim with dirty dog bowls.

"Wait, you seriously expect me to wash all of these?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, I do it all the time, and I'm a dog. It should be easier for you since you're a human." Dylan then walked away.

As he walked off, I looked back at all the dirty dog bowls for a moment, contemplating if I was really going to do this, but at least it was the last chore on my list.

"Might as well get started." I sighed as I got to work.

While I was cleaning the dog bowls, my stomach was still growling, reminding me again that I still haven't filled up on any food since I arrived here. I was desperate to get some food, but I still had to wash the dishes. But then, a thought came to my mind.

"I'm sure if I just go out quickly and come back, Dylan won't even know I'm gone."

I was just pondering to myself as to how I was going to sneak out undetected, when I saw a nearby open window. After surveying the kitchen and seeing no one around. I slowly climbed out the window.

At this time, the sky was just starting to get dark, so it was a little difficult to navigate my way through the dark streets of Camden Town, which I was told is where 101 Dalmatian Street is,

Suddenly, the streetlights were turning on, making it much easier to see. I looked around for some kind of food stand or a cafe, just anything to satisfy my stomach. But I was still new to London, so I had zero idea as to where to find the best places to eat.

My nose suddenly picked up the smell of sugar and baked bread, I followed the scent and after turning a corner, it revealed that it was coming from a doughnut shop. As soon as I walked inside, my nose was instantly bombarded with an array of smells. I approached the counter and saw the huge amount of frosted doughnuts, my mouth was practically drooling at the sight of all the doughy treats.

"Hi, what can I get you?" Asked the lady at the checkout.

I admit, it took me a while to decide on what I wanted. I was going to order a box of chocolate doughnuts, but after realizing I wouldn't have enough time, I eventually made up my mind. "Can I get one chocolate doughnut please?"

"Of course, that'll be two dollars." The checkout lady said.

Luckily, my mom had given me some money before I left, otherwise I'd be in deep trouble. After paying the lady, she opened the door to the display case and pulled out a chocolate doughnut, which also had chocolate sprinkles on it.

"Here you go, have a nice night." She said with a smile, giving me the doughnut.

"You too." I replied as I made my way out.

As I walked out of the doughnut shop, I stared down at the chocolate doughnut in my hand, but just when I was about to eat it...

"Hey kid."

I heard a voice suddenly call out from behind me, I looked over to see a group of three animals all looking at me with sly expressions. One of the animals appeared to be a fox with a golden fang sticking out of its mouth.

Another animal was a small squirrel with a grayish-brown fur. With a much more saturated brown tail. It had a pink pupil eye and two circular brown ears. It also had distorted whiskers.

The last animal was a short, fat rat, with bright neon magenta hair, and some stickers of hearts and flowers on its arms, and the rest of the part of its body.

"That's a tasty lookin' doughnut you've got there." The fox said in a sly voice.

"Would be a shame if someone were to steal it." The rat said menacingly.

"Wh-Who are you guys?" I asked, backing away nervously.

"The name's Fergus." The fox greeted me. "And this here is Sid and Big Fee." He gestured towards the squirrel and the rat respectively.

"Well, you're not taking my doughnut." I said assertively.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Sid replied in a mischievous tone.

Suddenly, Sid ran up towards me and started climbing me like I was a tree. The next thing I knew, he had snatched my doughnut right out of my hand. Before I could chase after him, Fergus tackled me to the ground and pinned me down.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fergus asked.

"Now I'm going to eat your doughnut right in front of you." Sid said, holding out my doughnut.

"And there's nothing you can do about it." Big Fee taunted.

All I could do was watch in horror as Sid dragged the doughnut closer to his lips. Suddenly, a surge of determination coursed through my veins. My self-defense skills kicked in as I grabbed Fergus by the paws and pushed him off of me, catching Sid and Big Fee off-guard.

"Hey, you can't do-"

Sid was cut off when I grabbed both him and Big Fee and put them up against the wall.

"Now you listen here, you street animals. I'm not one to be messed with, I'm much bigger than you, so if you even think about stealing from me ever again, I won't be as friendly."

"Okay, geez. Take your doughnut." Big Fee groaned in defeat as I picked up my doughnut from the ground, which was luckily in a napkin, and began eating.

I was so caught up in my encounter with those street animals that I had almost forgotten that I still needed to do the dishes.

"Hope no one realized I was gone." I thought.

But I had just jinxed myself, because as soon as I climbed through the kitchen window, I noticed Dylan looking at me with a frustrated look on his face.

"Oh.. uh.. Hey Dylan." I stuttered.

"Where have you been, Lukas?" He asked, clearly irritated with me.

I stuttered, trying my best to think of an excuse that would get me out of this, but eventually, I decided that it would be best to just come clean.

"I just wanted to get something to eat, so I thought that if I was gone for just a short while, you wouldn't notice I was gone. But then I ran into these street animals and..."

"Hold on." Dylan cut me off, putting up his paw. "Did you say street animals?"

"Yeah." I replied.

"Was one of them a fox?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied again.

"Oh no." He groaned. "It sounds like you'd met the Canal Crew."

"The Canel Crew?" I said in confusion.

"They're a group of street animals who cause trouble around Camden Town." Dylan explained. "I hope they didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Oh no, they weren't any trouble." I replied, reminding me of when I stood up for myself.

"Well, just get back to doing the dishes." Dylan said, before he walked off.

I was honestly surprised that Dylan let me off the hook, I guess he was just too tired to give me a lecture about how I shouldn't sneak out without informing anyone. I then turned around and went back to doing the dishes.