Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the intellectual property of Paws Inc. and Paramount Global/Nickelodeon at the time this story was written.
Chapter 10: Loyalty Among Friends
Becky keeps on running through the stormy weather, not letting anything stop her from finding Odie and bringing him back home. Despite having lost sight of him, it still doesn't deteriorate the brave girl's persistence, for she knows exactly where he's heading. Putting the pieces together, everything about her new friend's situation is now as clear as her mother's old crystal collection. There is no longer any doubt that the cat shown in the video was the dog's best friend, the one he's been looking for before the drones started chasing him down. Why else would he rush out the door the moment he found where he was? Now that the jigsaw puzzle was complete, she now knows what must be done, not giving a crap about what her father would think.
She's going to rescue both of these stray animals, and take them home…
…where they truly belong.
"WHOOOOOA!"
Suddenly losing her traction, Becky slips on the wet concrete, her body slamming head first onto the ground.
"Ohhhhhhh." The girl moans in immense pain, rain continuing to pour down directly to her now ruined school uniform. "Father's so gonna kill me!"
*HONK HOOOOOOOOOONK*
"BECKY!"
"Oh, great." Becky whispers, for right on cue, a familiar blue car stops right in front of her. Stepping out of the vehicle, Gregg immediately rushes to his daughter's aid.
"Becky, are you alright!?" Her father frantically asks, worried beyond belief.
"Y-Yes, Father, I'm alright." The girl replies, getting back up on her feet.
"Good." Gregg said, grabbing her arm. "'Cause you HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH TROUBLE YOU ARE IN, YOUNG LADY!"
"But, Father, uhhh…I-I can explain." Becky insists. "There was this cute, little puppy I found, and-"
"A puppy!?" Her father interrupts her. "That's what this has all been about!?"
"Well…no…I mean…uhhhh…" She attempts to form a lie, but concedes after being given a stern glare from her sole parent. "*SIGH* Yes."
"Go on." Gregg insists.
"Well, while you were in the store getting your cigarettes, this puppy fell onto my stroller, and I… secretly took him home with me." Becky explains, staring at the ground sopping with heavy rain.
"BECKY BERGER!" Gregg furiously shouts, having realized why exactly his daughter has suddenly been very secretive these past few hours. "I've told you a hundred times that I will not have any dogs in my house! They're messy, smelly creatures that break everything they touch!"
"Yet they're not as bossy as you." The girl mutters under her breath.
"THAT'S IT! Get in the car!" Gregg furiously pulls her arm, completely fed up with her sassy attitude. "You're grounded until further notice!"
"But, father!" Becky pleads as her father places her in the car. "That puppy needs my-"
"SAVE IT!" He shouts, not wanting to hear another word coming out of her mouth. "Jeeves, take us home!"
"Very good, sir." The chauffeur activates the windshield wipers as he proceeds to make a u-turn, wanting to get out of the rain just as much as his employer.
From then on, not another word was spoken from any of the three humans inside the car, for all Becky can do at this point is stare out the window, hoping that her canine companion was able to successfully rescue his best friend…
…and eventually, find a place they can truly call-
*BANG BANG BANG*
"AAAAAHHHHH!" The girl shrieks as the vehicle comes to a sudden halt, having just heard gunshots coming from outside.
"What the hell was that!?" Gregg shouts, as if his day couldn't get any worse.
"Frankly, sir, I have no idea." Jeeves responds, just grateful that they're all still alive…
*BANG BANG*
…but is unsure how long his luck will last as they all lower their heads.
Peeking out the windows, the trio spot two drones flying past them, one of which carrying an orange cat…
…and the other carrying a yellow dog.
"*GASP* PUPPY!" Becky frantically shouts.
"Becky! Stay down!" Her father orders.
Spotting a small emergency light flashing from within the vehicle, a third drone flies down to inspect it…
*BANG BANG BANG*
…firing a few bullets through the front window to make absolutely certain that there are no witnesses. As the drone flies off to catch up with its fellow machines, both Becky and Gregg slowly peek their heads through the shattered window, rain pouring inside the vehicle.
"You two okay?" Gregg asks.
"Y-Yeah, father, I'm fine." Becky pants, shivering from both fear and the fiercely cold wind.
"You alright, Jeeves?"
…
"Jeeves!?"
Still not receiving a response, Gregg looks over at his chauffeur…
*GASP*
…and finds a trail of blood pouring out of his shoulder.
"JEEVES!" Becky and Gregg cry out, his body collapsing onto the center console. Without any hesitation, Gregg heads out of the car and gets himself into the driver's seat, pushing the chauffeur's body over to the passenger's side as quickly as possible.
*SCREEEEEEEECH*
Slamming on the pedal, the car zooms through the empty road at its full speed, the broken window letting the heavy rain inside.
"*SNIFF* This is all my fault." Becky whispers, tears streaming down her face. "If I'd just told father the truth, none of this would've happened." She lowers her head in shame, not wanting to even think of how much she's disappointed her father with her reckless actions…
…for it was these actions that'll cost them the life of one of her father's closest friends.
Thankfully, the Ball Memorial hospital isn't too far away from where the shooting had occurred, which is an auspicious omen for the wealthy family, for they're now hopeful that they can rush Jeeves inside before too much blood is lost. Managing to find a parking spot, the two desperate humans make a dash for the entrance with the gravely injured man on Gregg's shoulder.
"I got a wounded man here! He needs medical attention! NOW!" Gregg shouts, bursting through the door.
"Oh my god!" A nurse shouts. "We need to get him to the ER immediately!"
The chauffeur's body is placed onto a stretcher as a group of doctors rush him into the emergency room as quickly as possible. With their friend safe within medical arms, the two share a heavy sigh of relief, and find solace within each other as they take a seat in the waiting room, clinging onto the slightest bit of hope that Jeeves will walk out the door with them.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
Professor Smith stands outside his building as he patiently awaiting for his drones to return, not caring that his outfit is being thoroughly drenched by the rain. His dog also waits alongside him, shivering from not just the cold weather…
…but in utter fear for what his owner has planned, not just for his soon-to-be captives…
…but for the entire world!
They wouldn't have to wait out in the rain any longer, though, for right on cue, the drones fly down and present to their master with not just the unconscious cat used as bait…
…but more importantly, the unconscious canine that he's been looking for.
"Perfect."
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
The professor smirks as thunder continues raging across the clouds.
"Bring him to the lab." He instructs his drones. "And bring the cat as well. I have further use for him."
*MMM MMM MMMMMMM* The blue dog whimpers, catching the attention of his owner as he proceeds himself into the building.
"What's gotten into you!?" He shoots a glare at his dog, not in the mood for any distractions.
*MMMMMMMM* The canine quietly lets out one last whimper as the professor walks away, for not only can't he do anything to put a stop to his immoral ploy…
…but the neglect…
…it hurts…
…so…
…so much.
"Please tell me he'll make it, doctor." Liz pleads as they walk through the liminal hallways of the hospital.
"We're working as hard as we can, miss." The doctor replies, going over the x-rays. "His bones are severely fractured from the waist down, and is losing blood at an alarming rate."
"But he will make it, right!?" The veterinarian asks, begging for a positive response.
"I'm afraid we just don't know yet, Miss Wilson!" The doctor lets out an honest answer. "But rest assured, Arbuckle is in good hands."
"I have to know, doctor!" She frantically shouts, grabbing him by his coat. "He's my best friend!"
"Miss, might I suggest you wait out in the lobby to cool down." The doctor insists, pulling his coat off her hands. "It'll do us all good."
After a moment of hesitation, the veterinarian eventually agrees that it's the best thing she can do, for her sake…
…and Jon's.
"*SIGH* Alright." Liz said, heading out the door. "Thank you, doctor."
Gregg's eyes slowly begin to close as he and Becky remain comfortably seated in the empty lobby. Only twenty minutes have passed since Jeeves was brought in, yet Becky grows more and more anxious as each minute passes by. The girl carefully eyes her father as he drifts asleep, waiting for him to completely doze off before making her move.
However, right as she bolts out of the hospital, Liz enters the lobby and spots the girl making her way out the door.
"Hey!" The veterinarian shouts, chasing after her whilst Gregg remains asleep.
Becky's uniform becomes even more wet as she runs from the hospital as fast as possible, not that she's bothered by it in the slightest…
…for the only thing that matters now is to find and rescue her puppy…
…no matter what anyone says…
…not her father…
…not Jeeves…
…not anyone!
She didn't want to up and leave her father like this, but if she doesn't do something to rescue the dog now…
…she may never get the chance.
Catching her breath, the young girl tries to remember the direction the drones were flying towards when she last saw them. She remembers that they were driving home right as the drones shot at them, which means they had to be flying in the same-
"Gotcha!"
"AAAAAHHHHH!" The girl screams as she finds herself suddenly wrapped between a pair of arms lifting her from the ground. "HEEEELP!"
"Shh. Shhhhhhhh." A female voice attempts to soothe her. "Easy. I'm not gonna hurt you." She whispers.
"Let go of me!" Becky shouts, struggling to free herself from her grip. "I have to find them! I have to save my puppy, and that poor orange cat!"
"Garfield?"
"Huh?" The girl stares at her, confused as to why her captor would randomly say that name…
…until it eventually dawned on her.
"Wait, you mean that's your cat!?" She asks.
"Well, actually…" Liz hesitates before finishing her answer. "...he's my friend's cat."
"What!?" Becky exclaims, shocked. "Then we have to go rescue him! And my dog!"
"Your dog!?" Liz asks. "He was taken too!?"
"Mmm hmm." The younger girl nods her head. "He's a yellow beagle with big, brown ears."
"Yellow beagle?" The veterinarian ponders to herself. "Why does that sound so-"
*GASP*
"ODIE!"
"Odie!?" Becky asks. "That's his name!?"
"Yes." Liz replies. "We've been looking for him all over town too."
"Then that means…" The girl lowers her head, realizing how exactly she came to know his name.
"...he's your friend's dog too, isn't he?"
"Yeah…" The veterinarian said quietly.
*SNIFF SNIFF*
"Hey, what's wrong?" Liz asks softly.
"Oh, it's nothing." Becky replies, a tear dropping onto her already drenched uniform. "It's just that…*SNIFF*...I was hoping that…*SNIFF*...I could-"
"Oh, honey." Liz places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, but Odie already has a home."
"*SNIFF* Yeah, I figured." Becky said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Since he immediately went after his friend after he saw him in that video."
"He did?" Liz asks. "Damn it, if only I knew where he was heading."
"I know where those drones were going!" The girl said. "I saw them going that way!" She points to the north.
"Well, it's a start." The older human said. "Ugh, if only I had a working car!"
"Well, duh, we'll just take your car!" Becky points out the obvious solution.
"It's totaled." Liz said, completely out of luck.
"Unless…"
"Hmm?" The veterinarian stares at the younger girl.
"We could take my father's car."