101 Dalmatians: Hell Hall

IV - Escape Or Death

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Day 5 - Midday

It had been nearly 12 hours since Patch got the message from Tibbs. And it wasn't much longer after breakfast did he break the message to his siblings.

How full of joy they were when they learned that their parents were coming to rescue them. How much fuller were they of joy to hear the personal messages given them.

Penny was prancing about the room, yipping joyfully.

Thunder was dancing happily.

Lucky was too.

Cadpig was openly crying.

Two-Tone was trying very hard to keep from crying.

When Jewel asked her about it, Two-Tone simply answered, "I'm not crying, you're crying!"

Patch had thought about spreading the message to the other pups, but Penny protested. She said that while their parents are certainly coming to rescue them, but the 84 pups as well? So why give their hopes up?

Patch argued that their mother and father would never abandon the other pups, knowing the identity of their dangerous captor.

Penny agreed, but how would the Pongo's transport 99 pups possibly more than 100 miles from wherever in Suffolk they were back to London? And since winter has come and snow has already begun to fall, the journey would be dangerous, especially for young pups. How would they make it?

Mum and Dad would find a way. I know they would. One way or another.

"They'll find a way," Patch said with great determination. "They always do."

Penny beamed. "I know they will."

And so the message was spread like wind going through a corn field. Jubilation was in the air but the Fifteen hushed the pups. The Baduns might be simpletons, but no sense in giving them reason to think that the pups were up to something.

00000

Later...

"Lucky?"

"Yes Patch?"

"Are you ok?"

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

Patch was not buying it. He knew his youngest brother quite well and therefore was quite familiar with certain ticks of his, certain behavioral patterns when he was happy, angry or sad.

And whenever Lucky was sad, he'd lick his paws more than usual. He'd also hide himself and avoid the other pups. Plus, he would not pay as much attention to the telly, something he'd enjoyed very much.

"You were never a very good liar Luck," Patch said, not buying his brother's words for an instant. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Lucky looked down at the floor. "It's dumb."

"I don't call whatever it is getting you down 'dumb,' Lucky."

Lucky frowned but nodded. "I guess I let what the Baduns say get to me."

"The R word?" Patch asked.

"The R word." Lucky sniffled.

Patch's heart clenched. "Oh Lucky." He laid his head against his brother's who barely registered. "You can't let what those nasty blokes said get to you. They don't know what they're talking about."

"I don't like that word Patch. It feels...bad."

"That's because it's a bad word Lucky. And no one has any right using it. And it does not define you Luck."

Lucky, tears in his eyes, furiously wiped them away. "Why did I have to be born so small?"

"It happens sometimes Luck, but it is not a permanent thing. You won't be small forever."

Before Patch could speak further, he was interrupted by a sound that caused his hair to stand on end.

It was the sound of a car, a very powerful one. And what followed was the sound of perhaps the loudest motorhorn in England.

"What…?" Jewel said in a low voice.

"It can't be," Dipstick said.

Patch heard one of the Baduns groan in frustration. "Oh great, it's that crazy bird."

And then the door to the living room slammed open and who came in was a woman, a dangerously thin woman with black hair on one side and white hair on the other, wearing a white mink fur cloak and a most malevolent look on her cadaverous features.

"Horace! Jasper! Turn off that television!"

Patch's fear was confirmed. It's her.

It was Cruella de Vil.

00000

"I got a job for you both," Cruella said in her usual narcissistic tone of voice.

"But we already have a job Miss," Jasper said.

"I have a new one, I want the job done tonight!"

Jasper and Horace gave Cruella a look of shock. "Wha...tonight?" Jasper croaked.

"Yes, tonight!"

Patch's ears perked and his heart dropped. He looked at Penny who returned his look of apprehension.

"I got no time to argue, I want the job done tonight!" Cruella shut off the television, much to Lucky's disappointment. "Do you understand?! Tonight!"

"But they ain't big enough," Horace protested.

Jasper agreed. "You couldn't get a dozen coats out of the whole caboodle."

Patch's blood froze. I knew it!

"Coats?" A familiar voice said. "Dog skin coats?"

Patch turned towards the door of the living room and saw a familiar face peeking out through the hole in the wall.

Tibbs!

Patch had hoped that the cat might return, perhaps with a means of escape in case anything went out of paw.

"Then we'll settle for a half a dozen, we can't wait!" Cruella took a whiff from her cigarette rod and blew a wad of green smoke into Jasper's face, making him cough. "The police are everywhere! I want the job tonight!"

Horace, eating a can of beans with a knife, said, "How're we going to do it?"

"Anyway you like, poison them, drown them, bash them in the head."

Patch's mouth dropped open. I can't believe I'm hearing this. How can any humans like that exist?

There was a choking gasp of distress and Patch immediately recognized it as Cadpig's voice. She was shaking and looked a bit faint. Penny let her lean on her in case she collapses.

Roly was trembling as well.

Freckles was licking his paws as though he were trying to lick the fur off.

Thunder crouched on the floor, biting his paws, something he'd do whenever he was afraid.

Two-Tone was gritting her teeth, growling but judging by how her hind legs were quivering, she was clearly afraid as well.

The other pups looked rather afraid themselves. While their understanding of human speech was far from perfect, they understood well enough to know to put two and two together when they take into account their captivity and human talk of a job involving 'fur coats.'

But Lucky, absentminded as he often is, was sitting in front of the telly, waiting on someone to turn it back on, not showing any signs that he heard what had been said.

Either he wasn't paying attention or he's just that good at not panicking.

And then, out of nowhere, a great and terrible tumultuous noise rang throughout the room. It was an explosion of some sort.

Dipstick had seen the whole thing apparently. Cruella de Vil, in a fit of frustrated rage, took Jasper's booze bottle and threw it into the open fireplace, igniting the alcohol and therefore causing the resulting explosion.

She then proceeded to slap both Baduns across the face. "Now listen you idiots! I'll be back first thing in the morning! And the job better be done or I'll...I'll call the police!"

The Baduns watched her leave with looks of abject horror.

Cruella de Vil, never one to leave without making an impression, turned to give the Baduns one final word. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

She slammed the door so hard that the decaying walls cracked, which traveled from the top of the door to the ceiling just above the Baduns and a piece of plaster breaks off, and it lands right on top of Horace's head.

It didn't seem to hurt him.

"I think she means Jasper," Horace said as he removed the piece of plaster.

"Ahhhh," Jasper said uncaringly. "We'll get on with it as soon as the show's over." He turned the television back on.

Patch sighed with relief. They'll be glued to the telly for at least the next half hour.

The pup's ears perked as he hurried the silent scurrying of clawed paws. Patch turned to see Tibbs approaching a groups of some of the younger pups.

"Hey kids, you'd better get out of here if you want to save your skins."

"But how?" A particular pup asked. Was that one named Inky?

Tibbs shushed her to keep her voice down. "There's a hole in the wall."

Patch, his courage no longer stifling, turned to some of his siblings. "Penny, Pepper, Thunder, Two-Tone, gather the other pups and keep quiet. We're leaving."

"Now?" Thunder asked.

"Yes, now. We have no choice."

Patch very quietly scurried across the room to reach a certain pup who was doing his best to calm a few young pups who looked to be on the brink of hysteria.

"Three Legs," Patch said.

"What is it?"

"Gather whatever pups you can and make a single file line for that hole in the wall."

Three Legs looked up to see a tabby cat seeing the remaining puppies through the hole by the door. The cat seemed to be having some trouble making sure the pups went through without obstructing the others.

They're in a hurry. All the better.

"Where'd the cat come from?"

"That's Tibbs, he's the one who brought the message about my Mum and Dad."

Three Legs had a look of bewilderment on his face. "A cat gave us the message? On behalf of dogs?"

"You didn't know it was a cat?"

Three Legs shook his head. "It was said that a message was sent but I didn't hear anything about a cat. Must've been lost when the message was being passed on."

Patch muttered in agreement.

Then they both looked at the Badun brothers, still glued to the television which was in full blast. They were completely unaware of the room suddenly being emptied of Dalmatian puppies.

Patch shook his head. What a pair of halfwits.

"Oi Jasper, I bet no one's ever murdered 99 Dalmatian pups," Horace said gleefully. "They'd never guess what we've done. We'd be famous."

Jasper grabbed his brother by the collar. "Horace, you idiot! That would mean we'd have to be caught first." And then he smiled. "But yeah, that would get us on 'What's My Crime.' But we'd have to be very specific about this particular crime."

"Maybe we could skin them alive," Horace suggested.

Patch felt sick.

Jasper shook his head. "They'd never keep still."

"What about boiling?"

Patch felt bile come into his throat but he swallowed hard. They cannot be real humans.

00000

More than half of the pups had gone through the hole in the wall. And the Baduns were none the wiser.

Patch didn't quite understand how those two blokes could be so oblivious. Where did that devil woman find those two dullards anyway?

The Baduns were laughing it up at their most favorite program, 'What's My Crime?' Apparently the contestant was an old colleague of theirs by the name of Percival 'Meathead' Fauncewater.

Figures they'd know him.

The remaining pups were down to a little over a dozen.

Ok, that's nearly everyone...and yet...I can't help but feel that we're forgetting…

Patch turned back to the tv and his heart dropped when he saw Lucky sitting in front of it, tail wagging, watching the program with interest.

Lucky, you scatterbrained…!

Patch began to make careful movements in order to safely extract his brother but was stopped by Tibbs.

"Go, I'll go get him," he said in a commanding but low voice.

"He's my brother!" Patch exclaimed.

"The Baduns might see you and take notice of the other pups missing. Go help your plump brother, I'll get the little one."

"You'd better."

Patch looked to see Roly trying his hardest to get through the hole but his rotund exterior was making it difficult.

He really needs to go on a diet.

Patch, with both paws, started pushing and pushing but Roly was barely budging. He knew not to push too hard for if he pushed too hard, the wall surrounding the hole could crack and that would make noise, attracting the attention of the Baduns.

Patch started using his back to push Roly's backside through the hole, which took considerably less effort.

"Roly," Patch said with clenched teeth. "Suck it in will you?!"

"Hey, get out of the way ya little runt!"

Patch became rigid, he turned his head and saw, to his horror, that fat Badun with Lucky in his hand. He passed Lucky to Jasper who then tossed him aside like a discarded soup can.

NO!

Patch dropped Roly.

And with all his strength, he ran right towards right where Lucky would've landed.

But Tibbs had already beat him to it.

He caught Lucky in both paws, much like a forward pass in American Football. Tibbs, with Lucky in paw, stepped on some discarded wine bottles and soup cans, causing him to go into a barrel roll straight towards the hole in the wall.

And then Tibbs tripped.

And he accidentally tosses Lucky into the air.

Without thinking, Patch stands up on his hind legs, his paws outstretched and Lucky slams right into him, and they both crash through the hole in the wall.

Patch's head felt swimmy and his vision tripled, but only for a moment.

Patch looked to his side to see Lucky on the floor, picking himself up. Patch was tempted to tell him off for being distracted when they were supposed to be making their escape, but he held his tongue.

No sense doing that when our lives are at stake.

And then the sharp sound of a buzzer was heard, indicating the conclusion of the Badun's favorite program.

Patch heard Jasper groan in disappointment from the other side of the wall.

"Aw, now ain't that always the way!"

Roly's head and upper torso was pushed through the hole but was still obstructed due to his roundness.

"Lucky, help me pull him in," Patch said.

Shaking his head to expel any dizziness from the fall, Lucky nodded in understanding.

It took a few tries, a few push and pulls, with Patch and Lucky pulling Roly by his paws and Tibbs pushing him from behind, but they managed at last to squeeze Roly through.

Then the Baduns were finally aware of them and their flight.

"Hey Horace! Look!"

Oh bugger! They're onto us!

"Run!" Patch cried.

The 99 Dalmatian puppies made a break for the stairs. Tibbs led the way as he was most familiar with the building already.

As they made their way to the top, one thing went through Patch's mind. A burning question that consumed his thoughts ever since they were brought to Hell Hall. It was screaming at him now like a banshee.

Mum, Dad, where are you?!

To be continued in the Bite...