CHAPTER 5
TIME IS TICKING
Location: Somewhere in Washington, DC
Date: 5JUL20
Time: 0850 hours
I know it’s my duty to help another soldier who is in distress, but what can I do? We’re trapped in this cold, dank dump and I can barely see, let alone find an escape route.
I know Chaps can sense my hesitation to help. “It’s not just me who needs your help, soldier.”
I watch as he looks up to the ceiling and lets out a soft whistle like a signal of sorts.
The pipes begin to shake and dust falls onto the floor. “Get down here, y’all,” Chaps calls out.
Then, out of the shadows emerges something I’ve never seen in my life: a hedgehog riding a ferret and a rabbit riding a snake. They make their way to Chaps.
I do a double take because I cannot believe my eyes. The hedgehog, ferret, rabbit, and snake all give Chaps a big, long group hug.
“This is my team. My unit. We call ourselves the Fellowship, and they’ve been trying to bust me out for thirty days,” Chaps says.
Chaps motions to the hedgehog and says, “Show him.”
The hedgehog unrolls a piece of paper and holds it in front of my face.
It reads “The Kill List” at the top and it’s got today’s date on it. Right below Chaps’s name is Penny’s. Mine is right below hers.
Seeing her name on that list really makes my heart hurt.
“I thought you said we had thirty days?” I ask Chaps.
“Y’all must have done something real bad or made someone real mad,” said Chaps.
I can only think of one person who is evil enough to have put Penny’s name at the top of the list . . . Mr. Mocoso!
“We all need your help. Think you can do one last mission to help save your fellow animals?”
Before I can even consider Chaps’s offer, Penny, Brick, and the other animals from the Sanctuary interrupt.
“Hiya, Rico. I hate to be a buttinsky, but we need to get out of here . . . and fast,” Penny says.
“I know, Penny. But what do you want me to do? I thought Ms. Becca was coming to save us,” I say.
“Rico, if you can just get us outside, you can lead us home. You know the streets so well!” Penny says.
And then a bunch of the other animals from the Sanctuary gather around.
“What are we going to do, Rico?” one asks.
“Rico, we have to do something! The Sanctuary is our home. We can’t just let Mr. Mocoso take it,” Penny says.
“Why does everyone think I know what to do?”
Even Stripes, the skunk who I’ve barely spoken to in the last year, says, “Because you’re the most courageous dog we know, Rico.”
“What do you know about me?” I ask Stripes.
He’s silent.
“What makes you think I’m courageous?” I ask him again.
“Because you were a sergeant in the Army. You have to be courageous in the Army, right?”
Now I’m the one who’s silent. He is right, but I don’t know what to tell him.
Chaps chimes in to break my silence: “He’s right. I know you got some fight left in you. So listen up, ya’ll, ’cause I’m the pooch with the plan.”
“What’s your plan?” Penny asks Chaps.
“For starters, I’ve got a way out. And your bulldog friend is just what we need,” Chaps says.
“Brick?” Penny asks.
“Yes, ma’am, he’s the perfect size,” Chaps says.
“We need more than just a way out,” says Penny.
“You name it,” Chaps says.
“We need you to help us save the Sanctuary.”
The hedgehog interjects: “This isn’t part of the plan, Chaps!”
“Well, neither was me being chased by those dogs and getting stuck in here for thirty days. And since I’m on tonight’s list, we need the bulldog’s help . . . and Rico here knows the streets.”
“The dog with three legs is going to lead us?” asks the hedgehog.
“Hey! Enough with that. I’m missing a leg, too, but you don’t question me, now do you?”
“Yeah, but you have a wheel—”
“I said enough,” Chaps says. “Have I ever let you down?”
“You’re right, Chaps, sorry. We’d follow you to the ends of the Earth.”
“They’ll need someone with your training and leadership skills. Someone who knows the streets. They’ll be dead meat on their own,” Chaps says to me.
“Then let’s hurry! The Snatchers will be back any moment!” says the hedgehog.
I know they’re all counting on me, but I don’t feel like leader I used to be.