Home Before Dinner

Chapter 20

12:25 pm

It was quiet down in the sewers. A little too quiet but hey it was the sewers. It was usually quiet, there weren't that many things that lived down here. With that being said, the peaceful silence of the sewers was disturbed when a loud screech sounded, steadily increasing in volume. A moment later, a certain red tailed hawk spilled out from a pipe and landed gracefully on his feet.

His feathers puffed up from fright, Tiberius took a few shaky breaths to calm down. The hawk looked around, surveying his surroundings. He was down in the sewers, how far down he had no idea. At least he wasn't hurt. Staring at his wings, he mumbled in disbelief, "I'm... alive? I'm alive!" Elated, the red tailed hawk exclaimed proudly, "Yes! And the bird sticks the landing-"

"AHHHH!!!" Mel screamed as he was suddenly shot out of a pipe. Rocketing through the air, he crashed down right on top of Tiberius. Laying on his back, the pug checked himself over before howling, "I'm alive!" Coughing, Tiberius grumbled, "That's great. Get off my back."

"Okay-" Mel started to say when he was cut off by the sound of a rattling pipe. Both the pug and the hawk turned to find a small pipe shaking like a leaf. Then a certain dachshund was shot out straight at them. A collision followed suit and the trio tumbled head over heels before finally rolling to a stop. Catching his breath, Buddy looked down at the animals beneath him and spoke, "Hey Mel."

"Hey Buddy," Mel yipped, delighted to see his friend. Glancing over at the pipe the dachshund had come out of, the pug asked, "Did that hurt?" Nodding his head, Buddy answered, "Yeah, a little. Also, I think you're crushing my back." It was at this moment Mel realized that, while the front half of the dachshund was on top of him, the back half of his friend was pinned under him. Smiling sheepishly, Mel mumbled, "Sorry..."

"Don't mind me, can't freaking feel my spine," Tiberius growled underneath the dogs. Now embarrassed, the two canines were about to get up when Mel stopped and asked, "Wait, where's Chloe?"

"What's that noise?" Buddy asked, his head tilted to the side. Listening quietly, all three could hear what could only be described as a distant yell. The weird thing is it sounded like it was coming from the large pipe right overhead and it sounded like it was getting closer. "Hm, sounds like Chloe," Mel remarked. As soon as he said that, all three guys realized what was about to happen as Tiberius mumbled, "Oh no."

"Everyone scatter!" Buddy yelped, trying to run. Chaos ensued as the three hurried to get themselves out of the way. However, Tiberius's orders fell on deaf ears as Mel and Buddy couldn't understand they needed to get themselves unstuck before they could run. And while they squabbled, Chloe kept falling down the large pipe overhead, her scream getting louder and louder. Then the tabby came crashing down on all three.

"Oh my god that was terrifying," Chloe rasped, trembling. Coughing, Mel whimpered, "Hey Chloe... say, can you get off my back?" Twitching in pain, Buddy wheezed, "I think my rib cage is broken..." Slowly making her way down from the pileup, Chloe looked around and asked, "Alright, where's the birdbrain at?" There was a small cough as a wing feebly raised in the air out from underneath the pileup. Getting off the hawk with Mel, Buddy commented, "You don't look so good Tiberius, maybe you should take five."

"Thanks..." Tiberius rasped. Padding a little ways away, Chloe surveyed their surroundings. She didn't like being in the sewers. Her fur prickled with anxiety. Biting her lip as she looked up at the ceiling of pipes and concrete, the tabby cat murmured, "I don't suppose any of you saw where exactly we were before we fell down here." Thinking hard, Mel muttered, "I can't remember." Scratching behind his ear, Buddy murmured, "I think we were near the Empire State Building when animal control chased us."

"I was on Fifth Avenue when you guys ran into me," Tiberius wheezed, still laying on his side. Humming to herself as she thought quietly, Chloe flicked her tail and declared, "Okay, break time is over. We're getting out of here. All we need to do is get to the surface then we can figure out where we are from there." Helping everyone up to their feet, she muttered, "Come on, move it."

"Okay okay, you're the boss," Buddy murmured as he and the others entered a large pipe, hoping it would lead them somewhere...