The Humdinger Sleep Experiment

Chapter 5- Collapse

Cataclysm is best known for the silence in its wake, a predatory advance that lives for the despair on its horizon. Humdinger knew nothing of the foreboding event, peaceful distractions in his mind taking his attention away from the now. He was sitting back in a metal chair, feet propped up on the rusted table as he milled to himself. His cats surrounded him, all taking turns being cuddled and petted to their adoration. They were a perfect distraction from the lingering guilt that followed his every move. Idly his mind wandered, daydreaming of his favorite scenarios.

"What would I even do?" He asked aloud, looking to one of the cats as if he expected it to answer. "I became mayor of the city, and then what? Now that I've actually gone and done it, I don't really know what to do now." The overtaking of Mayor Goodway had been a success, the absence of the PAW Patrol left nothing standing in his way to defend her name. His plan of defamation was seen to the end, and the poor woman was removed from office. Why though, he asked himself. Why was a team of puppies the only thing meant to stand in his way? Did this city have no notion to stand up for themselves? No one else to uphold their honor? He had to change that, he knew, he had to bring something more reliable to keep things safe. With the puppies locked away, Adventure Bay was a sitting duck.

"That fiasco in Adventure City, none of that counts." He continued, remembering an earlier time he had seized a mayor position. "I made everything about myself, I realize that now. I was really just..." a sigh left him. "Being an idiot." For reasons he couldn't explain, the interactions with the contained PAW Patrol had affected his general behaviors, bringing a light of self-realization into the man. Perhaps peering his eyes into something so serious that opened up his mind, sending the message that greater things were at stake than his personal image.

"I almost feel bad for Goodway," he muttered, taking off his hat. "Maybe I had malicious intentions, but I have real ideas! I can make this town truly amazing, and none of it will have to do with my image." His cats gathered to listen to his speech, the man leaning farther back as he gazed into the ceiling. "I guess my methods were a little harsh, but Goodway was honestly unfit to lead. She was... just flat out incompetent." His voice filled with resolve, determination coursing through his veins. "But Adventure Bay will love me, and not by force. I'll bring prosperity to this place like they've never seen before, I'll make these people happy and give them what they've been wanting!" He muttered with a low voice, looking to the side. "Starting with more capable emergency services and law enforcement. I'm talking real human officers."

"I move into city hall tomorrow," he said, twiddling his thumbs. "Be nice to have an actual place to live and sleep for once, instead of this... stupid metal dungeon." Putting his feet down and standing up, he looked off in the distance. "I better go check on the dogs, see if they're out yet." The words felt idiotic leaving his mouth, but a faint glimmer of hope still persisted in his mind. "I mean... they probably aren't, but wouldn't hurt to check on them." Was it a glimmer of hope at all? Or were they twinges of denial leading him into resigned delusion? Taking a deep breath, the mayor donned his hat again and traveled back to the gas chamber.

The room had gotten worse, Humdinger nearly gagged looking in. It was a gut-wrenching scene of true depravity, the worst any living creature could fall to. The canine excrement was piling up, forming a disgusting brown floor of stinking waste. It was even beginning to climb their bodies, first staining their paws, then running up their arms in a filthy coating. Much to his disgust, the dogs didn't react to it at all, not even Skye who was actively pushing herself through it. Due to the window's limited field of view, Humdinger couldn't catch a single sight of Rocky, Rubble, or Zuma, the dogs having placed themselves in the blind spots. Barely a single noise emitted from the speakers, their hushed voices evading the interior microphones save for some whispered rambling.