Several more weeks had gone by and there were still two puppies left, one girl and one tiny boy. Momma hoped he wasn't sickly. He still walked on shaky legs and was so skinny. Maybe he was just a late bloomer.
They walked through the alleys as they always did at sunset, trying to avoid crowds and cars. Her little girl was proudly strutting in front of her, fearless as always, while her little boy stayed close to her back legs, often walking between them and getting knocked down.
A familiar sinister laugh came out of a nearby building. It was their old warehouse. How had she brought them back here again? She nosed her daughter to the side. "We need to get away from here, children!"
"Aw, puddin', look at the doggies!" a shrill female voice called out.
"Do you want one, cupcake? I'll get it for you!" The evil man was coming toward them!
Momma snarled at him, keeping her puppies behind her. He just snickered at her, while reaching out his blood-covered white gloved hands. She tried to usher her babies away, but the man was too fast. He threw his arms around her, throwing her to the ground. Her pups barked loudly, trying to scare the man away.
Suddenly, a big black shape swooped down and knocked the bad man away.
The tiny male puppy stared in awe, while his sister kept barking at everyone. A large man in a black cape loomed up out of the darkness. The villain ran off with his girlfriend, laughing maniacally all the way.
"Are you alright, beauty?" He pet Momma, who was standing up and shaking herself off. She nuzzled the strange man's black gloved hand. "We need to get you and your family off the street."
Sirens blared in the distance, coming closer. Soon police cars surrounded them. One plain clothes officer came up to the caped man. "What happened?"
"You're a little late. Would you do me a favor and see that these dogs get taken to a kennel?"
The caped man looked down and caught the eyes of the tiniest one. The puppy was still captivated, but managed to whimper softly. "Don't worry, ace. You'll be safe now." Then the man left and the dogs were ushered into the back of a police van.
YOU ARE READING
This Dog's Journey
Short StoryFormerly "Le Grande Danois (The Great Dane)". It's my version of how Batman adopted Ace The Bat-hound. My husband, Mick Gray, is a comic book inker who worked on Batman & Robin for years. In that series was a large black great dane named Titus. Bruc...
