The Runaway Adventures

Chapter 24:Do Not Enter

Breathing heavily and filled with triumph, Scamp, Angel, and Patch happily ran away from Cruella's nightmare manor and tore off down the street, and they saw that Cruella's house was getting smaller and smaller by the second. The three puppies had completely lost Cruella and their parents, and they were very happy about that.

"Hee hee hee!" Scamp cheered excitedly. "We're free! Did you see that look on my mom's face?"

"Yeah, I know," Angel laughed. "I'm happy that we're rid of them."

"And Cruella's probably going crazy right now," Patch laughed. "We fooled her again, and this time, with no help from the parents!" He then stopped laughing and asked, "Do you know of somewhere where we can go?"

"No, not really," Angel told him, shaking her head. "I don't know where we are."

"Well, let's keep running then," Patch told the others. "The farther we go from Cruella and our parents, the better off we'll be. Of course, they won't be able to keep up with us."
"I don't know," Scamp told Patch worriedly, turning a corner. "Pop was a street dog, and he runs pretty fast. He caught me once when I tried to run away from him."

"Don't worry. Lucky will slow them down," Patch answered. "He can't run far, actually, he can't walk far either."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

"On that journey we had to escape Cruella the first time, Dad carried him through the snow, the ice, and everything else," Patch explained. "But now he's a bit big for that. He'll probably just slow them down."

"That's good!" Scamp laughed with relief.

The puppies continued to run down the streets at top speed, tired but still filled with enthusiasm from their success. They passed many large manors and estates which were lined on either side of the street. Like Cruella's, they were old, though these were less scary.

"I bet you want to find a home here," Scamp told Angel.

Angel didn't respond to Scamp and looked down at the ground silently in thought. She then sniffed the air and told Scamp and Patch, "You know, I think we're safe!"

"Yeah," Patch sighed as they stopped by a large fence in order to take a break from running. The three puppies looked back, and they were happy to see that their parents were still not on their trail. "We don't have to deal with Cruella anymore."

"Yes, but it's even better than that," Angel told Patch. "There are no dogcatchers here. I know their route. This place is too quiet and orderly for them. They wouldn't be able to do their job here. There won't be enough dogs to catch, or so they think."

"You're kidding!" Scamp shouted, smiling in delight.

"You are so smart!" Patch gasped toward Angel.

"Thanks, I guess I just know from experience," Angel replied modestly.

They walked the fence, and they began to leave the manors and estates behind them. They continued running for a little while longer, and suddenly they stopped and gasped.

"Wow, what's this?" Scamp asked.

There, before them, was a large gate that was cracked slightly open. A sign above read, "Do Not Enter."

"Oh, wow," Angel told Scamp and Patch happily. "This place... it must be the haunted junkyard! None of the junkyard dogs dared to go in here. I remember Buster told us scary things about this place."

"Why's it haunted?" Scamp asked.

"They say that there are ghosts here," Angel told Scamp. "Only thing is..."