The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 106

Two or three lights attached to the brick ceiling of the sewer illuminated the underground river. There would've been a fourth one but that light bulb was broken. The water, a mixture of brown and gray and whatever was floating in it, was surrounded by two wooden platforms. One platform was where the search party stood in dead silence. It was approximately about two yards to the other platform. There was no way of telling how deep the water was.

"Let me get this straight," Chloe meowed in a haughty tone, "You want us to cross THAT?!" Mel was leaning over the edge while Buddy and Sweetpea held onto him. Sniffing the water, the pug made a face of disgust and signaled to his friends that he wanted to be pulled back. Stepping forward while they backed away, Gidget turned to Pops and asked, "How deep is this?" Biting his lip as he thought for a moment, the elderly basset hound estimated, "I'm guessing it's about a foot deep."

"A FOOT DEEP?!" Chloe shouted, nearly blowing everyone's eardrums.

"Uh, should I mention I can't swim that well?" Buddy piped up, rubbing his ears.

"I can't swim at all," Norman mumbled sadly, bowing his head.

"Maybe the bird here can carry us across!" Mel yipped, turning towards Tiberius, who was trying to figure out how to get across.. The hawk was actually surprised that the pug had even mentioned him. Then again, he had saved the dog's life earlier. And his idea was intriguing but there was a slight problem. There was no space for the old red tail to open his wings all the way, let alone fly everyone over to the other side. Clearing his throat, he replied, "I would like to but sadly I can not. There's no room for me to spread my wings-"

"And there's no way you're carrying ANY of us across!" Chloe interrupted, pulling Mel back. His eyes narrowing, Tiberius snarled, "Maybe it's a good thing I don't have to carry YOU over there."

"Please don't fight," Norman squeaked.

"Mr. Pops sir, is there any other way to get across?" Gidget asked. Shaking his head, the old dog replied, "This is the only way." Rolling his green eyes in annoyance, Sweetpea opened his wings and fluttered over the underground river. The group watched as the small parakeet landed on a wooden crate, holding his head high and smirking. Tiberius huffed, feeling a little jealous of the little bird. Sighing heavily, Pops corrected himself, "Unless you're Yellow Bird."

"TRAITOR!" Mel and Buddy shouted.

"Right, who's up for a swim?" Pops asked.

"I can't swim," Buddy, Tiberius and Norman said at the same time.

"I'm not leaving Buddy here," Mel declared, sticking close to his best friend.

"Like you can swim a foot deep and two yard wide underground river made of sewer water," Chloe muttered. Chuckling softly, Pops replied, "I've done it before I even had this wheelchair."

"When your legs worked?"

"Nope, they didn't work and I got across this many a time with no problems."

"I'll believe that when I see it-"

"Chloe, how bout you stop arguing and jump in?! We have to save Max!" Gidget barked. Without another word, the fluffy white Pomeranian dove into the water. Gasping, the rest of the search party gathered around the edge. Glancing to his left, Tiberius noticed that Pops had opened his mouth to say something to Gidget but he then slowly shut it. This left the old hawk confused while the elderly basset hound turned to the others and noted, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"I'll help you across Buddy," Mel promised the dachshund, patting his best friend on the shoulder. Looking at the pug, the other dog took a deep breath and nodded his head. Bunching their muscles, the pair jumped in together. Sitting down, Chloe stuck her nose up into the air and huffed, muttering, "There is no way I'm-" She finished with a yowl when Pops pushed her in. Her head going underwater for a few seconds, she resurfaced and coughed, "I could've drowned!"

"But you didn't," Pops pointed out.

"I hate you."

"I love you Rhonda."

Sticking her tongue at him, Chloe began to doggie paddle after the others, her tail being pulled by the current. Now the only ones left were Norman, Tiberius and Pops. Looking at the water while wringing his paws together, Norman crept over to the edge and was about to jump in. However, Pops stopped him. The two animals looked at the old dog in question. "What are you-" Tiberius was about to ask when the elderly basset hound signaled for him to be quiet and whispered, "Grab one of those bags and follow me."