The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 126

After crossing a few more streets and narrowly avoiding being run over by more cars, the group at last a block away from the Brooklyn Bridge. Dragging his paws, Mel whimpered, "So... hungry..." Buddy was about ready to fall at any second. Pops was having problems with his ears and Chloe was thankfully too tired to whine. Sweetpea, the lucky little bum on a log, was getting a ride on her head. Gidget was the only one who seemed to have boundless energy as she led the group onwards.

Trailing behind like he had been all day, Tiberius prayed they were getting close. His shoulder was killing him. Glancing down, he was horrified to see that his veins were a deep purplish blue color while his skin was deathly white. His breathing was also getting a little raspy. He needed medical help badly.

"Guys! We're here- what the..." Gidget called from the front of the group. Everyone else quickly crowded around her to find a truly bizarre sight. Apparently, there had been some kind of accident on the Brooklyn Bridge. A city bus had fallen onto its side and an animal control van was caught in some scaffolding on the side. The officers who owned said van ran by the group, paying them no heed. If that wasn't weird enough, there were a whole bunch of animals on the bridge, a large majority being the animals the search party had seen in the sewers. There was only one exception.

The Jack Russell terrier surrounded by them.

"Woah, is it me or did Max get a haircut?" Mel asked. Buddy and Chloe slowly turned their heads towards the pug, clear confusion on their faces. Sweetpea whacked the dog on the back of the head. Squinting his eyes, Pops muttered, "I thought he would be taller..." Laying down on the ground exhausted, Tiberius didn't say a word. He needed to rest. Maybe some water too.

"Guys, come on! We have to save him! That's what we're here for!" Gidget cried, facing the group. Holding her head and tail high, she jumped up onto a fire hydrant. Carefully balancing on the top, she went on, "We didn't come this far just to watch Max get beaten up by a bunch of stray animals from the sewers! Our mission is to find him, save him if necessary, and bring him home! And we are seeing this through! Who's with me?!'

"You know, ya don't need to inspire us every time we're resting, right?" Chloe pointed out. The rest of the search party was up on their feet, ready for battle. Struggling to breathe at this point, Tiberius noticed that Gidget was coming towards him. Patting him gently on the shoulder, the Pomeranian asked quietly, "You ready for this?" Lowering his head, Tiberius murmured, "Like ya have to ask." Smiling, Gidget climbed up onto his back. Facing the group, she shouted, "Let's go save Max."

With that, the search party charged onto the battlefield.