Animal Magick 3
She just missed him as he jumped on the gate behind him, then quickly climbed up to the ceiling. Jasmine barked below him, trying to climb the fence herself. Spitz barked with anticipation and Jasmine actually began climbing the fence, slowly and carefully making her way up to Chris, who was trembling at the top.
Chris closed his eyes and began to pray. 'Please God, don’t let me die as a squirrel. I swear, I'll stop making fun of people, and I'll see my mother more, and-"
Chris felt a sudden, hard shake on the fence and his heart pounded as he clung tight to the chain link. 'God, I'm dead,' he thought, preparing to get his head bit off by a hungry Dachshund.
But nothing happened. He finally looked down, and gasped at what he saw. Jasmine lay on the floor, not moving. He looked around and realized all the dogs had stopped barking. On the other side of the gate was Justin, who was looking at Chris proudly. The others were standing behind him, waiting for Chris to come down.
"What did you do?" Chris asked as he scurried down the gate.
"I used these horns and knocked her off," Justin announced proudly as Joey unlocked the gate.
Chris scurried out, then jumped on Justin. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he chattered, hugging Justin.
Justin could feel the squirrel's heart pounding and laughed. "You're welcome. You didn't think we would leave you here, did you?"
Joey shut the gate and turned to the others. "You guys ready to go now?"
"Yeah, let's go," Justin said his eyes bright with happiness.
Jasmine slowly came too, and looked out just in time to see the unusual group disappear through the doors. She looked at Spitz, who glared at her. "Stupid female," he growled.
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Chapter 10: New Pets
"We made it!" Joey exclaimed as they trotted down the highway. Cars zipped past, some of them honking at the wandering animals. Since they lost the sled, Justin figured out how to carry J.C. in his mouth. It was uncomfortable, but Justin put up it with out complaining.
"I feel bad for those dogs," Lance said, his voice barely audible over the cars.
"We couldn't have freed them all," J.C. yelled. "They would have eaten us for sure. They even could have killed Justin."
"But still-" Lance replied. Then he was cut off as a truck screeched to a halt in front of them. It pulled off to the side of the road, the taillights glowing. Then the hazard lights began blinking as a man got out. A little girl followed him, and they approached the guys with smiling faces.
The guys came to a halt, eyeing the strangers wearily. "What do we do?" Justin asked as the man and girl walked towards them.
"Whatever you do, don't run," Joey said as a car sped by.
"Hey there little guys," the man started, holding out his hand. "What are you guys doing out here on this busy highway by yourselves?"
The guys backed up slowly, not trusting him.
"It's okay, little guys," the man said, backing up. He didn't want to scare them further, or a passing car could hit them.
The little girl stepped up to Lance, who stood still. He pinned his ears against his head as she reached out to pet him, her hair blowing as a car whizzed past. "Daddy, can we keep them?" she asked, continuing to pet Lance.
"I don't know sweetie, I'd like to get them off this highway though," he replied, watching the cars nervously.
"I think it's safe to go with them," Joey said, looking at the others.
"Let's go then," J.C. sighed.
Lance made a small hop towards the girl, and she picked him up, holding him close to her. The man sensed the animals were willing to go with them and opened the tailgate of the truck. He looked at the animals and motioned for them to come to him.
They obeyed, still being very cautious. The man bent down and gently lifted Joey into the back of the truck, then Chris. He gently took J.C. from Justin's mouth and helped Justin into the back. Then he closed the tailgate and told the animals to stay away from the edge. Then he, J.C., Lance and the little girl got in the cab.
With a soft lurch, they pulled back into traffic. The guys wondered where they were headed now.
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After a very windy ride home, the man let the guys out of the back of the truck. "Molly, why don’t you put the animals in the backyard while I figure out what exactly to do with them," the man said, watching his daughter lead the goat out of the garage.
"Okay daddy," she smiled, talking to the animals. She still held Lance as she walked, and she looked like she had no intent on letting the rabbit go.
The guys followed her to the fenced in back yard, which had plenty of green grass and open space. There was a large wooden jungle gym in the corner, complete with a tire swing and monkey bars.
Molly stopped at the gate as the guys went in. "You guys be good," she said, closing the gate after them. "And play nice with Pebbles."
"Who's Pebbles?" Joey asked, looking around.
On the concrete pad outside the sliding glass back door sat a large water bowl and some blankets. Out in the middle of the yard lay a huge bone.
Chris ran over to it and saw that it had been gnawed on. "Whatever it is, it's big," he called to the others. The teeth marks were huge, and slobber was shinning in the sun.
With a flick of his fluffy tail, Chris was bounding back to the others. Justin looked around with the others. None of them could smell anything, and suddenly they seemed very vulnerable in the huge yard. The birds stopped singing, and everything became eerily quiet.
"I don’t see it…" Joey said, backing into Justin.
"Me neither," Justin replied, moving in front of his friends and putting his head down slightly.
Suddenly a huge black and white figure exploded out from under a bench by the back door. The guys stood frozen in shock as the figure grew bigger with every step in their direction. Its huge tongue was as big as Chris was as it hung out the side of its mouth, flopping in the breeze. It's long fur moved like wheat blowing in a field as it ran across the yard. Huge, plate sized feet pounded the ground as it ran, and the guys could hear it's heavy breath from where they stood.
Suddenly they scattered, instinct taking over. Chris leapt onto the six-foot wooden fence and ran along it to the jungle gym as Joey ran on the ground beside him, his tail actually leaving the ground. Justin went the opposite way, back towards the gate.
While Chris and Joey made it to the highest part of the jungle gym, Justin found himself cornered by the gate, and an animal bigger than he was closing in fast.
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Chapter 11: Friends in all the Right Places
"Please don't kill me…" Justin begged, closing his eyes.
The next thing he felt was a massive tongue sweeping over him excitedly. Justin opened his eyes slowly, finding the enormous black and white dog licking him happily. It's tail wagged back and forth furiously, creating a gentle breeze on the hot summer day. The long fur was brushed until it was silky, and it shone healthily in the sun. The dog was three feet tall, from the ground to its back. Its head was as big as a good-sized dictionary, with feet that were easily the size of dinner plates. In all, it was the size of a small pony.
"Are you Pebbles?" Justin asked weakly, trying to move away from the huge animal.
"That's my name!" the big dog replied happily. "Who are you?"
"Um, I'm Justin, and over there having a heart attack on the monkey bars is Joey and Chris." Justin said, looking as his friends as they watched with concern.
"They shouldn't be afraid of me," Pebbles said, seeing Joey and Chris. "I won't hurt them."
"Hey guys," Justin called. "It's safe to come down! He won't kill you!"
"Are you sure?" Chris yelled back.
"I don't eat little animals for the fun of it," Pebbles said, sitting down. He was panting terribly, hot from his short run.
Slowly, Joey and Chris came down and joined Pebbles and Justin.
"Man, you are huge!" Joey exclaimed.
"I'm a Newfoundland," Pebbles panted. "I weigh 150 pounds. Great for saving lives, both in water and snow, yadda yadda," he panted, moving to the shade.
"And they named you Pebbles?" Joey laughed. "Kinda ironic."
"I've never heard of a raccoon named Joey," Pebbles replied.
"That's because we're not really animals," Chris interrupted. "We got turned into animals by some witch lady with a grudge."
"That's a first," Pebbles laughed, taking a drink and slopping half of the water out of the bowl.
"Yeah, it was for us too," Justin replied.
"Well, you came to the right house," Pebbles said. "Mr. Cnysn and his daughter are really nice. They'll take care of you guys."
"We're not planning on staying long," Justin said, laying down in the shade beside Pebbles. The other two joined him, and they looked around the yard in silence.
"Well, you'll like it while you're here." Pebbles sighed, resting his head on the cool concrete.
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"Look at them, lying there together. Aren't they sweet?" Molly asked, watching the animals lying outside on the concrete patio.
"I'm glad they like each other," Mr. Cnysn smiled, looking through the classifieds. Surely if some lost a goat, rabbit or turtle, they would be looking for it. So why were there no lost ads for any of the animals in his backyard?
"Daddy, look at Cocoa, doesn't he look lovely?" Molly smiled, holding up the large brown rabbit.
J.C and Mr. Cnysn laughed. Lance was sporting a frilly pink dress, complete with a matching hat and dress shoes. "Yes Molly, he is very charming," Mr. Cnysn smiled. "But don't name him yet, we have to try and find his home first."
Lance tried to contain himself. If it was possible for a rabbit to look mad, Lance was outraged. 'This is so humiliating,' he thought, glaring at J.C. as his so-called friend laughed at him.
"I always knew you were a cross-dresser," J.C. laughed, safe in his spot on Mr. Cnysn's lap.
"Shut up, and don't say a thing about this to-"
Lance was interrupted by the other's laughter, was could be heard through the glass door. Luckily, Molly decided to take him to her room for a tea party, so he didn't have to be victimized by their teasing.
As the guys calmed down outside, J.C. turned his attention to the TV that was showing the noontime news.
"We have a breaking story in the music world today," A woman reporter started.
"Hey, that's out hotel…" J.C. said to himself.
"It has been reported that the five, talented young men widely known as pop group Nsync, are missing. After missing several interviews and a TV appearance, the police investigated the group's hotel rooms and found them deserted, with a possible sign of struggle. Teams of FBI agents are out looking for the quintet, along with the local police. Meanwhile, this is good news for rival group, The Backstreet Boys, as they are finally number one in the pop charts, and scheduled to be on MTV's TRL tomorrow. We'll keep you posted on the story, and now back to you guys at the station."
J.C. couldn't believe it. 'The FBI is looking for us? I didn't know we were that important,' he thought. 'And the Backstreet Boys are number one? What's up with that?'
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Chapter 12: Getting Comfy
"Okay boys, dinner time! Come and get it!"
Mr. Cnysn set the four bowls of food down along the backdoor. On the right was the biggest bowl, which Pebbles was already eating out of hungrily. Next were three equal sized bowls for Justin, Chris, and Joey. Justin trotted over to his bowl and peered in.
His bowl was filled with lettuce and corn, while Chris's bowl had peanuts and walnuts, and Joey's bowl had bread scraps and tuna fish.
"I hope you guys like this stuff, I'm afraid I'm not positive on what you animals eat," Mr. Cnysn said, watching Chris grab a walnut and run to the monkey bars to eat it.
He watched as they all ate happily and then went back inside. "Molly, bring Cocoa down here so he can eat," he yelled, hoping Molly would hear him from in her bedroom.
A door opened in response, followed by the sound of her coming down the stairs. Molly appeared at the bottom of the stairs; Lance tucked under her left arm. "What does Cocoa eat?" she asked.
"Lettuce, mostly," Mr. Cnysn replied, pulling a bowl out from the refrigerator.
"Oh. Does he like tea?"
"Probably not," he laughed, setting the bowl on the floor. Molly set Lance on the floor and he clumsily hopped to the bowl, tripping over his dress. J.C. was already munching on some vegetables in a corner, and he buried his head in the food so Lance wouldn't hear him laughing.
"Molly, would you go make sure Pebbles and his friends have plenty of clean water outside? It's awfully hot for them out there."
"Sure daddy," Molly replied before going outside. Pebbles greeted her at the doorway, licking her hands and chin, which he could easily reach. In fact, Molly could ride Pebbles if she wanted. Molly lovingly pushed him away and bent down to get the water bowl.
Pebbles came over and tried to take a drink, just out of spite. He pushed the bowl out of her hands with his strong neck, and the water splashed all over her feet. "Pebbles!" Molly yelled, getting annoyed.
Molly bent down to pick up the bowl and was surprised to find Joey holding the bowl up for her. "Well thank you," Molly smiled, taking the plastic bowl from Joey tiny black hands.
Joey attempted a smile and sat back on his haunches. Chris came up behind him, watching Molly carefully. "Hey there," Molly smiled, holding out her hand for Chris.
"Molly, don't!"
Molly turned around, pulling her hand back. "Why not?" she asked, looking at her dad.
"Because you don't know where he's been," Mr. Cnysn said, pulling Molly away from the harmless squirrel.
Chris backed up sadly, not understanding what the danger was. Joey laughed, then took cover behind Justin, hiding from Chris's icy stare.
"But daddy, its just a little squirrel!" Molly complained, going back inside. Her dad picked up the bowl and cast the animals' one last glance. They were staring right back at him, each of them sitting in the grass. Even his own dog looked betrayed.
"What?" he asked defensively. Then he went back inside.
Molly was busy playing with Lance and J.C., making them kiss. "I love you Cocoa," Molly said playfully, pushing J.C. in Lance's face. "Daddy, what are we going to do with them?"
"I don't know," Mr. Cnysn said quietly, watching the three wild animals outside. They moved with almost human qualities, like looking at each other in the eyes for minutes at a time. Animals never looked each other in the eyes like that. It was almost like they were talking. 'Weird,' he thought, continuing his observations.
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Chapter 13: Back to the Streets
"We gotta get out of here," Chris said.
"You're just mad because you got rabies," Joey teased.
"I do not have rabies," Chris replied calmly. "I just think we should be getting on our way."
"Where are you going?" Pebbles asked, trotting over.
"We're trying to get back to normal," Justin said, nibbling on some grass.
"Is that good?" Joey asked, watching Justin with disgust.
"You get used to it," Justin replied.
"Anyway," Chris replied, rolling his eyes. "Are there any groups of dogs we should look out for when we break out of here?"
Pebbles thought. "Um, I don't think so, but I never get out much. You're really leaving tonight?"
"Yeah, the sooner the better," Chris said, motioning to Justin.
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"We have to get out of here," J.C. mumbled, trying to wriggle out of Molly's grasp.
"I kinda like it here," Lance said, admiring his new blue sparkled dress.
"Lance, snap out of it," J.C. said, looking around the miniature teacup that was shoved in his face.
"More tea please," Lance smiled, twitching his nose.
The teacup was then placed over his nose momentarily, then set down on the little wooden table they were sitting at. "It's time to paint those pretty fingernails of yours," Molly said, opening her small bottle of rose red nail polish. She grabbed one of Lance's front feet and began painting it. "You look so lovely Cocoa," she smiled.
"Thank you," Lance replied, going slightly cross-eyed.
"Lance, knock if off man!" J.C. yelled. He was already forming an escape plan before Molly started to paint his toenails.
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Night had fallen, and outside it was growing cool. Pebbles lay curled up on his rags, while Joey and Chris snuggled up against Justin's side in the grass. It was just dark enough so that the only thing you could see were outlines of objects. Crickets had hoped out of the grass and begun playing their nighttime songs, and fireflies glittered in the night. The light from inside the house shone through the door, attracting bugs and acting as a flashlight for the animals.
Molly had let Lance and J.C. outside earlier so the animals could go to the bathroom, and that's when they had formed an escape route. The next time Molly would let them out would be right before bed, and they had planned on escaping through a hole Pebbles had dug years ago that went under the fence. Until then, they decided to get some rest.
A movement at the end of the yard caught Joey's attention, and he perked up his ears as he strained to listen to it. The others were still sleeping, unaware of the visitor.
Night in a black and white world doesn’t get very dark, especially if you're a raccoon. But even with his enhanced vision, Joey still couldn't make out exactly what was walking around out there. He pulled himself out of his warm spot against Justin and trotted through the yard. The figure jumped behind a small lilac bush, and Joey lost sight of it.
He stopped, listening hard. After not hearing anything, he continued over to the bush. He slowed down, not knowing what to expect. Very carefully, he peered around the bush…
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…And was sprayed in the face and chest by a black and white animal about his size. Joey jumped back, scared to death. He watched as the other animal then ran out from behind the bush, a striped tail floating after it.
It was then that Joey realized that something reeked. He checked under all of his feet, then looked around. 'What died?' he asked himself, not seeing the cause of the awful smell. "Oh well," he sighed, then headed back to the others. Only his greenish-glowing eyes could be seen as the rest of his body blended into the night.
He hobbled back to his warm spot on Justin and curled up, trying to ignore all the stubborn night creatures that refused to sleep when everyone else did. He snuggled down into Justin's soft fur, trying to go to sleep.
Chris's nose twitched. Then he sneezed. Then he woke up. "What the heck is that smell?" he asked, opening his black eyes.
Joey looked at him, the house light reflecting off each of their eyes. "What?" he asked.
"Oh, man, you reek!" Chris groaned, moving away from Joey. "What did you do, roll in it or something?"
"No, I didn't do anything," Joey defended.
The jingling of Pebble's dog tags announced that he was awake too. His silhouette looked at them, ears raised. "What is that smell?" he asked.
Justin awoke too, and immediately got up, knocking Chris and Joey off his stomach. "Who got sprayed by a skunk?" he asked, eyeing Joey and Chris.
"Not me!" Chris exclaimed, moving away from Joey again.
Joey looked so guilty; the others could sense it through the dark. "I'm sorry," he squeaked.
Justin and Chris headed to the patio with Pebbles. "You stay out here," Justin ordered, glaring at Joey.
"Guys! But it's cold!" Joey whined, watching them go.
"You should have thought of that before you pissed off a skunk," Justin replied, gently resting his bones on the concrete.
"But…guys…"
"Go to sleep!" Justin said sternly.
Joey pouted, and stuck his tongue out at Justin. Then he curled up in a tight ball, wrapping his tail around himself. And he sighed, slowly drifting off into a stink-radiating sleep.
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"Hey guys, wake- what the hell is that smell?"
J.C. and Lance wrinkled their sensitive noses in disgust as they approached Justin, Chris and Joey, who were all sound asleep.
Chris woke up first, seeing Lance hopping towards him and J.C. trailing behind. "Is it time to go already?" he asked, not getting out of his warm ball of fur.
"Already? It's 10:30!" J.C. replied.
"I thought Molly was going to let you out before she went to bed. Why so late?" Chris asked, blinking. He could swear Lance was wearing a dress.
"No school tomorrow," Lance replied.
Chris blinked again. "Don't laugh or anything, but are you wearing a dress?" Chris asked.
To his surprise, Lance didn't laugh. "Yes. What about it?"
"Nothing."
"Good."
"Hey guys," Justin said, waking up. "Are we leaving now?"
"Yeah," Chris replied. Then he looked at Lance. "And the sooner the better."
"What reeks out here?" J.C. interrupted, looking around.
"That would be Joey meeting a skunk," Justin laughed, looking at Joey, who had fallen asleep against the fence.
"You mean we gotta smell this the whole way?" J.C. groaned, dropping his shell on the ground in disgust.
It was dark now, and the guys couldn't see past the light coming from the patio light. It had gotten considerably cooler, sending tiny shivers through the guys periodically. All was silent except for the distant rumble of cars searching for some fun. Even the crickets had given up their uncoordinated harmonies, leaving the night somewhat eerie.
The slight jingle of dog tags sounded as Pebbles' head raised to look at the guys. "So this is it?" he asked, sounding a little sad.
"I'm afraid so," Justin replied, sensing Pebbles' hurt.
"Well, I hope you guys get to where ever you're going safely," Pebbles said, standing up. He shook, ringing the dog tags and flapping his thick lips against his gums. Then his tail wagged as he trotted over to say goodbye.
"Oh my gosh, that is a big dog," Lance said, backing up.
"He won't hurt you," Chris said.
"I don’t hurt other animals," Pebbles said, straining to see Lance and J.C. in the dim light.
"Well that's good," Lance replied, not sure what else to say.
"I hope I see you guys again," Pebbles said as they headed to the hole at the end of the yard.
"I promise we'll come back to see you," Justin said as Chris scampered over to Joey.
"Hey, rotting corpse boy, wake up!" Chris yelled, lifting Joey's big ringed tail with his small paw.
Joey slowly opened his eyes after he became aware of the cool night air on his face. "What do you want?" he asked, trying to go back to sleep.
"It's time to go," Chris chattered happily.
"So? I thought you guys didn't like me because I smell funny," Joey replied.
"We were just playin' with ya," Chris said, trying to apologize with out saying he was sorry.
"Really?"
"Positive. We would never say that to hurt your feelings," Chris said, flicking his tail.
"Well…"
"Come on, let's go before they know we're gone-"
"Cocoa! Come on boy!" Mr. Cnysn called, leaning out the backdoor.
"Too late," Joey mumbled, getting up.
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The five guys ran to the hole that led out of the back yard. All the guys wriggled out under the fence, and it was then that they realized Justin wouldn’t fit.
“What do we do?” Lance asked.
“You guys go around to the front gate,” Pebbles said, taking off back in the direction they came.
Joey grabbed J.C. and awkwardly ran with his other three legs. They ran through the dark, tripping over various sticks and vines. They could make out Pebbles and Justin’s form running alongside the fence beside them. Pebbles thundered down the yard and stopped at the gate. Mr. Cnysn kept yelling, not realizing the animals were outside the fence. Pebbles jumped on the fence, shaking it with his weight. Then he nosed the lock up, and the gate swung open freely. “Go!” he barked to Justin, who didn’t hesitate.
“Thank you!” Justin replied as he ran past Pebbles. “We’ll be back!”
The others arrived just as Justin escaped. Justin took J.C. from Joey, carrying the turtle in his mouth. Together they ran off, towards the street. They could hear Mr. Cnysn behind them, hollering but not chasing them. As they rounded the corner of the house, they heard the clicking of the gate shutting.
They ran out onto the street, their breaths showing in the cool air that was lit from the streetlights. Hooves and claws scraped the pavement, and once sleeping fireflies scattered to get out of the way of the oncoming herd. Thankfully no cars were out in the neighborhood at this time of night, or the group of animals running down the middle of the street would have caused a small list of casualties.
They followed the noise of cars on the highway and found their way back into the city. They were all panting hard, and Justin had started drooling on J.C.
"Okay, put me down!" J.C. yelled, thoroughly disgusted at the slime running down his beautifully marked shell.
Justin accidentally dropped him, exhausted. "Sorry," he said breathlessly.
"Can we look for somewhere to sleep now?" Joey asked.
A car whizzed past them, blowing their fur. The streetlights turned night into day, but it was still freezing cold out on the streets. "Sure," J.C. said. "Let’s go."
The animals trotted down the street, trying to keep themselves warm until they found a safe place to sleep. They each tried to stay in front of Joey so they wouldn't suffocate in his stench. Chris had to jump on Justin's back to get away from Joey, and J.C. gave into having Justin drool on him so he wouldn't be stuck behind the clumsy raccoon.
"Over there," Lance pointed out, hopping to an abandoned-looking warehouse.
The others followed, and they entered the musty building cautiously. "Hello?" Justin called, his words transforming into a goat's bleat to the human ear.
There was no reply, except for the steady, far off dripping of water. "Cool," Chris shivered. "It's ours!"
"Just be careful," J.C. warned as they spread out in search of a comfy corner to sleep in.
"Why?" Justin asked, sniffing at a pile of old clothes.
Suddenly the pile jumped up, revealing an old man in a tattered coat and long beard. "What are you animals doing in here?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
Justin jumped back, tucking his tail between his legs. The man smelled as bad as Joey did; only a skunk hadn't sprayed only the man recently. His hair was thin and frizzy, and there were smudges of dirt all over him, indicating he was probably homeless.
"Man, this is some good, stuff," he smiled, sitting back down. He played with a bag of white powder before passing out.
The guys were still frozen to their spots. "What do we do now?" Joey asked.
"Pick a spot away from him," J.C. replied.
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Go to Part Four!
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