Save the Sanctuary
Page 5
“Are you sure?” Penny whispers back.
“It’s our only option. There’s a vent on the roof and we can use that to get in,” I say as we begin to make our way to the side of Mr. Mocoso’s mansion.
* * *
★ ★ ★
Time: 0300 hours
The vent is smaller than I hoped it would be, so we begin filing in one by one. Franny takes the lead and we all follow, shimmying our way through until we reach a ventilation shaft in the air duct. She stops, turns around, and presses her finger to her lips, signaling for us to be quiet. Then she points below through the spinning blades of the ventilation fan.
I press my ear to the vent to listen to what they’re saying. “Do you smell something?” I can hear Heinz ask Hans.
I watch as Hans brings his big snout high into the air up toward us and begins sniffing.
“Something smells rotten,” Hans says.
“Keep an eye out,” Heinz says back.
We carefully and quietly proceed until we reach the end of the passageway. Through the spinning blades I can see the two pinschers. The duct dumps us out on the ground floor, into Mr. Mocoso’s bedroom. I take a scan of my surroundings: There are paintings of Mr. Mocoso with Hans and Heinz everywhere, but the house still somehow feels empty.
We look around, getting our bearings and hugging the dusty walls so we don’t get spotted or sniffed out. This place is huge and we don’t have much time.
I call the group in. “We need to split up,” I whisper.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I feel like that’s never a good idea,” Penny says.
“We’re too exposed moving in a big group and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Franny, take Alpha team and find the electrical box. It’s probably in the basement.”
“Oi! Aren’t we looking for a safe?”
Franny winks at me. “We’re on it, Sergeant.” I watch as they head off and then Bravo team and I keep searching room by room for the safe.
CHAPTER 13
WHERE THERE’S A WILL . . .
Location: Mr. Mocoso’s Mansion
Date: 6JUL20
Time: 0315 hours
I lead Bravo team down a long hallway. There are tall stained-glass windows on both sides. Lights on the wall line the hallway. I can see Hans and Heinz at the end of the hallway, which leads outside to the courtyard. We hug the wall and wait. Alpha team should almost be in the basement.
“What are we waiting for?” Penny whispers to me softly.
“Once the lights go out, we need to double time into the library. That’s where Simon thought the safe and will would be hidden.”
I’ve got one eye on Heinz and the other on Hans as they pace near the courtyard, guarding Mr. Mocoso, who is in the library nearby.
Suddenly the light above me flickers and then, one by one, they turn off and I know Alpha team has found the electrical box. Even in the dark, I can see Hans and Heinz abandon their posts to see what’s going on in the basement.
“Let’s move out!” I shout to Bravo team.
We race down the hallway and burst into the library where Mr. Mocoso is located.
“Hans, Heinz, is that you?” Mr. Mocoso calls, but he can’t see anything with the lights out.
But I can see just fine in the dark. I watch him as he stands up from his big wingback leather chair at his desk. He bumps into some furniture and then grabs a flashlight, shining it around aimlessly. I look around for somewhere to hide, but it’s too late.
His flashlight lights us up.
“Look at what the cat dragged in,” he says with a menacing grin. He approaches us slowly, backing us into the corner. I step in front of Penny and Brick.
“Who sent you? Was it Ms. Becca?”
I start barking and howling loudly at him to scare him, but it’s no use. We’re cornered.
“Right back to the pound you go, you filthy, no good, mangy—” he says, grabbing a big burlap sack to throw us in.
All of a sudden, I hear a loud CRASH from the chandelier.
I look up and there he is. “Simon!” Penny calls out.
In one motion, Simon swoops down from the chandelier, sending Mr. Mocoso to the ground, knocking him out cold.
“You’re a lifesaver,” I tell Simon.
“Anything for my old friend Penny,” Simon signals. “Did you find the will?” He signals to me again.
“Not yet. I scanned the entire place, but there’s nothing in plain sight,” I tell him.
“That’s because you’re looking in plain sight,” he signals.
I watch as Simon climbs up to the top of the bookshelf. He runs his hands over the books as though he is searching for something. Then he pulls on a book and jumps back off the shelf. We watch as the entire shelf swings open, revealing a hidden room with a safe. We all walk into the room and gather around the safe.
“Oi! Does anyone know the code?” Brick asks.
“It’s his birthday. He was always making us celebrate it with him,” Simon signals, and then begins spinning the dial.
Just like that, the safe pops open and Simon pulls out a rolled-up piece of paper.
“That’s it?” Penny asks.
Simon nods and gives Penny the will.
I nudge Penny and say, “I told you there was nothing to it.”
“Oi! Let’s get Alpha team and get out of here!” Brick says.
“Yeah, before this meanie monster wakes up,” Penny says, pointing to Mr. Mocoso.
“Come on, Pawtriots, let’s move out,” I say.
And as we turn around to make our way out of Mr. Mocoso’s library, we’re met by two big, nasty, drooling pinschers: Hans and Heinz.
“Drop the will, Penny dearest,” says Hans.
“Did you really think you could actually save the Sanctuary? I’ll be sure to have you all back in the pound by morning,” says Heinz.
They begin getting closer to us, backing us up into the library.
“I’m not giving it to you,” Penny says.
Hans and Heinz smile at each other. “Then things are about to get messy,” Heinz says.
I step in between Penny and the pinschers.
“Would you look at this, Heinz? The freak thinks he’s a hero,” Hans says.
“You’ve got a wheel now, big deal,” Hans scoffs at me.
“No, I’ve got friends now,” I say, pointing behind them. “The Pawtriots.”
They spin around and shudder when they see Alpha team looming behind them.
“Things are about to get very messy indeed,” Franny says.
Alpha team walks closer to Hans and Heinz and, just like that, the tables have turned: The pinschers are surrounded.
Hans points to Mr. Mocoso, “It was him!”
“Yeah, it was all his fault. He made us do it!” Heinz says.
“Please don’t hurt us!” Hans says.
“We’re not going to hurt you. That’s not what being a Pawtriot is about. But seeing as how quickly you flipped on your master, I don’t trust you. Franny, tie them up so they can’t follow us. And don’t worry, once Mr. Mocoso wakes up, he’ll free them.”
“With pleasure, Sergeant,” Franny says, and quickly ties up the two pinschers.
“Pawtriots, pop smoke,” I say. That’s Army-talk for “let’s leave . . . and quickly!” We make our way out of the library, locking the door behind us, and head for the fountain.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
* * *
★ ★ ★
Location: Mr. Mocoso’s Fountain
Time: 0330 hours
“We did it! We did it! I can’t believe we actually did it!” Penny howls out, her smile ear to ear.
Brick plops down on the grass. “So soft, so perfect,” he says, and then promptly falls asle
ep. Simon uses him as a pillow.
I watch as Morgan and Smithers lie on their backs and look up at the stars. Franny and Sawyer look at each other for a moment and then Franny breaks into a smile and the two friends hug.
I just sit back and soak in my surroundings and let my mind drift a bit. This reminds me of that night in the rain forest with the local villagers after we saved the day there. We sat around that great big fire, celebrating our victory. That was the last time I wore a US Army uniform. That was the last time I saw Kris. That was the night of the big explosion . . .
I swear I can almost smell that fire . . .
Suddenly I am jolted from my daydream. I can smell a fire.
“Hey, Franny, what did you use to tie up Hans and Heinz?”
“The rope I got from the electrical box.”
“I don’t think that was rope,” I say, and begin sprinting back into the mansion.
I can hear Penny calling out my name as I rush inside.
I break open the door to the library only to be met by roaring flames and a wall of smoke.
CHAPTER 14
THE SANCTUARY
Location: The Sanctuary, Washington, DC
Date: 14JAN21
Time: 1130 hours
It’s been six months since Mr. Mocoso’s mansion burned down.
Don’t worry. I saved him and Hans and Heinz.
I know what you’re thinking: Why would you save Mr. Mocoso and his two nasty pinschers???
Because that’s what being a Pawtriot is all about: saving others from harm. It’s about honor and integrity and doing what’s right. And even if they are the bad guys, once the enemy surrenders, they must be treated with dignity and respect.
Penny got the will to Ms. Becca and, just like that, everything went back to normal—minus the visits from Mr. Mocoso! And we were happy to learn that Ms. Becca was able to save the puppies from the pound, too.
Ms. Becca was so impressed by what the Pawtriots were able to do for her that she wrote to the local paper. Then a journalist came by the Sanctuary and wrote an article for the paper. The national news picked up the story and soon the Pawtriots were a household name. A couple of days ago, we even started getting fan mail.
Funny thing is, all these animals are writing to me, asking if they can come to Washington, DC, to join the Pawtriots, but some of them are worried they are too small, or too young, or too weak.
I write them all back and tell them my story, just the way I told it to you. I tell them all about Kris, the villagers, the explosion, even me losing my leg. I tell them about how I ended up here at the Sanctuary, and then at the pound. I tell them about Sergeant First Class Chaps and the Beast he wrestled. And I tell them about the wheel he gave me so we could save the Sanctuary. And lastly, I tell them that it doesn’t matter if you’re small, young, weak, or even missing a leg—it’s what’s on the inside that counts. You have to have heart! That’s what makes a true Pawtriot.
And I always sign my letters the same way:
Welcome aboard, recruit!
—Sergeant “Rico” Ricochet
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel P. Fortsch is a former Captain in the US Army and a lifelong writer who first began creating other worlds and characters in the fifth grade. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his lovely wife, three wonderful kids, and his two pooches.
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