by Andrew Cope
‘Well, well, well,’ said Harriet Hawk, letting go of Lara’s ear. ‘The brainwashing works on dogs too!’
No, it doesn’t, you evil bird-faced lady, thought Lara. I always knew doggie brainwaves were superior. Now I have proof!
‘Good. The final squad in my zombie army is now in place. Keep them marching,’ ordered Harriet Hawk as she headed for the stairs that led to the flat roof of the gym. ‘I want them as fit as possible, ready for the big day.’
Lara looked sideways at Mr and Mrs Cook as they marched beside her with blank faces. Don’t worry, she promised. I’ll get you out of this somehow!
6. Eagle-eyed
‘That’s the little one off into dreamland,’ said Mrs Brown, the Cooks’ next-door neighbour, coming down the stairs from Ollie’s bedroom. ‘Fast asleep. What a little sweetie-pie!’
Ben, Sophie, Spud and Star were all in the kitchen. They looked at one another.
‘Sweetie-pie?’ whispered Sophie.
Ben stuck two fingers in his mouth and pretended to be sick.
‘Custard pie, more like!’ yapped Spud. ‘And Ollie would be the one throwing it!’
‘That’s more his style,’ agreed Star, looking at the red splodge on the ceiling where Ollie had rocket-fired his tomato ketchup at teatime.
‘Speaking of pie,’ said Mrs Brown as she bustled into the kitchen and filled the kettle, ‘how about a cup of tea and some of my home-made chocolate tart?’
‘Yes, please!’ said Ben and Sophie, from the kitchen table where they were doing their homework.
‘Yes, please!’ woofed Spud and Star.
Spud’s tail began to wag as he watched Mrs Brown lift a cake tin from her bag. He loved it when their next-door neighbour came to babysit; she was the best baker in the village. A slice of her chocolate tart might just make up for putting up with that pesky new kitten all evening, he thought, giving Marmalade a glare. The kitten was sitting on the bench next to the kitchen sink. He narrowed his eyes at Spud and then, with a flick of his paw, splashed him with cold washing-up water.
‘Watch it!’ yapped Spud, leaping to his feet.
Marmalade scooted over to Mrs Brown, pretending to be scared.
‘Oh dear, did the naughty doggywoggy fwiten my ickle Marmaladywady?’ said Mrs Brown, frowning at Spud. ‘Behave now, Spud, or no chocolate tart for you!’
The ultimate punishment! Spud took a deep breath to calm down, but then Marmalade peeked over Mrs Brown’s shoulder and stuck out a pink tongue at him.
‘Come down here and do that!’ barked Spud.
‘Chill out, bro,’ woofed Star, jumping down from the kitchen table where she had been helping Sophie with her maths. ‘Marmalade wants you to lose your cool. He would just love it if you missed out on the chocolate tart!’
Spud groaned and sat down again. Marmalade jumped from the bench to the floor and stalked past him to the back door, but Spud hardly noticed. He was watching Mrs Brown cut the chocolate tart into thick slices. Slurp! His mouth was watering.
‘Miaow!’ cried the kitten. ‘Mmiiaaooww!’
‘Oh, does my ickleMarmaladywady want to peepee?’ crooned Mrs Brown, abandoning the chocolate tart and rushing to open the door.
‘Good riddance!’ yapped Spud as the kitten stepped out into the garden.
‘You too, Spud?’ said Mrs Brown. ‘Out you go then.’
‘No, I wasn’t barking to go out, thanks. I’ll stay for the tart,’ slurped Spud, but Mrs Brown hooked her foot under his bum and shoved him out of the house. Star was pushed out next and the back door was closed before they could get back into the kitchen.
The pups stood in the back garden, their eyes becoming accustomed to the dark. Marmalade sniggered as he slipped under the back gate and into the field.
‘He did that on purpose!’ yapped Star. ‘Time to marmalize Marmalade! Ready, bro?’
Spud pressed his chin down on to his collar to activate the TIE. ‘Ready,’ he woofed as the thermal-imaging lenses slotted into place over his eyes. ‘This is so cool!’ he yapped. ‘For the first time, I can see in the dark better than Marmalade. This ought to be easy!’
Spud squeezed under the gate. He got stuck halfway and his sister gave his bottom a shove. Hmm. Maybe it’s just as well I didn’t have that slice of pie, he thought as he sucked in his tum and scrabbled through to the field. The two pups set off, Spud’s night-vision goggles brightening the darkness. Ahead of them, he could see a red and orange blob, with yellow legs and a green tail with a blue tip. It was Marmalade. He was halfway across the field, chasing a tiny yellow spark, which Spud guessed was a moth. Ha! You think you’re the hunter, kitty? You’re not. You’re the hunted!
Spud and Star did not know it, but they were not the only ones hunting Marmalade. They had nearly reached their target when something fell from the sky in front of them. The TIE goggles showed it as a huge blob of orange and red. Marmalade let out a cry of fear and pain as the blob sank its talons into his back and lifted him into the air.
It had all happened so fast that Spud and Star were still frozen to the spot as the massive bird flew off across the field with Marmalade.
7. Hide-and-seek
‘Quick!’ yapped Spud, setting off after Marmalade. ‘We have to rescue him!’
Star pulled herself together and sprinted after her brother. The bird was flying low over the field. ‘It’s looking for somewhere to land,’ Spud panted, running as fast as his short legs would go.
‘So it can start eating Marmalade!’ sobbed Star.
‘Keep chasing it, Star! If we don’t let it land, it might give up and drop him!’
They raced after the bird, following its every twist and turn and yapping as loudly as they could whenever it tried to land. As he ran, Spud studied the bird through his thermal-imaging eyepieces. He clicked the magnify button for a close-up. It showed up as a brilliant splash of colour. The wings were spread across the sky like orange fans of fire. It’s an eagle, he thought, remembering his bird identification lessons. But eagles don’t live here – what is it doing in our village?
His legs pumped but his heart sank. How could he and Star rescue Marmalade from such a fierce and ruthless hunter? They were tiring fast and Spud and Star both knew that soon the bird would leave them behind. It swerved again but, this time, it headed straight for them.
‘Duck,’ yelled Spud, flinging himself to the ground.
‘It’s too big for a duck,’ yapped Star. ‘Looks like an eagle!’ she barked, jumping up at the bird in a last desperate attempt to rescue Marmalade before her energy ran out. The eagle screeched and flapped its wings as it made a sharp turn to avoid colliding with the leaping puppy.
‘Nooo!’ yelped Spud as the huge bird began to climb into the sky. He flung out his front paws and just snagged the tip of one of the eagle’s tail feathers. Startled, the bird opened its talons and let go of Marmalade.
Spud flopped on to the grass beside the limp body of the kitten and lay there, gasping for breath.
‘Is he still alive?’ whimpered Star, creeping closer.
Spud lifted his head and gazed at Marmalade. He saw the little chest rise and fall. ‘Yes!’ he gasped, scrambling to his feet. ‘He’s breathing!’
‘Let’s get him home before that horrible bird comes back,’ whimpered Star, scanning the sky.
‘Sling him over my back,’ yapped Spud, crouching down next to Marmalade. The kitten was bleeding from cuts on his back made by the bird’s sharp talons. As Star grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him on to Spud’s back, Marmalade miaowed with pain.
‘It’ll be all right, little guy,’ grunted Spud, struggling to hi
s feet. ‘We’ll get you home. Keep a look out for that bird of prey, Star!’
Spud staggered across the field towards their house while Star trotted behind him, looking out into the dark sky, her ears pricked. They had only gone a short distance when Star yelped with fright as the silhouette of the eagle passed across the moon.
‘It’s coming for us!’
They flattened themselves to the ground and the eagle shot past, low enough to make the grass bend in the breeze.
‘I think it can see the white patches on my fur,’ whimpered Star. ‘I wish I was black all over like you, Spud!’
‘Don’t be silly, sis,’ said Spud, staggering to his feet and struggling onwards. ‘You’re always saying black and white is much more fashionable.’
‘Look out!’ yelped Star.
Spud dived behind a tussock of grass as the eagle whizzed past. ‘This is the worst game of hide-and-seek I’ve ever played,’ he grumbled, standing up and tottering towards the house again with Marmalade slung across his back.
A high-pitched whistle cut across the field. The pups turned to see where it had come from. Spud put his eyes back to the night-vision goggles. He spotted the outline of a woman on the flat roof of Hawk’s Gym at the far side of the field. She had a hooked, beak-like nose and hair that spread out from each side of her head like a pair of wings. The woman lifted her left hand to her mouth and the whistle sounded again. Her right arm was outstretched.
‘Over there,’ breathed Spud, jabbing a paw in the direction of the gym. ‘Someone’s calling the eagle!’
Spud commentated as the massive bird flew to the woman and landed on her outstretched arm. ‘The eagle has landed,’ he gasped.
Then the woman turned from the edge of the roof and walked away, carrying the giant bird with her. Spud and Star heard her shout orders down from the roof. ‘Dumbbell! Squat!’
‘Uh-oh,’ woofed Star. ‘I think that must be Harriet Hawk – the boss that those two pond-life personal trainers mentioned – and it sounds like she’s calling for reinforcements!’
‘Let’s get out of here, quick!’ yapped Spud.
8. Star Turn
‘Dumbbell! Squat!’ Harriet Hawk shrieked again, hurrying down the stairs from the flat roof and into the gym.
Lara blinked and nearly missed her step on the treadmill, not quite believing the size of the huge bird of prey perched on the gym owner’s arm.
Dumbbell and Squat were sitting by the open basement door, playing cards and ignoring Lara and the twenty zombie exercisers as they all marched in place.
‘Yes, boss?’ said Squat, leaping to his feet and scattering cards everywhere. Dumbbell dropped to his knees and began to scrabble them together.
‘Leave that!’ snapped Harriet Hawk.
Dumbbell jumped up so fast, his enormous ears flapped like kites in the wind.
‘There are two pesky pups out on the field,’ Harriet Hawk continued. ‘I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them yapping. They frightened my poor Hercules, didn’t they, my pet?’ she cooed, stroking the bird’s ruffled feathers.
‘It’s probably the same two troublemakers Dumbbell and I met earlier today,’ said Squat. ‘That’s their mum,’ he added, turning to glare at Lara.
Good for you, Spud and Star! Lara lifted her head proudly and marched with an extra spring in her step. Spy Dogs rule!
‘I’ll keep an eye on this lot,’ snarled Harriet Hawk. ‘You go and catch those pups. Bring them to me. We’ll give them to Hercules to play with!’
Lara wanted to jump from the treadmill and run after Dumbbell and Squat, but Harriet Hawk was watching her. I must keep pretending to be brainwashed, she told herself. If Spud and Star can get the better of an eagle, they’ll have no trouble with those two idiots. Mr and Mrs Cook need me more, right now. She made her eyes go blank and let a little bit of drool escape from the side of her mouth. I will obey. I will obey. Blah blahblah, she thought.
Satisfied, Harriet Hawk turned away and settled Hercules on the handlebars of an exercise bike, putting a leather hood over his head to keep him calm.
Lara risked a glance at the gym door. Stay safe, pups!
‘Here they come,’ panted Spud. ‘Dumb and dumber.’
‘And they’ve got torches,’ yapped Star.
‘Don’t worry, Star. I’m wearing my TIE. It’s much better than a torch.’
‘I’m not worried,’ woofed Star, watching the wavering torch beams. ‘We’re a team, bro. You get Marmalade home. I’ll keep them off your back.’
Spud nodded tiredly and staggered onwards. Star could see that carrying the unconscious kitten was wearing him out. She turned and ran towards the torches. Spud’s right, she thought. Black and white fur is so much better than plain black. Who’d want to fade into the crowd when you can really stand out!
Star leapt into Dumbbell’s torch beam and used it like a spotlight, in which to do a cheeky tap dance. Ta da!
‘Here’s one of them!’ cried Dumbbell. ‘And it’s doing a … dance,’ he yelled, his voice trailing away in disbelief.
Star shot off to the left, out of the torch beam. Dumbbell stumbled after her, but the pup changed direction and crept round behind him and into Squat’s torch beam.
‘Over here, Dumbo,’ she yapped. ‘In the long grass.’
The men’s heavy footsteps stumbled after the Spy Pup. Star was enjoying herself. She knew there was a pond up ahead and her aim was to lure the baddies to a soggy end.
‘Come back, Dumbbell – this way!’ yelled Squat, running towards Star.
Again, she disappeared into the darkness and popped up a minute later in Dumbbell’s torch beam. With a growl, both men stumbled off after her, but Star hid in a rabbit warren and as the men stumbled by in the opposite direction, she gave a satisfied nod.
Show’s over. Time to head for home.
By the time she trotted up to the Cooks’ back-garden gate, Squat and Dumbbell had reached the furthest corner of the field. Star cocked her head, listening, until she heard a splash and a roar of anger.
‘Great finale!’ she yapped. ‘That’s two ponds in one day. These guys need to be more careful!’
‘Well done, Star,’ croaked Spud, staggering up to the gate and collapsing on to the grass. ‘Brilliant performance.’
Spud slid Marmalade from his back and together they pushed the limp kitten under the gate. Once they had squeezed through after him, Spud folded his TIE away. The pups worked as a team, one on each side of the wounded kitten. They nosed their heads under his forelegs and dragged him to the kitchen door.
Spud collapsed on to the back step beside Marmalade while Star yapped and scratched to be let in. When Mrs Brown opened the door, Spud stood up, even though his legs were trembling with exhaustion.
Now I really deserve that slice of chocolate tart, he thought proudly.
But Mrs Brown was staring at him in horror as she scooped up her wounded kitten.
‘What have you done to my Marmalade?’ she cried. ‘You bad, bad dog!’
9. Zombie Army
Lara gave a sigh of relief when Squat and Dumbbell squelched back into the gym empty-handed. Victory to Spud and Star!
‘We lost them!’ yelled Dumbbell, scooping mud out of his enormous ears.
‘Stop shouting,’ growled Harriet Hawk.
‘Pardon?’ shouted Dumbbell.
‘Your ears are full of mud!’ yelled Harriet Hawk.
Dumbbell shook his head, sending mud flying everywhere. ‘I can’t hear you! My ears are full of mud!’
Squat elbowed Dumbbell in the ribs to shut him up. ‘Do you want us to keep looking for the pu
ps, boss?’
‘Forget it. Hercules can wait a little longer for his new toys,’ said Harriet Hawk. ‘Let’s concentrate on this lot.’ She studied the row of marchers. ‘Good. They’re fully brainwashed now. Time to get the implants ready. Come with me down to the command centre.’
As soon as the three of them had disappeared through the steel door to the basement, Lara let herself slide off the back of the treadmill. She tiptoed through the open command-centre door and out on to the top of the metal staircase. Spread out below her was a spotless white room full of electronic equipment and monitor screens. Lara noticed that the electrical flexes powering the equipment were not plugged into wall sockets. Instead they went up through the ceiling and into the gym.
Very clever, she thought. This command centre is off-grid! All the power is generated by the gym users as they pedal the bikes and row on the rowing machines. It’s completely self-sufficient and undetectable. What is Harriet Hawk up to that needs to be kept so secret?
Lara ducked under the handrail and leant out over the edge of the stairs. Directly below her, Dumbbell and Squat were lining up a row of twenty-one syringes on a steel tray. Lara gulped. Oh dear! I think one of those injections might be for me – and I hate needles!
She spotted a map of the UK, spread out on a large table. Model buildings and squads of plastic soldiers dotted the map and there were long-handled wooden rakes to move the squads around. It’s like a war room! She’s planning an invasion. She’s building an army!
Lara leant out a bit further and spotted a bank of TV screens. Each one showed the inside of a different Hawk’s Gym, and, in each gym, a squad of brainwashed people marched, cycled or rowed together in eerie silence. Except this is going to be a zombie army!
Lara felt her hackles rise. It’s my duty as a Spy Dog to find out what her evil plan is – and it’s my duty as a family mutt to save Mr and Mrs Cook while I’m at it!