Paws For Effect Ch 09

Chapter 9 -- The Great Dog Escape

*****

Everything was in place. Max and the other dogs had planned their escape. They had strategised and schemed the past two days, going over the plan again and again to make sure everyone knew what to do and when to do it. They woke on the third day, ready to go. That was until Hugh made an observation of Max.

"Oh, Max, your face," Hugh barked.

"What is it?" Max barked back.

Hugh just pointed his muzzle over at the water bowl in Max's cage.

Max trotted over to the water bowl and gazed down at his reflection. He yelped. His face had transformed further, the muzzle now extending out fully and covered in fur. The end was black and wet, turning his head into that of a German Shepard. It had been the last of his humanity. He was now, for all intents and purposes, a dog.

A whine came from deep within Max. He couldn't help but cry as the realisation sank in that he was now a dog, no longer human, the last vestiges of him being a man now gone. He fell to the floor, burying his head under his paws as the tears flowed down his muzzle.

"It's ok, Max, we're going to get out of here," Hugh barked, trying to soothe the inconsolable Max.

Max stopped his crying, getting on fours, remembering the hate he had for Xander. He tried to curse him in English, but he couldn't do it, his brain had lost its multi-lingual ability, all that came out was a bark.

"We've got the plan, remember?" Hugh tried to get Max focused. All the emotion was getting Max but he needed to be focussed.

"Yes, of course," Max barked. "I'm sorry." Instead of getting upset, he used it to fuel his passion to escape and bring Xander down.

"It's ok, I know it's a lot to deal with, we just got to keep out eyes on the prize."

"Alright everyone," Max barked across the room to all the other dogs in their cages, "positions." At that, the barking in the room ceased. It was dead silent as the dogs lay down in their cages, eyes closed, very still.

The dogs lay there in that position for a while, waiting, until the guards came in to give them their morning feed.

"Alright dogs, wake up, time for food," one of the guards yelled, but none of the dogs stirred.

"What's up with them, why are they so quiet today? They've never been like this before," another one asked

The first one tapped a bowl against the cage bars but the dog inside didn't respond. "Shit, what if they're all sick."

"Maybe they caught something?"

"What did we do to them? What'll we tell the boss?"

"He ain't gonna find out. Quick, open all the cages, we'll get them to a vet or something."

A beep sounded throughout the room as the cages were electronically opened.

One of the guards scooted in to carry the first dog out. He lifted the husky out of the cage. The dog waited until it had been carried to the centre of the room, then wriggled out of the guard's arms and barked. At that, the dogs came to life and burst forward, running in a stream out the door, knocking over the guards in their path. Max grabbed the key card out of the guard's hand with his teeth. All the guard could do was yell as the dogs made their escape.

Max ran with the other dogs down a corridor. The pack of twenty or so dogs had a clear idea of where they needed to go having shared the building plan with each other from memory, different dogs piecing together the puzzle that was the architecture of the hideout. The dogs streamed through the building, turning left, then right, then right again, going past door after door, intersection after intersection, until they came to an exit door.

Max jumped on his hind legs and presented the key card in his mouth. The door opened and the dogs ran through, coming to an outside yard. They relished the cool morning air and bright sun, something some of them hadn't felt and seen in a long time.

The pack of dogs ran through the yard, coming to a grassy area. They knew they weren't quite out of the doldrums yet. They had to get past the wire fence enclosing the compound. There were guards stationed at every gate so the conventional exits weren't an option.

They ran down the field to the edge of the compound that was equidistant from the guard towers, the best chance of not being spotted, they hoped at least. The dogs came the wire fence and started digging, pulling up the dirt and earth at the fence to create a hole to crawl under. They used their paws as fast as they could, sending bits of earth flying backwards.

They were progressing well until an alarm sounded throughout the compound. The guards had signalled their escape. They all looked up in anticipation, fearing their pursuers.

"Hurry, this is our only shot," Max barked to the other dogs. They returned to their digging, the hole getting deeper by the second. All they needed was to go deep enough for the biggest dog to get under the fence.

"That should be deep enough," Max barked. "Let's go."

The first dog, a Labrador, crawled under, successfully getting to the other side.

Max felt a bit of relief after the first dog had gotten through. The feeling continued as each dog crawled under to the other side of the fence.

Hugh, Max, and a poodle were waiting their turn when Max heard shouts and barks from the buildings nearest them. They had been spotted. The guards and the guard dogs were in hot pursuit of the escapees.

"Quick, there's no time," Max barked. The poodle scurried under, wriggling through the dirt.

"You go first, Max," Hugh barked.

"What, no way, I'm not leaving you," Max barked back, panic in his voice, surprised that barks had the complexity of having emotion in their sound.

"This was your plan. You got us out of this hellhole, you deserve to go first. Bring that bastard Xander down, GO!" Hugh shoved Max into the hole.

Max gave Hugh one last look and scurried under, squeezing as best he could. He could hear the relentless barking of the guard dogs close at hand. As he was crawling through, the wire fence caught on his fur. He struggled but the wire wouldn't budge.

"Come on," he could hear the other dogs' barks. A few of them bit his collar and dragged him forward. He passed through, the wire fence cutting his back. He could feel the gashes across the skin of his back. But he didn't care. All he cared was that Hugh was following. He turned and what he saw made his gut wrench. Two guard dogs pounced on Hugh, slamming him into the ground and tearing into his flesh.

"No," Max barked, screaming in dog form. He tried to crawl back under to help Hugh but the other dogs pulled him back.

"Leave him," one barked.

"We have to go," another barked.

"The guards have the remotes for the electric collars. If we stay, we're done for," another explained.

Max knew they were right. He could see the guards in the distance running and desperately pressing the devices for the electric shock collars. They were still out of range, but wouldn't be for long.

Max took one last look at Hugh. "I'm sorry Hugh, we'll come back for you," he barked.

Hugh was slumped on the ground, weak and bleeding from the guard dogs' attack. They had relented and were now biting at the fence at the escaped dogs.

Max turned and ran. They needed to get to the police station and explain everything to his boss. But would they be able to get there in time before Xander uprooted again? And how would they explain everything now that they were dogs? Max would worry about that when they got there.