PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter XXXVI Part V

The wet blood on their paw pads chilled in the evening air, flowing through the front doors of the school that were still just slightly ajar. The bend leading to the inside of the unisex bathrooms was at least concealing enough that no cat ghosts would charge at them from the corridors. The tiling both on the walls and floor were cool to the touch, sparking Shie's anxious nerves.

There was no rattle above to indicate that Sam had gotten into position- probably for the best, as that would mean Patches could hear him too, but, if Sam chose to ditch Shie...

They shook their head. There was so much doubt already that they had felt, and nothing to show for it. Patches was a monster, but ultimately still a dog.

"... So," Patches murmured to Canna, "Scale from one to ten how awful do I look?"

Shie crept low, peeking their bouncy maroon hair past the corner, then barely peeking with narrowed eyes at the inside of the washroom.

Canna was unrestrained now, with a wand aimed squarely at her chest, glowing with a flickering grey light. She held one paw to her stomach, and another to her neck, as the two awkwardly stared at each other at the far end of the washroom, between a stall and broken sink.

"Um..." her eyes fluttered around, "... You killed my friends?"

He scoffed, and blushed. "W-Well, thank you! Unrelated, but I appreciate it when puppies like you acknowledge my achievements."

"No," she spoke, louder this time, "you killed my friends."

He shook off the glare. "Water under the bridge, that was ages ago. I'm a different dog, and now, nobody else has to die as long as your dog-friend keeps up their part of the deal."

Canna gripped her shirt, sliding her paw against the fabric as it went slack. Her frown told him her thoughts, the scenario was less than ideal, and although her mind was rushing with ways to alleviate the situation; she didn't attempt any.

She saw him staring past her, into the mirror, smiling. "Heh, I mean, you don't think they'd leave you, would they?"

'Never,' Shie mouthed, watching for Canna's eyes to shift back to the dalmatian and resist the presence he projected over her.

Tears came to her eyes, and she clutched her snout. "If Shie did..?"

He sighed. "Well, truth be told, I'm not sure why I'm hurting anyone here anymore; I wanted to find Olive, and that turned into killing the people that took them from me, but..."

Those features of his twitched, the smile fading as he appraised his body.

"I look horrible," he said, leaving both dogs unsure if he had finished his previous thought, or if this was a new one altogether. "Dog, if I was me, I'd put myself out of my misery."

A tiny glimmer caught Shie's eye- a switchblade sticking out from the vent in the middle of the room, catching the fluorescent lights as it rotated, then retracted back into the darkness above.

The bloodhound licked at her jowls, inhaling, wiping the tears away. "... Why do you want to hurt them?"

Patches regarded her with his baggy eyes. "No."

"Did they... hurt someone you care about?"

Contemplating, Patches brought the wand up to his neck, scratching at a bit of dried blood with the cylindrical tip. "Do they look like they could hurt anybody?" He shook his head. He wanted to speak, mouth just slightly ajar, but couldn't find the words.

The wet footsteps sprung Patches back to focus, his wand pointed at the german shepard as they held their paws up, and entered the bathroom.

"Just find Olive," he said immediately, grimacing behind his jowls.