PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter XXXVI Part VI

"Olive?!" Patches shouted out to the nurses' office, a low droning static coming from the PA system. "Olive, I know you're in there. Your 'friends' gave you up."

"Can't believe I get to be the hostage," Sam whispered. Gleams of the lights bounced from the knife held to his neck and made him blink. "Could you guys do something already?"

Catching the sidled conversation, Shie hung his baggy eyes low and into Sam's personal space. "We are working on it."

"Ugh, Dog," Patches cursed, "If you're going to argue over how to kill me, please do it behind my back..."

The dalmatian sniffed at the air, a low, eerie smile lighting up his face. Shie and Canna, meanwhile, kept tugging on one another's tails, trying to communicate a plan.

Each tug pronounced a gesture that pointed at a weakness or a danger. This time, Canna thumbed at a trash bin, shrugging at Shie's confusion.

"... No but really, we should get around to ending this."

"Woah woah!" Sam chortled, the scruff at the back of his neck making him slump as Patches held a firm grasp on him and the blade. "You can't do that! It's these people who know where they are, not-"

A bow touched along the bottom of Sam's jaw, the chill of steel, it made him shiver. The dog's arms now wrapped around Sam's neck, knife pressed into their jugular, leaving very little to the imagination as Patches illustrated how he would choke him on his own blood if he didn't shut up.

"I'm going to let them go, Olive. Come out." He yelled.

Sam flinched with how close it was to his ears, but the dog using him as an armrest didn't inspire the confidence yet to deal with the knife.

''... Or I could just start killing them one by one. That'd probably get you out, eh?''

"You sick bastard!" Shie growled. Wrinkles coiled on their muzzle as they got ready to lunge.

"Here's the first-"

The dog didn't give them any time to react, splattering saliva between his jowls and blowing a raspberry with a practiced similarity to the sound of a gushing vein.

"*Scream,*" Patches whispered to Sam.

"What?!"

"*Scream or I stab you!" He threatened.

"AAH?" The black cat shouted, moving him to the side and making sounds of effort.

Patches chuckled. "Well, I'm sure he'll feed the garden for a while. Now, who's next..?"

A deformed curiosity spilled out of Canna and Shie. "What are you doing?" the bloodhound asked.

"You don't need to know what I'm doing, bitch." He said, tasting the word.

"Maybe they're just wondering why you'd throw someone out of a window after slitting their throat." Shie murmured.

"Alright Olive, here's the next!" he bellowed, issuing a sinister cackle to sell the 'act'.

"*Why are you stopping now?*"

The voice heard between the cracks in the wood and the frame of the doorway weaved something into him. They asked him why he had stopped. Olive had just asked him why he had stopped.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he spat. "You're just making things worse for yourself if I have to come in there."

"Olive?!" Canna burst aloud. "Honey! Lock the door!"

"*I d-did. I'm sorry C-Canna.*" They pleaded with the dog.

"It's okay! Thank you for listening to us. I'm so sorry this is happening, but we'll be okay! But Olive-"

She took her step forward, confidence nearly taking Sam's life with the quick slip of Patches' weapon.

"You have to talk to Patches! He really wants to talk to you- he just wants your attention! I know you can save us, and everyone else left in the school. Convince him to let us go, you can do it Olive!"

Patches grit his teeth at her, issuing the point of the knife past her personal space. His tiny expression of anger changed nothing of the dog's demeanour.

Her raised fist was radioactive to Shie's presence, making the dog hide away behind her blind spot. Sam, however, was less deterred to share in the cheer, and rung similar encouragements to the tune of Patches remaining quiet right next to him. "Olive! You should do what he says before he actually stabs me, please."

Patches hummed in agreement. "Finally, we can all agree on that at least. Now, just give me the wand and-"

"You'll get it later," Canna growled, much to Patches' chagrin.

He shook his head, taking the breaths he needed to maintain his composure and not just slit the cat's throat right there.

"Okay, sorry, I lied, you aren't getting it back." Canna furled her lips. "You're just going to kill-"

Shie grasped her shoulder, leaning into her. "You promise, you swear you'll let us go?"

Patches smiled. "I can't defend myself without the wand. How about you give it to me at the end of all this? Hm? For now, Olive."

Both saw the narrowed pupils thrown their way, but neither spoke up as the door clicked, and the metal binding it to the frame unravelled. Behind it, a meek set of curious eyes and a poignant frown. Their button nose shivered in the cool air, and that reverberation ran through all of their body as they took Patches in.

"Olive?" he asked, timidly stepping towards them and loosening his grip on Sam. His lip curled in an approximation of a demanding tone. "Come, C'mon." He beckoned them.

They toiled forward, out of the shade afforded but the unlit room, and in a few seconds, shut the door behind themselves. Their low mood twitching at the sight of Patches' stern gaze. They were the revving of a broken engine.

The pup's attention shifted downward, onto the blood-speckled tiles. "Patchie..?" They murmured.

"Patchie" frowned, shaking his head and blowing steam from his jowls. "You're too much. Just come along now, and we'll leave these people alone, okay?" He waved towards himself.

Olive slumped towards Shie, clasping their paw and meeting their gazes.

"I-" they began, watching Olive lean in to hug them, then move forward with a silent 'Thank you.' The touch was almost ghostly, lingering for a few seconds afterward, the worn hems of their sleeves sticking to their vest.

The oozing conflict from Patches waxed into evident displeasure. "Yes, I guess you can say goodbye before we go." He tilted towards Shie, Sam losing his composure as the blade nicked him just a bit.