The Dog Hole: Chapter 8 -- Workshop
Bebe makes a new...friend?
The Dog Hole
Chapter 8: Workshop
Bebe was bundled up from ears to toes by the freight elevator not far from the mess hall. Mr. Snibbly was also ready to go with his cold-weather gear on. When the doors opened, the two stepped inside.
Bebe yawned. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Snibbly looked at her with his droopy face and shrugged.
"Cat got your tongue, or does Bosch forbid conversation -- ah!" It was like walking into a freezer. The cold was jarring and immediate as the doors opened and let it all in. Mr. Snibbly seemed used to it, but Bebe needed a moment to catch her breath. The lower level on this side of the base was a metal maze leading many difference directions. There was a workshop for automotive upkeep and repairs, and a humming sound came from another room with a large, industrial cylinder. That must have been the base's jet fuel. Where the two were headed, however, was the warehouse area.
Once there, Bebe saw isles and isles of boxes with dried food, frozen wet food, and non-perishables. Snibbly pointed to a large flatbed cart and looked at Bebe. Catching the hint, she took it and rolled it down the isle, following Snibbly to the pertinent places. He stopped in front of some steps with wheels, looked at Bebe, and pointed to some boxes near the top.
"I see," she sighed. "Shit rolls down hill here, huh?"
Snibbly smiled when Bebe seemed to get the picture. She got to work retrieving a box of powdered eggs all by herself.
"I don't mind if you don't talk, Snibbly. That just means you'll keep my secrets." She grunted as she lowered the box to the flatbed. "Bosch is a real ass."
Snibbly tilted his head from side to side as if to weigh her assessment, and nodded in agreement.
"Also, something weird happened to me last night. Some guy in the movie room...he...caressed me while I slept." When Bebe looked up, Snibbly had a weird look on his face. "So we agree that that's not normal. Trouble is, I'm not sure what to do. If I told Cane, would he do anything about it? He treats his job as an annoyance more than anything. Even if he did step in, what would be done? Would he be detained? He's kind of already in solitary confinement if he spends all day and night in the movie room like I think he does." She sighed. "I don't know. He seemed so pitiful after telling me he'd finally fallen asleep after fifteen days. He acted like I was the reason he did when I didn't do anything." Bebe caught Snibbly staring at her in shock when she said that. "What?"
He quickly shook his head, offered an awkward smile, and held up a box of heavy creamer.
"Ooo good eye." She took it from him and added it to the cart. "I can't believe you guys don't do desserts. Don't worry. By lunch time, I'll have enough creme brulee made for the entire base. Be right back."
Bebe jogged back the way she came to the workshop. If the base had what she needed, it would be in there. She had a hung that one wasn't in the kitchen. She walked past the tools and loose metal lining the walls until she found what she was looking for. There it was. It wasn't exactly a culinary blow torch, but it was small enough to do the trick. As she took it by its base, she felt her feet leave the ground.
"Woah!"
"Are you stealing from my verkshop?" The wrinkled muzzle of a particularly miffed wolf was aimed directly at her.
"N-no I -- hey!" The stranger held her by the scruff of her neck to keep her from escaping like she wanted to. "Help! Help! Snibbly!"
Bebe was relieve to see Mr. Snibbly arrive so quickly. However, at the sight of the big brute, his expression relaxed.
The brute thrust Bebe in his direction. "This one is yours?"
Snibbly nodded and crossed his arms.
The brute turned Bebe toward the door. "Read the sign. All tools are to be signed out. Got it?" He waited for Bebe to nod vigorously before dropping her. "Vhat needs velding topside anyvay?"
"Cre-cre--umm...," she cleared her throat, "creme brulee."
"Never heard of it," he snorted. His jagged teeth were inches away from Bebe as a blue eye inspected her closely.
It took everything in her to keep herself together. "It's a custard."
"Oh Yea? Sounds lovely." His mouth curled into a smile. He couldn't help but wonder about her reaction to him, though. "Vhat's wrong? Never seen a volf before?"
"Sorry, that was rude of me. No, I haven't. Not up close."
"I guess if I were a rabbit, I'd be a little nervous, too. Our history isn't exactly glowing."
"Yea...I mean...I'm Bebe." She held out a hand.
The stranger gladly took it. "Shepherd. I run the lower decks. You'll have to excuse my eyesight. It isn't vhat it used to be, but that usually doesn't matter vhen the lights are off." He learned in for a closer look at her. His eyes were cloudy, but they worked to burn her visage into his brain. That, followed by a deep inhale, and Bebe was officially in his memory bank of familiars. "Alright then. Sign the torch out, and be sure to return it at a reasonable time. Don't make me come hunting for you." Just as she was walking away, he grabbed her shoulder. "You vill bring one of those custards back here, yes? I don't much care for going topside."
"Of course," Bebe said nervously, signing her name sloppily on the page and backing out through the door she entered through. Once in the hallway, she turned to Mr. Snibbly and breathed. "I think I pissed myself a bit."
Mr. Snibbly laughed out loud at that.