The Housepet Games: Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Peanut couldn't keep himself from bouncing on the balls of
his feet as he walked, humming a nonsensical little tune in anticipation of the
upcoming fight.
"Quiet," Grape ordered.
"He'll hear us coming."
Peanut bit his lip, forcing himself to shut up. This was the best game EVER! He and Grape were working together to kick
Bino's butt! They needed to bring
everyone over to do this again sometime!
"Wait," Grape whispered, holding up her paw. Peanut froze while the cat tipped her head up
and sniffed the air. "He's close," she whispered.
"Where?" Peanut asked, his voice high pitched with
excitement.
"HERE!" Bino's voice called to them, followed by a high
pitched whistle. With a loud THUNK, an
arrow embedded itself into a nearby tree, directly between the two of them.
"Hide!" Grape shouted, taking cover behind another
tree. Peanut hastened to do the same as
another arrow shot out, just barely missing the top of his head.
"What do we do?" he called to Grape.
"He's a got a bow, so he has the advantage right now," Grape
answered. "We need to figure out how to
get closer!"
But that would prove to be harder than they anticipated,
because wherever Bino was, he'd managed to hide himself very skillfully. There was no sign of him beside the arrows
that flew at them every time one of them poked their heads out of cover.
"It's no use," Grape said.
"I have no idea where he is.
We'll have to make a run for it!"
"But he'll shoot us!" Peanut protested.
"We'll have to fun fast," Grape insisted. "A moving target is harder to hit than a
still one."
"Okay," Peanut agreed.
"One... Two... Three... Go!" Grape shouted, dashing out from
behind her cover. Peanut followed her,
and almost immediately felt an arrow graze the fur on his back. It didn't hurt him, but it was enough to spur
the pup to run faster.
The two allies zigzagged through the trees, using whatever
cover they could find. After only a
minute, though, the arrows stopped coming.
"Grape, I think he gave up!" Peanut shouted.
"I'm not taking the chance, keep running!" Grape ordered.
They began to hear a dull roar in the distance. As they ran, it gradually grew louder. The smell of moisture filled the air.
"Stop!" Grape yelled suddenly, skidding to a halt and
holding out an arm to stop Peanut.
Before them, the ground dropped away in a sheer cliff. On the other side, a towering waterfall
plunged hundreds of feet in a shower of mist and foam before crashing into a
pool of rocky water at the bottom.
"What do we do now?" Peanut asked, having to raise his voice
against the roar of the waterfall.
Grape glanced around in thought, "We go around it. If we can find a way to get to the bottom,
we'll have fresh water to drink for however long we need it."
Peanut nodded his agreement, and the cat turned to go back a
few steps. Before she could decide on
the best route to take though, there was a rustle in the branches above
her. Grape looked up just in time to see
Bino leap out of the tree, landing nimble on the ground in front of her.
"Bino!" Peanut shouted in surprise.
Grape reacted like a warrior. She drew her sword and rushed at Bino. Backpedaling to create distance, Bino drew an
arrow and sent it flying at her, but Grape ducked and rolled beneath it. This brought her within reach of the dog, so
she swung her sword. Bino jumped nimbly
over the blade, and then whacked Grape on the face with his bow. The impact sent her stumbling backwards, and
she landed on her rump. Before she could
get back up, Bino drew another arrow and loosed it.
"NO!" Peanut shouted, but all he could do was watch as the
arrow flew the short distance between the two fighters, and struck Grape in the
chest.
Suddenly, Peanut realized he wasn't having fun anymore. All the enjoyment he'd been feeling ever
since the game had begun was gone.
Suddenly, none of this was a game anymore. In a numb state of panic, he dashed forward
just in time to catch Grape's head before it hit the ground.
"Grape!" he yelled, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Peanut?" she asked in a weak voice.
"I'm here, Grape," the dog answered. "It's going to be okay!"
"I'm out, Peanut," she replied, her voice growing
weaker. "I lose."
"No, no," Peanut begged her.
"Don't go!"
"It's okay, Peanut," the cat whispered. "It's just a game."
With that, Grape closed her eyes and dissolved into a cloud
of smoke, leaving Peanut holding nothing but air.
"What a touching moment," Bino sneered. "I always knew you were a cat lover!"
Suddenly, Peanut was filled with rage. Anger flooded his mind, blocking out
reasoning and rational thought. He
looked up at Bino, standing there with that smug grin on his face, and bared
his teeth.
"You son of a flea..." he growled, slowly rising to his
feet. "That was my sister!"
Bino smiled, pleased with the reaction he had gotten, "Don't
worry, you'll be joining her soon enough!"
With that, he reached behind him to grab another arrow, but
his paw closed only on air. His eyes
grew wide, and he looked behind him to see that his quiver was completely out
of arrows. He turned to look at Peanut
again, but this time there was a trace of fear.
"AAAAAAAH!" Peanut screamed, but this time it was not the
comical shout of a pup having fun, it was the enraged battle cry of someone who
had just lost their closest and dearest friend.
Pulling his arm back, Peanut threw his battle axe at Bino with all his
might. It sailed through the air like a
Frisbee, slicing straight through Bino's bow like a knife through hot
butter. Bino's jaw fell open, and he
dropped the half of his bow that he still held.
And then he ran.
"Get back here!" Peanut shouted, giving chase. Bino was fast, though, and it was obvious
that he would be able to outrun Peanut eventually. It was going to be all right, he told
himself. He'd lose Peanut, make his way
back to the big shiny cone, and find another weapon. He was NOT going to-
Suddenly, he stopped running, skidding across the forest
floor and coming to a rest just in time to avoid plummeting over the edge of
the cliff. In his fear, he'd
inadvertently climbed to the very top of the waterfall. He turned around and saw Peanut standing
behind him, blocking his means of escape.
"Peanut, buddy!" the cowardly dog said, raising his paws in
surrender. "You're not going to kill me...
are you?"
"You killed Grape," Peanut growled, advancinig on him.
Yeah, but... hey, I'm sorry for calling you a cat lover!" Bino
stammered. "I didn't mean it. It was just a joke."
Peanut didn't reply, but kept coming towards him.
"Hey, listen, if you don't kill me, I'll let you back into
the Good Ol' Dogs Club, okay?"
Peanut was now within arms reach, and the pup lashed out and
grabbed ahold of Bino's chest fur.
"Peanut, please!" Bino begged him. "It's a game, remember? It's all just a game!"
Peanut pulled the coward closer to him, and said in a low,
menacing voice, "Yeah, and you just lost."
With that, Peanut shoved Bino with all his might, sending
him over the edge of the cliff. Bino let
out a scream of terror, which lasted for several seconds before it was abruptly
cut off.
The cannon boomed in the distance, and Bino's face appeared
in the sky, confirming that was deceased.
Then a lively tune began to play.
Fireworks shot into the sky, and Peanut's grinning face appeared.
"Congratulations!" Tarot's voice rang out. "You have won the Hunger Games!"
Unlike his image in the sky, though, a smile did not appear
on Peanut's face. Instead, he simply
stood where he was, his gaze lowered, until the world began to fade around him,
bringing him back to reality once more.