The Young Dr_Death: Part Seven

     Dr_Death punched his fist into his other hand. The Berkhams were cruel, no doubt about it, but at least they took good care of their investments.

     “True,” Dr_Death said, the words coming out his mouth in a subconscious mutter, “Shaun has an anger management problem. But at least he fed her.” Whatever else he did, Shaun had not starved Mipsy; that was clear. However, it seemed like Candy-Rose, that irresponsible, spoiled-rotten baby, would be a likely candidate for committing such torture. “And Cindy is probably just as vain as she is, so she probably doesn’t give a Fyora about those petpets either.”

     Here then was a problem: while Mipsy stayed at Shaun’s, she was relatively safe, as long as she remained subservient. But at Cindy’s, all bets were off. True, there was a possibility of Mipsy getting into a worthy home after Cindy had ditched her, but there was no guarantee of that happening, or even if Cindy would get rid of her.

     “She might start a Gallery just like Shaun and stick Mipsy in there,” Dr_Death said to himself. He paced back and forth like a madman, full of energy and unable to sit still.

     There was no sugar-coating it, however much he tried to hide it from himself: under the current and future circumstances, Mipsy would never be happy. “How much do I have?” he asked himself as his thoughts whizzed by in his head at a lightning-fast pace. He wondered if he had enough to buy Mipsy; but then his face fell- there was no way he had enough. “At least, not enough to outbid Cindy,” he said bitterly.

     He sat down on the couch, and then got back up. He stood at the window, and went to the kitchen. Nowhere did he feel at ease; his mind was just too cluttered. He went outside to the front porch for some fresh air and to clear his mind.

     It was snowing lightly outside, and the sky was dark, despite it being early. Dr_Death sighed and looked down the street. He hardly moved, though he could feel the numbing cold get to him. He laid his head on his chest and closed his eyes.

     The game was over- he couldn’t think of any other way to help Mipsy. He sighed, and sobbed a little- he was condemning her to at least two more dark months. He looked down the street again, and what he saw was unexpected.

     “Well, she’s persistent, I’ll give her that,” Dr_Death said. Mipsy had escaped Shaun’s prison, yet again, and was now making to jump the fence that lined the lawn. She tried once, but failed. Dr_Death watched, intrigued, as she tried again. He closed his eyes as she made it, barely, over the rusty iron gate. Thoughts flitted through his mind as he scoured it feverishly, and he suddenly opened his eyes: he knew what to do, and there was very little time left to do it in.

     “Mipsy! Pst, Mipsy! Come here, girl!” he called out to her. She saw him, and cautiously came up to him. “That a girl,” he said as she placed her paws on the lowest step of the stairs leading to the porch. Dr_Death got on one knee and put a hand out. “Here, girl,” he told her gently. Mipsy eyed him warily. “I won’t hurt you again, I promise,” he whispered.

     Mipsy, approached him slowly, and when she was close enough, Dr_Death scooped her up. She mewed contently and closed her eyes against his chest. Dr_Death breathed heavily- he had to act fast.

     He looked around the street- it was a good thing they had been plowed. The light snow wasn’t sticking, for once, making things much easier. He knew what Shaun was like, how angry he could get if he didn’t have his way. He needed to be careful, very careful- Dr_Death was tangling with danger. And the law. Stealing is, after all, illegal.

     Making sure Mipsy was protected against the cold, he leaped off the porch and ran down the street. He kept running, and running into the town square, where the main shops were. He could see the forest up ahead....

     “Ow! Hey, watch it!” a female voice cried out as he hit something large and fluffy. He flew backwards and slammed the ground with his back.

     “Owwww,” he moaned in pain.

     “I’m so sorry, sir, are you all right?” Dr_Death looked up and saw that he was talking to a Royal Cybunny wrapped in a blue coat. She reached out her hand to him. “Here, let me help you up.” Dr_Death took her hand, but this inadvertently let the Cybunny see Mipsy.

     “Aw, what a cute petpet you have!” the Cybunny crooned. Dr_Death covered Mipsy back up. “Hello, sweetie!”

     “Yeah, I know,” he said uncomfortably. “Well, I have to be off-”

     “I didn’t know Kadoaties could live up here. Though I wouldn’t know, I live in Faerieland. We’re just here for the ski season. We come up here every year, though my owner’s down in a ski lodge further down the mountain. I came up here to visit some friends which I’m meeting at a café,” she jabbered on, a little annoyingly. Dr_Death nodded impatiently, not listening to what she said. He was so close, and if he was thwarted by the big-mouthed Cybunny.... “I’ve always wanted something as cute as that,” she said dreamily.

     “Well, I have to be going, really,” Dr_Death said, trying to sound earnest. But he could tell the Cybunny heard the impatience in his voice.

     “Oh, all right, see you around,’ she said nonchalantly, but Dr_Death could tell she was rather offended. But he didn’t care; he had more important things to do, much more pressing matters to attend to. He watched her enter a café, and checked to see that Mipsy was warm enough. In fact, she was- she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face. This, however, only caused Dr_Death pain. He looked around cautiously, making sure no one was watching him, then hurried to the edge of the forest.

     “Ok, Mipsy, here,” Dr_Death said, taking deep breaths. He set the Kadoatie down. “Go on, you’re free. Run away, quick!” But Mipsy just stared at him stupidly.

     “Come on,” he said tearfully, and little though he wanted to, he kicked snow at her. She shrieked, even though the snow didn’t even come close to touching her- the mere stimulus reminded her of Shaun’s cruelty.

     Dr_Death mustered all the anger he had for Shaun into his voice. “Come on, get out of here!” He kicked more snow at her and she shrunk away into the forest, crying. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” And he began to attack the snow with his foot. He could hear Mipsy’s terrified shrieks, but he kept going. Reluctantly, he kept going.

     Again and again, Dr_Death kicked the snow like he was kicking away a monster, or kicking away pain. He was quite demented: he kicked that snow harder and more wildly in all directions. “GET... AWAY!” he screamed through the hot tears now streaming down his face.

     “GET... AWAY... FROM... MEEEEEEEEAAAHHH!” He had hit his foot on a rock, sending him to the ground on his back again. Eagle-spread he lay there, sobbing and biting his lip. The snow he kicked up lightly fell on his face, and he closed his eyes.

     Ten minutes later, he started to calm down, and he took several deep breaths. Finally, he found the strength to lift himself up and face the forest again, scared of what he’d see.

     Mipsy was nowhere in sight.

     Dr_Death gasped a moan of utter and complete despair- she was gone. He began to cry all over again.

     It had been the only thing he could think of, the only way to save Mipsy- to let her out into the wild. Hopefully, she was smart enough to find civilization lower on the mountain- perhaps head to Happy Valley, or the ice caves. Perhaps she could find a loving family at one of the many ski resorted that dotted the mountain. The important thing was to get her away from the Berkhams’ and Cindy, and especially Candy-Rose.

     Of course, he knew he’d be condemning her himself to darkness and cold, but there was nothing else to do. At least, that’s what he told himself in his feeble attempt to justify what he had just done. She was tough; he was sure she’d make it.

     “At least, I hope...” he stuttered through his sobs. Yes, he was sure of it- any other alternative made him too anguished. And after all, she was now free; but Dr_Death felt like something inside him had died.

     For although Mipsy had been given her freedom, it had cost Dr_Death so much; not just the risk of his being caught: he had lost his best friend.

To be continued...