The Runaway Adventures

Chapter 22:Out the Window

Tucked away in her bedroom, Cruella spent the whole night sitting up in her bed under the sheets and reading magazines while waiting for her weapon to come in the mail. From time to time, she threw a glance at the puppies to make sure they were still there. The puppies however had no intention of running away yet. They knew that they couldn't do anything with Cruella keeping a close eye on them and that they would have to wait for her to be distracted.

After many hours, she looked at her watch which read six o'clock in the morning. She smirked, for she knew that the post office had just opened. She opened up the door slightly, all the while making sure that the puppies were still in the room, and she called "Jasper! Horace!"

Horace and Jasper came upstairs, and she exclaimed to them in anticipation, "It's time for you to go to the post office and get my weapon!"

"Why can't you go?" Horace asked.

"Yeah, if you don't like the way we do it," Jasper added.

"I have to watch those puppies, you idiots!" Cruella declared. "You two mess up all the time with that task, so I have to keep a constant watch over them! Get me my weapon at the post office or else! And don't return until you've got it!"

"Right, Madame," Horace told her dispiritedly.

Horace and Jasper shuffled out of the room, and Cruella slammed the door. She looked behind her to make sure that the puppies were still in the room, and upon the sight of them she grinned with devilish malice before she returned to her bed. The puppies looked nervously at each other, standing in the center of the room, huddled together closely and watching Cruella fearfully.

"Time's running out," Patch sighed.

"So what should we do now?" Penny asked nervously, shivering.

"We can't do anything yet," Angel answered. "Not with Cruella in the room with us."

Cruella meanwhile, was utterly relaxed. She smoked her pipe as she sat in her bed, occasionally leering down at the puppies to make sure they were still there. "I'll get my spotted coat very soon!" she told herself from time to time.

"We're in trouble now," Penny whispered. "I wonder if there is any way..."

Then abruptly, the doorbell rang from downstairs. Cruella got out of her bed, and she enthusiastically exclaimed, "It must be the weapon!"

Hurriedly, Cruella shuffled out of the room, taking great care to lock the door, and then the puppies heard her footsteps going to the front door.

"I'll take a look outside to see what's going on," Patch suggested. He jumped onto Cruella's desk and then walked onto the window ledge sitting by it. Then he peered down into the front yard and began observing.

"Let's see... Horace and Jasper are down there, but they're not carrying anything," he observed.

Penny sighed with relief. "That means she doesn't have the weapon yet!" she exclaimed. "I suppose there's no need for an impulsive getaway then. We still have time to get out with a strategy."

"But we already have shut down the fence," Patch argued, sitting on the desk. "All of our work would be worthless by the time she can repair it again."

"It's still not worth the risk to leave now," Penny told him firmly. "We can shut down the fence again right before we leave. But we have to think of a quick escape route for when we do leave, otherwise, she'd have an easier time catching us, "

However, before Patch could reply, he groaned, "Penny, we don't have a choice, we must leave now."

Penny could detect a change of tone in Patch's voice, so she didn't argue. "What's going on?" Scamp asked.