5:30 pm

"Oh country roads, take me home," Mel sang way offkey. It was enough to kill someone's ears. Not Buddy's though as he happily joined in, "To the place." The two best friends tipped their heads back and howled, "I belong!"

"I'm gonna rip my head off here in five seconds," Tiberius growled. Trodding alongside the red tailed hawk with a deadpan expression on her face, Chloe muttered, "Do me a favor and rip mine off before you do yours." Nodding his head in agreement, Tiberius replied, "Deal."

"Are we there yet?" Mel suddenly asked. Irritated at this point with the canine shenanigans, Chloe whirled around. She would've launched herself at the pug if Tiberius hadn't caught her tail. Meanwhile, Mel and Buddy backed off and hid behind a crate. Peeking his head out, Buddy exclaimed, "Chill Chloe, okay?! We're sorry!" Struggling to free herself, Chloe hissed, "Then shut up for ten minutes!"

"Let's all just calm down, okay? Come on, we still have to get out of these sewers," Tiberius pointed out, releasing Chloe's tail. His words earned him a smack to the beak as Chloe spat angrily, "Except we're still down in the sewers! Let's face it, we've been walking in circles!"

"Oh come on, that's not true!" Mel yipped optimistically. Skipping ahead of the others, he hummed thoughtfully, "So there was that crate Buddy and I hid behind. Then here's a broken clothespin shaped like the Statue of Liberty."

"Yes Mel."

"Then over here we have a deflated basketball."

"Yep, passed that already."

"Ooh! Here's that rotten cheeseburger I took a bite of the first time we walked by it!"

"Mel, we walked by that cheeseburger three times already! And don't take another bite of it!" Chloe thundered. Pulling his best friend away from the bad food, Buddy murmured, "Okay, so maybe we are lost. But I have a plan to get us out of here. However, Chloe, you're not gonna like it." All the boys slowly turned to the cat. Realizing what the plan involved, Chloe shook her head frantically as she pleaded, "No, no way, absolutely not! We are not calling him!"

———

"There's absolutely no service down here," Mel whined, laying on his back with his phone held out. Walking around on his hind legs, Buddy huffed and muttered, "Same here. Man, service is trash down here." Turning off her phone in frustration, Chloe announced, "It's not even worth it, we're never gonna get a signal in the sewers."

"Hey! I got something!" Tiberius cried, holding his flip phone in the air. Snatching the device out of the hawk's talons, Chloe shouted, "Bless you and your old technology for once!" Holding it out to the boys, the tabby cat meowed, "One of you, talk to him when he picks up. I have no desire to speak with him." Shaking his head solemnly, Buddy replied, "It's gotta be you Chloe, he listens to you."

"Hello? Who's this?" Pops' voice crackled through the speakers. The boys held their breath, their gazes flickering back and forth from Chloe and the phone. Shooting daggers at Buddy, the tabby cat sighed heavily and answered, "Hey Pops, it's me Chloe. Look, Snowball forced us all to play a stupid game and now I'm down in the sewers with three idiots-"

"I'm sorry, who am I speaking to?" Pops interrupted. He sounded confused. Frowning slightly, Chloe retorted, "What do you mean who am I speaking to? This is Chloe, you know? The girl you're constantly following around with lovesick eyes?"

"Don't know anyone by the name Chloe, sorry. Are you trying to prank call me or something? Who is this?!" Pops demanded. Chloe's ears drooped. Biting her lip, she rasped, "Pops, it's me... Rhonda-"

"RHONDA!" Pops practically howled into the phone. Chloe was so startled she lost her grip and was now playing hot potato with the device. The boys were a giggling mess nearby. And all the while Pops was still speaking, blissfully unaware of what was going on, "It's absolutely wonderful to hear your beautiful voice Rhonda, it brings overwhelming joy to my life. Really, it is truly a pleasure just to hear you."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you old hound," Chloe grumbled through clenched teeth, having finally regained control over the phone after the previous fumble. Glaring at the boys, she muttered, "We're lost in the sewers, we don't know where the closest exit is. We don't even know where we are down here! Can you help us?"

"Of course, anything for you Rhonda," Pops spoke, "Pull up a map, it'll show what street you're under. Just give me a second and I'll be right back."