"I'm going to get help!" cried Daisy as she began running back down the rough road toward Galladora, the only nearby city that had doctors.
She hadn't made it very far before her paws cracked open and bled.
"This road was not made for running on," Daisy grumbled. She crawled to the side of the road and licked her paws until they stopped bleeding.
Ahhhhh... rest....
Slowly, Daisy began to doze off. Dreams swirled in her mind, and all worries from earlier that day were put behind. Happiness was the only memory now.
A butterfly was flying up into the sky, bright blue with silver spots, an whirlwind of beauty. It made its way closer to the sun, and just before the butterfly reached it…
CRACK!
Blue wings floated back down to earth, remnants of the former butterfly.
Daisy woke with a start at the loud noise. What was she doing? Relaxing, when her father’s life was in danger.
Hopping off the soft patch of grass, she set off on her tiring journey.
Nighttime was approaching swiftly, and Daisy was beginning to worry that she would have to spend the night alone.
In the dark.
It was a risk she was willing to take.
Blackness swept overhead, and the outline of the forest was vaguely noticeable now. Daisy had just reached the perimeter of the woods when a twig snapped behind her. She swung around, and came face-to-face with…
Nothing.
Rolling her eyes, Daisy crept along the path that led into the trees. Poison oak and poison ivy lined the path, making it difficult for her to navigate a safe path.
SNAP!
Now Daisy was sure she had heard something.
“Hello?” she whispered softly.
A berry bush behind her rustled, and out came a large black gorilla with a mustache.
“Well, well, well,” he said gruffly. “What do we have here?”
And with that, another gorilla lept out of the bushes.
“Well, Ceasar. I think we doin’ okay. Cute wittle puppy lost her mwah mwah? Too bads. We gonna take you far away. Never come back. Yah hear?” the gorilla laughed maniacally.
Daisy trembled. By the time they were done with her, there would be no time to save her father.
In fact, she may never see the light of day again.
It was pitch-black out now, and Daisy was shivering from both the cold and the fear that was bottled up inside her, ready to blow.
How would she escape these guys? For one thing, they were five times bigger and stronger than she was, and second, she had no clue whatsoever to her location.
Snickering evilly, the two gorillas crept closer to Daisy's quivering figure.
"Now, come with us, and no one gets hurt." The gorilla named Ceaser beckoned with his pudgy hand to the tiny rucksack he was carrying.
There was no way she would be able to fit in that and live to tell the tale.
Snarling under her breath, Daisy backed away from the muscular pair and began running as fast as she could toward Galladora. Hopefully the kidnappers were slower than they looked. That way, she could outrun them.
"You can run, but you can't hide, little missy!" Ceaser yelled from the distance.
What a cliched phrase, Daisy thought sarcastically.
But maybe they were right.
She could end up in the arms of danger again. Maybe end up falling into an endless sleep of blackness. Of lonesomness.
What felt like hours passed before Daisy reached the end of the forest. A clearing could be spotted ahead, and she was finally confident she had lost the creeps stalking her.
Stepping onto the road that stretched before her, she painstakingly started making her way to the city.
After all, it couldn't be that far away, could it?
More time passed, and rain began dripping out of the large gray clouds overhead.
After only minutes, Daisy's shirt was soaked through to her fur, and she was shivering from the cold, damp air.
Sunlight began to trickle out into the darkness surrounding her, and Daisy spotted the sun slowly rising into the sky, an orb of happiness in her dark world, swirls of pink and purple curling in the air around it.
The rain was beginning to let up, and Daisy began to dry off.
Suddenly, a car whizzed by and splashed a nearby puddle into Daisy's face.
Urghhh...
More cars began to clog up the road, and Daisy began to think the work day had started for many city folk.
A green car slowly pulled up to Daisy, causing her to shudder with trepidation. What if it was Cesar and his buddy hoping to grab Daisy before anyone else noticed?
But as the car window rolled open, she realized that it was just a wrinkly, old turtle sitting behind the steering wheel.
"Hello, young lass. Would yer like a ride in me cab?" He smiled, showing off a pair of rotting teeth that had bits of green stuck in between them.
Daisy smiled back shyly. "Thanks for the offer, sir, but I don't have the money right now."
The turtle's smile became a large grin as he laughed. "If ye don’t have the money, ye can pay me back later. Hop on in, lassie.”
Hesitantly opening the door, Daisy entered the musty-smelling cab.
“Me name’s Kapp’n. And what should your name be?” the cabbie asked.
“Daisy,” she answered quietly.
“And your goin’ to Galladora, am I right?” he questioned.
“Yes, sir.”
“Why?” he prodded.
This guy sure likes to talk a lot.
“I need a doctor. My father is sick, and we—’’ She stopped, worrying that she was pitying herself.
“Ah,” Kapp’n nodded, understanding that Daisy probably did not want to talk about such a touchy topic.
Daisy wiped a tear from her eye and stared out the window at the trees flying past them. The landscaping along the road turned from trees to flower gardens, and Kapp’n announced happily, “Welcome to the City.”
Daisy could not describe the miracle standing before her.
Tall, newly-polished buildings towered over the tallest of tall, greenest of green trees, more glorious than the most beautiful castle. Animals of all species were wandering lazily around the softly cascading fountain, as if time was no longer necessary.
She looked past the crystal clear fountain to a round-bellied sea lion selling colorfully assorted animal balloons, some rabbits, others hearts. There were signs for Shampoodle’s barbershop, Crazy Redd’s Crazy Prices, the Auction House, and a boarded up building with a faded sign that read “Shoe Shining”.
“All righty, miss,” Kapp’n began. “Since your such a cute little lassie, your total is five bells.” The turtle smiled, and Daisy smiled back.
“Thank you, sir.” She dropped five, small golden coins into the cabbie’s leather money pouch. Then she thoughtfully added one extra, to show her appreciation of the cabbie’s sincere generosity.
The cab door slammed shut, and Kapp’n rolled down his window as he sped away and yelled, “Enjoy your visit at Galladora!”
After leaving the cab, Daisy climbed up the marble stairs that led to the fountain. A small, hot pink pig with two brightly colored flowers behind her ears was throwing hundreds of bells into the water in a casual manner, a blank expression on her face.
Smirking grimly, Daisy realized that she probably had enough bells that she didn’t have to worry about a couple hundred less. People here, with their high-end clothes, freshly polished shoes, and glossy, modern hairstyles, had enough money to last a lifetime, even if they didn’t work.
The pig stared curiously at Daisy with her sparkly blue eyes as she passed her, although, she must have thought the scrawny dog was uninteresting, because she quickly dismissed her by turning her beautiful face back toward the fountain.
As Daisy neared the back section of boutiques, a glittering sign caught her attention.
Gasping, she slapped a blood-caked paw to her mouth.
Posted: 9/1/2009 6:28pm 
6
Thanks for reading right away!
