Blitz.

Haywire spoke without opening his eyes. “...All in the world.”

Actually, the dogs only had about half an hour left. The four of them couldn’t say it was the best half hour of their lives, but they were still trying to enjoy the time they had left as friends. Haywire somehow was able to fall asleep, Blitz was fiddling with his lock, Ambyr kept repeating how much she hated humans, and Drifter remained motionless.

There came a shadow on the tent, and Blitz looked up. A large, fat human was coming down the isle. He stopped at Drifter’s cage. Drifter growled and snarled as he was picked up and taken away.

“Drifter! DRIFTER!” yelled Ambyr.

Then, came another human down the isle. This time, he stopped at Haywire’s cage. Haywire stirred, and snapped awake as he was picked up.

“What the...Put me down this instant, or you will be feeling the wrath of...my sharp tongue! Hey! Did you hear me?”

“Haywire, what’s going on,” yelled Blitz.

“I think...I think it’s time for round one!!” Haywire yelled back. He disappeared from view as the human took him away.

“Drifter against Haywire?” asked Ambyr.

Blitz shuddered.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” said Frank Poppin addressed to the crowd. “Welcome to the most exhilarating show of your lives!” The crowd screamed all around him. “Tonight, we’re going to get your blood pumping with our first match...” The two humans carried Drifter and Haywire to opposite sides of the ring. “On one side, a ferocious street dog with a seething temper...and needn’t I say more when I mention he’s part wolf?” The audience gasped. “On the other side, a pure-bred Husky, whose life of the streets taught him the ways of bloodthirsty self-defense.”

Haywire rolled his eyes. “Wow...when dogs say humans tend to exaggerate, they don’t lie!”

“And now, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, let round one begin!” The crowed yelled as Drifter’s and Haywire’s cages were lowered into the ring. A bell rang through the air, and their cages latches miraculously flipped open...and Drifter started charging straight for Haywire.

Blitz threw himself at the cage walls. They rattled and shook the cage around as his weight was forced on them, but they did not give in. Blitz tried again and again while Ambyr kept muttering to herself, trying to do the same.

“You should have a knack for ramming things open,” said Blitz, grunting as he hit the wall. “How many doors have you smashed down already?”

Suddenly, another human started walking inside the tent.

The human walked down the isle, and came into view. It was a girl in her teenage human years. She had flowing black hair and brown eyes that didn’t burn with the same fire as most humans did. She wore a sweatshirt with shorts, and had a very peculiar-looking bracelet attached to her arm. What could she possibly be doing here?

“Hate! Hate! Hate!” Ambyr repeated to herself. She growled at the girl.

The fat human that carried Drifter away appeared at the opening of the tent. “Ken! We need round two’s dogs ready to go! Didja get them?”

The girl named Ken looked at Ambyr and Blitz. Her stare was unreadable “Yeah, I got ‘em,” she called. Her voice was soft and smooth.

“Well, hurry up, we haven’t got all day,” snapped the fat human. And with that, he bumbled away.

Ken threw him a frown, and she stuck her tongue out. “Well, hurry up, we haven’t got all day,” she mocked. She looked at the two dogs in front of her. Ambyr was still growling, but Blitz could only stare at her. There was something different in this human. He could tell. Realizing Ambyr wasn’t the first best choice,” she leaned down and grunted as she picked up Blitz’s cage.

“Don’t worry,” she said, as if sensing Blitz’s thoughts. “I’m not like the others.” She carried Blitz’s cage outside. The fat human was waiting for her in another tent.

“Where do you want him,” she snapped.

He gestured for her to just set the cage on the ground. Ken lowered Blitz, and threw him a wink as she quietly raised the latch. Then, she left for the others.

Haywire was petrified. “Drifter, what’re you –“

Before he could finish, Drifter snarled and latched onto Haywire’s back. He threw his head to the side, and Haywire whimpered as he was hurled to the ground. The crowed screamed and cheered, and Haywire staggered to his feet. Drifter was glaring at him, and growling furiously, but something didn’t look right. He could’ve done a lot more damage than that if he wanted to.

“Play along,” he snarled at him. “If we don’t fight, these humans will think we’re worthless! What will they do with us then?” He gave Haywire plenty of time to jump out of the way and snap back as he leapt for him.

Haywire cringed his neck, and growled back. “You could’ve told me sooner.”

Drifter shrugged. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”

Haywire lunged at Drifter, baring his teeth, and throwing his claws at him. One of them caught Drifter’s side, tearing a small cut.

“First blood, first blood,” the crown roared.

“Whoops...sorry about that.” Haywire took a step back. Even he couldn’t tell if he sounded a little sarcastic. “Ummm...are we even now?”

Drifter didn’t seem to mind the cut. “Just watch what you’re doing.”

When Ken set Ambyr’s cage next to Blitz’s, Ambyr was no longer growling, but instead had a very confused and puzzled look to her. Ken huffed as she stealthily flipped Ambyr’s latch, and smiled at her. She then turned her attention to the fat human.

“You need anything else, just ask,” she said with a tone, and stormed away from the tent. The fat human grunted at her.

Blitz looked over that Ambyr. “Okay...on the count of three, we bust out of here, and head for that fat human.”

Ambyr was still confused. “Why did that girl help us? She’s a human!”

Blitz eyed her. “You’ve misjudged. Now, are you ready?” Ambyr nodded. “Alright. One...two...THREE!!”

The two dogs rammed their bodies into the cage walls, and the sides gave in, falling to the ground with a crash! The fat human turned around, and yelled in surprise as they both jumped up and fastened their jaws in his leg. The man’s screaming sounded just like Frank Poppin’s as he tried swatting and kicking at them. Ambyr let go and whimpered, but Blitz held on tight. Struggling back to her feet, Ambyr shook herself off and looked around. She spotted a stack of cardboard boxes rising over the fat human. She sprinted over to it. “Reel him in,” called Ambyr.

Blitz let go of the man’s leg. The man staggered, and took a few steps back as Blitz growled at him. “Now!” said Blitz.

Ambyr reaved up her shoulders, and rammed the stack of boxes. They wobbled in the air, then came crashing down on the fat human. The fat human looked up, and screamed as the boxes came clobbering down on him. It pinned him to the floor, and the man lay motionless on the ground. Ambyr walked up to him.

“...Did we...”

Blitz trotted over to the man and sniffed him. He stuck out his tongue and licked him lightly on the cheek. Blitz then fell back, spitting, and wiping is tongue with his paws. “Oh yeah, he’s alive, alright.”

Ambyr sighed. “Aww...that’s too bad. Do you think anyone heard?”

Blitz frowned. “With a crowd like this? Watching Drifter against Haywire? I doubt it. Right now, we have two things to do; we need to stop the fight, and free those dogs.”

Ambyr nodded. “I’ll stop the fight, you get the dogs.”

Blitz gave her a funny look. “A-Alright,” he said. Then, he ran out of the tent.

“Make sure no one sees you,” Ambyr called after him.

“Oh, please,” Blitz yelled at her. He gestured towards the crowed huddled around the ring again, then disappeared.

Blitz sped into the kennel tent. There, he found Ken. She was surrounded by empty cages, and fifteen yapping dogs, all fighting for a chance to lick her face. Ken was on the ground laughing, and playfully trying to push them away.

“I...guess my work here is done,” Blitz said with a shrug.

Haywire was standing across from Drifter. They were both panting and growling at each other. “H-How long do we have...to keep this up,” Haywire said.

“Oh sure, ask me. Like I know.”

Drifter snarled and leapt in the air. Haywire did the same, and the two collided with each other in mid air. They snapped and snarled at one another, and for a brief moment, Haywire seemed to have lost control. With a heave and a snarl, he shoved Drifter to the ground and pinned him. Drifter looked up at him surprised. Haywire was about to lower his head to bite down on his throat, but a loud, female, human voice slashed through the air, making him stop.

The voice rose up over all the others, and everyone suddenly stopped and turned. A teenage girl with a sweatshirt, shorts, and a very peculiar-looking bracelet stood in front of the kennel tent. She had her hands cupped around her mouth, and was screaming at the very top of her lungs. “ATTENTION EVERYONE!! THIS SHOW HAS NOW OFFICIALLY BEEN CALLED OFF!!”

Drifter took advantage of the opportunity and shoved Haywire