Moose and Violet Knock Things Down #1

CHAPTER ONE

Pee Feet
 
Moose was the biggest puppy in the litter, which was why he usually ended up at the bottom of the pile. That morning was no different. He woke up to find Rocky’s butt in his face, Sparkle’s body draped around his neck, and Tobey using his hind legs as a pillow. But because he wasn’t the kind of dog who thought much about things before he did them, Moose simply rolled to his feet and shook himself off like he was covered in water instead of siblings. Rocky slid across the floor with a yelp. Sparkle flew backward into a water dish, and Tobey rolled to the other end of the room. They turned furiously on Moose. No puppy liked to be woken up this way, especially super ones.

Rocky glowered at his brother. “Not okay, Moose!” He lowered his ears and thundered across the room. The top of his head butted harmlessly into Moose’s side. They slid across the floor and crashed into the wall. The wall stopped Moose, but Rocky went straight through it, briefly disappearing into the next room because his power was the go-­through-­solid-­objects kind.

Sparkle stepped out of the water dish and shook herself off. She was soaked and wanted Moose to know just how much she DID NOT appreciate it. She flew at him, slamming into his neck with a wet thump. “I’m so totally telling! No bones for you tonight.”

“I said I was sorry!” Moose claimed. But Sparkle knew this wasn’t true, because Moose never remembered to apologize. She backed up and flew at him again because her power was the fly-through-­the-­air kind.

Tobey watched this exchange, waiting for her moment to exact revenge. She disappeared and then reappeared close enough to Moose to playfully nip his leg. It didn’t hurt, but Moose still howled dramatically. “Big baby!” Tobey said as she disappeared again because her power was the disappear-­and-­reappear kind.

As Moose’s siblings circled him, he didn’t feel the least bit sorry. He was, in fact, joyful because there was nothing he loved more than a good game of chase. “I’m so gonna get you!” he said. The others wagged their tails and took off. Moose followed. He tried to chase Rocky under a table but forgot to duck. He smashed through it, leaving nothing but splinters behind. “Oops!” he said as he spun around and wagged his tail right through a bookshelf because his power was the superstrong kind. As the books cascaded to the floor, Moose tucked his tail between his legs.

“Ooooh, you’re in trouble!” Sparkle taunted. “Mom and Dad and the bigs aren’t gonna like the mess you made.”

Moose lowered his head and put his ears back. She was right. When there was a mess, he was almost always the one who made it. Tobey appeared out of thin air by his side and gently licked his ear. “Just remember to say you’re sorry this time.” They stared at the door, waiting for one of their parents or some of the other dogs in their pack to appear. They didn’t. This was very strange, and Moose would’ve asked a lot of questions if he hadn’t suddenly detected something in the air.

He smelled Shadow before he saw her. “Cat!” Moose yelled, right before their superpower instructor appeared on top of the recently destroyed bookshelf. The gray cat wrapped her tail around her body and observed the mess, silently taking in every detail before letting her eyes rest on Moose.

“I see,” she said, without bothering to finish the thought, but Moose knew what she meant. He was almost always the one who couldn’t control his power.

Sparkle still wanted payback for that dip in the water bowl. “Where is everyone . . . ’cause Moose is in big, big trouble!” When no one responded, she added, “At least, he should be.”

Shadow blinked in that way-­too-­long way cats do and then continued, “I don’t know where the rest of the pack is. They’re gone. You’re the only ones left.”

Moose instantly felt warmth pooling around his feet. “Moose had an accident! He has pee feet!” Sparkle shrieked as she flew to the back of a couch to get away.

Tobey often used too many words for a simple thought. “Remember how we’re supposed to go outside for that? You gotta follow your nose, find the right spot, and then you can have your accident . . . except then it’s not an accident, then it’s what you’re supposed to do. Are you sure you don’t remember that?!”

Moose nodded as though his accident was something he could control any better than his superstrength. The idea of being without his parents or the rest of the big dogs was the biggest, scariest thought he’d ever had, and his bladder wanted to make sure everyone else knew it, too.

“What’s happening, Shadow?” Rocky asked in his serious, trying-­to-­sound-­like-­a-­big-­dog voice, but Moose could tell his brother was afraid. They all were. Fear comes with the territory when you’re special . . . and they were very, very special.

Moose, Sparkle, Rocky, and Tobey were the newest litter of puppies in a superpack of dogs whose sole purpose was to keep the people on Earth safe. Shadow said, “It’s time for you to meet your first humans.”

Moose knew he should still be afraid, but the thought of meeting a human, any human, just made him so happy. His tail had a mind of its own. It began to move like a windshield wiper across the floor, flinging puppy pee across the room. The others scattered furiously and barked, “MOOOOSE!!”

Shadow squeezed her eyes shut like she might never open them again and waited. She waited until Moose sat on his tail and the others found dry spots where they could refocus on what she had to say. “Like I said. The rest of the pack has disappeared. I believe they’re in the human world, and you need to find them.”

The dogs looked at each other, wordlessly asking, For real?!

Shadow continued, “One of them left this behind.” She used her paw to pull a bright, sparkly, obviously magic ball out of thin air. “I’ve seen this kind of magic before . . . This ball is one piece of a lock. When we get all of the pieces together, we will, hopefully, unlock whatever it is that’s keeping the rest of the pack from coming back home.”

Moose swallowed hard and asked, “And we’re the ones who’re supposed to find the balls?”

Instead of answering, Shadow flicked her tail, and the room filled with sparkles and colors. The puppies all felt it. This magic was powerful, stronger than what they were used to, and then they saw why. Four portals to the human world opened, one in front of each dog’s nose. Moose saw wonderful things on the other side of his: humans walking, humans on bikes, humans playing Frisbee . . . and he didn’t hesitate. He bounded through his portal, ready to leave the magic puppy world behind and finally meet some of those amazing humans.