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Toy. Why are you shaking? Are you cold?
Yumi. I am afraid of the dark.
Toy. Why haven’t you told me before?
Yumi. I’ll be fine.
Toy. If we go together, the tormentors will lamp us at once. See, that would be a strange scene: a cat burglar and a police dog’s son went for a walk together. (They laugh.)
Yumi. What are we supposed to do now?
Toy. You will cover the rear. This outer door is our only escape route. Watch over it. Warn me in the event of emergency.
Yumi. And you?
Toy. I will go further, to the dog prison. The entrance is right here.
Yumi. I get it. Watch over the escape route, warn in the event of emergency.
Toy. I nearly forgot. Give me your spongy bone.
Yumi. Here, take it. (He gives the spongy bone to the kitten.)
Toy. I will give it to the jail-keeper rat, otherwise he will raise alarm.
Yumi. Told you, this bone would bring us good luck.
Toy. Yumi, I meant to tell you…
Pause.
Yumi. What did you mean to tell me, Toy?
Toy. Thank you for saying a good word for me in front of Melisa and for calling me your friend.
Yumi. You are my friend. My best friend.
Toy. I’ve learnt a great deal from you today. It never occurred to me that dogs can be true friends.
Yumi. Seek and you will find. That is what my mom says.
Toy. And what did you say there when we met Pirate?
Yumi. Christmas Eve is the time when dreams come true.
Toy. You should wish for something with your whole heart, believe in your success and keep moving towards your desirable goal.
Yumi. That’s right, Toy. Come on! Everything is going to be alright.
Toy bust opens the lock and opens the inside door of the basement which opens into the dog prison. He leaves. Yumi is left alone.
Yumi. Alright. I have to look around. I am not afraid of the dark. I am brave. I am not afraid of the dark.
Yumi hears some noise in the dark corner, he jumps up to the side and hides himself in a heap of rubbish. Silence. Yumi leaves his hideout.
Yumi. Maybe, it’s just my ears playing tricks on me.
Again there was some noise there in the darkness. Yumi squats down.
Yumi. And what if it is a horrible beast? It is lying snug in the darkness and wants to devour me. I have to run.
Yumi runs towards the exit and then stops short.
Yumi. And what about Toy? I promised him to cover the rear. I have to warn him and my mom if there’s an emergency.
Yumi goes back.
Yumi. A friend in need is a friend indeed. I will not betray Toy and will save my mom. Hey, who’s hiding there in the darkness? Come on out! I am not afraid of you. Grrr…
There was someone’s distinct growl in reply, then Yumi heard some movement, as if a real monster was breaking free from a cage.
Yumi. Is it all you got, you scary monster? Grrr…
Yumi jumps off and falls upon the monster. The attack is successful. Yumi bumps up against a big cage. There is a girl sitting in the cage. Yumi spotted this girl as his new acquaintance, who treated him to biscuits, by her smell.
Yumi. It’s a small world. What are you doing here?
Nyuta looks at Yumi in silence.
Scene 9.
The same decoration.
Yumi stands in front of the cage where Nyuta is locked.
Yumi. Is this you?
Nyuta. Yes, it’s me.
Yumi. Why did you growl?
Nyuta. Best defence is offence. I wanted to scare you.
Yumi. Then you succeeded. How did you get here?
Nyuta. I must be hallucinating. Dogs can’t speak.
Yumi. What do you mean they can’t speak?
Nyuta. Right. I’m going mad.
Yumi. It’s me, Yumi. We played together in our yard this morning. You treated me to some goodie.
Nyuta. Those were crunchy biscuits. Go away, ghost. I have no intention to lose my mind. Dogs can only bark.
Yumi. Woof! Woof!
The outer door opens slightly, a big dog pokes his head through the door opening, and his breath meets the ears. Yumi hides himself. The door closes again.
Nyuta. Hush! You will wake the guards up this way.
Yumi. I’m sorry.
Nyuta. There is also some huge dog wandering about here. He is looking for somebody.
Yumi leaves his hideout.
Yumi. My name is Yumi.
Nyuta. I am Nyuta. Granting for a moment that dogs can really speak and I am not getting mad.
Yumi. All the animals can speak, it’s just that not all the people can understand our language. What are you doing here?
Nyuta. Some masked thugs kidnapped me, brought me here and caged me up.
Yumi. But why?
Nyuta. One of them is called Corkscrew. I heard this name when they were taking me here.
Yumi. Corkscrew? He is my bitter enemy!
Nyuta. Oh really?
Yumi. Corkscrew and Khorkov caught my mom today.
Nyuta. But why would they do this?
Yumi. This is an animal tormentor gang. They rounded up stray animals in order to put them down with some deadly liquid.
Nyuta. It’s terrible.
Yumi. It was the mayor’s order, to rid the streets of stray animals.
Nyuta. The mayor’s order? No, it can’t be true.
Yumi. Then tell me, why is my mom in the dog prison now?
Nyuta. My father could not do that. There must be some mistake.
Yumi. I came here with my friends to save my mom. But first I need to let you out.
Nyuta. The latch is closed outside the cage’s door, I can not reach it from here. Try to open the latch.
Yumi tries to open it but fails.
Nyuta. No, I can’t.
Yumi. Pull the door. Alright. Harder.
Nyuta pulls the cage door, Yumi pushes the latch, and finally the door opens.
Yumi. Yes!
Nyuta. Good job. Thank you.
Yumi. Now go. Hereto, upstairs. Go through the building and find the door with a «fire exit» sign. It opens to the outside. There is a hole in the fence to the left from the security booth. Get out and run to the police station, they will help you.
Nyuta. Yumi, and you? What about your friends? And your mom?
Yumi. Your life is much more important than the lives of a bunch of stray animals.
Nyuta. You are mistaken, Yumi.
Yumi. Oh, really?
Nyuta. Everyone has the right to live, even if they were born on the street or dwell in the gateway. My mom taught me this. She died but I remember her words very well.
Yumi. What are we supposed to do now?
Nyuta. I will go with you and help you all.
Yumi. We could use a friend’s help.
The inner basement door opens, the mice come in. Toy and Greta follow them.
Yumi. Mom! Mommy.
Greta. Hello, my little boy.
Toy. Be quiet, Yumi. The rescue operation is going on. Who is this?
Yumi. This is Nyuta. She was kidnapped. Now she is with us.
Toy. Let’s go away.
The team heads for the door. They hear a voice from the other corner of the room.
Crow. Stop! Help me! I am here, in a cage.
