Benny held up the microphone and practically screamed into it. “The popcorn pops up, and the machine pushesdown!” He flung his arms dramatically as Red tipped the kettle, sending a golden cascade of popcorn tumbling into a serving bowl. And on the floor. “Equal and opposite reactions!”
But Benny’s science lesson was lost when Sir Isaac Newton spotted Red. Unleashed, he lunged forward, zoomie style, lurching toward Red but hitting the trophy instead. It toppled with a crash, the noise just enough to set all the dogs off, including the littlest one, who shot off the stage and darted to the door.
“Petunia! Someone get my dog!”
Standing now, Gracie gave Nicole a nudge. “Get the dog!” but Nicole had her hands over her face in horror.
“Do you smell that?” she cried. “It’s gas!”
Propane.
“And smoke!” Aunt Cindy yelled, pointing at the thin, dark plume curling from the propane burner at the machine’s base. The copper top rattled and whistled shrilly.
Someone yelled over the barking and Jack launched from his seat toward Red just as a smoke alarm sounded a high-pitched warning so loud it drowned outeverything.
Bright white strobe lights flashed along the walls, more than a few people knocked over folding chairs trying to get up and out, and every dog in the building started barking, howling, and running for the open side doors.
“The dogs!” someone screamed.
“I smell gas!”
“Move that old thing out of here!”
Red! Benny! Gracie felt her mouth open to shout for her son, but there was no way she could be louder than the explosion of noise around her.
“Red! Hang on! I’m coming!” Jack was nearly to Red, who was surrounded by people and dogs and flying popcorn.
“Where’s Benny?” Gracie hollered, trying to muscle through people and dogs toward the stage. The whole time the smoke alarm blared, deafening and frightening, terrifying everyone.
Finally, she saw him, standing on the edge of the stage, clinging to his dog, tears pouring down as he surveyed the bedlam unfolding around him as kids who’d jumped on the stage shouldered him out of the way, desperate to get to another door.
“Get the dogs!” Renee shouted. “And get out of the building!”
Benny didn’t move.
Gracie tried to climb onto the stage, but she kept getting bumped by people and dogs. “Benny!” she called out. “Benny, I’m right here.”
“I’ve got him,” a man exclaimed behind her.
She whipped around in time to see Marshall leap up in one easy move, followed by Olivia, who turned and offered one hand to Gracie, the other clinging to Kat’s leash.
As she climbed up, Gracie saw Marshall swoop to Benny and lift him and Sir Isaac Newton, carrying them both to open space.
“Benny!” Gracie called, running to them, throwing a grateful, “Thank you!” to Marshall.
“I’m okay, Mom!” Benny’s voice wobbled, tears springing to his eyes. “But the other dogs?—”
On the floor, Red and Jack wrestled with the machine’s crank. A giant mastiff ran by and knocked the whole thing over, adding to the utter and complete pandemonium.
“Mom, what do we do?” Benny cried, trembling. “They’re all running away!”
“The whistles!” Olivia shouted, handing Kat’s leash to Gracie. “Hold her. We need to go out there and use our whistles to get any missing dogs back!”
“You’re right,” Benny said, shoving Sir Isaac Newton into Gracie’s arms. “Let’s go the other way.”
Without another word, the two of them sprinted off the stage to the front door, leaving Marshall and Gracie staring at each other.
“Well, I’ll give him this,” Marshall said. “He knows how to stop the show.”
