They searched quite a large part of the ville but the boys were too afraid to go, let alone let their dog out because it was always fatal and chances of dogs dying from the fights were high.
The boys were getting really exhausted.
"Are you sure we going to do this?" Cassey asked Allen feeling weak.
"I'm doing you a favour"
"What? This was your idea"
"Knock it off, let's keep looking"
They continued walking until… "I forgot! I haven't cleaned the pig house! Mama sure gonna keep me hungry tonight and tomorrow, we should forget this"
Allen rests his hands on his waist and exhaled, he was still determined to continue but the nagging from Cassey was becoming unbearable.
"Okay then, if you say so."
"I hate we have to stop though"
"Yes. I know, bye…"
And when he turned around he saw a boy he knew.
"Hey Cassey, I think our search is over"
They walked toward the boy sitting down and playing chess with two old men.
"War. When you are faced by three knights, four soldiers, two to three horses, haha are they kidding me? Is this a joke? Well while I'm trying to penetrate the castle and take the kingdom!" Sam looked up to Allen, and continued.
"That's it, the art of war, my boy" Allen grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up.
"Dare call me your boy again and you will spend the rest of the summer in your momma's room"
"What? Is that supposed to scare me?" Sam replied, freeing himself, looks at the two boys, picked up his things, started to walk away, and they followed him.
"I need your help Sam" Allen said
"Yes , you do. How can Sam help Allen?"
"We need your dog"
"My dog? What for?"
"... The Small Man Downhill"
Sam stopped walking. Then laughed a bit.
"What ?! That's too risky!"
"I know. That's why I need your help"
"Sorry Allen, I really wish I can help you, you see, my dog, I can't afford to lose her, not now, not this time, not anytime soon."
He walked away, they didn't follow him.
"Are we really going to let him go?. let's beg him, and probably negotiate the price"
"No. Sam doesn't negotiate. If he said no, he mean it."
"But we can't give up now"
"Why?"
"Because we are already on it…"
"Is your call then. I'm with you"
And that was when they found another boy strolling with a really big dog, they approached him feeling positive about it.
"Hey Pat" greeted Allen, staring at the big dog.
"Hi, Allen and Cassey..."
They kept looking at the dog and didn't say a word for some time, until…
"You two trying to kidnap my dog? Haha don't even think of it, unless you don't want to live again"
"Yes, in fact we are going to kidnap you and your dog" Allen added seriously, Cassey wanted to say something and Allen stopped him.
Pat looked at the two boys and smiled.
"Then you have to go through Mrs Bull crush first" he whistled and a very huge, fearful and strong pitbull jumped out from a corner on the street, panting like a wolf.
The boy's eyes widened, scared and amazed at the same time, they opened their mouth in awe but couldn't talk! Just the kind of dog they needed.
"Oh, you can close your mouths now" Pat said, as the Pitbull came closer to him and sat down and they immediately shut their mouth as if they had just been jolted back to life from the dead.
"We are not letting this one go…" Cassey whispered to Allen.
"Umm Pat i, we want to make you an offer?"
"Yea? What's it about?"
"Let's borrow your dog for the dog fight race. You get half of the money when we win."
"That's a reasonable deal isn't it?" added Cassey
"Yes it is…"
"Great!" Exclaimed Allen "so we are preparing for the saturday race and I think we are fully ready now."

The boy just looked at them, short of words, and they could sense it.
He was afraid but didn't know how to let it out or better still let himself out, he really loved the idea and the whole thing, but one, his mom won't let him go, and two his dogs are like both family and assets to him, and even if his dog wins, the injury would be great.
He was still negotiating with his mind and then just said something out, probably the best idea knob that kicked in at the moment…
"Is getting late! I have to go back home, my mother will be worried." He called up his dogs and they followed him. Cassey and Allen also followed behind.
"C'mon pat, we can do this!"
"No we"
"I know you are afraid" Cassey said, Pat exhaled
"And is okay to be afraid. I'm afraid too, but this is what life is all about, adventure, and you shouldn't let fear take it away from you, adventure is a privilege, that's why we live, to break free from limits who knows, we can just find our real self from it" Cassey added, he had just noticed that Allen had been staring at him…
Pat didn't talk again, nor did they, until Pat reached home, they followed him home without even knowing it.
"Guys, I really… you know what, come by tomorrow by dusk." And before any of them could say a word, he shut the door.
"Well, we still have a good chance" said Allen, as they walked away from the compound.
"Hey, nice words though."
"Huh?"
"When you said something about life being all about adventure and all that"
"Oh about that"
"Yea? Do you think it made any sense to him anyway?"
"I don't know. Anything makes sense only if you want it to."
"You should go back to school, or it doesn't make sense to you?"
"Never said that"
"I will take the left route , see you tomorrow by dusk"
"Yeah bye."
****
The next day, Cassey and Allen got to Pat's house in the evening. They kept knocking on the door but nobody came through. They thought no one was at home, so they decided to take a break and wait for someone to come back.
A few minutes later, someone opens the door, it was Pat's Mother, and with the look on her face, they knew it wasn't going to be any good.
They kept looking at each other until Allen decided to talk… but she cuts in before he could say a word.
"No way! No way! No way! You boys are crazy, you'd better go back home and do what you're meant to do! Keep nosing around and you might get your life kicked away from the face of the earth!
Threading on places you shouldn't! What has gotten into young peeps nowadays huh? Ain't you a bit afraid? Shoooosh!"... And she shut the door immediately without giving them a chance of anything while they just stood there trying to catch everything she had said because it all happened 'too fast'.
Cassey looked at Allen, and he shrugged. Pat came out from a corner.
"Look guys I'm really sorry, but I can't do stuff like that without letting my mama know about it"
"Pray you lad, pray I don't catch you outside your mother's nest! Damn never been so embarrassed and humiliated before." He walks away with anger, Cassey followed him.
"I'm sorry, we have no other option." Allen said, disappointedly, he hated disappointments, not to talk of disappointing his best friend.
"Seems we will be meeting the small man downhill ourselves"
"Is okay Allen boy. You tried enough." Cassey said, with a pat on his back, and they went their sperate ways home.
Cassey got back home, and when he was about to knock on the door, he noticed it was unlocked, he went in steathly and found Mama laying down on the couch in the living room.
"She must have been waiting for me, poor woman." Cassey said to himself, and covered her well with a blanket. He deeply exhaled, went outside, and went straight to Tom-mot.
He took a basket of carrot and sat down on the grass with Tom-mot adoring the stars and moonlight.
"Ohh,yes you can have more,eat up boy, tomorrow isn't promised." He said, and repeated himself, but thoughtfully…
"...Tomorrow isn't promised…"Saying as if there's something in the words, something that needs explaining.