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She shrieked, her mouth wide, as she pushed off the shelf and rolled in the opposite direction away from the large object that she assumed to be Dickens’s paw.

“Stop it, Dickens! Bad kitty! Bad kitty!” she shouted as she kicked her feet, scrambling to shelter behind a shelf.

“Hey, Paige!” Dewey called. “Did you find everything?”

“I did, but it won’t matter if you don’t help me! Dickens has me trapped and has been playing with me like a bug!”

Dewey darted into the space from the main archive and stared at the scene. Paige waved a hand in the air as she huddled near a shelf. Dewey flew toward her, passing two shelves before he came to a halt.

A paw larger than him swiped in the air.

Dewey danced backward, taking cover behind a nearby shelving unit. “Whoa!”

With the cat distracted, Paige crawled out from behind the shelf, tapping around on the floor in search of her glasses. She stumbled upon them, swiped them from the smooth surface, and shoved them back on her face before darting back into the aisle.

“I told you. He’s in a real mood,” Paige shouted.

“Control your cat, Paige! He nearly shredded me!”

“I can’t help it. He’s nearly shredded me, too. We can’t make this Tacloosa stuff soon enough.”

Dewey rounded the corner on the opposite end from the main aisle and swished up toward Paige. “Give me the stuff.”

Paige unloaded her arms of the materials as Dewey scanned them. “Wait, the Wool of Bat is missing.”

“I know, I know. It fell off the ladder and rolled over there.” Paige poked a finger across the main aisle at the round container lying next to the shelf.

“Well, go get it!”

Paige let her shoulders slump as she stared at Dewey. “Seriously?”

“I can’t go! One swipe of his paw could kill me!”

“Well, it could seriously maim me.”

“Maimed is better than killed. Now hurry!”

Paige peered around the corner of the shelf, searching the space in all directions.

“Okay,” she breathed. “I’m going to make a run for it. Alert me if you see Dickens.”

Paige crouched at the end of the shelf, her eyes on the green container lying on its side across the wide aisle. She blew out a long breath before she launched toward it, sprinting across the aisle and skidding to a halt as she reached for the tin box.

Her fingers grazed it, and she wiggled them to roll it closer before snatching it up. She darted back to Dewey and passed it off.

“Look out!” Dewey shouted, flying backward as a large paw swiped through the air, smacking Paige and knocking her forward.

She sprawled onto the concrete with her glasses knocked askew.

“Here he comes again!” Dewey warned, waving a teal finger in the air behind her.

Paige righted her spectacles and tried to scramble to her feet. The paw swished through the air again, clipping the top of her head and flipping her over. She somersaulted through the air and landed on her back. The air rushed from her lungs, leaving her breathless for a moment.

Dewey fluttered over her. “You stay here and keep Dickens busy. I’ll go back and whip up the cure. I won’t be long!”

“Dewey,” Paige wheezed as he flitted away.

“Good luck!” Dewey called over his shoulder as he darted away, disappearing around the corner into the back aisle.