"I can't wait to get out to that trail again!" Chase wagged his tail in excitement, "It's been a whole year since we've been out there!"
"It seems like it's been ten!" Zuma lamented, "I thought this winter would never end!"
"It's going to be so much -," Rocky's happy tone immediately shifted as Skye walked into the room, "Fun…"
"Hi, guys…," Skye coughed.
Marshall lifted his head out of his gear bag and eyed the shivering pup, "You know, you really should be in bed."
"I know… But it's just so boring…,"
"How are you feeling, Skye?" Chase asked.
"Could be better…," She sniffled.
"I'm sorry you can't come with us…," Rocky hung his head low.
"It won't be the same without you there…," Zuma added.
"Yeah…," Rubble lifted his head out of his bag and agreed.
"Don't feel bad, guys… There's always next time…," She sneezed, "Katie is going to make me some chicken soup and we're going to watch movies all day; it won't be that bad," She smiled, "Just make sure to have some extra fun for me out there, okay?"
"I think we can manage that," Chase smiled warmly at her.
"Alright, pups!" Ryder yelled from the door, "Let's roll out!"
Rocky and Zuma dashed to the door without a word, Chase waited for Marshall and Rubble – still rummaging through their bags.
"What are you guys doing?!" Chase looked as his friends.
"I'm making sure I have all the first aid supplies I need in case someone gets hurt," Marshall spoke with his head still in his bag.
"I'm making sure we have enough food!" Rubble echoed.
Chase groaned impatiently.
"Ryder has everything we need!" Chase started to push Marshall to the door, "Come on!"
"But…," Marshall protested.
"He has a first aid kit and snacks!" Chase punctuated, "Let's go!"
Marshall rolled his eyes and beckoned Rubble to leave their gear behind and head to the door.
Before long the group was on their way up the trail outside of Adventure Bay.
"It's so nice out today," Zuma turned to Rocky who watched a small group of chirping birds on a nearby tree branch.
"Yeah," Rocky agreed as they trotted up the path, "It's nice to just run around out here and relax every once and a while."
"Enjoy that relaxation while you can…," Chase smirked, "We're about at the halfway mark and you know what that means…"
"I sure do…," Rocky narrowed his eyes.
"Are you two ever going to give this little rivalry up?" Ryder laughed, "You have to race each other down this hill every time we come out here!"
"More like I have to beat Chase down this hill every time we come out here!" Rocky jeered.
"Heh!" Chase shrugged, "Well see about that this time."
"Come on, Chase…," Marshall joked, "He's got you beat down this hill every time!"
"Marshall!" The Shepherd shook his head, "You're suppose to be on my side!"
Everyone but Chase laughed.
"He's just better at running downhill than you are, Chase!" Zuma stood by Rocky as they reached the apex of hill.
"I'll go easy on you, Chase," Rocky positioned himself at their ritualistic makeshift starting line.
"I'll go easy on you, Chase…," Chase mocked quietly, growling under his breath as he took up his position.
"Count us down, Ryder!" Rocky nodded.
"3… 2… 1… Go!" Ryder waved his hand and the two pups took off.
They bounded close together for a short time before Rocky started to pull ahead.
"I got you this time!" Chase panted.
"All you got is my dust!" Rocky breathlessly yelled back as he extended his lead.
Those words struck a nerve.
Chase propelled himself forward in a sudden burst of anger, slamming his body into the other sprinting pup causing him to lose his balance. Rocky tumbled head over paw for a distance down the hill before skidding through the gravel to an eventual stop near the finish line.
Chase continued running undeterred for a moment before the yells behind him pulled him back to the reality of what he just had done.
He came to a stop.
"Rocky…?"
Rocky struggled to sit up. Blood dripped from a paw he tenderly held above the ground.
"Are you okay?" A guilty Chase approached the pup as the others rushed down the hill.
"Get away from me!" Rocky barked, clearly upset
Chase staggered backward in surprise at the sudden outburst.
"What the heck was that, Chase?!" Marshall yelled as he hurried past.
"Why did you do that?!" Zuma's voice was laced with anger.
"You tripped him!" Rubble exclaimed
"I…"
"Bad pup!" Ryder scolded, "You sit right here and do not move!"
Chase lowered his ears and nodded.
"I'm alright…," Rocky tried to shake the dizziness from his head.
"Take it easy!" Marshall instructed, "Did you hit your head?"
"Not really… I think I'm just a little dizzy from all the rolling…"
"And the paw?" Marshall checked, "Can you move it?"
Rocky slowly rotated it around, "Yeah… Just cut."
"Hmm… Looks pretty deep… We might need to take you to get stitches," Marshall popped open Ryder's first aid kit.
Rocky whined.
"I'll get it cleaned up and bandaged for now and we can look at it again when we get back home."
He nodded.
"This is going to sting," Marshall hardly gave any warning before pouring disinfectant over the wound causing the other pup to yelp in pain.
"Sorry, dude…," Marshall wrapped the wound with gauze, "It's best not to have too long to anticipate that part."
"Are you going to be able to walk?" Zuma helped his friend up and brushed him off.
Rocky put his injured paw down and quickly shifted weight off it. He limped a few steps forward.
"It's a long way back…," Rubble reminded, "It's probably a little shorter if we keep going to the end rather than turn back – we passed the halfway point."
"I'll carry you down," Ryder knelt beside him.
"I'll be alright," Rocky assured.
"You really should let him -," Marshall was cut off.
"It's not that bad… I'll be fine," Rocky took a few more steps and winced, "A little slow, but fine."
"Alright…," Ryder conceded, "Just let us know if you need to take a break."
The boy turned his attention to Chase.
"I don't know what that was, Chase; but we'll talk about it more when we get home."
Chase hung his head in shame.
"For now, I want you right beside me and quiet as a mouse, got it?"
"Yes, sir… Ryder, sir…"
The group hiked about another quarter of the way down the trail.
"What was that?" Zuma questioned the rumbling noise coming from beside him.
"I think that's my stomach telling me it's almost lunch time," Rocky laughed.
"I'm hungry too!" Rubble agreed, "Can we stop for a snack break?!"
Rocky sat down and lifted his paw.
"I think a little break would do us all some good," Ryder opened his backpack.
"You wait here, Rocky. I'll bring you something," Zuma smiled.
"Thanks, dude."
Zuma returned and sat a treat bar at his feet.
"I know this isn't the kind you usually get…," Zuma began, "But I want you to try this one – it's my favorite! They're really good but Ryder hardly ever buys them."
Rocky sniffed the treat, "What is it?"
"It's basically just a solid bar of peanut butter!" Zuma chuckled before scarfing his down.
Rocky took a small bite, "Hey… That is pretty good!"
"Told you!" Zuma watched his friend devour the treat.
"Ryder, sir…?" Chase looked up at the boy, "Can I go talk to Rocky, please? I want to apologize."
The boy's scornful expression softened. He nodded.
The two pups got quiet as Chase approached.
"I just came to say –."
"That, what?!" Rocky interrupted him, "That you can't stand anyone being better than you at anything?!"
"Sorry!" Chase finished.
"Sorry?!" Rocky snapped, "Maybe if you would take a moment to deflate your giant ego you wouldn't have to be sorry!"
Chase hung his head in silence as Rocky screamed at him.
"All you do is ruin things like this! You ruined the whole day for everyone!"
The pup looked up briefly before bolting into the nearby woods.
"Chase!" Ryder called after him.
Rocky turned back to the others staring at him in disbelief.
The pup sighed, "I'll go talk to him… You guys wait here."
Rocky followed a makeshift path a few hundred meters deep into the forest.
"Chase!" He called.
No response.
"Chase! Please… I'm sorry… I just want to talk."
He heard whimpering nearby.
"Chase?" He found the pup leaned up against a nearby tree with his face buried in his paws.
"I'm sorry, Chase," Rocky sat down beside him, "I was angry, I didn't mean to blow up like that on you."
"I do ruin everything!" Chase cried.
"No, you don't…," Rocky comforted.
"You said so!"
"You know I didn't mean that… Just like I know you didn't mean to hurt me when we were racing down that hill… Sometimes we just say and do stupid things in the heat of the moment..."
"Maybe you all would be better off without me…," Chase sniffled.
"Come on, Chase… Don't say that…"
The two sat in silence for a few moments.
"I'm sorry I tripped you during our race," Chase looked at his friend.
"I forgive you… I was kinda asking for it egging you on like I did…"
"Maybe next time we're up here we can skip the race," Chase suggested.
"Are you kidding me? I have a flawless victory record to maintain… You didn't officially cross the finish line today!"
The pups laughed.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"I forgive you," Chase smiled.
Rocky placed a paw on his friend's shoulder, "We're family… We fight sometimes but we still love each other no matter what."
"No matter what," Chase echoed.
"Are we good?" Rocky stood up.
"We're good."
"Alright! Let's get back to the others before they get worried… Do you know the way back?"
"Yeah, it's this way!" Chase led.
"Or maybe it was the other way…," Chase studied the maze of trees before them after walking for a few minutes.
Rocky lagged behind, panting hard.
Chase turned to his friend, "Are you okay, dude? You don't look so good."
"Don't know…," Rocky vomited and collapsed on the ground.
"Rocky!" Chase raced to his side, "What's wrong?!"
"Can't… Breathe…," He wheezed.
Chase barked at his pup tag in a panic, "Ryder!"
"Chase!" The boy responded.
"There's something wrong with Rocky! You guys need to get here now!" He quickly added.
"What?!" Ryder stood, alarmed, "Where are you?! What's wrong?!"
"I – I don't know!" Chase stammered, "We're in the woods somewhere! Rocky just collapsed and says he can't breathe!"
The other pups gasped.
"You can track us with your pup pad, right?!"
"Yeah!" Ryder fumbled around with the device.
"We shouldn't be too far away!"
"Got you!" Ryder observed the pinging dots on his device, "We're coming!"
Chase turned his attention back to Rocky, coughing and shaking with fear.
"The others are coming. They know exactly where we are… Everything's going to be okay…"
"Cha-," The pup struggled to speak between labored breaths, as tears welled in his eyes.
"Don't try to talk!" Chase stopped him, "Just try to breathe… Nice and easy…"
Chase's soothing tone calmed the other pup somewhat.
"There they are!" Ryder called as they entered the small clearing.
Marshall immediately swung into action, racing to Rocky's side.
"What happened?!"
"Like I said, I don't know! He was just fine a few minutes ago! He was panting really hard and I asked him if he was okay and before I knew it, he threw up and collapsed and now can barely breathe!" Chase reiterated.
"Did he get stung or bit by anything?" Marshall evaluated the pup.
"I don't know!"
"Ryder! First aid kit! Now!"
Rocky felt lightheaded.
Ryder popped open the kit. Marshall rummaged through it.
"No! No! No!" He exclaimed, tossing piece after piece out.
"What?!" Ryder demanded.
"There's not one in here!"
"Not one of what?!"
"Epinephrine!" Marshall dumped the whole kit out on the ground, "I think Rocky's having some kind of allergic reaction! He needs epinephrine now! I have some in my gear but it's back at the watchtower!"
Rocky looked on in horror through his blurring vision.
"There's no way we can get him back there in time!" Rubble whined
"What are we gonna do?!" Zuma cried.
"Backup!" Chase barked into his pup tag, "Skye!"
"Stay with us, Rocky!" Marshall noted the fading pup.
Everything went black.
Bright light flooded his vision as he slowly opened his eyes.
His head throbbed, and his body was sore.
He observed his surroundings as his vision focused: he was in a white room, hooked up to various machines and tubes, Ryder and the other pups sat nearby.
"Guys…?" He rasped.
"Rocky!" They jumped up in unison, showering him with hugs and licks, "You're okay!"
He laughed weakly, "What happened…? Where am I…?"
"We're at the vet in Adventure Bay," Ryder said, "You had us pretty worried there for a while…"
"You went into anaphylactic shock after you went looking for Chase back on the trail," Marshall explained.
The pup looked confused.
"You had a really bad allergic reaction," Marshall clarified.
"But… I'm not allergic to anything…," Rocky looked even more confused.
"Turns out you are," Marshall nodded.
"To what…?"
"You remember that treat I brought you…?" Zuma spoke.
Rocky tried to recall, "Peanuts…?"
"I'm so sorry, dude! I didn't know!" Zuma looked on the verge of tears.
"It's okay, Zuma… None of us could have known," Marshall assured.
"But… I've had peanuts before. I'm not allergic to them…"
"Weren't," Ryder corrected.
"What…?"
"It's possible for someone to develop an allergy over time, especially an allergy to some type of food," Marshall elaborated.
"But If I was allergic to peanuts wouldn't I have had a reaction right after I ate them…?" Rocky asked.
"That's usually how it works… But rarely a reaction can happen many minutes or even sometimes hours after exposure to the allergen – that's what happened to you."
Rocky thought for a moment.
"How did I get here from all the way up on the trail…?"
"After you collapsed Chase called me on his pup tag….," Ryder began.
"He led us right to you!" Rubble interjected.
"After we got there, Marshall figured out what was going on pretty quickly, but we didn't have the medical supplies we needed to help you – we weren't sure what to do."
"Chase had the idea to call in Skye," Zuma recounted, "She flew in Marshall's gear and helped us get you out of there – just in time."
"Skye…?" Rocky repeated.
"Hi, Rocky…," the quiet pup coughed nearby, "I guess today was a good day to be home sick… I'm glad you're okay."
"Where's Chase…?" Rocky noticed he was missing.
"He feels bad about everything that happened and thinks you probably don't want to see him," Marshall frowned.
"Tell him to come in here, please…"
Marshall left for a moment and returned with the German Shepherd.
Chase looked at his paws as he approached Rocky's bed.
"It's my fault we were out in the woods… If I wouldn't have ran off, we could have gotten you help faster… You almost died because of me…"
Rocky pulled him into a tight hug, "You saved me! You all saved me…"
"That's what friends are for...," Zuma joined the group hug.
The others followed.
"Thanks, guys…"
"Anytime, Rocky," Ryder acknowledged, "Remember, whenever you're in trouble-,"
"Just yelp for help, I know… It's a little hard to do when you can't breathe, though," Rocky smiled.
Everyone laughed.