The next morning, i got up as early as ever, ready for the day i had planned out for me and my sister, and the pups. Today, i was going to see if i could get closer to max, and see if he would trust My sister, Silvex and Chase, and Cally as well.
With everyone else asleep, i quietly left the room and headed towards the kennels. Most dogs were asleep, except for the early risers who didn't make much noise as i walked by.
I arrived at Max's kennel, the white pup huddled in a defensive like position as he slept. HE looked cold and lonely.
I quietly entered his kennel without waking him, and sat quietly next to his bed. Gently, i reached out and started to pet him. At first, he shuddered and whimpered under my touch, but after awhile, he stopped, and started to murr in his sleep. I smiled as i leaned down and kissed his forehead, then stepped out of his kennel and headed back to check on my sis and the pups.
Silvex and Chase were already up, my sister sleeping still. I chuckled as Silvex ran up to me, like the over excited husky he always is, and proceeded to tackle me and cover my face in kisses. I giggled as he did so.
Chase came over and gave me kisses as well as Silvex got off and returned to eating his food. Cally must've stopped by and fed them. Once Chase was done saying his good morning to me, I got up and headed into the staff's lounge. The owner said i was more than welcome to help myself if i ever stopped by.
"Morning Handsome," Cally said as i grabbed a coffee cake muffin, and started to eat it.
"Mornin," I said back as i grabbed a bottle of OJ from their mini fridge, and began to drink that while eating my muffin.
Cally didn't say much else as she poured herself some coffee. I was never a really big fan of the stuff, so when she offered me a cup, i said no.
"You know Seth, No one has shown any interest in adopting Silvex for the past 5 months, and his time is almost up," She said in a serious tone. I nearly spat out my Orange juice when she said that.
How their system here works, is that they hold and shelter dogs until they find a new owner, or they have been here for Six months… No no no, they don't kill them if the six months are up, they just simply ship said dog to another Shelter elsewhere. However, this meant Silvex could be shipped to across the globe, and me and my sis would never see him again.
I didn't want that. And I knew my sister wouldn't either.
"Cally? Do you suppose… I could adopt Silvex?"
Cally smiled. "Of course Sugar, no problem! You'll just have to fill out some paperwork, and then he's yours! I'll let the manager know when he comes in."
I sighed in relieve as I continued to drink my OJ. At least SIlvex would be safe and sound with me. Who knows where he could end up? More than likely, with how gray and depressing this world is, he would end up being abused by some drunkard that wouldn't give two shits about the Husky, or maybe he would simply be abandoned, left alone to fend for himself.
The scenarios were making me feel terrible, and I stopped thinking about them. He was going to be with me, and that's final.
Cally left the Staff lounge, and finishing my muffin and OJ, i threw my trash away and headed back out to check on my sis and the pups.
Both pups had gone back to sleep with my sister, all of them cuddling together for warmth. I smiled as i quietly pulled away and looked at my watch.
7:37 AM
It's a bit early, so i'll let them sleep in for now. I head back to the kennels to see how Max is fairing.
Max is awake, but not doing much else as i open the door to his Kennel. I sit where i sat last time, and he looks at me, some fear in his eyes, but also relief, as if he wanted me here.
"Hey Max, how did ya sleep?" I ask him. His ears perk up and he looks at me with a softer expression.
"Well? Okay, I'll take that as a yes," I replied. Before I know it, he's on my lap, and cuddling me close. He feels warm as I hug him. He murrs slightly as I pet him, feeling his fur.
God, he really hasn't gotten a bath in ages, and i can feel scars too. Who did this to him? No wonder why he's so mistrusting of humans. But why me? He could've gotten close with anyone, even Cally, but out of all of them, why me?
I think hard about what i'm to do with this pup in my arms. He needs a safe home. A place where his owners will be gentle and kind with him.
I get up and carefully putting Max back onto his bed, as he's fallen asleep in my arms, leave his Kennel quietly, and head back to the front of the Shelter. By now, the manager is back, and he is shifting papers around as he and Cally talk. She notices me as I enter the room.
"Hey hot stuff! We're ready for ya!" She says as i walk over to the counter.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to adopt another dog as well." I say to both of them.
The two exchange a perplexed look before the manager speaks up. "And along with Silvex, who else are you adopting?"
An Hour later, I finish the final signature, and the paperwork is done, as the manager takes it away to be filed in his office. Cally walks with me into the pup store of the Shelter.
"You'll need two collars, along with leashes, and four more bowls for their food and water. Oh, and you'll need some more dog food since you have three pups to feed now." She states as we look over the collars. I grab a Sky blue, and a neon rainbow colored collar, then i grab same-colored leashes to go with them.
Next, we get two metal bowls, and two plastic bowls, one White, the other Blue. Cally's at the register as i grab a huge bag of Dry dog food, and place it on the counter.
"I got the manager to raise your special discount to 75%, so count your lucky stars handsome," she said as I grin and pay her the amount for all the products.
"Tell him I said thanks, i have to get all this stuff back home." I say as i Carry the BIg bag of dry food out to the wagon, along with the collars, leashes, and bowls. Soon, i'm off back to our house.
As I walk down the barren street, I think of how less gray and dull it looks like. I never really actually paid much attention to it before. Whenever i took my walks, and bothered to look at the scenery, it was always gray. And depressing. SO I didn't bother to admire (Or try to, in this case,) the scenery often.
However, I could see more colors now. The brown bark of the trees, the green tufts of weeds growing in between the cracks on the road, and the weathered red on the stop signs that leaned in one direction next to the roadside.
I admit, I had never seen color like this ever since my parents passed away.
I arrived back at the house and proceeded to put the dog food away. When i thought about it, I was very sure our little home would be perfect for our two new dogs. I was positive this could work. After i put away the Collars, Leashes, and bowls, I was off again, without the wagon, back to the shelter. By now, it was around nine, and my sister would be awake soon.
I couldn't help but admire the scenery more again as I walked down the abandoned streets. It had been so long, I had forgotten how beautiful the colors looked like. The colors, were why I watched the PAW Patrol often, for it was sort of, my escape from my depressing gray world.
That was another thing, Chase.
What am I going to do with him? He's too young to talk right now, but I had a hunch he would be speaking english in a year or so. Does he even remember anything about the PAW Patrol? What if he doesn't and he see's the show? He could see a rerun, and literally watch himself in the show. What would he say? What would he do?
How would he get back home, if he wanted too?
I decided I'll think about the matter later, as i'm approaching the shelter. I need to focus on today. Today is suppose to be a busy day for all of us. I need to get everyone home first.
"Welcome back!" Cally says from the front desk as i walk back into the Staff lounge and into the room where Olivia and the pups are. All of them are awake, and Olivia is cuddling Chase.
"Morning Gang!" I say loudly, only to be tackled to the ground by, yours truly, Silvex. "Haha! Morning to you too SIlvex!" I say as i get up.
"I have to tell you something. I've adopted Silvex here and another pup." I say to all three of them. Olivia is excited by this.
"Yay! Silvex, you'll come live with us!" Olivia says as she hugs Silvex, who licks her face happily. I can see the confused look on Chase's face as I understand the question in his mind. Olivia beats me to it though.
"Who else besides Silvex?" she asks. Silvex calms down and looks at me with curiosity in his eyes.
"Well," I start. "He's a special pup. He's had a rough time, and he needs a very good home. One with gentle and loving owners. I decided to adopt him, so you all need to be careful and gentle with him, He's very timid."
Olivia smiles and nods as I head to the kennels to pick up the pup. I arrive at his cage and open the door with a smile on my face.
"Come on' Max. Time to go home."
Later on, we're all walking down the not-so-gray abandoned streets. Silvex and Chase are all over the place, having a good time. Olivia is chasing after them, having fun with them. Max is by my side, walking slowly, and eyeing everything cautiously.
"Nothing to fear pup, I've got your back." I say gently to him as I pat his head. He murrs a little, but still keeps eyeing everything as if something would jump out and attack us at any given moment.
I chuckle as I look back at my Sister and the other pups. They're still having fun, running around and exploring the abandoned street. I hope they don't get in trouble, as these streets are perfect for Menacing, Shady looking figures. These streets aren't exactly crime free…
My sister cries out as Silvex yelps and runs away from her, and Chase freezes, growling loudly. Some guy in a black trench coat has grabbed my sister, and has a revolver pointed at her head. Her face is of pure horror as i put my hands in the air. He looks at me with an emotionless expression.
"Alright now, you fork over all the Cash you got, and anything valuable, and i'll let little miss nosey here go, alright? No funny buisness!"
I nod slowly as I pull out my wallet, the man watching me closely, the barrel of the revolter still on my sister's head. As I open my wallet and began to pull out all the dollar bills I had, I could see Chase creeping up from behind the man. The criminal had been so focused on me and my sister, he didn't notice Chase had stopped growling and snuck behind him.
I knew Chase could do it, but I had to look unsuspicious. One wrong move, and my sister was off to join my parents. I pulled out all the money i had, and dropped the leather wallet to the ground, all the bills still in my hand.
"Gooood, Now, Drop them on the ground, and Back away, slowly."
I gently put all 7 bills of 20 on the pavement, and began to back away slowly, Max whimpering as I gently pushed him backwards. The criminal had a small grin, and still holding my sister, walked over to where the cash was and leaned down to grab it.
Chase's chance had come.
He leapt with all his might onto the man, causing him to yell out in surprise, and dropped his gun, and lost his hold on my sister. My sister just stared at the gun as the man and Chase fought viciously.
Forgetting about Max, I ran over to my sister and pushed her out of the way to safety. I reached down for the gun, only to have the criminal grab it too. He had shook off Chase, and he was desperate for that cash.
We both wrestled for the gun for minutes, but it felt like ages. Things were gonna get messy if he got the gun back.
Without warning, I pulled the trigger on the gun while i was trying to wank it out of his grasp. It fired, and startled us both, the man losing his grip, and deciding this wasn't worth it, ran off to who knows where.
However, that didn't mean I didn't hear the 'YELP!' Shortly after the shot was fired.
I looked over towards the direction where the gun was fired. THere was Max, whimpering as his leg was covered in blood, and bleeding onto the pavement.
"MAX!" I yelled out as I threw the gun onto the ground, and me, Chase, and Olivia ran over. As soon as i got close, Max tried to run away.
Poor dog thought i had shot him on purpose!
"No… No no! I didn't mean to…" I said gently as tears were streaking down my face. Max could see i was crying, but that didn't change the fact that he was terrified of me right now.
I reached out to him, and he jerked away, the pain in his leg keeping him from running away.
"Oh god Max, please… Please forgive me…" I cried as more tears fell from my face onto the cold dead stone ground. I closed my eyes, and I could remember, that moment, I had felt like i had failed him. I had failed to be the best i could for Max.
Then, I could feel a pup trying to get on my lap, for a cuddle.
"No Silvex, not now," I said, my voice slightly breaking.
"Uhhh… That isn't Silvex… Or Chase…" My sister said in a quiet tone.
I opened my eyes to see Max on my lap, crying in pain and sadness. I only wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly as i stood up, with him in my arms.
"Olivia, grab my things, we need to get him back to the Shelter."
After running for ages, we returned to the Shelter, I had never loosened my hold on Max, afraid to let go of him. The experience had… had Changed me somehow.
"Oh my god, let's get him to the Infirmary. You'll be alright sweetie," Cally said as we rushed in through the front door.
Once there, I carefully laid Max onto a table, his wound still bleeding. Cally arrived with several medical supplies.
"Okay, so it's a bullet wound? Ill need to remove that thing before we can patch him up," Cally said.
"Max, look at me," I said, gently petting his head. His eyes gazed upon me, with fear and pain in them. "we're going to have to pull the bullet out so we can make you feel better. Now, this is going to hurt. Quite possible a lot. But I'm right here for you. It won't last forever. We'll make you better, and i Promise. I promise with all my heart, I will never, ever, hurt you, ever again."
Max seemed to trust me, and had a hint of joy in his eyes, but then Cally began to dig the bullet out of his leg.
He howled loudly in pain as I held him down, and kept him from moving too much. Cally did her best, but it took some time before…
"Got it!" she exclaimed, holding a bloody bullet with a pair of tweezers. I sighed in relief as I stopped holding Max down, and proceeded to help Cally wrap up the wound.
As she finished wrapping up the last of the bandages, I gave Max light dose of Pain reliever. He seemed to have calmed down, with relief and drowsiness in his eyes.
"Don't worry Max, I've got you," I said to him as i gently picked him up, Cally giving my Sister, who was watching the whole thing from a distance, all we would need to take care of Max for the next week.
"I'll say at the minimum, he'll be good as new in four days. Make sure to change his bandages every day until you can't see anymore bleeding. And then, make sure he takes it easy for a few days until the Scar is gone." Cally said as I carried Max out of the Shelter's front doors.
"Thanks for everything Cally." I said as we walked back home, this time, Chase, Silvex, and Olivia sticking by my side like glue, all of us keeping an eye out for that criminal in case he decided to try again.
Luckily, we arrived home without any events, and I laid Max down on the couch.
"Seth, I'm hungry," Olivia told me as i pulled a blanket over Max.
"Well let's go fix some-" I started, but when we walked into the kitchen, I stopped. I had forgotten our Kitchen was still in a mess from that criminal that broke in yesterday.
"Well, As soon as we clean up the kitchen, I'll fix ya some… Hmmm, how does Mac and Cheese sound?" I say. My sister's face beams with joy, She loves my Mac and Cheese, it's one of her favorite meals.
We began to clean up the mess, I sweep up the crumbs and pieces of broken dishware as my Sister picks up whatever isn't torn or destroyed and puts it away. Even if he ate almost all our food, there's still all the ingredients for the Mac and Cheese. There's enough milk, and butter too, and he didn't get in the pantry, so all the canned and boxed food is untouched.
I get a pot of water boiling and pour the pasta in as I get everything ready. Granted, the kitchen isn't completely clean yet, but clean enough for now. While i was waiting for the water to boil, i got out the big bag of dog food and grabbing two bowls, I pour Silvex and Chase their dinner, and of course, give each several pieces of chopped up ham, which for some reason, was left untouched as well.
I chop up the rest of the ham for Max, and putting it all into his bowl, walk into the living room. He's awake now, but luckily, the pain reliever hasn't worn off yet.
"You were very brave today Max, so here's a special dinner for you pup," I say as i put the bowl down in front of him. He sniffs it for a few seconds before he begins to eat it hungrily.
I giggle as i walk back into the kitchen and check on the pasta. Almost Done, I call out to my sister, who's gone into her room.
"OLIVIA! DINNER WILL BE READY IN A FEW MOMENTS!" I yell out.
"Okay!" She yells back as I grab the pot by the handle and pour the contents into a strainer i've put into the sink. Once drained of all the hot water, I pour the pasta back into the pot, and back onto the Stove, and adjusted the heat to a lower setting.
I put the cube of butter and the cheese into the pot, and began to stir it up, the butter slowly melting as the cheese mixes in with the pasta. After a while, I grab the gallon of Milk, and pour in a fair amount of milk. Mixing it up with the cheese and butter, the smell of creamy, cheesey pasta fills the air. I drool a little as i keep on stirring and mixing the pasta.
My sister walks in with a dreamy look on her face. Man, that girl really loves my cooking. Maybe a little too much… Nah.
I pour us bowls of the creamy Mac and Cheese, and we both sit down and eat as we watch Silvex and Chase cuddle up with Max, who is falling asleep again after finishing his ham.
I giggle and finish off my bowl, putting it in the sink as i pour my Sister seconds of the pasta. She really, really, loves my Mac and Cheese.
"Alright, I expect you to be in bed by nine tonight, got it?"
She nods with her cheeks full of Mac and Cheese. The sight makes me laugh as I walk towards the stair.
"Sleep well pups." I say as i pass them on the couch. They are all fast asleep, so i quietly walk up the stairs, and into my room. I see my guns are still on the table that I left them on, and i leave them there. With the recent events, I didn't want to take any second chances with fate.
I turn the lights off, and soon, laying on my bed, fall asleep, thinking about all that has happened.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day, I thought.
The Next morning, I'm up, as bright and as early as ever. I get up and walk down the stairs, this time, taking one of my Swing out Cylinder Revolvers in case someone had broke in again.
No one had this time. I see all three pups on the couch, still fast asleep in the same positions they had taken last night. I walk over to the kitchen and grab myself a glass of water.
There was a noise behind me.
I instantly pull my revolter out and pointed it in the direction of the noise.
My sister is standing there, eyes wide, and her hands in the air.
I instantly lower the gun. Jesus, I'm too jumpy.
"S-sorry olivia, don't want a repeat of Saturday, do we?" I said, putting the gun away. He nods and walks around to fix herself some toast. That's really all she can make by herself. Otherwise, it ends up in a mess. I swear, she's so bad at cooking, she can burn water.
I finish my glass of water and head into the living room. Chase and Silvex are awake now, but Max is still sleeping.
"Mornin boys. Want some breakfast?"
Both nod, and I go grab the bag of dog food and proceed to pour their bowls full of the stuff. They happily begin to stuff their faces full, Olivia giggling a little as she waits for the toaster to finish.
I walk over to the couch and gently sit next to Max, who is beginning to wake up from his slumber. He looks as if he's in a bit of pain.
"Morning Max," I gently say to him as I carefully pet him. He murrs quietly before whining in pain. "Would you like something for your pain?"
He nods, and I got over to where I put all the supplies we got from cally. Pulling a vial of pain reducer, I grab a syringe and began filling it with a small dose of the clear fluid.
Once done, I walk back over to Max. "This is gonna hurt for a few seconds, okay? Then your pain should be gone."
He nods and closes his eyes as I push the needle into his side, and Inject the pain reliever into his body.
After I finish, I pull it out, and rub the injection site, making sure he's not bleeding. He opens his eyes, and after awhile, leans up and licks my face gently.
"Aww, it's quite alright pup. Now let's get you something to eat," I say as I put the used Syringe in a sharps contained that cally included, and poured a bowl full of food for Max. I gently put the bowl in front of him, and he begins to eat, slowly and sort've gracefully, but none the less, still eating food.
I sit next to Olivia as I turn the news on. Nothing new, except for a thunderstorm on tuesday. I look at the calendar.
It's Sunday already? Jesus, I've lost track of time from all the recent events. As I think about what to do today, there is a knock at the front door.
"Coming!" I say, as I get up and walk over to the door. As I open the door, I see two police officers. I flinch a little, but not enough to be noticeable.
"Good day Mr Knight," one of them spoke. I sigh in relief. It's Jack, A police officer that was close friends with my father before he passed away. He and I meet often, and talk about whatever's going on in the east coast of the US.
I guess I should bring you up to speed about the situation in the outside world. Since my life grew gray, I really didn't pay much mind to what happened to the US government. From what I can remember after many morning of hearing the News anchor drabble on about, the Western States grew tired of how messed up society and the government system was, and seceded from the United States of America, forming their own country.
From what i've heard, it was a quick war, as many of the people living in the Eastern states sided with this new Country, and rebelled on their own government. It was soon overthrown, and a new government was created, a new constitution drafted. It was basically the same thing, except the new leaders added new rules and rights to accommodate Today's issues. Rights for Homosexuals, Racism punishable by death, and a more strict meaning of "Freedom of Religion."
Whatever was the case, the Economy slowed right after the war ended, which explains the gray world I'm living in right now. But life resumed in the New US as if nothing had happened.
Anyways, back to the present…
"Can I help you Officer Jack?" I said.
"Yes, we just arrested some poor bloke who says he was attacked by a german shepherd. I believe it's your dog?"
I fidget for a moment, thinking carefully. This may mean Chase could be put down, as the new laws are a bit harsher on rouge/uncontrolled pets.
"...Yes," I say after a while, and explained everything that happened yesterday.
"Ah, okay then," Jack says as i finish, his partner scribbling the whole story on a notepad. Must be for the records, or court, whatever.
"Say Seth… Have you considered having Chase work in the K-9 unit?" Jack says.
I was a bit shocked, but then again, with everything that has happened with Chase and I, I wasn't Shocked by that very much.
"Well… Not really…" I say. Jack nods.
"Well there is an open position for a pup like him. I think he'll do a fine job if you'll let him on the team. Here," He said, giving me a contact's card for the K-9 unit.
I forgot to mention Jack is the head officer of the local K-9 unit.
"Gimme a call if you decide to have him join us." Jack says as he and his partner walk back to their car. I wave goodbye and close the door. I look more closely at the card.
There's Jack's office phone, with the time that's he's available at the office. Man, is very neat and formal. Guess he likes to be that kind of guy.
I Walk back into the kitchen to see Olivia petting Chase, while Silvex is grooming himself. I look into the living room to see Max finishing off his Breakfast.
I smile and walk up to Olivia and Chase. "Hey Chase? Can I ask you an important question?" I say. Chase looks at me with a smile on his face, Olivia looks at me as well, with a look of curiosity on her face.
I kneel down so my face is at eye level with Chase.
"Would you like to work for the police force?" I ask him.
Well, from what i gathered, he was thrilled at the question, so I took it as a yes. Me and Olivia agreed we'd give Jack a call tomorrow. For now, we would spend the day celebrating Chase's new job.
For some reason, I couldn't help but have a feeling of Déjà vu.
What we did that day? Hmm, we'll i've already told you a lot. Maybe I should tell you that next time.
Hey Guys! Just An A/N here.
IT TOOK ME AGES to write this one chapter, so I have high expectations! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW, it'll only take a few moments to write what you think about the Chapter and/or Story so far. It would really make my day.
Look at me, Posting on a weekend. I never post on the weekends, but I really wanted to finish this, as I know LPP will love and hate this chapter so much. Anyways, thanks for reading, Part 4 will be in the future.
SILVERWOLF OUT