CHAPTER 10: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Chase opened his eyes slowly. When he was fully awake he realized that he was in a big garden, with dozens of colorful flowers scattered on the ground and large lush trees.

"Where are I?"

"Chase"

The german shepherd felt a familiar voice and turned "Zuma?"

Zuma approached Chase looking around "What happened? What is this place?" asked the labrador confused.

"I don't know" said Chase.

"Zuma? Chase? Are you?"

The two pups turned and saw Everest approaching them. "Where are we?" asked Everest.

"Good question" said Zuma.

"Finally you have arrived" the three pups saw a dalmatian who was walking toward them.

"Marshall?" said Everest.

"We've been waiting for you" Marshall smiling.

"We? Marshall what's going on? Where are we?" asked impatiently Chase.

"In paradise" answered quietly the Dalmatian.

"In paradise? Wait, we're dead?!" asked Zuma upset.

"Oh no, we aren't literally in paradise, I wanted to say this place is paradise. Come on, come with me, Ryder and the other pups are waiting for us" said Marshall heading toward a stand of trees.

Chase Zuma and Everest began to follow Marshall but he turned. "Maybe it's best if you get off the collars" he said, pointing their silver collars with the gems.

"Uhm, why?" asked Everest.

"They might ruin, let there" Marshall ordered. The three pups stared and broke away their collars leaving them in the grass.

"Well, now we can go, follow me" Marshall started walking and they followed him.

It was very late and it was raining, in the lookout everyone were sleeping, well, almost everyone. Meredith was still awake, unable to sleep.

"I have a strange feeling. Maybe a cup of hot tea will help me" Meredith got up from bed and walked to the kitchen, trying not to make noise began to prepare tea. When the drink was ready she drank it slowly "I needed it"

While drinking tea, Meredith looked out the window and noticed immediately that something was wrong, there were three objects on the ground, because of the rain she couldn't make out what they were so she taken an umbrella and she walked to the entrance of the lookout. When she emerged from the building the girl walked to the three objects, but was shocked when he realized what they were. "Oh no" Meredith knelt and saw the three collars with the gems, with a hand picked up the collar of Zuma. When she looked up she saw several footprints on the muddy ground, the footprints were heading for the forest.

"Meredith? What are you doing?" she turned and saw Ryder approaching her

"He entered in their minds!" she said scared "We have to find them" Meredith began to run toward the woods, dropping the umbrella.

"Meredith wait, what means that he entered in their minds?!" shouted Ryder but she didn't hear him. Ryder decided to follow her, he didn't know what all this meant, but he knew it was something very serious.

"Marshall, where are we going?" asked Everest.

"Don't worry, it's a very beautiful place" said Marshall kept walking.

"All this is very strange" whispered Chase.

After several minutes Marshall stopped in front of the large bushes. "Here we are" he said, smiling. Chase Zuma and Everest looked around.

"Sorry dude, we are where?" asked Zuma.

"Oh right, we have to overcome these bushes" the four friends went beyond the bushes, Chase Zuma and Everest gasped. In front of them there was a large pond with crystal clear water, fish of all kinds were swimming in the water.

"Wow, this place is wonderful" said Everest wagging his tail.

"Yessss!" shouted Marshall diving. "Jump, come and take a bath, the water is great" said Marshall starting to swim.

In the water there were Ryder and the other pups. "Come on pups, jump, come have fun with us" said Ryder inciting them to jump.

"That water looks so refreshing" said Zuma.

"Maybe we can allow ourselves a small bathroom" Chase said. The three pups started to walk to the edge of the pond.

Meredith and Ryder ran as fast as possible. "You see them?" asked Ryder, who was already out of breath.

"No" said Meredith.

The two stopped and looked around. Ryder suddenly saw the three pups in about a hundred meters from them, they were approaching the edge of the cliff, all three had their eyes closed and strangely they were smiling . "Oh no" said Ryder.

"We must stop them! Soon!" Meredith and Ryder ran for the pups hoping to make it in time, while they were getting closer to the cliff edge.

"Come on friends, jump" said Skye doing a backflip in the water.

Chase, Zuma and Everest were on the edge of the pond.

"We jump together?" Chase asked.

"Sure, we jump to the three" said Everest "One ..."

Meredith and Ryder ran faster and faster, their pups was on the edge of the cliff and were about to jump.

"Jump" said Rubble.

"Two ..." the three pups lowered their front legs, ready to jump in the water.

"Three ..."

But shortly before jumping they heard a voice. "Stop!" shouted Meredith, she and Ryder were very close.

The three pups looked around confused. "Have you heard?" Chase asked.

Suddenly the trees near them caught fire.

"What?!" shouted Zuma.

At that moment the water of the pond turned into lava, the other pups were transformed into demons and began to flew in circle.

"What's going on?!" shouted Everest.

Ryder also turned into a demon, a very big demon with yellow and orange eyes, with a powerful voice began to speak "JUMP! FACE YOUR DESTINY!"

Chase, Zuma and Everest felt strange, as if something obliging them to jump. Without being able to resist all three jumped.

"NO!" yelled Ryder.

Meredith reached out and took Everest, Ryder instead took Chase and Zuma keeping them close to his chest.

Seeing that all three had their eyes closed Ryder started yelling "Pups! Wake up! Now!" he shouted with all his voice.

The three pups opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the arms of their friends. They were out of breath, they didn't understand what had happened.

"What ... what happened?" Asked Zuma terrified.

"Don't worry, you're safe" said Meredith embracing Everest.

"Let's get them to the lookout" said Ryder.

After being back in the lookout the pups were wrapped in blankets, all three trembled with cold and fear. Ryder and Meredith were soaked but they decided to stay with them before changing their clothes.

"What happened?" Asked Everest.

"He entered in your minds" said Meredith.

"But ... it all seemed so real" Chase said.

"Tell me, what was the dream?" Meredith asked.

"Dream? I think it is more correct to call it a nightmar" said Zuma.

"There was a large garden with a pond, in the dream there were also other pups, and you too were there Ryder. You were in the water and you told us to jump. Then we heard Meredith's voice, at that time the pond water has become lava and you Ryder, you've turned into one of those hideous creatures and were telling us to jump" explain Everest.

"If Ryder and Meredith hadn't saved us ... there probably we wouldn't be here now" said Zuma.

"It's terrible" said Skye.

"Someone told you to take off the collars with the gems?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, it was Marshall, told us to leave them in the meadow before leading us to the pond" said Chase.

"Why this detail is important?" asked Rocky.

"It isn't simple magic. Enter in the mind of someone and get him to kill himself is only possible thanks to a curse, a powerful curse. The gems will protect you from these curses. You should NEVER, take off those collars, never" Meredith said putting collars on the three pups.

"Well, the important thing is that everyone is fine. It is very late, we have to go to bed" said Ryder yawning.

"Goodnight everyone" said the pups toward their puphouse.

"Ryder?"

The boy turned "Yes Chase?"

"Can we sleep here tonight?" Chase asked.

"Sure" said Ryder, strokking the pups on the head "Now you sleep, you need it" Ryder said before walking away.

Zuma was asleep, Chase took the blanket and put it over his brother, then he lays down beside him and fell asleep. Everest came up, kissed Chase on the forehead, then lay down next to the german shepherd and closed her eyes.

A / N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter.