Chapter 23 : Monsters
Marshall sat patiently as the two pups infront of him fumbled over their words as they recounted the events of the past week. Both of them seemed relieved and nervous at the same time getting everything out in the open. Whatever the reason, they sure weren't taking there time with it, practically talking at the same time.
"And then I tried to mate with Rocky." Everest said pacing around the room.
"Wait..WHAT?" Chase said nearly shouting. The shepered was completely discombobulated by this new piece of evidence. And the more he tried to wrap his head around it, the more confused he became. "What?" He said again, unable to say anything elss.
Everest continued," I was very unstable at the time, I wasn't thinking rationally. Dr. Edward's called it a nervous breakdown. " she siad looking back and forth between the two pups for any reaction or judgement being passed. She only found more confusion between them. Back to pacing.
The Shepered tracked Everest as she continued to walk around the room, watching her every move. Starting to make connections in his head.
She loved Rocky..she must have... enough to want to have pups with him...oh god I read her all wrong..I read everything so wrong...she was just trying to help me. She would never..she couldn't be with me.
Chase felt a pit growing in his heart, out of all the pain he felt, from his back, from his accident, this wound stung far worse then his other ones. Any hope he had left in his heart about getting better, about recovering, was snuffed out. He couldn't do it alone, he needed her, he needed a reason to get better.
"What happened Chase?" Marshall siad trying to gather all of the pieces to the puzzle.
"There was.. a fight lastnight. Skye was jealous of Everest and I was jealous of Rocky." Chase sighed trailing off.
"Things...got out of hand quickly." he finished, hanging his head to the floor. Not wanting to participate any further, his only goal now was to get away, away from her.
Everest stopped her pacing, sitting down infront of Marshall, deciding to wrap things up.
"Rocky was trying to defend Skye..he hit Chase hard." she finished looking at a relatively unfazed Marshall.
"In the back." She clarified.
Marshall's face changed in an instant, his eyes filled with worry, looking over his best friend as everything fell into place. No wonder Chase looked so broken down.
Marshall approached the Shepered, something switching inside of him, he wasn't the care-free, fun loving pup he normally was. This was serious, this wasn't just any patient either, it was his bestfriend. When Marshall reached him, there was no reaction, no recognition of the Dally's presence. Chase kept his eyes to the floor.
"Chase." he tried starring him down with his icy blue gaze. Nothing.
"Chase!" he said louder.
The Shepered jumped at the tone in his voice, snapping his head up to the pup infront of him. "What?" he asked looking around, avoiding his friends piercing gaze. Finally bitting the bullet, he returned Marshall's intense stare, and did not like what he saw.
He, better than any other pup, knew the look that was now on Marshall's face, the look he was giving him. Chase knew what was coming, a full blown medical check up. The look that said He would go to any length to help him. That ment facing his past, that ment fighting through the pain. Things that Chase felt he could no longer do.
"Rate your pain for me, one being no pain, ten being unbearable." The dally said waiting patiently for Chase to answer him. When no answer came, he pushed further.
"One to ten Chase." he said again.
Chase went back to looking down at his paws. Before muttering his answer as gently as possible. "Not now Marshall."
Marshall breathed in a deep breath, resisting the urge to start yelling at his stubborn bestfriend.
"Chase this is serious, the more you tell me the better I can help you." he said firmly, standing up.
Chase didn't move, on the outside he looked relatively fine, but further underneath was a different story. His every instinct was screaming at him to move, to get away from this increasingly stressful situation, before he lost control, being on the edge as it was. He was fine, his back was fine, no need to check up on him. Yes it hurt like hell, but he could handle it.
And Everest? She didn't need to take care of him anymore, he had enough friends that worried about him as it was. He didn't need a personal care giver. What he did need, she couldn't give him.
"I'm fine Marshall." Chase said sternly. Without realizing it he began squirming in place. Not liking all the eyes on him. His back didn't either, shocking him with pain with each twitch of a muscle. He could feel himself heating up as more blood rushed to his head.
Everest looked to Chase, shaking her head in disbelief. "Chase you need help, let us help you." she said as softly as she could, smelling the anxiety oozing out of him.
Chase could hear his ears ringing, could feel his blood start to boil. He couldn't listen to her lies anymore. Still acting like she cares.
"What am I? A charity case to you? That if you help me you won't feel as guilty about what you did to Rocky?" Chase spat still squirming in place as Marshall and Everest began taking small steps toward him.
"Chase..it's not like that, try and calm down." Everest said, somewhat hurt from his response.
"Why did you help me..!? Toying with my heart... getting my hopes up! When you.. really loved him all along!" He yelled through ragged breaths, starting to limp away from them on wobbly legs.
"Chase I did it because I care, I couldn't watch you suffer anymore!" She said trying to keep herself together.
The more she spoke, the more unstable Chase became. Alarm bells were blaring inside his head. His body tensed, every muscle flexing in his body. Trying his best to fight the adrenaline from rushing into his racing heart.
Too late.
"What do I do... if I find myself loosing control again?" Chase asked sitting up in his chair. The room he found himself in was a small, rather cozy office with various furniture scattered around the room. A wooden desk with different potted succulents on it , a couch in the corner of the room. Chase looked intently at his therapsit seated across from him, hungry for answers.
Dr. Edwards shifted in his seat, running his fingers across his chin. After a few moments he sat up, meeting Chase's pleading gaze. "Above all else you need to remeber that you are not in danger. Your body and mind will try and tell you differently, but you have to fight it. When you start to feel out of control, I want you to remeber to breath. Deep slow breaths, this will help with the anxiety."
Chase could feel his legs giving out from underneath him. His back was screaming at him to stop moving, draining his strength with each step he took.
Marshall kept a safe distance from Chase, rather the pup that looked like him, sounded like him, but wasn't the real one. The Chase he knew and loved was lost, and Marshall feared he might never get him back, but he had to try.
"Chase we're not going to hurt you." Marshall said stretching out a paw infront of him, reaching for Chase.
Ears now pinned against his head, Chase backed himself into a corner, frantically looking back and forth between the two pups. "Don't come any closer."
Marshall and Everest froze, unsure of what to do next.
Inside the eco pup's house, Skye and Rocky lay perfectly still on the gray pup's bed, tangled up in blankets. In eachother's arms, safe and sound, fully immersed in their dreams. Atleast for Skye. The mix on the other hand was battling against a nightmare flashing through his mind. One that was too personal for comfort.
"Faster Chase!" Skye squealed letting out shallow breaths as she rocked back and forth against the Sheperd.
Isolated in the police pup's house, a mess of sheets and a pair of collars scattering the floor, the two pups found themselves in a world of their own, focusing souly on eachother, blocking out the rest of the world for a few precious minutes of ecstacy.
"Skye I'm..close." Chase moaned quickening his pace, he felt his legs start to give out, felt every fiber in his body tingle, until he collapsed.
Panting heavily the two pups separated, lying across from eachother, gazing into eachothers eyes lovingly.
"My mate." Skye said smiling at the Shepered. "Now and forever."
Snapping his eyes open, the mix finally surfaced from the dream he was drowning in. Panting heavily, trying to shake the bombarding images rattling in his skull. Rocky moved his eyes around the room, trying to find...Skye.
There she was, happily curled up in a ball, snoozing silently with a smile on her face, oblivious to the state he now found himself in. She was safe, and with him. That's all that mattered.
"This dream of yours could very well become a reality..if we don't do something about it."
The mix shook his head, this idea was almost as ridiculous as him being in love with Chase. No he wasn't falling for that again.
"I trust her." he said. When no response came, a wave of relief washed over him, satisfied with the silence. Shifting in place he brought his attention back to his sleeping mate. Mate being a technically presumptuous word to use, wishful thinking. They hadn't made their relationship official as of yet. Something Rocky wanted to experience with Skye when the time came. A title he himself would wear with pride.
"Do you think she will moan for you, like she does for Chase.?"
Rocky grinded his teeth together, trying his best to ignore the urge to scream at himself for even having a thought like that. The more it repeated in his head the more sickened he felt about it. He could see every detail, hear every sound, practically touch them as Chase had his way with Skye. The only thing he couldn't do was stop it, or them. But still he didn't react.
"YOU CAN'T IGNORE ME!"
Rocky did his best to suppress everything, the images, the sounds, the fire burning inside him. Doing everything in his power to push the thoughts out of his head and quiet the screaming voice within. He continued studying the cockapoo, electing to tune out the chaos going on inside of him.
" How do you know she isn't dreaming about it right now, dripping about it as we speak?"
"Ahhgg.!" Rocky yelled sending a fist into the wall.
'Bang'
Like a switch the pup was consumed, filled to the brim with anger and disgust for the police pup. Another swing.
'Bang'
The slumbering cockapoo immediately woke up at the sudden noise; looking around the room until her eyes landed on Rocky.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
Rocky was trembling, letting out shallow agitated breaths, eyes screwed shut trying to silence the voice inside.
Skye got up to her paws, rushing over to the fuming pup. She placed both of her paws on his muzzle, turning his head to face her.
"Hey.." She whispered. "What is it baby?" she asked again, still trying to get him to open up his eyes and look at her.
Feeling his mate's touch, Rocky peeked his eyes open, looking down to his mate. For a second, everything faded away, every thought and feeling fizzled out. He breathed out, leaning his head into her paws. The thoughts resurfaced, his insecurities gripping at his heart, the rage returned.
'I need to be sure, no one is taking you away from me.' The mix thought, silently promising this, and everything else he had to her.
Yet he couldn't tell her, He wanted to.
"She will leave you if you tell her, she'll think your a freak."
He wanted to forget all about this.
"How can you be certain it won't happen? We need to make sure."
'For Skye.'
Rocky was to far gone to try and retaliate, try and think of a different course of action. This was the only way. He swallowed the venom he felt coursing through his veins, and with his softest voice said. "I'm ok..I am..there's just something I need take care of."
Skye seemed unconvinced, she wasn't oblivious, she knew something was wrong. "Rocky you can trust me. Whatever it is, I'm here for you."
Nodding his head the mix placed a paw on her cheek, smiling down at her. "I know, I just need to..clear my head."
Before Skye could object further, Rocky turned tail, opening the door to his puphouse and headed outside, storming towards the lookout.
The swoosh of the sliding glass doors caught everyone's attention inside. Marshall and Everest were the first to see the mix, the first to see the fire in his eyes.
Chase shot his head up at the sight of the gray pup. Growling as he got closer, trembling as his heart was consumed by fire.
"What's wrong Rocky?" Marshall siad stepping to the side, revealing the mixe's target.
Rocky never answered the dally, never even look at him. "Stay..Away..From..Skye." He snarled narrowing his eyes at the Shepered, bearing his canines.
Chase matched his steps, growling intensifiing as they got closer. "This is all YOUR fault!" He yelled limping towards the mix.
Before anything could happen, Marshall grabbed ahold of Rocky while Everest kept Chase at bay. This stopped the physical conflict atleast.
"No it's your fault, your trying to break us apart. I swear if you ever get that close to Skye again.." Rocky barked but was interrupted.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Chase snarled back. "Don't push your own insecurities on me Rocky! Acting like the victim. You stole Skye away from me, and then you broke me." He shot back, squirming in Everest's arms.
"She chose me, not you, It's not my problem you can't handle that! I was protecting her from you, what you've become!" Rocky yelled. "A MONSTER!"
"I'll SHOW YOU what a monster looks like!" Chase growled.
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" A boy yelled, walking out of the elevator.
For a moment everything and everyone stopped. All eyes were on Ryder. Nobody said anything, nobody moved.
Seeing his window, Chase broke out of Everest's hold and rushed the mix. Rocky sensed this to, pushed Marshall away and made a dash for the Shepered.
They clashed, rolling around in a ball of teeth and claws. Biting, clawing, tearing into whatever they got ahold of.
Ryder tried to seperate them but they were glued to eachother, cutting into eachother without mercy; looking more like ferrel dogs than the pups Ryder had come to know and love.
Rocky tackled Chase to the ground, biting at his neck. Chase used his back legs to push Rocky off of him, feeling a popping sensation in his back, almost collapsing him to the ground. 'No'. He couldn't stop now.
'He needs to pay.'
Rocky recovered and they connected again. This time Chase getting the upperhand. Bringing Rocky to his back with a well placed bite. The mix yelped clutching onto his shoulder, looking up as Chase stood over him, setting his sights on the mix's neck. Rocky planned his own strike.
The final blows were dealt on both ends. Chase sank his fangs into Rocky's neck while the mix kicked Chase's stomatch. Both pups fell to the ground, Rocky grasping his neck with his paws. Chase was curled in a ball, wincing in agony, grunting through convulsions that rocked his body.
"That's enough." Ryder commanded, looking over his pups with nothing but worry.
'What happened to my team?'
Marshall walked up beside the boy, equally troubled by the sisuation they found themselves in, equally worried.
" Ryder? Chase looks pretty bad, they both do..I can't fix them up here.. we should take them to the hospital."
A/N: Hey guys I'm sorry for the wait, school has been crazy with my new classes. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you guys thought. I want to thank you all for the support on my story. You are the reason that I strive to be a better writer everyday and I thank you for that.
