Chapter 8: Final Lesson
Chase and Ella walked into the hideout. Everest and Tuck were having a conversation while Sean was studying the target board, continuing to remain distant.
"So what are we going to do if they attack? I don't think we have the manpower for defending against that" asked Tuck.
"I'm… not sure, but we have to be ready. Who knows, maybe Chase joining was a good omen" said Everest, "Speaking of Chase here he is"
"How did he do Ella?"
"He did pretty good"
"Did he pass the test?" asked Tuck slightly laughing.
"Wait, you guys knew about that test?" Chase asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Yes they knew and yes Chase passed the test, although he looked like he was going to pee himself" Ella said laughing.
"Why didn't you guys tell me beforehand?"
"Because it's supposed to be unexpected" said Tuck "speaking of unexpected" he continued before lunging at Chase catching him off guard and pinning him to the ground with ease.
"Come on Chase he even hinted at it" giggled Everest.
"Ha ha very funny. I'll be ready for it next time" Chase said as Tuck helped him up.
"Sure you will" said Tuck sarcastically.
"Anyway Chase, you have one final lesson. You need to learn how to track and with your nose it should come relatively easy, but first come with me" said Everest, motioning Chase to walk with her.
Chase followed Everest out of the hideout.
"Okay Chase, like I said before, the final lesson that I will teach you is how to effectively track a target. This lesson will probably be the easiest one for you specifically because of your nose. However tracking by scent won't always be an option. Occasionally, you will have a target who will manage to hide their scent"
Chase gave her a puzzled look.
"Well besides their scent, what else can you use to track them?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to be teaching you. First however, your going back to the Lookout"
"The Lookout? Why? I thought you said you were going to teach me"
"Don't worry, the others are setting something up right now down in the hideout. While they're doing that, I need you to go and let the Paw Patrol know you're okay. Plus you're still injured, you need the rest"
"Alright fine, but let me know as soon as your finished"
"Relax Chase. I know you're eager to finish the training process, but you need to take some time for yourself. If you don't you might burn yourself out"
"Okay mom" Chase said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I know I care too much. I'll call you when we're ready" Everest said before walking back into the hideout.
As he walked back he began reflecting on his day. It started off with his morning run which led to him finding a dead guy, getting in a fight, and falling off a roof. After coming back he was rushed back out due to a rescue mission in the middle of the woods. This led to him almost dying in the snow. He then got saved by Everest who he learned has been working with the people who have been causing all the deaths, then he learns the twins are with that group, then he actually joins the group and is now currently training to help them defend Adventure Bay from another, even more dangerous group who have some crazy ideology. Crazy morning and an even crazier afternoon. Overall, a crazy day. The orange light across the sky was something Chase was thankful for, the end of that day.
After crossing the bridge he made his way to the Lookout entrance. Once walking through the doors, he went to the living room where Ryder, Marshall, and Rocky were watching a movie. Maybe Everest was right, maybe he just needed to sit down and relax.
"Hey Chase is back" said Rocky, noticing the shepherd.
"Chase finally your back! Are you alright!" exclaimed Marshall, as he ran up and started examining him.
"Yeah yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired, and sore" Chase said, trying to ease the nerves of his friend. He then yawned which served as further proof of his claim.
"Long day buddy?" asked Ryder as he scooped up Chase and sat back down on the couch followed by Marshall and Rocky.
"You wouldn't believe it" said Chase as he laid down.
As Chase watched the movie the effects of the day started crashing down onto him. Saying he was sore was an understatement. His head hurt, his legs hurt, his paws hurt, and his bruised eye hurt. However being with the ones he loves took that pain away. He continued watching the movie, the entire time battling sleep and forcing his eyes open, that was until sleep finally overcame him. Soon after the same happened with Rocky, then Marshall, then Ryder although not before taking the pups to their respective rooms and tucking them in for the night.
Chase awoke from a much needed sleep to the warm feeling of the morning sun on his fur, shining through the window. He slowly left his bed and stretched away the morning soreness before walking out into the kitchen. There he found the other pups and Ryder eating breakfast.
"Good morning Chase. How'd you sleep?" greeted Ryder.
"Chase!" shouted Zuma, Rubble, and Skye as they ran over to him.
"When did you get home!?" asked Zuma.
"Are you okay!?" asked Skye.
"Where have you been!?" asked Rubble.
Chase laughed, "Guys, relax. I got home last night, I'm fine, and I was with Everest after I woke up"
"Well we're glad your back" said Skye as the three gave Chase a hug and went back to eating breakfast.
Chase then walked over to his bowl and began eating.
"Hey Chase, I wanted to ask you last night when you came home, why were you with Everest for so long?" asked Marshall.
"Yeah I was wondering the same thing" added Rocky.
Everest's words then played in Chase's mind, "You have to promise me that you won't tell a single soul about what I do and what I show you".
"Oh uh, she was just helping me with that case. No leads though"
"Typical Chase, doesn't matter if he gets beat up or knocked out, it's business as usual" laughed Rocky making the others laugh as well.
Chase exhaled in relief. Everyone else bought the lie, or so he thought.
Ryder and the pups continued to eat their breakfast until their bowls, and plate, were finished. The pups then left to do their own thing while Ryder took the bowls to the kitchen to clean them. While the other pups went to do other things, Chase decided to go back to his room. Bringing up Everest reminded him of his training. Everest and the rest had supposedly set something up for his final lesson. Once Chase entered his room he shut the door and sat on his bed.
"Hmm, maybe I missed her call. I did wake up late today" Chase thought.
"Ruff, missed calls" said Chase activating his pup tag.
(I just want to point out that, at least in this story, the pup tags are almost like phones in the sense that you can get voicemails and things like that)
"Chase, you have two missed calls from Everest" said the pup tag in an almost siri like voice.
"Guess I was right" Chase thought, "Play calls"
"Playing missed calls"
"Chase, it's Everest. We just finished setting up. Whenever your ready come down to the hideout and we'll start"
"Call ended" said the pup tag.
After listening to the voicemail Chase turned off the pup tag and began walking towards the Lookout exit. He walked out the doors and ran into Ryder.
"Oh sorry Ryder, sir"
"That's all right Chase. Where are you off to?"
"I'm just meeting up with Everest"
"Okay, have fun" said Ryder as he walked back into the Lookout.
Chase continued his walk to the apartment building. While he was walking something came to his mind. There were two voicemails from Everest. One was telling him they were ready. What was the other about? Surely it was just another reminder, right?
"Ruff, missed calls"
"Playing missed call"
"Chase, you have to get down here now! It's bad!"
Hearing the tone of her voice made him start to pick up his pace. Something was wrong.
"We've been compromised! They're breaking through the door and we're outnumbered! We need everyone we can!"
Chase started to sprint to the apartment building. The faint sound of yelling could be heard in the call.
"They grabbed Ella and Sean! It's just me and Tuck! I don't know how long we…"
"Call ended"
Chase was now running as fast as he could. Something bad happened and he had to get there.
He finally arrived at the apartment building. He bursted through the doors. No one was at the front desk. Another bad sign. He ran down the stairs to the janitor's closet. The closet door was wide open. He ran in and, to his dismay, the hideout door was open. When he walked in the place was a mess. Tables flipped, papers scattered, even the suspect board was knocked off the wall. Whoever did this wasn't just targeting the people in the hideout, they were looking for something.
Chase immediately began searching the area. He looked in the rooms, checked the papers, and even checked the walls for anything. That was until he found three collars. Their owners being Tuck, Ella, and Everest. Chase recognized their symbols anywhere. He walked over and picked up a scent. He took the three collars and left the hideout. He walked out of the building and onto the street, following the scent of his lost friends. However the scent could only take him so far. He eventually reached the edge of town. There he saw what looked to be an abandoned garage. Upon entering he noticed a few things. A weapons locker, some rope, and a map with a red circle on it. He picked it up and began examining it. On the map he found Katie's clinic, Jakes Mountain, and even the Lookout. After finding where he was on the map. He found a route that led to a place in the middle of the woods that was circled in red.
"Don't worry guys, I'm coming" he said with a newfound confidence.
After around a half hour of traveling he made it to Jake's Mountain and from there the beginning of the woods. He had lost the scent at the garage so his best bet was to find something using his other senses. As he traveled farther into the woods he noticed a set of pawprints in the snow. That was it, that had to be it. No one comes this far into the woods. He followed the paw prints to what he assumed was the spot on the map, Chase made it. What he made it to was an old, run down cabin in the woods. Although the surrounding area was quiet, the silence was deafening. It left an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach. He walked forward and slowly walked towards the entrance. A loud creak echoed around the cabin from the old wooden door. As Chase walked in he saw a piece of paper on the floor in the middle of the cabin. He shut the door and walked over to the paper flipping it over. It had two words on it which he read aloud.
"You… passed?"
Chase then heard the door open and spun around, growling and ready for a fight.
Four dogs stood at the entrance. Sean, Tuck, Ella, and Everest, the latter three with smiles on their faces.
"Congratulations, you passed!" said Everest.
"W-what?"
"She said you passed. You did an excellent job, might I add" said Tuck.
"Are you kidding me!?" Chase growled, making the three jump.
"I'll be outside" said Sean walking out the door.
"You guys gave me a heart attack! I thought you were all captured or...dead!" Chase yelled furiously.
"That was the point. It had to be a little extreme, but…"
"A little extreme! You call a terrifying voicemail, a ransacked hideout, and a friggin scavenger hunt across the entire damn town a little extreme!"
"Chase, we had to catch you off guard for this test to be effective. Just like the last one" explained Ella.
"Well you sure as shit caught me off guard on this one!" Chase yelled, anger still coursing through him.
"You guys go back to the hideout with Sean. I'll talk to Chase" said Everest.
The twins nodded and left the cabin.
"Chase I understand your angry, but a test like this is necessary"
"Why!? So you can show me what it feels like to be terrified for all of you!"
"Partly, yes. We needed to have the test in this way for multiple reasons"
"By all means, explain them" said Chase, starting to slowly calm down.
"First we needed to test your tracking skills, second we needed to test your ability to complete your task under pressure and stress, and third we needed to see how you would handle this situation. I'm sorry to say, but something like this actually happening isn't unlikely. What we do, and now you, is very dangerous. That means we have a lot of enemies, enemies who want us dead"
Chase was silent for a few minutes.
"I'm sorry for flipping out. I understand, I just, was never expecting something like that to happen"
"And we're sorry too. I promise you we won't scare you like that again. Now let's get back to the hideout. Now that your training is done you can begin working alongside us. Your first mission is back at the Hideout"
"Alright let's go" said Chase following Everest out the door.
What's up everyone. I wanted to ask you all if I could use some of your OC's in one of the next chapters. If you want me to use your OC in the story, PM me or leave a review with some details about your OC. I'll probably use the first few that are sent to me. Please let me know your opinions on this chapter or this story as a whole so far, they are greatly appreciated. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter. Peace.