Chapter 28: Untrained Heart

Suddenly, the police van jerked to a complete stop, causing Ralph to grip his nails into the floor of the van to keep from being jostled around too much. The driver and passenger up front hopped out immediately, and the others watched through the windows as they walked around to the back side of the van.

As the back doors of the vehicle were opened, the human officers sitting with the dogs hoped out first, followed in suit by each of the police animals.

As he too clumsily climbed out, Ralph apprehensively looked towards the building that was called in as desperately needing help, fully excepting it to be engulfed with flames or something dramatic. Instead, the large hospital was still peacefully and quietly in one whole piece, he was surprised to see; it honestly appeared that nothing was wrong with it at first glance. In fact, as the other animals around peered at the building as well, the mastiff was starting to wonder if this all was just caused by a prank, fake phone call to the station, some random, bored kid wanting to get a rise by faking an emergency.

But then Ralph saw a growing group of people standing just outside the hospital doors. Tons of humans, old and young, were just standing around- and then it took the mastiff a moment to fully take in the chaotic scene before him.

Most of the people in the cluster before the building were crying or sobbing in pain; others were angry and frustrated, yelling at the nurses standing around outside as they too appear to share the same anxious emotions. But Ralph could smell and sense that they all were scared and were fearful by something.

Which caused fearful anticipation to start growing even more in him.

After each dogs' leash was clipped on, Officer Croft and Calhoun lead the way towards the building, walking so brisk that it was hard for Ralph to keep up. As they got closer and closer to the building, the yelling and the crying of the people got louder and louder- but suddenly it tapered off for a moment as the troops approached the group.

A half a second later, the people before the hospital started taking out their anger and fear on the cops, fiercely yelling at them and questioning them for answers. Some demanded as to why some of their loved ones had to remain stuck inside the hospital as it was under lockdown, why they couldn't escape now that the police had come. But most were just crying and begging the policemen to save their loved ones trapped inside, beseeching that they somehow rescue them.

At all the different tones and levels of volume of the various voices blending together, Ralph couldn't help but shrink back behind the handler he was with. It was only a minute since the K-9 unit had gotten to the hospital- and all the screaming was already starting to hurt the mastiff's ears.

"Everyone, please! Calm down!" Officer Croft interrupted loudly, her voice as strong and commanding as Calhoun's. "We can assure you that your loved ones will safe and sound momentarily as soon as we-"

"Momentarily?! What about our family and friends stuck in there now?!" An elderly man hissed. "Anything can happen "momentarily"! Those mutated scorpions could kill everyone inside "momentarily"! And you guys can't even get everyone out at the same time!" His voice broke suddenly in pain. "What about my dear wife trapped inside? She can't-"

"My son is in there! My son!" A young woman interrupted from the crowd as tears seeped from her eyes. "If anything happens to him, I- I don't-" she broke down, unable to keep the tears in as she pleaded with the officers.

"My whole family is in there!" A middle-aged man shrieked, pushing through the people around him. "My ill wife and our two little daughters, only a few days old! They can't survive any attacks-"

"The creature inside will kill my brother!" A teenager wept out, her appearance regrettably reminding Ralph briefly of Mr.Litwak's niece, Stefaine. Wiping her eyes, the girl came from the crowd to cling onto Officer Croft's pant leg, continuing to weep as she did so. "I already lost my mother to one of the scorpions! Please, I don't want to lose someone else I love!"

At her heartbreaking words, Ralph felt his heart plummet to the ground below him. Even though he had yet to even see what a mutated scorpion looked like, the mastiff still felt his tender heart break for every single one of these poor, innocent people and their loved ones. He'd never heard something this horrible before.

But the hole forming in his chest only got worse as many others spoke up, each one interrupting the next as they all spilled out that their loved ones were trapped inside the building as well. And each beloved child, wife, husband, friend- each human inside needed to be rescued before they became victims of the apparently vicious and deadly creatures roaming around the hospital.

With each cry for help, Ralph began to realize that the ones trapped inside were practically helpless- and that their loved one outside was practically useless in aiding them...

And that all of them were placed entirely in the hands (and paws) of someone else.

The weight of it all -the seriousness, the danger, the life-threatening situation at hand- hit the mastiff all at once, making Ralph even forget the good dog collar he was seeking for a moment in time.

As the people continued to cry out, the sensitive pooch tried his best to keep up and to mental notes of who's family member needed saving - but there was no point. He couldn't save them all; in fact, he doubted all of the dogs and policemen on the force could save that many people. There were far too many of them inside needing help.

But everyone in that building deserved to get out alive, Ralph also knew; he couldn't say who warranted life more than the next. The sad fact was that they all were endangered equally- and there was seeming almost nothing anyone could do to save them.

A feeling of complete helplessness sent a chill up the mastiff's spine, making him physically shake...

Which only got worse when he realized these lives were placed partly in his paws.

His untrained paws, no less.

In growing frustration, panic, and fear, Ralph frantically turned to Calhoun to see how she was handling it all- the pressure, the pain, the worry. But he saw that she was merely was sitting at the heels of Officer Croft, with a surprising look of seriously yet calmness in her eyes. Her face was stoic- and almost appeared impassive to the people's cries.

At first, her lack of physical sympathy disgusted Ralph, making him want to snarl at her or growl some sense into her...

But as he peered closer at her, and as the cries of the people intensified, however, Ralph did begin to decipher slight empathy and pain written on the doberman's face. Her face would slightly melt in intensity at the time, especially with a child or mother...or wife would plead for help over their parents', their children...their husbands' safety...

And the mastiff was more than shocked to see maybe even little hints of... personal pain and misery on Calhoun's face, as if something in her past seemed to haunt her. Her eyes would cloud over for a split second in frozen time; her ears would flatten against her head as if blocking out the cries, unable to hear them anymore...

But that second would quickly be over as soon as it would start. The cloudiness in her eyes would suddenly be gone, and it quickly would become clear that the fierce doberman was just trying to tune it all the pain out. Ignore it all, even- not only the pain of the humans before her, but her pain as well.

At her commanders' feet, Calhoun sat still and obedient, appearing to be simply waiting. Waiting for assigned duty of her job. Waiting for a command. Waiting to save the day- and to do what was in her DNA.

His face falling a bit, Ralph looked around at the other police dogs on the unit of Hero's Duty... and saw that they were all doing the same. Insensitivity was sharper in their eyes, however- but nonetheless were obediently heeling at their master's sides despite all the crying, the screaming, the pain still surrounding them.

And that's when it occurred to Ralph that why Calhoun -and the others- were perfect for this job...and why he just wasn't.

Sure, these pooches were breeds that are easily trained- especially on training how to physically fight and deal with the plows...But so much more than just the DNA of a breed needed to be involved in the police force.

These dogs also needed to be trained in the heart how to deal with everything, to be trained to be unemotionally involved with the people, the victims they are trained to help and defend.

And they were; each one of the K-9's was trained to just ignore these people's desperate screams for help. They were trained to push it beside them and focus on one simple fact: that this was a job. And that meant not allowing themselves too upset, too emotional, or too involved to what was going on around them. Simply do your job and whatever happens, happens; realized that if the worse of the worse happened, you can have peace of mind knowing you've done your best and that it would've happened regardless.

They were all trained, in effect, to be... completely and utterly heartless in their work.

But deep inside, Ralph wasn't. He was completely untrained to know how to handle all this, physically and emotionally.

And he quickly realized that, even if he was trained, he would still had way too much heart to allow himself to just ignore the people's continued pleas for help.