His eyes widening, a whole new situation presented itself to Ralph like a ton of bricks to the face.
Sure, he had somehow survived a lot in just this one day...
But he now only had two days left get back home -alive- to win that bet with Gene!
And on top of that, as he frantically turned his head this way and that, Ralph realized that nothing around him looked or smelled familiar whatsoever. The warm, distinct scent of the town of Arcadia, once so strong, had completely faded now that he was far, far away from it.
Ralph didn't even want to take a guess at how far he had traveled in the ambulance and then on foot. Because of all that traveling, he had no way of knowing just where exactly he was at, what town he was in (or if he was even in a town) or how to get back to Arcadia the quickest way possible.
Ralph was completely and utterly lost...with no sense of direction...
Well, almost.
In a slight glimpse of hope, the bull mastiff peered back towards the definite direction he had come from...
He knew Arcadia was somewhere back in that direction...maybe...
But even if he'd followed back that way (which he guessed was north?), he realized within seconds, it would only get him so far before he quickly had no sunlight left...and he couldn't solely rely on just his nose to get back home. His sniffer wasn't quite top-knot when it can to figuring out which direction was which...
Too, the crazy ambulance ride he had taken had done so many left and right turns along the way, it'd be impossible for Ralph to successfully retrace his steps enough to get back to Arcadia...within the allotted days time he now had, nonetheless...
Ok, now Ralph was completely and lost. And about to go into a full-on panic attack because of it.
Come on, Ralphie boy, the bull mastiff breathed softly, forcing himself to calm down. There's no point in panicking. Think positive!
He peered down, now having to squint in the ever fading sunlight in order to make out his good dog collar- and smiled at it's fading outline.
At least I have the good dog collar already...he thought optimistically, his tail somehow having the strength to wag. Getting that has to be the hardest part of this whole thing...right?
Suddenly, the dirt floor, along with the collar, was no longer seen in front of him. The last bit of sun in the definite west was now gone, having completely sunken below the horizon.
He glazed up heavenwards, hoping for another positive sign in the situation at hand. All he got, however, was that the sky above him still had a faint trace of the painted sunset colors...but just barely as evening, followed by the night, began to fast approach...
In this strange, unknown, creepy deserted place...
In the distance, a loud, eerie train whistle erupted, making the dog jump and coward slightly in place. A cold, lonely shiver ran up his spine as he winced in fear.
He now had feeling that getting the collar would just be the easy part of this whole bet.
If only I had some way of knowing just where I am, what town I'm in... Ralph thought quietly as he stretched down to pick up his collar, the blaring train whistle finally tapering off. Maybe that would give me a clue as to which direction to go.
But just how I'm going to find that out...I have no clue...
In bitterness, the dog shook his head roughly. Why couldn't he have been born with an extraordinary sense of smell instead of his stupid, enormous... his sore paws?
Well, what are you waiting for, you big lug? He hissed internally to himself, a determined look coming upon his face. Quick feeling sorry for yourself, get off your rear end, and move! Sitting here won't get you anywhere!
Groaning out loud, Ralph rose shakily to his colossal paws and forced his protesting, aching legs and paws to move.
Stumbling forward, Ralph paused when he found that the now near-raw pads on his feet suddenly weren't on a cooling dirt floor any longer- and were no longer feeling the cool, soft grass.
Instead, his large paws were now on what felt like a hard, paved but smooth road...one that Ralph hadn't even known was there while he was on the dirt ground beside it.
It turned out to be a small, two-landed, winding road, the dog discovered as he looked around, that ran both north and south. It curved and winded more with the landscape, and seemed to be more on an inclined as well further up the road.
And as Ralph's eyes followed up the road towards what he guessed was the south, still trying to adjust to the unwelcomed darkness, they suddenly landed on... a fairly dim, freshly lit up light pole on top a hill, not too far away...
Peering closer, just beyond that the other side of the hill, Ralph began to just make out a small patch of welcoming, glowing lights that were illuminating down below.
A town...the town Ralph was apparently just on the outskirts of.
If I can just get up to the top of that hill...the dog reasoned, I might be able to see the town I'm near and get a clue as to where I'm at...and which direction I really need to go.
His mind made up, Ralph began going forward towards the hill...and the warm glow of the town down below it on the other side.
As he walked, the mastiff made sure to cling to the shoulder side of the road- just in case a car was to come whizzing by. His poor, throbbing paws immediately cried in protest that having to walk on the hard paved road again, but the mastiff ignored them and focused on the light pole on the hill- and the fact that his road was actually smooth. The last road he had been on was so jagged and sharp, the poor animal probably had multiple cuts on his two front paws alone.
From time to time, Ralph found his eyes wandering back heavenwards as he walked. There he saw the plentiful, beautiful stars shining happily in the sky- a breath-taking sight Ralph had never got to experience with the busy city lights of Arcadia. The heavenly bodies peeked through the many colossal cedar trees that had grown mightly on each side of the road, refreshingly dwarfing the large dog in comparison.
When his eyes turned to focus on some kind of light shining through the smaller trees below, the mastiff saw there were a few dozen fireflies lighting up the darkness- another rare treat for the city dog. The bugs blinked their tiny lights in intervals, silently communicating in their light show message as they provide just a tad more light in the darkness.
That light was just enough, however, to eliminate in the shrubbery a lonely rabbit or two, quietly eyeing the large yet intimidating dog as he walked by. And Ralph couldn't help but chuckle as a squirrel scurried up the side of a tree, bumping into a sleeping raccon who clicked grumpily in annoyance at being disturbed.
A tired smile coming on his face, the mastiff silently eyed all the creatures back- and listened to the night time nature sounds of the creatures unseen in the serene landscape.
Hidden crickets in the overgrown grass were chirping softly, and if he listened hard enough, Ralph thought he was hearing what he believed was a forlorn owl in the far distance.
With a growing smile, Ralph found himself taking a deep breath. His nose began to fill with the smell of...a distinct train smell, now getting further away, though...
Not that it mattered, anyway. The locomotive smells were quickly swallowed with each step Ralph took by something smelling sweet and delicious- making his mouth water. It was something he had smelled before...but he just couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.
With each step Ralph took towards the town just on the other side of that hill, however, the stronger and more distinct the smell got...and it clicked just what that smell was.
Sugar.
Sweet, delicious, cooked sugar.
The warm, homey smell lingering in his nose, Ralph focused towards the light poll again- a smile now permanently taking residence on his face.
This little nature walk wasn't so bad, he decided- in fact, it was somewhat relaxing compared to the hectic city life the pooch lived in...
That was, until out of the corner of his eye Ralph saw in passing some familiar looking glowing green eyes staring at him- only to disappear completely again seconds later.
Ralph tried to pass the unsettling, brief sight as just his imagination or even his paranoid thinking...but when he -for sure, this time- saw the eyes again, peering at him dauntingly, the mastiff couldn't help but quicken his pace.
Before long, Ralph found that he was finally at the base of the hill. He peered up the slightly steep incline and gulped, his legs and muscles and paws already protesting the idea of ascending.
Hearing a quiet, familiar hissing sound close behind him, however, was all it took to get those aching muscles and legs to force his paws to quickly moving upwards.
Not daring himself to look back at the source of the sound- or to dwell on the fact that it might be following him- Ralph forced his paws to into a run. He pushed himself up the hill but kept clumsily tripping over his large paws and sliding several times. Abandoning the idea of running, the dog finally gave up and forced himself to slow down a bit. Slowly getting to the top of the hill, he decided, was better than to end up tumbling back down to the bottom near...whatever that creature was down there.
After much groaning, panting and worrying, Ralph finally somehow managed to make it onto the top of the hill, right under the lonely street light. It was only then he Ralph get the courage to quickly look behind him- and saw nothing nor heard anything but the fireflies glowing in the trees and the crickets chirping now down below him.
Shaking off his paranoia, Ralph turned his head forward again...
...And felt his eyes widen as he peered down for the first time at the little glowing village just on the other side of the hill.
