72 Hours Part Three: The Second Day and Second Evening
42 Hours Until Estimated Time Of Death
When Ryder woke up, he saw that Chase was sitting on the adjacent couch, and the TV was on, playing a show of some kind. Ryder couldn't tell what the show was, so he hit the info guide and saw that it was season one episode two of NCIS. "Chase, are you hungry?" Ryder asked his pup.
Chase shook his head no in response. "No thanks, I ate the last of the pup food while you were sleeping!" Chase answered, his tail wagging as he was engrossed in the show.
"Are you sure you should be watching this show Chase? I'm not sure it's appropriate for pups your age." Ryder remarked.
Chase growled and gave Ryder an upset look. "I had to fight for my life on the streets every day. I think I can decide what to watch." Chase muttered.
Ryder sat down next to Chase and stroked the fur on his head. "Sure thing buddy." The spiky haired boy softly said.
During the commercials, Ryder started to explain the concept of housebreaking to Chase, and the pup seemed to catch on quickly. Having intelligent talking dogs seemed to alleviate a lot of the problems that Ryder had heard about from other people who had experienced raising canines.
Talking dogs were still relatively new to the world and it was still being researched. There were less than a few thousand of them and they were mostly scattered throughout California. Ryder felt truly lucky and blessed to have Chase in his life. It was as if his prayers had been answered…
Then he remembered what Chase's fate was going to be. He was supposed to die in less than two days. Tears started to well up in his eyes as that memory hit him like a truck. It wasn't fair, he didn't deserve to live such a short life! But there was nothing he could do about it. Sometimes life was unfair, like when it took away Ryder's parents. Time passes, things change, and people die. All Ryder could do was offer him happiness in the short amount of time he had left.
The young boy wiped his eyes and sniffled as he re-focused himself on the TV show. They watched two more episodes of the show before Chase let out a cough. Ryder whipped his head around and looked at Chase with concern on his face. The puppy was clutching his tummy with his two front paws, and he looked a little queasy. "Ryder, I'm not feeling so good…" Chase groaned.
Ryder gulped as Chase coughed again, and then the pup hiccupped as he then regurgitated his kibble. "Oh no, Chase…" Ryder gasped.
Chase sniffled and a few tears dropped from his eyes. "S-sorry, I guess you don't want me now…" Chase whimpered.
Ryder shook his head no in response and began to clean up Chase's bile, grabbing some gloves, paper towels, and some carpet cleaner spray. "Nonsense, of course I want you, Chase! You just had an accident, that sort of thing happens when you're sick. I've thrown up like that before when I was really sick." Ryder reassured his pup.
Chase chuckled weakly as he heard Ryder's comforting words. "Thanks, Ryder. You're the best owner a pup like me could ever have." Chase softly said.
Those words made Ryder's heart melt, and when he was finished cleaning up the carpet, he threw his arms around Chase and gave him tons of belly rubs.
Things continued on into the night, with Ryder briefly leaving Chase for only a few minutes at a time, either to make sandwiches or another quick meal for himself, or to use the bathroom. He had to keep his own strength up for Chase, so he could be with him as much as possible. But whenever Ryder left the room, he could hear Chase's agonized, lonely howls and cries. The two snuggled together as they laid on the couch and continued to binge watch NCIS, until they both fell asleep due to the exhaustion.
