The moist, foul-smelling stench of the inner vents clouded over Chase. His paws stood on bare metal, his dull claws clicking on its surface as he took each step. The only source of light had been sealed off, dooming him to navigate the maze of ducts in pure darkness. He knew Feroxmalis was coming toward him, lured over the noise he emitted from punching the wall. Now he just needed to keep it nearby, no matter how insane it sounded in his head.
"Rocky," Chase whispered into his collar, "you have the map, you need to tell me where to go or I'm going to die,"
"Do you know where the creature is?" The Mix's voice came through,
The Shepherd winced, "probably backtracking now, I can't stay here,"
Studying the map closely before him, Rocky looked ahead to find a branching path that deviated from the main route, "can you see a right turn coming up?"
"Are you kidding? I can't see shit," he hissed as quietly as possible, "I'm totally blind up here!"
"I don't have any way of tracking your direct movements, maybe put your paw to the wall or something?"
Rolling his eyes, Chase took a deep breath and began his journey into the enclosed hell of a maze. His first few steps were blind, even after his eyes got used to the darkness there was still nothing to see. Oddly, Feroxmalis had fallen silent, a revelation that filled him with terror. It was hunting for him just as much as he was. Keeping the tip of his tail pressed against the wall to feel for gaps, he did his best to maintain steady breaths.
The ceiling was too low and the walls were too close, each pawstep emitting a low echo he prayed couldn't be heard. He took a moment to shake his front paws, trying to fling off the sweat that was pooling from his glands. Chase couldn't imagine sweating directly from his skin like humans did, as that would probably make his situation hundreds of times worse.
He suddenly stopped, trying to prick his ears into the darkness for any low noise that could give away an approaching threat. He was met only with the faraway hum of a distant air conditioning unit, and the constant churning of his own breaths. Then he remembered something: Chase hadn't been able to smell Feroxmalis outside due to the rain, but in the ducts things were different, maybe he'd get different results?
Leaning forward, he stuck his nose out and took in three good sniffs of his environment. Immediately he cringed back as wafts of unsavory stenches invaded his nose, most notably the wrenching smell of mildew. He couldn't smell Feroxmalis, at least not yet, hopefully it would come into play later or he would die in this vent.
"Go forward," Rocky began, "the first turn you'll hit is a right. Take it."
Chase followed the instructions accordingly, keeping his tail gliding along the wall. His heart was pounding, sweat pooling under his paws. Sounds of machinery within the walls churned around him, acting as the faint flickers of sound in the dead environment. He was trying to keep himself focused, but Rocky's comment from earlier was returning to his mind. The Mix had asked a harmless question: why did Feroxmalis come out of Rubble if Skye was the one announced to be infected?
A part of him didn't want to tell the truth, yet his other half demanded he did. At one point he was willing to sew his own muzzle shut so he'd never reveal Skye's murder, it was impossible to pin him. The creature couldn't jump bodies in the way Chase described, but it would be so easy to say it did. No one would ever know, but he would never sleep soundly again. He had to tell them, he had to tell the truth and be done with it. They'd berate him, possibly even attack him, but he deserved it all.
A heavy feeling weighed down his stomach, and Chase felt himself wince as sorrow overtook him, "I'm so sorry," he muttered, half to himself,
"What?" Rocky came in on the radio,
"Ah- nothing!" the Shepherd shook his head, then felt his tail drop off, "I've reached the turn, heading right," he carefully turned his body in the direction and continued forward.
"Directly after, you'll take the left turn coming up,"
"Affirmative,"
The Shepherd sighed to himself, moving a little faster. He didn't want to spend too much time in here, as the heat was slowly getting to him. Increasingly irritated by his blindness, Chase wished Ryder had installed flashlights into their collars. Although his thoughts turned to the efficiency of such an item, Chase quietly debated to himself whether or not flashlight collars would be practical.
He reached the left turn and followed it, breaking away from the path yet again, "alright Rocky, what now?"
"You're about to pass over one of the gates, should be a foot or two ahead of you."
Curious, Chase reached a paw forward, feeling along the ground for anything different. Sure enough, his paw glided over an indention in the floor, the area where the gate would slide up and seal off the area.
Rocky continued, "you're going to pass over it, then make a right,"
"On it," Chase replied swiftly and was about to walk over when he suddenly stopped. He froze in position, ears perking up as a faint sound met his ears. It was distant, coming from ahead a little ways away. It was a constant echoing of sheet metal, the exact sound Chase was emitting as he walked through the vent, only it was louder.
Tension rising in his fur, Chase took a slow step back, not taking his eyes from the path ahead of him. Leaning his nose forward, he took a deep inhale of the air. Instantly, the stench of rotting meat hit his nose, in addition to the ripe fetor of blood.
"Rocky," Chase said, unmoving, "close the gate,"
"What?"
The sound grew louder, the smell became stronger. The echoing noise of a massive animal was no longer a mere tap in the silence, but a booming break that rang throughout. The sound suddenly intensified even more, growing faster and louder as it moved toward him.
"The- the gate," Chase stammered as he was slowly overcome with fear, "Rocky, cl- … close the-"
A piercing screech tore all throughout the vent system, as Feroxmalis rounded the corner ahead, honing on Chase's smell.
"Rocky close the gate!" the Shepherd cried out, stumbling back, "close the gate!"
If there was any source of light in the vents, Chase would've been able to see the terrifying creature grip its arms into the walls, leaning up in a growling snarl. It opened its mouth and screamed out at its prey, vibrating its tentacles in preparation to shoot them forward.
The gate closed.
It shut quickly, just in time before Feroxmalis was able to lunge. Chase was safe, for now. Even as his life was spared, the Shepherd was unable to calm his violent shaking. His tail was shot under his legs, and for a moment he was frozen to the floor. If he wasn't able to get a grip on himself, he'd probably break down crying right then and there.
"Chase! Are you okay?!" Rocky came in,
No response from the Shepherd, as he took frantic breaths in an attempt to calm himself.
"Chase?!"
"I'm fine, Rocky," the police dog heaved, "I'm… fine."
"Oh thank- …. We thought it got you, we could hear its roar from all the way down here."
"Let's just keep moving," Chase tried to wave off the near-death experience, "we'll have to turn around."
Down into the control room, the rest of the pups were facing their own versions of terror. Rocky would've been more than happy to stare down the eyes of death in the vents, but Chase had already wedged himself into the position. The mix was happy to help, but despite being safe in the room, being able to hear Chase potentially getting attacked was riding his anxiety.
"Is he okay?" Marshall ran to the mix's side, whining.
Rocky turned to face him, trying to calm the quivering in his voice, "he's fine. He just… had a run in."
"So where to?" Chase's voice came from the collar,
"Um," the grey dog struggled to read the map for any possible new routes, "turn around, make a left. We're just gonna take a long way."
Nearby, Zuma was examining the propane tank he found against the wall. He didn't want to tell anyone how much he doubted the plan to trap the creature, even if he was for it in the beginning. However, the small canister of explosive gas had sent another idea forming in his head. He had witnessed in the courtyard that Feroxmalis avoided fire, although he didn't know if open flames actually harmed the creature or just annoyed it. Regardless, the monster showed clear hesitation when Chase had the blowtorch, and that was all the research he needed.
As the Lab silently made his plans, Rocky was sweating bullets trying to help Chase navigate, "alright, I'm gonna seal the first gate," he said, hitting the button, "there should be another one to your left, I'll seal that too but you need to cross over it first,"
"Wait, how am I going to get out if everything is closed?" Chase worried, fearing being trapped for the final minutes of his life.
"I have a route planned for you,"
While everyone else was occupied, Marshall approached the door in the room and peered outside. He could see a whole other room, with even more doors and a starting hallway. The basement was bigger than they realized, and the sooner this door was unjammed, the sooner they'd be able to explore. It poked in the Dalmation's mind how they had an entire wing of The Lookout never revealed to them.
Grunting a little, Marshall pressed his spotted paw into the door, trying to push it out. His attempt was futile, as whatever was placed in front of it was doing a good job of keeping it closed. Emitting a faint growl, Marshall kneaded his paws into the ground, preparing himself to unjam the door.
"I've passed over it, you can seal it now," Chase reported in, "oh God I can hear it behind me," he whimpered, "It's trying to come around the other way,"
Rocky swiftly shut the gate, "that makes two, and the third one I can shut right away,"
"This feels too easy,"
"Well we haven't gotten to the hard part yet," the mix tensed up, "actually getting that thing into the trap,"
"I'll just have to lure it by sound, it worked the first time," the Shepherd winced, eager to avoid any more confrontation.
Zuma turned around, "why can't you just close all the vents at once?"
"I tried that already," the mix grumbled, "it only lets me close four gates, no more. Maybe it's a power consumption thing. I also had to open the gate above the ladder, so we're vulnerable if that thing decides to come for us."
To drive home his point, Zuma noticed wiring that led along the wall from the computer. Before it disappeared into the wall, the wires met in a metal box with a gauge on it, containing a meter that measured the power usage.
"We have technology activated by barking sounds, but they can't get efficient power generators for a damned vent system?" the Lab griped,
"Again, no one's used this thing in years," Rocky was growing more agitated by Zuma's quips, "it probably worked fine, but wore down as time went on."
The Lab emitted a low growl, "lucky us,"
"Rocky, I'm at an intersection," Chase could be heard breathing heavily,
"The uh, the vent path to your…" the mix narrowed his eyes, trying to get a read on Chase's direction, "...left should be the one I just sealed. Go straight, you'll approach the last one."
"Moving,"
"Chase, I'm gonna have to open that first gate I closed," Rocky warned him, "it only lets me close four."
"Yeah that's- … wait," Chase stopped again,
"Chase?" Rocky asked, already boiling with fear, "you okay in there?"
No response.
"Chase?" the mix repeated, voice rising,
Marshall stopped and looked over, also carrying an expression of worry as he heard Rocky's tone of voice.
"Rocky!" the Shepherd shouted into his collar, "close the gate!"
The mix went on alarm, "which one?!"
"The- the one ahead of me!"
The mix lunged his paw forward, selected the gate on the computer, and hit the button. For a moment he felt relief, until his heart plunged as he remembered he never opened the first gate.
"R- Rocky, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Shit," the mix realized, now scrambling on the terminal, "shit shit shit!"
"It didn't close!"
Feroxmalis's layered scream rang out through the vents once more, even louder than last time. Marshall froze up as Zuma whipped around in surprise.
"Rocky!"
Moving so fast he almost fell from the chair, Rocky slammed the button to open the first gate, then lunged over to select the new one. In a moment that felt like milliseconds from tragedy, he smacked the red button, and the gate closed.
A tense silence filled the room.
"Ch- … Chase?" Rocky called out, filling with dread at the realization he may have killed his close friend, "are you there?!"
No response.
The mix slowly let himself come to a stop, then he gently leaned back in the chair. His eyes filled with tears as he silently sobbed. Chase was gone, massacred in the vents and it was all Rocky's fault. Marshall stood motionless, face filled with shock as he processed what he just occurred.
"No," he said simply, then slowly began to break down, "No!"
The Dalmation collapsed to the floor in sobs, shot through the heart from the death of his best friend. His breakdown was watched by Zuma, who seemed unaffected at the loss.
"We failed," Rocky breathed out, laying his head down on his paws,
"Failed what?" came the voice of a German Shepherd,
"Chase?!" the mix shot his head back up, as did Marshall.
"Yeah sorry I just…" he took a moment to breathe, "that was really close, I had to catch my bearings,"
Rocky shook his head, wanting to be angry, but elation quickly flooded his face, "God… damn it, dude," he chuckled, "don't do that to us,"
"Heh, sorry, where to now?"
"Straight ahead," the Eco dog wiped his face as he turned his gaze back to the map,
"Alright hold on. I'm just…" he went silent for a split second, "I'm trying to figure out what direction it's going in,"
Staring at the linear map of lines and pathways, Rocky tried to narrow in on the creature's location as well. Remembering the last gate he closed, it could only mean Feroxmalis was traveling on an upper pathway.
"It went to the right I think," Chase said a few minutes later, "isn't that a closed-off path?"
"It is, you better move fast. The last gate is all the way down until you hit the end."
As Rocky shook away his grief and returned to guiding Chase, Marshall needed a minute before he was able to catch his bearings. After a solid few seconds of sniffles and wiping eyes, the Dalmation felt embarrassed for acting in such a way. He could already feel Zuma's gaze on him, and the last thing he wanted to do was lose another friend. Sighing, the firefighter made his way back over to the door he was working on.
Sitting down to lick his paw, an odd sound suddenly met his ear. Stopping mid-lick, he picked his head, looking around the room for the source of the sound. It was a low buzz, like humming lights, so quiet he almost didn't hear it at all. He didn't want to disturb Zuma, and certainly didn't want to mess up Rocky's focus, so he investigated the odd sound on his own. He approached the wall covered in wires, trying to center in on the low buzz in his ears.
"Rocky, I made it to the end," Chase came through,
"Do you have a reading on Feroxmalis?" the mix replied,
"I don't know, it went quiet," the Shepherd worried, "I think it's far away, usually I can hear it crawling toward me."
Marshall sniffed the wall, stopping to observe the power gauge attached to the metal box. Gazing into the glass cylinder, he noticed the meter beginning to rise. The little arrow within it was shaking, moving out of the green and into yellow.
"Uh, Rocky?" The Dalmation tried to get his friend's attention.
The buzzing noise grew louder, now grabbing Zuma's ears as well. The room began to steadily brighten, the lightbulbs above them starting to intensify. The power was suddenly increasing, supercharging the lights and making them uncomfortable to stare directly at.
"What's going on?" Zuma backed up, "what's wrong with the lights?"
The bulbs began to flicker on and off, now catching Rocky's attention, "why are the-"
An electric explosion blasted out of the wall, shattering into the room as glass shot outward. Marshall screamed and jumped in the air, crying out as glass dug into his side. Zuma tried to block his face but was hit with a wave of heat and a glass shared stabbing into his arm. Thrown off the chair, Rocky scrambled to his paws.
" What the hell was that?!"
"What was what?!" Chase demanded, "I heard the explosion, what was that?!"
Rocky attempted to respond when the overhead lightbulbs suddenly popped, spraying the room with glass. Rouge electricity sparked from the broken base, as the room dimmed into darkness.
"Rocky?!" the Shepherd shouted, "the gate just closed!"
"What?" the mix stumbled, defensively holding himself together, "I didn't shut it, though!"
As Zuma and Marshall scrambled away from the glass that now littered the floor, Rocky jumped back onto the chair to regain control over the vents. He was instead met with a sight that made his stomach drop,
"The terminal isn't responding!" He shouted, pressing every key on the board with no visible effect, "it closed every gate at once!" The mix stared at the screen in horror, every single gate was now sealed, far beyond what the system was able to handle.
"What do you mean?!" the Shepherd demanded, "Rocky I-" he went silent for a brief moment, "I'm trapped in here!"
Elsewhere in the vents, Feroxmalis angrily roared, its screech echoing far through the corridors. It was heard clearly by all four dogs, making them stop in their tracks.
"Get me out of here!" Chase cried,
"Rocky what the hell happened?!" Zuma barked into chaos, "you're the technician, don't you know?!"
"I-" the mix scrambled, "I think it was a power surge?!" he shook his head, darting his eyes to find any feasible path Chase could take, "something spiked in the electric systems, and now nothing is working right!" he stared forward, realizing Chase was completely trapped in the vents with no way out.
"How the hell do power surges just randomly happen?!" Zuma argued with a snarl, "aren't those what surge protectors are for?!"
"Rocky!" Chase shouted, voice rising in fear,
"Something must have happened!" The panicking mix struggled for an explanation, "either the system just completely conked out on us, or-"
Zuma went wide-eyed, "or someone sabotaged us…"
"What?" Rocky whipped around, "there's no one else down here!"
"You said it yourself, power surges don't just happen out of nowhere!" The Lab barked, "there's something else going on here!"
"Get me out of here!" Chase wailed into his collar, "I can hear it coming!"
The mix threw himself back to the computer, hitting every button possible to no avail. The screen was frozen, static cracking into the display and glitching through the map. No matter what Rocky tried, there didn't seem to be anything he could do.
Marshall was panicking as well, pacing around Rocky's chair as he overheard the chaos. He wanted to help in any way he could, but his options were limited. Focusing was difficult due to the cuts on his side, leaking down blood from where the glass was shot into him. Even then, he had to think of something.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" the Dalmation called up,
"Marshall, I really can't talk right now!" Rocky pounded on the keyboard, deciding to go all in and start whacking the controls in a desperate attempt to jumpstart them. Fear stabbing into his mind, Marshall frantically looked around for anything that could help. His eyes locked on a red lever coming from the wall, not inherently visible due to its low position. It had a red, scratched handle, and the port it sat in was outlined in black and yellow.
Without thinking, the Dalmation jumped forward and clamped his teeth into the lever's handle. With no way left to turn, he yanked his head down, pulling the lever as hard as possible.
A loud alarm swept through the area, and red lights were activated in the room. In an instant, all power suddenly died from the room. The broken lightbulbs stopped sparking, the computer shut down, and even the AC in the wall could be heard shutting off. All electric systems had completely stopped, restarting the system.
"Huh?!" Rocky recoiled from the sudden change, "Chase? Can you hear me?!"
"Yeah, it opened!" the Shepherd could be heard panting as he ran, "I'm headed back!"
The mix raised an eyebrow, "really? I didn't do anything,"
He was interrupted as Marshall came to his side, barking up at him, "I think I pulled an emergency shutoff of some kind!"
Zuma recoiled, "a shutoff?!"
"Wait, that means-" Rocky narrowed his eyes, processing the information. Not even a second later, he jolted upright, realizing what it meant.
Up in the vents, Chase was hurrying as fast as he could. His heart was racing, blood pumping faster than it ever had. Not a single one of their missions had ever been close to the likes of this. He'd seen danger before in Adventure City, but it was merely environmental hazards of falling debris and violent storms. Never before had he stared into the eyes of a monster seeking to end him.
He kept his breathing steady, staring into the darkness as he made a left turn. He knew if he stayed at the perimeter of the vents, he'd likely come across the ladder back into the room soon enough. He was minutes away from being reunited with his family, he just had to escape the corridors. This fact slowly soothed him, giving him a moment of relief from the fear, knowing the job was almost done.
"Chase? Marshall activated an emergency shutoff," Rocky panicked into the collar,
"Is that how I got out?"
"I guess so, but there's another problem," the mix was audibly hyperventilating, "I think all of the gates just opened at once,"
The Shepherd frowned, "what do you mean?"
"I don't know, but I think Feroxmalis may be headed straight toward you,"
Tension quickly flared, and Chase broke into a jog, he knew running would only attract the creature. Breathing quicker, he trained to maintain his composure as he continued forward. It couldn't be long now until he reached the exit.
"Wham!" The sound of a massive object crashing into the vent wall echoed into the puppy and nearly knocked him over. Chase jumped in surprise, smacking his head into the low ceiling. Dazed and disoriented, the Shepherd blindly stumbled back into the darkness.
He didn't need sight to know what was in front of him.
Feroxmalis emerged before him, cutting off his route to the exit. It initially didn't know where Chase was, only where he was going, remembering the hatch it passed over when it followed them inside. Snarling in anger, the monster bared its teeth, punching its arm into the wall in rage.
Hearing death before him, Chase turned and ran as fast as he could. Feroxmalis immediately gave pursuit, screeching out as it clawed for him. The creature was hindered by the low ceiling, and couldn't efficiently use its legs to accelerate its speed. Chase was small, able to fully stand up even in the vents, allowing him to break into a sprint. Even then, Chase was unsure if it would be enough, as panic boiled in his blood.
As the monster's constant roars filled his ears, he remembered something amidst the chaos: on the map of the vents, there were branching paths that led into the basement, unlike the ladder they had originally passed. Perhaps there was a way out for him after all, and he quickened his pace.
"Chase?!" a voice cried through the collar,
"Where do I go, Rocky?!" the Shepherd pleaded, "tell me where to go!"
"I can't see the map anymore, it's all shut down!"
Blindly running, Chase had zero ideas of where he was going. A terrifying thought rose in his head that he would die slowly and painfully in the ducts, his body never to be found. Just when he was almost tired out, a sparkle of light met his eyes, and he snapped his attention forward.
Up ahead was a long corridor, but it ended in a vent cover, he could easily see light glowing through the slits. He could see his way out, but the violent screeches were getting louder, and the monster was gaining. Chase knew he wouldn't be able to make the last stretch, he'd run as much as he could but he'd die tired. In what he assumed were the final minutes of his life, he made a desperate decision.
He knew a branching path was coming up, he remembered seeing it on the map before he had entered the dark passageways.
"Rocky!" He called, "keep talking!"
"What?"
"Just keep talking!" Chase barked, swiftly unclipping the collar and holding it in his teeth.
"Um, okay," the mix stuttered, "Zuma thinks somebody deliberately caused the power surge, there's no other explanation for why it just suddenly happened,"
"Keep talking!" the puppy trailed the end of his tail along the wall, feeling for an opening in the wall.
"Chase I'm sorry for everything!" Rocky cried, "I'm not strong, I failed you, I failed the Paw Patrol, I haven't been the dog I should've been!"
Sure enough, Chase felt his tail slide off, swiftly locating in the darkness where the new path began. Stopping for just a millisecond, Chase flung the collar as hard as he could down the side passageway, then stomped his paw into the floor that led down it. This was it, it was time to figure out if Feroxmalis could see in the dark.
Rocky's voice was loudly emitting from the collar, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Chase turned to face his incoming predator, backing up into the original pathway to his freedom. He couldn't outrun it any longer, he could only play the last card he had: tricking it. The pounding sounds of the creature scrambling through the vents narrowed in on him, he heard its jaws open with a fierce hissing sound. Crouching down low, Chase took a final step back, pressing himself into the wall.
Screeching in rage, Feroxmalis was only a meter away from his position. He swore he could see the creature's eyes, its claws reached out to grab its helpless prey, its jagged fangs ready to snap bones.
The monster lunged forward.
Chase shut his eyes.
The sounds of it moving suddenly collided with a wall, as Feroxmalis turned and charged down the new path, following the voice it heard. Its tail barely grazed Chase's nose as it turned, sending a stench of rotten innards into his nostrils.
Tears fell from his eyes as he released he had been spared, and an old song came to his mind.
"Y-you… are my-" he silently cried, repeating the lyrics he knew, "l-lucky… star," his voice quivered as he sobbed, hearing the monster move away. It was a song his mother had sung to him years ago, back when he was just an infant puppy in a bed. At that moment, he remembered his mother's voice, gently soothing him as she sang.
"I… s-saw you, from afar," he wept quietly, turning and making haste for the exit, quickly picking up speed. As he stared into the creature of death and suffering, at the belief he was seconds from being cut down, all he could think of was his mother, "t-two… lovely… eyes," he could barely see through his own tears.
"Chase!" was the final word from Rocky as Feroxmalis slammed its paw onto the collar, smashing it to pieces.
Rocky jumped up from his chair, not even caring that his paws landed upon broken glass. Zuma looked over in concern, while Marshall jumped to his own paws, desperate for any update on his friend's status. The mix pushed past both dogs, running toward the jammed door that led further into the basement. Placing his paws against it, he audibly whined, "Zuma, help me get this door open!"
"He's dead, Rocky," the Lab came to his side, "let's just take the ladder and go back outside while the creature is still down here,"
Snarling, the mix whipped his gaze over to the coast guard. Baring his teeth, Rocky snarled for the first time in years, "don't you fucking say that! Now help me!"
As Rocky helplessly pushed against the door, Zuma leaned back in intimidation. Rolling his eyes, he joined the mix on the door, placing his paws against it.
"Hnng!" Both dogs grunted as they shoved forward all the strength they had. It didn't open the door but cracked it just enough that a puppy could slip through. Rocky wasted no time jumping through, landing in the entirely new room. He didn't even check what was in it, as the mix's eyes shot upward to the ceiling where the ducts could be seen. Whining fearfully, Rocky struggled to remember the vent map, trying to figure out where Chase was.
"Rocky!" Zuma tried to call him back, "it's not safe!"
The mix was about to bite back at the comment when he heard footsteps from above. He instantly snapped his attention back to the vents, trying to place the sound. He followed the duct, hastily jogging across the wall and through yet another door, not stopping once to observe his surroundings. He wasted no time nearly throwing himself through it, this door wasn't blocked so it swiftly knocked open into a dark room littered with metal shelves.
The door, upon opening, careened into a pile of boxes and sent them flying. Rocky sprinted into the room when he was suddenly assaulted by a box landing on him. Shaking it off, although dazed, Rocky approached an end of the ducts. There was a vent cover placed on it, seemingly gating off the entrance inside the dark passageways.
"Chase?" the mix called up into it, leaning forward to sniff the air,
The sound of echoing footsteps returned, intense and coming his way. Rocky held his breath, creeping backward in a slow retreat as he feared the worst. The sound became louder and louder, the creature almost hurdling itself toward the vent cover. Breaking into a panic, Rocky turned to run.
Suddenly, Chase smashed through the vent cover, completely throwing himself through it as he ruptured out. Rocky had to jump to dodge the now-flying cover that was probably made from drywall or plastic. The German Shepherd flew out of the vent, falling into the room as he hit the floor and crashed into the metal shelf.
"Ow," Chase winced as some papers fell on him,
Instantly, the mix jumped in elation, "Chase! You're alive!" he jumped into the Shepherd, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug, "I thought you were dead," he cried, "I really thought you were gone,"
Breathing heavily, Chase needed a moment before he registered what was happening. Blinking for a second, he put his own arm around the mix and hugged him tightly, "I'm… okay," he panted, "I'm okay, Rocky, you did a great job,"
"I guess," the mix frowned, "everything went wrong,"
Chase narrowed his eyes as he gently released himself from Rocky's hold, "what actually happened back there?" he asked the frightful mix, "why did everything stop working?"
Rocky shrugged, shaking his head, "I… I don't know. Zuma thinks we were sabotaged."
"Sabotaged? Who would do that?"
"I don't know, I'm just glad you're alive,"
The Shepherd looked to the floor, trying to put the pieces together in his head. Had someone actually intervened? Why in the world would someone stop them from trapping the creature? Chase's mind fell back on Feroxmalis, and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh no," he shot up,
Rocky raised an eyebrow, "what?"
The sound of upward footsteps returned, emitting from far in the vents. Only these footsteps were significantly louder and heavier, and they were moving fast.
"Get back!" Chase barked, jumping into Rocky and tackling him out of the room.
The sound of a massive, metal collision slammed out of the vents behind them. The rectangular passageway distorted from the impact, groaning as the metal bent and tore. A long, bloodied arm, vibrating with worm-like tendrils, extended out of the vent opening. It slammed its claws into the outside wall, dragging them across the metal and producing a wretched scraping noise.
"Go!" Chase pushed his friend up, "get back outside!"
The two puppies sprinted across the room and wedged themselves through the crack in the door, much to the surprise of everyone else.
"Chase?" Zuma recoiled, seeing the Shepherd alive yet again,
The Shepherd had no time to answer as a Dalmation jumped him, pulling him into a sobbing hug, "you're okay!" Marshall cried gleefully.
The sound of tearing metal screamed out as Feroxmalis ripped apart the vent, birthing itself from the dark cavities and emerging back into the light. No longer hindered by the ceiling, it stood up tall and uncoiled its legs.
"No time!" Chase pushed Marshall off, "back outside, now!"
Zuma was the first to run, jumping for the ladder, clinging onto it as he stumbled to climb up. Chase was going to follow him when his instincts stopped him in his tracks. Tilting his ears, he stiffened his body, "Zuma, get off the ladder!"
The Lab looked back at him, "what? Why-"
He was cut off as Feroxmalis completely smashed through the door, tearing through the wood and sending shavings flying in all directions. The room exploded into chaos as Marshall screamed and Zuma cried out in his own surprise. Swinging its arms to completely break down what was left of the door, Feroxmalis unhinged its jaw and screamed out its roar louder than ever. The sound smacked Zuma off guard, causing him to fall off the ladder. The creature reared forward, screeching violently, and lunged forward with its claws.
In one sweeping motion, it slashed both claws in a crossing forward, completely destroying the ladder and cutting off their escape. Chase braced himself as he was assaulted with wood and metal bits.
"Run!" he shouted,
All four dogs dove out of the room, running out with no destination in mind.
"Where are we even going?" Marshall cried, "we've never been down here!"
Before Chase could answer, Feroxmalis stuck out of the room, gripping the wall as it spotted the puppies. Snarling, it jumped into the back wall and sprang off it, sailing through the air over their heads.
"Aaah!" Rocky skidded to a halt,
The creature landed before them, cutting them off yet again. Growling, it reared to its full height and stared down at the puppies. It was pissed off beyond belief, scratching its claws over the floor as its tail flicked in anticipation.
Chase instantly got into a defensive stance, flattening his ears and baring his teeth, "get away!" he snarled, wanting to protect his family to the end, "back off!" The other three backed up behind him, Zuma staying far behind while Rocky and Marshall cowered. Feroxmalis cared little for Chase's show of nobility, and bared its teeth to strike.
Suddenly, a new voice rang out in the room.
"Watch out!" shouted someone, their voice was sharp and feminine.
Chase looked up to see what looked like a glass bottle sailing over his head, almost in slow motion from his perspective. Before he could register the object, the bottle smashed into the floor before Feroxmalis, exploding into a massive column of fire.
The puppies all jumped back in unison, crying out as they were bludgeoned with intense heat. The creature abandoned its attack, screeching in surprise as the flames seared into its exposed flesh. Feroxmalis stumbled backward, madly scraping its claws across the floor as it fell backward, dazed from the blast of fire.
Chase hit the ground, struggling to get up as he shook himself back to his senses. His fur felt singed, and the dried mud that still caked him in places was now practically welded to his body. He opened his eyes to see a new dog, small with golden brown fur, helping his friends to their footing.
"Who-" he tried to narrow his blurred vision,
"Come on!" She turned to him, "follow me!"
Zuma shook his head, "what-"
"Follow me unless you want to die!" the new dog snarled, as she ran off through a door in the room. With no other options, Chase looked back at the monster. It had taken the flame directly front and center, it was completely stunned. With no option, he rallied his friends and ran after their savior.
They ran for a few minutes before stopping in an old, dusty hallway. Old wires hung down from the ceiling as the dogs caught their breath. As Chase's sight fully recalibrated, he looked back toward the stranger.
"Hey," he called to her, "who are-" he stopped wide-eyed, as he instantly recognized her. It was almost baffling to see someone like her in a place like this. Chase stepped back as the dog turned to face him, meeting him with her brown eyes. The Shepherd was aghast at the sight of her.
"Liberty?"