After bidding a wanderlust-filled Rocky goodbye for now, promising to take his earlier advice to heart, Chase had some thinking to do.
"(Wow... wasn't expecting to start my vacation with an acting gig. But I can't say I'm unhappy I crossed that off the bucket list!)"
In truth, Chase still had yet to decide what he was going to do first. He was hoping to play around on the ship for a while to help make his mind up, but his unexpected acting debut had thrown a wrench into his plans to say the least. With his thoughts scattered to the winds after everything that just happened, Chase needed some space to think about his next move.
"(A little peace and quiet is what I need... just need a plan of attack for what I wanna try first, then I can jump right in!)"
Chase trudged down the thickly-carpeted hallway, feeling his paws sink deep into it with every step. All the while, his scattered thoughts were as loud as ever.
"(I guess I could do with stopping to smell the roses, actually. Been a long time since I really-)"
"AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
"WHAT THE-?!"
As an almighty scream came from the door further down the hallway, Chase was quickly jolted out of his thoughts. Considering the soundproofing on the ship, this was no small feat. Springing fully to attention, Chase fixated on where the sound came from, only to realise that it sounded oddly-familiar...
"(That... that sounded like Rubble!)"
Chase quickly started to panic, and almost teleported over to the door to their room...
"UMPH-!"
...just in time for Rubble to explode out of the room's built-in dog door and knock him flat. Once some of the stars disappeared from Chase's vision, he shook off what remained of his dizziness and clambered back to his paws to get a good look at Rubble, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Rubble! What happened?! Are you OK?!" Chase barked.
Rubble didn't answer. He remained rooted to the spot, shaking like an earthquake with his mouth hanging open slightly. His heavy breathing was very audible as his light-brown eyes gave such a wide stare that one would be forgiven for thinking that Rubble believed the act of blinking would kill him on the spot.
"Hey! Rubble! Talk to me! Please! Have we got an intruder?! Did someone try to hurt you?!" Chase implored, waving his paw in front of Rubble's face.
But still, Rubble remained quiet for a few seconds more, except for the rapid breaths he continued to take. Eventually, though, he started to choke out words without changing his expression, leaving Chase to try and work out what he wanted to say.
"S... S-S... Suh..."
"'Suh'? Suh-spicious? You saw someone suspicious?!
"S-Suh... Spuh... S-Spuh... Spi..."
"'Spi'? We've got a spy?!"
"SPIDER!"
It took a few seconds for the terrified Bulldog's reply to sink in. An uncomfortable silence hung heavy in the air as Chase's frightened and concerned expression slowly melted away. The gears in the Shepherd's head started turning for a few moments.
"What?"
"S-S-Spider! A big one! It's all huge and leggy! It got this close to me!"
Rubble held a paw close to one of his eyes, continuing to shake like a leaf while Chase's face continued to fall further, slowly forming an unimpressed glare.
"You're really saying..."
"Save me, Chase! Get rid of it! PLEASE!" Rubble pleaded, ignorant of Chase's growing irritation.
With each passing second, Chase got more and more tense. His glare intensified, his teeth started to show, and eventually, he stomped a paw into the carpet. But all throughout, Rubble remained unfazed.
"Ugh! Rubble, you silly-! Argh, you almost gave me a heart attack! You're kicking up all this fuss over a creepy-crawly?! THAT'S IT?! I thought someone had broken in or something!"
"B-But it DID break in! It's so big... a-a-and... wriggly! Please, Chase! Y-You gotta do something!"
"Rrrrrgh... OK, OK! You're gonna wake the whole ship with your yelling! Honestly! It can't be anything to be THIS scared of! Just stay behind me and I'll get rid of it..."
The grumbling pup quickly moved protectively in front of Rubble, cursing his lack of insight for not realising the problem sooner. As annoyed as he was that Rubble was kicking up such a fuss over a spider of all things, the sooner he could get rid of the bug, the sooner he could he could calm Rubble down and get the peace he so desired. Slowly, Chase plodded into the room, which didn't look terribly out of the ordinary so far. A superhero movie blared from the TV, and there was a groove on their bed from where Rubble had been lying on it, but everything otherwise looked to be in its rightful place.
Chase sighed. "Where is it, Rubble?"
"R-R-Right around there! B-B-Behind the bed! G-G-G-Get rid of it quick!"
"Ugh, really... we're gonna get noise complaints at this rate..."
Rubble stayed right where he was as Chase dragged himself around the side of the bed. And as he did so, the bug that gave Rubble such an awful fright finally came into view...
"Seriously, all this fuss over a teeny-weeny, itty-bitty spideeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"
...making Chase finally understand what he was so scared of. A spider with eight long, spindly legs sticking out of a body that was barely distinguishable from a blob of dust. Chase had no idea how such a small body could support such huge, gangly legs, but that thought was quickly tossed aside in favour of shock at how quickly he'd been proven wrong. The scared Shepherd went completely rigid with his mouth hanging open and his eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"See?! W-W-W-What did I tell you?! I-I-It looks like it eats pups like me for breakfast! Get rid of it, Chase! Hurry!" Rubble begged.
"Oh, no! I am not taking another step closer to that thing, mister! It's HUGE!"
And just like that, Rubble forgot how scared he was. His face fell as he looked at Chase like he'd just sprouted a second head.
"Wh... Wha... WHAT?! I thought you were the big, strong police pup of the Paw Patrol! How can you handle dangerous rescues but not a single bug?!" Rubble squawked.
Chase whipped back around to look at Rubble. "Those things aren't even close to each other! Besides, what happened to the tough super pup?"
"I'd rather play hopscotch with landmines than go near something like that! Have you ever seen a spider that big in real life?! I don't think any of us are fit to deal with something like thaaaaAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"
Rubble looked past Chase and screamed again. Chase followed his gaze to see that the non-venemous spider that had never bitten a soul in its life was on the move, its long, lanky legs a blur as it scuttled towards them.
"AAAAAAAGGHHHHH! GET AWAY FROM US!" Chase shouted.
Despite how small the room was, the spider seemed to be in pursuit as the two pups took off running. Not thinking to go out the unlocked dog door, they both ran towards the closed sliding door to the balcony, before jumping up onto one of the beds to avoid the spider's leggy, fangless, non-venemous wrath. Afraid that it'd start climbing the bed, the pups flattened themselves against the headboard, standing in silence for a while, whimpering and shivering as they huddled close together.
"What're we gonna do, Chase?"
Chase gave Rubble a funny look. "You're asking ME?!"
"Well, SOMEONE has to do SOMETHING!"
"Why don't we call someone? Ryder, maybe? He could deal with this!"
"No way! Do you really wanna interrupt him so he can come running to pick up after us?!"
In truth, Chase was clutching at straws for an answer. But Rubble was right. Chase hadn't seen Ryder since they left their room after their collective nap. For all he knew, his leader was having the time of his life that he deserved. Or possibly getting some much needed rest at the Star Spa. Chase couldn't possibly interrupt him and drag him all the way back to the ship for something as silly as a spider in their room! But that only left one, almost equally-horrible option. One that Chase was hoping to avoid with all his might.
"Then I guess we've gotta be brave, right?" Chase surmised.
"I know... but it's so huge... a-and... spider-y! Urgh!"
"What choice do we have?! I-It's just a spider... right? We just gotta get close enough to it and... PHHHHRRRRPPPPP!" Chase blew a raspberry as he thumped his paw down on the pillow for emphasis.
"Ewww! Chase, that's horrible! I don't wanna squish it!"
"Well it doesn't look like it's planning on leaving anytime soon! Just look at it!" Chase retorted, moving over to the edge of the bed.
Rubble turned around and put his paws over his eyes. "I don't wanna!"
"If we don't do something ourselves... then... it'll... never... leave?"
Rubble slowly took his paws away from his eyes as Chase trailed off. He couldn't get a read on the Shepherd's expression as he stared down at the floor, seemingly scanning every individual fibre of the carpet.
"Chase...? Why... why did you stop?"
"Umm... it's gone."
These words practically stopped Rubble's poor, fragile heart. "It's... what?"
"I don't see it..."
The movie Rubble had been watching was reduced to mere background noise as Rubble slowly inched towards the edge of the bed, looking out over the massive, carpeted expanse. He breathed heavily as he practically burned holes in the floor with his gaze, looking for any sign of the eight-legged intruder.
"Where did it go?! Where... where is it?!"
"Calm down, Rubble! Maybe it really did just leave!"
Much to Chase's relief, Rubble's breathing began to stabilise after a few seconds. While Chase was still on the lookout for the spider, it still brought him peace to know that Rubble seemed to be much calmer than he was before.
"Uhh... uh... y-yeah... y-you're probably right..."
After a little while, their red alert had been downgraded to yellow. And a few more seconds later, the yellow alert changed to all clear.
"OK... I think it's gone." Chase announced, slowly exhaling.
Rubble heaved a massive sigh of relief, unable to stop himself from giggling as the tension finally lifted.
"Ha... ha, ha, ha! That was probably the nastiest bug not called the Spider King I've ever seen!"
Chase dropped to his rear as the adrenaline finally worked its way through his system. "At least the Spider King isn't real! That was right there! Right in front of our noses! I mean, I don't usually mind spiders, but THAT?! Eurgh!"
"Well, we don't have to worry about it now... I just hope it hasn't left any spider cooties around!"
Rubble hopped off the bed and walked towards the dog door. Now that everything was all said and done, he pushed the lock closed.
"Phew... that's the end of that chapter."
"R-R-R-R-R..."
"Huh? Chase?"
Rubble turned around to see an odd sight indeed. Chase was looking almost exactly like he did earlier: completely rigid, shaking like a leaf and breathing rapidly, with his eyes bulging open and his mouth slightly agape. The only difference was the paw Chase was pointing in Rubble's direction.
"R-R-R-R-R-R-Ru..." Chase stammered more urgently.
"Chase?! What's the matter?"
"R-R-R-R-Ru-Ru-Ru-Ru-Ru... b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-ble?!" Chase practically shouted.
"What?! What is it?!"
It took Rubble a moment to realise that Chase was pointing straight at him. Quickly shuffling from side to side to confirm this, watching as the Shepherd's paw followed his movements, Rubble wondered if he had something on his face as he looked around... only to feel his blood to turn to ice as he saw something clinging to his side. Something living. Something with a small body and eight long, lanky legs. In about three seconds, Rubble's breathing grew heavy and rapid. The Bulldog began to whimper. Then he started to shake violently...
"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
...and let out a scream that, combined with Chase's, had to have frightened off every fish and bird for miles around. Screaming that continued as Rubble frantically ran around and rolled on the ground, desperate to get rid of the eight-legged interloper.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!" Rubble screamed.
"WAAAAAGGGGHHHHH! DON'T COME OVER HERE!" Chase yelled back, pressing himself against the headboard as Rubble unconsciously ran towards him.
"IT'S EATING ME, CHASE! HELP MEEEE!"
"GET THAT UGLY THING AWAY FROM ME!"
"GET OFF ME! GETOFFGETOFFGETOFFGETOFFGETOFF!"
After at least a solid minute of yelling and rolling up and down the room, Rubble finally managed to shake the spider and rejoin Chase on the bed. Remarkably, the spider was mostly unharmed as it clung to the floor, trying to reorient itself.
"I thought it was gone!" Rubble cried.
"So did I! When did it climb on you?!" Chase replied.
"How should I know?!"
"AHHHHHH! IT'S COMING THIS WAY AGAIN!"
With Chase's sudden shout, Rubble could only scream and flatten himself against the headboard again, quivering like a newborn. Indeed, the spider had finally climbed up onto the bed and was slowly stalking towards them. Chase spent a few seconds following Rubble's lead with his ears flattened, watching as the spider steadily got closer and closer. Until he realised that his friend was under threat. His fear slowly sputtered out as the fires of rage started to burn within him. Chase glared and stepped forward, unknowingly letting out a soft growl.
"Alright you eight-legged freak... I'm not letting you get any closer... I'm gonna splat you... e-even if you... you eat me alive!"
"Chase? What are you-?" Rubble squeaked, awestruck.
"This thing's messing with us! I-I won't let it hurt you!"
Rubble's terrified expression soon melted away. His face slowly lit up as he realised what Chase was doing. And his smile was all the fuel Chase needed as the spider got close. Chase's growl steadily got louder, until he finally let out a war cry.
"I'M GONNA SMASH YOUUUU!"
"GET 'EM, CHASE! GET 'EM!"
But before Chase could leap at the spider in what could only be an epic duel to the death between pup and arachnid, he and Rubble both froze at the sound of their door being unlocked. And as they looked over, said door swung open to reveal a frantic-looking, blonde-haired teenage boy in a housekeeping uniform.
"What is going on in here?!" he demanded.
"Ah-! A-Ahhh... ummm..." Rubble stuttered, his excitement deflating.
"Huh?! Hu... uh... uhhhh..." Chase stammered, the fire in his belly spontaneously cooling.
Chase glanced over at the spider again, and saw that even it had stopped dead in its tracks with the housekeeper's arrival. Following Chase's gaze, though, the boy took notice of the huge spider on the bed and quickly calmed down as he put the situation together in his head.
"Oh. Hah."
Seeing one of the untouched drinking glasses at the side of the room, the housekeeper moved over and took it in one hand, while picking up a room service menu in the other. And in one swift motion, the glass went over the spider, while the coaster went underneath it. Just like that, the spider was trapped and frantically and futilely scuttling around the edges in search of a way out. Barely blinking, the housekeeper picked up the makeshift prison and placed on the table before turning back to the pups.
"...that was it? That's all it took?" Rubble asked quietly.
"We were so scared of that spider and you took it out just like that?!" Chase added, audibly disappointed.
"I'm an old hand at spider-catching, pups. My sister back home HATES spiders, so I've always gotta be the one to get rid of 'em. Heh, a job like this is just another Sunday evening at home, actually. But more importantly, you're both OK? You're not hurt or anything?"
"No, no, we're fine." Rubble replied.
"Well, er... w-we're fine now, anyway." Chase said sheepishly.
The housekeeper sighed with relief. "That's good... but at least one room's been complaining about all the noise you were making. I'm going to have to ask you two to keep it down."
"We're sorry, mister... w-we were just scared..." Rubble whimpered in shame.
"Yeah... that was a seriously-huge spider... but we didn't wanna disturb anyone..." Chase added sadly.
The housekeeper kneeled down with a reassuring expression.
"We can't have you two screaming the place down, but I understand. I was a serious frady-cat when I was your age, so I know what it's like. But if you have any more spider problems, just come to the front desk, OK? We'll send someone to get rid of it. Trust me, we've had sillier requests."
Thankfully, the hapless housekeeper helped to heighten the mood for the two petrified pups, who were now all smiles, grateful for the end of this whole sordid affair, and relieved that the staff weren't mad at them.
"Thanks a lot, mister. It won't happen again." Chase said resolutely.
With a polite smile and nod, the housekeeper took the trapped spider out of the room and closed the door behind him, reassuring them that the missing items would be quickly replaced. And for the second time in minutes, Chase crashed out, flopping sideways onto the floor as the adrenaline wore off once more. And perhaps unsurprisingly, Rubble quickly joined him.
"Well... that was more exciting than I was expecting!" Chase remarked tiredly.
"Me, too! I was just watching some movies, and next thing I know, I've got a spider for a roommate!" Rubble panted.
"All I wanted was to just relax for a little while! But now... urgh, I'm gonna have nightmares!"
Rubble laughed quietly, before falling silent for a few seconds.
"Hey, Chase? I... I gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to be so scared of that spider..."
Chase slowly looked over at Rubble.
"I-I mean, don't take it the wrong way. All of this? It felt so... well, normal. I guess I kinda forgot what it was like to just be a normal pup over the last couple of months, heh."
Chase smirked and shook his head briefly, before giving Rubble a sincere look.
"I'm not made of stone, Rubble... never have been. Maybe I'm a police pup, and maybe I go through a lot of danger most days... but I get scared and sad just like you. I get as excited about silly stuff as any other pup. Because deep down, I'm just as much of a kid as anyone else."
Rubble stared at Chase, surprised that he was being this open about his vulnerabilities with him.
"Huh... never thought about that..."
"Most people don't. But isn't that why we're on vacation in the first place? To just be kids?"
"I guess it is! Heh! I guess playing with spiders made me forget all about that!"
Rubble's remark drew further laughter from the exhausted Shepherd.
"Well, anyway, I've still got plenty of movies to watch. Wanna watch a couple? I know I could use something relaxing after all that..."
Just like that, Chase perked back up. "Oh, yes PLEASE..."
After a surprisingly exciting time running away from a monstrous spider, Chase was more in need of some relaxation than ever. And thankfully, Rubble was more than happy to provide. Eager to get some rest after such a frantic couple of hours, Chase hopped back up to their bed alongside Rubble, settling down next to the Bulldog as he rewound his movie. It was one that Chase hadn't seen before: a superhero comedy of some kind set in a land of castles and dragons. But he was eager to see what it had to offer all the same.
"Thanks for this, Rubble. You know? I'm feeling better already."
"Anytime, Chase. Movies are better with friends, you know?"
Chase snickered, before saying one more thing that sent them both laughing again.
"Hey, so's dealing with spiders!"
Been a while since we've seen Chase, hasn't it? Well, now he's back and yes, he's still dealing with more excitement than he really intended on this vacation!
Funnily enough, I actually dealt with an instance of arachnophobia on my most recent visit to Disney World. Only in this case, the glass got shattered on our balcony... and no, it wasn't me!
Rest assured, Chase will make more frequent appearances starting from now. Especially since the pups' stories are now over halfway done. Oh, and something else to mention is that these stories don't necessarily take place in the order of chapter releases. Each pup has their own day on Solstice Island, and the last chapter followed Rocky's, hence why Marshall seemed to disappear. But fret not, the next chapter will explain where he went.
Next Wednesday, a Dalmatian, a Chocolate Labrador, a log flume and sheer terror! If you enjoyed this chapter, please don't hesitate to favourite, follow and/or leave a review. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you next time. Take care.
Next story - MaZu - Flume Frights!