Chapter 12: Shaun
"Tell us a story, please!" Muffin plead.
"Yeah! We haven't had one in forever!" Warrin said.
The kids were all gathered together in the playroom that joined the children's dormitories together. It had been a day since the group had returned from procuring their feline test subject and Lucky was off sulking, but the other kids had been playing together. With the complex now complete they were kept inside most of the time unless they were helping with the garden on the roof, but given the risks of the outside world they didn't mind too much.
"Kids, it's late. Maybe I can do one tomorrow." Bandit yawned, Lee had been especially fussy the last few hours and Bandit had needed to tend to his son, leading to further exhaustion beyond normal.
"Please dad." Bluey asked, "We haven't had one since Bingo, I think I want one."
Bandit sighed, "Alright, but what'll it be?"
"Can you make it something funny?" Chucky asked, now sitting at Bandit's feet, looking up at the blue heeler's face.
"Yeah, something not like outside." Monti agreed.
Bandit nodded, "Alright, a quick one, okay? Then off to bed."
The kids nodded and crowded around. Warrin was up front with Chucky and Muffin; Monti, Bluey, and Judo in the back. Bandit smiled as he looked down, it was a rare chance for them to be innocent again, and he loved the looks of hope and the small sparks of whimsy in their eyes. He hadn't had much of that as of late, but he tried to pull back to an earlier time, before all of the zed crisis had happened.
"Once upon a time there was a dog who lived in a small town on the edge of a kingdom…"
"Was it a boy dog or a girl dog?" Muffin asked.
"Does it matter?" Bandit asked.
"No, I guess not." Muffin admitted.
"Then please don't interrupt."
"Sorry Uncle Bandit."
"It's okay mate, but let me tell the story, 'kay?"
She nodded and he continued, "This dog lived life the same way every day. They got up, made their bed, made brekkie, went to work, came home, and went to bed. Same thing every day."
"That sounds boring." Monti said.
"It was terribly boring, but the dog didn't want to try anything new because they were afraid that something bad might happen." Bandit paused, "This dog had once been in love with another dog, one that was beautiful, breath taking really… But they never told them how they felt. Then the other dog moved away. It had been many years since they'd last seen them. They wanted to stay exactly where they were, in the hopes that one day they might return."
"Aww…" Judo said, touched by the sentiment.
"One day as the dog was out in their garden cleaning their garden they heard a loud squawking sound. They followed the noise and found a bird-an emu, in fact-eating their tomatoes."
"What a cheeky emu!" Bluey giggled.
"Indeed!" Bandit's right arm suddenly jerked up and started nipping at his chest. "Hey! Watch it!"
"It's Shaun!" Bluey grinned.
"Shaun?" Chucky asked.
"He's an emu. He had babies and had to go away for a while, but he came back!" Bluey explained, motioning to her father's hand.
"The dog looked at the emu and yelled, 'Hey you stinky emu! Get away from my tomatoes!'" Bandit mimed Shaun nipping at him, earning a titter of laughter from the kids, "But instead the emu just ate faster. Well, the dog had had enough, so they chased after the emu."
Shaun pulled Bandit up and across the room, Bandit continued the story as laughter continued to grow. "But emus, they're sneaky. And they're quick. So the emu kept running and the dog kept following, but no matter how close they got the emu always seemed to go faster or escape somehow. At this point the dog didn't even care too much about the tomatoes, he was just mad at the emu…"
Shaun made Bandit trip and pecked at his ears as he was on the ground. "I know the feeling."
"Shaun! Stop being cheeky and let Mr. Bandit finish!" Warrin admonished the imaginary creature.
Shaun stopped pecking and let Bandit up, "Thank you Shaun. So the dog kept running after the emu, and it lead further from home. They crossed a great river, hopping from rock to rock to avoid the swift currents. Then there was a dark forest where the little dog had to summon all their bravery to keep going and push through the dense trees. And even then there was a mountain they had to climb! All along the way the dog met others who asked why they were running…" Shaun pecked at Bandit. "And the dog said, 'It's this bloody emu! He stole my tomatoes!'"
"Eventually days passed, then weeks, and the dog was far from home. They'd ended up on the outskirts of the royal city at the center of the kingdom, far away from anywhere they'd ever been. The emu kept on running and when the dog thought they had it cornered, the emu jumped over the wall of the castle and disappeared from sight. Now the dog wasn't going to let that emu get away with it so easy, so they marched up to the door and pounded on it until a guard showed up."
"The guard looked at the little dog, who by this point was a proper mess from doing nothing but chase an emu for weeks on end, and asked, 'What can I do for you?'
The little dog replied, 'An emu just jumped your wall and I have come to catch it.'
'You wish to catch an emu? Why?'
'It stole my tomatoes!'
The guard looked the dog up and down and allowed them to enter. The guard led the little dog to the courtyard where the emu was sitting docilely at the feet of the ruler. The ruler of the kingdom was a powerful dog, and many knew that they grew angry if disturbed. But that did not deter the little dog. They marched right up to the ruler and pointed at the emu.
'Your highness, this emu is a crook! It stole my tomatoes and I've chased it down these last two weeks to make sure I could capture it.'
The ruler raised an eyebrow, 'You chased an emu for two weeks because it ate your tomatoes?'
'Yes!'"
Bandit paused, Shaun ducking his head out of view before nipping Bandit again. He scowled, earning more laughs from the kids.
"Now the ruler took a moment to think before replying, 'You have shown great determination little dog. I will turn the emu over to you if you tell me, what do you intend to do with it?'
The little dog paused, they were unsure. After all this time they hadn't really planned on what they were going to do. 'I don't know your highness; to be honest I just wanted to catch it. I never planned on what I would do once I got it.'
'And yet all that time you kept chasing?'
'Yes.'
'Tell me, where are you from?' the monarch asked.
'I am from the outskirts of your great kingdom, I never dreamed that one day I would ever see the palace, let alone speak to you.'
'And yet here you are, because of that emu.' The monarch smiled.
After a pause the little dog spoke, 'If it pleases you, I think I would like to let the emu free. I had a great adventure following it, I suppose in a way, it guided me places I never would have gone if not for it.'
The monarch smiled, 'Very well.' And the emu was freed and allowed to hop the fence and continue its roaming. As it disappeared a servant appeared. It was the same dog that the little dog had loved before!"
"Yeah!" Judo clapped.
"The little dog was stunned, but after some time managed to speak. 'Hello.'
The servant smiled and replied, 'Hello again, it's been some time.'
'It certainly has…'
The end."
"Aww! Don't stop it there! I want to hear what happens next!" Chucky complained.
"C'mon dad!" Bluey begged, hoping for more.
"Sorry kids, but it's nine, that means time for bed."
"Okay…" The group begrudgingly split into boys and girls, moving to their dorms. After a minute the lights were out and Bandit walked back to the adult quarters where he was with Chilli, Rad, Frisky, and their little ones. The tots were asleep, and Rad and Frisky were snuggled up together.
"Hey." Bandit whispered as he arrived and placed an arm around Chilli's waist.
She smiled and leaned into him as they sat on the bed. "How were the kids? Go down okay?"
"Yeah, I had a story with a special appearance from Shaun."
"Oh, so he came back now?"
"I guess so."
'Well, whackadoo." Chilli pecked him on the nose.
The two were quiet a moment before Bandit spoke, "Do you think this'll actually work, that maybe we'll finally have a real vaccine?"
"I don't know, Frisky seemed hopeful, and so did Trix. We've gotta wait at least two more days til we know." Chilli shrugged.
"Well, I hope it works." Bandit sighed.
"Either way, we've always got hope." Chilli said, rubbing her middle.
***Author's Note***
Hey everyone, thanks again for reading! I wanted a quick breather chapter and I've wanted to do a Bandit story time. I know there haven't been tons of zeds, but I promise they're on the way. Just be patient. In any case, if you have any comments feel free to leave them, I appreciate all feedback! Have a great one!