Chapter nine: Thrills and Chills!
The husky then turned towards Marshall, despite being covered up under the thermal blanket.
"How did you know where my pup tag was?" Snowflake asked curiously.
"Uh,.. instinct?" Marshall answered uncertainly. "And I could tell where you were by your voice."
Zuma shuddered.
"How much longer will it be before help gets here?" he asked, trying to pull the blanket down to cover him a little more.
"Soon, I hope. Wait... Oh gosh. I didn't bring my cozy sleeves either!" Snowflake replied, until she realized her mistake.
"I've got sleeves on and I'm still cold!" Zuma whined.
All their wriggling about shifted the pups closer to Chase, and the contact with their cold skin made him more inclined to escape.
Turning blindly, he rushed forward and the restrictive material finally seemed to release him, and he used his momentum to slide into a turn towards the crystal relief he felt he needed.
"No..-"
Soon a weight on his back stopped him short of the shoreline, at a distance that didn't even allow a paw to touch its surface.
"Hey lemme go!" Chase cried, trying to get up, even while his shoulder cried out for mercy and his friends' body and paws held him there.
Marshall had plopped himself on top of Chase, and Rubble and Rocky arrived to help hold him down when he nearly stood to successfully knock the Dalmatian off him.
"No way!" Marshall refused. "You're not going back in there, till summer! It's not safe!"
"I was better off there than out here!" Chase growled, still trying to escape.
"We just rescued you from that freezing cold pond.. we're not about to let you make yourself sick by jumping back in!" Marshall answered.
Chase managed to get his paws under him enough to try and shift himself forward. Even allowing him success by a few inches, until the friction of the ground and his fellow pups' combined leverage spent the extra energy he put into it.
"No!..- guys!" Chase strained trying to muster up the strength.
"Man,.." Rubble gasped, while they all continued to hold their ground on him. "For a tired, wounded pup,.. he sure is strong!"
Chester then came over to straddle his weight across Marshall's back to help hold down the fort.
"Ihn.. well,.. that's Chase for you.." He said, putting his own strength into it. "Can't knock a guy that works out."
Everyone could still feel Chase resisting their touch, but with each attempt he slowly ceased to resist. He finally set his head limply on the ground, and sighed, making no more attempts to move.
The pups finally relaxed, all sighing with relief.
"Crisis averted?" Chester stated, sounding more like a question.
"Wooph! Hopefully." Marshall breathed.
"Sorry Zuma. Hold on, Ned, stay with him. I'm g-g-g-going to help the others," Snowflake said before leaving the thermal blanket.
"Okay," Ned said, before happily continuing to hug Zuma, the pup's fur still wet and cold.
Snowflake ran out and saw the pile of pups.
"Chase? You were going to go back in the pond? Are you crazy?" Snowflake asked in shock.
"Noo!- don't touch me, please! You're cold! You're all c-cold!" Chase wailed trying to escape the pile once again, and failing completely.
"We're cold?! WHAAT?!" Marshall gasped. "Are you even hearing yourself?!"
"You REALLY sure you want to go back in the pond Chase? You could get sick! Hmmm. Everyone is cold…" Snowflake said before a thought came to her.
Snowflake walked over to the pond, before doing the unthinkable; she jumped as hard as she could and splashed into the pond! Soon she came up for air, swam out, and walked over to the pile of pups.
"Okay Chase, you asked for the pond, here comes a shower!" Snowflake said, before shaking herself off. The freezing cold water went flying onto every pup's fur as if they were suddenly taking a cold shower.
"Ahh! Cold!" The pups cried, all jumping off of Chase and retreating.
"Yes!" Chase cried, jumping up and letting the water splash in his face and embracing all the incoming drops among them.
Snowflake kept shaking until she got off as much water as possible. The husky smirked seeing Chase enjoying the droplets of water.
"Here comes the pond!" Snowflake said before she lunged at Chase and hugged him. The two pups landed on the ground with Chase in Snowflake's wet, freezing cold forelegs and body embracing him.
"Ahh! No!- Wait! -I wanna go back in the water! Ahn!" Chase cried, struggling against her.
"Don't listen to him!" Marshall declined, peering out with the other pups from around Zuma and Ned, who were both still under the thermal blanket. "He's delusional! Can we say he's delusional? Yeah, let's go with that!"
"I heard that! Urgh!" Chase strained against Snowflake some more.
"You are NOT going back in! My cuddles won't stop until you give up! Admit it, Chase! You. Are. Cold. If not, I'm more than happy to give you a second round!" Snowflake exclaimed, not letting go of Chase.
"Noo, please just-.. get off me!" Chase moaned. And by now, he was noticeably trembling even while he pressed his paws to her shoulders to try and shove her off of him.
"Say you are cold and don't go in the pond! Then I will get off!" Snowflake retorted, still not loosening her cold hugs
"What is going on here?!" Everyone looked up to see Skye land a few feet from them, giving them an odd look, same as Jake's, who arrived shortly after her.
"Skye! Oh thank goodness!" Chase gasped, laying back in relief. "Please rescue me!.. they're trying to turn me into a pupsicle just like them. Save meeee!"
"Ok, ok, let him up, guys." Skye said, coming toward the German Shepherd and Husky.
"You wanna be the one to chase him down and keep him outta the pond?" Marshall asked bluntly when coming up beside her with the remaining pups.
"No.." Skye shook her head. "Cause I got something better."
Just then a thick embrace scooped Chase up in warmth and he soon lay on his back.
"Sup, dude?" Jake greeted the pup he was now holding.
"*sigh* thank goodness.." Chase sighed.
No more cold pups! He thought.
"At least now I don't have to hold Chase down with hugs. Thank you, Skye," Snowflake said before getting up and giving the aviator pup a hug. The cold hit Skye immediately once the husky touched her.
"Woah! That's cold!" The Cockapoo gasped.
"What happened you guys? Fall in?" Jake asked, studying all the shivering pups.
"Y-you could say that." Marshall shuddered.
"Chase, Ned, and I jumped into the pond. Ned and I got out, but hugged Zuma for warmth. We all went into the thermal blanket until Chase escaped, then I gave the pups a shower to show how cold the water was. Then I gave Chase an ice cold hug so he wouldn't jump into the pond. HE likes it!" Snowflake explained.
"I'm sorry, Skye. I'm sorry, pups. Did you guys bring more blankets? And the sleeves?" Snowflake said, looking back to Skye.
"I'm sorry, frozen brownie with legs. But hey, now you're a frozen chocolate treat! A Klondike bar!" Snowflake commented, facing Chase. Ned giggled from the thermal blanket.
Chase just groaned, a dry expression falling over his face.
The wind blew at his paws and he pulled them further into the blanket he was wrapped in. A shiver ran down his spine with the gust that blew at his face.
"Alright.. well, let's get you guys back to camp." Jake decided, setting Chase down in the wagon and pulling a couple more blankets out. "I bet they'll have the fire burning crazy bright by the time we get back."
"Hoh! Sounds like a great idea!" Marshall sighed, as all the pups hopped up into the wagon and snuggled down into the blankets.
"Agreed," Snowflake and Ned said, getting their own thermal blankets and jumping into the wagon; Zuma keeping the one the pups had been using before.
The turtles squeaked their goodbyes and as soon as each pup was loaded, they all waved and howled. And with the last pup loaded, Jake and Skye made their way back the way they came.
On their journey, Marshall snuggled deeper into the blanket he was wrapped in, when he heard another shiver, which we recognized right away. Looking over Chase huddled deeper into his blanket, even pressing his nose into it to try and bury his face. And he could vaguely feel his body tremble, making him reach a paw over to place on his shoulder. Chase just opened his eyes toward him as a response, but made no attempts to move outside of that as he snuggled in deeper.
xxxx
"Hahhh!" The pups mused, all sitting round the fire with their blankets and bowls; all soaking in the warmth with closed eyes and big smiles.
Chase lay on his side against the edge of where the two log benches met and shivered into the thick, fluffy blanket that surrounded him, hoping that would suppress his trembling body. He sneezed once and prayed it wasn't because he was catching something. And kinda hoped it was just Cali's fur getting to him again. Sniffling didn't seem to help, but he kinda cared less when the arctic rush down his spine came again.
No, make it stop! His mind cried, with the clenching of his eyes. And when a paw touched his shoulder he looked, finding a warm smile from Skye that could have begun the thawing process enough for him to stop shuddering.
And somehow, after breaking her gaze, snuggling down again seemed far more easy.. Just as closing his eyes seemed far more relaxing..
"Thank you for the fire," Snowflake said kindly. Upon seeing how cold Chase was Ned got an extra regular blanket and put it over Chase.
Chase barely opened his eyes as a result of the blanket being added to the one he already had, but closed them again to continue this sleep-like illusion.
Marshall smiled, his head wandering toward his left side then down as he suddenly realized something.
"Chase, no!" He cried, shifting over to shake him awake.
"Uah-.. uhh.. what?!" Chase groaned, rubbing an eye as he shifted himself over a bit.
"You can't go to sleep yet!" The Dalmatian pointed out. "You haven't eaten."
"*sigh* so?" Chase sighed, snuggling down again.
"Soo-oo you gotta stay awake so you can eat something!" Marshall continued, stepping both paws onto Chase's shoulder to shake him once more.
"-e-ouch!" Chase yelped, wincing as he shifted uncomfortably away from him and into the log behind him.
Ouh not this again! His thoughts groaned.
"You ok, Chase?" Ryder asked, laying against the opposite log with the ability to peer over at him easily.
"Ahn.. I'll be ok." He said, but his odd position suggested otherwise. Then the boy met glances with Katie right beside him and seemed to exchange the same thought.
"Alright.. let's go- Ah!" When Ryder's knee came up, as he slowly tried to sit up and stand, the leg bumped his arm and that pressed into his chest sending a domino effect of shocks through both his injuries.
"Easy Ryder.." Katie advised, gesturing a hand to him as she rose herself. "I'll handle this." And Chase just shuddered, sensing the meaning of this.
"So Jake? How goes the liver sausages?" Rocky asked, hoping to change the subject for focus.
"Almost ready, pups." Jake smiled over his shoulder.
"Yay! I can't wait!" Everest cheered. Popping up from behind Marshall and Rocky, then easing between them when they both shifted a part to let her into the circle.
Chase continued to nod off.
"Chase, you've gotta stay awake.." Chester said, jolting the pup awake initially. "And you gotta eat. I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten since lunch earlier today.. and after the day we've had.. it's no wonder your energy's so low."
"We all haven't eaten, actually. Hmmmm. How about we tell stories in the meantime to stay awake?" Snowflake suggested, as she thought.
And after a moment Marshall looked again at Chase, still snuggled down right beside him.
"Chase!" Marshall complained, shaking him again.
"Ugh,.. what?!" Chase groaned.
"Quick! Someone start telling a story,.." Marshall cried. "Before he tries to nod off again!"
"Like ghost stories! Perfect! Way ahead of you, guys!" Ned said, before pulling the big, green cozy blanket he had on over himself so he was covered from head to tail.
"Boooooo! Oooooo! I'm a ghooooossst! Oooooooo!" Ned said from under the green blanket as he stood on his back legs and waved his forepaws around playfully. The husky looked like a green blanket ghost.
Everyone just laughed, each taking a different level of amusement from this.
Chase just sighed, plopped back down against his blankets for a shiver and tried to place part of the blanket over his eyes to try and rest again.
"Come on, Chase, stay awake!" Marshall emphasized, nudging him again.
"Maybe you should tell a story." Chester suggested. "Maybe that'll keep you awake,.. and Marshall off your case?"
"Ugh, like what?" Chase moaned, not sounding all that enthusiastic about this idea.
"Like you escaping the cave," Ned suggested despite being completely covered up under the blanket. He managed to wander over to Chase, still looking like a green blanket ghost.
"What do you say, buddy? Oooooooo!" Ned said kindly, still being the goofball ghost that he was.
"Ned, get out of that blanket before you catch it on fire!" Snowflake said sternly.
"Fine," Ned said as he pulled the blanket up, revealing only his face, and the rest of his body under the blanket. He went back to his sister and sat down.
"Actually.. that explanation wouldn't be such a bad idea after all." Marshall agreed lightly.
"Especially since he apparently got out on his own." Rocky added knowingly.
"Ok, ok." Chase sighed, shifting up to a sideways sitting position. "Well,.. *yawn* I was just recovering from the fall when I thought I heard something.."
xxxx
"Uah-!" shifting off his shoulder gingerly, he roughly found a footing to stand. Shaking the dust from his coat, he peered around in the dark; hardly able to make anything out.
A gentle breath of air pulled his gaze up and he knew exactly what this meant.
"Chase?!.. Chase?!"
"Ugh! I'm ok.." he reported, but nothing came back.. "Guys?" He turned toward the hole.
"Hello?! Pups! Guys?!.. Hey!" Still nothing but mere murmurs.
"Ugh,.. they probably can't hear me." Chase sighed, silently cursing himself. Then he perked up again. He stared blindly at the dark hole in front of him, his gaze only able to find it by the soft breeze blowing through it on his face.
"Hm.." he thought aloud, feeling his paws for it. "Maybe I can.." climbing forward into the hollow in the ground, he found it hard to keep a footing. Yet he didn't feel deterred, and instead he pushed harder. And even as he trudged for the daylight above the shifting ground granted little success.. and eventually.. his progress began to regress and he tried frantically to stop it, but to no avail. He hit the ground hard and immediately rose again.
"No! I can do this!" He decided.. his mind in agreement with his heart, but not with his body.
Beginning the climb for a second time, felt even less encouraging than the first.. and even started to fail in far less time.
His mind and body simultaneously strained with stunning unison, and as he slid back he could help but hear his thoughts vocalize as..
"Noo!"
Falling back into a tumble, he landed on his back. But the uneven ground was enough to jolt his shoulder in just the right way.
"Ahn!" He grimaced, and it was louder than he would have liked. His back arched as soon as the blow hit, and his head pressed harder to the ground in order to do so..-
xxxx
"Ouch!" Ned said, almost cringing at the thought of Chase getting more hurt.
"So what happened?" Snowflake asked curiously.
"Well.." Chase began again, and he thought back as his story continued..
HaHaHa! CLIFFHANGER! Don't worry I have the feeling you won't wait long to see the end of it!
If you could believe it we are, for once, ahead on the writing side of things. That being said.. I can't say when the next chapter will be released.. but I will try to space them out so that we can stay ahead.. WAY easier to post when you're ahead, rather than behind. XD
Also I'd have to conspire with my partner as well on these matters.
Also for those of you that don't know..(cause I don't believe I've announced this yet on this story ;D).. I am planning on doing audio versions of my FanFiction.. and would like thoughts and opinions regarding this.
Anyone interested.. go vote on the poll posted on my author bio. Then go to any story you would like to see as an audio fic and comment audioFic, or PM me if necessary.
Be advised.. commenting on the story(ies) you want helps me keep track of the votes, so this is very important if you wanna see your favorite fics read aloud!
Now, with that out of the way,.. enjoy! And we'll see you next time! Thx!