Chapter ten: Bat Buddies And Ghostly Tales
Finally shifting his opposite shoulder to try and roll over, he was able to succeed and finally stood up.
A sudden noise caught a gasp in his throat, as he whipped around to look for it. And even though his eyes had started to adjust to the darkness by now, an uneasy feeling of vulnerability still creeped in on him. The sound came again and he leapt forward, only to be tripped up by something hard; which spilled him forward onto his chest.
As he recovered again, he chose not to move. Instead he closed his eyes to listen, suddenly he realized he couldn't feel the breeze anymore and he immediately looked around for it upon instinct.
"Well that's just great." Chase sighed, sitting down where he was.
He sighed, closing his eyes. Then another growing sound made him slowly perk up and ease himself around to look back over his shoulder. And after staring at what he thought was the far wall for a few moments, it somehow started moving.
Chase's eyes flashed, and he turned to run.
"Ahhh!" He cried, as the flying wings fanned at him from all angles. Another stone tripped him up and he could feel himself tumble downwards. Sprawling on his stomach, he lay there a moment with his eyes clenched tight.
His internal mind grimacing with his outer self.
When he was certain he was alone again, he slowly opened one eye then the other.
But after a moment, he felt movement on his back, and then he realized the movement had a weight to it. His head began to lift and he almost dreaded turning around. He rolled onto his side in order to peer back,.. the weight hopping down to his hip level, with big dark eyes staring right into his.
"Haah!" Chase yelped, frantically scooting back. The flappy creature floated up off him and landed where he once lay. Little squeaks extended a more friendly nature, and soon another one popped up from behind it, then another.
By now, Chase's initial scare had worn off, and his breaths were going back to normal. And he even began to recover himself to approach the little animals.
"I don't suppose you guys have a map outta here." Chase deadpanned, knowing the inaccuracy behind this statement.
The little bats gave a loud squeak and flapped their wings at him.
"Oh.. right,.." he snickered, shaking his head humorously. "What am I saying.. Of course you do!.."
The bats took to the air and circled around over him. Then all three lined up and sent out a loud squeak to Chase's left side, and the echo faded away and didn't return.
"A sonic map!" he announced to no one in particular. Then one of the bats swooped down to pull on his ear.
"What? Follow you?" Chase asked the little creature. "Are you sure?" More squeaking and another tug from all three bats was his answer. And he glanced back to his right, which was the way he'd come.
"Well,.. it's better than stumbling around here by myself." Chase thought after a while. "Ok, lead on, little guys!"
And as the bats flew on, Chase followed with a gimpy jog of a gait, as he carefully navigated through the uneven rock of the stone floor.
xxxx
Sliding down another incline in the ground, he hit the bottom and nearly fell. His paws trembled and his body's aches were somehow withdrawing,.. yet it seemed harder and harder to move.
'Gotta keep moving..' He thought to himself. The bats must have realized he'd stopped, because they doubled back to get him.
Squeaking at him, one of them landed beside Chase, hopping toward him so he was within reach.
"Hang on, guys.." Chase breathed. "'Harder to keep up with you than I thought!" The single bat standing next to him hugged his leg, and the two flying ones landed on his back to hug him as well.
"He ha! Aw,.. thanks guys.." Chase smiled, as the embrace ended for the three little bats to look at him again. "Thanks for being patient with me."
Then after a moment, he sighed.
"Ok, let's keep going." he said finally. And the bats took off again so he could hurry after them.
xxxx
"And then?.. I found you.." Chase finished, as his story ended. "The bats led me straight to the exit where you guys found me."
Snowflake gazed at Chase with a look of relief, shock and jealousy.
"So you got hurt, lost, then got helped by friendly bats?! That's... You... How?... Ahhhhh! I'm SO jealous!" Snowflake exclaimed, finding it hard to believe Chase's tale.
"Oh wow. You got lucky Chase," Ned commented with relief.
"You could say that,.." Chase shrugged.. "But I don't think Chess would say the same." And he shot his brother a knowing smirk.
"No comment." Chester answered dryly.
"Alright, dudes, the liver sausages are ready!" Jake announced, holding the stacked plate in one hand and his tongs in the other. "Who's hungry?"
"And who's ready for their medicine?" Katie added, holding the filled syringe up, and looking directly at Chase to ensure clarity of her intent.
"Ugh,.." Chase groaned as the girl made her way around the fire to him.
Everest gasped.
"Is the medicine liver flavored?" she asked hopefully, as Jake began dropping liver links into the pups' bowls.
"Or blueberry flavored?" Snowflake asked.
"Or even…" Ned said before grinning. "Coconut flavored,"
"Mm, Cooooccoonutss!" Zuma mused dreamily.
"I wish.." Chase sighed, his eyebrows furrowing a borderline frown, as Katie reached him and sat on the log right behind him. Turning front as soon as hands touched him, he allowed Katie to tilt his head back and ease the syringe into his mouth from the right side. Tasting a tiny bit of the liquid medication caused him to choke against the syringe and Katie withdrew it so he could lick his lips and swallow. Then stroking him a couple times, she stood and left him to nestle back down again.
"Come on, Chase." Ryder said, seeing what was happening next. "You gotta eat something, before doing anything else. Gotta keep up with your growing body."
"Yeah. Just be careful not to choke," Snowflake added, before she started to eat her liver sausage. Ned quietly ate his own food.
"*clears throat* yeah,.. thanks." Chase rasped. Then seeing the liver link in his bowl, enticed him to show interest. And once he took the first bite, he decided to go for more. Katie set a bowl of water beside him, and he immediately drank. Soon all of the pups were dug into their food and water, and the humans of the group sat and watched as they ate their own.
"So anyone got any more stories?" Snowflake asked curiously. Ned got a mischievous grin on his face.
"Hey sis, I got an idea. A spooky story. Remember the time you went camping indoors and got surrounded by ghosts?" Ned asked in a sneaky voice.
"Ned! No!" Snowflake exclaimed as she knew EXACTLY what story he had in mind.
"Indoors? Now I gotta hear this!" Chester said, finding this intriguing.
Rubble chomped the last of his liver sausages and gulped them down.
"Wait.. ghosts?!" The bulldog gasped, stiffening up. And as Snowflake replied Chase laid back down, mainly unbeknownst to the rest of them,.. other than a Marshall who shot him a brief acknowledging look, before placing his focus on the conversation at hand.
"Yes, Rubble. I had an indoor sleepover with my humans and got scared by ghosts," Snowflake replied with a deadpan expression.
"Yeah, you see I was currently with Snowflake when my family was busy, and since it was windy, Snowflake's owner Benjamin William let his grandkids have their planned camp out indoors. The grandkids are kinda like kid versions of my sister and I, Chester, Zuma, and Skye... personality wise I mean. Their names are Abbey, Josh, Allison, Daisy, and George," Ned started.
Wow, sure are a lot of grandkids.. Chase's mind thought even as his eyes became heavier.
I wonder what that was like.. pretty great I bet. Then his eyes finally closed as the story continued.
"Yeah. Anyways, we had the camp out indoors in the living room. We set up a big bed sheet tent in the living room, but it fell on top of us when we set it up. We struggled to get out of the big bed sheet, but we did make it out. My sis even thought we were tent ghosts when she got out," Ned continued.
"How was I supposed to know it was you guys? The sheet tent fell on us, I tried getting out along with everyone else, and once I got out, I saw a bunch of tent ghosts! Can you blame me for being spooked?!" Snowflake retorted, recalling the moment.
"No, but you were with the rest of us when the tent collapsed. So, once we all got out, we set our tent up, ate snacks, played games -both as a group and individually- together, chatted and watched a movie. We were halfway done with the movie, and that's when the real ghosts came. Snowflake got spooked by the ghosts on screen and when she did, she panicked inside the sheet tent. The grandkids tried to calm her down, but she was too spooked," Ned explained.
"Hey! If it wasn't for that ghost jumping on screen and looking at us, I wouldn't have freaked out!" Snowflake exclaimed, given Ned was acting like the incident was on purpose.
"But yeah, I freaked out and made the sheet tent collapse on top of everyone- again," Snowflake said, blushing with embarrassment.
"Yes. We had to fight our way out again, but the power went out on us. It only made everyone panic more. Soon, Snowflake got out, grabbed a flashlight with her mouth, and got spooked by the ghosts again. She ran around scared until one of the grandkids got out of the sheet tent and explained what happened. They got the rest of us out, we set up our tent again, got flashlights, and went to sleep. The power came back on the next day," Ned said as he finished the story.
"Woah!" The pups marveled.
"Great story!" Rocky gushed, "sorry you got scared though."
"Yeah!.." Rubble agreed, pausing for dramatic effect. "That movie must have been horrible!"
"The movie wasn't bad Rubble, I was just scared of the ghost in the movie. As well as the ghosts I saw when the tent collapsed. Thanks Rocky," Snowflake replied.
"But yeah, that's what happened. We had an indoor camping trip, and my sister got scared of a bed sheet tent. Ooooooooo!" Ned commented.
"S-Shut up Ned! I was scared of the ghosts. Even if it was you guys stuck in the sheet, it was still scary being greeted by ghosts! And in the dark no less!" Snowflake retorted, her ears going down and whining a little.
"I'm sorry," Ned apologized before giving a smirk.
The pups just looked at the husky pair with uncertain looks.
"Ummm. You guys okay?" Snowflake asked, with concern.
"Uhh.. why were you camping inside again?" Rocky asked.
"What movie could be that scary?!" Zuma wondered.
"Who all was with you?" Marshall cut in.
"Did you have to sleep with the lights on?" Rubble asked.
"We were inside because it was very windy outside. So the tent would have been blowing around," Ned answered
"Ned, Abby, Allison, George, Josh, Daisy and myself were all camping indoors. Benjamin, the grandfather, was just hanging out. Yes, we had the lights on, but since Benjamin went to bed early, the lights were dimmed so light wouldn't shine in his room," Snowflake replied.
"As for the movie, it's called 'Dogs, Ghosts, and Boo'. It's a cartoon movie," Ned added.
"Oh.. huh.. never heard of it." Marshall thought.
"Me neither." Skye agreed, her tail wagging a little bit under her blanket.
"Yeah. It's spooky but a good movie," Ned said with a smile.
"There are jump scares, but fun to watch," Snowflake added.
"And we've had LOTS of ghosts in the house. Getting stuck in sheets, a rainbow parachute, comforter, blankets…" Ned said as he remembered all the ghostly adventures he, Snowflake and the grandkids had.
"Ned! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Snowflake retorted in annoyance
"No, but sheet ghosts are fun!" Ned said gleefully.
"For FUN! Not when you get stuck in the fabric!" Snowflake responded in a serious tone.
Suddenly a soft sound stopped everyone cold.
"Ahh!" Rubble yelped, making some of them jump. But eventually they all noted the unique sound of it, and their gazes all wandered till they landed on the lump on the ground between Marshall and Skye; which made them sigh briefly.
Nestled deep within the blankets a light snore of the heavily breathing pup kept his back rising and falling rhythmically, to the occasional crackle of the fire. Chase lay with his head down in such a way as to almost be buried in the blankets themselves and seemed to give him that vocal roll to his breaths, which had earned him their attention.
"Oh, Chase is asleep!" Ned said.
"Hehehe. He's cute! Like a soft, cuddle, burrito of cuteness!" Snowflake cooed over the sleeping Chase. If she could, the husky pup would give him a hug, just to contain the cuteness she was feeling for her friend.
Chase's next breath vocalized and it made them all jump in surprise of it, even as Chase continued to sleep.
"Wow.. he's really sleeping hard!" Rubble mentioned.
"Well he was trying to fall asleep on us earlier.." Rocky mentioned.
"Yeah, but.. wow.." Zuma commented, when his gaze went from the pups to Chase with each part of his trailed sentence.
The vocal nature of his breaths sounded a lot like the sucking of air, even as Chase remained as he was.
"Is he ok?" Chester wondered, sensing something unsettling coming upon him.
Katie lightly chuckled, then came to kneel down behind the log where Chase lay; reaching over it to rub the pup's back. And it only took a couple strokes up and down his back to make the pup shift positions, so that his head lay flat again and he could close his mouth and keep on sleeping in a more quiet manner.
"He's good. Anyways.." Snowflake said, before turning back to the pups.
"You're not gonna ask us to play ghost, are you?" Rubble asked,.. hoping he was wrong.
"No. I was thinking we could- Mmmmm!" Snowflake replied, before she was completely covered up under her blue blanket, not knowing what had happened.
"Excellent idea, Rubble!" Ned said, before covering himself under his own green blanket.
"Any pups want to play with us?" Ned asked kindly.
"Ned! Get me outta here! I never agreed to this!" Snowflake exclaimed as she flailed and thrashed about under her blue blanket; failing to free herself of the soft fabric.
The pups all giggled, even as Snowflake flailed toward Skye, who shifted over away from her and pressed into Chase; the sleeping pup barely responding at all in his sleep.
"Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmm!" Snowflake cried out, as she kept struggling under the blue blanket.
"So, back on the topic of ghosts and our indoor camping, have any of you ever gotten stuck under bed sheets, parachutes, blankets, ect. and couldn't get out? Or were mistaken for ghosts?" Ned asked. The husky pup turned to face Katie, Jake and Ryder.
"Humans included, not just pups," Ned added to his question.
And everyone began to think.
Oh my gosh, you guys! We did it! Another chapter! And within DAYS of the last one!(in terms of writing that is ;D) This is insane! And the reason we're only posting this now is because we're finally WAY ahead in writing this story,.. also I moved and had a lot of stuff to deal with for that. ;D
You guys, this NEVER happens,.. just like making correct guesses for the new PAW Patrol movie!
Also, believe it or not, it was tough to name this chapter.. and may be an unintended reference to one of my partner, Bluewolfbat's, stories. Here were some of the alternatives. *just for kicks* ;D XD
Alternatives:
Chapter 10: Fun Under The Moon
Chapter 10: Bat Buddies and Blanket Ghosts
Chapter 10: Cave Escape and Ghostly Tales
Chapter 10: Bats, Ghosts, Sleep, and Sheets Oh My
Chapter 10: Tales of Ahhhh and Boooo
Either way.. we had SOOO much fun with this chapter.. so much, in fact,.. that we struggled with the best time to cut it off to begin the next one!
Let us know which alternative YOU like best(Just for fun, of course XD). and we'll see you next time for the next chapter!.. Whenever we decide to release it. ;) Enjoy! Thx!