Chapter thirty-eight: Sheets, Lights, And Jokes
Suddenly the blue sheet blew in the wind before it blew onto Alex, covering him completely.
"Ahh! Oof!" Alex fell over and the sheet landed on top of him. And after a moment he was able to pull it down off his face, with both arms coming down to fold it over.
"Maybe this isn't the toy to be playing outside." He said simply, before sliding back from it to stand up again.
"Huh.. gosh,.. I guess there are a lot of options for hangouts with Chase." Kylie mentioned, beginning to think a little deeper.
"And if you're looking for something to get him to cut loose.. Billy, Jake or even Aaron are great options!" Skyler said. "Now if only the Cason brothers lived here."
"Thank you for the suggestions. I'm sorry my plan didn't work, but at least you guys gave me a better idea," Snowflake replied.
"You're welcome!" Skyler and Kylie smiled together.
Snowflake went to go give Alex a hug, only to slip on the blue sheet.
"Woah!" Snowflake exclaimed as she slid forwards. The blue sheet went flying and landed on both her and Alex.
"Hey!" Alex cried.
"Oops! Sorry!" Snowflake said, once the sheet had landed on them.
She then looked around, but all she could see was blue. The husky fumbled about under the blue sheet.
"You okay, Alex?" Snowflake asked.
"Oof! Yeah, but,.. how do we get out of here." the boy asked.
"Look no further than the chief soldier's stewards." Skyler said, then she and Kylie came forward, grabbed the sheet from both sides, and dragged it off of them. Both Alex and Snowflake seemed dazed and confused as soon as the sheet came off, but it only took a second to realize what had happened.
"Wooph! Thanks Sky.." Alex breathed thankfully.
"Thanks. At least my brother Ned isn't here. He does this stuff all the time!" Snowflake said.
"At least we weren't the ones that did it,.." Skyler said. "But I'd suggest you'd better fold or roll that thing up before something else happens with it."
"Right. So, you think I should go see Jake? I don't want to be rude or leave you here alone. I don't get to spend time with you as often. And I just met Skyler and Kylie," Snowflake retorted sincerely.
"No worries,.. You're good." Skyler said.
"We'll probably be seeing you around anyway." Kylie shrugged.
"Especially now that we know Chase is out of whack again." Skyler finished. Suddenly their pup tags flashed.
"Kylie, Sky!" called a strange voice. "PUP Pals to the tree house!"
"That's our cue.." Skyler said. "Gotta jet! Coming Alex?"
"Right behind you!" Alex nodded. "Let's go!" Then all three took off running.
"I'll see you all later then. Wait, what treehouse?" Snowflake asked, beginning to hastily follow.
"Yeah,.. Any time the PUP Pals call for a rendezvous, we all meet at Alex's tree house. Call it a club house, if you will,.. but that's where we do all our discussing when things of concern come to our attention."
"Something must be happening that Ray has called us in such an urgent manner." Kylie added as they continued running.
"Okay. It was nice spending time with all of you. Bye!" Snowflake said, watching them go.
"Bye!" They called. shortly before turning a corner.
And once they were out of sight, she folded the sheet and headed for Jake's Mountain.
Snowflake ran towards the mountain, before stopping.
"Wait, what am I doing?! I should use my vehicle," the husky told herself. So, she quickly ran to The Lookout, got into her vehicle and drove to her destination.
It took a while, but she soon arrived. Snowflake jumped out of her vehicle with the blue sheet on her back. The husky pup carefully looked around to see where Jake and Everest were.
Jake seemed to appear randomly from behind one of the cabins and came closer.
"Hey there, Snowflake. Sup?" he said, as he approached. Everest appeared where he had been; and following not far behind.
"Snowflake? What are you doing here?" the husky asked curiously. "Are you still looking at doing more hangouts with the pups?"
"Yes. I'm planning my bonding time with Chase. I thought hanging out with Alex would help, but then Alex suggested that Chase and I should hang out with you and Jake. He seemed to think Chase and Jake have a strong bond. So, I decided why not give it a try," Snowflake explained.
"Well sure we can have you guys come hang out with us." Jake smiled. "I'd suggest some cave exploring, but everything's starting to freeze over more than usual. I think more cold and winter conditions are coming soon,.. and it won't just be up here anymore. We're talking everywhere!"
"Yeah. We could snowboard or something. But if it gets too cold, we can just hang out inside the cabins where it's warm," Snowflake added.
"Sounds good to me." Jake smiled. "Anything else you need?"
"Hmmm. Any ideas for how to bond with Chase?" Snowflake replied.
"Not sure, we'd have to see what the weather's like." Jake shrugged as he met glances with Everest, who also shrugged and nodded in agreement.
"True. Would you like to hang out or are you busy?" Snowflake responded.
Then a thought came to her.
"Wait, I could use help with something. Do you know, Big View Trail? The pathway in the woods by the cliffs," Snowflake remarked.
"Of course, we have hikers go up there all the time." Jake confirmed.
"Us too!" Everest beamed, adding a chuckle to the mix with Jake joining in.
"What about it?" Jake continued curiously.
"I was thinking Chase and I could hike Big View Trail. You two can join us if you want. But, we need lights along the path so we don't get lost. I know Chase would get mad or freak out if we got lost on our hike. That happened to Rocky and I before and Chase was very angry and concerned. Who knows how he'd react if it happened again! And to him no less." Snowflake explained.
"I think we can make that happen." Jake smiled. "Right Everest?"
"You bet! I got just the thing!" the husky called, then took off toward one of the buildings nearby.
"I've got the perfect thing to use on those trails.." She told her friend as she and Jake joined her at the doorway of one of the sheds. "Rocky showed me this one." she pushed the door open and the hinges creaked. Then entering into the darkness, Jake just stood there to watch for her.
"You want to help us.. by giving us a dark shed? That's.. not going to help," Snowflake said, very confused.
"Nope.." she said, poking her head out at them. "With these!" And when she pushed the door wide open she had a box next to her, that when she pushed it out into the open Snowflake could look in to find.. Christmas lights?
Snowflake looked at the box for a moment. Then, a big grin came across her face.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHE! OH MY GOSH! Your starting Christmas decorating early?! I love decorating for the holidays! Let's get started!" Snowflake exclaimed with glee as her tail wagged, and she ran around.
"Nope, we're gonna light up the trail, so we can see our way and not get lost." Everest replied.
"Okay," Snowflake said as she stopped running. "So, who leads the way?"
"Uhh, what do you mean?" Everest wondered.
"Like who leads the way, when we put the lights up," Snowflake clarified.
"Well, we both know the trail now, right?" Everest ventured. "And we have each other.. So it could be either of us, really."
"Right," Snowflake replied.
"Ok, let's get these loaded up and get to it." Everest decided, then the two huskies pushed the box towards their vehicles to load up.
XXXX
The job finally finished with one final stake into the ground.
"There,.. that should hold it." Jake announced, nodding his satisfaction.
"That didn't take long at all.." Everest remarked. "If you call a couple hours not long."
"Right. Thanks for the help," Snowflake said.
"Any time." Everest smiled. "Anything to get Chase back on track again."
"And now,.. Let's go warm up with some hot cocoa and warm milk." Jake suggested.
"Sounds good to me!" Everest decided. "Let's go!" Then they all turned back toward their vehicles with an empty box in hand.
"Yeah! Woah!" Snowflake said before tripping. The blue sheet unraveled and landed on top of Everest.
Lifting her head after the tumble her nose was conveniently exposed and she jerked her head back in order to lose the covering on her head from the sheet.
"Hey look, naptime came to us!" Everest joked, sounding like Marshall in the moment as they all laughed.
"Sorry. I'll put it away when we get back," Snowflake said.
"No worries." Everest chuckled, as she crawled out from under the sheet. Then they all headed off again.
xxxx
"I hope my plan helps Chase," Snowflake hoped. The two pups had settled themselves on some pillows, while Jake was in the kitchen making their warm beverages.
"Me too." Everest agreed. "Sounds to me like we need the old Chase back, asap!"
"Kylie and Skyler thought so too," Snowflake remarked.
"Wait,.. You actually MET the PUP Pals?" Everest gasped, straightening up immediately upon hearing this.
"Yes. I met them when I hung out with Alex before coming to see you and Jake," the husky pup explained.
"All of them?" Everest wondered, seeming unconvinced. "Wait,.. you said Kylie and Skyler.. Nevermind, makes sense. But just wait till Rayla catches wind of this.. She'll really take point on this!"
"What do you mean?" Snowflake asked, slightly confused.
"You'll know if and when you meet her." Everest smiled knowingly.
Snowflake tilted her head before nodding.
"But yeah, they were nice," Snowflake commented.
"Yeah, they're a great group.." Everest agreed. "Sometimes they still hang out together as a group and a lot of times they rope Chase into it too."
"Drinks are ready!" Jake announced, raising the mug in his hand, while bringing a platter with two bowls of warm milk with him.
He set the bowls down in front of them and they both blew off the rising steam and cautiously took a drink.
"Mmm,.. perfect!" Everest mused. "Jake, you always get it just right!"
"Thank you!" Jake beamed, saluting from where he sat against the couch nearby, then took a drink of his cocoa.
"Thank you," Snowflake said, before politely drinking her bowl.
"So where' you headed after this?" Jake wondered after a decent silence. "I think it's gonna start getting late soon."
"Back to The Lookout," Snowflake answered.
"Sounds like a good idea.." the young man remarked, nodding his understanding. "Sounds like the weather's supposed to start changing again in the next few weeks."
"But Jake, you always say, 'wait five minutes, it'll change'." Everest piped up innocently.
"Hahaha,.. Um.. yeah, but,.. that's just an expression Everest it doesn't actually mean it every time." And the waving of his hands added to his awkward correction.
"Yeah. Oh, and I'm curious, have you ever gotten stuck under a parachute or bed sheet and got mistaken for ghosts?.. Ahhhhhh! Why did I ask that?! I swear, I'm turning into Ned!" Snowflake said, before burrowing her head into the pillow.
"Hm.. not sure,.. I guess we might have.." Everest ventured, exchanging glances with Jake briefly, who shrugged earnestly.
"Can you give an example?" Snowflake continued.
"Not off the top of my head. Why?" Everest went on curiously.
"I'm just curious," Snowflake said.
"Well there was the time Jake hid under a sheet, when he was scared of a supposed 'ghost' that was haunting an old cabin he and the pups were trying to restore." Everest recalled. "I thought you were afraid of ghosts?"
"Okay. Yes, I am afraid of ghosts. But I am sometimes curious about others getting mistaken for them... Oh no. I'm becoming like Ned! Sorry, he is kinda obsessed with bed sheet ghosts," Snowflake replied.
"Oh,.. that makes sense." Everest thought, then bending down for another drink she finished her bowl and licked her lips in satisfaction. "So are you gonna be headed back now?"
"Yes. I will. Thank you, Jake and Everest," Snowflake said politely.
"Of course!" Everest beamed brightly.
"Later!" Jake called, as Snowflake slipped out the doggie door.
Snowflake went out the doggie door and over to her vehicle before driving back to The Lookout.
xxxx
Once she arrived, she jumped out and went inside.
"Hi everyone. I'm back!" the husky called out.
Everyone looked up in near unison, as if surprised, but all smiled and drew toward her a few paces, while each greeting her in their own ways.
"Hey Snowflake. You made it!" Rocky beamed.
"You survived!" Chester broke in when popping himself over the mixed breed's shoulder at her, and the recycling pup gave him an odd look. "What?"
"How did everything go?" Marshall asked slowly. "Did you get everything you wanted to do, done?"
"Yes I did. It took a while, but I have everything planned. And why wouldn't I survive? I was playing and talking with Alex," Snowflake said, slightly confused by Chester's statement.
"This whole time?" Skye wondered, everyone exchanging curious glances. "You've been gone for hours."
"Well, I did go to see Alex, but I also met Kylie and Skyler. Then after that I went to see Jake and Everest," Snowflake admitted.
"Wow,.. that was a busy day." Rubble commented.
"You did all of that?" Marshall gasped.
"And met two of the PUP Pals?" Rubble piled on.
"Yes, I met two of the PUP Pals and did all of that!" Snowflake answered.
"Woah.." the pups mused.
"Amazing!" Chester commented, nodding contently.
"So how was it?" Skye asked.
"It was good. What did you all do when I was gone?" Snowflake said.
"Well once we all calmed down after the whole Marshall meltdown thing.." Rocky said, as Marshall's embarrassed slight smile wandered away. "We kinda sat around wondering what to do, when Chester suggested we play Hide and Seek Tag."
"And then it started to get dark, so we decided to come inside." Rubble added.
Snowflake just gave Rocky a 'seriously?' look before turning her attention to Chester.
"What!?" Chester protested at her distasteful expression. "It's a fun game."
"Okay. Aaaaaaannnnnnndddd.. the game? What happened?" the husky pressed on.
"What else? We had fun!" Chester shrugged. "Isn't that the point of a game? Why are you so confused by this?"
"Because I've never played hide and seek tag. Just those games on their own," Snowflake responded.
"It's actually really fun." Rocky remarked optimistically. "Basically you find a hiding spot,.. And when the 'it' pup finds you, you have to try and get to the designated 'safe zone' before the 'it' pup can tag you."
"And if you get tagged,.." Zuma added brightly. "You gotta be 'it' next."
"Okay. Anything else or is that it?" Snowflake asked.
"With the game? Or something else?" Marshall wondered.
"The game, but also how every pup is doing," Snowflake said, before looking at everyone one by one.
"Sooo.. both then.. got it." Chester confirmed. "There's not really a whole lot more to the game, other than the rule is you can't stand right around the safe zone or a pup's hiding spot waiting for them to leave it."
And at this.. a few pups among them snorted to choke back a laugh.
Snowflake suddenly looked at the snorting pups.
"And I'm guessing that rule was broken?" the husky pup asked.
Rubble, Marshall and Zuma then burst out laughing, all dropping to the floor in complete hysterics before their very eyes; and Skye and Rocky just giggled.
"Yes! Of course!" Ned said, before he too burst into laughter.
Snowflake now had a very confused, if not frustrated expression on her face.
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF PUP TREATS IS SO FUNNY!?" Snowflake exclaimed, clearly not understanding what was going on.
"Hahahaha..h..h.. he..he was saying that. Ha!.." Rubble huffed as he tried to calm enough to explain. "Chester explained that the reason that rule exists.. -heh, is cause if you stand around the safe zone too closely or especially someone in their hiding place. -hahaHA! It- it's called.. PUPPY GUARDING! Ahahahahahahahaaa!" And once again the pups were rolling on the ground laughing at the odd term.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Ned laughed along with the others.
Snowflake glared at everyone in a frustrated, confused way until she started to laugh. But not in a funny way.
"Hehehehehe.. T-That? T-T-That's it?!.. hehehehehehehehehe. THAT'S IT?!" Snowflake exclaimed in between giggles.
The husky pup kept laughing with the same frustrated and confused look as she glared at her companions.
"Hahaha.. come on isn't that just.. a..a little bit funny to you?" Rubble panted, still losing his mind with laughter.
"Don't know why it is." Chester chuckled. "It's just something we always called it as pups."
Snowflake however didn't understand what made it so funny. She quickly left and returned with the same confused and frustrated expression. Though there was something on her back.
"H..h.. hey come on, Snowflake.. isn't that just a little bit funny?" Chester huffed, recovering from a little laughter himself.
Snowflake's eyes twitched as she approached them.
"Hahahahahahaha.. HahahaHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the husky pup laughed with the same crazy look on her face.
"Oh. Good to see you find it funny too- Oh! Ummmm. Oh no..." Ned said, as he quickly realized his sister wasn't laughing out of humor.
"Oh boy.." Marshall realized, now becoming nervous. And an observing presence, cringed at the thought of what this meant.
"YYYYEEEEEESSSSSS! Because OF COURSE it would be funny when I wasn't there and you CHOSE to not give me all the DETAILS! HEHEHEHEHEHEHE-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Snowflake said in a manic tone, her face expression and tone of the laugh suggesting she was losing her mind.
"WELLLL THEN. ENJOY THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT INCLUDING ALL THE DETAILS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Snowflake cackled until she threw the blue sheet over them! She wrapped the sheet around them so they were stuck.
"Ahh!" the pups cried.
"Wait,.. didn't we give her all the details?" Chester wondered aloud.
"I thought we did.." Rubble confirmed. "We told her how to play the game we were playing.. And the puppy-guarding joke.."
"For the last time,.." Chester sighed dryly. "It's NOT a joke! We really did call it that!"
"-worry about that later.." Marshall grunted. "Now's the time to get outta here and figure out what the heck is happening with Snowflake."
"What, are you crazy? She's probably about to pounce right now? Like a mad leopard hunting for some lunch! No way! I ain't going out there." Chester declined.
"Chess!" the pups collectively sighed.
"What?!" Chester wondered innocently.
"She can hear you ya know." Rubble whispered kinda loudly.
"Yeah?.. And- oh.." Chester realized now. "Um.. uh-oh?"
"Now come on.." Marshall reiterated, and they all continued to work at the light, blue material, till they were all able to find an end which they could escape from. And they almost dreaded what they would find.
Hey guys, how's it going!? And what a cliffy that was! What could possibly be going on? And how will it end! Find out in the next chapter but till then.. Enjoy! Happy Halloween! Thx!