Levi panted heavily as his paws rapidly splashed across the small puddles of water. Upon crossing a street, he scanned his eyes towards the sign, seeing which street he was on.
"Wolfenheim Street." The sign displayed as the Malamute quickly ran around the corner, passing the store and into the alleyway where Spencer's place was.
"Spencer! Spencer!" Levi called out, not hearing any responses. After quickly scanning the area, the dog approached the makeshift door. "Spencer! Wher-!" Levi was cut off as his face was slammed into the wall.
"Fuck off, you-! Shit, Levi!" Spencer cursed as he quickly shut the door, going to help the Malamute shortly after, "Sorry about that, you scared the shit out of me."
Levi held the side of his face as he winced in pain, "You trying to make me blind or something? Damn it!"
"Alright, ease up, lad. Just...move your paw and I'll take care of the rest." Spencer cringed a bit as he saw the damage he inflicted on the dog. "Doesn't look too bad, just hold on."
Levi soon eased up, leaning his head against the wall as he aimed the injured side towards Spencer, who came back with a small med-kit to aid the pup. "Spencer, what was the whole problem you called me for? What's going on? What's so urgent?"
"Maybe it's my paranoia but I have a feeling someone's eyeing me, wants me dead." Spencer briefly explained as he cleaned up Levi's wound. "Maybe Ajax changed his mind and sent someone else to kill me rather than that Shepherd."
Levi's ears raised up, "Ajax? What does he have to do with this? And what about that Shepherd? You mean Isaac?"
The Border Collie's eyes remained concentrated towards the injury as he answered the multitude of questions, "Yeah, that's the one. Anyway, Ajax wanted me dealt with because I'm not a 'good earner' even though I've been pulling my own weight for that asshole for a long time even if I'm not in the Den anymore. Avery convinced him not to go through with it but maybe that wore off at this point."
"Well, I can assu-ow!" The Malamute winced at the sudden jolt of pain, "I can probably assure you it's not a dog from the Den, Avery would've heard something if that was the case."
"I hope so." Spencer cleaned up the last bit of blood from the wound, placing a bandage on it as he soon gave the dog some space. "Well, you're all good now, mate."
"Thanks, Spencer." Levi smiled as the Border Collie gave a nod, laying down on his bed.
The Malamute checked his injury with a mirror that Spencer had laying around. As he checked his bandage, he noticed that his collar was damaged. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he called out to the Border Collie. "Hey, Spencer, you think you can fix up my collar?"
Spencer got up from his bed and approached the dog, "Sure, hand it over." The Border Collie grabbed the collar and placed it on the desk close to the door. Upon examining it, he noticed the collar flashing in and out of light as the cover of the pendant was hanging out a bit. As he opened it up, he saw the problem. "Okay, good news is that it's not entirely busted but the bad news is that it's going to, more than likely, lose connection pretty often."
Levi's ears lowered, "Can you fix it?"
"I, sadly, can't. I don't know much about these things anyway." Spencer answered, "I can just fix up the cosmetic damage so it doesn't entirely look messed up."
As the Border Collie was patching up what he could've, he heard knocking at the door. The two dogs became more alert as Spencer slowly backed away from the desk, waiting to hear the voice on the other end to clarify on who it was.
"Hey! Levi, it's Satoon, open up!" The Husky yelled from outside as Levi's ears perked up, a slight smile coming from the Malamute.
"Look at that, more help for you." The dog lightly shrugged as he went towards the door, opening it up and seeing the Husky stand before him. "Hey, Satoon, it's good to see you!"
"Likewise, pup." The Husky nodded as Levi stepped aside to let him in.
The Malamute turned his head, seeing Spencer being skeptical against the Husky, "Spencer, it's fine, Satoon's cool. You forget that he saved me a few days ago?"
After darting his eyes between the two dogs deciding on whether to trust Levi or his instinct, Spencer went with Levi. "Alright, if you say he's cool than he's cool."
The Malamute's tail wagged in excitement as he went to go get the Husky some food, "You hungry, Satoon? I'm sure Spencer won't mind sharing his food, right?"
"Sure, kid." Spencer lowered his ears in annoyance as he approached the Husky, "So, what brings you to my home, Satoon?" The Border Collie asked as he raised his eyebrow, pressuring the large Husky.
"I was around the area when I saw Levi running a marathon, he was too far for me to call out so I followed his scent, it was hard but at least it worked." The Husky answered as he closed the makeshift door.
"Good thing it did!" Levi turned on the radio as he moved the bowl towards Satoon, "Spencer's been having problems so I'm thinking we go handle that problem for him." The Malamute stated as he went to go get his own bowl of food.
"Don't worry about it now, whoever the bloke was, they most likely fucked off by now and since there's three of us, they wouldn't stand a chance. Overall, I'm feeling better than I was earlier." Spencer chuckled as he grabbed Levi's collar.
"Good, makes the job a little easier for me." Satoon stated as he sent his claws to the Border Collie's gut, trailing it downwards slightly before pushing the dog aside to the desk, knocking it over. Levi turned around, shocked at the sight but dropping the fear instantly as he sprung towards the Husky, disregarding his own safety.
Chase struggled with sleeping as he usually did, tossing and turning in hopes to get comfortable and rest, even for a moment. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he laid on his back, staring into the ceiling as time passed. Moments later, he heard his new pup tag ring and echo across the room. As he quickly stretched, he noticed that the crew still wasn't back yet but nevertheless, he answered the call.
"Hello?" The Shepherd asked, eyeing the digital clock on top of the metal case and seeing the time.
"I-Isaac...it's...Spencer, we got a problem, a...a big problem..." The Border Collie advised over the call.
The pup froze as he heard what the Border Collie said,"Wh-Spencer? What's going on? I'm on my way!" Chase advised.
The Shepherd heard the two dogs fighting in the background, "Hurr...hurry up, Isaac, Levi needs help..."
Chase's eyes widened, "What?! Levi?! Fuck!" The pup cursed as he ran out the door, making his way down to the main floor of the Den. "Damn it...alright, lo-look, just hold on, I'll be there soon!" The Shepherd soon heard static from the tag, "Spencer? Spencer?!" The call ended.
Chase cursed at himself, he called Avery shortly after, "Avery! Avery, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, kid, what is it?" Avery asked in a calm manner.
"I'm on my way to help Levi and Spencer!" The Shepherd panted as he soon made it to the main gate.
The Shepherd heard the confusion from the Greyhound, "Levi? Spencer? Levi's here in the Den, over at Dixon's."
"No, he's not. Spencer just called and something bad is happening over there!" Chase corrected, slightly wincing as Avery yelled out loud.
"What?! Fuck! Why didn't Levi call anyone to go with him? He knows he shouldn't go alone!"
"I...I don't know but don't worry, I'm on my way there, I'll get him back." Chase assured as he ran across the street, slipping into some newspaper stands due to the rain.
"You damn well better. You go get him, you got it? Go get him so I can kick his fucking ass! I'll tell Mavis and the rest, they won't be far behind, just get him back and make sure those two idiots are safe!" Avery ordered as the call ended.
The Shepherd's heart was beating rapidly, so many terrifying scenarios were running through his mind and at the worst time too. Regardless, Chase got the negative thoughts out and kept making progress towards Spencer's place, it was pretty far but with just a stroke of luck, he could just barely make it.
Spencer laid against the broken desk in pain, watching as his Malamute friend was fighting for his life. He grunted as he tried getting up to assist Levi. "Fu-fuck!" Spencer cursed as he slowly got back on his paws. He looked towards where the two were and he saw Satoon on top of the Malamute, pressing his paws against his neck. Spencer quickly limped towards the Husky and clamped his jaws on one of his hind paws, causing Satoon to yelp in pain and give Levi a chance to breathe.
"Fuck!" Satoon yelled as he swung his body in hopes to get Spencer to release his grasp. The Husky managed to get him back on the ground and bit down on Spencer's back flesh, ripping a small chunk of it out as the Border Collie released his jaws from the Husky's hind paw.
As Spencer tried getting up, Satoon slammed his face, muzzle first, into the wooden floor a handful of times, causing blood to drip out over the floor. Satoon let out a breath of exhaustion as he soon felt Levi on top of his back.
The average-sized Malamute bit into one of the Husky's ears, tearing part of it out as he was soon bucked off by Satoon's strength.
Levi landed against the guitar, trying to grab it as Satoon pushed it away, slicing the Border Collie's cheek and grabbing his paw. Levi realized there was nothing he could do, he was too banged up and exhausted to fight back, "This is how you're gonna do it? Just going to...kill us like a coward?" The young dog asked as he waited for the Husky's response.
"It was never personal, kid. I had no quarrel with either of you but I also had very little time." Satoon pulled the guitar close and placed Levi's arm over it, his paw dangling at the end. "You understand, right?"
Levi knew what was going to happen and as he tried pulling his paw away, Satoon kept it pinned as he soon pushed down with as much force as he could've, hearing a loud crack within seconds and hearing Levi cry in pain. The Husky knocked the Malamute out shortly after, finally ending the fight.
As he carried the dog on his back and nearly stumbled over in the process, Satoon pressed his tag, calling Gideon as he walked out of the small shack. "Come on...pick up, you prick..."
"Satoon...I assume you have good news since you're calling at this hour?" Gideon asked over the call, hearing Satoon's somewhat heavy breathing.
Satoon spat on the ground, soon giving a response to Gideon, "It's done, I got the Malamute."
"You don't sound too good there, lad." Gideon chuckled.
"Just tell some dogs to meet me close by, I need help hauling this bastard." Satoon ignored Gideon's attempt to rile him up, just wanting to get things done.
"Alrighty, head to Petula Ave, it's not too far and keep that dog in check, make sure he doesn't slip." Gideon advised, dropping the instigation.
"I know how this shit works, I'll be there waiting." Satoon ended the call, heading out to his destination as the rain continued to pour down in the late night, leaving Spencer all alone to succumb to his injuries.
Some time passed since the terrifying call with Spencer. Chase ran through the streets, nearly being hit on multiple occasions as he was determined on reaching his friends. As he passed another street, he glanced at the familiar street sign, booking it towards the alleyway and seeing Spencer's shack close by. "Spencer! Levi!" Chase called out as he ran towards his friends, seeing trails of blood from outside.
As he bursted through the door, he saw the extent of the damage that was caused by the Husky. The Shepherd ran towards the severely injured Border Collie as he turned him on his back, "Spencer?! Spencer, come on, wake up!"
Chase frantically looked around the room, spotting the small med-kit that the Border Collie used earlier. "Come on, come on!" The Shepherd was a nervous wreck, popping open the med-kit and spilling most of the items out on the floor. "Fuck!" He cursed as he grabbed some of the gauze sponges and placed it on Spencer's wounds.
"Sh-shit!" Spencer thrived in pain, breathing heavily as he looked at the Shepherd, "I...I'm...sorry, kid..."
"Don't talk, just...just let me fix you up!" Chase barked as he froze, not knowing what to pick to help patch up his friend.
Spencer saw the fear that was eating up the Shepherd, he placed his paw on him, trying to calm him down. "It's...it's alright, Isaac. Don't worry abo-about patching me up...that little med kit ain't gonna do much for me anyway..."
"No...no, I can do this!" Chase snapped as Spencer tightened his grip on the pup.
"Don't...don't bother! Ju-just stop, alright?" The Border Collie defused as Chase continued, ignoring Spencer's plea. "Isaac!"
The Shepherd finally stopped, staring sorrowfully at his friend. "I'm sorry...I...I should've stayed with the group, he wouldn't have slipped away if I did!" Chase pressed his paws on his forehead.
Spencer tried consoling the pup to the best of his ability, "Don't...don't blame yourself. It-it's my fault, I was...I was too trusting, I let my guard down." The wounded dog had tears stroll down his face, "You two, you made me feel safe, you made the paranoia go away..." He held Chase's paw as he weakly smiled, "Thanks for that...fel-felt like the old days...when I was just a carefree idiot." Spencer lifted his head up with all of his strength, "You get Levi back, you hear me? Ge-get him back and kill the asshole that took him!"
"I will. We'll get him back, I swear!" Chase assured, feeling the Border Collie's grip loosen.
Spencer laid his head down, closing his eyes as he let out a faithful statement to the Shepherd, "I know you will..."
With that, Spencer was gone and Chase was all alone, nothing but the rain and the damaged radio filling the ambience as the Shepherd stood over the lifeless body of his friend.
"How very unfortunate for you, my dear pup..." Chase's eyes widened as his ears perked up. "You just can't stand losing those close to you, can you?"
There was long silence before the Shepherd responded, "Why? Why are you here? After all this time?" Chase asked, not bothering to look at the mysterious dog.
The dog let out a chuckle, sitting down in front of the Shepherd, "The same reason when you saw me for the first time, underneath that tree. Just here to tell you something but I can see you're pretty occupied right now so I'll guess it'll have to wait."
Chase snarled, "Then why are you-?!" The Shepherd stopped as he didn't see the dog anymore. The pup nodded his head negatively, rubbing his head with his paws as he let out shaky breaths. He heard sets of paws approach from behind him and went into a defensive stance, dropping it quickly as he saw Mavis and the rest of the crew.
"Shit..." Mavis uttered in a low tone as she went to hug the Shepherd in hopes to make him feel somewhat better.
The pup hesitated before finally speaking, "I tried...I'm sorry." Chase apologized as Mavis stroked her paw on his back, shushing the pup to make him calm down.
"Chase, what happened, where's Levi?" Delta asked as he poked his head outside, making sure they were in the clear.
"I...I don't know..." Chase stammered as Mavis released her embrace, grabbing a blanket from close by.
"What do you mean? Your friend here didn't say anything?" The Australian Shepherd asked as Mavis furrowed her eyebrows, quickly intercepting to make Delta back off.
"Look, we don't know where Levi is and we can't go out and find him, it's too dangerous." Mavis advised as Delta snapped back.
"Bullshit, there has to be a-a scent or...or something we could track! From the looks of it, whoever took him got fucked up badly, they can't be far!" The Australian Shepherd tried persuading as Mavis continued to turn it down.
"He's probably in McAllister territory by now, there's already enough shit going on, we cannot risk it!" Mavis speculated as she continued, "Let's just cut our losses and head back home." The Retriever advised as she laid the blanket over the lifeless Border Collie.
The crew let out defeated sighs as they each walked out, Mavis closed the door to the shack, blocking the entrance so no one could go in. She soon pressed her tag and called Avery.
"Mavis. What happened, are they okay?" The Greyhound asked.
Mavis's ears lowered as she looked towards the ground, "Chase is okay but...Spencer didn't make it."
"Fuck...what about Levi, where is he?" Avery frantically asked.
"Nowhere to be found. I'm sorry, Avery. We're heading back so we can talk about a plan." Mavis advised as Avery went against it.
"We...let's leave that for the morning, alright? Just come back and rest." Avery declared, not wanting to have the crew stress themselves out even more.
"Alright." The call ended as the dogs continued to pass through the dimmed streets and somewhat heavy rain, hoping they can make it back without anymore trouble.
Chase followed behind, various emotions running around in his mind. Anger, sadness, frustration and more. So much weighed on him ever since he arrived back into Boroughton and ever since then, it always kept stacking up one after another. One thing was certain with him though, aside from the McAllister's, who were just obstacles at this point, he had another main target to deal with on top of Ajax and Alistair and he knew that it wasn't going to be long before he had his paws on him.