A police car was seen by Rad's home; there were two officers who were asking questions to the distraught red, blue heeler: a Rottweiler and Neapolitan Mastiff. "And all was left was the letter," asked the police rottweiler. "Yes, I did not think he would pull off something like this! He would never leave on his own like that," explained Rad all stressed out. "Did you notice anything in his room as well," asked the mastiff, who was jotting down notes in his notepad. "His bookbag was gone, so I imagine he took a few belongings with him. And I don't know if I should say this, but I think he may have took some money from my wallet afterwards while I was asleep."
The Rottweiler examined through his police tablet; he had full intel on Lyon's information: his looks, his age, his breed, and other detailed information. "Alright sir, we'll make sure to do our best to be on the lookout for your son. I'm also going to submit an area wide AMBER alert. Hopefully someone will be able to seek out the child," explained the police Rottweiler. "Maybe I should come along," said Rad. "Sir, we have standard procedures. It will be okay," assured the Rottweiler. He knows how adamant Radley was in search of Lyon, but it was not the heeler's place to be involved in the investigation. The two officers said their goodbyes, and left the house with the police sirens on. Rad's phone rang, and receives a call from Bandit. "Hello," he said.
"Rad, what's going on? Did something happen to Lyon," asked Bandit. Radley bit his tongue trying to find the words to explain. "He…he ran away. From home," said Rad. "What happened between you two," asked Bandit with great concern. "We had a quarrel! It's a long story, but it has to deal with him finding out about his grandparents. Audrey's parents."
Bandit was shaken by the news. Ever since Rad told his brothers about the snooty Snow family, they knew their reluctance in taking in the wolf dog after the parents' car accident. "And what else?"
"Well, we quarreled, he pushed me, and yelled at me for lying to him. But I swear everything that happened yesterday was an unavoidable mistake! Me and Frisky took him to place flowers for their anniversary, and well…you know the rest, mate. I can't stand here and let the police do everything! Lyon needs me!"
"Rad, you need to calm down. How about me and Stripe will be on the lookout around town, and see if we can find him."
"Maybe I should make lost posters. Just meet up in my place, and I'll give both of you sets of them. We have to find him, Bandit," Rad rubbed his eyes in full stress.
"We will. Don't panic," reassured Bandit. He hung up and went to grab the keys to the car. Just then Chilli noticed his husband in a hurry. "Sweetheart, what's going on? Where are you off in a hurry," asked Chilli, worried about the tense emotion in her husband. Bandit didn't know how to come straight to his wife, but he knew she has the right to know. "It's Lyon. He's in trouble," said Bandit. "He escaped from home last night, and Rad is really upset. Right now he spoke with the police, and they're on the pursuit," explained the blue heeler. Chilli placed her hand over her mouth by the bad news. "My gosh. What happened?"
"Long story, but I won't go into it now. I have to head over his place and start getting those lost papers ready. Promise me you won't say anything to the girls about this. I can't imagine their reaction when their cousin ran away."
"I promise. Just please be careful," said Chilli while hugging her husband goodbye. Bandit raced away from the Heeler home, and made his way to Rad's house. He called his younger brother Stripe.
"Hello," said Stripe's voice from the car's screen. "Stripe, we've got a problem. Just head straight to Rad's house now," said Bandit.
"What? Why," asked Stripe confused.
"Just go, mate! Ask questions later!" He hung up on Stripe, who knew would have a lot of questions on the way to his oldest brother's house. As the three brothers met up, Rad explained to them the situation from last night.
"Oh, man. That doesn't sound good," said Stripe in great disbelief.
"Here, take these lost papers. Just place them anywhere you can think of that people will see," said Rad, aggressively handing out packets of papers with Lyon's picture on them to his brothers. "Oh no," he muttered.
"What," asked Bandit.
"I just realized he didn't took his inhaler with him. It was there siting on the night table in his bedroom last night," said Rad with a worried face. "That means I have to go find him. I don't know how long he can go without it.
"Mate, do you know what to tell the school? This month is the first week of classes," said Bandit.
"I haven't thought of that. Ugh, why is this happening all at once?!"
"Look, just calm down. Call the school and explain to them the situation. I'm sure Calypso will bear the news in mind," explained Bandit. "Alright, alright! I'll do that, then head on out there! I've got to bring the inhaler with me anyway," added Rad. While both Stripe and Bandit left their separate ways to place the lost Lyon flyers, Rad called the school to explain the emergency. He talked to Calypso on the phone about the missing child event, and she understood, ensuring that none of the students would know the real reason behind his absence. Instead, she'll say that he's sick in bed, trying to recover. He raced back to the house to grab Lyon's inhaler and got on his ute vehicle.
Rad then speed through the streets, placing each missing poster on each place. Meanwhile, he received a call alert from his ute. He saw Frisky was calling him. He answered. "Hey, I just received an AMBER alert of a missing alert. Don't tell me…"
"Yes, it's Lyon. He ran off," said Rad.
"How? What happened after I left?" Rad explained the short version of his story to save time. Frisky was shocked by how Lyon would do this to Rad. "I have some lost flyer with me. Do you mind taking some and placing them around?"
"Yes, I'll do that. I have work today, but I think I can take them with me and place some at my job's bulletin board," said Frisky. "Then I can come with you afterwards. We will find him Radley," said Frisky with worry. When Rad arrived at the address he was given by Frisky to the apartments, he saw a white bricked building with red rooftop ceiling, and the windows appear to be modern like. He went inside the building, and on the fifth floor of the building. He reached to the door that says '509'. He knock on the door, and Frisky came out. Rad looked overwhelmed with grief and emotion. He was at a lost for words. "He would never...I don't understand, Frisky," he said nearly choking.
Frisky hugged her partner, who sympathizes how he felt. "There, there. Just take deep breaths…" Rad took three deep breaths to calm down. He kept himself composed for a second, and felt somewhat better, but he is still anxious. "Right, here are the flyers. I really appreciate your help."
"Of course. Whatever I can do, we're in it together," said Frisky with a soft smile. She locked her door, and both dogs walked out of the building talking about yesterday. "I really wish we didn't ran up to his grandmother. This would have all been avoided," said Rad.
"I know, but right now we have to focus what's in front of us right now. Like I sad, I'll place these around at work, and some other places during my lunch break, and come straight to your place to meet up," explained Frisky. Both dogs said their goodbyes, and went on their separate ways. Rad was on his quest in search of the lost wolf dog while his brothers worked aggressively in search as well.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of the park in a bush, Lyon woke up. All groggy and stiff from sleeping on the ground, he tried to keep himself awake. He made sure to sleep somewhere where no one would notice him. He took a peak through the leaves, and saw nobody in the park. It seemed safe to come out so he decided to rise up from the bushes. Lyon realized he stole money from his father. "I'm a criminal now. What have I done…"
He took out the bills from his bookbag. Two hundred and thirty-three Australian dollars seemed like a lot for a single kid to survive on, but for how long?
Lyon walked through the cement path that led to the streets of town. He tried not to attract attention, hoping no police officer will notice him. By now, reached by a bus stop. Before he even thought about sitting, he took one quick look to see if no one was there. The bus stop appears to have no one in sight. He sighed in relief and sat down somewhat nervously. Lyon patiently waited for a bus to arrive to pick him up. He should have more than enough money to make few bus trips, but will it be enough to cover for food? He took out his stuffed moose, and thought about reflecting his actions from yesterday by talking to his toy. "Did I do the right thing? Was I wrong to have left him like that? I can't imagine if he'll ever forgive me for yelling and pushing him, let alone stealing from him…" He looked at the moose with deep sadness. He knew a toy moose can't talk, but just listen to a kid's troubles. I'm such a fool.
Just now, a bus stopped by. When the bus arrive, the driver appeared to be a middle aged Bloodhound. The driver was a bit surprised that Lyon was not with an adult. "And where are you off to, young man," asked the driver. Lyon didn't think the driver would suspect him without a responsible adult. "Um, I'm on my way to my Nana's house. Yes, that's it."
"Alone?"
"Well, I live around here, and my parents said I'm old enough to go on the bus. My Nana will be waiting for me at my stop."
"Where to," the Bloodhound grew wary behind the possible lie. Lyon's face sweat as he can tell the driver can see through him. He took one of the bus stop's maps, and took a quick glance at the city's locations. He picked out a random city name.
"Sunnybank. That's right. I'm expected there," lied the wolf dog. The Bloodhound took the answer as true without thinking and took Lyon to the next neighborhood. Lyon sat by the back end of the bus, hoping his little lie was enough. He looked through the window, and took one last look of the neighborhood, hoping he won't forget it. The bus soon drove off to its next destination. Lyon unpacked his bookbag, and grabbed one of the books he received from Stripe, and his cousins. He read the book about European tales and read each word carefully. It wasn't long until he heard some police sirens, unbeknownst to him were on the pursuit of a certain seven year old. He jumped off his seat by the sounds, shaken up by the noise. "Everything aright," asked the bus driver.
Lyon nodded with a nervous smile. The Bloodhound grew somewhat suspicious by the nervous wolf dog. Lyon went back to his seat, lied down on his bag, and kept the book high on top of him casually. His mind couldn't keep clear of Rad. He would imagine Rad either sorely disappointed in him, or heartbroken. Either way, there is no turning back now.
After the bus pulls over, Lyon gave some money to the driver, and thanked him for the ride. He then saw a group of dogs at the stop. He tried to not look at them to avoid the attention of their eyes, and rushed down to the sidewalk. When he walked around the area, he noticed a few Asian shops and restaurants. The wolf dog peered through the window and saw through a restaurant with the name Golden Crown. He saw a few workers in the place who were cooking food. The smell enticed him to go in as he was hungry. He shyly walks inside, and saw a husky dog with grey fur on the top, and while fur all over her body; she had blue eyes. "Yes, may I help you," asked the worker.
"What do you sell for food," ask Lyon.
"We sell takeout food such as spring rolls, rice balls, miso soup, and teriyaki. Did you want to buy something?"
"Can I have some spring rolls, please?"
"Of course, that will be eighteen sixty, please?"
Lyon took some money from the backpack, and tried to count beyond ten, but he hasn't practiced beyond fifteen. The worker can tell he was struggling. "Do you need any help?"
Lyon nodded all embarrassedly, as the worker counted some of his money, and took what was only required. She gave back whatever he had leftover in cash. Lyon looked through the window, hoping a police car won't show up. He saw the shop's TV hanging on the wall. K9 news appears to be on right now.
"And to the news report on the weather. It appears we'll have bright and sunny hot days ahead of us. Make sure to wear your hats, sunnies, thongs, and sun block," said the weather dog, who was a Jack Russell with glasses. "Here are you're spring rolls, lad," said the husky worker. "Yeah, thanks," said Lyon. He made off in a hurry without eye contact at the worker. The worker was surprised by the sudden dash, and never saw Lyon again afterwards. Lyon ran in the area of Sunnybank. The temperature appears to be rising as he felt the hot, intense sun. I better find some shade.
He found a large Willow Myrtle tree, which seems to have larger shade to cover Lyon for a while. The wolf dog sat down, and took a bite off of the spring role. He felt the spongy texture of the cooked spring roll; it contained vegetables and fried chicken wrapped in the roll. He ate the next one aggressively to satiate his hunger. After he finished, he went to a trash can, and dumped the paper bag in the can. Lyon simply sat below the willow tree, pondering on his next move.
"Where am I to go? I can't exactly go back home. And I don't know where Uncle Bandit or Stripe live. Not even Nana Heeler," said to himself. "Even if I do go back to either of them, they'll tell dad know, and I know I'm going to get punished."
Meanwhile, a police Border Collie dog came inside the Golden Crown restaurant. He saw the husky worker who was counting the money in the register. "G'day officer. How can I help you today?"
"Oh, I'm not here to buy. I came by to ask if you've seen a child around," he said.
"Now that you mention it, I did see one who was all by himself. I didn't think he would be alone without a parent."
"By any chance it was this one?" He reached out for his phone, and showed a photograph of Lyon. The husky worker was shocked. "Why yes. I just served him spring rolls not too long ago. He raced off afterrwards"
"Where did he ran?"
"Across the street to your left," said the husky pointing the officer to the willow tree.
Lyon then saw the worker pointing at him, and the officer was in shock, then decided to run up to Lyon. "Oi there lad! Can I have a word with ?"
Lyon, panicked by the officer, rushed away from the collie officer. "Mate, just stop for a moment! Can I speak with you for a moment?!" Lyon tried his best to outrun the officer, hoping he didn't think he was being turned in to the police for hurting Rad. He was filled with both guilt and terror that he was escaping the law. He arrived in a location where there were commercial buildings with alleys; the wolf dog scurried his way to a random alley, hoping he would hide from the officer. He hid behind a green dumpster, beneath the cardboard boxes. His heart raced when the officer searched in the alley. "Mate, don't make this worse for yourself. I just want to talk to you for a minute," said the Border Collie officer. He scanned the area and looked through each hidden part from the dumpster to corners. He scratched his head, and walked away from the area. Lyon took a peak to see the coast was clear, but decided to stay put behind the alley. Not only it was a hiding spot, but it provided more shade to escape from the rising sun's heat.
"I don't know how long I can get used to this," he whispered to himself.
He looked around the area and saw a metal door that is most likely connected to one of the shops in the commercial building. He knew he couldn't' stay here as someone from the shop is bound to walk right out of the door. He races out of the alley now that the street appears to be clear of police dogs.
The day passed by as what seems to be a journey for both Rad and Lyon seems to be a wild goose chase. During the afternoon, Rad and Frisky met up at Rad's place. They seem to be planning their move on finding for the lost wolf dog.
"I've placed as many flyers as I can during my lunch break, and even asked anyone from work if they've seen him," said Frisky while drinking iced coffee.
"And," asked Rad.
"No dice. Sorry."
Rad sighed, and knew this was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. "I checked through each parts we've visited. The park, library, stores, restaurants, and even the cemetery." He closed his eyes and placed his fingers to clean them from the eye boogers he forgot to remove before this morning. "Got any update from the police," asked Frisky.
"None. They said they're working their best, but how much is it really?"
"What about your brothers?"
"They looked everywhere as well. No leads." Both couples looked downtrodden by the lack of clues to the search. "You don't think he would find his way to those grandparents, do you," said Frisky with a thought on her mind.
"No. No we wouldn't. He wouldn't know where they live without the address."
"You never know. Some things work out mysteriously," said Frisky. "We could try finding their business place for starters." Rad thought that could be a potential place to find out if Lyon is there, but the odds of finding him there are slim. "Oh, I guess it's worth a shot," said Rad. He looked up the Snow's business on the website, and found the part of the city where Edward and Mathilda might be, which is in New Farm, Queensland. "Okay, I've got the address on my phone. Let's go," said Rad hastily. Frisky decided to ride in Rad's vehicle as both of them drove to their destination. Rad didn't seem to notice how fast he was going, and little to no time a police officer pulled them over. "Aw, biscuts," he cursed. An officer, who appeared to be a male Rajapalayam Hound, walked towards the driver's right side.
"Afternoon, you two. I see you've been speeding beyond the limit," said the officer. "May I see your license?" Rad, despite his annoyance, showed the officer his driver's license in his wallet. Frisky sat there all quiet. "And where are you off in such a hurry? At this rate, you're bound to hit something."
"Look, I normally don't like to disobey traffic laws, but it's a bit of an emergency right now. I'm looking for my lost son."
"Wait, you wouldn't happen to be Heeler?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Didn't one of my colleagues say to stay put?"
"Yes, but I think I might have a lead on where he is, but I don't have time to explain. All I know is something I can only find out. Please officer, just this once let this slide?"
"Well, I can't simply ignore you speeding the limit," said the officer while pulling out his ticket booklet. "But if you think you might have an idea where he is, I won't stop you. But you have until twenty-eight days to pay for the fine," said the officer handing out the paper ticket to Rad. "Good day," said the officer. Rad sighed and placed the ticket on the passenger's drawer. "What a fine way to end the afternoon," he said. "Just be patient Radley. I'm sure we can find some intel on Lyon's whereabouts," said Frisky, placing her hand on his shoulder.
Both dogs arrived at the corporate headquarters of Snow Financial Solutions in New Farm. When they were about to enter the building, Rad saw the familiar looking CEO of the business. "Hang on, I think I see him." He walked up instantly to talk to Edward. "You. We need to talk for a minute," said Rad.
"Excuse me? Is that any way to talk to someone? Oh…it's you," said Edward apathetically. "What do you need? Did I not say not to follow us? Don't make me call for my security guards."
"Look, I don't know what your beef is with me or my son, but I need to ask you if you've seen him around here?"
"Why? Don't tell me you lost him already?"
"No, I did not lose him! He apparently ran away, and I know this is all your wife's fault for being her rude self. I don't know how both of you can sleep at night by how poorly you treat him this way," explained Rad angrily.
"Well, apparently it was your fault for showing up when she was at my daughter's grave. And I have not seen the boy either so you're wasting your breath," said Edward arrogantly.
"If you haven't been so prejudice against him, none of this would have happened. All because of your excellence and perfectionism nonsense. I can see why your daughter must hate you for this."
"Look, we come from a lineage of Snows. My condition defines pristine. I'm sorry if your lost son is the root cause of your poor parenting skills."
"Say that again, and I'll-"
But Frisky grabbed Radley's arm to keep his composure at check. "Hey, that's enough! Both of you! Look, all we asked if you've seen him, not cause fights," explained Frisky.
"As I said, I have not seen the brat, and if I do, I'll let you know. Not that I care as much," said the arrogant male husky. He got on his limo, and his driver drove him back to his mansion. Rad looked down sadly by the failed attempt to gather information on his son. "I knew this was a waste a time. He would never come here."
"Let's try out the juice shop. He could be there," said Frisky. The two made their way to the juice shop.
At the juice shop, Lyon came out of the building with a watermelon juice. He sipped through the cold beverage to recover from the heat. It has been an exhausting day for him to wander around town with no purpose. He sat under the shop's shade, and looked through the scene. He saw how other families mingled together, chatting and laughing away. He knew he couldn't have been a part of family knowing everything that has transpired from before. And yet, he often wonders if his cousins know he went missing?
Both Rad and Frisky pulled over at the shop to talk to the owner if they've seen Lyon. The two went inside, and Frisky talked to the labrador owner. "Have you seen this boy? We've been looking for him all afternoon."
The owner looked closely at the flyer. "One of employers served him a watermelon juice not long ago."
"You have?! Where is he," asked Rad instantly.
"I thought he might have been lounging at the outdoor patio," pointed out the owner. Lyon heard familiar voices, and saw through the shop's window. At that moment, Rad glances and saw familiar looking ears. "Lyon?"
Lyon panicked and dashed away into the street. Rad ran outside of the shop with Frisky following behind. Lyon rushed into a crowd at the stop light with Rad behind him. Lyon blended in the crowd, hoping he would not be seen by his adoptive father. "Excuse me, sorry, I'm looking for someone," said Rad while inspecting the crowd. Some dogs gave the red heeler an awkward frown with some mothers holding their children next to each other.
Lyon stealthily past right through the crowd as they started walking with the green dog lit on, and sprinted away.
Meanwhile, Rad was dumbstruck by his son's stealth skills to get by without being seen. "I knew that was him…so why did he ran off like that?" He looked through the distance with a sad look. Frisky caught up to her boyfriend, holding his hand to provide comfort. Lyon hid behind a tree, hoping he was not seen by Rad or Frisky. The two then walked across the street back to the juice shop. Rad slowly walked towards his ute and leaned against it in defeat of his failure to find Lyon. "Hey, so before you ran off, I saw by the shop's patio, and found this," said Frisky while holding out the toy moose. Rad recognized the same toy moose that Lyon would always sleep with. He held it with both hands and shut his eyes with sadness. Frisky felt helpless to provide comfort to Radley while going through a tough struggle. But they knew they were close to finding the wolf dog and failed.
Lyon felt exhausted from all the running today. He coughed a bit, struggling to breathe. He realized he forgot to bring his inhaler with him, but the coughing didn't seem to hinder him as much. As we walked past by more neighborhood streets, he feel as though he is much farther from home. Lyon then saw some lost posters of him glued to the wall of a building. He looked at them, and suddenly burst to tears. "What am I doing? Why am I running from all this? I'm so lost…"
It was long after dusk when Lyon couldn't take any more walking. His legs were tired, he felt like it could go on forever, and he was running out of breath. He slowly leaned down to the ground, controlling his breathing. "I…can make it… I can…make….it…" His breathing grew much heavier, and heavier. The wolf dog couldn't help but his eye lids grew much heavy. There was no one who could see him or even hear him in his hour of need. The eyelids grew so heavy it felt like he was about to go to sleep, lying down on the ground with his book back next to him. What all appears to be lost seems like it was meant to be when suddenly, a mysterious figure found the wolf dog, struggling to control his asthma. Lyon saw the mysterious dog in the dark placing their hand on his chest. But he was too weak to see who was picking him up, the wolf dog passed out.
At Rad's house, Rad was too agitated to sleep. All he could think about is how he failed his own adoptive son. He sat at the dining counter with deep sadness; the heeler took a look at the inhaler, wondering how long it had been since Lyon did not take his medicine. Knowing how much running to did from today, he can't imagine his current condition right now. He took a sip of beer from his beer cup and tried to contemplate his actions.