Chapter twenty-nine: Ned, You Are So Dead!
After arriving, Snowflake turned her vehicle off before getting out.
"Make sure Chase's police cruiser is secure, Chester!" The husky reminded him.
"No worries on that,.." the German Shepherd shrugged, "However there might be something else that we may need to kinda worry about."
"And what's that?" Marshall asked, wandering over to the truck toward Chester. Chess simply turned and looked further into his vehicle, which appeared to be the direction of the passenger seat. The Dalmatian hopped up to peer in past Chess, only to find Chase snuggled against the door side of his vehicle sound asleep.
"Oh,.. uh,.. No problem.." Marshall decided slowly, lowering himself down. "We'll just.. Uhh.."
"We'll just handle this while you go get Ryder from the hospital." Chester said.
"You sure?" Marshall asked.
"Yes,.." Chester shrugged toward him. "And if we have to wake him its not the end of the world, he'll survive, and he'll likely fall right back asleep anyway. If he's this tired."
"*sigh* ok," the fire pup finally gave in. "I'll be back."
"Wait what?! Ryder's in the hospital?! How did he get hurt?! Oh my gosh.. Chase is going to lose it when he finds out! We better go now!" Ned exclaimed as he appeared outside The Lookout. The husky ran over to Chase's vehicle and jumped in before starting the vehicle again.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, cool your jets, Ned. Ryder is NOT in the hospital." Chester quickly replied, taking the husky's paw and carefully, easing him back from the controls. "He just had to go there with the copilot cause it wasn't safe to get him off Ryder in the field. They felt it best for him to stay put under the copilot, since there's a possibility of the man having a spinal injury."
"So Ryder's just stuck at the hospital with the hurt copilot? Well then let's go get him!" Ned responded before gently opening the passenger door. Chase suddenly jerked awake and sat up.
"Huh!? u..u..I'm awake.." Chase gasped. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "What happened?"
Everyone looked up when the Air Patroller rose up and jetted off into the night.
"Marshall's off to get, Ryder.." Chester replied simply. "You wiped out on us on the ride home. You good now?"
"*yawn* for now.." Chase yawned. "But we should probably all go get some sleep while we can. We'll have some work cut out for us tomorrow."
"You mean we have our work cut out for us." Rayla countered. "You're gonna be working on your therapy. And I'll make sure Ryder arranges that before we head out tomorrow."
"*sigh* fine." Chase sighed dryly.
"Excuse me, Chess.." Ned said before closing the passenger door and getting on top of Chester in the driver seat. Ned started the car engine, then tried to get more room, pushing Chester into the passenger seat.
"Wait- what are you doing?!" Chase gasped, as his brother was shoved over into him.
"Sorry guys. Now let's go get Ryder! Hang on, Ryder!" Ned told the pups before moving the gear shift.
"Ned, stop! No!" Snowflake exclaimed, as she realized what her brother was about to do.
"Ned.." Chester vocalized nervously.
"Wait!" Chase cried.
Suddenly, Ned pressed on the gas pedal, and spun the police cruiser around before flying off towards town!
"No! Wait!" Snowflake cried out, but it was too late. Ned had taken Chase's vehicle with the two German Shepherds in it to get their leader.
"Ned! This isn't safe!" Chase cried, trying to keep himself stable with the steady swerving motion of the vehicle. "And you can't drive!"
"Also I just said that Marshall's already going to get Ryder.." Chester explained quickly, trying not to get tossed around himself. "And he's perfectly capable of handling that all on his own."
"But this is better! We got speed and sirens! Why have Marshall fly to the hospital by himself, when we can get to the hospital and back in minutes? Besides, if you two can drive this car, how hard can it be?" Ned countered as he zig zagged through the roads, making sharp turns. It was clear Ned didn't know what he was doing except driving to where the Air Patroller was heading. It was as if Ned was racing to the hospital to prove it was a faster method than the team's plane.
"Ned!" Both pups shouted, one sounding more angry or annoyed than the other.
"What?! I'm getting us there aren't I?! Calm down, we're almost there.." Ned replied as he kept swerving and spinning the big vehicle through the roads.
"No we're not! You're gonna run us off the road!" Chase thundered, nearly on the verge of quaking.
"Cool it, bro, I got this." Chester announced. "Move over, Ned!" Sliding in next to Ned, he was able to take the controls and then the pedal, working the brakes to straighten them out and then to stop. Chase and Chester sighed with relief as Chester turned the engine off, then both brothers sent a frown over to the gray husky.
"Guys! We have to get Ryder at the hospital! We need to go!" Ned commented as he tried to put his paws on the controls of the vehicle. "Quit stalling!"
"No! Marshall's got it handled, we're heading back to the Lookout." Chase roared, even as Chester held his grip with a firm elbow block. "Get out of the driver seat before you send us all to the ER with injuries." Though in his mind, he didn't intend to sound so harsh, but his unbridled and somewhat warranted outburst remained unhindered.
"The car's still upright, isn't it? No broken glass, no punctured tires, so how on earth would I send us to the ER? I'm doing fine! Give me the controls!" Ned responded before trying to get in control of the vehicle again.
Chase hopped his paws up onto the top of the steering wheel and growled deeply, staring at Ned with a look that meant business.
"Back seat." He repeated stiffly.
"Okay, but if you or Chester is going to drive, do you guys at least know where we are at? Yes, it's a serious question," Ned responded before going to the back seat.
"Yes!" The two German Shepherds responded in unison. Again, one sounding more harsh than the other, which made the two of them glance at each other.
"I swear to you, Chess," Chase breathed quietly to his brother as Chess started the engine and turned them around to head back up the Lookout driveway. "You might just have to restrain me after this.. or Ned may not survive."
"Don't worry, I think he'll get plenty of grilling in a moment." Chess replied, mostly in a calm manner.
"And how are you so sure!" Chase whisper-shouted at him.
"Just watch.." Chester replied simply.
When they pulled back up to the Lookout, the remaining pups were waiting.
"Out!" Chase's cry shouted. "Out, out, out, out, out!" Ned fumbled out of the vehicle moments later and soon after Chase came with him. He shot the husky a heated look as he walked by him. And Chester proceeded to back the Police Cruiser under the open undercarriage of the Lookout, so it could be deconstructed back into Chase's pup house.
"Are you guys ok?" Rocky asked, and Chase just released a heavy breath. Chester soon appeared in Chase's truck, which turned back into his pup house once he jumped out of it. Ned strode forward and Chase was about to advance, but Chester put a paw on his chest to help him notice the huskies already beating him to it.
"Ned! What the h- e- double hockey-" Brian exclaimed until his husky sister gave him a stern look.
"No swearing! Though he's right. What the heck were you thinking, Ned?!" Melody snapped at her brother.
"I was trying to help out! Driving would have been faster and less lazy than having Marshall go get Ryder using the Air Patroller," Ned explained.
"Ned! I told you to stop! You can't even drive my vehicle, let alone Chase's! What kind of stunt was that?!" Snowflake shouted.
"I thought my plan was good. Besides, Chase needs to rest, and Chester can't drive his vehicle forever, or Rayla. So I thought giving them a break would help," Ned retorted.
"Yes, let's have a pup who can't drive, take an important vehicle out for a joy ride, with a stressed pup and his brother out on the road, for a situation we can handle in another way. I'm sure nothing bad will happen! OH WAIT, IT WAS ALMOST BAD!" Snowflake stated sarcastically.
By now Chase was shaking, his ears had flattened a long time ago if that hadn't been when he'd arrived back. And Chester could tell he was about to lose it.
"Uhh,.. Rayla, We have a situation here." He hinted, cocking his eyes over to Chase as her only indicator. And the golden lab took a quick methodical look at Chase, which she nodded at Chess to show her understanding. She was about to intervene, when Ned and Snowflake's squabbling continued on.
"Well in my defense, nobody stopped me. Plus, you could have said so through the pup tags. But why? It would have been quicker. Not exactly smooth driving, but sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to bake a cake!" Ned retorted to his husky sister.
"Why?.. Why?! I'll tell you why.." Chase fumed, as he started to advance, and Chester tried to stand in his way to hold him back but he seemed to have acquired an immovable strength that just pushed Chess forward as he continued to steam. "Because someone tried to stop you,.. Because someone told you it was handled, Because someone asked you to stand down multiple times, Because It Was Reckless, Because It Was Dangerous And Pointless To Pursue,.. And.. YOU CAN'T DRIVE!" The slow progression of speed and volume, which ended with this over the top outburst almost made everyone wonder if he would burst into flames. However, the impossibility of that was obvious; thought just his presence felt like a fire threatening to burn them alive! Everyone stood frozen, all eyes on Chase who huffed and puffed with heated breaths that they could swear smoked like a dragon's fire breath.
The huskies froze as they saw how angry Chase was, fearing he would explode.
"Marshall, you're water cannons! Chase is metaphorically on fire and needs to cool down!" Melody stated, her legs shaking.
"I don't think that will help.. And Marshall isn't here right now," Snowflake replied as she kept looking at Chase nervously.
Ned looked slightly nervous before tilting his head to the side.
"I get it. I can't drive. But.. At least we didn't crash and get hurt. Plus, it was kinda fun. Why are you so upset? We got out in one piece."
Chase seethed, in his growing frustration. Just when they thought he couldn't get angrier it seemed he was about to; which was Rayla's moment to intervene.
"Take a walk, soldier!" She commanded, stepping in his way, however he craned his neck to maintain his glare at Ned. He tried to advance around her, but she pushed herself into his space.
"That's an order, lieutenant." The golden lab threatened strongly. Chase released a heavily audible breath and turned briskly to head into the Lookout, and she watched for a very long time to make sure he stayed put. When she was sure he wasn't gonna come back out to attack Ned, she turned around to face the husky in question.
"You don't know how lucky you are right now." She told him dryly, swiveling her body around to completely face him.
"What do you mean? Hasn't this kind of stuff happened before? The pups losing their vehicles, and having to get control of them again? What did I do wrong? I was trying to get us to the hospital to get Ryder. They talked about possibly doing it, so I thought ahead and took action!" Ned commented, clueless as to how in the wrong he was.
"Except you forgot about one key thing.. Safety.." Rayla mentioned explicitly.
"How? I may have swerved corners, but Chase's car wasn't damaged!" Ned said honestly.
"True,.." Rayla confirmed. "But have you ever heard of any of us pups attempt something we weren't trained to do?"
"No. Never," Ned answered.
"And do you know why?" Rayla asked him rather purposefully.
"To be safe and so nobody or anything gets hurt or worse," Ned said. "But the controls didn't look that hard. It's not like I was driving a road airplane with lots of buttons."
"Just because something doesn't look hard does not mean that it isn't.." Rayla went on patiently, "..and assuming that it's easy and trying it without proper guidance is a very dangerous situation waiting to happen. You or someone around you could've been hurt, including drivers on the road. You are just very lucky that something bad didn't happen."
"True, but it's not like I wanted to see if Chase's vehicle could fly like a bird! I know cars can't fly. So I stayed on the road," Ned responded seriously.
By this time, other members of the group were beginning to steam with frustration, now beginning to understand Chase's anger about this situation.
"Yes,.. but.. say you caused a crash and someone got hurt.. Would the risk have been worth it then?" Rayla continued, taking a breath to keep her cool.
"No. It wouldn't have. Yeah I was turning tight, but at least we didn't spin.. Oh. Oooooohhhhh gosh. Yeah, it could have ended badly.." Ned said, as he finally realized his mistake. If they had crashed, Ned would have caused someone to get hurt, damaged Chase's vehicle, and it would have been his fault.
"And now do you understand why Chase is so livid?" Rayla asked, thankful that he had finally gotten the point.
"Yes, I do.. I really messed up this time," Ned replied with regret, his ears folding back.
"Yeah,.. I'd tread lightly around him for a little while.." Chester cautioned. "And stay away from his vehicles too. It might set him off again."
Just then a wind was whipped up and the pups braced themselves as the Air Patroller landed nearby on the retractable landing pad in the yard. The back of the plane lowered and Ryder and Marshall stood at the top with RoboDog.
"Ryder!" several pups gasped, the group immediately bounding over.
"Great rescue tonight, pups." The boy smiled as he and Marshall descended. RoboDog rolled down after them and then around them to head back to the garage. "I bet you're all tired, so let's-.. Wait, where's Chase?"
The eyes among the group of pups diverted in different ways as many of them hummed with various 'um's' and 'well's' and none of them seemed to have the courage to say..
"It was my fault! I took Chase's truck to get you from the hospital. I thought it would be a faster way to get you home! But I don't know how to drive and now both Chester and Chase are mad.. Not that I blame them," Ned confessed as he bowed his head and spread his front legs out as accepting a punishment.
Ryder's face shifted to concern by hearing this.
"Why would you try to drive if you don't know how?" He asked earnestly.
"I thought the controls wouldn't be that hard to use, and decided to give it a try!" Ned replied honestly.
"Ned,.." Ryder sighed, kneeling down to place a hand on the pup's shoulder. "You should never try something like this without someone teaching you how first."
"Yes Ryder," Ned agreed, his ears still folded back.
"*sigh* Well,.. is Chase alright?" He asked softly.
"He'll live,.." Chester spoke up. "But.."
"I had to intervene before he brought out the heavy artillery, sir,." Rayla replied in somewhat of a formal manner, like she were briefing a commanding officer; though not quite as stiffly.
"Hm,.. well,.. I'll go check on him. You pups get ready for bed." Ryder said, standing up to head toward the Lookout.
"Better you than me." Chester mentioned immediately, taking off to get ready for bed.
Snowflake and her husky siblings followed as they circled Ned in the front and sides. They wanted to protect him in case Chase decided to attack. Ned stayed silent so as not to cause more trouble.
"I'd suggest you stay here till after Ryder talks to Chase." Rayla suggested. "Not because Chase is at all violent or dangerous.. But.. he might feel less stressed out if they have a chance to talk on their own."
"Yes Rayla," Ned said obediently, as he stayed outside with his siblings.
"Wait a minute.. Why aren't you trying to tear apart Ned, Chester?" Brian spoke up.
"Because at this point, Chase has kinda covered that for the both of us." The German Shepherd replied matter-of-factly. "Plus it's not my vehicle so it's not as personal for me.. Ope, wait.."
The German Shepherd reached over and slapped Ned upside the head firmly.
"Ok, now we're good," he said, sitting on his haunches to brush his forepaws together with satisfaction.
"But seriously though it was a pretty reckless and foolhardy idea.." he followed up, turning to Ned with a frown. "Even for me."
"Foolhardy?" Ned echoed in confusion.
"Uh,.. yeah.. As in, 'not a good idea'? No wonder he almost lost it with you tonight." Chester replied, a bit of frustration beginning to surface as he spoke.
"Oh, I've never heard that word before," Ned retorted.
An older mind had seen all that had happened and felt compelled to follow the boy. Boomerang hustled his old body to reach Ryder just before the door, looking up to meet his glance as if to ask permission to tag along. Then both their gazes turned to look through the window at the lonely pup laying on a pillow faced away from them. The two briefly met gazes again as they finally entered together.
Hoooooooh boy! What A Chapter! I gotta tell you I did NOT see this coming! This Ned craziness was a total left-fielder from my partner in crime BlueWolfBat. But what we got out of it may have been the craziest thing I've ever seen.. from Chase especially. But I LOVED THIS!
His freak out was SO warranted, but the intervention of Rayla was pure gold! LOL! And even Chester's banter throughout was pretty good. Also him slapping Ned was a last minute touch but lol that was fun(ny)!
But, I'm curious to hear what YOU think. Lemme know if this surprised you as much as it did me! And till then, we'll see you next time! Thx!