Chapter 6: At Work and At Home
The tires on the car screeched as Bandit parked the vehicle in a hurry. As he jumped out of the car, Bandit raced into the woods where his boss and the other co-workers were waiting for him.
"Ah, good," The boss said, raising an eyebrow. "I was beginning to think that you'd skipped out on this exploration.
"I... wouldn't... skip out... on an... exploration... for the world," Bandit heaved as he sat on a pile of leaves, trying to catch his breath.
"That's the spirit!" Said the boss as he gave Bandit a pat on the back. "Now, c'mon, let's get moving."
Bandit, the boss, and the co-workers began to walk deep into the woods.
"Now, boys," said the boss, looking back at the co-workers. "I've heard some scary rumors about this place. So keep your eyes peeled and activate those ears."
"W-What kind of rumors are we talking about?" Bandit stammered as his eyes darted left and right.
"There is a rumor that two unintelligible whispers are heard throughout these woods," the boss said, looking at the trees. "It is said that the whispers are the voice of the ancient beings that used to be here long ago. They called it, "The Voices Of Good And Evil."
"Why is it called that?" Co-worker number one asked.
"Because one of the ancient beings was good while the other was evil," the boss said in a low voice.
"Ah, dog biscuits," co-worker number three said as he rolled his eyes. "That's just an old fairytale that makes kids not go into the woods."
The boss stopped. "That's what they want to think, my friend." He said as he started walking backwards. When they finally reached their destination, Bandit immediately stood tall and still, waiting for the boss's command.
"Atta boy, Bandit!" The boss whispered, patting Bandit's back once more. "Alright, everybody, listen up!" He shouted as the four canines lined up beside Bandit. "Here is our base. Your job is to find interesting artifacts, like you usually do, and bring em' right back, got it?" The canines nodded their heads.
"Excellent, now go!" The boss ordered, and the dogs went their own separate ways, looking for old undiscovered artifacts.
Meanwhile, back at home, Chilli slowly made her way up the stairs, trying her best not to make as much noise as possible. When she reached the top, she walked down the halls as quiet as she could, trying not to make the floorboards creak.
"Aunt Chilli?" A small high pitched voice said from behind the red heeler. Chilli jumped and screamed. "Socks! What on earth are you doing out of bed?!"
Socks answered her with a sad tone in her voice. "My brain hurts..."
"Y-Your what?" A cold chill ran down Chilli's spine. "No, Socks, honey, it's just a headache, everybody gets one at some point."
"No, it's not a headache. I know what a headache feels like. Headaches come and go. But not this one..." Socks' voice went dark. "T-This one is directly inside my brain. It hurts. It's painful. It feels like fire! I-It's not going away!"
"Socks, honey, please listen to me," Chilli said frantically. "You're just overreacting, please calm down."
"HOW CAN I?!" Socks shouted loudly, the house rumbling in the process. Chilli and Socks went silent, both trying to process what had just happened.
"Mom?" Bluey emerged from Bingo's bedroom. "Is everything okay?" Chilli, still silent from Socks' actions, let out unintelligible stuttering noises.
"Y-Yes," was all that Socks could say in order to break the silence. When the answer was delivered, Socks immediately ran downstairs and booked it out the front door.
"S-Socks?! Wait, come back!" Chilli yelled as she tried to chase after Socks. But it was too late, Socks had already taken a sharp turn and had disappeared somewhere outside.