Chapter 5: Making New Friends
"Nathan? Wake up!"
I slowly stirred from my deep sleep as I heard a voice call out to me. As I came to consciousness, I felt a little weight on my stomach as I opened my eyes, blinking them to get rid of any sleep dust as my face was met with Bluey's with a smile on her muzzle.
"Come on, Nathan! It's morning!" Bingo urged as she stood by my side. I stretched and slowly sat up on my sleeping bag, the shifting of my stomach causing Bluey to roll backwards onto the floor, making her laugh before she and Bingo ran off out of the bedroom to get some breakfast. Getting out of my sleeping bag, I reached for my clothes and put them back on. During the process, I heard Bandit call out to me.
"Nathan, do you want cereal or oatmeal?"
"Oh, oatmeal should be fine, Bandit!" I called out in response before putting my shirt on. I could still see faint stains of dirt on my clothes so I'd need to get them washed soon. I rolled up my sleeping bag and put it at the foot of Bluey's bed before heading downstairs into the kitchen.
After filling myself with a bowl of warm oatmeal whilst Bluey and Bingo had cereal, I sat in the TV room and turned on the set. To my surprise, none of the TV shows or channels I was familiar with like MTV were anywhere in sight. Not on the guide or anything. Instead, every show I changed to was a variety of different programs all of which showed nothing but two legged dogs. My channel surfing didn't stop until I came across one that was currently showcasing what I could only assume was a news report with the anchorman… or rather anchorwoman was a husky in a grey cardigan facing the screen.
"And today's top story is quite the mystery here in Queensland as very recently, a wreckage of what appears to be a VLJ, or Very Light Jet plane was found deep in the forest near Lake Eacham was discovered. Witnesses believe that they saw an aircraft plummet from the sky and crash into the forest a few nights ago. As we speak, survivors that were on board this vessel have yet to be found and identified."
As the newscaster spoke, a photograph of the wrecked plane in question was shown in the background. Both wings were gone like they had been torn off the sides and the body was bent and crooked. On one side, there was a large gaping hole that showed nothing but darkness inside. That was then I remembered that dream I had yesterday. I began to mentally question whether or not if it really was a dream or if it was a memory I was experiencing. If that was the case, then… were those silhouettes my-
"Come on, Nathan!"
I was cut off from my train of thought at Bluey grabbed my wrist and tugged it, likely wanting me to follow her. I noticed that she had a backpack on her as I was given no chance to protest or ask why before I found myself being lead outside to the Heeler's car.
"Ah ah ah!" Bandit suddenly exclaimed before standing in front of Bluey, stopping her in her tracks. "You can't take Nathan to school, kid." Bandit said, shaking his head.
"Aww, why not?" Bluey asked, shrugging.
"Because I don't think your teacher will react well to seeing you or any of the other kids with a "human". Can't risk it." Bluey's father explained before going back into the house, calling out for Bingo.
"Bingo, we're going to be late, hurry up!"
"I am hurry up-ing!" I faintly heard Bingo reply from inside the house. I looked back down at Bluey who looked a little disappointed, as she stared at the ground before looking over at the car before perking up with an "Oooh!", implying that she had an idea before she lead me to the back of the car.
"Nathan? Do you know how to open the car back?" She asked as I looked at the car's trunk. "Well yeah, you just press this button." I said in a little obvious tone before pressing the aforementioned button as we both heard the trunk door unlock and it slowly lifted open.
"Okay, now get in!"
"Wait, what-?" Was all I could say before Bluey ushered me into the open car trunk and as soon as I was inside, she jumped up, just managing to reach and grab the trunk door and shut it.
"Alright Bluey, let's… Hey, where's Nate?" I heard Bandit from outside seconds after the trunk door was shut, the voice was slightly muffled. "Oh. Uhh, he went into the back garden!" Bluey quickly replied to which Bandit responded with an "Okay" before seconds later, I'd hear three of the car's doors click open before shutting less than a minute later. Only then afterwards did I feel the slight movement of the car rolling off the home driveway and off to wherever we were going.
It was maybe a few minutes before I no longer felt any movement within inside the trunk. A few more seconds passed when I heard the trunk door click before being lifted open, revealing Bluey as she grabbed my arm and pulled me out.
"Quick, hide behind those bushes!" Not wanting to risk getting Bluey caught, I ran straight in the direction she pointed me towards. As I did so, I glanced to one side to see what looked like a single floor building with a wooden patio at the front. The front garden had what appeared to be a small flume with a little pool of water at the end. The area surrounding it was abundant in trees and foliage as I noticed several other types of dogs heading to the said building, joined by larger versions of them. Was this place some kind of school? Regardless, I made my way to the small forest I was directed to and dove in through some hanging vines.
I grunted as I tried to pick and brush off some of the stray leaves that had gotten snagged onto my clothes whilst looking around. Above me were strings of purple leaves that hung like stalactites. Within the shadowed areas, I could see several boulders coated in moss. What I saw on the ground however blew me away.
It looked like a small village like one you'd find in a fantasy video game or a children's book. The buildings and landmarks appeared to be made of foliage, leaves and stones. I even noticed a little stream of water run across this miniature village. Whoever made this must've had a really big imagination. Maybe Bluey or one of the kids made it. After looking at the mini village for a little longer, I soon heard what sounded like children playing in the far distance as I peeked through the hanging vines to see some of the young dogs I had seen at the front of the building accompanied by many others, all of them playing different games or on some of the playground furniture such as the sandbox or swing sets.
"Come on, he's over here!"
The familiar voice of the young blue heeler caught my attention as I soon saw her approach my hiding spot, stopping at a distance from the vines.
"Okay, Nathan! Come and meet my friends!" Bluey called out to me. I hesitated a little given what Bandit had said to Bluey about trying to get me to come with her before slowly going out through the vines and I was met with not just Bluey but with four other dogs who were all about the same height as her, meaning that I easily towered over them as well.
One of them had the same bodily appearance as Bluey, pointed ears and a muzzle like hers. The main difference being red fur with the muzzle, inner ears, hands and paws being tan coloured and lastly they had a tan coloured diamond marking on their stomach.
The second was what I could only assume was a beagle with white starting from their stomach and ending in between their eyes at the front. The rest of their body being coloured in some kind of very light brown with their upper arms and legs being the same brown and their forearms and legs also white, starting at the elbows and knees. Their ears were a darker brown and lastly they wore a pair of glasses that looked to be of a seafoam green colour.
The third appeared to be a border collie, given that the fur on their neck and sides of their face were thicker and stuck out. Whilst most of their fur was black, the neck, muzzle and space between the eyes were white, alongside the forearms. Oddly, one leg started black at the thigh but had a white foot, the other leg was a reversal with a white thigh and a black paw One of their ears also seemed to hang limply over their head.
The fourth and last was more obvious to figure out. They were a Dalmatian with the typical white fur with a pattern of black spots with wide ears and the tip of their tail was black.
"H-Hello." I stammered out, trying to be as friendly as possible as the group of dogs, sans Bluey all just stared at me with their mouths open in shock. The Dalmatian's however was open with more of a smile. The beagle and the red dog both shared an anxious glance at each other, making me nervous as I was unsure how to handle such a situation when the Dalmatian slowly walked closer to me.
"Are… Are you a real human?!" The white spotted dog asked in amazement with a feminine voice that sounded a little older than Bluey's. I wasn't sure how to answer because of how unexpected that was. As far as I'm aware, none of the dog citizens in this world knew what a human was, and yet somehow, this young Dalmatian did.
"Chloe? You know what a human is?" Bluey asked with a raised eyebrow, thinking the exact same thing as I was as the Dalmatian referred to as Chloe responded with a nod. "My dad has a few books on what humans are! Apparently, there used to be humans living with us here a long time ago!"
Wait, seriously? Humans used to live in Bluey's world? Then how didn't Bluey nor her family know what a human was, let alone the basset hound I came across a few days ago? When Chloe said "A long time ago", did she mean like many years ago at an older period of time? If that was the case, then what happened to the humans who lived among the dogs that lead to such a species sounding nothing but alien to the dogs today?
"I think one of the books said that humans are just as smart as we are and lived just like us!" Chloe explained as I looked over at the other three dogs. The former nervousness the beagle and the red dog had of me was replaced now with growing curiosity upon hearing Chloe. The collie on the other hand was giving me a look that was anything but friendly. It was almost like his glaring expression was something along the lines of "I don't trust you.".
"Sooo… If humans actually lived here with us, then… why didn't we know what humans were. And where are they?" Bluey questioned looking around as Chloe put a hand to her mouth in thought. "I don't know. I asked my dad and he doesn't know either." Bluey looked at Chloe for a second before shrugging and turning back to me.
"Well, Nathan. These are my friends, Rusty, Honey, Chloe and Mackenzie!" The blue dog introduced me to the red dog, beagle, Dalmatian and collie respectively, Rusty waving to me with a small smile whilst Honey did the same, albeit a little more shy. Mackenzie however didn't wave, instead he just silently glared at me before walking away, which the others were quick to notice.
"What's wrong with Mackenzie?" Rusty inquired as he watched the aforementioned border collie continue walking away from us whilst the three girls' only response was to shrug.
"Oh yeah, did you see the fairy village me and Mia made?" Bluey asked me, pointing at the vines as I looked through them to see the mini village. "Oh, you made that? It's pretty cool, Bluey!" I complimented with a smile as I looked down to her, seeing her tail wag. "Mia helped me with it! The fairies who live there are off to make sure Mia's happy when she's in big school!" She explained to me. Mia must be a friend of hers probably older than her if the big school Bluey was referring to was maybe Elementary School.
"Ooh! Let's play human tree!" Bluey exclaimed excitedly. I playfully rolled my eyes before standing in a pose with my arms and one of my legs spread out as Bluey explained the rules to the three before she and Chloe were the first to go. As the two slowly climbed up along my body, I looked around but making sure not to move my head. In the distance I could see several other child dogs at some of the playground equipment or playing games like tag. Some of the few that were the closest to us seemed to notice me, also with unsure expressions on their faces before they slowly backed away from me. It was feeling Chloe's hand on my hair that brought me from my distraction as she cheered victoriously.
For the rest of the day, Bluey would introduce me to some of the other kids at the school including one who was an Afghan Hound with tan fur, the upper half of her head being light brown with fur resembling hair at a matching colour with green hair rings at the ends. Unlike every other two legged dogs I had come across, she actually wore some clothing which consisted of a brown vest bordered with a rainbow pattern and a necklace. She went by the name of Indy and judging by her appearance, she was probably a granola girl. And just like with Bingo, Rusty and Honey, they were also hesitant and anxious about me but with help from both Bluey and Chloe, they seemed to warm up to me a little. The only exception being a Shih Tzu known as Missy who seemed to be a little more shy towards me than Bingo.
It seemed like hours had finally passed as Rusty and I were now playing Barky Boats, a game where you take a piece of wood and place it at the top of the small flume and race it against another piece of wood released by your opponent. Rusty and I both watched as our pieces sailed down the road of water with my piece eventually reaching the end first, Bluey being at the bottom serving as a spectator.
"Nathan wins!" I smiled and even pumped a fist as Bluey announced me as the winner. Rusty and I then bumped fists as we both came over to Bluey and I was about to ask her what we should play next until I saw her looking ahead in a different direction with an unnerved look on her face, like she was caught doing something wrong and was about to get into trouble. My assumption came true as I turned my gaze to where Bluey was looking to see Chilli standing at the doorway to the school, her expression making it very clear that she was not happy.
"Aw crap..." I mumbled under my breath as I knew very well why she was here.
"Bluey Christine Heeler, you are in big trouble, young miss. Nathan, please come with me." I looked down at Bluey as her ears were folded back, no doubt dreading what the consequence was going to be. I began to feel guilty as we both slowly trudged behind Chilli whilst I looked behind and slowly waved to Rusty who waved back.
"I'm sorry!" Bluey exclaimed, her voice breaking in slight sadness and worry. We had just returned to Bluey's home after a silent drive from the school and now Bluey was enduring a scolding from Chilli for sneaking me to her school. How she had even found out was apparently that Bluey's teacher, Calypso had actually spotted me outside playing with the kids and had given Chilli a phone call, pressing her concerns about me.
"This is what happens when you don't listen to your father and do things you shouldn't do! Someone is probably going to get into trouble and be looked for!" Chilli explained, making it evident that she was referring to the fact that Calypso could potentially have either alerted authorities of my existence or had told the other kid's parents whom may have done the same and as a result, that probably meant I'd be hunted down by whatever was the dog equivalent of the police force or worse, even animal control.
"I just wanted Nathan to meet my friends..." Bluey mumbled sadly, looking down. I couldn't stand to see Bluey like this any more as I immediately stepped in.
"M-Mrs. Heeler, don't be angry at Bluey. It's my fault. I should've said "No" when she told me to get in the car's trunk… If my days here are numbered, then I brought this on myself." Chilli gave me a sympathetic look as I tried to defend her daughter.
"Nathan, I appreciate it but please don't blame yourself for this, honey." She then kneeled down to Bluey. "And I know, Bluey. But you just can't show Nathan to whoever you want."
"Why?"
"Because no one in this city knows what a human is. They don't know if he's a wild animal or not. And if someone sees him and they think he is a wild animal, it wouldn't be good for him." Chilli explained, her tone now being softer.
"But Chloe does." Bluey quickly pointed out as Chilli's eyebrows raised, she looked as if she wanted to ask how Chloe would know what a human was but decided to shrug it off for later.
"Yeah, but maybe only she knows. And it's five against hundreds. We have to keep Nathan safe and that involves making sure he doesn't come across anyone who might call a zoo or police, okay?"
Bluey looked back at me before nodding.
"...Okay."
Author's Note: WriterOfGod42, you have a good point. It probably would be wise just to have Nathan shirtless when sleeping from now on.
For everyone else in the room, I've officially launched a Wattpad page now. Goes under the same name, "JackCryo". I'll leave a link on my FanFiction profile.
