Chapter twenty-three: Trail Blazer!

The icy wind surged past them and it was a rather exhilarating feeling. The power beneath him thrilled his inner daredevil and he wanted to push it faster. However, he tempered himself for the sake of the promise he made and also the pup on the end of his tow cable.

"You good back there?!" Chester called back to CiCi.

"Hanging in there.. Woah!" CiCi dodged something in her path as Chester veered slightly.

"Woo!" Jumping off the slant of a half buried log seemed to build just a little more confidence into the wolfie.

"Stick with us, Chess." Rayla advised catching back up again. "If someone wipes out we gotta be in ear and eye shot so we can all stop to help."

"I'm trying, believe me I am!" Chester swore. "I- woah!" He turned sharply and CiCi was thankfully able to lean herself over enough to miss the tree that was in their path.

"Let's slow it just a bit so we don't lose each other.." Chester suggested, easing back on the controls. Falling back slowly the two vehicles rejoined the three tailing behind them.

"Dudes! This is awesome!" Zuma howled. "Chase would love this!"

"He would.." Rayla agreed. "Let's be sure to take him out sometime when he's cleared to drive again!"

"This is awesome! Wahooooo!" Brian exclaimed, as he weaved around the trees and rocks that were in his path.

"Not for everyone! Woah!" Ned called out, as he barely missed a log in his line of sight.

"Why are there so many trees?! Does the path feel narrow to anyone else?" Melody shrieked, as she tried her best not to smash into the army of wood and branches that surrounded her.

"This is the woods.." Chester reasoned. "But this isn't even the thickest part. We wouldn't even be able to maneuver this well in the thicker places.. that's why we're staying in the thinner forested areas. It's like the bunny run on a ski slope.. The easiest one of them all."

"I don't think that's the best comparison.. Hu-ah!" Skyler jumped another bump in the path hoping Melody would be able to avoid a crash herself.

"Huh? Ah! Aaaaaahhhhh!" Melody said in confusion before hitting the bump and flying through the air- before safely landing back on the snow. "That.. was close!"

"Nice work!" Skyler called.

"Yeah, totally radical air time, dude!" Zuma smiled, racing in line with the husky before punching it a bit faster.

"Thanks? I wasn't planning on flying up then landing!" Melody thanked, happy that she was safe.

"Well you still handled it.." Tiny mentioned. "And that's pretty impressive all the same."

"Totally!" Chester agreed.

"Yeah," Melody agreed.

They came to a thicker part of the woods forcing them to split off briefly to evade the thicker trees. But thankfully they were able to rejoin each other when it thinned out again.

"Ok so not completely thinner than some areas." Chester reasoned. "What direction now, navigator?"

"Veer right." Skye instructed. "There's a vast stretch of open ground out there that we can go to get a break from all these trees, rocks and logs."

"Perfect! Maybe then we can give it some more gas!" Chester reeled, picking up speed slightly, inclining the others to follow.

"As long as we don't spin out of control!" Brian advised.

"Relax! As long as you stick to your line and maintain your balance and control, you'll be fine." Chester replied easily.

xxxx

Everyone jostled for position as they came out into the open, like they weren't expecting the trees to just suddenly stop coming.

"Wah-hoo!" CiCi howled as Chester began to build up more speed.

"See? Told you this was gonna be sweet!" Chester turned back for a second to shout this at her as he leveled off once again at the faster pace.

"Flat open ground? I'm in!" Rayla smiled, punching it a bit faster. Marshall, Zuma and Skye were contending for the next lead. However, Zuma prevailed over them and was coming up between Rayla and Chester.

"Heads up, dudes, I'm coming through!" He announced proudly.

"We'll see about that!" Rayla smirked, pushing her vehicle forward.

"You said it! But ya gotta catch me first!" Chester teased, still hanging on to the lead by a full snowmobile length.

"How's it going back there guys?!" Marshall called back to their snowboarders.

Hollers and cheers whooped with joy even if some were not quite as thrilled by the adrenaline rush of polar speed.

"AAAAALLLLLRRRRIIIIIGGGHHHHTTTT! WAHOOOOOOOOO!" Brian screamed as he enjoyed the fast rush the extra speed gave him. That or it was the adrenaline.

"WE'RE GOOD! OH WOW! WE'RE REALLY GOING FAST!" Ned pointed out as he carefully watched the space he had, trying not to wipe out.

"WOAH! WOOOAAAAAAHHHH! DON'T TANGLE US PLEASE! OH GOSH! OH GOSH! OH GOSH!" Melody exclaimed apprehensively, as she watched how close she was to her siblings as they sled from behind.

"You got this, Mel!" Skyler called. "Just stay calm and enjoy the ride! Marshall, we might need to temper the power a little bit."

"You got it," the fire pup replied. "And in fact.. Look!"

The border collie squinted to see when she noticed the greenish wall approaching quickly.

"Oh the woods are starting back up again." Skyler realized. "Nice."

"Killer timing!" Tiny nodded, with a smirk.

"Uhh, can we not throw that kind of language around?" Kylie asked nervously, beginning to slide sideways one way then the other way before straightening out again.

"And throwing it is any better?" Tiny teased.

"You know what I mean," the cocker sighed.

"Alright time to back off on the zip, trees almost upon us." Chester called.

"Okay, thanks!" Melody said in appreciation.

"Also, no crashing please!" Ned commented as he tried to balance while Kylie straightened out her snowboard.

"No throwing either! We're supposed to be having fun, not go flying!" Brian clarified.

"Flying is fun." Skye reasoned. "But only if it's being done safely."

"Exactly!" All three husky pups agreed simultaneously.

XXXX

"So Rocky and Rubble, how are we doing so far? We've been decorating the higher branches for a while," Snowflake commented, as she looked up to her two friends putting ornaments on the upper parts of the Christmas tree.

"I think we might actually be done." The mixed breed replied, sliding back down the ladder and then gazing up to admire their work.

"It looks great!" Snowflake agreed, as she looked at the now completely decorated tree.

"Now all we gotta do is put the star on top." Rubble announced, lifting the large tree topper up with his crane and carefully positioning it securely on the very point of the tree.

"Good, we're done! So, what do you guys want to do now?" The husky pup asked as she waited for Rubble to get out of his rig.

"I don't know." Rocky shrugged.

"We figured you had a plan.." Rubble also shrugged.

"Ummm... We could take a break or bake some cookies?" Snowflake suggested, unsure what activity would be best.

"Either of those sound good." Rocky agreed quickly, his tail wagging excitedly.

"Especially the part when we bake the cookies so we can eat the cookies." Rubble added, eagerly.

"Of course, Rubble. But we don't want to eat them right out of the oven; eating cookies that burn your mouth is no fun!" Snowflake agreed cautiously.

"Hahaha,.. well yeah that's true." Rubble chuckled.

"How about we take a quick drink break, then head inside to make the cookies?" Rocky suggested.

"Sounds good to me, let's go!" The bulldog complied, and the three of them bounded toward the Lookout, with Ryder somewhat in tow.

Once inside, Snowflake turned to Ryder.

"Could you help us with the cookies please? Putting a pan into the oven with our mouths seems dangerous," Snowflake asked the boy.

"Of course." Ryder confirmed.

Rocky and Rubble were happily drinking from their water bowls as Ryder strode off again, only lifting their heads when they felt satisfied from their quenched thirst.

Snowflake went to her water bowl, and drank from it. After a minute, she lifted her head and watched Ryder for a moment.

"Weird for it to be so quiet in here." Rocky mentioned, breaking the silence. "Lately, more than usual, with all the pups we have visiting right now, things have been much busier around here."

"Yeah. It's almost like a ghost town in here.. Gotta stop listening to Ned.." Snowflake observed, before trying to get herself out of the thought.

xxxx

Ryder wandered out the back door and found the other activity going on out there.

"How's he doing?" The boy asked, coming up behind Billy, who was watching something intently in front of him.

"Getting there," the man replied, turning back to him briefly, then continued to supervise.

Peering past him, Ryder could see what Chase was working on. Laid on his back, he braced his forepaws to the block mechanism set up above him. He would push it up away from him and then relax down again at an even pace. Thankfully there were blocks set on either side of him, to keep the weight from dropping right onto him. However at this time, they could tell by his pause that he was breathing a bit heavy with the fatigue beginning to set in.

"Am I done yet," the pup breathed.

"Almost," Billy told him. "Just a few more and then we'll move on."

Chase just groaned and forced himself to keep going.

"Sounds like you've got things handled here." Ryder mentioned.

"Yup." Billy replied, smiling back at him. "Come on, you got this, Little C.."

"Well, keep up the good work, guys." Ryder shrugged, turning to leave.

"You know it." Billy nodded, watching Chase carefully.

When Ryder entered the Lookout once again he looked around for the three pups he'd left there. Then hearing a noise, he followed it around the elevator to find them.

"Oops." The three pups stared at the spilled flour, then looked up to find Ryder standing there.

"Uh,.. sorry Ryder.." Rubble apologized.

"I uh.. who put that flour there?" Rocky asked, still staring at it.

"We got it out to make cookies, remember?" Snowflake reminded him, with a quizzical look.

"I know, but when did it get there?" The mixed breed clarified.

"Hehe.. My bad, sorry, Rocky." Rubble apologized awkwardly.

"It's ok." Ryder chuckled. "We can clean this up in no time."

"Besides.. I guess we're probably gonna get plenty dirty when we start making them anyway." Rocky supposed, and in the back of his mind he hoped they wouldn't get dirty enough to need a bath.

"Yeah, but we'll be careful," Snowflake added with a smile.

"I hope so." Rocky shuddered.

"So what kind of cookies are we making?" Ryder asked, however his smile faded when he only found confused looks among them, then the two PAW Patrol pups locked eyes on Snowflake.

"Christmas cookies of course! You know, trees, stars and festive frosting. Also, even if we get messy it won't be that hard to clean up. What did you think we were making? jalapeno, lemon, and jelly bean cookies? No thanks!" Snowflake replied jokingly.

"So just plain sugar cookies? Got it." Ryder figured. "I'll go grab the recipe."

"What were you doing before?" Rocky wondered in confusion.

"Checking in on Chase and Billy." Ryder replied, as he was walking away. "They're keeping busy."

"Good, he needs that." Rubble decided. Then the doors opened and in came Billy and the pup in question.

"Hi Billy. Hi Chase. You two alright? Poor Chase looks like he ran a big race or something!" Snowflake greeted, seeing their friends come inside.

"Ugh, I feel like I did." Chase sighed, desiring to just melt onto a pillow.

"You ain't felt nothing yet." Billy replied, to the German Shepherd. "I was going easy on you."

"Easy?!" Chase sighed. Trudging forward he found his water bowl, thankfully full of water, and began to drink.

"After this we'll get you loosened up and then you can sleep." Billy decided. "And we can also have Ryder check your eyes too, while we're at it."

"Check Ryder's eyes? Why? What did you do, a staring contest," Snowflake asked Billy with confusion.

"Wait what?" Rocky asked, cocking his head at the husky's comment.

"I'm confused." Rubble agreed.

"Not Ryder's eyes.." Chase sighed, after finishing drinking and licking away the escaping drops. "Mine.. concussion check."

"Oh, okay. Sorry," Snowflake apologized, her cheeks glowing pink with embarrassment.

"Why?" Chase wondered, a bit confused. Then a presence appeared next to him, which ended up being Ryder who picked him up and laid him on his back gently. He'd set the book he had with him on the floor next to him, and when he had laid Chase down he turned and slid the book toward Rocky, who caught it with one paw so they could watch the boy for a second.

Flicking his penlight across both eyes, Chase squinted slightly until the light was taken away again.

"He's looking good." Ryder decided, putting the light into his pocket. "How's your headache?"

"Better, I guess," the pup replied thoughtfully. Then Billy took his right fore and hind paws and rolled the German Shepherd toward him onto his side. He positioned him so he lay flat on his belly with his paws spread out. Then with fisted hands, he rolled each hand up the pup's spine from his hips up to his shoulders. And to their surprise the further up he went, the more crackling they heard. So much so that Chase laid his head between his paws about halfway up his back.

He decided to press into the space between the shoulders just a bit harder, which made Chase grunt, but the pop was worth it. Then taking him up at the shoulders he massaged the shoulders in a firm circular motion like he had done before. And again resistance was met here, however not enough to stop. And the longer it went on, the less Chase seemed to fight his touch. His head lay cockeyed to the left and he would grunt occasionally with the firm touch that would push his shoulders forward gently. But again, he did not refuse this type of treatment at all.

"I can't tell if that feels good,.. or not.." Rocky mentioned turning to his friends with a slight frown.

"Well he's not trying to get away from him." Rubble supposed, shrugging.

"Yes, but he still could resist if he wanted to," the mixed breed reasoned.

"Maybe it feels slightly good, but if he tried to get away Billy and Ryder wouldn't let him so he's just accepting the treatment?" Snowflake guessed as she watched.

"Ouch!" Chase recoiled when he found the spot that popped more painfully, even if it didn't hurt enough for a vocal response.

"Sorry.. we'll work on that spot.. the massage will loosen it up and hopefully free up the building fluid sitting there, causing the stiffness and pressure. That'll prevent the swelling and allow the weak muscles more room to contract and move; which will build their strength back up again."

Billy allowed Chase to laid back against his chest, so he could relax while the man massaged the front of his shoulder joints with his strong forefingers.

"I wonder if Chester and the others are staying out of trouble out there." He mentioned, staring up at nothing in thought.

"They're probably having a good time. Wait, what fluid are you talking about?" Snowflake responded.

"When you sprain a part of your body, a fluid builds up in that area to act as a cushion for the injured area." Billy replied, simply. "It's the body's response to trauma while the antibodies and blood cells arrive to fix the damaged tissues. However as the wound heals the fluid can sometimes stay there, which causes pain and stiffness. And makes it hard to move. And when you are able to work those muscles it forces the fluids to disperse throughout the area to make movement easier and promote strength building in those muscles. That's why heat and cold packs are used alternatively before and after therapy, to relieve pain and reduce swelling so that movement can become a bit easier."

"Okay. Is the fluid like ear wax or Jell-O?" the husky pup asked, trying to better understand the concept.

"Um,.. I'm not sure, but I would imagine since our bodies are 60% water or so, I would think it would be liquidy like that," Billy figured. "The fluids around the injury are usually so deep that you rarely see them. But that's why moderate and progressive exercise is recommended after an injury like this, because dispersing the fluids through muscle movements allows for the muscles to heal and strengthen with time. As long as you don't over do it too quickly."

"No problem there." Chase sighed, sinking into Billy's hands a little more. Billy just chuckled, then placing a hand up across Chase's chest to support him he stood up and walked the ragdoll of a pup over to the pillows and set him down. As soon as he was down and settled though the German Shepherd never moved.

"You shouldn't have to be too quiet.." Billy figured. "He'll probably conk right out here in a little bit and won't hear a thing."

"Looks like you really tired him out." Ryder smiled.

"Not too hard at this stage of the game, but hopefully the more we work on him the less wiped out he'll be; which is what we want." Billy informed them, watching the still pup. "How's his mood been?"

"Better, but he's still a little flat." Ryder admitted.

"Don't worry, once he's not so worn down he'll perk back up.." the Prescott man assured him. "He did the last time."

"I sure hope so." Ryder agreed, which earned him a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be back tomorrow or the next day." Billy told him. "Just let me know when you feel like he's recovered from today."

"He'll probably bounce back by tomorrow." Ryder shrugged. "He usually does."

"Just let me know." Billy replied, reciprocating the shrug.

"Sure thing." Ryder nodded, then Billy headed for the door.

"Ok pups," the boy began again. "Sorry about that.. let's get to baking."

"That's okay, Ryder. But yes, let's start baking," Snowflake said sympathetically.

Then opening the book, they found the right page and began to follow it.

Heyo! And now we're kicking it into high gear!.. Well sort of.. We're behind a couple chapters, cause I've been gearing up in a different way. I'll try not to slack off too much with this story, but of course there are no guarantees.

But with that said, what fun! The snowmobile idea was really fun and unique and part of me hopes that the show would also explore this possibility, since they haven't yet. Idk, maybe that's just me. All the same I hope you enjoyed and we'll see you next time! Thx!