Chapter thirty-one: Slow Start To The Morning
The stillness held him together with the warmth that surrounded him. What had happened he didn't know.. When he fell asleep he hadn't a clue. What his last thought was before sleep he hadn't a care.. He simply wanted to bask in the peace that had overcome his physical body, restraining himself from thought so as not to wake the mostly peaceful mind with which he resided. Feeling as though he were just on the edge of blowing the whole thing, he quieted his own rising thoughts with a big breath and shifting positions for comfort. The motion of his body however seemed to kickstart his heart rate enough to get it thumping even slightly. And he could somehow hear it more in his ears than he'd like to.
He shifted again hoping that would fix the issue, but unfortunately it just fed the flame. He snuggled down and released another big cleansing breath and hoped it would start to reverse the effects. Whether it worked or not he couldn't quite tell yet.. However, he was still fighting to keep his mind clear. He thought he felt something shift away from his back and left a cool void, but then he started to realize that the empty space felt like it'd been empty for a while. The surface of the soft thing beneath him sunk in slightly, as he felt a shadow fall over him.
"I wonder if Ryder and the pups are up yet." As soon as this thought formed internal words, he instantly cursed himself as he already started to feel more awake. His awareness kept growing and he dreaded it more and more every moment.
He inhaled as he pushed his shoulders up. His eyes opened and he closed them abruptly with how bright it ended up being. Turning his upper half onto his side so he could lean on his left shoulder, he rubbed an eye with his right paw. The heaviness of sleep made him stay put, dropping his paw next to his face and he kept his eyes closed, not even desiring to get up or even be awake at all. Part of him still hoped that if he lay there long enough, sleep would come back to rescue him. And take him back to that blissful slumber he had been craving for so long.
As he lay there though he began to hear more sounds.. Quiet as they could be, it still gave him the sense of a presence among him that meant he was not alone. Yet he was not afraid or concerned as to who it might be.. Despite a very slight curiosity about it as well.
Still the soft taps and pads kept coming at occasional intervals, quite random to say the least. But when the elevator doors opened, he knew the jig was up.
Ryder stopped and turned around when he heard a groan behind him. Chase was just shifting himself back onto his stomach so he could hold himself up with his paws and rub an eye with one of them.
"Hey.." the boy greeted, coming over to him. He knelt down when he reached the mattress bed, as the pup leaned his head on his cheek over his paws, facing him. "How'd you sleep?"
"Solidly.." Chase replied. "And I still feel exhausted.."
"Probably because it was so late when you went to bed." Ryder figured. "Even with the little catnap on the way home."
"Wish it were a power nap.." the German Shepherd sighed.
"I know.." Ryder nodded understandingly. "Just.. take your time.. Ok? No one says you have to get up now.."
"Ok,.." Chase replied, yawning deeply. "I'll catch up with you guys later.."
"Sure.." Ryder said, then got up to proceed down the elevator, leaving the pup alone in the silence at last.
xxxx
"So who's running point today, since Chase is getting committed?" Chester was asking, as Ryder reached the ground level.
"Probably me.." Rayla figured, shrugging. "But Ryder's the ultimate deciding factor here, so probably him."
"Yeah, but we all know there's almost always a secondary command on most missions.." Chester reasoned. "And Chase usually takes that post alot of the time.. But.."
"As long as it's not me, we've got it made." Skyler mentioned. "I don't know how Chase does it. He's always so calm, cool and collected.. I'd be lucky not to lose my brain in a busy situation like a rescue." The smooth swagger of Skyler's tone as she mentioned the 'calm, cool, and collected part' was quite humorous even to Ryder. But he had to admit the substantial truth that there was to it.
"What do you think, Ryder?" Snowflake asked curiously.
All the pups looked when Snowflake brought attention to their newly arrived leader.
"When did you get here, dude?" Zuma wondered.
"Just a few moments ago." Ryder replied, approaching them. "And I'm not sure.. I guess we'll just have to see what the damage looks like, now that we have daylight. We'll probably need all Paws on deck.. Official Paws that is.. Sorry Pals.."
"No problem." The four non-members replied brightly.
"We'll be able to keep ourselves busy while you guys are gone." Skyler figured glancing among her friends.
"Especially, if we have Chase to keep an eye on." Tiny added.
"We'll join you. We're not on the team, and the more eyes the better," Brian reasoned.
"Unless we're still calling in that backup I mentioned." Rayla spoke up, sending a questioning look over at Ryder, who nodded.
"I'll give them a call now, while I have a moment," the boy said, taking out his pup pad and walking away.
"Backup? Like Everest and Tracker?" Snowflake questioned. "We might have to use Ultimate Rescue vehicles to clean up the mess."
"Not exactly.." Rayla shook her head. "Different kind of backup.. But, yes, we may need to use the ultimate vehicles for this one."
"Especially for getting things fixed and/or rebuilt.." Chester figured. "Like that cell tower for example."
"And reinforcing that ledge, so the whole mountainside doesn't just crumble when we help rebuild that storage building that was there.." Rocky added.
"Exactly." Chester agreed, gesturing a paw at him.
"Yeah, that would be bad!" Ned stated.
"I just hope the backup gets here before we need to leave," Snowflake said with slight concern.
"I could drive-" Ned began, before he was interrupted.
"NO!" Snowflake, Melody and Brian snapped at their light gray and white husky brother.
"Don't even think about touching a PAW on any vehicles! Your little zig-zag yesterday proves you can't drive!" Snowflake countered angrily.
"I was going to say drive- I mean fly my skydiving parachute to see if there's anything you need to see before getting to the wreckage," Ned offered.
"Skye can do that. She's our flying pup!" Snowflake responded matter-of-factly.
"Yeah,.. That's why we have a flying pup.." Marshall reasoned. "Also,.. If someone were to just parachute down.. We wouldn't be able to avoid the crash if there's nowhere to land safely. Not a safe option."
"Yeah. Remember when you tried to use a bed sheet to parachute off the roof and landed in the rose bushes?" Snowflake reminded Ned.
"How was I supposed to know a bed sheet doesn't have enough surface when it fills with air? I thought if I can make a bubble out of it, then the sheet was a safe parachute! I was three at the time! I know better now!" Ned exclaimed defensively.
"Let's just work on getting out there first and then we'll decide how to proceed." Rayla suggested.
"Good idea, But I bet Ryder's got a plan that you can organize, since Chase won't be." Marshall shrugged.
"Speaking of Chase.. What are we doing with him?" Chester asked. "We are gonna at least let him know we're leaving right?"
"Of course we are.." Ryder confirmed, appearing from seemingly nowhere. "I just made arrangements.. For now.. It'll just be the PUP Pals and Snowflake's siblings until they arrive."
"You mean who I think you mean, right?" Chester asked, earning him a look from Rayla.
"You read my mind." She said, then both turned to look at Ryder.
"I think you're both thinking right." Ryder smiled. "You pups gear up, while I go tell him."
"When who arrives, Ryder?" Melody asked curiously.
"I think I know who. You'll meet them soon!" Snowflake said, happily with a smirk.
"You mean Santa? No, too early. But who else.. Oh yeah," Ned guessed until he remembered.
"Who's coming, Ned?" Brian questioned.
"Sorry Brian, I won't tell. No spoilers," Ned apologized.
"Don't worry, it'll be a good surprise." Skyler snickered, intrigued by their desire to keep it a mystery.
"Just some other friends we know." Tiny told them subtly.
"Okay," Brian and Melody agreed.
xxxx
Ryder came back out of the elevator to find Chase still asleep, and just by the look of it he was sound asleep. The boy regretted to do what he was about to, but knew it was important enough.
He came over and took a knee, he rubbed the pup's back to rouse him awake. And when his eyes opened moments later, he whispered into his ear.
"The team and I are headed off to clear the wreckage and fix the crash site. You can sleep in for a while, but the remaining non-team members will be downstairs if you need them. Billy will be here a little while later too."
"Oh.. *deep yawn* ok.." Chase sighed, his voice barely audible as his eyes closed and he snuggled back down again. Ryder patted the pup's back once more before standing up and leaving him in silence.
xxxx
"Ok, Chase knows we're leaving," Ryder announced, when he came back out of the Lookout. "How much he understood about that, I don't know; but he'll be fine. I have the feeling Billy will be here before he even gets up."
"Sounds about right." Chester nodded in understanding. "He'll know what to do."
"Yeah," Snowflake said happily. "So should we head to the crash site now?"
"Is everyone ready to go?" The boy asked.
"Locked and loaded, Ryder sir!" Chester and Rayla answered up, the meeting of their glance was comedic in that Chester's gaze held a knowingness and Rayla's gave off a look of confusion or surprise.
"Dude, you're so predictable." Chester answered her unasked question. "Also that's kinda sorta similar to something I always say."
"You and Chase both, dude." Zuma chuckled.
"Well he is my brother," the German Shepherd reasoned, shrugging.
"Anyway.." Rayla sighed. "Let's move out, team. See ya later, guys!"
"Bye!" The PUP Pals called, as they began to drive off.
"Stay safe out there!" Skyler added quickly.
"Let us know if you need anything!" Brian called out, as the team drove off. The husky siblings then turned around and headed into The Lookout.
"So what should we do until our surprise guests arrive?" Brian wondered.
"Leave Chase alone for one thing!" Melody replied.
"Maybe we can play some fun new games while we wait." Skyler suggested. "We could exchange stories about our homes and lives.. Get to know each other better."
"You wanna add braiding your fur to that too." Tiny hinted sarcastically, a little displeased by the border collie's enthusiasm.
"Oooo, we could!" Skyler gasped. "If we really wanted to."
"No! We don't! I was kidding!" Tiny declined, shaking his head. "And most of us,.. which I guess I would only be the girls, don't all have fur long enough for that."
"Oh you're right.." Skyler realized. "I mean, My hair is, since we tested that when some girl at the Zoom-It Dog races braided my fur all along my body to try and make me more streamlined. It didn't work, but it was an interesting experiment. Buuut I guess not everyone can achieve that.. Neither do we have a pair of hands to help us with that."
"Exactly." Tiny monotoned bluntly, his eyes narrowing dryly as his shoulders dropped.
Melody's eyes widened and she let out a big audible gasp
"Did you say braiding our fur?! YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!" Melody exclaimed before running around with excitement.
After a minute of running, she stopped.
"Sounds like fun. I used to get my fur braided with the grandkids or when at the pet salon!"
"No thank you!" Brian and Ned quickly declined.
"Braiding is more for you lady pups. Although, I have thought about getting my fur turned into a Mohawk.." Brian stated.
"What for? To look like a furry porcupine? No thanks! Not my style!" Ned commented.
"Whatever works for you, brother," Brian said casually.
"Ehh, I'm not really the girly type." CiCi shrugged. "But a good grooming is kinda nice,.. minus the styling part of course."
"Awww come on, that's the best part!" Skyler complained dramatically.
"Well since none of us are that dressy,.." Tiny mentioned, "which mainly equates to the girls among us.. Let's tailor the fun to all of our tastes please?"
"Like Truth or Dare? Or getting to know each other?" Ned asked.
"Yeah like that,.. though knowing you, I don't think I would ever ask for a dare." Tiny mentioned, slightly uneasily. "Especially Ned."
"True," Melody agreed.
"Well, have any questions for us?" Brian asked.
"I have one. Tiny, is it fun or tricky to play in the snow?" Ned asked curiously.
The chihuahua froze, as though either taken aback or not sure how to respond.
"Uhhh, depends on how much snow is on the ground." He decided to say. "If there's not much then sure it can be fun. But if it's like what we have out there right now which is a lot, then no, it's kind of annoying."
"Okay," Ned said, satisfied.
"Your turn, PUP Pals," Melody offered.
"Hmmmmm.." Skyler thought for a long time. "Wellll.." And the group wondered what she'd come up with for a question.
Hey guys! We are back and ready to rumble! The name was a little rocky(pun intended), but fine by me!
Chase's exhaustion is so understandable and I LOVE it! BD
The conversation regarding chain of command was funny. Especially Skyler's two-sense! XD
But anyway what we set out to do worked, and we are still on track to maintaining our schedule! Yay! Thanks everyone for sticking with us on this wild adventure and we'll see you next week! Thx!
