Chapter 2: Amnesiac

"Mum, can we go to the park later?" Bluey, a Blue Heeler, asked her mum, with a mouth full of food.

"Bluey, chew with your mouth closed! And yes, we can, after you and Bingo finish your brekkie." Chilli replied, she was a red Heeler with orange fur and a patch of brown fur over her right eye.

"Hooray!" Bluey and Bingo cheered. Bingo was a red Heeler like her mum, but without the brown and dark orange fur over both her eyes.

"Dad enters the room." The father said while entering the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee. His name is Bandit, and he has black fur over his eyes that, coincidentally, looks like a bandit mask, hence his name.

"Dad, are you coming with us to the park?" Bingo asked.

"Sure! I'll pack some sandwiches later so we can have lunch at the park!"

"Hooray!" Bingo and Bluey cheered.

"After you eat!" Chilli reminded them.

"Okay mum!" They both agreed.

The two young Heelers ate their brekkie, while Bandit packed some food and other supplies to have a little picnic at the park. About 30 minutes later they were ready, everyone got into the red family jeep and left the driveway. Shortly after, they made it to the park, After Chilli and Bandit helped their kids out of the car they both immediately ran onto the playground, while the other two Heelers took the picnic stuff out of the boot, and took a seat on one of the nearby benches.

Bluey and Bingo wasted no time deciding on what to go on first. They went around the whole place, taking turns on the swings, slides, monkey bars, and everything else the park had to offer the five and seven year old pups.

Eventually Bluey found the Whizzy Dizzy, she got on it and spun around a few times before getting dizzy, she fell off and landed on the ground. She was a little wobbly when she stood up and it took a few seconds for her eyes to stop making everything spin. She was about to play on something else, but she noticed a small dog lying on the ground in front of the woods where she, Bingo, Mackenzie, and her dad went to go to the creek.

"Hey, you wanna hear something funny Bingo said? So yesterday-" "Mum!" Chilli started to say but was interrupted by Bluey calling her name. The small blue Heeler ran up to her parents.

"What is it sweetheart?" Chilli asked.

"I think I saw someone by the woods alone."

"You did? Show me Bluey?" Chilli said, standing up and being led to where she saw the dog."

Shaun heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, but he didn't want to look at who was standing next to him, hoping that he was in some dream and would wake up soon.

"Are you okay?" Chilli asked him.

Shaun looked up and wiped a small leftover tear from his eye.

"I-I'm okay." He finally spoke, his voice a bit coarse.

"What are you doing here by yourself?"

"I was with my mom and uncle, but I can't remember where they are."

"Let's go ask the other dogs here, maybe you'll recognize them."

Shaun just nodded and Bluey helped him stand up. "Hi, I'm Bluey, What's your name?"

"My name is Shaun." Shaun said while wiping the dirt off him.

"It's nice to meet you Shaun, I'm Chilli, and don't worry, we'll find your family."

"Thank you, Chilli." he replied, Shaun managed to make a smile and even his tail wagged a bit.

Bluey went back to Bandit while Chilli and Shaun asked the other parents in the park if they knew the Husky or if they know if his family. Unfortunately, they didn't know him, and Shaun started to get sad again. They walked over to Bandit and Bluey. Bingo was also over there with him.

"Hey babe, any luck?" Bandit asked.

"No, no one knows him."

The whole time, Shaun was staring at the ground, he wasn't sad or upset, only a blank look across his face.

"Hey mate, What's your name?" Bandit asked with a kind voice.

He looked up to see him. "Shaun." He answered plainly.

"Hey Shaun, I'm Bandit. Are you hungry? You can have one of my sandwiches."

"No, I'm oka-" *grumble* Shaun started to say, but the sound of his stomach betrayed him.

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind. I need to lose the weight anyways ha-ha." Bandit joked. That managed to get a chuckle out of Shaun.

Everyone decided to eat their food and head home early, they talked and learned a bit more about Shaun. He was starting to feel better and after learning Bingo's name. They packed up their stuff and hopped back into the car.

Shaun had to sit between Bingo and Bluey, who were using their hands to jump over cars in the windows. Shaun was quiet during the drive. He didn't know what to say, so he just played with his hands, still trying to get used to only having four fingers instead of five. Bandit looked back at him from the rear-view mirror.

"I noticed you got a bit of different accent than us, are you from America?"

"I am, Mr. Heeler."

"Oh, you don't need to be so formal with me, just Bandit is fine. You're a long way from home."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"And you can just call me Chilli, okay Shaun?" The older red Heeler added.

Shaun nodded while Bandit noticed the husky wasn't really in the mood to talk so he decided to let him have his peace until he could talk to him later at home. Speaking of, they just arrived so he pulled into the driveway and parked the car.

"We're home!" Bandit shouted, Bingo and Bluey took a small nap in the car but after hearing their dad, they were happy to show Shaun their house. The two Heeler kids got out of the car and ran up to the door to wait for their parents.

"Would you like some help getting out Shaun?" Chilli asked.

"No, it's okay I can do it." Shaun said as he got out of the car without needing help.

"How old are you, Shaun?" She asked him.

"I'm eight, but I'll be nine in a few months."

"Ah, that's why you didn't need help, a big kid like you doesn't need it." Bandit playfully said as he walked by Shaun and ruffled the fur on top his head. Shaun didn't know how to react to that, but he soon felt happy for some reason. He smiled and walked up to the front door with Bandit and Chilli.

Bandit opened the door and everyone walked inside.

"Let's show Shaun the house!" Bingo exclaimed to Bluey.

"Yeah!" Bluey replied, she was about to grab Shaun to show him around but was stopped by Chilli

"Hang on now girls, me and Bandit want to talk to him for a bit before you all going running off."

"Aw, no fair!" Bluey complained while crossing her arms.

"It's totally fair, you can go play and we'll get you when we are done."

"Okay mum." Okay Mama." Bluey and Bingo said as they went upstairs.

"Why don't you talk a seat, Shaun?" Bandit said.

Shaun nodded and sat down in a chair in the living room while the two other Heelers took a seat on the couch.

"So, what state do live in or used to? Since you said you were from America?"

"I'm from Louisiana, Chilli."

"Wow, that's pretty far, what about your mum and uncle? Were they with you at the park?" Bandit asked.

"No, I had a dream about them last night, but I can't remember what they looked like." He still remembered some things about them, like being at his mom's house, however everything else was just a blur to him. He also left out the detail about him being a human as he didn't know the Heelers enough to tell them or if they would even believe him.

"Sounds like you have a bit of Amnesia."

"What's that?"

"It's when our minds forget some things, but it does go away, we just have to find out how to make you remember." Chilli explained.

Knowing that his own brain wouldn't let him know the two most important people in his life, really hurt him. Shaun felt his tears building up again, he didn't like crying this much.

Chilli noticed and got up to give him a hug. "It's okay Shaun, we'll find them, don't worry."

"You… really think so?" He spoke through the tears.

"Yeah, mate! I'm sure when they see you are gone, if they hadn't already, they can tell the police to put out a missing person's report for you." Bandit reassured.

"He's right, Shaun." Chilli said. "In the meantime, we have a spare bedroom you can stay in. Does that sound okay?"

Shaun broke away from the hug and looked at them. "Yeah, it does, thank you so much."

"It's no problem, By the way, do you know their names?"

"My mom is called Amy, and my uncle is called Rad."

Bandit's ears perked up. "Did you say Rad? That's my older brother's name." The big blue dog had an idea. "Do you want to talk to him? Maybe he can help jog your memory."

Shaun nodded. "Sure, it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Alrighty, I'll have to see when the next time he can come visit, he's busy pretty since he works on an oil rig."

"Why don't you go see what Bluey and Bingo are up to? I can start making dinner for later." Chilli suggested.

"And I'll go work on that room, we have been using it for storage so it's full of boxes."

"Okay Chilli and Bandit." Shaun went upstairs to join the kids, Bandit went to clean the spare room, and Chilli went into the kitchen.

Shaun looked around for them until he heard them in their playroom. When Bluey and Bingo saw him, they were really happy and showed him around the house. They started with the room they were in and showed him all the toys and plushies they had. Shaun was shocked to see them have so many. Next was their bedroom which they shared, which was right across the room Bandit was clearing out. They showed him their parent's room, where the bathroom was, the bathtub and shower, the kitchen, the veranda, and finally their backyard and the fish pond.

After showing him around Shaun was surprised that the house was so big. They played with their toys and also played a game called Keepy Uppy. Soon they were called to eat and everyone gathered around the dining table to eat prawns, Shaun was confused about the name until Chilli said they would be called shrimps back in America. He had never tried them before but after being shown how to eat them by Bandit, he slowly took a bite and chewed it. He really liked them, he ate all of his in ten minutes.

"Oops, sorry I guess I was a little hungry." Shaun said rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"It's okay Shaun, would you like some more?" Chilli asked.

"Yes please." He said, smiling and looking away.

Some time passed after dinner, and it was time for bed. Chilli had to fight with Bluey and Bingo to take their baths, but she managed to get them in the tub. Bandit showed Shaun his temporary room, he reassembled the old bed and reorganized the boxes to fit them in the corner.

"I know it isn't much, but hopefully you won't be staying here for long mate."

"Thank you, Bandit, and everyone else too."

"It's no problem, we couldn't just leave you in that park alone."

Shaun yawned and got comfy in the bed. Bandit walked to the door and looked at Shaun one more time. "Good night, Shaun, sweet dreams." He sleepily nodded before Bandit walked out. Chilli had already put Bluey and Bingo to bed and was already in her and Bandit's bed looking at her phone when the blue dog walked in.

"Hey babe." Bandit said, getting into bed with his wife and placing a kiss on her cheek. "What you looking at?"

"I'm looking at what can cause amnesia, some of these answers make me worry that something bad might have happened to him at home."

"Well, we don't know for sure."

"I know, but what if something tragic happened to him and talking with your brother brings those memories back?"

"He can't forget his family forever, if that does happen, we'll be here to comfort him the best we can."

"You're right my big blue." Chilli said placing a kiss back on his cheek.

Little did anyone know; Shaun's dream would be anything but sweet.