Chapter fifty: Sleigh Ride!
"Is Jett okay now or still sick?" Ned asked cautiously.
"He's hanging in there," Frank said. "But he's not out of the woods yet. We have high hopes that he'll pull through just like Chase did, and start to get strong enough to fight the infection."
"We figured Chase giving him a name might help encourage the little guy to keep fighting.. Knowing someone cares about whether he lived or not," Billy told them quietly, then noticed the book sitting nearby.
Kneeling beside it, he touched a hand to the page, barely caressing it to look at the pictures adhered to it..
"He's reminiscing.." he said, lifting his eyes to the distraught pup staring out the window.
"Did we do something wrong?" Melody asked Frank, her ears going down as she feared they had upset Chase again.
"Sweetheart, I'm not sure anyone really had to do anything," The old man clarified, their eyes all naturally landing on the shepherd in question.
"Oh. I just didn't want him upset with us," Melody said softly to Frank, her face showing a mixture of sadness and sympathy.
"Fortunately he's not alone.." Billy smiled, turning to the pups. "Nor does he wanna be."
Then Chester began to advance and others worked up the courage to follow along. He came to sit next to his brother and nudged his shoulder gently.
"He's gonna be ok, little bro.." he told Chase. "I'm sure of it. You're living proof of that."
"Not every story has a happy ending, Chess." Chase reminded him. "And not every similar situation turns out the same."
"No, but they have turned out ok most of the time.." Chester returned. "And I'm willing to believe for the good rather than to dread the worst."
"Chess is right. If you can live, other pups can too. That's something positive to know," Snowflake added.
"Besides, whoever said a soldier just gives up." Rayla supposed, placing a paw on his shoulder from his other side. "If he's anything like you, he's built to last.."
Chase gave her a weird look, but she could tell his gears were turning this over and processing her words carefully.
"Thanks.." he smiled finally. "I hope he's just like me.. maybe that'd mean my stubborn nature isn't always a bad thing. I'm just trying not to imagine the possibility that he might not make it.. even though I know that's only a small possibility given the track record for this kind of thing.. it's happened many times before, but if Rayla's got it right, which she probably does, this might just be the thing that saves his life." He turned to make eye contact with her, smiling softly. "Like it did mine.. I'm ok believing for that too."
"Glad to hear it, pal." Billy smiled.
"Now on a different note.." Maggie spoke up, "Chase, we were able to hook you up with your special request." He didn't need her subtle point to let him know what she meant cause he immediately got up and ran outside which started the flood of pups to follow. When Chase left the group, the pups closed in to take his place.
"Umm.. for what?" Skyler wondered, looking among her friends curiously.
"Special request?" Ned asked, not knowing what was going on.
"I have no clue!" Snowflake responded, shaking her head.
They all ran outside but there was no sign of Chase.
"Huh? Chase?" Melody called out.
"Is this a secret surprise?" Brian wondered.
"Where'd he go?" Skye asked.
"Who's ready.." The voice of Chase instantly earned their glance at the bed of the Prescott's truck where he soon appeared with something jingly hanging off his neck a bit cock-eyed. "For an early sleigh ride!?"
"You brought a sleigh? Like a toboggan?" Brian asked. "Didn't we do that days ago?"
"Not like this, you haven't." Chase replied, preparing to jump down with the harness not even on right, but as he jumped Maggie's hands reached out and caught him. And when he looked up, she smiled and set him back on the bed of the truck to pull the chest piece up across his shoulders properly so she could start securing the other straps.
"I hope you don't mean the truck! Not even I would try to pull a truck by myself!" Ned said with hesitation.
"No silly, I'm not that strong," Chase replied, rolling his eyes humorously when Maggie set him down on the ground level and jostled the straps at his back to settle everything more naturally in place. "We got these back out when I was hanging out at the ranch yesterday."
"How big a sleigh are we talking?" Tiny asked, cocking his dubious glance curiously.
"Well, I guess it's not exactly a sleigh.. Per se.." Chase wavered, then Maggie brought something off the truck bed and hitched it to the chainlink tow line on Chase's shiny leather harness. So that when she stepped aside, they saw the simple 1-1 inch wooden board planks on the thin, but sturdy metal frame of an older sled model. Complete with brightly shined runners that clearly bore the scratches of both age and use, but still seem very well maintained.
"Wow!" Brian, Snowflake, Ned, and Melody said in awe.
"Wait, how do you know it's still in good condition? We wouldn't want it to fall apart while riding it," Brian pointed out cautiously.
"Dad has kept them well maintained, I assure you." Maggie told them, taking pleasure in their caution.
"Good," Brian said with relief.
"Yep,.. and they've survived through my kids.. and then some pups.." Frank's eye contact with the two shepherds highlighted his meaning, which made the pups smile.
"And besides we were pulling full feed bags yesterday, so if we can hold that on these things, we can totally pull you guys," Chase added. "Plus it's part of my therapy.." The sag of his head gave them an illusion of slight distaste, but his slight smile still poked through with an anticipation that still remained in him.
"I think only two or three of you can fit at a time," the old man figured, "That depending on which pups hop on.. For example.. If three smaller pups went on it.." his hand gestured toward the smaller side of the conveniently segregated group. "It'd be much more doable than three of you bigger pups. Case and point.. the balance needed to stay on,.. the structural soundness of sled,.. and the capable but not completely error-proof shepherds.. Even the one that's not in therapy."
"Hey!" Chase and Chester complained.
"Can either of you completely prevent accidents?" Frank countered, looking them both over with a knowing smile.
"*sigh* no.." They replied flatly.
"That's what I figured," Frank nodded. "That being said, these boys are the best there is.. They can adjust and make sure everyone stays as safe as possible. And I should know I trained them myself."
"I think you mean we trained them." Maggie corrected, ruffling Boomerang's fluffy neck from where she knelt beside him.
"Alright.. You got me." Frank surrendered. "Well done, kids." Billy and Maggie nodded their thanks, a proud grin beaming upon their faces.
"So who's up first?" Chase asked, scanning the group.
"Me please!" Melody answered with a playful bounce, before carefully getting onto the sleigh.
"Oo, I just realized something.." Chase perked up.
"Just one thing?" Chester teased, mocking him just slightly with a friendly smirk.
"Ok, two things.." Chase shook his head humorously, as Billy made an approach. "First of all, Billy, chill me up.. And second.. We might not wanna do this around the Lookout because we'll likely collapse the tunnels we spent hours digging. We should probably take this further into town where we can shred the snow without breaking anything we wanna play with later."
"Good point," Snowflake said, as she understood what Chase was saying.
"Also, not sure if the sleigh would even fit in the tunnels we dug up around the yard," Ned suggested.
Chase shuddered the moment Billy cupped snow over his nearly recovered shoulder, but resisted the urge to shake it off.
"I don't think he meant we were gonna be going through the tunnels." Tiny corrected her. "I'm pretty sure he meant running over them would make them collapse so we couldn't use them anymore."
"Which means we gotta go somewhere else.." Chase figured, turning his gaze front to see the way down into town. "The sports field is pretty open. That'd be the perfect place to do this, we should go there."
"What about the roads? They've been plowed?" Kylie pointed out. "Wouldn't the runners damage the pavement.. or get damaged by running on them?"
"They may have plowed it," Chase supposed, thinking about this carefully. "But there's so much snow and ice caked to the ground that there's still enough of a compacted layer for it to be fine, right guys?"
"Son, I believe that is a very solid assumption.." Frank confirmed proudly. "Seeing as how we slid a couple times on the way up today. Don't worry we did just fine." The last bit of his statement mostly hinted at the huskies, but it certainly gave everyone a sense of ease.
"Phew!" Snowflake, Ned, Melody, and Brian sighed in relief.
"Then let's get going," Chase decided, facing forward which just happened to be facing the way down the hill. "Right?"
Chester's nod with having received Skye and Kylie onto his sled was just what he needed to take off running, with his brother not far behind.
"So, what do the rest of us do?" Melody asked the group.
"What else?" Rayla shrugged. "Make chase!" Then she ran after them.
"Oo, Oo I love a game of chase!.. Chase is my favorite game!" Skyler rambled, only waiting seconds to follow as others also pursued the departed Shepherds till every pup was bounding after the sleigh pulling pups.
"Chase the game? But, Chase is a pup" Ned commented.
"Chase is a pup, but it's also a game! Uuuuggghhh! Puns.." Snowflake explained to her brother.
XXXX
Golden paws dashed snow as they slowed to a stop at their destination.
"Just the right spot for some serious workout!" Chase announced grandly.
"Wait, why are we running after them?" Brian asked his dog friends, as they ran.
"Um, to catch up and play with them?" Tiny pointed out. "Although who's idea was it for me to be on foot?"
Then suddenly a head dove under him and scooped him onto their back.
"Don't worry, T," Skyler told him, happily carrying him so she could add more speed. "I got your back!"
"I think I got yours actually," the chihuahua replied. "But I get what you're saying.. and thanks."
"Happy to help," the border collie chimed.
Everyone finally made it to where Chase and Chester had halted as the pups on the sleighs hopped off.
"So, sleigh riders, what do we think so far?" Chester asked, curiously craning his neck around to the three pups he was addressing.
"That was a good run! You guys are fast!" Melody commented.
"We better be," Chester commented. "I mean he's not called Chase for no reason."
"I was just hoping we didn't just fly off from hitting a bump or something," Kylie remarked honestly.
"But it still was fun!" Skye mentioned. "Thanks guys."
"You know it." The two shepherds replied.
"So who's up next?" Rocky wondered.
"Me please!" Brian said, before carefully getting onto the sleigh.
"Have at it, bro!" Melody said, as she got off.
"Ooo, me too, me too!" Skyler bubbled, hopping onto Chester's sleigh, making him sigh dryly.
"Alright bro,.. you ready?" Chase asked, as both their passengers prepared for the ride ahead.
"I guess," Chester shrugged.
"Go!" He called and pulled forward.
"W- hold on!" Chess called, hurrying to catch up.
xxxx
Taking each pup for a ride was more of an exhilaration than a chore and for the most part there wasn't much strain. The joy and laughter of each pup turned to echoes with the heavenly slow of time. And for once Chase felt purely happy in the moment, like the thoughts and memories of the past didn't exist any more.. That the pain and restraint of his body didn't exist.. That nothing was wrong in the world at all.
And with this new found strength he had acquired, he felt like he could really stretch out and power forward. Even the slap of the leather against him wasn't enough of a deterrent to stop him or even to slow him down.
Marshall and Rayla giggled as they rode standing up on the sleigh surfing along as the race remained neck and neck.
One nose would sneak ahead then a head would start to gain. Chase would pump harder and Chester would challenge.
"You getting tired yet?" Chester teased.
"Hardly.." Chase panted. "You?"
"Not a chance." Chester replied.
They made another turn and the rest of their friends became visible.
"Ok then let's finish this run!" Chester goaded, which kickstarted another burst of power for the both of them until they finally reached a point where they could screech to a stop.
Rayla and Marshall let out an excited howl as they jumped for it off the sleighs, one rolling back onto her feet with ease and the other simply tumbling.
"Wah-hoo!"
"Yay!"
"Yeah!" Members of the group cheered.
Chase took a moment for a very long and vigorous body shake, which seemed to free a few more things up for him.
"Oh man, I've never felt better!" He gasped.
"So you're all healed and enjoying the exercise?" Snowflake joked with a smile. "Seriously, you haven't been this happy in weeks!"
"No, I'll probably be stiff and sore later.." Chase replied with a more dampened tone. "But that just means I'm healed enough to function more normally to a point where I can start building my stamina back up again."
"So short answer, yes.. Long answer not quite." Chester translated for them.
"But still close enough to call it a yes." Rayla implied.
"Pretty much, I guess," Chase shrugged.
"Yay!" Snowflake exclaimed happily, before carefully hugging Chase. Her husky siblings giggled, amused by the reaction.
"Easy Snowflake, don't squeeze the happiness out of him!" Brian joked.
"Alright, who wants to go again?" Chase wondered. "'Bet I can take a couple of you bigger pups all at once."
"I don't know, Chase." Chester supposed unsurely. "I like a challenge as much as the next pup, but we've been at this a while..and even I don't feel like trying that."
"Oh come on, just one time," Chase pried, "I'm sure we got this, right?"
"Me? Maybe. But you haven't gotten all your strength back yet." Chester continued. "I think we should do one more singleton and then call it. With any luck they'll have warm drinks waiting for us back at the Lookout."
"Fine.." Chase sighed reluctantly, then his gaze slid over to one pup in particular. "Skyler? You got one more ride in ya?"
"You know it!" The border collie replied brightly then ran forward to hop up onto his sleigh. "But I am one of the heaviest of all of us.. and if you're getting tired..-"
"Nah, I got this." Chase shook his head. "I got all the power I need."
"O-kay.. if you say so.." Skyler complied slowly, laying down on the sleigh.
"And I'll go again too." Rocky decided, leaping onto Chester's sleigh.
"Ok ready.. get set.. go!" Chase followed Chester, but a hiccup jolted the straps across his chest and it dampened his forward motion. One because of the sudden restraint from the poor start, and two because of the uneven tension it caused to his shoulders; mainly due to the fatigue setting in but also the strings of weakness within the one shoulder which he knew were fading even faster now.
I'm not gonna be able to finish! He silently cursed, which must have been the moment he gave up because he slowed to a stop, heavily breathing as he should be from the exhaustion and exercise.
Chester made it back around, but soon felt lonely, like something was missing and looking back he realized why.
Chase just stood there with his head lowered slightly, just trying to catch his breath, but to him it looked far more concerning.
"Oh no." Chess breathed, doubling back with Rocky still in tow.
"Chase?" Skyler addressed him, but he didn't respond.
"Bro?" Chester gasped, upon reaching them, and Rocky hopped off to join them. "You ok?"
"*sigh* you were right.." Chase admitted regrettably. "I think I'm done for today."
"Ok Chase.." Skyler said, carefully stepping down off the sleigh. "Don't worry, I understand."
"Thanks." Chase sighed. "Come on, let's get back to the Lookout before I get too tired to move at all."
"You're not the only one.." Chester agreed, shaking himself out. "After this workout, I'll probably feel like jello for the next day or two, jiggle, jiggle, squish."
The others soon caught up, hearing the last part of the conversation.
"Chase, Chess, why don't you two rest in the sleigh? We can take over if you're too tired," Snowflake offered.
"Yeah, Snow and I can do the pulling if you two need a breath from the run," Brian added.
"Thanks, but we'll be ok." Chase replied. "As long as we leave right now and get home before we get too tired, we'll make it. And besides.. it'd be impossible to get all of this readjusted to fit you guys.. if we could even get the straps off and re-adjust them ourselves."
"Yeah he's right the buckles are kind of tricky and require hands that none of us have. But thanks for offering, guys. Let's just get going. I'd say 'race ya' but I don't think I could even if I wanted to."
"You're welcome. Well, let's get going," Snowflake replied, then Chase and Chester pulled away, letting everyone keep up with them this time for lack of energy to lead the way.
Hey guys! So.. as I suspected we need to take two weeks off again.. But we're getting so close to the end that the hope of completion is getting closer and closer to being a reality. Yay! But.. because holidays had put a damper on our writing progress, we're trying to play a little "Catch-up" before we run out of chapters to post. ;D
But as for this chapter, we had soo much fun exploring this concept and also the reassuring Chase moment at the beginning has really shown the growth of Chase from where he was at the beginning of this story, and even this whole series for that matter, to now.. And also the growth of the other characters in how to handle it. So thankful for moments like these that demonstrate the deeper things in life in a very lighthearted way. Hope y'all enjoyed and we'll see you next time! Thx!
P.S. Don't mind the nasty comment that just appeared on this story recently.. I'm working to get it removed. But for some reason it won't let me do it myself. DX