4Rocky had just wrapped the last bit of toilet paper around his good ear when the sliding glass doors swished open. looking himself over, he smiled at his reflection. "Green means go," he said, trying to act happy, but a weight weighed heavily on his back and he tried not to think about the list of lies piling up that he told tonight to get the lookout all to himself.
When the rest of his teammates, even Cody, had raced to him with costumes and empty pillowcases, and wagging tails, he had told them that he wasn't feeling well and that they could go without him. Ryder was on patrol with Chase, leaving him alone after he volunteered to watch Sadie.
With the lookout empty for the rest of the night, presumably, he had no doubts about inviting Gasket over for a Halloween party of their own.
Rocky rushed inside the living room and smiled at Gasket. "Did you bring everything?" Rocky asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek as the husky put her backpack down, glass clinking against glass as she opened the top, letting Rocky peek inside.
"Yep. Plenty of goodies to get in plenty of trouble."
Rocky smiled and took in her costume, she had a pirate outfit on, with an eye patch and green bandanna over her head with ear holes cut into it.
"You make a very sexy pirate," Rocky said walking up beside her and nuzzling into her side.
"And you make a hot mummy?" She said leaning into him. Their eyes met and they inched closer, connecting their lips when a small voice from their right startled Gasket and she whipped her head to the side.
"Is Chase back yet?" Sadie asked, already in her costume. She had a black long sleeve shirt on, a tactical belt —an old strap— with headphones tied to it that ran up her shoulder and rested in her ear, looking up to him through a pair of Chase's old spy goggles.
Rocky looked into her eyes. She was so hopeful, so pure, and full of light, she reminded him so much of Chase when he was just a pup.
"Not yet."
The little spy pup let out a sigh and moved back into Chase's room, a little pumpkin bucket hanging in her down-turned mouth.
Gasket shot Rocky a glare. "Hey? You didn't tell me we'd be babysitting."
"We will be having fun, she isn't going trick or treating for a while."
Rolling her eyes, she looked down the hallway. "But she looked so excited."
"Chase is taking her when he gets back but that's not for hours. We are going to party."
"Oh, I like the way you think." Gasket said leaning in and kissing him again, and Rocky's legs went weak.
Pulling out the bottle, she opened it and took a big drink, and passed it to him.
Before a worried look took over Gasket's features, and she pulled away and paced back and forth in front of him.
"What about your owner? He and I didn't exactly meet under the best of circumstances."
"Well he is out on patrol with Chase, and the others are trick or treating." He trailed off kissing her on the cheek.
"We have plenty of time." He promised, before snatching the bottle from her and took her by the paw and led her to the kitchen, where more glasses were prepared and he filled both shot glasses with clear liquid.
"What are you up to?" Gasket said with a sly smile.
"Trouble," he said, before downing his drink in one go.
Gasket followed his lead and slammed her drink down after finishing it.
"What's next?" She said, slightly out of breath as she watched Rocky poor another glass full.
"Now it is time for some treats." He said kissing her. She moaned into the kiss and they soon lost themselves in the other, ate candy and pup treats, and cuddled and sipped Vodka until the sun went down behind the mountains.
"Oneee more pumpkin," Rocky whined, lying with his head in her lap on the couch, giving Gasket the biggest puppy eyes imaginable.
She giggled and reached into her backpack and pulled out a pup treat. She waved it just over his nose and laughed when he snapped his jaws at it, biting at air until Rocky couldn't take it anymore and snatched the pup treat out of her paw.
Saide came out, dressed in her spy costume, and nosed at Rocky's side.
"Uncle Rocky, I'm hungry."
He sighed and reached over to Gasket and gave her a pup treat.
In an instance of pure brilliance, he remember that puppies needed water too, and reached for a glass full of water and gave it to her.
"Drinkk this too," he said, patting her on the head, before going to meet with Gasket on the couch.
After Sadie had finished the glass, she scrunched up her face, but stayed quiet, and took another look outside the sliding glass doors into the dark. Sighing again, she retreated to her room, when the doors slid open and she perked up only to find Everest walking inside.
Rocky froze and looked uncomfortably at Gasket and then back to the husky.
"Rocky? Where is everyone? Where's Chase?" Everest padded up to them.
Rocky took deep breaths as she looked around the room, finally finding the words to speak. "Heyyy Everest. Chase is working with Ryder and the others are trick or treating. I'm watching Sadie." He turned to Gasket. "And this is my friend."
Gasket waved and moved closer to Rocky.
Everest smiled, seemingly missing the half-empty bottle of liquor sitting on the kitchen counter, and turned around and move over to Sadie, smiling warmly. "It's great to finally meet you. My name is Everest. Chase is my boyfriend."
The small pup nodded and sniffed her carefully, and instinctively nuzzled into her. "Hi." Her voice was hoarse and Everest looked down at her and sniffed her but Gasket cut her off.
"Come on Rocky, let's get some fresh air."
Rocky looked between the two huskies and smiled sheepishly, heading out of the door, catching the tail end of Everet's conversation.
"What's wrong sweetie?"
"I don't feel good."
CHASES POV
Tires wondered across the centerline, back and forth, much like the driver's thought pattern, which wondered here and there without any rhyme or reason and Chase tried to keep his breath even as powerful sensations overtook him.
His paws trembled as he pressed harder into the steering wheel. Dopamine saturated his brain, holding it captive, turning every thought and making it seem profound. Every idea became a good one, and every bad memory, and the pain that came with it, were contained inside the bubble of euphoria surrounding the shepherd.
Nothing else seemed to matter outside the bubble, which seemed to be wavering and flexing. And nothing was sharp enough to pop it. That's what he assumed at least.
How happy Everest would be to see him. How relieved she'd be to see the smile on his face, the light in his eyes. Both of their prayers had been answered, and he had finally found the peace that he craved. No longer would he hide from her or his feelings. The new Chase could handle it, handle anything, as long as he remained medicated.
He scoffed at the word, thinking back to the hellish months leading up to his breakthrough. Completely void of any emotion or confidence within himself. Completely empty. The pitiful excuse of medicine he choked down every night made his stomach churn. But it didn't matter when he found what he needed.
Marshall's stimulant medication; confidence, energy, and focus in a pill, a perfect addition to his lackluster regiment, the missing puzzle piece he had been searching for that made him whole.
Until his bubble popped in an instant as a black wolf rushed across the pavement and Chase swerved just in time to miss it.
HONK
HONK
Chase wrenched the wheel to the right, narrowly missing an oncoming Black Honda by centimeters. Pulling over to the side of the road once he cleared the bridge his cruiser crawled forward as his vision blurred and he became light-headed. His body trembled violently as his chest rose and fell in short bursts. Tears welled in his eyes and dripped onto the steering wheel as he drowned in anxiety. Anxiety that something was very wrong, that he was missing something.
Hot claws squeezed his heart and he fled from the sensation, tumbling out of his cruiser, rolling to the ground, air rushing out of his lungs. Chase's eyes went wide, and more adrenaline ravaged his body. Gasping for air, he struggled to lift himself off of the ground. His entire body shaking.
His head snapped up, body going stiff as a hand touched his head.
"Chase."
It was Ryder. But before he could say anything, he looked up as coughing came from their right and Chase barely registered what was said as smoke filled his nose. Rocky and Gasket were huddled together next to the pup houses, smoking joint at their paws that Gasket stepped on as Rocky looked at Ryder with panic in his eyes.
"Run." Rocky yipped, rushing inside with the husky beside him.
Suddenly it hit Chase, what he had forgotten, Sadie. She wasn't safe, he was sure of it now, and he ran inside after Ryder.
Once inside, Chase noticed multiple things at once that pulled at his attention to the point of paralyzing him from taking action.
On his right towards the kitchen were knocked over bottles and plastic cups, empty bottles littered the ground.
Rocky and Gasket were talking rapidly to each other in the living room. Once Ryder reached them, they tried to run away but he backed them up against the couch with his hands on his hips. "ROCKY! What on earth do you think you are doing? You cannot be serious right now!"
Chase flinched as Ryder's voice rang out louder than he had ever heard it. but his anxiety was louder as the scent he had been searching for filled his nose as Saide stumbled toward him. Whimpering, teary-eyed, she looked up to him, confused and scared. His face flushed as embers floated through his bloodstream as she came within arms reach and she collapsed, but Chase caught her with trembling paws.
"Daddy," she whined. "I don't feel good."
His heart squeezed and squeezed, pumping faster and faster until he became light-headed and his vision went in and out of focus as he tried to keep his attention on Sadie. Only hearing bits and pieces of Rocky's panicked explanation.
"Just a one-time thing."
Suddenly, she swayed back and forth and whined louder, crying into his chest.
"Daddy, please make it stop."
"Sadie? Sweetie, where are you?" A familiar voice rang out from down the hallway.
Chase snapped his head up and found Everest standing in the hallway, with a bottle of medicine in her mouth. He opened his mouth to speak but Sadie leaned into him, groaning. He snapped his head up, looking around at the other dogs and his master as they surrounded him. Chase's voice grew hoarse as he spoke, first to Ryder.
"I knew you were working with them, you wanted this to happen, for me to fail so you could take Sadie away from me. But I will never let you touch her." He turned to Everest. "Are you in on this too? Well, you're too late, I know everything now. You can't have her. None of you will hurt her anymore."
Letting out shallow breaths, he leaned down to lick Sadie's muzzle when her breath hit his face, reeking of alcohol. Fire ignited his body, bones, and muscle, boiling blood making him tremble.
He held her tighter. Until she pulled away from him and coughed twice, and vomited clear liquid and half-digested pup treats all over the floor.
"Sadie?" He grabbed her as he squeezed his jaws together, tasting blood in his mouth. Nudging her with his snout, he whispered to her, pleading for her to wake up but the pup remained motionless in his arms.
"Chase. Let me take. . ." Ryder started reaching a hand toward Sadie. Chase let a growl rip out of his chest and he snapped his jaw at the outstretched hand but missed, only tasting air and his blood mixing with his saliva.
"Don't touch her!" He took another bite at Ryder's hand but the bewildered teen stepped back two steps, keeping his arms up in front of him.
Everest approached him but froze as their eyes met and he let out a vicious bark, and his gun was out in seconds, and he turned to Rocky.
"This is all your fault." Locked onto Rocky, Chase sunk his chest to the ground, snarling to the point that his entire body shook with his gun trained at the shaking mixed breed.
Whining, Rocky stammered feebly as Gasket cowered behind him. The mixed-breed was hyperventilating as he sat frozen in place until liquid soaked into the cushion underneath him. He spoke hurriedly, but all of his words, all of the sounds, were drowned out by the blood rushing to Chase's head and his pounding heart.
Chase steadied himself and sucked in a breath and barked, his gun firing off just as a body stepped in front of him and a yelp cried out, breaking through the adrenaline, the anger, and fear.
In an instant, Chase's anger and rage transformed into an icy panic that clutched his stomach as lavender fur stained in red fell to the floor. Frozen, Chase dared to look down at his paws and ice flowed through his veins as Everest laid still on the floor, as blood pooled around his paws.
Before he could move, the sliding glass doors opened but he couldn't take his eyes off of the husky and barely picked up the scents of his teammates returning home. That was when everything sunk in, and he realized he wasn't dreaming at all but living in his worst nightmare.
"No! God, please no!" he fumbled to apply pressure onto her wound as blood soaked into his paws and fur.
He barely noticed when Ryder stepped in and took Sadie and cradled her in his arms and brought her down the hall, all the while yelling for Marshall as he ran down the hallway.
Ryder came back again and this time. He locked eyes with Chase and said something his brain couldn't process and he watched helplessly as Ryder took Everest away and applied pressure to her wound. So many voices rang out and yelled around him but his head spun and began to dry heave but nothing came out, nothing but tears that drowned out his voice.
Black and white rushed passed him, and Marshall's voice came in and out of focus as Chase wobbled back and forth on shaky paws.
He peaked over to his former mate, horrified of what he would find if he looked, and found Marshall with his bag in his paw, fumbling with bandages and yelling over his shoulder, but he couldn't make out words.
Snapping out of his daze, a pair of paws held his shoulders. Skye. She talked to him but with all the other voices and his pounding heart he only caught the second half of what she said.
". . . Just breathe for me." She kept trying until her words broke through the chaos and adrenaline.
"Chase, look at me, look at me."
He had never heard her so calm and scared at the same time. Her voice trembled but was strong as he had ever heard it.
"Don't look at anything else, just watch the floor and come with me."
She led him to her room and called out behind her, talking to someone but he didn't see who, only smelling pine needles and blood. They reached Skye's room and she pushed the door open and laid him down on her bed. She covered him with a blanket and blotted his tears with it as he repeated his apologies to whoever was listening.
He stopped talking when he saw Cody enter his room and he squeezed his eyes shut and cried harder. A paw held his shoulder and he peeked as Cody rummaged through his bag; talking to Chase in a calming voice.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Chase. Can you take deep breaths for me? Breath with me, ok? Inhale, 1, 2, 3, 4. Hold it in, 1, 2, 3. And let it out. Good, again, don't focus on anything else."
Chase repeated the instructions the best he could and tried to ignore the needle Cody brought out and a bottle with pink liquid. He held his breath as Cody filled the syringe with the pink liquid and turned to face him.
"Hold still, buddy." Cody stuck the needle into his arm but there was no register of pain, the burning sorrow in his stomach drowned out any other sensation and he let himself feel everything. He deserved every ounce of pain.
Skye stayed with Chase the whole time, lying next to him and brushing his head with her paw, talking sweetly like a mother would. At one point he could have sworn she was praying but it was getting harder and harder to keep track of everything as Cody stuck an empty needle into him, drawing blood from his arm and putting it into a small beeping machine.
Chase's world spiraled, on the verge of crumbling down to nothing until everything began to slow down. Slowly, the panic and pain unlatched their claws from him and he took in deeper breaths as his head became heavier to support, and his mind harder to keep awake.
More whispers from Skye and more needle pokes from Cody calmed him down as a powerful dull warmth spread through his body and the anxiety and adrenaline melted into nothing. His muscles un-tensed and breathing became easier before a powerful weight pressed down on him and his mind shut off.