Just Another Lullaby

Chapter 12: The Separation II

"He's a couple of miles away," Ryder said as he and the pups stared at the pup-pad. "But we can still catch him if we leave now." The blue dot — indicating the team's police pup — slowly but continuously traced the map on the screen, fortunately heading in a direction somewhat towards them. Ryder quickly stood up from his prior crouching position and started to run, prompting the pups to follow in suit. They ran out from their safe clearing and into the crowed brush of the forest, determination glowing brightly in their hearts.

Ryder fumbled around with the pup-pad, he quickly searched for his pup's icon while simultaneously keeping a close eye on the tracker. Upon finding the golden star and blue icon, he pressed it.

"Chase! Chase, where are—"

"Shhh!"

Ryder went dead silent at the shush. After a couple of seconds of hearing nothing from the other side, Ryder spoke again, this time much quieter. "Chase, what's going on?" He whispered.

"I'm hiding, they're really close." Chase replied, voice barely loud enough to comprehend.

The feeling of unease crushed him like a load of bricks falling from the clouds, adding to the already existent stress that lingered heavily inside him. Ryder took a brief glance at his pups aside him - non seemed bothered by the message, rather focused on the path ahead instead, indicating not one was paying attention to the ongoing conversation.

With a quick breath, he spoke again, no louder than a whisper in the dead of night. "Hang tight there, bud. We're coming." Even with no sound of acknowledgment coming from the other side of the call, Ryder could practically feel the soft nod coming from his oldest pup.

A quiet but delighted gasp sounded on the other end. "A path opened up! I can get away without being seen!" Exclaimed Chase.

A small flow of relief flowed through the young boy. "Great! Be careful, Chase."

"Roger that."

Ryder watched as the blue dot on his tracker begin to move. It kept at a speedy pace, luckily heading straight towards them. "Come on, pups," Ryder said, catching his pups' attention. "Chase is coming, let's hurry it up!"

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Chase ducked under low-hanging branches and leaped over roots and short bushes. The shepherd's legs burned like acid and his heart pounded hard until he felt it would burst. He was tired. His adrenaline was starting to diminish, which in turn began to cause his stamina to stagger. Many times did his paws fumble and trip. Fortunately, he managed to keep himself up and running even through those hiccups.

Chase struggled to breathe, like every gasp of air was being stolen by some unseen force within him. Through the torturous running, only fear kept him going. He feared becoming a victim of their murdering spree. He feared never being able to see his family again, and the way they'll react when they got to him. He feared what would happen to the town if these people got to him and the rest of the Paw Patrol.

Suddenly, every sound became a noise of suspicion. Every crack of wood, every rustle of leaves, every whistle of the wind. Everything. Chase often found himself twisting and turning his head in every which way, trying to discover the origin of a sound. Much to his fortuitous relief, never has it been from a dire visitor.

A loud snap of wood came from behind him. The sudden sound made the German Shepherd flinch hard and jump slightly. He swiftly twisted his head back, unfortunately tripping in the process. His paw got caught in an uplifted root poking out from the soil, sending him into the rough dirt hardly. Chase whined quietly as he grabbed his injured paw and cradled it like a newborn baby. He didn't look back, he didn't care to, not anymore. He was tired. He was exhausted beyond belief. He was now injured. He didn't have much more motivation to keep going.