PAW Patrol: Lockdown

Chapter 8- Calm Before the Storm

It's well documented that dogs can feel nearly every emotion a human could experience. They're cognitively designed in such ways that they can feel happiness, sadness, anger, and especially fear. It's intriguing how fine-tuned their minds are to that of a person, as opposed to a mindless fish swimming in a cycle of unblinking static. Now, what of more complex emotions? Such things as love, shame, jealousy, guilt, or bashfulness? What happens when a dog is thrust into a situation they have no understanding of? The animal is suddenly bludgeoned with confusion, fear, paranoia, and no way to understand even a fraction of it.

To learn that friends among you may not be what they seem can bring droplets of fear into one's head. Chase was afraid, terrified even, and hesitated even stepping outside. He occasionally glanced outside at the other dogs when they'd come out to play in the sun, trying to read their movements for anything unnatural. He especially narrowed his eyes every time Skye came into his field of vision. She seemed a little better, but a lack of symptoms didn't always mean the sickness was gone. In some cases, the pain suddenly vanishing could indicate the worst was about to ensue. Every now and then, Marshall would knock on his door, to which Chase rarely responded.

The Shepherd slipped out the next day, walking into town while avoiding eye contact with anyone. Despite not being in uniform, he still wore his pup-pack, the visible straps connecting around his body. No one knew of the weapon that lay concealed within the backpack, all it needed was the audio cue of Chase's bark and it would emerge. He had received a note under his door, ordering him to travel to the park for an "important briefing." Usually, Chase would discard such a note and write it off as spam mail, but this note was explicitly signed by the ACG,

As the wind brushed past his sides, Chase left the sidewalk as he crossed over into the grass. His mind still disobeyed his constant grips to clear his head, the static noise filling his ears and taking a life of its own.

"I'm not crazy," the police dog breathed, shaking his head. He had lost significant hours of sleep, anxiety gripping him awake and leaving him afraid to shut his eyes for even a few minutes.

He found a bright patch of grass and laid down on it, purposely straying away from the other dogs as much as he could. His attempts were futile however, as out of the corner of his eye he spotted a small terrier walking over to him. Chase stiffened, snapping his head in the other dog's direction. The terrier carried a smile on his face, a feeling of joy and carelessness, Chase knew this couldn't be the meetup. This dog was just an oblivious idiot, blind to the looming threat only he seemed to be aware of.

"Hi," the terrier smiled, "I like your pup-pack,"

Chase instantly growled in response, flattening his ears. Nothing could be trusted, not a single one of the animals he shared the city with could be trusted. The terrier drew back in surprise, hints of confusion crossing his face. He wasn't at all expecting the hostility from the Shepherd, knowing full well the reputation the Paw Patrol carried.

The terrier held up his paws defensively, "I'm sorry, I-"

"Piss off."

The smaller dog whimpered slightly and hastily turned, speeding off. Chase didn't leave the house thinking he would pull a gun on a random dog in the park, but the parasite could be anywhere.

"You always talk to puppies like that?" came a voice to his left, and Chase whipped his head around. He relaxed slightly when he recognized the Belgian Malinois before him.

"You told me that thing could be hiding anywhere," Chase waved off, "I swear it's driving me crazy."

"Awareness and vigilance are key, sure," Cyrus nodded as he approached, "but you can't snarl at every dog who comes before you,"