about as they continued on.

"Where are we going exactly?" Chex asked. They were making their way to the outskirts of town.

"To the beach of course!" Minx answered as she came circling them again. "Don’t worry Chex! Everyone’s really nice! Well Troy’s a little competitive and Kenisha may seem cold but other then that everyone’s great!" Minx spoke cheerfully.

Chex raised an eyebrow. "Troy? Kenisha?"

"Two dogs of the gang. Also kind of the newest members. Raggs was kind of wary about them at first as he has had past problems with purebreds, but they prove to be very good friends."

Chex cast a sideways look at Holly. Even when she meant to speak serious, her accent made it sound as if coated in honey. "Who’s this Raggs?" He asked as they left the town limits.

"A Blue Heeler/Husky cross as well as kind of the leader of the gang. He’s a jovial character that’s loyal and knows how to have a good time. I’m proud to say that he is my friend." Holly replied.

Chex nodded. Raggs sounded like a good character but Chex would wait for judgement.

"Danny!" Minx ran forward. Chex just then realized that there was a pack of dogs in front of them. Woah…he spaced out! Chex regained his composure quickly. Minx slid into Danny’s shoulder and the husky gave a laugh. Holly trotted forward and was greeted by a yellow tan female and a black female. Chex stopped a few feet from the pack. Everyone stopped talking then all eyes were on him.

"There he is! Man of the hour!" Danny stepped forward from the pack. Chex remained unresponsive as he studied each one. "Everyone this is Chex, my room mate." Danny spoke again as he came closer and stood next to him.

"What are you doing?" Chex whispered.

"Just be friendly will ya?" Danny whispered back.

"Hello Chex." A bluish-gray dog stepped forward. Chex took a quick look at him. A friendly expression was on his face and a light wag to his tail. "I’m Raggs. It’s nice to meet you." Raggs spoke as he came closer to Chex.

Chex bowed a head a bit. "It’s also nice to meet you, Raggs." Raggs smiled.

Raggs turned to where he was facing his gang and standing on the other side of the German Shepherd. "Here let me introduce everyone."

"The collie/malamute male on the far right is Banner and the wolf dog next to him is Rue." Banner bowed his head a bit and Rue smiled. "The yellow tan wolf dog next to Rue is her sister, Lou." Lou gave a sweet smile. "The dog laying down in front of the three is Prancer."

This dog known as Prancer stood up then and walked closer to Chex. What was she up to? Chex wondered as she stopped right in front of him. She slid her head and her body beneath his chin before she turned her head to face him. "It’s a pleasure to meet you Chex. I hope to get to know you better…" She flicked his nose with her tail before rejoining the pack.

"Oh for crying out loud Prancer! He’s not a toy for you." A black husky female with some gray and white spoke. Her dark blue eyes narrowed on the flirty female. Prancer just smirked.

Danny sighed at Prancer’s behavior. Raggs just rolled his eyes. "Anyway the female who just spoke is Kenisha." Kenisha just gave a snort. "The dog sitting next to Kenisha is William."

"Hey Chex!" William spoke happily.

Chex smiled a small smile. "Hello William."

"And the brown husky standing behind Holly is Troy." Troy bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"And you already know Holly and Minx." Danny spoke. Chex nodded.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all. Now I don’t feel like a complete stranger." Chex spoke. Everyone chuckled at his last sentence.

Minx bounded up to him. "Now will you tell us a little about yourself!" Chex looked down at her.

"Minx!" Holly pressed. Minx paid no attention to the smooth collie/husky.

"It’s ok Holly. I guess you’re right Minx. It’s my turn to share." Chex replied.

Lou stepped forward. "I have an idea. Let’s go to the boiler room and then Chex can share his story." Some nodded their heads.

"I don’t see why not. Chex you alright with it?" Raggs asked him.

Chex nodded yes. "Sounds fine to me." At that the gang started back for town with Raggs in the lead. Chex walked between the sisters Rue and Lou.

"So where did you come from?" Rue asked.

"Rue! We’ll know when we get there!" Lou snapped.

Rue chuckled. "Easy Lou. I know." Chex gave a light chuckle. Even though he knew their names, he still felt a little uneasy as he did not know how they acted. Well besides Prancer… he made a mental note to avoid her as much as possible. Oh great speak of the devil! He thought as she made her way over to him. She shoved between Lou and him ignoring the glare from Lou.

"So Chex… it looks as you’ve come a long way as I can see some of your ribs." She tried to speak sweetly.

"Yes I have." He spoke as if he was speaking to his police patrol.

"You know…" She rubbed up against him a bit and Chex fought to keep a straight face and not give her a growl. "You can always drop by my place if you’re tired." She batted her eyelashes before a yelp sounded from her throat. Her and Chex spun their heads around to see Kenisha smirking. Troy and William who were standing on either side of her were trying not to laugh. "What was that for!" Prancer snapped.

"Cuz you’re such a skank. Maybe you should learn when a guy’s not into you." Kenisha spoke coolly. Prancer gasped, turned her head to face forward and stuck her nose a bit in the air. She brushed past Lou to walk beside Banner. Banner sighed.

"Will those two ever bury the hatchet?" Chex could hear Danny ask. Raggs shrugged. Chex turned his head to face Kenisha and gave her a "thank you for saving me" smile. Kenisha just chuckled.

"You’re welcome." She spoke.

***

Everyone was in the boiler room, laying on the floor all facing Chex. Chex was sitting with his back to the boiler facing them. "Everyone comfy?" Chex asked.

"You bet!" Rue spoke before laying her head against Lou’s shoulder.

Chex took a deep breath with his eyes closed. When he reopened them, he sat up straighter. He raised his head before his voice thundered out. "I use to be a police dog. Captain of my patrol."

"Woah! Are you serious?" Rue shot her head back up.

"No wonder you’re still in good condition is because you’re in shape." Troy spoke up.

Raggs studied Chex for a minute. "So you mean you’re like Gunner and Nalli?" Unknown to Chex, Raggs and his gang sometimes committed petty crimes like stealing from the butcher or sometimes being too unruly in public.

"Gunner and Nalli?" Chex questioned.

Raggs sat up. "Yeah their captains like you. Gunner leads the Alpha patrol and Nalli leads the Delta patrol."

Chex took in this new information. If Rosco was about, maybe these two characters can help him track him down. He sighed. "The thing is I’m no longer a captain. I use to live in Portland, Oregon."

"Wow… you’re a long ways from home." Banner spoke quietly. "What are you doing up here?" He asked as everyone stared at Chex. What was he doing here? They all wondered the same thing.

Chex took a breath to steady himself. "An old comrade of mine by the name of Rosco betrayed the law and his team. I kicked him off the force but he did not go quietly. At the time he was going out with my sister, Ruger. He killed her out of anger. Of course like any sane dog, I became enraged. I promise to my family and Ruger that I would hunt him down and he would receive natural justice." Gasps came from everyone.

"Oh geez…"

"He must have been pissed."

"What kind of scum murders his own girl?!"

"Someone like that you can’t trust at all!"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "But why on earth do you think he’s all the way up here?"

Chex turned his head to face Danny. "Because this is his hometown…" He spoke coldly.

"You said his name was Rosco? Is he a German Shepherd to?" Troy asked.

Chex whipped his attention to the brown husky. "Yes he’s the same breed as I am."

Troy thought for a minute. "I believe I raced him a couple days ago on the beach. I beat him by like 3 yards and he practically blew up in my face telling me I cheated. I would have kicked his ass if Kenisha and Rue weren’t there holding me back." Chex widened his eyes.

"So he is here?!" Chex snapped.

Holly spoke up, "Just yesterday when I was lounging out in front of the general store, a couple was walking by. A German Shepherd and a Husky. She laughed and I swear I think I heard her say Rosco."

Minx looked at Holly. "You mean those two. I thought the girl was a complete ditz." Holly looked at her daughter wondering what in the world as Rue and William tried to contain their laughter.

She studied his darkening face. "But Chex you do have to realize, you and Rosco aren’t the only German Shepherds here."

"Yes I know that Holly." He answered bitterly. As the gang talked about Chex’s harsh story, Chex paid no attention as he thought. So Rosco is here? Troy and Holly both saw him. As long as I keep a low profile, he won’t run. I just got to confirm that he’s here. "Hey!" Everyone looked back up at