A weary German Shepherd stood facing the little town known as Nome. He held his noble head proud as he inspected Nome, eyes on every moving subject he could see. The traveler walked slowly forward into Nome with a mission to be done and blood to be paid.
He was once one of the best units on the police force in Oregon. A respectful character that did not hold glory for his own and when he spoke, everyone listened. When he lead, they followed with their hearts true. He was on good terms with everyone or so he thought. Rosco, an old comrade of his crossed the line never to return. He told Rosco that he never wanted to see his face again but that was before Rosco pulled the last straw. He had a sister by the name of Ruger that held the traitor’s attention. Ruger was found murdered with Rosco’s collar in her jaws as if she had ripped it off of him during the struggle. Being loyal to his family, he took up the hunt and promised his sister, Rosco would be brought to his judgment. He once was a by the book police dog but now has become a rogue lawdog, helping the innocent no matter how many laws he would break by the canine code.
The German Shepherd had not eaten for days and his strength was running ragged. He followed his nose to some trashcans in an alley that the interesting scents led him to. He knocked one over and searched through the trash and found something to eat. While he was feasting, he didn’t hear the steps of an approaching stranger. "And who might you be that sifts through the trash of my owner?" The German Shepherd raised his head to look up into the face of a husky. His blue eyes searching for answers. He rose to his full height and found he was about the same height of him. "I asked who you were." He reminded him of his question.
"Sorry as my manners aren’t at their best. My name is Chex and I traveled here to Nome from Portland on a mission." He spoke.
The husky nodded. The two were quiet as they studied each other. He seemed like a good character. He was about to ask something. "Danny!" The husky turned his head to where his name was called from. "I guess it’s a good day to you then. See ya later Chex." Danny spoke.
Chex bowed his head. "Good day Danny." Danny nodded before he turned away. Chex bent his head down to eat some more.
"Would you like to eat some real food?" Chex raised his head to see Danny standing there again.
"I don’t think I should bother you any more." Chex answered but his stomach betrayed him.
"Come on it sounds like you need something." Chex gave him an I don’t know expression. "Come on. I’m sure my owner won’t mind." Danny assured him. Chex sighed.
"Alright. Lead on." Danny smiled then started to walk toward a backyard gate with Chex following. He lifted the latch up with his nose and the gate creaked open. "You first." Chex spoke. Danny chuckled before he slipped through the opening. Chex followed right in like his shadow. Danny barked a mighty hello to his owner who was standing on the back porch facing the gate.
He looked a little surprised at the German Shepherd’s appearance. "Who is this Danny boy?" He asked his dog as he stroked the top of Danny’s head and roughing up his neck fur. Danny gave him a grin. Chex raised his head and wagged his tail hoping to give a cheerful appearance even though he was feeling less then cheery. "Well come on in boy and we’ll see if we can get some meat on your bones." Danny shot him a "Told you so" glance and Chex couldn’t resist a small chuckle.
***
"Was that so difficult?" Danny asked after dinner as well as after Chex got brushed and checked over for injuries.
Chex raised his head up at Danny and gave a playful scowl. Danny smirked. "No I guess not…" Chex replied quietly. Danny was about to turn away. "Thank you Danny." Chex spoke before putting his head back down on his paws.
Danny gave a smile. "You’re welcome." Danny watched Chex for a couple of moments before speaking again. "Sleep well Chex. You got a big day tomorrow." Chex was about to ask what he meant but Danny had already laid down to drift off to sleep.
***
The German Shepherd ate a large breakfast and was taking a quick doze. Danny had disappeared after breakfast and Chex just didn’t have the energy to follow after him. Danny’s owner had already gone off to work at the small local bank. Chex sighed as he rested on the porch. He would have felt completely relaxed but he wasn’t at his best in health and his mission was burning in his mind. A yap awoke him from his daze. He lifted his head to see a puppy coming toward him. Chex didn’t stand, as the pup was no danger to him. The pup stopped at the steps and put her front feet on the step, a step closer to him. In the back of Chex’s mind he was wondering what the hell made this pup want to approach a rugged looking stranger like him. He tilted his head a bit to study her. She was an Australian Shepherd, he could tell at once even though her tail wasn’t docked. "Must be a stray." He thought to himself. "Hi! My name’s Minx. What’s yours?"
Chex raised an eyebrow. She sure was a friendly thing. "My name’s Chex."
"Is that the name your mom gave you or your owner?"
"My mother gave me this name. My old owner called me Sarge." The pup nodded and took a minute to analyze the information the German Shepherd had given her. Chex decided to take this time to ask what she was doing here. "What are you doing out here by yourself kid?"
"I’m a stray…" She was about to continue before someone finished the sentence for her, "And what makes you think she’s by herself?" A sweet southern accented voice called. Chex looked to the left where the pup had come from to see a nice looking female. She walked closer. Chex bowed his head to hopefully be gentleman like. "Hi Mom!" Mom? Chex studied her. These two were completely different breeds, how could that be? "Adopted?" He thought.
"Hello I’m Holly. It seems Minx has introduced herself already." She spoke with a smirk on her face.
"Yeah the kid sure has a friendly way." Chex replied. Holly giggled lightly.
"Mom, this is Chex. Wasn’t Danny talking about him earlier?"
Danny was talking about him? Chex growled on the inside. "Yes Danny was talking about you to the gang. In fact he sent us to get you." Holly explained. She chuckled. "Don’t worry he didn’t say anything bad about you, that’s not how Danny is." Chex blinked. "Damn…she’s good. But how she know?" He thought. "If you’re wondering how I knew what you were thinking, it’s pretty basic." Chex snapped his attention back to Holly.
"Well…if Danny sent you to come get me…" Chex rose to his feet slowly. "Then we should get going." He spoke. Holly smiled as Minx hopped around the two.
"Come on! Come on!" Minx spoke quickly before darting off in front. Chex watched her for a bit.
"Makes you wonder if you ever had that much energy when you were a pup." Chex spoke and Holly broke into laughter.
"Yes I wonder the same thing." She replied as the two followed the Australian Shepherd pup. As they walked through town, Chex couldn’t help but scan the area with his eyes. Even though weary and his ribs showed slightly, he could still hold his own in a fight but not as long as he would if he was in top condition. Holly seemed to notice his alertness for she spoke, "Relax Chex, no one’s going to jump out on you." She laughed lightly as he shrugged. She wasn’t going to prod him for answers as she knew when he met the rest of the gang, questions would be flying.
"I have two questions, Miss Holly…" Chex didn’t look at her as they continued on their way. His eyes were on Minx, as the little pup bounded to say hello to anyone she could.
"Go on." She said. This time he looked at her, his gold hazel eyes showing nothing for her to try and figure out.
"What’s that collar with that ring that Danny wears? I would have asked earlier but he took off before I had the chance."
Holly smiled. "Danny’s the lead dog of one of the mail teams. He and his team deliver mail to the surrounding towns."
Chex thought a bit of this new found information. "Must be a pretty busy dog." He spoke with a slight smile.
Holly chuckled. "Yes he is but he can always find time to spend with his friends." She waited for his next question.
"Why does Minx call you Mom?" He asked in a cautious tone in case it would set off something. Holly smiled a little smile at him to let him know he was not walking on thin ice. Chex relaxed a little and she could see that.
"The reason Minx calls me Mom is that when she was younger, something happened to her that separated her from her parents. She doesn’t remember what happened. I found her in the snow near freezing. My home became her home and in doing so, I’ve become her mother and she has become my adopted daughter." It was then that Holly looked away from the German Shepherd to Minx, a smile still on her face as the pup pranced in front of them as if she was leading a parade.
Chex looked forward and watching the pup, he couldn’t help but smirk.
Minx looked back at them and smiled. "What are you guys talking about?"
Holly shook her head. "No need to worry Minx." Minx turned her head to look forward again. Chex kept looking 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 him. "Where does this Gunner or Nalli live?"
"You don’t want to be walking in their turf." Rue warned him.
Chex approached her, standing in front of her. Rue sat up as she felt a little uneasy. "They’re police dogs, they must have an idea of everyone who lives in this town. And I have a feeling Rosco might be stirring trouble up for them to." No one spoke.
Chex sighed. He had a feeling they didn’t want to get involved. "Hey pal?" Chex looked over to his right where Danny was standing. "I can tell you where Nalli lives. I bet she’ll be easier to deal with than Gunner. Besides only Raggs knows where Gunner lives cuz his girlfriend, Tindra’s his daughter!"
Raggs blushed as the gang called out. "Raggs and Tindra sittin’ in the doghouse! N-U-Z-Z-L-I-N-G!" Minx and Rue started to chant. Raggs blushed even redder as he tried to regain his composure. Danny chuckled. "Go get her Raggs!" Troy barked with a smile.
"Tindra is not my girlfriend! Besides she deserves better than me." Raggs spoke trying to keep his voice steady.
Lou and Rue looked at each other. "Denial!" The sisters spoke at the same time. Raggs rolled his eyes.
"Come one. Let’s leave Raggs here to his torture." Danny whispered to Chex as he nudged him. Chex followed Danny out, leaving poor Raggs to his gang as they encouraged him to ask Tindra out on a date and so many more things.
As the two walked along in peace, Chex’s head was whirling with thoughts. "Hey Danny?" Chex asked. Danny gave a "hmm" and looked at him. "Why are you helping me? You don’t want to get caught up in this." Danny put a paw in front of Chex to prevent him from taking another step.
"Look Chex… we want to help you out. It’s deeper down for some than others but in the end we want to help you find this guy. Besides this is what friends do." Danny answered. Chex gave him a weird look. "What?"
"You think of me as a friend?" Chex asked.
Danny nodded. "Yes Chex you are my friend."
Chex gave a smile. "I’m glad to be your friend to, comrade." Danny broke into laughing and Chex joined in with his own thunderous laugh.
"Come on. We better hope Nalli’s home. She never seems to rest. Then again, she says crime never rests so I guess that’s her excuse." Chex smirked.
"You do realize you’re speaking with an ex-police dog here."
"Oh right…sorry about that!"
Chex smirked.
To be continued…
Chex, Danny, Raggs, Lou, Minx, Holly, William, Nalli, Prancer, Banner- Mine
Tindra and Gunner- RaynessWolf
Troy, Kenisha, Rue- Outlawed