2018-01-01 - spike - The New Shop 57

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 57
Date: 01 January 2018

Chapter 57
It’d been a long journey again but now… Oh god this looked good.

They’d said there was a threat of snow… It was snowing.

More, snow rested on the ground, it was beautiful and even better, with my new coat I couldn’t even feel the cold. I padded around in the usual circle to detect the nearest shelter and the finish. The landscape was similar but at the same time, unfamiliar.

Could be the same park with me just dropped at a different point, could be a different park entirely. I didn’t know. I didn’t care. I simply completed my lap and bolted at right angles to the finish.

This time, I was going to concentrate on the outlying dogs, or some of them. What’s more, I was going to learn from Slasher. I didn’t immediately go in search of shelter, I scouted out the first part of the course identifying every feature I could use to direct, to corral them into a trap.

I found a few good ones. A narrow ravine with a cliff at the end, a dry raised section of land that ran across a marsh which ended in a bog, even a section of woodland with incredibly thick brush and a few fallen trees at one end would make a good one.

I had another trick up my sleeve too, something picked up from Duke. Lay low near a shelter with an occupant, remain outdoors at night. That one would only work if the clouds allowed me to see though, being in the pitch darkness would be no good of course.

It was getting dark before I sought out my first shelter and I almost missed it when I finally got there, the light was so bad, but I crawled inside, the door closed and I settled down to sleep.

During the night I woke a few times, sweating. Too warm… Fuck me it was definitely too warm. I nosed the panel and when the door swung open allowing the freezing air to sweep in, god that was welcome. I settled down half in, half out of the shelter for the rest of that night just to stop the door from closing again.

These things… They’d be good even in near zero temperatures. We might not need to move south to compete over the worst of the winter.
* * * * *
When the dawn sunlight woke me up I had snow on my muzzle.

I shook it off and surveyed my surroundings. God, and I thought the fall was beautiful here.

A few inches had fallen overnight. Enough to get that crunch as you walked and being nearer to the ground, it was much more noticeable. I went to the back of the shelter and took my fill of food and water, then walked the circle again to sense.

The dogs weren’t active yet, so I decided to move to a good position that might lead to a capture in the gorge I’d found. Even now, with snow half way up my legs, I couldn’t feel the cold and I don’t think the heating system had been activated yet either. My fur really was an awfully good insulation and as I had no means of shedding heat any other way, such as by sweating or panting like a real dog, this weather was perfect for me.

I lay down in the snow and waited.

The sun rose, no idea what the time was before the sensations started. The dogs were on the field and the hunt was on.

I padded in a circle a few times over the next couple of hours. I could feel four of them closer than the rest and three seemed to be nearing. I lay in wait, not wanting to move too much. My tracks would give me away too much.

The next time I circled, I did it much more slowly and used my tail to sweep the snow into the tracks I left behind. The three were in slightly different directions and distances but it appeared all had had a similar idea. Move well off the direct route, take a page out of Max and Duke’s book.

The moment the first was passed me, walking at an angle, a tangent to the finish, I began my prowl. I padded across the wilderness, keeping him at a distance until… There… A little tingle to his senses, just on the edge of his range, just to one side.

I backed off, ran around and gave it a nudge from the other direction, still behind it but from the right rather than the left, trying to guide him towards one of my traps.

And it was working. A few more nudges this way, back off, follow, a nudge in the other, the dog began walking along the section of ground that would soon become raised and surrounded by swamp.

He clearly didn’t see the danger he was in as he continued… until it was too late. I bolted down that channel the moment he’d passed the point of no return. He sensed me the moment my sensation died and sprang into a sprint to get away from me… My trap was sprung.

It was the Old English Sheepdog. I didn’t even bother to run at full speed, I let him corner himself. Then, he got as far as he could. He turned, still backing away as I ran towards him.

Then he slipped down the back. He tried scrambling up the side but before he knew it, he was in.

Ah shit. That’s all I need. I increased my pace until I was looking down at the sodden, muddy blob below me, slowly sinking into the mire. The bank wasn’t very deep, a few feet, but the swamp had its grip on him now.

I glanced around, looking for… That might do. A sapling a few feet back on the edge of the causeway. I gripped it in my jaw to give it an experimental tug. The soil was pretty loose but its roots gripped the earth. I leant on the tree and pushed hard, then moved to the other side of it and did the same, repeating it a few times and then gave it another tug, then a heave as the roots came loose.

I dragged it over to the edge, one of the branches getting within his reach. He struggled, but of course, no hands. He tried to grip with the ends of his forelegs. He sank a little further. I sighed, put the tree down and snapped my jaws. Then picked it up again trying to guide one of the thicker branches towards his.

It was another couple of minutes of awkward shifting and swinging it about before his jaws finally clamped down on one of them and I managed to haul him out.

Mud matted his fur. What had been a shaggy dog was now a creature from the black lagoon. I nuzzled his face, then, before he knew what was happening, leapt on his tail and gave it a tug.

I padded away, chuckling.

Q’s voice sprang into my head. “Well done Tyson. It seems this time, we missed some of the natural hazards. It wasn’t one last time. It seems the ice and snow made that one more dangerous than before.”

I stared around in shock wondering where… Then I looked up. A drone hovered above my head. Of course. He must’ve fitted it out with a radio repeater or something. I nodded at it and continued back to the start of the causeway and circled again.

The rest of the dogs were all ahead of me. I’d spent longer than intended on that capture so it was time for a much needed run. I shot off in the direction of the nearest, passing the last of the traps I’d identified the previous day. Oh well, standard chase down mode for the rest of today then.

I don’t know how many miles it was before I got close to one… Close enough but not too close. Not close enough for him to sense me.

I altered my course a little, veering away slightly in order to prevent his change in direction from moving him within range and followed, then moved ahead. He was moving at a leisurely pace. Bet he wouldn’t be in a while.

I jogged until I was in the path I predicted he’d take. He was trying to travel well away from the direct route, at a tangent to the finish line. Obviously in the hope he wouldn’t run into any of us but this was an old tactic. He’d need to be a lot more cunning than that to evade us for long this time.

I… No. No poison oak. That was an old tactic too. Use what’s present. Plenty of snow to hide myself, any old shrub would be enough to hide, even a drift. My colouring if I stayed still… Pretty good camouflage.

The snow underfoot was only a couple of inches deep but where the wind had gathered it against fallen trees or dips in the ground, the drifts were a few feet high. I ran another mile ahead of him and prepared.

Picking the best drift with a good view of the path he seemed to be taking, I dug into the back of it, burying myself in the base until only my nose and eyes were poking out of the bottom. Even here, I couldn’t feel the cold. It was amazing.

Then I spotted him. It was… wait… oh god, even better. Three of them, all moving in an incredibly cautious manner. Obviously they sensed me.

One, a German Shepherd, I… Could they have had a little fun with choosing the breeds? Dixon perhaps? Or Max? Both police dogs, and the one thing you know about police dogs, most of them are German Shepherds.

A little behind, he looked extremely nervous, his gaze darting from side to side, desperate to find the threat. The Afghan hound? The fur seemed long enough.

Finally, taking up the rear, a black and white border collie. This one seemed a little more confident, probably expecting the others to be more at risk than he was.

The front one paused fifty feet away, he circled.

I inched back slightly and buried my nose in the snow to hide the black of the goggles and dot of my snout.

The other two joined him and he nodded towards the snow drift. Damn, maybe it was Max. He and Rascal were the most proficient at this after all.

One of them backed away, he was checking the back of the drift, see if I was hiding behind it. Oh god… He returned and shook his head.

The German Shepherd appeared to shrug and the three padded onwards, together.

The moment they’d passed me, I made my move, careful not to make a noise, I shrugged and inched my way out of the drift and as tippy toey as possible crept behind the collie. It was slightly behind, so when I grabbed and tugged, they continued, unaware their companion had frozen.

Maybe it wasn’t Max after all, he should’ve noticed the change.

The snow was soft, that hid my movements even more, no crunch to set off their ears.

Another tail pull, the German Shepherd was down, I pounced on the hound and gave him the fright of his life. Before he could even react, pull number three!

Oh god I was in for the running for that boon now. Four captures in less than a day and possibly the best hideyhole award too. Maybe even the best takedowns. Not dramatic admittedly but three in one shot. Paws crossed anyway.

I circled and zeroed in on my next targets, then looked at the sky. There was a yellowish tinge to it and it was getting darker. The blank off-white of the clouds meant no moonlight tonight to see by either so, I bolted ahead of the next one and sought one of the shelters for the night.
* * * * *
I woke up before the sun was fully up and padded around in my circle.

The dogs I’d sensed the night before were still in the same place. Oh, god… I wonder…

Could they still be asleep? Would they sense the change if they woke up with the warning there?

I bolted to the nearest and as I got closer, I slowed. I wandered around on the perimeter of my senses keeping an eye on the shelter, then inched my way in.

Nothing. No response, no door opening and the dog looking out…

I chuckled to myself as I hid by the side of the shelter.

I don’t know how long it was, but the sky was a lot lighter when the door swung open and the dog, a… Oh god, it was the one I suspected to be Moonbeam!

He stretched, he even yawned, clearly an unconscious reflex and looked around, wagging his tail.

He started walking at a leisurely pace towards the finish line.

Before he knew it, I’d pounced and yanked. Frozen to the spot, I stood in front of him and looked him in the goggles, then circled again to seek out my next target.