Paw Patrol: The Call Of The Hound. (Interactive Story)

Part 7

Ryder glanced back at the pup treats bag that lay on the counter, debating on whether he should use it or not. Being one of the pups' favorite flavors, he figured that a wolf may also like the treats since wolves and dogs weren't that much different. Right? And since the creature at least resembled a wolf to some capacity, it was somewhat wolf. Right?

Ryder did not have much time to think about the choice as he heard the approaching footsteps of the creature approaching the van. He grasped the bag in his hand and chucked it out of the van as hard as he could, attempting to gain some distance so the hound would walk further away from the van. He chose to stay away from the open doors, but he was still partially peaking outside to check what it was doing.

The creature in question watched the bag flying into the air before landing about 10 feet away from it. Ryder held his breath as he watched what the creature did, feeling the pounding of his heart as he hoped the creature would go for the bag and not check inside the van. The hound was still, staring at the bag and unwilling to move. He gave a sigh of relief, however, when the creature chose to walk over to the bag.

Even though it showed interest in the bag, Ryder knew he had to be patient. He watched as the hound stared at the bag, unsure of what to do with it. With the bag being slightly open, a couple of treats laid on the ground, free for the hound to experiment with. At first, it pawed the treats, kicking them around in the dirt. After a few seconds of doing that, it bent its head and sniffed the treats, pausing again to process the smell.

After about twenty seconds of the creature standing in place and not moving, Ryder was hopeful when he saw that creature slowly took the treat in its mouth and chew on it slowly. This didn't mean that the hound liked them yet, but it did show that it was at least curious. Ryder was cautious to celebrate too early though and watched what it was doing in silence. After the creature finished the first treat, it went over to another treat on the ground and quickly took it in its mouth, devouring it almost instantly.

Although the creature was enjoying the treats, Ryder still had the question of how he was getting out of the van. It wasn't like staying inside was an option, because after the creature finished eating the treats, Ryder was back to square one. Luckily, however, the creature took the bag in its mouth excitedly and began walking off in an unknown direction. Ryder was worried at first about where the creature went, but he realized that this was his opportunity to escape the van before it came back.

As Ryder stepped out of the van, he covered his eyes from the bright sunlight that quickly engulfed his body. Despite being almost the end of the day, the sun was shining brighter on Ryder than it normally does. Perhaps it was due to being stuck in the van for several hours, but Ryder did not have time to wander on it for long. He glanced at the park's entrance, remembered that Jeffrey, Raven, and the pups were still inside, prayed that were still alive, and entered inside, hoping to find at least his pups.

The forest was a lot different from what Jeffrey expected. On the outside, it seemed rather spacious and calm, and whilst that was true at first, the forest soon turned out to be very thick and dense. The trees blocked so much sunlight that one could mistake it for a dark room with no windows. And the atmosphere was unpleasant at the very least, with the constant feeling of being watched only amplified here.

But what unsettled Jeffrey the most was not the forest, the darkness, or the paranoia that kept following the two around the park, but Raven. Or more rather, his mental health. Despite talking about it earlier, Jeffrey couldn't help but notice his quickly declining state. His hands were so tightly gripped to the rifle that it almost seemed like they were snapped onto it like some kind of toy. Everything that he noticed before seemed to be getting worse, but even though Jeffrey wanted to help Raven, he didn't for some reason.