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CIRCLES (UN)BROKEN

III.

CHASE

---

The summer sky is bright and sunny, with fluffy white clouds. A perfect day to play by the lake.

He's lazily swimming around by the shore. Leo, Jas and Carl are skipping stones by the shore. From their raised, excited voices, the three of them seem to be having a contest of sorts.

They gave him a shout of warning when he swam too close so he moved out of the way.

He is now wading lazily by the shore. He could see Toby building a sandcastle out of sand and mud. More mud than sand. Lake Emma is notoriously muddy after all.

He could also see that Sydney and Flynn are standing close by, whispering and grinning mischievously. Flynn is pointing and gesturing to the sandcastle Toby is building.

He shouted a warning to Toby, but Sydney is already moving. The otter comes barreling straight through Toby's sandcastle, stomping it to mush.

Flynn snickers to the side while Sydney laughs.

Toby cries, shouting at Sydney through his tears and runs off. Not a minute later, Jas comes towards Sydney and Flynn, yelling angrily at them.

Sydney huffs at her and stomps off.

Jas goes to look for Toby, dragging the much taller Flynn by his arm before Flynn could run away.

He dives deep into the lake.

Sydney is making trouble as usual. Why couldn't he just leave Toby alone?

He sighs, letting the cool water calm him.

He should find Toby.

He begins swimming up towards the shore.

Strange... had he dove deeper than he usually does? This part of Lake Emma shouldn't be this deep.

The surface seems to be just out of reach no matter how hard he swims. As if he is swimming deeper into the lake instead of up to the surface.

And then... he sees Sydney.

Sydney is floating in the middle of the depths, motionless and eerily still.

He swims to his friend to make sure he's alright.

No matter how hard he swims, Sydney is always just out of his reach.

Sydney doesn't move. His eyes, icy blue, almost gray, are open.

They are staring blankly directly at him.

Sydney just stares.

Sydney just stares.

Sydney is--

Something grabs his legs. Pulling him down.

---

Chase Hunter snapped his open, taking a huge gasp of air.

He groaned softly, realizing that he was on a bed and not... elsewhere. What had he dreamed about again? It felt really intense, whatever it was.

The otter slowly released the vice-like grip on the duvet and pillows, something he didn't realize he had done, and slowly pushed himself to sit up. His entire body ached as if he just had an intense three hour workout.

He should know, as his ex-boyfriend was a varsity quarterback who liked to push him to join his work out sessions as part of their bonding experience.

The otter didn't feel like he had slept at all... but at the same time, he felt more awake than he had ever been.

Stretching out his limbs, Chase yawned and took a good look around. He was in the motel room which he shared with Jenna and TJ. Judging from the sounds coming from the bathroom, it seemed that TJ was taking a shower. Jenna herself was sitting on the sofa bed which she occupied, and she was browsing her phone.

He looked at his phone and saw that it was nearly half past seven.

There were also a couple of texts from Leo.

"Morning sleepyhead," Jenna called, giving Chase a friendly sort of grin. The Fennec fox had changed out from her PJs and into a simple dark red v-neck top and jean shorts. She clearly had just showered judging by how fluffed up her pale tan fur was, and also how she smelled somewhat strongly of her floral scented shampoo.

"Mornin'" Chase yawned again.

"I didn't know you're a sleep-talker, Chase."

Chase blinked. "I am?"

"Yeah, you were mumbling a bunch of nonsense, but you sounded real cute," Jenna smirked. "Oh, and you drooled. A lot."

"Huh? What? I do not!" Chase denied.

The smirk on Jenna's muzzle grew. Her blue eyes glinted mischievously. "Well, if you don't believe me, you can ask TJ. "

"Ask me what?"

Chase and Jenna turned and saw TJ walking out from the bathroom. The gray-furred lynx already had a t-shirt and shorts on, but with him still a little bit damp from the shower, his t-shirt clung tastefully to his toned, athletic build.

"Oh, we're just talking about how adorable Chase looked when he was sleep-talking last night, and how much he drooled," said Jenna, breaking Chase out of his musings.

"I don't drool!" Chase shouted. He could feel his ears flushing red.

TJ made a face as if he was biting back a grin. "Well...you were drooling quite a bit, and yeah you looked kinda cute when you sleep-talk," TJ agreed, suppressing a giggle.

"Oh, come on Teej!" Chase protested again, but without heat.

"Should've taken a picture," Jenna added, still grinning widely. Chase sent her a glare and threw his pillow at her, which the fox easily dodged. She grabbed the pillow and threw it back at Chase, who caught it square in his face.

Chase rubbed his snout. "Ow... So, what's the plan for today?" he asked, eager to change the subject before Jenna could tease him further.

"Well... Leo's taking us to Southwest Adventures, right?" TJ said as he opened his suitcase and pulled out several clothes. "He said that he'll come to pick us up around eight or something."

"Oh, right! That's today," Chase nodded before he went to check the texts from Leo.

Leo

> morning

> ready 4 today? ;)

Leo

> you up?

> gonna get breakfast at the diner

> anything u want?

"Leo said he's getting us breakfast," Chase said to his friends.

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, he texted me too. Told him you're still sleeping so I told him to get whatever."

"Right, ok," Chase hummed as he wrote a reply to Leo's text.

You

> Sorry, just woke up

> And sure! Anything's fine.

He pocketed his phone and made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. Just as he was about to brush his teeth, his phone buzzed.

Leo had replied to his text.

Leo

> all good

> got u tuna sandwich

You

> Sounds great!

Chase put down his phone and continued brushing his teeth. Once he was done, he chanced a sniff as he pulled off his pajamas and made a face. He was already musking despite sleeping with the AC on. He's going to have to spray his pajamas with a musk-a-way after this.

Better yet, he should take a shower.

The otter turned on the shower and adjusted the water temperature until it suited him before he stepped inside the cubicle. He sighed, feeling his muscles relax and a tension he didn't know he had slowly melting away under the steady drizzle of hot water. Still, the constant trickle of water didn't really scratch that biological itch to submerge in a body of water that all otters have.

He'd prefer to relax in a bathtub if he could, but the small bathroom only had a shower cubicle, so that will have to do.

Chase began rubbing the water into his fur, skin and muscles to get every inch of his body wet. The otter paused as he rubbed his privates. His cock was standing fully erect and throbbing.

Eh... why not?

The otter wrapped his paws around his cock and started rubbing, slowly at first, before picking up speed. He ran his other paw across his torso, slowly caressing his belly as he went up to his toned pecs and giving them a squeeze. While he wasn't physically impressive, he liked to think that he was still pretty in shape from his admittedly sporadic trips to the college gym and the swimming pool.

He let out a shudder as he gave his nipple a little pinch to stimulate himself more as he continued to pump his cock.

Chase could easily imagine a big, strong, male hand caressing his pecs, and a warm muzzle running kisses down his neck. He abandoned his pecs and went down to his lower back, running his paw fingers between his ass cheeks, easily imagining a hot, warm shaft sandwiched there instead.

You liked that, didn't you...?

His breath got heavier as he pumped his cock faster, while teasing his tailhole with his water-slicked fingers. He could simply feel his imaginary lover's fangs grazing the scruff of his neck and squeezing his pecs as his paw briefly abandoned his cock to play with his nipples again.

Why don't we take this up a step, otter...?

Chase let out a small squeak when he pushed two fingers into his ass. He proceeded to wiggle them around as he continued to pump his cock. He inserted a third finger, which filled his ass just the way he liked it, and he could imagine a huge throbbing wet cock pushing into him.

That's it... ride my cock...

He moved his hip while he jerked his cock quicker, squeezing his balls at the same time, while he pushed his fingers deeper and deeper into his ass until he hit his sweet spot. He bit his lips so he wouldn't cry out too loud as he continued to play with his ass, hitting the same spot over and over. He pressed himself against the tiled shower wall, fantasizing how his big, well-muscled lover was plowing deep into him, squeezing his body tight with his big strong paws, while growling lustfully.

Moan for me otter...

Chase bit back a moan as he quickened his pace, pumping his cock furiously while stretching and prodding his tailhole with his other paw. He breathed heavily as he brought himself closer and closer to the edge of release.

He could just feel his lover's hot breath on his ear, those big meaty paws jerking his cock, and the big hot shaft pounding into his ass, filling him up.

Now cum for me...

Chase came with a muffled cry, squeezing his cock and balls as he splattering the shower wall with ropes and ropes of his otter spunk. He breathed hard as he finished cumming. He braced himself against the wall as he slowly removed his fingers from his abused tailhole, letting the hot water wash the tension away.

That was surprisingly intense, he thought with a satisfied sigh.

It took Chase a minute to gather his bearings before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He washed away his jizz from the wall with the detachable shower head before he proceeded to lather his entire body with his shampoo. He made sure to get every nook and cranny of his body clean so he wouldn't smell like cum and musk up too quickly during the day.

After a thorough rinse from the shower, Chase dried himself with his towel and used the dryer to dry himself quicker. It didn't take him long, as his fur was short after all. He wrapped himself with his towel and grabbed his phone on the way out.

When he checked his phone, he saw that there was another text from Leo, saying that he and Carl are on their way to the motel.

"Jenna, did Leo say he had picked up Carl along the way?" Chase asked as he walked back into the room.

The Fennec fox looked up from her phone and shook her head. She was still lounging on the sofa bed. "No, he didn't. Why?"

"He just texted me that he and Carl are arriving soon," Chase said.

"Oh, he must've picked Carl along the way," TJ said from the couch. The lynx had turned on the TV and was idly channel surfing. He had changed to a bright blue polo shirt and khakis. With his fur properly groomed and hair neatly in place, Chase couldn't shake the image that TJ looked like a very young youth pastor.

"Yeah, must've," Chase nodded, pulling out a fresh shirt and cargo pants from his suitcase, as well as a pair of briefs.

By the time he finished changing, he could see an old van pulling into the parking lot. Two guys, a red-furred wolf and a ram, exited the van once it was parked and made their way to the motel room.

Chase could already smell the tuna sandwich from a mile away.

"Morning, chula!" Leo greeted when Chase opened the door.

The wolf went in for a hug, which Chase returned somewhat awkwardly, mainly because Leo had two large bags of food in both arms.

"Morning to you too, Leo," Chase said good naturedly as he ushered the wolf into the room.

Did it feel weird when your ex acted so touchy-feely and friendly as if the two of you hadn't been speaking for years and had parted on bad terms?

Yes, yes it did.

He had to admit, Leo looked good with the belly. It balanced out his tall, well-muscled form nicely. Plus, it made the wolf's hugs feel less like he was hugging a brick wall. Besides, Leo looked good this morning. His deep red fur and hair was properly brushed and combed, and he didn't smell like motor oil and car parts.

The white and green sleeveless muscle shirt Leo wore showed off his thick, sculpted biceps and thick pecs. Paired with the black jeans, Chase was reminded of how Leo liked to wear green sport jerseys when they were kids.

He couldn't help but notice how the wolf was still wearing that anchor bracelet on his arm.

"Hey Carl," Chase greeted when he saw the ram standing right behind his ex-boyfriend.

"Yo," Carl waved back lazily and yawned widely.

The ram was dressed in a baggy, dark red hoodie emblazoned with a logo of a game Chase barely knew of, paired with an equally baggy cargo shorts. His favorite black beanie was perched on top of his head as usual. All in all, Carl's clothes made him look more rotund than he really was.

"Long night?" Chase asked as he ushered Leo and Carl into the room.

"More like I can't sleep, dude," Carl replied with a shrug.

"Sorry to hear, man."

There were dark circles under the ram's eyes, but he looked surprisingly more alert than yesterday. Chase guessed that Carl probably hadn't had a joint yet as the ram didn't smell too strongly of weed.

Leo had dropped the bags on the small dining table in the corner of the motel room, and he began distributing them. "Jenna, here's your burger... and Teej, your veggie wraps. I made sure they didn't forget the mayo this time!"

The lynx grinned shyly as he unwrapped his breakfast. "Thanks, Leo."

"And Chase, here's your tuna sandwich!" the red-furred wolf handed Chase his sandwich with a small flourish.

"Thanks!" Chase grinned, tearing open the wrapper and proceeded to inhale the sandwich.

"Someone's hungry this morning huh?" Leo chuckles.

Sure, it was slightly greasy and there was a little too much mayo, but fish was fish, and he had missed Janice's diner sandwiches. Even though he just had one last afternoon.

"Aaand don't mind if I do!" Carl said with a huge grin as he snatched a bag from the table and opened it. "Oh wait, this is yours, Leo. That one's mine," he dropped the one he was holding and opened another bag.

"Carl," Leo sighed in exasperation as Carl began eating his veggie burger with gusto. "Nevermind."

"So, when's Flynn arriving?" Chase asked when he was halfway through his sandwich.

Leo looked at his phone. "He said he'll arrive here with me so... he should be here soon, I guess?"

"Alright," Chase nodded, taking another huge bite of his sandwich.

Jenna decided to switch the TV channel at that moment, and it flickered on to a local news channel.

"--record breaking temperatures. Heavy snowfall and power disturbances continue to affect many cities throughout three states," said the newscaster. "And here we have Gerald reporting live from Pueblo City."

Chase turned to look as the news switched to a live feed of one of the main streets of Pueblo. They were shooting somewhere close to the university and it was strange seeing it practically deserted. Snow had piled up high on the streets and several service vehicles could be seen working hard removing the snow in the background. On the foreground was a horse wrapped in layers of jackets and gloves.

"Thank you Louise. As you can see, snow continues to fall in the city of Pueblo," reported the horse. "It was twenty inches of snow this morning, and while most of the city still has power, some neighborhoods continue to suffer from blackouts as the city's power plants struggle to cope with the unprecedented extreme weather."

Carl whistled. "That bad, huh? Glad you guys came down here early eh?" he turned to Chase and Jenna.

"Well yeah... but it was not that bad when we left," Chase admitted. "Didn't think it'd be this extreme."

"Lucky for you you got your spring break early!" Carl chortled.

Jenna snorted and rolled her eyes. "If anything, we were saddled with a heavy project with the extended spring break."

Chase nodded. "Well, at least we got two weeks off instead of one. More time to research, shoot scenes, and edit footage for me." he chuckled.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys got an extended spring break because of heavy snowfall," Leo said before he turned to TJ. "What about you Teej, is it the same for you in CCU?"

The lynx looked up from his veggie-wrap. "Huh? Oh, yeah, pretty much. But we didn't get nearly as much snow as Pueblo though. But it's still heavy enough for classes to be closed early."

"Quite the coincidence," Carl hummed in a conspiratorial tone.

"Nature happens," Chase said with a shrug. He turned his eyes back to the TV, where they were now reporting about the possibility of the strange cold wave continuing for the coming weeks.

"If this continues our break might just be extended," the otter remarked.

"Ugh, I can already imagine the extra workload we'll be piled with when we return," Jenna groaned.

Chase and TJ winced.

"I can see that happening, yeah..." the lynx nodded dejectedly.

"I do not need another project on top of this one," Chase sighed.

Leo tried to sound supportive. "Hey, it won't be that bad," he said with a wide grin. "You guys get to stay with us in Echo longer!"

Jenna and Chase exchanged looks.

Leo opened his mouth to add something before his ears suddenly perked up. Everyone turned to look when the big red wolf stood up and peered through the window. Soon enough, a bright yellow scooter bike came down from the road, ridden by two lanky figures. Their faces were covered by helmets.

"Who's that?" TJ asked.

"Oh, that's Flynn and his roommate," Leo said, frowning a little in confusion. "I thought he said he's gonna drive his truck here though..."

"Flynn has a roommate?" Jenna sounded surprised.

Leo nodded. "Yeah. Another lizard. Can't really remember his name though..."

Chase looked as the taller of the two riders went down from the scooter and removed his helmet. Yep. That's Flynn alright. The black scales with vivid orange patterns and purple spiked mohawk was unmistakable. The other lizard had a striking, deep blue scales with pale blue spots that showed through their sleeveless tank top and vest. Their face was still hidden behind their large helmet however.

Flynn said goodbye to his friend and began to make his way to the motel room. The blue-scaled lizard waved back to Flynn before driving the bright yellow scooter back to the road.

Chase munched down the last bit of his sandwich and opened the door just as Flynn rapped on it.

Flynn gave Chase a look when the otter opened the door. "'Sup?"

"Morning to you too, Flynn," Chase greeted. He had to look up to the lizard.

Chase had always been jealous of Flynn's height since they were teenagers. The Gila lizard was the tallest in their small circle of friends, beating Leo, who was six foot four, by a full head. The lizard had since outgrown his gangly teenage appearance and had since put on some muscle that filled out his frame nicely since the last time Chase saw him.

It wasn't his fault when his eyes naturally fell down to Flynn's well sculpted pecs, which was partially exposed with how the top few buttons of his short sleeved shirt were left undone.

Sexy bastard must've done it on purpose.

When Chase looked back up, he saw that Flynn was giving him a strange look.

Suddenly feeling self conscious, the otter quickly averted his gaze and said, "Well, uh, come on in," he stepped out of the way for good measure.

Flynn, however, was still staring intently at him. His brows were knitted.

"Uh... is there something on my face?"

The lizard opened his mouth before he closed it back. He blinked as if he just realized that he was still staring and looked away. He cleared his throat.

"Well, since everyone's here, we're good to go then?" asked the lizard casually.

"Oh yeah lemme finish first," Carl said as he quickly unwrapped his second burger and gave it a huge bite.

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Easy there, lardass. We don't want you choking or anything," he said with a smirk.

"Well fuck you too," Carl poked his tongue out while giving Flynn the finger.

"Guys, c'mon..." TJ looked positively scandalized.

Carl immediately lowered his arm and gave the lynx an apologetic look. "Whoops, sorry Teej."

Flynn gave a little huff but kept his mouth shut.

Leo stood up, having finished his food. "Well, we can eat on the go. We'll use my van since it's bigger."

"Fine by me," Chase said, and the others nodded in agreement.

The five of them piled into Leo's van. Chase was the last to enter as he nearly forgot his wallet and went to make sure that they had locked their motel room before leaving.

He crammed into the backseat with Jenna and Carl. Flynn, being the tallest, sat on the passenger seat up front while Leo drove.

As Southwest Adventures theme park was located in Payton, it will take them about an hour-and-half ride from Echo. Chase spent most of the drive brainstorming ideas about topics to cover and possible locations to shoot his project. Luckily for him, their trip took them through some scenic views of the valley, especially when they arrived at the only rest stop between the two towns.

He took the chance to take a few pictures of the valley and the town itself with his phone and wrote the place down in his notebook. He had to admit, despite the perfect vantage point and beautiful scenery, Echo still looked like shit. The town was just a sprawl of half-broken and abandoned buildings in the middle of a dry and barren valley.

Echo was virtually a ghost town. It had been on a slow, but steady decline ever since the riots in the early 20th century and the subsequent closing of the Danicka Mines during the Second World War. The town only had around a hundred or so inhabitants when Chase was in primary school, and now, it had dwindled down to around fifty. Chase wouldn't be surprised if the number of inhabitants was reduced to zero in the next couple of years.

No one in their right mind would want to stay in Echo.

He was brought out of his musings when a large, warm paw settled on his shoulder.

"Got any good pics, chula ?" Leo grinned down at him.

"Ah, as good as it's gonna get," Chase replied with a shrug. "I think I'll come back here to shoot some scenes later this week."

Leo gave a nod. "Oh! Okay, sure. If you're done taking pictures, we should continue on our way," the wolf added, jerking a thumb towards the car.

"Yeah, I'm done," Chase said, pocketing his phone, and turned back to the van... and stopped short.

"Yo Chase!" Carl hollered from the van.

The ram was perched on the van's backseat window, with his pants partially down and his big pale cream and white-and-cream furred naked ass showing.

"Ay mierda ..." Leo groaned and facepalmed

Carl was laughing, wiggling his big furry butt from the window. "Make sure you get a load of--wait! Hey!"

Flynn, who was in the backseat at that moment, reached out and pulled the ram's pants all the way down to his knees. Chase and Leo let out identical snorts when Carl's big white-furred balls flopped out.

Carl muttered a few curses while he scrambled to pull his pants up. Flynn was laughing his head off while fending off the playful punches from the huge ram.

Chase could hear TJ's exasperated whine as the lynx buried his face in his paws. Jenna, who was standing outside next to the van, rolled her eyes and continued scrolling through her phone.

"He's still doing that huh?" Chase asked as he and Leo walked up to the van.

Leo sighed. "Yeah, he's 21 but still so immature," he said, but with some fondness. "It's awkward when there's only Flynn and me though."

"I can see that," Chase said.

Carl didn't look too embarrassed by the ordeal however and was instead grinning widely at Chase when the otter climbed into the van. "Did you see my ass?"

"Saw way more than that, thank you very much," Chase said dryly.

"Heh, it's not like this is your first time seeing Carl's big furry ass and balls, though," Flynn pointed out as he clambered back to the front seat with surprising nimbleness.

Chase couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Point taken, dude."

"Everyone in?" Leo, who had gotten into the driver's seat, turned around to look.

Chase quickly sat down, as did Jenna, who had climbed in right behind the otter. TJ buckled up and gave Leo a thumbs up.

With that, Leo drove the van away from the rest stop and continued on their trip to Payton.

---

They arrived at Southwest Adventures around a quarter an hour later.

The theme park was located directly in the middle of Payton, and as such, it attracted visitors not only from the city itself but also from hundreds of miles around. It usually gets pretty crowded, especially on a weekend like today. However, there seemed to be a lot more visitors than usual.

Chase chucked it up to the surprisingly nice day out. The cold spell up north brought down the usually unbearable warm spring temperatures down a few degrees. There was even a very nice, refreshing cool breeze instead of the usual hot and dry desert air.

"I dunno about you guys but I'm starving," Carl stated the moment they entered the park. "Who wants funnel cakes?"

"Dude, you just ate three burgers about an hour ago," Chase pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly!" the ram grinned widely.

"Well... I guess a snack would be fine while we plan out what we'll ride," Leo said, tilting his head.

Carl's grin brightened. "Sweet!" he said and disappeared into the crowd.

"Aaand just like that we've lost him," Flynn snorted.

"Ah, let him be," Chase said as they walked past a couple of stands. "Hey, here's the map of the park!" he said, snatching one of the maps from a nearby stand and opening it wide for everyone to see.

Leo, naturally, began to take charge of things.

"Right, so... when I come here with my family we usually go clockwise to get all the rides," he said, tracing lines around the map with a finger. "Though, it's way more crowded than I thought today, I'm not sure we can ride everything... But, this way, we can still get a chance at Event Horizon."

Jenna's ears perked up. TJ's ears drooped a little.

"Event Horizon? Uh... that's the big red roller coaster right?" he asked nervously, pointing to the towering, bright red steel roller coaster that twisted, looped, and spiraled over the front of the park.

"Yeap! Fastest and tallest roller coaster in the west!" Leo said with an excited gleam in his eyes.

If anything, TJ looked even more nervous. The corners of his muzzle twitched a little and his ears drooped further. "Oh..."

Leo noticed this of course, and quickly dialed down his enthusiasm. "Ah, well... if you don't feel up to it, we can always try other rides--"

"Damn it Teej, you're an adult now," Flynn groaned.

"Flynn!" Jenna shot the lizard a sharp look, as did Leo.

"What?" the lizard shot back.

TJ shook his head and took a deep breath. "Well, I'm here, and I'll be riding all the rides with you guys," the lynx said firmly.

Leo looked somewhat taken aback by TJ's sudden conviction. "If you're sure..."

"I am," TJ nodded firmly with a steely glint in his eyes. However, Chase noticed how the lynx's muzzle kept twitching nervously, and how he kept shooting glances upwards whenever the roller coaster car rolled past by them with passengers screaming their heads out.

Seems like TJ never really got over his motor tick whenever he's nervous.

Chase exhaled and slung an arm over the lynx's shoulders. "Well, I dunno about you, but I'm not sure if I can stomach Event Horizon as my first ride," he said casually.

He saw Flynn turning and stared at him, as if he had just said something weird.

"Can't argue with that," Jenna piped up. "I'd rather we start with the milder rides first. Besides, Carl just ate a ton and I don't want him to barf all over me."

As if someone had summoned him, the aforementioned ram reappeared. He had a huge pile of funnel cakes on a large plastic plate, topped with different flavored ice cream, powdered sugar, syrups, and an assortment of fruits.

"I'm back! Anyone wanna share?" Carl asked.

Leo's ears perked up and he zeroed in on the funnel cakes. "Yeah! That looks really good!"

"No one? Alright then! Guess I'll have to eat the whoooole thing!" Carl moved out Leo's grasp and would've stuffed his face on the plate if Flynn hadn't snatched it out from his paws and held it high out of the ram's reach.

"Hey!"

"We're not waiting for you to finish eating, fatass," the lizard huffed.

Carl rolled his eyes but didn't look too put out. When Flynn brought the plate back down, Chase noticed that there were half a dozen plastic forks on the plate. Not only that, there were at least five other plates stacked below the one holding the funnel cakes.

"So you were planning to share!" Leo gave the ram an accusatory point of the finger while grinning widely.

The ram shrugged his broad shoulders. "They were selling it by the pile and I couldn't finish it all by myself," he said before he turned to TJ. "Oh, and they're gluten free, Teej."

The lynx's brightened. "Thanks, Carl."

Leo proceeded to divide the cakes to the rest of the group. Only Flynn declined, muttering something about not putting fatty shit into his mouth.

The cakes were indeed, really good.

"So, what's the plan?" Carl asked a while later.

"I'm thinking we can start off with the Scrambler. It's not really extreme and the queue shouldn't be too long," said Leo.

"Cool," said Carl.

Jenna nodded. "Works for me."

"Ugh, you guys are a bunch of wusses, but fine," Flynn groused.

Chase could see TJ's shoulders relaxing a little.

"The Scrambler it is," Chase grinned.

With the park's map in hand, Chase and his friends made their way towards their first ride.

The queue to the Scrambler ended up being close to one hour. Luckily, they had finished the funnel cakes by then so Chase wasn't too worried about getting nauseous.

When it was their turn to ride, Chase found himself seated with Flynn since the ride could only accommodate two riders per car. Leo and TJ were seated together in the car in front of them, while Jenna and Carl occupied the one behind Chase and Flynn's.

"Try not to get your otter musk all over me, got that?" was all Flynn said as they strapped themselves in.

Chase rolled his eyes.

He hadn't expected the ride to be that fast. He found himself pressed to the corner of the car as the ride spun them around at great speeds, whooping and hollering with the others. The speed of the ride and the constant spinning motion, coupled with the sensation that they're gonna collide with another car, was very thrilling.

TJ looked like he had fun, so that was a great start.

Next, Leo took them to one of the three swinging ship rides of the park. This particular swinging ship was not the largest, but it did swing up till it was vertical. The boat-shape ride was wide enough to accommodate six of them in one row. Just their luck that they ended up seated at every end of the boat. Everyone was hollering their heads off throughout the ride, including Flynn.

Chase was somewhat wobbly on his feet by the time they exited the ride. TJ was shaking slightly, but he gave everyone a thumbs up when Jenna asked if he was ok.

"Oooh, they have ride photos!" the lynx pointed out as they exited the ride and went to the booth.

The others followed and began looking for their ride's pictures. It didn't take long to find them.

Chase had to bite back a laugh.

"Wow, you look constipated, Teej," Carl pointed out, sniggering.

The insides of TJ's tufted ears turned red. "W-well, you look funny as heck too, Carl."

"Yeah, you like you're trying to blow someone and look terrible at it," Flynn said, grinning toothily.

Chase couldn't help but snort. Flynn's description was pretty apt.

Carl's response was to jab his elbow into the Gila's stomach, the only part of his body which was not protected by his hard scales. Flynn let out an uncharacteristic yipping sound from the jab and retaliated by grabbing Carl's horns and began to shake his head.

"Foul! Species features!" the ram cried while laughing.

"Well, you started it!" Flynn huffed, but he was grinning as well.

"I must say," Jenna began as Flynn and Carl continued to heckle each other, "I've never thought I'd see you looking scared, Leo," she laughed, pointing at the wolf's face in the picture.

Leo had a wide-eyed expression while trying to hold on tight to the safety bar, and his fur was raised, down to the tip of his tail. He looked as if he was trying not to scream, but the effect was comical instead.

"Hmph, I don't see you fared any better, Jenna," Leo huffed.

"He's got a point there," Chase couldn't help but agree. The fox was all fluffed up in the photo down to the tip of her tail, and they captured the exact moment she opened her mouth to scream.

"Says the otter who looks like he's high," Jenna shot back.

Chase wouldn't admit it, but the fox was quite right. He looked either he was about to pass out or was high from some shit.

He responded the only way he could at that moment, by sticking his tongue out.

In the end, they all got the picture. Carl paid for it, as he was feeling uncharacteristically charitable, as he put it. Flynn complained that the photos are a scam as they're about twenty bucks each, but let it go since Carl was paying for it. The ram even managed to get them a digital copy of the picture as well.

"Well, I suppose we can cram one last ride before we have lunch," Leo said when they were on the move again. "Let's try Event Horizon. The queue will just get longer later in the day," he suggested.

"Sure, why not?" said TJ. The lynx's eagerness was quite surprising.

"Alright then! To the Event Horizon!" Leo whooped.

Event Horizon was the most popular ride in the park so it wasn't surprising when the ride's queue estimation was two and a half hours. Nevertheless, they went in and queued with hundreds of other park goers. The line moved slowly, and by the time the first hour passed, they weren't even close to getting halfway through the winding, snaking queue.

Distracting himself with his phone alleviated the boredom somewhat. He checked his social media accounts, his class's group chat and whatnot. There were talks about the possibility of their spring break getting another week of extension due to the freak weather and hoping that their spring break project deadline will also be extended as well.

By the time their group had arrived at the front of the queue, Chase's feet were killing him, and he was feeling dry and antsy. He had gone two days without diving into water and the desert air did not agree with him. Times like this he had hoped Southwest Adventures had a water park for amphibians and water-dependent species like himself to cool off and hydrate.

An otter needed water after all.

The roller coaster train was still spinning and zooming somewhere overhead as they waited for their turn to get into the ride. Chase could hear the riders screaming in a mixture of fear and joy. He couldn't help but drum his fingers on the railing, feeling inexplicably nervous and impatient.

Leo suddenly leaned towards him. He was grinning.

"Heh, nervous Chase?"

"I've ridden this before, Leo," he said with what he hoped was a convincing smirk. He then noticed something, and his smirk grew more genuine. "Though... your tail is kinda down. Sure you're not the one who's nervous?"

Leo looked taken aback. "Eh? I'm not!" he said defensively.

It was then the roller coaster train rolled back into the station, with the riders whooping, laughing, and groaning about how scary and wild the ride was as it came to a stop.

Jenna took the moment of distraction to grab Leo's arm.

"Come on Leo, let's sit at the front!" she said, pulling the much larger wolf to the queue line that would get them the front seat.

"Wait! Hey!"

Chase took the opportunity to get into the middle row lines along with TJ. Chase quickly noticed that the lynx's muzzle was twitching again. He was also fidgeting. A lot.

"You sure you're fine, Teej?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," TJ nodded firmly. He was taking deep breaths. "Just... steeling myself."

Flynn, who was making his way to the back of the row with Carl, decided to comment.

"You know, there's always the exit if you're too much of a pussy to ride it."

Carl gave the lizard a light slap upside his ridged head.

"Oi!"

"Not helping Flynn," the ram rolled his eyes. He turned to TJ. "Hey, so when the ride gets real bad, just say to yourself, 'at least I'm not gonna die'."

Flynn gave a mighty snort. "Well actually , there had been a few acci--"

"Yeap! Nope! See ya on the other side Teej, and have fun!" Carl hollered as he dragged Flynn to the rearmost car. The Gila's loud protests drew stares from the other riders.

"Uh... okay," TJ said, looking somewhat weirded out. His ears were still drooped against his head however.

Chase gave the lynx a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Well, the middle row is the best place to be if you're not a huge fan of roller coasters. Less g-force or something or other," he said. "Besides, they have a ton of safety straps and bars to keep you inside the car at all times."

TJ gave Chase a small smile. "Thanks."

The train was soon emptied out and the fences swung open. Chase immediately stepped into their designated car and strapped himself in. He turned to look, expecting TJ to be right next to him, but found the lynx hesitating just outside the car.

"TJ?" he prompted.

The lynx seemed to snap out of his stupor "Right, yes," he said, taking another deep breath before climbing into the car and strapping himself in.

As the train slowly moved forward, Chase offered his paw to the lynx, and the feline took it, grasping it firmly. His grip tightened to a degree when the train began its ascent up to the first hill of the ride.

Chase took several deep breaths as they slowly reached the top of the hill, and he turned to look at TJ.

The lynx had his eyes closed and he was muttering under his breath.

"Er... Teej, are you praying?"

TJ didn't answer but his grip on Chase's arm tightened another degree. Only when the train jolted to a stop at the apex of the hill did he open his eyes.

"Oh god, oh god, we're so high up..." he squeaked.

Chase had forgotten how high the Event Horizon could be. They were hanging over the edge of the drop.

"Yep... very high," was the only thing Chase managed to say before the car hurtled down in a free-falling motion.