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Lost by 12 as SonicHowler Originally published April 27, 2008

Dewey parked his car behind Ace's house and opened the trunk, which carried an electric guitar, a guitar amplifier, and various pedals and cords. Jerlon walked over from Ace's SUV, and he and Kanei grabbed the pedals, cords, and amplifier, and carried them in as Dewey opened his guitar case to reveal his_other_ pride and joy. He slung it over his shoulder, locked up his car, and walked through Ace's house to the garage. Ace opened the garage door as everyone eagerly started getting everything set up. Ace didn't normally open the garage door, but his air conditioner was broken, and the band would need the fresh air to stay cool.

One of the best things about DAZE was that each member of the band could play each instrument the band used. Dewey, Ace, Zack, and Eddie were all very skilled at guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and various other instruments, but each had their preferences. Dewey loved the guitar. Ace always had fun playing the drums. Zack enjoyed the keyboard, and Eddie liked the bass. To top it off, each member of DAZE was gifted with an amazing voice, but, to Dewey's embarrassment, everyone, including the rest of DAZE, seemed to think that his voice was nicest.

Dewey set up his microphone in the front next to Eddie's as the rest of the group did a sound check. Zack tapped a few keys on his keyboard and sang a scale into his microphone. Ace rapped on his snare drum, while Eddie plucked at the strings on his freshly-tuned bass guitar. Dewey joined in after tuning his own guitar, strumming it slowly.

"Alright, now for a voice check!" said Ace. Dewey and Zack played a C note to mark the key they were singing, and with smooth, pure voices, the foursome sang harmonious oohs and ahhs into their microphones. The sound seemed to carry on the wind, drifting throughout the neighborhood, quelling the various noises of birdsong, making passersby stop in their tracks, wondering where the beautiful harmony was coming from.

"Sounds great!" said Dewey after a short time. "What song should we start with?"

"I dunno," said Eddie. "I like playing_Lost_."

"Me too!" Zack agreed. "The keyboard parts are a lot of fun." Ace nodded his agreement.

"The drum parts are fun too, and it's a great warm-up song for our voices."

"Cool! I'm for it! Ready when you are!"

Ace clicked his sticks together four times, and then the four of them simultaneously began. The song was rocky, with rapid guitar and bass parts and an exciting drum part, and each stroke of the keys on Zack's keyboard complimented every part of the song. Dewey was to start singing. He continued strumming his electric guitar and sang out in a cool, smooth voice:

You think that darkness has got you!

You think there's nothing you can do!

You don't know what's false and what's true,

'Cause you-hoo, think you're,

Lost

_ _

There was a short interlude. A few curious adolescents appeared at the driveway, fascinated at the sight of the band, nodding their heads to the music as Dewey continued, the others joining in with harmony.

But look at yourself and you'll see there's,

More to you than ever was there!

Don't be blind! Don't be blind! Just open your eyes,

And you'll find,

That you're not lost!

You're just biding your time,

Trying to feel, trying to find yourself,

But listen to me, and just be all you can be,

And you'll go, and you'll go,

From lost to found, oh, to found...

Zack launched into a short keyboard solo. By now, there was a small crowd of furs of various ages watching in front of the garage. A few were playing air guitar with Dewey, and others were playing air drums with Ace. The rest just jumped and danced as if they were at a rock concert. This was all okay with DAZE, however. The neighborhood officials didn't mind, as long as the music wasn't too loud. The band would have to get used to furs watching them anyway if they were to become number one on the charts someday.

Dewey was enjoying himself immensely. The music didn't waver even for a second as the four of them as a group began to sing the second verse. No one member of the band directly sang the melody, but the sweet harmony of their voices together created it as they sang:

You're at the bottom and can't find the ladder!

Life's strikin' quickly like some kind of adder!

Nothing seems right! There's no light! Now you're drifting

Out of sight, and now you think you're

Lost

_ _

But you've forgotten there's always a way out!

Take my paw, hang on tight, maybe let out a shout!

You can win! You can win! You still have to begin!

Let me show you

The crowd cheered, some of it singing along this time as the chorus came once again. After that came a guitar solo from Dewey. He really got into it, his fingers everywhere as he played note after perfect note at a rapid pace. Halfway through, Zack joined in again, matching Dewey's guitar notes with quick keystrokes. The climax of the duet came at the end of the solo, and suddenly the music slowed down in pace, melting into a silky-smooth harmony. Eddie on his bass guitar kept the same pace, however. Dewey began to sing the bridge of the song in a low key, with Eddie answering back in a higher key every other line:

Nothing can stop me...

(I'm unstoppable! I'm unstoppable!)

Come on and join me...

(Whatcha waitin' for? Whatcha waitin' for?)

Darkness can't hold me...

(I can see beyond! I can see beyond!)

Ooh, you've gotta see!

(Gotta see, gotta see!)

_ _

All four of them sang the last "gotta see." Smoothly, the song slipped back into its original pace as the chorus came two more times. The song ended with the last word of the chorus, sung long and strong, the music dissolving into silence as the four voices rang out in perfect harmony, ending simultaneously only seconds later, the sound still ringing clear throughout the neighborhood and in the ears of the audience, who clapped and cheered wildly for this random but amazing band that they had been lucky enough to happen upon. Ace stood up, panting slightly after the demanding rhythm of the song they had just played. He pulled his microphone off of its stand and faced the crowd, which quickly became silent at the realization that a member of the band was about to speak.

"Hey, everyone!" He began. "Heh, glad you're all enjoying our band practice. This here is Dewey, he likes to play the guitar!"

Dewey, who had been triple-checking the tuning of his guitar, started at the mention of his name, but then turned to the audience, his guitar in one paw while he waved with the other.

"I'm Ace, I like the drums, and this is Zack, keyboard master!" Zack also gave a little wave as he tapped out a playful fanfare on his keyboard.

"And this is Eddie on the bass guitar!" The Doberman fell into step and waved. Zack smiled and picked up his own microphone. "We're D, A, Z, and E, so go out and tell all your friends that DAZE is on its way to the top!"

The crowd cheered a bit more, each member socializing as it slowly dispersed. Dewey was surprised by who he saw walking up Ace's driveway.

"Hm? Lai? What're you doing here? What happened to work?"

The husky set down his briefcase. "Well, because of all that happened last night, there are many businesses closing for fear of it all happening again, mine included. Remember, nobody knows exactly what these strange furs are capable of or how far they'll go."

"So you're home for the day? Awesome!"

"Did ya get to hear us, Lai?" asked Zack, his tail wagging.

"Sure did!" answered Laitan. "You four sound terrific! You could definitely score a record deal with that song."

"You think so?" asked Kanei. "That'd sure be cool!"

"Yeah, but we should write some more songs first," pointed out Eddie. "If... no,when we make our first album someday, we want it full of songs that every fur will remember!"

"Not a bad idea there, Eddie. So, Dewey, where's your new car?"

"Aw, no worries, Lai, it's in Ace's--baah!"

Dewey grunted as a piece of paper that had been drifting on the wind suddenly smacked into his face. "Grr! Furs and their trash, as if the trash cans at the end of each driveway aren't enough!" He crumpled it up and tossed it playfully at Zack. It caught him off-guard, and he yelped, hurling it back at Dewey. "Pfft, silly husky." Dewey grinned and put it down so he could ambush the Dalmatian later. Kanei, however, sneaked up and nicked it without Dewey knowing, opening it up. Immediately, his eyes widened, and he quickly crumpled it up again, depositing it in his pocket.

"Well, Dewey," said Laitan, "I figured that you'd be here with your friends showing off your new car--"

"I'm not showing off! Well, I did_show_ it to them, but not like that."

"Riiight. Anyway, I just came to say hello and let you know I was off. I'll be at home trying to see what I can find out about last night."

"Alright then. See ya soon, Lai!"

With a chorus of goodbyes from Ace, Zack, and Eddie, Laitan picked up his briefcase, got into his car, and drove away. Kanei was instantly up on his footpaws, bouncing from one to the other. "Guys! Y-you've gotta see this, you've gotta see it!"

"Gotta see, gotta see!" sang Eddie. "See what?"

Kanei yanked the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. Jerlon stood up and looked closely at it as the tiger held it up. "No way! It's Dewey!" Dewey's ears perked up as the others crowded close for a better look at the paper.

"Are you sure?" asked Ace doubtfully. "This husky doesn't have his hairstyle."

"But look at the face!" said Zack. "It_is_him!"

"No way!" said Jerlon. "What about that husky we saw earlier? He looked almost exactly like Dewey! It's gotta be him!"

Dewey stood on his tip-paws to see what his friends were talking about. He gasped and snatched it out of Kanei's paw. In bold, black, capital letters on the top of the paper were the words "WE WANT." Below that was a picture. The husky in the picture did look almost exactly like him, but it looked more like the husky they had met before. Worst of all was the image below that picture:

The silhouette of a helicopter.

Dewey was silent. He stared long and hard at the picture. Those evil furs in the helicopters wanted his double, and they didn't seem to care what they had to do to get him.

"You shouldn't tell Lai, Dewey," said Kanei.

"Why not?"

"You know how he worries about you, and you know why. This wouldn't help a bit. I'm surprised he's even letting you out by yourself today."

"Yeah... but that was more than eighteen years ago...."

"Still, look at who he lost. He doesn't want to lose you on top of that. This picture will freak him out, because it looks so much like you. We simply need to find your look-alike and protect him, and hope that there aren't more of these flyers."

Dewey sighed and nodded. "Well where are we supposed to find him? All we know about him is that he looks just like me and knows someone with a black Navigator."

Ace spoke up. "Anyone get the license plate number?"

There was no reply. Nobody would have bothered to take notice of the vehicle's license plate. There was nothing special about it, and there hadn't really been a reason to pay any extra attention to it at the time anyway.

Dewey picked up his guitar slowly. He could not explain what he was feeling. It had come so suddenly. It wasn't sadness, nor loneliness, but just some kind of pall on his soul. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. His fingers slowly moved among the six strings of his instrument, which, with help from the amplifier, poured out a mellow series of notes. The song wasn't sad. It wasn't even a written song. It was simply the feeling of Dewey's heart: mellow. Soothing. It was the tune of a dreamer.

Ace, Zack, Eddie, Kanei, and Jerlon listened in silence, all of their senses suddenly lost in the sound of Dewey's guitar. They just knew that somehow, someway, they would figure things out. They would find Dewey's doppelganger, and somehow protect him from the evil grasp of the enemy. Somehow....

It was almost evening before Dewey returned home after dropping Kanei off at his house. He brought his guitar and amplifier inside, depositing them on the couch. Laitan was in the kitchen, wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap, cooking dinner for Dewey and himself. He gave Dewey a smile. "Hey there, bud! Dinner's almost ready."

Dewey smiled back. "It smells good!"

"Why, thank ya! Go wash up. How was your day?"

"Great!" said Dewey cheerily as he headed for the bathroom. "We just keep getting better!"

"That's great! Any more audiences?"

"A few furs came now and then. We weren't really doing much. Er... we were trying to come up with a new song."

"Oh? Well, that_is_ great! C'mon, dinner's ready."

Normally, Laitan and Dewey had a great time talking and laughing about various things over dinner. Tonight, however, the two canines ate their meal in silence. There was so much on their minds. Dewey was worried about his double, of course. Laitan, however, had other things on his mind.

There was so much of Rejan Raiden that had shown up in Dewey over the years. The younger husky was so active, so ambitious. He was bright, he was polite, and he could be pretty funny too. There were many times when Laitan could have sworn he was talking to his old friend. He could vividly remember something that his friend Mystren had said long ago when Rejan's wife had first become pregnant:

"Kids are a lot of work. Their parents almost literally sign their entire lives over to them, and there's so much you have to deal with, emotionally, financially, and... it's all just so much. Still... I can just imagine parenthood later on down the road. There's so much that's new, but then some things just reflect, no matter what. It's just amazing, huh?"

Laitan looked out the window. Beyond the outskirts of Trentbriar, shrouded in sunset haze, loomed Split Mountain, where the unthinkable had happened almost two decades ago. His eyes trailed to the fur in front of him, Dewey Raiden. Dewey was the only survivor he knew, other than himself, and almost everything he did reminded Laitan of his friends, and Timba and Yama, who had only lived for several short hours. Dewey meant so much, as a son, as a friend, and as everything else. What Laitan had been through hadn't been easy to live with, even eighteen years later, but Dewey was what had gotten him through it all.

Suddenly, there was a faint bang, and the ground trembled, breaking Laitan's thoughts. Dewey blinked in surprise. "What was that?"

Laitan held up a paw. There was another one, a little more forceful than the first. Laitan rushed to the window. Flames once again licked at the sky. "Oh, crud, they're back, Dewey! Get everything and head for the basement!"

Dewey hesitated for a second. His mind drifted over his double. "Stay safe," he whispered quietly. With that, he sprang into action, going for the TV and the blankets while Laitan again grabbed the snacks. The news report was hardly any different from that of last night. There were helicopters, bombs, bullets, damage, and other insanity, but thankfully a death toll of zero. Dewey sighed softly, hoping that his new friend (for that was what he now thought of his double as) was somewhere safe.

Jaden Bryant stood silently in the doorway to one of his helicopters, surveying the scene below. Smoke billowed toward the evening sky. The sound of machine guns rent the would-be quiet air. All of this was for Dewey. Jaden wanted Dewey. He held up one of his flyers, which had a picture of Timba on it. The boys, after all,had told Jaden that Dewey looked just like them. Jaden could see no reason why he shouldn't. He smirked, tossing the flyer out of the helicopter, which promptly sent it fluttering to the ground. Judging by the news reports he had managed to pick up, the wolf could tell that his message was most definitely getting across. A few more nights of bombing and flyers and Dewey was sure to come up. He reached into his trench coat and pulled out the note that had been written eighteen years ago by his father, Logan, who was still serving time in prison in Trentbriar, where any chance of leniency was nonexistent. That didn't matter to Jaden, however. His father probably wouldn't even survive the havoc he was planning to wreak upon Trentbriar. It would be all in good time, however. The first step would be to get Dewey. Jaden wanted all three of his sons, and should Dewey refuse or try to escape, he would simply perish with the rest of this sorry excuse for a dump that the half-breed huskies liked to call Trentbriar.

To Be Continued...