PAW Patrol Origins - Marshall's Story (Part 1)
My name is Marshall. I had a loving family and a place to call home. My mum was so beautiful she made all the boys drool. But my dad was the coolest. He was the fire dog of Pawsville town and my hero. The amount of lives he had saved was endless. So many, I've now lost count.
But you see, that was 5 years ago. Before the fire that still haunts my nightmares. One spark was all it took to send the whole town up in flames. I remember the terror like it was yesterday. The way dad led his crew, the way mum feared for my life. They tried so hard to save everyone, but it was no match. And now, as the only survivor, I vow to honour their memory and be just like them. I just wish I knew how?
As I walked through the woods, my tummy growled loudly.
"Oh, why is it so hard for a stray to find a decent meal?" I sighed.
I was so busy daydreaming about chewing on a juicy bone, I didn't watch where I was going. Tripping over a rock, my paws lost balance and I went rolling down the hill. Finally, I came to a stop.
"I'm good" I said, but no one was around to listen.
As I pulled myself up with a dizzy head, I saw a sign. Once my balance came back, I saw it clearly.
'Welcome to Adventure Bay' it read. 'All are welcome.'
"This place sounds nice" I thought to myself. "Maybe I can find something to eat here."
As I went past the sign, there was a grand bridge. I made my way across and got a view of the whole town. There was a snowy mountain, a town hall, plenty of cafes, even a playground with a huge slide!
"This place is just like Pawsville used to be" I said, remembering back to when his hometown was alive.
One building caught my eye. It was on a hill at the end of town. It was shaped like a tower, but cooler.
"I gotta take a better look" I smiled. "But first, time to have some fun on that slide."
Excited, I ran over the bridge towards to playground. I felt unstoppable, but boy was I wrong.
"Oi" yelled a scary voice.
The fright made my front paws screech to a stop. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for my back ones. Again my clumsiness got the better of me and I ended up flat on my face.
"What are doing here, spotted clown!" came the scary voice again. "This is our turf."
Looking to see where the voice was coming from, I face to face with 3 male Rottweiler's. They were much bigger than me, and looked a lot stronger. I was now starting to wish I hadn't come.
"Umm... ss...sorry" I stuttered in fear. "I was just...hoping to try the slide out?"
"Well, you can't!" snapped the 2nd Rottweiler. "This is our playground, so only we can play on the side!"
"But, but..." I whimpered. "...the sign back there said all are welcome."
"Yeah well, that doesn't apply to a filthy stray like you!" growled the 3rd Rottweiler. "Boys, I think we need to teach this runt a lesson, the fun way."
As the other two nodded in agreement, I found myself backed into a corner. With their shadows casting over me, I felt so alone and helpless. They sung their paws at me, knocking me the ground. Laughing, they thrashed their sharp claws, cutting my leg. I thought I was done for, but then, it changed.
"HEY!" shouted another voice. "Get away from him!"
I looked up to see who was daring to help me. It was another pup! He appeared to be the same age as me, with brown fur and pointy ears. As he walked towards me, I could see he was wearing an interesting outfit. Sporting a deep blue vest, hat and backpack, he looked almost like a policeman.
"Who are you?" asked the 1st Rottweiler
"Wait, you're that lookout pup right?" said the 2nd.
"What's with that dumb outfit, shepherd boy?" teased the 3rd.
As the pup came closer, I could see the Rottweiler was right. The pup was indeed a German Shepherd. I always knew they were brave, but for this pup to stand up to three dogs twice his size, was very gutsy.
"What's the matter, you got a problem?" quizzed the 2nd Rottweiler sarcastically.
"Yes, I do actually" the German Shepherd retorted back. "You, picking on this Dalmatian."
"Oh, and I suppose you're gonna ask us to stop." chuckled the 1st Rottweiler.
"I'm not asking, I'm telling you" the German Shepherd demanded. "Leave him alone!"
"What you gonna do about it, arrest us?" the 3rd Rottweiler joked.
"If I have to, yes" the German Shepherd barked. "Ruff ruff, net!"
At that moment, the pup's backpack opened up and a net launcher popped out. I was very surprised.
"Now, last chance, back off!" the German Shepherd pup said sternly.
"Let's go boys, this boring anyway" the 1st Rottweiler said.
And with that, the three large dogs ran off. I had never been so relieved.
"Are you alright?" the German Shepherd said to me as he helped me up.
"I'm fine" I replied with immense gratitude. "Thanks for scaring them off, you didn't have to do that."
"Yes I did, it's my job" the German Shepherd replied. "I can't stand bullies like that."
Still amazed by his courage, I had to know his name.
"I'm Marshall" I said cheerfully, holding out my paw.
"Nice to meet you Marshall, I'm Chase" the German Shepherd responded and shook my paw back.
"Anyway, I better go" I said as I began to walk away. "It was nice meeting you Chase."
"Wait!" Chase called back to me. "You can't go with that deep cut, it could get worse."
"Oh, I'll be fine, I'm used to it" I called back, not wanting to bother the super cool pup.
"Non-sense" Chase stated, coming back over to me. "You look half-starved."
Chase was right. I was so hungry, it seemed like my growling tummy was normal.
"Come with me, my owner will fix you up, and give you a decent meal" Chase smiled.
At first I was unsure. No one had ever been this nice to me. But I needed to get my leg seen to. A cut like that could easily become infected. Plus, any longer without food or water and thought I might keel over.
"Ok, thanks" I replied hesitantly.
We walked for what seemed like ages, but soon we arrived at Chase's home. There, I was even amazed to find we had arrived at the cool lookout tower I had seen before.
"This is where you live?" I gasped in amazement as we went inside.
"Yep, just me and Ryder" Chase replied happily.
"Who's Ryder?" I asked.
But before Chase could respond, his question was answered. Down and out the elevator appeared a boy. He looked 10 years old, was wearing blue trousers and a red jacket, and had brown spiky hair.
"Ah Chase, I was wondering where you..." Ryder said but then stopped. "Who's this?"
"This is Marshall" Chase said. "I found him being bullied and beaten up in the playground."
As Ryder came closer towards me, I felt a little nervous.
"Nice to meet you Marshall" Ryder spoke softly. "Well done for stepping in Chase"
"He needs food and his leg cleaning up" Chase said, pointing at my front leg.
"I see" Ryder said seriously as he gazed at my wound. "Don't worry, I'll see to that."
Picking me up, Ryder took me into the elevator. Once we reached the top floor, I was wowed further by the sight. Inside was a control room with a video screen. Sitting me down on a bean bag, Ryder took out a first aid box and started to patch up my wound. Then, Chase arrived, nudging his bowl full of biscuits.
"Here" Chase smiled. "Best pup food in town."
I smiled back before diving head first into bowl. I was so hungry, I must've eaten the whole thing in record time. Once Ryder had finished off fixing my leg, he left me and Chase alone to chat.
"So Marshall..." Chase asked "...I've not seen you around Adventure Bay before, are you new?"
"No, I don't really live anywhere" I replied sadly. "I'm a... stray."
"Being a stray is nothing to be ashamed of Marshall" Chase said kindly. "I know how that feels."
"Really?" I asked very surprisingly.
"Yeah" replied Chase. "I used to be a stray too before Ryder found me a year ago."
"And it's just been the two of you since?" I asked back.
"Yes" Chase responded. "Now I live here and together we are known as the PAW Patrol."
"The PAW Patrol?" I quizzed. "What's that?"
"We rescue people in trouble" Chase stated. "Ryder's the leader, I'm the police and traffic cop."
"Oh, so that's why you're dressed like that" I said, observing the blue backpack again.
Hours went by as Chase and I talked. We found out so much about each other. I told him about Pawsville and my parents, he told me about his past life too. We seemed to have so much in common. Even when we played a game called 'Pup Pup Boogie' we both bumped into each other. It was the first time I wasn't embarrassed to be clumsy. It seemed I had finally made a friend and I didn't want the fun to end. Suddenly, I heard a beep. I looked around, then realised it was coming from Chase's collar tag.
"Chase, I need you!" Ryder cried through the speaker. "Town Hall is on fire!"
"On my way, Ryder sir" Chase replied standing up quickly.
He was about to take off down the slide, when he looked back at me.
"C'mon Marshall, you could help us" Chase said encouragingly.
I thought for a moment, why would they want my help? But then I remembered all the fire safety knowledge my dad taught me. What if now was my chance? I wasn't going to lose it, so I quickly stood up and joined my new friend down the slide. Once we reached the bottom, Chase barked and we landed on a blue box. I thought it was his pup house, but it unfolded and turned into a police truck!
"You can drive!" I exclaimed.
"Yep" Chase replied proudly. "Now you'd better buckle up, we've got a fire to stop."
We, he said we. From that point, I felt I had a purpose. As we drove away, I couldn't stop thinking about my parents. Could I be facing the same fate as them, or was about to be something extraordinary?
Authors Note: Hi everyone, I hope you like the start of this new series. Also, I know that I haven't finished my latest Mission PAW yet, but I've had serious mental block with that story. I will get round to it eventually. Plus, I know a lot of you have wanted me to do the origins of the PAW Patrol, so I figured I'll make a start on that. Look out for Part 2.