As Skye continued to search through the air, she kept an eye out for Marshall or anyone else trapped in the forest. So intent of finding Marshall, she hadn't noticed she was getting closer to the smoke until her engine started to sputter, which brought her attention back to her flying.

"Whoa!" She said, pulling up just above the smoke. That's when she called Ryder. "Ryder, I can't get too close to the fire or else my engines will fry because of the smoke."

"That's alright Skye, just keep an eye out for Marshall if you can."

"Roger that. Also, I've contacted the fire department's helicopter. They're going to help keep an eye out for him too."

"Copy that. Be careful Skye." With that, Skye continued the search.

Back on the ground, Ryder looked at Chase.

"Anything?" He asked, and Chase picked up his head, coughing.

"It's hard with all this smoke and brunt grass in the way, but I think...I think I got it." The Shepherd said, coughing again.

"Easy Chase, I know we're on a clock, but I don't want you to get hurt too." Ryder said, patting the top of Chase's head. The German Shepherd coughed again, ignoring the tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm good. Let's just find Marshall." He said and with that, the two continued heading deeper into the forest.

Back with Marshall, the Dalmatian was running and running until he came across a ditch.

"You sure this is where you'd last saw her Lil' Hootie?" He asked and the owl hoed softly, almost drowsily. Marshall couldn't stop the flinch. Looks like the fumes are getting to him. Better hurry! He thought, looking around until he saw something bright yellow that looked like hair further down the ditch. That must be her! He thought and began running down the side of the ditch.

"Danielle! Danielle!" He called out, coughing a little. The little girl paused when she heard her name and looked up to see Marshall running towards her, and smiled.

"M-Marshall! I'm so glad you're here, I was trying to find my way back to my mommy and daddy, but I got lost! And then, this fire appeared out of nowhere!" She said, coming close to tears.

"Shh, Danielle. It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay. I know where your parents are, I'll take you to them. But first, let's get you out of this ditch." Marshall said, smiling gently. The little girl smiled back, despite her tears.

"Okay." She said just as Marshall began to look around for something for Danielle to climb on. He coughed again. Come on, come on, there has to be something! Suddenly, Marshall spotted a fallen tree that was a few feet away from them, and landed into the ditch. He smiled.

"Danielle, there's a tree you can climb on. Do you see it?" He asked. Danielle looked around and when she spotted the tree, she nodded. "Good. You can use that as ramp to get up here." That's when Marshall looked behind the little girl and gasp.

There was fire heading directly towards Danielle.

Marshall looked back quickly and shouted for her to run. Danielle had been confused, but when she saw the fire behind her, she ran as fast as her chubby legs could take her. The girl was starting to tear up again.

"M-Marshall!"

"You'll be fine, I promise! You're almost there!" Marshall shouted, but Danielle had tripped over a small rock and landed face first into the ground. Marshall gasped and checked to see the fire was quickly catching up to her. Without thought, Marshall jumped down and gently used his teeth to carry her. "Hang on Lil Hootie." He'd muffled, but the owl quickly understood and held onto the dog as tightly as he could with one wing.

With both passengers secured, Marshall quickly ran towards the tree, jumped on and ran to safety. When they were on higher ground, Marshall placed the little girl down, who was sobbing quietly.

"Are you okay, Danielle?" He asked, but Danielle shook her head.

"I-I'm scared! I-I want my m-mommy!" She sobbed.

"Danielle, look at me," Marshall said and Danielle turned to him with brown, teary-eyed eyes. The Dalmatian smiled. "You're doing great. As soon as we get out of this forest, we'll find your parents, okay? That's a promise. You are so brave, I want you to know that."

Danielle hiccupped.

"R-really?" She asked and Marshall nodded.

"Yeah, I never seen such a brave child like you. You're handling this very well. Come on, stop crying. We have to move." Marshall said, getting up as Danielle nodded, wiping away her tears.

"I'm not a scardey-cat, I'm brave. I can do this!" She said, looking confident. Marshall grinned again.

"That's the spirit! Come on, there should be an exit soon." With that, both the pup and child began running to what they hope would be the end of a nightmare.

Back with Chase and Ryder, both Ryder and the German Shepherd let out another cough.

"Picked up his scent?" Ryder asked, still coughing.

"Almost..." Chase said, also coughing, but deep inside, was getting worried. The fire isn't going anywhere, as well as the smoke and both of them are covering up Marshall's scent. He thought, the fear and panic he was feeling getting worse and worse. Marshall, PLEASE be alright. Please. I...I...I can't live without you.

Marshall and Danielle continue to run, the little girl a little behind him. They suddenly came to a stop.

"Which way now?" Danielle asked, looking at the Dalmatian. Marshall looked at the little bird on his back.

"Hootie?" He asked. Marshall would've found his way out by sniffing, but knew the carbon monoxide had quickly filled the air, along with cyanide. The owl gave out a weak hooing noise, but couldn't do much else. "Looks like we're on our own." Marshall said, looking at the little girl.

Marshall knew it was dangerous to sniff. If he let a single monocle of the fire inside his body, he was doomed to burning his lungs. What's more important? Blacken lungs or getting both Lil Hootie and Danielle to safety? He thought and didn't even grace himself with an answer - he instead, sniffed.

Fire, smoke, and...a little bit of fresh air, coming from the east side of them.

"This way!" He said, coughing a little as he and Danielle raced down the forest once more. They soon came to a end of the hill, with fire up top. "We have to be careful as we walk across the edge." He said, and Danielle nodded.

"Right. Um, Marshall? Think I can hold the birdie for a bit?" Danielle asked. Marshall nodded his head, and Danielle gently picked up the bird. She reached down into her pocket and pulled out a small handkerchief, gently pressing it against the bird's mouth and nose. "There we go."

"You had that the whole time? Why didn't you use it?" Marshall asked. Danielle shrugged.

"I've...I've never really thought about me. Just the animals I'd rescued when I saw their scared look." She said, blushing lightly. Marshall stared at her and smiled.

"That's amazing." He said.

"I love animals. I don't want them to lose their homes." Danielle said, and Marshall couldn't help but find their situation just a bit...eh. Don't wanna lose their homes and yet there's a fire. He thought but didn't say anything.

As the two walked carefully around the edge, a large yet clearly random log was slowly breaking away from its place, and began rolling towards them. As the log picked up speed, Marshall paused when he heard the sound and looked up in horror. The log was clearly on a path, and as Marshall followed the path, his mouth dropped.

"DANIELLE LOOK OUT!" He shouted, running towards the girl and pushed her out of the way, just as the log made contact with the pup. Marshall let out a startled yelp as he and log began to fall from the cliff. Danielle screamed.

"MARSHALL!"