Chapter 9

When the intercoms went off, informing everyone of the situation, practically the entire classroom went crazy. Of course, they followed their teacher's instructions and procedure but right after they stood at the back of the class, huddling for safety, they were all fairly scared. Consistent mutters and whispers came from the students, who had been trying to make sarcastic remarks or jokes to hide their fear. Only a few minutes earlier had they heard a haunting howl come deep from the school's corridors. No one understood what it was since there were no dogs at school. But one particular boy knew that if his team received the news about the school, they would arrive sooner or later.

But a more terrifying thought was that only earlier that day had he called one of his pups to the school. And Ryder knew that the pained howl came from none other than Rocky.

The boy quickly crawled over to his teacher and informed her of the situation. Immediately, she shook her head. "I cannot do that, Ryder. It's too dangerous for you, even if you are apart of a rescue team."

"My pup is out there and hurt for that matter!" He hissed in a low whisper. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. And my pup must have already sent a distress signal to the others, it'll only be in a matter of time before they arrive and I can't let them enter this building without my order."

"If your team is coming, then that means they called the police," his teacher calmly insisted. "I'm sorry, Ryder, but it is my responsibility so you don't get hurt, along with the rest of my students."

Ryder bit back a retort since it was his job to protect the entire town. He ultimately sighed then crawled back to his original position. He couldn't exactly escape the classroom without endangering his classmates (plus it was blocked off anyway), so unless he wanted to jump out of the window and break his legs, he might as well be useless and pain-free inside the room. He just couldn't help but feel worried to death about his hurt pup.

Ryder's hurt pup, that being Rocky, was doing worse than he'd expected. The eco pup softly whimpered with every step he took, hopefully getting closer to his destination. His leg felt like it was on fire, like every cell in his body was urging him to rest and stay put, but he couldn't exactly do that. He has an owner to find. More than that, if he stays put, the woman from before might come back and shoot him again. Now that wouldn't be good. Rocky wondered how long it was until the rest of his team arrived with the police since the Paw Patrol was not a group to take so long.

In reality, he had been only walking for five minutes, but it felt like an eternity. He wonders if he had left a trail of blood behind him since he had been feeling lightheaded for a while. Losing a lot of blood wasn't going to do him any good. He has… no plan what so ever. Rocky had no clue on what to do. The classrooms were blocked, so he couldn't exactly walk in and look at his owner like that. And he couldn't go and search for the shooter because, again, he might get shot again. Speaking of, he had no idea if any of the classrooms he had been passing was Ryder's class since the boy never told him a room number before.

So, in summary of how Rocky was doing; he was hurt, lost, and overall clueless. 'Fantastic' he thought sarcastically with a sigh. The pup looked around, trying to spot anything that might give him a clue where his owner was. He tried to think back, desperately trying to recall any clues the boy might have given him as to where he might be. But nothing to mind. 'Dang it, Ryder! You tell us what's been happening to you but you don't tell us what classes you have?!' He shouted in his mind.

After another minute of limping, he saw another office come into view. He pondered the thought of going inside then ultimately decided that it was best. Fortunately for him, there was no door to stop him from entering. He slowly walked over to behind the reception desk and found a young man ducking for cover there. The man was fairly shocked to see a pup walk up to him.

"Who are you?" The man whispered as softly as he could, so he didn't attract any attention.

"I'm Rocky, a part of the Paw Patrol. I need help finding my owner, he goes to this school," the pup quietly explained.

"What's his name?" The man whispered, pulling out his phone and taping a few times on his screen.

"Ryder."

"Ryder what? I need a last name." Rocky paused. Frick, he doesn't know his last name. After an awkward minute, he suddenly remembered all the news reports they made about the Paw Patrol.

"Jones! Ryder Jones." Rocky sighed in relief when the man began to tap away. 'What kind of last name is Jones anyway?' He thought with a faint smirk.

"Room 212, upstairs on the left," the man told him. "I don't know what it'll help you with. The door is most likely blocked."

"I'll figure something out. Thanks."

"Be careful, little pup," was what the man whispered before he limped away. Rocky decided that it wasn't a good idea to knock on the classroom door so, instead, he exited the entire building and dug into his vehicle. When he found what he was looking for, he walked along the perimeter and positioned the item once he found room 212. Preparing himself, he took a deep breath before he started hopping on the trampoline, getting higher each time. After a few seconds, he was around the height of the room's window.

"Ryder!" He yelled. He fell before he popped back up. "Ryder!"

He kept repeating the process until someone noticed him. After his fifth try, he finally saw the boy through the window, making him smile.

"Can you…" he fell down the rose back up, "... let me in?!"

The window opened and by the next-hop he made, the pup was caught and pulled into the classroom.

"Gosh Rocky, you scared the living daylights out of me," Ryder almost laughed. His expression grew worried when he saw the pup's wound. "Woah, what happened?"

"The lady shot my leg, it hurts really bad," Rocky whimpered a bit, laying his head on his owner's folded legs. "It's good to see you're okay, by the way."

"Why didn't you leave? This is too dangerous for one pup," Ryder lightly scolded, signaling anyone to hand him the first aid. When it was given to him, he bit his lip when there wasn't anything he could use. Just a whole lot of bandages. He sighed since he had to still replace the makeshift bandage Rocky made. He was about to use his sleeve when someone handed him a rag. He looked up to see Conner, who was looking at him seriously. It wasn't a proper apology but by helping his pup, Ryder accepted it.

The boy grabbed the rag and replaced the other, cringing a bit when he saw the wound. The bullet went through, thankfully, but it still didn't make it look better. He tightly wrapped the new rag around his pup's leg, who whimpered a bit, making him apologize instantly. He clenched his fists, staring at the covered wound intensely. His jaw clenched when he felt bubbling anger consume him. When he gets his hands on the shooter–

"Ryder," Rocky's soft voice interrupted his plan of revenge. His large eyes stared deeply into his. The pup placed a paw on his hand. "I'm okay. No need to do anything you might regret."

Ryder opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut instead. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, his face and hands relaxing a bit as he did. The boy nodded. No need to make any unnecessary trouble.

The doorknob suddenly jiggled. Everyone froze. Rocky, against Ryder's silent command, stood up and got into a defensive position. He began to growl, however, when the thundering sound from the door became more violent. Suddenly, a gunshot went off, shattering a window right next to the door. The woman he had met earlier looked quite surprised before her face settled into a sly smirk.

"Well, look who it is! The pup that decided to call for help," she chuckled. She peered inside the room and saw the scared people inside. She carelessly pointed her weapon toward them, making them tense. "I see I have found my next targets. I've already cleared out the front office. Nice people. Horrible runners."

"Back off!" Rocky barked, lowering himself to the ground and ready to attack.

"Oh, I'm hurt," she faked shocked. "And after our little moment in the hallway."

"I'm warning you!" The woman shrugged and slowly raised her pistol, aiming for the children. More specifically, Conner. A shot rang out, a body fell. Right after, another shot went off and another body collapsed. Suddenly, cops began to barge in and escort everyone out.

"Rocky!" Both Ryder and Conner cried out, seeing the fallen mixed breed that took the shot. Both children rushed toward the pup and began to work quickly. He was shot in the shoulder, a few more inches and the bullet would have been through the head. Ryder began to put pressure on the wound using another cloth Conner gave him.

"You need to stay awake for me, Rocky. You're going to be fine," Ryder consulted, desperately trying to ignore his surroundings and focus on his pup. He's already lost a lot of blood, he realized.

"R-Ryder?" Rocky stuttered, then whimpered when pain shot from both his shoulder and leg.

"Where the hell are those paramedics?" Conner muttered, looking out the door and past the cops. He barely had the chance to see the woman from before being taken into custody.

"I'm here, buddy," Ryder responded to his pup, holding in his tears. He has to hang onto hope. He can't give up now. Where are those paramedics?!

"Promise me, Ryder. Don't shut out the others, they only try to help-"

"I know, Rocky, I know. But you'll be with me to know I'll keep up that promise," Ryder smiled a bit, glancing at the door. The rest of the Paw Patrol came barging in. Marshall pushed Ryder out of the way as he, and the other paramedic, began to work on Rocky.

The eco pup kept his eyes on the boy, who was looking at him with frozen shock.

"I love you," he whispered before the pup finally closed his eyes.

TBC...