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PART 1: THE ABANDONED CABIN

Chapter 1: Into the Flames

It was a snowy day in mid-January. The temperature was in the low twenties as the rising sun began to shine its rays on Adventure Bay. Ryder and the crew had gotten up early to meet Everest and Jake up on the mountainside, where the temperature had reached single digits. Jake had gone back up the mountain after receiving a call from some skiers, leaving Ryder and the pups on their own. A harsh series of storms over the past month had taken its toll on Adventure Bay, but no location had been hit worse than Jake's Mountain. The Paw Patrol was continuously called throughout the past few weeks to help with rescues and repairs around the area. During one of the search and rescues, Rubble and Everest had come across an old, abandoned two-story cabin on the east side of the mountain. Immediately realizing its state of structural instability, the construction pup alerted Jake, who agreed that it needed to be cleared away as soon as possible. So it was that the Paw Patrol found themselves gathered around an ancient log cabin in severe dilapidation.

As Chase finished setting up the safety cones to mark a safe perimeter around the cabin, Marshall talked with Ryder. "Ryder, are you sure this will work? Why aren't we having Rubble knock it down with his crane?"

Ryder squatted down, narrowing the distance between him and his nervous pup. Even though Marshall hadn't revealed it outright, Ryder knew his friend well enough to know what was going through his mind. "I told you back at the Lookout, Marshall; there's not necessarily any reason Rubble can't do it, but we weren't sure we could find a way through the trees with his vehicle. Besides, this is the perfect time to put some of the equipment modifications Rocky and I have been working on to good use. It also gives you good practice with your new gear. There's nothing to be afraid of; you've trained relentlessly. You're ready for this!"

The fire pup's bright blue eyes shone like the sparkling snow under his paws as he looked at his owner. "Thanks, Ryder, you're right! I am ready!"

Chase walked up to report to their leader. "Safety perimeter has been set up, Ryder sir!"

Ryder looked around at the ring of cones set up in the snow around the condemned structure. "Great work, Chase! Go ahead around to the back of the building to make sure nobody comes from that side." As Chase padded around to the back of the house, Ryder did a quick head count to ensure everyone was a safe distance away. "Marshall, Chase, Skye, Zuma, Rubble, and Rocky. We have everyone. Go ahead, Marshall. Whenever you're ready!"

"I'm fired up! Ruff! Flamethrower!"

Marshall pulled out his flamethrower they had created for just such an occasion as burning down an old ski-lodge in near sub-zero weather. After taking a cautionary glance himself to ensure everyone was at a safe distance behind the cones, the Dalmatian walked into the ring. Taking a deep breath, he blasted the side of the old dwelling place. As he started to walk around the house to ensure the entire building would be engulfed, Marshall watched the snow melting under the beam of fire. Then he noticed something that stopped his heart cold. There in the snow, a lone set of paw prints led the way into the entrance. None returned.

Marshall immediately ceased his fire jet as he realized the implications. There was only one entrance to the cabin and all the windows on the lower floor were boarded up. Whoever made those tracks had to still be in there. Then Marshall realized who it had to be. It was the one pup Ryder had left out of his headcount. Everest. It was too late to extinguish the fire, so only one option remained. Within half a second of stopping his flamethrower, Marshall bolted to the door. 'Come on, Marshall, don't trip and mess this up. Everest is counting on you. You can do this,' he thought to himself.

"Marshall! What are you doing?!" Ryder cried out to his rogue pup.

However, Marshall didn't hear him. He lowered his smoke visor, barked out his water cannon, and charged through the entrance of the burning building. Racing through the smoke and slowly growing flames, the firefighter searched for his missing friend, hoping he wasn't too late. Bounding to the upper floor, Marshall continued his hunt until he heard coughing coming from the back of the building. Entering the room he heard the sound coming from, the fire dog scrambled over to the limp form of Everest surrounded by some loose boards. After a quick visual examination, he couldn't find any major injuries, so he shook her awake.

"Everest, are you okay? We've got to get out of here! Can you walk?"

Everest groaned as she got onto her four paws. "Yeah… I'm fine. What happened?"

"You must have blacked out when one of these boards fell from the ceiling. Come on, we've already started burning down the house!" As if to reinforce the Dalmatian's point, a shower of sparks fell from the ceiling in the hallway, immediately followed by flaming planks and hot coals. The husky's eyes widened as she took in the gravity of the situation. Marshall pointed his water cannon at the fire in their way as it began to grow.

"When the coals are out, head for the front door. Unless something else changes, the way should be clear the rest of the way." After the fire in the hallway subsided, Marshall gave a signal and Everest bolted out the door. As she did so, the door frame above the door gave way, trapping Marshall inside the room.

Everest stopped and turned around in horror. "Marshall! Are you okay? I'll get you out!"

"No!" Marshall objected, raising his voice to a fierce yell, "You won't get me out and then we'll both be buried when the house collapses! Go! I'll be fine!"

Everest was taken aback. She had never heard her friend shout at anyone like that before. The Dalmatian's intensity worked, though, and the snow pup darted back towards the entrance to the house. As Everest left, Marshall considered his limited options. He could try to break through the flaming debris blocking the doorway or he could attempt to jump out the second story window behind him and suffer some hopefully minor injuries. He knew no matter which choice he made, he would end up in excruciating pain, so he went with the route he knew would be faster. With one last glance at the door, Marshall said a silent prayer that Everest had made it out safely. Backing up from the window, he ran towards it and crouched into a jump.

And then he fell through the floor as the room and building collapsed around him. Everyone outside looked up as the cabin fell, crumbling into the ground from the combination of fire and rot.

Everest stared from where she lay on the ground. She had just barely made it out in time, and was distraught that Marshall might not have done the same. "No!" shouted Everest, displaying the dismay everyone else felt, though they were too shocked to show it.

"Did he manage to jump out a window?" Ryder asked hopefully as Chase walked over to them from the other side of the building.

"No…" Chase whimpered as if in a daze, "he's just… gone." A crash sounded from the wreckage as the rubble shifted, collapsing farther into the ground.

"No!" Everest cried again, this time in despair. "He's in there and it's all my fault! I should have stayed to help him! I wish I never went in there in the first place to check for anything that might still be in there," she berated herself, starting to sob.

"No. It doesn't matter why you were in there; it's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's… my own," Ryder consoled her, wrapping her in a hug. "I told him to start; I thought you had gone back up the mountain with Jake. And besides," he said, wiping a tear from the husky's eye, "there's a chance he might be alright under there. We have to try to dig him out."

And so the crew set to work with hope on what would normally have been a hopeless mission.

This is a story that I started telling my younger brother as a bedtime story back in 2014, right around when Everest was introduced. It's gone through major changes since then, and this current version is what everything solidified down to about three years ago. Though it might not seem like it, I have the entire story arc planned out, start to finish, and I love dropping lore. I try to keep everything accurate to reality to a certain extent, so if you notice anything "off" then it's probably that way for a reason. This story is written with some darker themes in mind, like failure, death, and injury (if you couldn't already tell by the ending). I do keep it clean / clinical, though. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

(Edited 9-7-22)
I rewrote this chapter to enhance the descriptions and clarity and make a better reading experience overall. The first few chapters felt rushed to me whenever I went back and reread them, even though they weren't. I just hadn't fallen into my groove yet, and was writing as if it were still in a bedtime story format instead of a chapter format, where you can be a lot more descriptive. On a side note, when I first wrote this chapter (much less when I first told it to my brother back 8 years ago), I had no clue Everest X Marshall was a thing. So, disclaimer; any 'ships' you may find in this story will never be confirmed in the story itself.

And because I see a bunch of other people saying this, I'll go ahead and do it too:
I do not own PAW Patrol or any of its characters.