chapter 2: a wounded shepherd

skye pov

Everyone just left. Rocky is going to a convention for inventors or something for a few days. Everest and Rubble decided to do some snowboarding at Jake's Mountain for the weekend, as it has been a while for them. Marshall and Zuma decided to have a sleepover at Cap'n Turbot's lighthouse. Lastly, Ryder and Chase were out doing some police work. There's been a ton of traffic jams in Coastal City, which is 20 minutes from here. It's Los Angeles-kind of traffic over there, and the police were overworked, so they asked him for help. They both took off for the city in Ryder's ATV, because they already have cars there for them. So...for the first time in a long time, I'm completely alone at the lookout. Everyone left at 5, so I decided to do a few things. I played Pup-Pup Boogie by myself, and I won every time. Perhaps it's the CPU. I took some time at the beach to relax. I also flew around town, just out of boredom. I mean, I needed some alone time, sure. But it just...didn't feel right. Then, out of nowhere, something strange happened. I was getting off my copter after my flight when I just...stopped. I felt something weird on my fur. It was almost a gravitational pull of sorts. Before I knew it, I was walking towards Chase's house. I have never been here by myself before, and nobody else was at the lookout. I opened the door, and I felt relaxed somehow. His scent filled the air. I felt… protected. Like nothing was gonna get to me. I began to look around for anything of interest. I am horrible when it comes to being nosy. I haven't gotten in trouble for it, but I have been close many times. Anyway, I was searching one of the back corners of his home when I saw something that caught my eye. It was a note. "There is a tape located under one of the hills near the lookout. This is only meant to be viewed in a worst case scenario. Love, Chase." I read to myself. I was weirded out by this. Was Chase… hiding something from me? I had to look for this tape. I put the note back where I found it and began to sniff around the hills. I don't have a great sense of smell compared to other breeds. Chase's nose is legendary, and could sniff almost anything. Every few weeks, we blindfold him and test his nose, throwing anything we have at him. But he always gets it right. It's honestly weird. Anyway, I walked up to one of the hills when I had the strangest smell enter my muzzle. It was plastic. I began to dig, and before you know it, I found this… I don't remember what it's called. I think it's a VHS, but I'm not 100 percent on it. Jake told us about times when he would watch tapes when he was a young kid. The tape itself that I found was pretty dirty. On the cover, there were no words at all. It was blank. I got nervous. What could it possibly be? Is Chase… leaving the PAW Patrol? Is someone else hiding something? Is he suicidal? Or worse? I may be jumping to conclusions, but my heart was racing. I had to get to the bottom of this. I ran inside with the tape. I remembered what a VCR looked like, because Jake had one in the attic of his cabin. After at least 20 minutes of trying to find it in the basement, I got it. I walked back up with it to the living room and plugged everything in. I then decided to take some precautionary measures. It was 9 PM now, so it was all dark outside. I put drapes all over the windows. I locked the front doors. I turned out the lights. Nobody could know that I could be watching something like this. I turned on the screen, then I popped the VHS in. It began with a blue screen. It flashed for 5 seconds before the screen went to black. Nothing. After a few seconds, plain white text came up.

This tape is only meant to be viewed if a worst case scenario happens to me. That means… if I die.

If this tape is accidentally discovered, then I'm sorry.

It hit me. This was a… goodbye tape. I felt uneasy. The footage switched to something familiar. It was Chase in his pup house. All by himself. He looked really depressed. I looked at the time stamp in one of the corners. This was made 3 months ago. The video and audio quality weren't perfect, but I didn't care. I continued watching with worry as Chase looked at the camera directly in the eye. He began to speak.

Uhh… hi everyone. I know you all are going through a lot right now. I may have been dead for a while now. A car crash, a murder, anything could have killed me. The point is, I wanted to record this before I died… because I never thought I had the chance to say my last goodbyes.

Chase took a deep breath.

Ryder, you are the greatest leader we can ever have. You gave me and the rest of my friends a home… and a purpose. You showed us that we can be more than just dogs, but make an impact on our community. You showed me and my friends how to do our jobs to the best of our ability. I don't know how or if you are going to replace me. But I still love you, Ryder, no matter what you do. I wish you nothing but the best in the months and years ahead.

I was watching with a combination of curiosity and fear at this point. This wasn't the Chase I knew.

Rubble, you have always been a tough dog. You may look tough on the outside, but you're one of the most lovable and gentle dogs I have ever known. You're young, but we love you man. I do. Just do one thing for me. When you get to heaven, you gotta update me with that Apollo stuff.

Chase and I both laughed at the same time. Rubble was still a huge fan of it, and sometimes would just go on and on about it. Chase's mood went back to somber as he rambled on.

Zuma, you're a really good dude. You're just a guy who I can talk just about anything with. You're so relaxed and calm-even more than I am. You always seem to go with the flow, and I've always admired that about you. But I'm gonna have to be clear. Zuma, be legendary. Be the absolute best you can be. You have some big confidence, and I know you always come through, even in a time like this.

Chase paused. His eyes focused on the camera more.

Everest, you were a great friend to me. You showed me that inclement weather during a rescue does not matter at the end of the day. It is the toughness that persists. Even though I am the unofficial leader of this team, I have learned a few things from you, since you're the oldest.

I have one final request for you.

Take care of Skye for me in the days and weeks after my passing. She's gonna need someone to be that emotional support system. I know this is going to be pretty hard for you, but I know you can do it.

I felt a small tear go down my fur. Chase was concerned about me? How I was going to handle his… death? This was some pretty heavy stuff. Chase was whimpering now. His ears dropped.

Rocky… I have high respect for you. You're the most dependable out of everyone here. You have always come through in a pinch and have impacted the community more than you think. You could literally fix anything in existence… from a broken fence to a high powered race car. You're out here saving the planet every day. Just by doing the little things. As a teammate and friend, I salute you. Now and forever.

Chase was visibly emotional now. Tears were running down his brown fur and he didn't hide it. His voice began to crack.

Marshall, you are my brother in everything but blood. We basically got our jobs at the same time. We talked to each other constantly about how determined and hungry we were to make a difference. And look where we're at. We're the best at what we do. You are the beating heart and soul of this team, and don't let ANYBODY tell you otherwise. You care more about helping others than the rest of us. Hell, that's why you took that EMT job….because you didn't want to see anybody get hurt. Your loyalty is something that I can take for granted. You've always stood by us, no matter how dire the job gets. Your positivity is something that I can only dream of achieving. Every time I see you, you manage to make me smile and laugh. Every time. And… well, we can't do that anymore. At least for a long while.

Chase was choking his words.

Marshall, I want you to treasure what you have with Everest. Mate together. Have pups together. Watch them grow up together. Travel the world together. Get old together. Don't take her for granted… because...I don't think I'll get a chance to do any of those things with Skye.

My eyes couldn't take it. I started crying.

Marshall… as a teammate, best friend and brother, I love you.

Chase's head lowered and he put his face in his paws. He was crying softly. Seeing him in this much pain just… killed me. After just over a minute, he stopped. He looked at the camera with his piercing brown eyes.

Skye… words can't express how much I love you.

My eyes widened. He was staring at my soul. He was talking to me.

I've loved you ever since I laid my eyes on you when we were just five years old. Every time I see you, my stress just... dies in your presence. You're the most brave dog I have ever seen, and… You're my motivation. My muse. My inspiration. The love of my life. You're….my everything.

Chase could barely contain himself any longer.

Skye… I'm so sorry. That….we never had a chance…. To…...to….cultivate our love...

Chase was sobbing uncontrollably, with his cries echoing through the footage. I started crying loudly as well. Chase wanted us to mate. To be truthful, I do think about that from time to time. It hit me right then and there. I wanted it too. He let out his grief for at least three minutes. It was so hard to hear him coherently, but I could hear him. His pain. His anguish.

I'm sorry that we never had pups together. I'm sorry that we never got to see them grow up together. I'm sorry that we never grew old and died, holding each other's paws as we do.

Chase took a moment to recollect himself. He was more depressed than I've ever seen him.

Skye, I know you are feeling terrible right now. You don't know if you're gonna make this out the same dog. But trust me. I know you can make it out of this. I believe that because… well… I love you from the bottom of my heart. Forever and ever.

Chase stood up for the first time in the tape.

I know this is going to be a sad time for all of Adventure Bay. But you guys will come back stronger than ever. Because when adversity comes, we have always risen up. Now, I expect you guys to do the same.

Chase paused for a moment.

I love every one of you. Goodbye.

Chase walked to the camera and stopped the recording. The tape went to static and ended shortly after.

I felt so many emotions. Sadness, fear, and depression were clearly there. Even though the tape was roughly 10 to 15 minutes long, it felt like an hour. I slowly put everything back where I found it. I even put that tape back in that hole and redug it. I trudged back to my pup house, feeling emotionally scarred. I finally made it back, and I closed the door. I walked to my pup bed and collapsed into tears. That tape threw my worst fear right at my face. The possibility of losing Chase…my love...was so high and I didn't even recognize it until it was almost too late. It would tear me apart if I lost him. This young. I wanted everything he said about me. I want to mate with him. I want to have a few pups and live the rest of my days with him. But we don't know if that will happen. I eventually cried myself to sleep that night, hoping my fears wouldn't get me in my dreams.

I was wrong.

Horribly wrong.

It was the worst nightmare of my life.

I saw several visions of Chase dying in front of my very eyes. One had him dying in a car crash in the snow. Another had him getting shot by a criminal in the chest, falling right into my paws as he died. Another had him struck by a car and being flattened instantly. The last one I saw...oh dear god.

I was in a dark dimly lit room. All of my limbs and my neck were chained to a wooden board. I saw a light turn on just a few feet away and I saw Chase. He was tied down as well, except he had tape on his mouth. A person in a mask walked up to him and removed the tape from his mouth. As he did so, I saw the person pull a gun right at Chase's head. I screamed, while he looked at the gun with sheer terror.

"Any last words?" A deep voice croaked, with the weapon still cocked and loaded at his head. Chase began to cry. I was shedding tears as well.

"Skye... I love you."

Just after he said that, that being pulled the trigger. As soon as it happened, I woke up screaming. I realized I woke up in a cold sweat. It was 6 in the morning. I began crying again. It was the most traumatic nightmare I ever had. I then realized something. Chase should have come home last night as I was sleeping. I knew what I had to do. I don't care what he would think. I don't care if he's mad at me. I just have to get everything off my chest. I got up, walked out of my house and slowly trodded to Chase's home. I knocked on his door.