Hello everyone! I know it's been a long time since I wrote anything and I apologize. I've been playing Pokemon Sword and Shield a lot since it's release, but I'm finally back with some more The Power Inside, so here is Chapter 6!
Marshall came running down the hill after I had called Ryder about the situation. Marshall had already taken care of Skye and Everest up at the cabin, and was coming down to me to see if I was in any harm. As he got to me, he found that I was neither wounded or even hurt for that for that matter. He eyed my suspiciously as he walked over to the dead wolf.
"How did you kill him?" Marshall asked me plainly, still glaring at me.
"I didn't kill him, at least I don't think I did." I replied. It was true, I had no clue how I had done it.
"Well, it doesn't seem like he was hurt at all. He has no scratches or wounds that would indicate any struggle, just like you. It's as though you two never encountered each other. I need to take him back if I want to find his reason of death. Can you provide me with some details on what happened, Chase?" Marshall asked once more.
"Well, I was luring him away from Skye and Everest until he jumped me. After that, I found him dead like this." I responded, trying to sneak myself out of any specifics. Marshall was packing up the body and dragging it towards the lookout.
"I could use a bit of help carrying him. Can you run him over to the lookout while I check up on Skye and Everest? They're in pretty bad condition, and I need to get back to them since you're already in pretty good shape." Marshal requested. I nodded quickly and dragged the body away. The body was very heavy, keeping me from being able to rush him over to the lookout at my top speed. Eventually, I ended up getting him there in a decent amount of time. As I set the bag in Marshall's work room, I found Ryder coming up to me.
"Hey Chase, are you okay?" Ryder asked, concerned.
"I'm fine Ryder, it was Skye and Everest that got hurt pretty badly." I replied.
"Really? Skye is our best fighter, how did she get bested by this wolf that you took down?" Ryder questioned, staring at the bag with confusion in his eyes.
"Skye weaken him before I got to him, I didn't do nearly as much as Skye. I was only there to deliver the final blow" I lied. I knew full well that I had somehow killed this wolf myself.
"Well, when Marshall comes back, he and Rocky will examine the body. How did you kill him?" Ryder asked. Ugh, not this question again.
"I don't really know, Ryder" I answered truthfully, hoping Ryder would understand.
"What? How do you not remember how you kill someone? That seems like a very memorable situation" Ryder continued.
"I really don't know. It all happened so fast that I couldn't tell what had happened." I replied. Ryder stared at me for a moment before shrugging it off. He told me that there was food in the cafeteria for me if I needed anything and left. I took a sigh of relief and walked back to my room, contemplating what had happened last night. This wolf had a rare power: the reflector ability. Usually purple eyes are a big problem for blue eyes since they can reflect back whatever they throw at them, but powers like Skye's should have no effect. How did this wolf defeat Skye?
This then evolved into how did I end up beating this wolf when even Skye couldn't? Actually, I do know how I did it, but why did I do it? Argh, why does my life have to be a big pain; first the prophecy, and now this mess, and who knows what's more to come. Maybe I'll kill my friends next out of pure rage. Then my blood froze. What happens if I kill Skye or Everest? What if they were there when I went "crazy"? Would I have done the same to them? I shook my head, drowning out the what ifs in my head. It's already passed, no use thinking about what would've happened. The thought, however, still haunted me in the back of my mind.
I hopped onto my bed after reaching my room and I went out like a light, dreamless. I hadn't had a good rest after the fight, since lying on the ground in the forest isn't very cozy or warm. I woke up to a loud bang on my door. Startled, I hopped out of my bed and opened my door in a hurry in a daze. Marshall and Rocky were standing at the entrance with looks of confusion mixed in with annoyance.
"Chase, you really don't make our jobs easy, do you?" Marshall growled. I cocked my head to a side, staring at them with a confused expression. Rocky stepped up.
"Do you know how this wolf died, Chase, because we sure don't. We tested everything, from poisons to bleeding to trauma to organ failure, and nothing came out positive. It seemed as though he suddenly dropped dead." Rocky explained.
"Are you sure that you tried everything? There has to be a logical reason" I replied innocently. I can't tell them, I can't tell them, I can't tell them.
"We tried everything multiple times. There just simply is no evidence of any kind of deaths" Marshall huffed. "Is there something you're hiding?"
"No? I don't have anything that I'm hiding from you, none whatsoever" I answered, hoping that they would leave me alone to me and my bed.
"Chase, we really need to know how you killed this wolf. What if it happens to one of us? How would we cure it?" Rocky pleaded, tugging on my heartstrings. If it happened to one of them. My thoughts from the back of my mind started to swirl at that statement, and I felt a bit dizzy. I can't let that happen. I won't let that happen. I wouldn't forgive myself if that happened.
"Chase? Are you okay?" Marshall asked, concerned about my wobbling, snapping me back into reality.
"Huh? Oh, uh yeah. Look. I really have no clue how I did it, alright? For all I know, a bear could've killed him. I was out cold next to him." I replied with the best lying voice I could muster. Being a truthful pup, this was not easy, but the two believed me and left me alone. I took a deep sigh of relief. I'll get to hide it for another day.
This power, this stupid power, it kills me inside. I don't even understand my strength. How am I supposed to contain it? The thoughts of my friends came back to me. No. I can't stay. With all these recent happenings that forced my power out, I have to leave. Take a break. I need to relax and rest. I just hope Ryder understands. Finally deep within my thoughts, I fell into a deep peaceful sleep.
When I woke up, I found two things. One was that my table was slightly off center, and one of my drawers was open. The papers were scattered all over my room, as though a tornado came through my room when I was sleeping. I stretched my paws and yawned. I started to pick up the papers on the ground, not thinking much on what had happened. Then, I noticed a yellow sheet sitting on top of my desk. The one with my dreaded prophecy. My blood froze. There was no way that among the scattering of my papers, that one landed perfectly on my desk. Someone was here. Someone had read it. The secret I held dear to keep everyone safe is known by another pup.
I quickly shoved the papers back into my desk and ran out of my room. I needed to find this pup that read my prophecy. I didn't know what I would do once I found him or her, but I know that I need to make them forget. I ran around the lookout, trying to find the pups. I found Marshall, Zuma, Skye and Rubble playing around in the arena using their powers to play tag. Obviously Skye was out of reach most of the time, but none of the pups cared. I didn't want to intrude on their fun, so I left, waiting for an opportunity to talk to the pups one on one. As I waited, I noticed one thing: that Rocky wasn't playing with them. If anyone had found out about my paper, Rocky would be the last pup I wanted to read it because I know that he would solve it in an instant. I quickly ran up to Rocky's room, and noticed that his door was closed. I gently knocked on the door.
"Yes?" I heard Rocky call out from inside.
"It's me, Chase" I replied. There was a brief period of silence until I heard Rocky walking up to the door and opening it for me.
"Hey Chase, what can I do for you? Did you finally figure out how that wolf was killed?" Rocky asked. His fur was a mess, and I noticed that there was a ton of books littered about his room. Rocky usually isn't this messy, so I dug a bit deeper.
"I just came to say hi" I replied. Nice one. "Say, why is your room so messy? I know you like to keep everything organized."
"Oh, well me and Marshall were still on the case of how the wolf died, so I decided to research up on any other causes of death. You know, I found something very interesting" Rocky told me.
"What?" I replied, getting curious.
"In one of my books, there was a story about a certain set of powers that would be able to basically manipulate the body. A power that was so rare that it was told that one of each power existed in the world, and maybe even the worlds beyond ours. These powers could explain how this wolf died, which means that there could be a powerful pup in Adventure Bay!" Rocky yipped happily. I stared at him in disbelief.
"Can you explain more about it?" I pushed.
"Well, a lot of sources say that these pups don't exist, and others say that they don't even exist in the same dimensional plane as us, but all I know is that the only way that wolf could've died was from one of these pups!" Rocky explained. He was filled with giddy and excitement, and was practically jumping up and down. I stood there, frozen. He read it. I know he did. There was no way that he could've found that information on his own. I lunged at him, knocking him down. 'I' growled at him while he looked up at me with horror.
"Chase! What's gotten into you!" Rocky hollered as 'I' pinned him down. My paws were on his chest, and I was applying all my weight on him.
"Chase! Stop! You're hurting me!" Rocky gasped, tears forming in his eyes. 'I' stood my ground as 'I' felt Rocky's chest giving in. Rocky yelped in pain and fainted. 'I' bared my teeth, my maw open wide and around Rocky's neck. He was an easy kill, unconscious and vulnerable, yet something withheld 'me' from clamping down. My senses rushed back to me as I quickly jumped off of Rocky. Oh no, what am I doing? I almost killed Rocky. And for what? He never told me that he looked through my stuff. He was completely innocent and I had almost killed him. I'm a monster. I need to leave. Now.
I rushed back to my room, hoping that I would be able to pack a bag or two and leave. On the way, I inconveniently bumped into the other pups walking back drenched in water. They were all laughing, completely oblivious to what had happened with me and Rocky.
"Oh, hey Chase! Where are you going?" Marshall asked me.
"I'm going to my room." I replied quickly. I then added, "You know, I noticed that Rocky wasn't with you. Maybe you should go check with him, see if he wants to do anything."
"Rocky, huh? He's busy at work trying to find out the cause of the wolf's death. He's very dedicated to his job, I'll give him that. Sometimes that pup needs to relax. I'll go check up on him, see how he is doing with the research." Marshall agreed. I felt a twinge of guilt running through me. He was innocent. I can't believe myself. Why do I have to be like this. I ran back to my room and packed a bag, throwing everything I could into it. After zipping up the bag, I ran towards Ryder's office at the top of the lookout tower. I needed to at least tell Ryder were I was going. I didn't even know where I was going. Anywhere would do. Anywhere but here.
As I entered the lookout tower, I found Ryder with his pup pad playing a game. Ryder saw me enter and gave me a small wave and a smile.
"Hey pup, do you need something?" Ryder asked, eyeing the bag I had packed.
"I just came to tell you that I'm taking a small break for now. I hope you understand." I answered.
"A break, huh? It's going to be a tough job for the pups to fill in for you," Ryder started, and I held my breath. I needed this so badly. "But, you have been working hard, and after the events at Jake's, I understand that you want to relax for a bit."
"Thanks so much Ryder!" I exclaimed with joy and relief. I quickly slid down the elevator, but not before hearing Ryder's pup pad ringing and Marshall's voice on the other end screaming his lungs out. I made it out just in the nick of time. My truck was waiting outside, ready to be driven out. I got my truck started and drove off, leaving the lookout behind. I had no clue when I was coming back, hopefully in a few days. For now, I drove towards the exits of Adventure Bay. I could go to Barkingburg, or Jake's mountain, or visit Carlos and Tracker, or the forests, or even Foggy Bottom, as long as I was away from the other pups I would be fine with. I felt a pang of guilt about Rocky. He had no clue why in the world I had attacked him, and probably hates me for it. He pleaded that I stop and yet I continued. There is no chance that we could ever be friends again. Poor Rocky. I just hope that his wounds were treated quickly.
I ended up driving towards the jungle to visit Tracker. It had been a long time since I had seen him, and it was calming to breath in the jungle air. I soon found Carlos and Tracker in their little hut with Tracker's truck parked next to it. They were outside playing around when they saw me come up.
"Hey Chase! What brings you to the jungle?" Carlos asked me.
"Nothing much. I took a small break from my PAW Patrol duties, that's all." I replied truthfully.
"Well, I'll tell Ryder that you're here so that he doesn't worry" Carlos stated, pulling out his phone.
"Don't worry, Carlos. He already knows I'm here." I lied. Carlos gave me a confused look, but shrugged it off. He welcomed me to his little shack, and told me that I could park next to Tracker's pup house. I thanked him and parked exactly like that. As I got out of my truck, Tracker came up to me and greeted me.
"I hope you enjoy your stay, Chase! It will be fun to have another pup around!" Tracker yipped happily. "By the way, how's Rocky doing?"
"He's, uh, doing fine" I replied, knowing full well that he isn't.
"Good. I still need to thank him for his help." Tracker told me. This got me curious.
"What did he help you with? Your truck I'm assuming?" I asked.
"No no no, he helped me master my power. I had a lot of trouble with it, but he was able to help me go through the process of learning." Tracker answered.
"Really? That's what he did on his vacation? I never knew. He never talked about it." I replied, genuinely intrigued. "Say, what is your power?"
"My power? It's nothing big. If I can get a scent of anyone, I can find them wherever they may be." Tracker answered casually. To me, that sounded very interesting. None of the normal powers had this power, which meant that Tracker was special.
"Can I see it in action?" I asked. He nodded and took a good sniff of my scent. He then told me to run off and hide as best I could in the jungle. I did exactly that, and in no time he found me under some tree roots that were mostly covered in earth. I was impressed, but I still had one more question.
"Why did you need Rocky's help for your power? It seems pretty straight forward enough." I asked.
"Well you see, at first I didn't want to tell anyone about my power. I was constantly seeing other pups and people when I didn't want to. I couldn't filter what I wanted to use my power for and what I just wanted to sniff normally. I was embarrassed that if I told anyone that I was able to see them at any time, they would disown me. As soon as Rocky helped me, however, he was able to give me tips on how to control this power. He told me he read something like my power in a book, and I was glad that he did. I'm much better off because of Rocky, and I owe him my life." Tracker explained. I stood in awe. Tracker was able to muster up the confidence to ask for help. I should've done that. I need to do that. Maybe keeping it bottled up is what's driving my power insane.
I quickly hopped back into my truck and thanked Tracker for his advice. Even though I saw him with a look of confusion on his face, he told me that it was no problem and wished me happy travels. I knew what I had to do. I needed to talk to someone about my powers. As I drove back to the lookout, I found the pups out in their trucks frantically driving around. Marshall came up to me.
"Thank goodness we found you! There's an intruder inside the lookout!"
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had most of it written a long time ago, but had no clue where to go with it. Anyways, Review, Grammar, Thanks for Reading!