It's been three weeks since Rocky was hospitalized by some jerk with a cane. He's now back to his original work schedule thanks to the help of both me and Sky. But I've noticed something… he and Chase have been starting to avoid each other for some odd reason. I hope whatever happened gets resolved soon…

- Marshall

Hm, I've been starting to see a trend here. Every single day, whenever we go out for any job. I would always be separated from Chase. Something about this seemed suspicious, I couldn't tell the reason why it was happening. I had zero ideas as to why Chase is constantly avoiding me, or why Ryder never put us on the same team. Was it something I did for the past week? Or was it because… No, I still can't say for sure that those feelings are true… My thinking was soon cut off by the sound of barking. In the distance, I saw a dog running towards the Lookout. Black… and kind of fluffy… Is that? Before I could reach any other conclusion, the dog already managed to run up to me.

It was Micah, now only two inches taller. Someone has been growing since we last met. I would tell you that I was delighted to see him if it weren't for the fact he looked just as scared as he did when he was smaller. He wasn't just running towards me… Micah was running away from something. Suddenly I'm getting a strange feeling that, yep, here comes the same man who attacked me. Naturally, my instincts kicked in and I called for the others. Not so soon after my howl, I saw Ryder over the hills racing towards us. The Man was running in the same direction. Something was different about him… I noticed he had this psychotic look in his eyes. He wasn't just chasing after Micah, he was running towards me. His face... that's the face of a murderer. He wants to kill me for taking away his precious "pet" that shouldn't have even belonged to his wretched hands anyhow.

In the distance, I also saw several cop cars approaching the man. But that didn't stop him from getting so close that he was nearly seven feet away from us. Now was the time to run. I told Micah to follow me. We both ran towards the Lookout, the only safe place I know from top to bottom. Lucky for us, Micah and I managed to get inside. I locked the door, making sure that this maniac didn't have any means of entering. The cops were approaching. They better get here fast. I could hear him yelling,

"Give… me… back… my… PET!" There was no way in hell I was going to let him in. Poor Micah was trembling beneath the sight of his once peaceful owner, the little guy was going through so much. Having the one person that took care of him suddenly start abusing him was soul crushing. I didn't want him to feel alone, I licked his head and told him,

"Don't worry buddy, soon, this guy will leave you alone. Then you can come live with me! How does that sound huh?" he looked at me with pleading eyes, he's been wanting someone to tell him he was going to be safe for years now. I couldn't blame him, that feeling of trust and a warm embrace is something I've always dreamed of when I was a pup myself.

There were several sirens in the distance that could be heard by just about anyone, the same man was right at our doorstep banging on it. He looked at me with beady and swollen bloodshot eyes. The way his face portrayed his own psychotic desire for wanting to hurt me. I had apparently taken the one pride and joy of his life and put him behind bars. I only just noticed his clothes, if you could call them that. They were more like rags, all with proof that he had barely escaped from prison and suffered along the way. He did this just so he could get a chance of strangling me with my own insides. I trembled, this was serious. Not only was his intention a vile one, but he was willing to go to any length just for the sake of having the satisfaction of killing one innocent person.

The sirens grew louder, Micah was still shaking in fear. I did the same. There was no way I could stand up to this guy in my current condition. My stomach was still in pain from that one last blow. I held it with one paw, which was my biggest mistake considering who was outside. More banging came from the door, I looked at it and saw something that still haunts me to this day, hell it even gives me nightmares every so often. The man looked right at me, he noticed my paw hanging on to my stomach. He… smiled, he just smiled. Until the smile turned into a grin, then that grin turned into a malicious toothache of a smile. It spread so wide that it almost made him look like a famous clown, save for the evil part. He had officially become a psycho within the span of several seconds. I backed away from the door, beckoning Micah to come with me and stay away from the man. The pup followed me with little hesitation.

The sirens had gotten even louder, in fact, they were right behind the man. But that didn't stop him from smiling, he banged on the doors even harder this time. What scared me was that the door actually started to crack. He was going to break them just to get to me. I heard several cops shouting at him to get on the ground. They threatened to shoot if he didn't oblige, but that didn't shake him either. He just stood there, banging on the glass. More cracks in the door formed, as I could hear the cops threatening him once again. I looked at all the officers, amongst them, of course, was Chase. Somehow, seeing his face made me feel a bit better. I noticed something about the other officers, however, none of them were carrying tasers. Instead, in their holster was a pistol… they were serious.

"You have five seconds to get on the ground!" the Chief yelled. The man just stood there banging on the glass.

"Five!" He was still in the same position, completely unfazed.

"Four!" The cracks were starting to get even wider.

"Three!" The door couldn't possibly take any more.

"Two!" The door broke before my very eyes, the man walked towards me without any signs of hesitation. He wanted me dead.

"One!" He looked back at the guards, still having that gruesome grin on his face. I grabbed Micah and dove for cover.

"Fire!" Gunshots were heard, as the man was obliterated by the police. Shot after shot was fired onto the man. I could see several bullets pierce his body, some of them even going through and hitting the walls to my right. His entire body was covered in bullet wounds. Yet, he was still moving. He turned away from the squadron and looked at me with the most devilish smile yet. I could see his clothes, all soaked in the color that I don't even want to mention. Several of his wounds were still gushing out heaps of the nasty stuff. What's worse, he started to move. Right in front of me, was a man who was so eager to choke me. All covered up from head to toe in… you guessed it, blood. One more gunshot was heard, this time, it hit his head. He stopped walking and fell to the ground. The entire squadron then came into the scene of the crime. They looked at me and Micah, then at the body they just decimated. Some of them looked away, others couldn't look away, one probably had a weak stomach and went outside.

"Rocky!" I heard a voice call out to me. It was the Ryder and the rest of the pups. All of them looking awfully concerned. Ryder was the first to speak.

"We came as soon as we heard that a Mr. Kenan was on the loose. His description matches perfectly with that of the man who… well… " Ryder was hesitant to say the rest. I wouldn't blame him, I just recovered from that whole situation and wanted nothing to do with the person who hospitalized me for about three weeks.

"Still, it's pretty awesome that you managed to hang in there along with Micah. The poor little guy must be scared out of his mind," Zuma said. I looked back at that little pup that stuck with me this whole time. I nodded and said thanks. Huh, that's the first time Zuma has ever actually complimented me. Funny how things turn out, awfully convenient that Chase wasn't here to congratulate me though.

"It must've been terrible, having such a brutal man want to kill you. Jeez… if I were you, I would have nightmares for weeks on end," Rubble said shivering. I wouldn't blame him either, nobody could go on with their lives without having witnessed such a terrible event. Doubt anyone didn't get night terrors from those either, pretty sure PTSD patients have the most trouble. That sounded awful… apologies to anyone suffering from that.

"How horrible, and this happened as you just got out of the clinic!" said Skye. I appreciated her concern, but I assured everyone that I was fine. "Luckily, you don't seem to be in any pain. I think the bruise might've gone away don't you think?" Marshall was right, my stomach hadn't been hurting like it did when it was in bandages. I looked down at it, the bruise that once tainted my belly has now completely vanished. Thank heavens for that…

"I wonder though, why would he be on the hunt for you of all… um, wait. How can I rephrase this? In any case, I still don't understand what his motive must've been," Ryder chimed in. That got me thinking, I might've gotten a basic idea as to why he did want to kill me. Out of all the pups, I was the first one to stand up to him and managed to get Micah taken away from him. I told this to Ryder, who was still lost in thought.

"Well, I guess we can discuss that for later. Not to mention, that's their job, not ours," he said pointing at the squad behind us. Ironic since we do most of the town's chores anyway, double the irony in the fact that we have our own K-9 unit. But Ryder was right, now probably wasn't the best time. The Police were still holding an investigation regarding motives and doing whatever it was they did. This didn't really upset me. Sure I don't get to know the cause, but I wasn't much of a detective anyhow. The officers asked us to leave the lookout and stay someplace else for the night. They were going to do a thorough inspection of the place. Lucky for us, we knew just the place to stay.

Downtown in Adventure Bay, there is a hotel specially built for both animals and humans. Reason being that pets were such a common sight here, it's practically become a norm to have a dog or cat in your home and taking it with you to wherever it is you're going. Ryder always takes us there on holidays because of how luxurious it is for both him and us. He would make sure to put us in pairs of two so we don't get separated. The building is huge, it can fit up to 100 dogs. And if they were available, Ryder would invite both Tracker and Aurora. Unfortunately, those two are often kept busy by their jobs. While it is nice to see them, we can't see them all the time thanks to limited time. Oh well, guess that means more room for us.

We walked into the hotel and the receptionist we had gotten familiar with greeted us at the front desk. Her name was Anita Aloe, and yes, she is aware of the unintentional pun in her name. She was married to one of Mayor Goodway's relatives, it was only natural for her to gain an increase in popularity. Being the wife of a brother of a mayor does have its perks. However, her husband is often out of the state for work purposes. Though she never does mind it, they still love each other and that's what mattered to them. To be dedicated to the person you love the most, to make sure you always have confidence, the trust and bond in a marriage is something I've always dreamed of. Yeah… I know it's a bit cliché, but it truly is beautiful.

"Evening Mrs. Aloe!" Ryder said. She looked at us with her usual friendly and endearing smile, something we've gotten accustomed to. Yet, we always end up smiling back.

"Hello Ryder! I see you've made a new friend! Though, it's not even close to the weekend. Or a holiday for that matter. Why are you staying here for the night?" Ryder tried his best not to frown, which was hard since the lookout was practically his home. But, he never backs down from any kind of problem. He IS a problem solver anyhow. His main priority was to make sure that both us and Micah would be safe. The little guy has been hanging in there for quite a while now. He was asleep the whole time when I drove him to the hotel, Ryder opted to carry him to his room once we get our keys.

"Well... it's a bit complicated, the basic gist of it is that the Lookout is off limits to the public. Including us, the police investigation is currently being held there." Mrs. Aloe was shocked to hear this, her face now portraying a look of pity. "Oh my! I hope you're all ok, it would be terrible if something happened to the famous PAW Patrol," I smiled, she meant well with that response.

"I assume that you want to rent the same rooms? Upon the second floor?" Ryder nodded and handed her fifty-five dollars. It was five dollars for every dog, and ten dollars for every human, six dollars if the human was younger then 13. She handed us 4 room keys and wished us a good night. Thanking her, we were getting ready to get in our groups.

"Ok, I'm assigning different groups this time around. Do I need to be sure that everyone stays safe, alright? Marshall, instead of Rocky, you're grouped up with Zuma. Skye, you and Rubble will be sharing a room as well. Micah is going to be sleeping with me. Finally, Chase, you and Rocky are the last group. Now here are your room keys, and I wish you all a good night," I was starting to burn up, I looked over at Chase and saw him looking away. The other pups started walking away to their separate rooms saying their goodbyes and the like. I didn't even notice that he had been carrying both of our suitcases. I don't even recall him taking my suitcase. The elevator had been called ahead of time, so it was only a matter of seconds before… yep there it is. Up we go, to hopefully not have an uncomfortable night and get some actual sleep.

The elevator didn't take long to get to the second floor, yet the whole time the both of us were silent. Not one moment did I hear a peep from Chase. He was still trying to avoid me, while not wanting to be disrespectful and make me feel guilty. I swear the elevator felt like it took forever to arrive at its destination. Another floor that's just above a lobby full of people. Here I was still curious why Chase was not his talkative self. It's not like him to hold a grudge or ignore someone on purpose. I wonder what happened the day after I got out of the clinic. What kind of event made him like this, all sorts of questions just popping into my head. All of them, unanswered without even so much as an attempt to answer them. Finally, the doors opened and we stepped out. Still, no sound of talking. The only thing that could be heard was lobby-like music. The kind of piece that is soothing and catchy, one that calms you down. Even if you were at the most depressing stage in life. Thankfully, it managed to relieve me from the stress that was this day. After witnessing a brutal shooting, I could really use a break.

I breathed in and sighed, this hotel was all it took to make me feel safe. Not sure what genius originally built it, but whoever they are, I would probably owe my life to them. I looked at Chase to see if he was also in higher spirits. Surely enough, he too had a relaxed and blissful look on his face. His eyes were closed, mouth forming the shape of a smile. That made me feel a bit better, seeing him like this just makes me happy. He opened his eyes and saw that I was staring at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He just looked away with traces of red all over his cheeks. I too looked away in embarrassment, both of our faces were now a shade of crimson. There were no words spoken between us, only the background music was what we heard on the way to the room. I didn't want the night to end like this, one of us had to talk. Otherwise, this supposedly peaceful night will go to waste, and all that would be left of it is another embarrassing moment in my lifetime.

We reached our room, and I got out the room key. My forefeet were still numb from shaking so much. My limbs just didn't feel like even moving, I struggled to even get the key inside the knob. That was until Chase grabbed my paw and opened the door for me. The way his paw just gently held mine and assisted me was enough to make me blush. I looked at him, he looked away. His face still having traces of embarrassment. Finally, I mustered up enough courage to break the silence.

"Y-You know… you could've just taken the key and unlock the door yourself… " he looked back at me and chuckled a bit. "Yeah… but I guessed the instinct kicked in," I started smiling as well.

"The old primal instinct huh?" he giggled. "Guess that's what makes us mammals," I was relieved to see that Chase was finally speaking to me again. We were both happy, and that was what mattered most to me that day. Though Micah was a close second. This day started off terribly, but in the end, I'm happy.

Having enough of our dumb jokes, we entered the room. This room was specially made for me and Marshall. Meaning we would have what we saw as a good living space. However, Marshall's part of the room must've been updated to accommodate for Chase. It's like they knew we were coming and planned ahead. Which, I'm ok with and I'm not ok with. I kinda liked how the layout was beforehand. Not to mention me and Marshall were the best of friends, even if he unintentionally sprays me with that stupid water cannon of his. Though we were strictly friends. I didn't want to ruin our relationship at all. But now, Chase is here, and that dumb grin of his is starting to grow even more infectious. I went to my side of the room, curling up onto the dog bed. The ever so comfortable dog bed. One that rivaled my favorite bean bag and pillow.

I was starting to get even more tired by the second. I looked over at Chase, he was already fast asleep. Or at least I think he was. Huh, I didn't get the chance to say goodnight. Oh well, opportunity missed by several seconds. Guess it's time to have some weird dreams again. Hopefully this time they turn out to be good ones. I took one last glance at the German Shepherd before me. Man… he can be so adorable when he's asleep. N-No wait, he's uh… cute! That's the right word for it! Oh, who am I kidding… I still have a crush on him. I'm just thankful we don't have to share beds, otherwise the next morning I'll wake up with a dog breathing on my face. Though, I wouldn't mind that… Man, I'm really starting to lose it…

Rocky was asleep, my body was tired as well. But I couldn't go to sleep just yet, I had to do something. I approached his bed and bent down at his head. Before I could plan to do anything, I gave a light peck on his forehead. He… smiled. Aww… Rocky really is the cutest member of the PAW Patrol… sigh… this is the best I could do for now. Next morning is going to be different. Somehow, I just knew it. So for now, goodnight Rocky… and of course, I love you.