James woke up on Friday morning feeling lethargic from the withdrawal of Cocerojuana. He was still angry that Mayabella had flushed his stash down the toilet.
"Mayabella's such a bitch. I can't believe she got rid of my Cocerojuana. Once she leaves for school I'm sneaking out & looking for more. Nothing will keep me separated from the thing I need most" thought James as he lay on his mattress. Mayabella woke up soon after & got dressed before going into the kitchen to make breakfast. After filling Scrap's food & water bowls she went to make some pancakes. The inviting aroma they gave off while cooking in the pan made her hungry.
"I bet these pancakes will taste delicious. Topping them off with honey or syrup will make them taste even better. A delightful meal is almost ready" said Mayabella as she finished cooking. Once the pancakes were done She served herself some & drizzled honey on them before tucking in. The pancakes were light & fluffy with the honey giving it a sweet taste. Mayabella happily ate breakfast before rinsing off her dirty dishes & putting them in the dishwasher. Scrap then entered the kitchen.
"Good morning Scrap. Did you sleep well last night?" asked Mayabella with a warm smile.
"I sure did" said Scrap.
"Excellent. I also slept well. How do you think James is holding up?" asked Mayabella in a curious voice.
"I don't know. I hope he's not still mad about what happened yesterday" said Scrap in an uncertain tone.
"He probably is. While I'm at school make sure he doesn't do anything crazy. I don't want him to get hurt" said Mayabella.
"Don't worry he'll be fine. Does he need to stay in his room?" asked Scrap.
"Yes. If he leaves his room he'll sneak out. I'm going to send him breakfast right now. Hopefully he'll be feeling a bit better after he's eaten" said Mayabella as she took a plate of pancakes to James' room. When she opened the door she made sure not to open it too far in order to keep James inside.
"I made you breakfast James. I hope you like it" said Mayabella as she placed the plate on the ground near the door.
"If it was Cocerojuana I'd like it a lot better" said James with a scoff.
"Don't start James. I'm doing this for your own good. That stuff is bad for you" said Mayabella in a stern manner.
"You don't understand. I need it. You wouldn't know how it feels since you don't take Cocerojuana yourself" said James as he scowled in disgust.
"I'd never take something that'd cause negative effects on my health. Anyways I'm heading to school now. If you need anything knock on the door so that Scrap can help" said Mayabella as she closed the door & locked it to make sure James didn't sneak out.
"Whatever. Just go to school" said James as he grabbed the pancakes & started eating.
"I'll see you later. Hopefully you'll be feeling better when I get home. Bye James" said Mayabella as she grabbed her schoolbag & headed out the front door to head to school. James ate his pancakes before waiting a few minutes to make sure Mayabella was gone. Once he decided she was he opened his bedroom window & used the knife on his plate to cut through the fly screen. After cutting a hole in it he climbed out of the room & scaled the fence before going to find more Cocerojuana.
"That was easy. The best part is that Mayabella & Scrap have no idea that I'm out. Let's see where I can find more Cocerojuana" said James as he headed into town to find another stash. At Adventure Bay Elementary Mayabella was grabbing what she needed from her locker. She was completely unaware that James had escaped. Just as she finished getting what she needed Angel, Elias & Kelly walked by.
"Good morning Mayabella. How are you this morning?" asked Angel with politeness in her voice.
"I feel OK. I finally found out the cause of James' odd behavior" said Mayabella.
"What is it?" asked Elias in a curious voice.
"It turns out James has been addicted to a drug called Cocerojuana. Apparently that's why he's been behaving so strangely" said Mayabella as she sighed. Angel, Elias & Kelly gasped in shock. They couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"That's not good. From what I've heard Cocerojuana mixes the effects of cocaine, heroin & marijuana all in 1. That's a dangerously toxic mix" said Kelly in a shocked tone.
"It sure is. I got rid of the stash he had so that I could help him get back on the right track" said Mayabella.
"I'm glad to see that you're trying to help. Soon enough James will be back to normal & won't be so dependent on Cocerojuana" said Angel as she smiled hopefully.
"It'd be a shame to see something bad happen to him. It's not going to be easy but as long as you stay strong & support him through the process he'll make it to the other side clean & sober" said Elias in a confident manner.
"Indeed. Anyways we better get to class. See you later Mayabella" said Kelly as she smiled & waved before Angel, Elias & herself headed to class.
"Enjoy 1ST period" said Mayabella as she headed to class oblivious to James' escape. Back at home Scrap had gotten comfortable on the lounge room sofa & was flicking through the channels looking for something good to watch.
"I'm glad that today I'm not going to be forced into watching some gory violent cartoon. There are much better shows on TV to watch. Let's see what's on" said Scrap as he flicked through the channels. Soon he came across an episode of The Adventures of Jordan Travis.
"Ooh this is a great show. Let's see what's happening" said Scrap as he got comfortable. The episode focused on Jordan Travis finding a wallet with a large amount of cash in it & his attempts to locate the owner. After spending the whole episode searching through town the owner was revealed to be an elderly woman named Mona who had dropped the wallet while walking in the park. The end of the episode showed Jordan & Mona buying ice cream together.
"This is a really good show. It teaches great lessons to kids. Anyways I better go check on James & make sure he's OK" said Scrap as he headed to James' room. After reaching the door he knocked.
"Are you OK in there James?" asked Scrap with curiosity in his voice. There was no response. Scrap knocked & called out to James again but there was still no answer.
"Maybe James is asleep. Seeing as he's being forced to go cold turkey I'd imagine the withdrawal has made him feel extremely tired. I'll come back & check on him a bit later when he's awake" said Scrap as he returned to the lounge not knowing James was gone. In town James walked around trying to think of a place where Cocerojuana would be sold. He knew that the main area of town would likely be Cocerojuana free as would the residential area.
"Surely there's somewhere in Adventure Bay I can go that'd have people selling Cocerojuana. Obviously it'd be out of sight of the rest of town. Wherever it is I'll find it & get another stash. If Mayabella thinks she's going to control me she's wrong" said James as he continued walking around. After checking almost everywhere else in town & finding nothing he came across a part of town that had mostly abandoned & rundown buildings covered in graffiti & damage.
"I bet I'll have some luck here. Soon I'll have more Cocerojuana in my possession" said James as he began looking around for more pills. The morning passed by mostly without incident. Neither Mayabella nor Scrap knew about James' location. At recess Mayabella played on the merry go round. As she spun around she thought about what she believed James was doing.
"I wouldn't be surprised if James was feeling tired. Seeing as he's going through withdrawal I bet he's sleeping or at the very least lying down. I'm not too worried though. Scrap can be of assistance to James when needed. Hopefully in a few days James will be feeling a lot better" thought Mayabella as she continued playing. At home Scrap was still watching TV flicking through the channels. He felt glad about having very little to do.
"It's nice to just sit back & relax. Nothing beats getting cosy on the couch & watching a good movie or TV show. I think I should check on James again. Surely he's awake by now" said Scrap as he went to check on James again. To his surprise there was still no response.
"James must be feeling really tired. Perhaps last night he didn't get much sleep. Maybe I should let him rest. He's going to need it" said Scrap as he headed back to the lounge still unaware of James' escape. In the rundown part of town James looked around hoping to find Cocerojuana. Most of the people he saw were very seedy looking as they were drunk, high or mentally unstable. Only a few people appeared to have their wits about them but even then it didn't make James' quest easier.
"I'm starting to get really desperate. Surely I'll strike gold around here. I'm not going back home without a stash of Cocerojuana. I'd rather die than live without it" said James as he continued looking around. A few minutes later James saw a man in his 20's who wore a hooded jumper, sweatpants & sneakers holding what looked like a bag of Cocerojuana pills. He walked over to the man to inquire about it.
"Excuse me is that Cocerojuana in the bag?" asked James in a curious voice.
"It sure is. If you want it the price is $100" said the older man.
"Crap I don't have any money. Do you accept any other payment?" asked James.
"No. Either you pay in cash or you get nothing" said the older man as he shook his head.
"Looks like I'll have to find some cash" said James as he walked off. Secretly he was planning to steal the Cocerojuana from the older man but he knew it'd be dangerous without a weapon. He scanned the area looking for something to use as a weapon. Eventually James spotted a loose brick which he grabbed.
"If I drop this on the guy's head I'll be able to take the stash for myself. Let's see if I can get on the rooftops" said James as he went through the alleyways looking for ladders or stairs up to the rooftop. Once he found a ladder he climbed up to the rooftops & leaped over to where the Cocerojuana dealer was. After positioning himself above the dealer he held the brick above him before letting it drop. The brick struck the dealer in the head with such great force that it knocked him unconscious almost instantly.
"Perfect. Now to claim my prize" said James as he jumped down & grabbed the bag of Cocerojuana before running off. He went to hide in an abandoned building so that it'd be harder for anyone to find him.
"There's no way anyone will find me in here. 1ST I need to make sure there's nobody else inside. If there is they'll probably try to take the pills for themselves" said James as he entered the abandoned building. The next few hours passed by with nobody suspecting anything unusual. Mayabella got on with her schoolwork still in the dark about James. At lunch she discussed the truth about James' behavior with her friends.
"Hey Mayabella is it true that James is addicted to Cocerojuana?" asked Ace as she tucked into her satay noodles.
"Yes. When I found out about it yesterday he got violent with me. I flushed his stash down the toilet so that I could make sure he gets sobered up" said Mayabella with a sad sigh.
"I'm shocked. Cocerojuana's 1 of the most dangerous illegal drugs out there" said Carlos with concern in his voice.
"At least James can't take it anymore. I dread to think what'd happen if he continued taking it" said Mayabella as she gobbled down her vegetable chips.
"Do you think it'd be daring to take Cocerojuana? I'd imagine it gives people quite a rush" said Danny.
"I wouldn't recommend trying it. You'd end up doing serious damage to your health" said Mayabella in a shocked voice.
"She's right. I don't think it's worth the long term effects it'd have on your health" said Elias as he gulped down his fruit juice.
"It's not. I hope Scrap's keeping a good eye on James. What do you think they're up to right now?" asked Mayabella in an uncertain tone.
"Just as long as it isn't anything crazy, dangerous or stupid I wouldn't be too worried" said Katie as she finished off her frozen yogurt.
"I guess you're right. James is probably asleep. Withdrawal makes people feel extremely lethargic & tired" said Mayabella.
"True. I'm sure with time James' health will improve. Don't forget we're always here for you when you need us" said Kelly in a reassuring manner.
"Thanks. The road to sobriety won't be an easy 1. I have to be strong not only for James but for myself as well. There's no way I'm giving up on him" said Mayabella with confidence in her voice.
"That's good to hear. With the right attitude you'll be able to handle James' recovery well. We all believe in you Mayabella" said Ryder with a smile of reassurance.
"Thanks guys. You're the best" said Mayabella as she & her friends continued eating lunch. The remainder of the school day came & went as it normally would. Once school let out for the day Mayabella headed straight home. She hoped to see James feeling better.
"Hopefully by now James has gotten enough rest to get past his lethargy from withdrawal. Easily today will be 1 of the hardest moments on the road to recovery. Now that school is out until Monday I'll be able to keep a closer eye on him" thought Mayabella as she walked home. As soon as she arrived she found Scrap watching TV in the lounge.
"Hi Scrap" said Mayabella as she smiled warmly.
"How was school today?" asked Scrap in a curious voice.
"It's been the same as always. Have you been checking on James?" asked Mayabella.
"Yes. Every time I went to check on him there was no reply. I'd assume he's been asleep from the lethargy brought on by his Cocerojuana withdrawal" said Scrap.
"I think we better check on him again" said Mayabella as she & Scrap went to James' room. Mayabella knocked on the door before calling to James.
"James I'm back from school. Is everything OK in there?" asked Mayabella.
There was no answer. Mayabella unlocked the door & opened it hoping to see James asleep. Both she & Scrap gasped in horror upon seeing that James' room was empty & that the window was open with the fly screen cut through.
"JAMES. WHERE'D HE GO?" cried Mayabella in a panicked tone.
"I don't know. I swear I didn't even know he was gone. I never let him out of his room. He must've escaped sometime after you left for school" said Scrap as he gulped nervously.
"We need to find him. I better get Ryder & the PAW Patrol to help" said Mayabella as she grabbed her phone & called for Ryder. Ryder was at the Lookout with Angel, Elias, Kelly & the pups when the call came in.
"Hello Ryder here" said Ryder with a professional smile.
"Ryder I have a huge emergency on my hands. James broke out & I've got no idea where he went. I need you & the pups to help find him & make sure he's OK" said Mayabella in a shaky manner.
"Don't worry we're on our way. No job is too big & no pup is too small" said Ryder as he used his Pup Pad to summon the pups.
"PAW Patrol to the Lookout" said Ryder.
"Ryder needs us" said the pups as they ran for the elevator. Marshall ended up tripping on a bottle of pup medicine causing a pileup in the elevator.
"Sorry. I must be feeling unwell" said Marshall with a sheepish smile. Everyone laughed as the elevator rose to the observatory with the pups putting their pup packs & uniforms on halfway up. Upon reaching the observatory they lined up in front of Ryder with Angel next to Marshall to await instruction. Elias & Kelly both stood beside Ryder.
"PAW Patrol ready for action Ryder sir" said Chase with authority in his voice.
"Thanks for coming pups. James escaped from Mayabella's house earlier today & nobody knows where he went. We must find him & make sure he's OK" said Ryder as he clicked Angel's icon.
"Angel I need you to drive around & keep an eye out for James" said Ryder.
"I'm ready to protect & serve" said Angel in a confident voice. Ryder then clicked Chase's icon.
"Chase I need you to use your spy gear to help locate James" said Ryder.
"Spy Chase is on the case" said Chase as he stepped forward. Ryder then clicked Marshall's icon.
"Marshall I need you to standby with your medical gear in case James is hurt" said Ryder.
"I'm fired up" said Marshall in an enthusiastic tone. Ryder then clicked Skye's icon.
"Skye I need you to keep an eye on things from above so that it'll make the search for James a lot easier" said Ryder.
"Let's take to the sky" said Skye as she did a back flip.
"Elias & Kelly I need you 2 to help. The more of us that look for James the better" said Ryder.
"You can count on us Ryder" said Elias with a smile.
"We're ready to help" said Kelly in a reassuring manner.
"Alright PAW Patrol is on a roll" said Ryder as he pumped his fist in the air before running to the fireman pole & sliding down to his ATV. Angel, Chase, Marshall & lastly Skye deployed in their vehicles with Elias getting a ride with Angel & Kelly getting a ride with Chase. All of them then headed out with Skye flying over Adventure Bay trying to spot James from above while everyone else headed to Mayabella's house. Mayabella & Scrap were out the front waiting for them.
"I'm glad you're here. I bet James went to find more Cocerojuana. We need to stop him before it's too late" said Mayabella with concern in her voice.
"We'll find him. Activate your drone Chase" said Ryder.
"Ruff drone" sad Chase as his spy drone deployed. He then began flying it around in the hopes of spotting James. Angel headed off to look around while Elias, Kelly, Marshall & Ryder remained with Mayabella & Scrap.
"I have a bad feeling about this. James doesn't know what he's getting himself into. Unless we find him soon he'll be in grave danger" said Scrap as he gulped.
"It's more than likely he's gone to a place in town most other people usually never go. That'd be the most likely place he'd find Cocerojuana" said Elias.
"True. I doubt anyone else would sell it in Adventure Bay" said Kelly as the search continued. Back at the abandoned building James was feeling panicked. He kept hearing various sounds that he believed were from other people in the building. In truth the sounds were nothing more than rats scurrying, the infrastructure creaking & the wind causing the doors to shake. After spending a few hours frantically searching for other people James decided he couldn't bear to remain in the building any longer.
"This place is freaking me out. I'm getting out of here" said James as he ran outside. Just as he did so the dealer he'd stolen the Cocerojuana from walked towards him.
"HEY GIVE ME MY STASH BACK YOU LITTLE THIEF" said the dealer as he drew a gun.
"NO WAY. YOU'LL HAVE TO CATCH ME IF YOU WANT IT BACK" yelled James as he ran off. The dealer gave chase trying to shoot James but every shot he fired missed. James did everything he could to escape including running around erratically, climbing up & jumping off buildings, ducking through alleyways & hiding. As the chase went on Skye soon flew over the area & saw the commotion unfold. Once she spotted James she called Ryder.
"Ryder I found James. He's in the seedy part of town being chased by a man with a gun. Please hurry" said Skye in a scared voice.
"We're on our way. Let's go guys" said Ryder as he & the others rushed to the seedy part of town. They were all anxious about James' situation.
"I hope we make it in time. The last thing I want to see is James getting hurt" said Mayabella as she shook nervously.
"I feel the same way. The sooner we get to him the better. He'll be safe once we get him out of there" said Scrap as everyone continued towards the seedy part of town. James was still trying everything he could to escape but the dealer wasn't letting him go that easily. Gunshots continued to ring out as James continued running. The dealer soon ran out of bullets meaning he could no longer shoot at James. A short time later James tripped & fell. Before he could get up & continue running the dealer tacked him & tried to wrestle the Cocerojuana out of James' hands.
"GET OFF ME. YOU'RE NOT HAVING YOUR STASH BACK" yelled James as he tried to throw the dealer off him.
"I'LL KILL YOU. PREPARE TO DIE MOTHERF*CKER" yelled the dealer as he smacked James in the head with his gun. The PAW Patrol & their friends soon arrived at the scene & were horrified to see the altercation unfolding before their eyes.
"SOMEONE PLEASE DO SOMETHING" cried Mayabella in panic.
"I'll handle this. Ruff taser" aid Angel as she retrieved her taser from her pup pack. She then fired it at the dealer. The shot struck the dealer causing him to cry out in pain as he writhed around from the electric shock. Moments later he was left limp on the ground. Everyone then ran over to make sure that James was OK. He had his back to them which they found odd.
"Are you OK James?" asked Ryder in an uncertain tone. James looked behind him & saw everyone approach. He swiftly turned to face them while holding his hands behind his back.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me" said James with a fake smile.
"What are you hiding behind your back James? It better not be more Cocerojuana pills" said Mayabella in a stern manner.
"I swear I have nothing. Don't you trust me?" asked James.
"Show us your hands right now. Don't make this harder than it has to be" said Mayabella with frustration in her voice.
"You're being paranoid. I don't have anything" said James as he laughed nervously. Mayabella scowled & walked over to James & grabbed his arms so that she could see what he was hiding behind his back. When she pulled his arms from behind his back she saw an empty bag in his hands.
"See I told you there was nothing there" said James as he rolled his eyes.
"James you better hand over the pills this instant. This isn't a joke. Cut it out" said Mayabella with an angry growl. James didn't respond. He just stared into space with a blank expression on his face. Suddenly he went limp & fell to the ground upon which he began violently convulsing & frothing at the mouth. Everyone watched in horror as his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his skin began to go blue.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO HIM?" cried Mayabella in a horrified voice.
"I think he's having an overdose. We need to get him to the hospital now" said Marshall as everyone picked James up & put him in the back of Marshall's ambulance. They then raced to the hospital as fast as they could. Mayabella was scared. She didn't know whether James would survive or not.
"This is horrible. I never would've expected this to ever happen. I don't want James to die. Why did he consume the entire bag of Cocerojuana he had? This isn't what any of us wanted. Hang in there James. We'll make sure you survive" thought Mayabella as she watched over James. He was unresponsive & still frothing at the mouth. As soon as everyone arrived at the hospital they took James straight to the emergency department. When the nurse at the front desk saw James get carried in she knew something was wrong.
"Please help us. My cousin overdosed on Cocerojuana. He needs urgent medical attention" said Mayabella in a shaky tone.
"I'm on it. We need to get this boy treated now. He's overdosed on drugs" said the nurse as more medical staff came over. They put James on a gurney & wheeled him away to perform treatment. Everyone else sat in the foyer to wait. None of them knew whether James would survive or not.
"This is scary. Prior to now I never would've expected to witness someone overdose. I hope James will be OK" said Elias in a nervous manner.
"So do I. Right now I actually feel kind of sick to my stomach. I wish this was a dream" said Kelly as she shook in fear.
"If only we'd learned the truth sooner. That way we would've been able to act before something like this could've happened" said Mayabella with guilt in her voice.
"Let's not get worked up so quickly. James can still make it. We just need to have faith in him" said Scrap as everyone continued to wait. As time ticked by they became increasingly more anxious to hear about James' state of health. After 30 minutes a nurse emerged & walked over.
"Is my cousin going to be OK?" asked Mayabella as she began to tear up.
"I'm very sorry. We tried everything to revive him but nothing worked. There was too much Cocerojuana in his system. As much as I don't like to say this I'm afraid your cousin has died from the overdose" said the nurse in a sad voice. Everyone gasped in horror. They were all deeply shocked that James had died. Mayabella collapsed to the floor & burst into tears while screaming hysterically.
"NO JAMES. WHY? DON'T LEAVE ME. I LOVE YOU JAMES. I'M SORRY FOR NOT SAVING YOU. THIS IS ALL MY FAULT" cried Mayabella as tears ran down her face. Everyone else began to cry as they tried to comfort Mayabella. The news of James' death had broken all their hearts.
"Are we able to see him?" asked Ryder through his tears.
"I don't think now is the right time. I wouldn't want to make you any more upset by letting you see him in such a bad way. He'll be transferred to the morgue once everything has been cleared up here. I suggest you all go home & get some rest. You'll all need it" said the nurse in a sympathetic tone.
"Good idea. Let's go. I think getting some sleep will do us all some good" said Chase as he & the others left the hospital & headed home. As soon as Mayabella & Scrap returned home they went straight to Mayabella's room. Mayabella collapsed on her bed still in tears. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to go on knowing that James was dead.
"This is awful. How can I live with myself knowing that James is gone for good? I can't imagine life like that. The rest of my family is going to be devastated when they learn the news" said Mayabella in a depressed manner.
"I'm really sorry Mayabella. I didn't want this to happen either. I'll always be here for you" said Scrap as he snuggled up with Mayabella. Both of them continued to cry as they lay on Mayabella's bed feeling sad about what had happened. Eventually they both fell asleep. Everyone else who saw what happened also fell asleep feeling sad & with tears staining their faces. James' death had greatly upset them all & they knew it'd stay with them for the rest of their lives.
THE END