The next morning Elias woke up & got dressed before going downstairs to eat breakfast. As he was eating he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened yesterday & how he hoped that things would be sorted out by the end of the day. After finishing breakfast Angel & Elias went out the front to wait for the school bus. When they got on the bus Elias noticed that Ryder wasn't on it. Not thinking much of it he took his seat & waited to get to school. When the bus arrived at the front of the school Elias looked around for Ryder but he couldn't see him anywhere.
"This is weird. Usually Ryder would be here by now. I doubt that he's sick & I know he would never skip school for any reason not related to the PAW Patrol. Maybe he's walking or something" thought Elias as he went inside. He didn't see Ryder in the halls & when class began Ryder hadn't shown up. After Miss Spearwood had finished the roll call she inquired about Ryder's absence.
"Does anyone know where Ryder is?" asked Miss Spearwood.
"I've got no idea. I haven't heard from him or even seen him at all since yesterday afternoon" said Elias.
"Try calling him. Maybe he overslept" said Miss Spearwood.
"His Pup Pad is broken. Calling him is useless. I could get Angel to ask the PAW Patrol where Ryder is" said Elias.
"OK try that" said Miss Spearwood.
Angel activated her pup tag & called Chase.
"Hello" said Chase
"Hey Chase it's Angel. Is Ryder still at the Lookout? He hasn't shown up to school" said Angel.
"No I haven't seen him at all this morning. I don't think any of the other pups have seen him either" said Chase.
"That doesn't seem right. Where could he be?" asked Angel.
"I don't know. We'll let you know if we see him" said Chase.
"OK thanks Chase" said Angel as she hung up. Elias became concerned. It wasn't like Ryder to just disappear like this.
"I'm going to look for him. I'm not coming back until I find him. Something doesn't seem right about this" said Elias as he walked out of class with Angel right behind him. As they left the school grounds they went looking around town for Ryder. They asked everyone they knew if they had seen him but nobody had claimed to have seen him at all that morning. After going through the whole town Angel & Elias went to the Lookout. When they arrived the other pups were surprised to see them.
"How come you guys aren't at school?" asked Chase.
"We're trying to find Ryder. Nobody else has seen him all morning & it isn't like him to just disappear like this. Are you sure he's not here?" asked Elias.
"Yes we're sure. We've checked the whole Lookout & we can't see him anywhere" said Marshall.
"This is strange. We need to find him" said Angel.
"Come on Angel. Let's keep looking" said Elias.
Angel & Elias ran outside & looked around. They couldn't see Ryder anywhere. Elias became more & more concerned with every passing second.
"RYDER WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled Elias.
There was no reply.
"RYDER" yelled Angel.
Still no reply.
"This isn't looking good. I hope he's alright" said Elias.
"Where could he be?" asked Angel.
"I don't know. We have to find him" said Elias.
Angel & Elias left the Lookout & Continued their search. They called Everest, Jake & Tracker asking if any of them had seen Ryder. Not 1 of them had. They even called people at school asking if Ryder had shown up. Nobody at school had seen him arrive & they didn't think he was there. Eventually they went to the hiking trail hoping to find Ryder there. They began to call out for him.
"RYDER WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled Elias.
"RYDER" yelled Angel.
All of a sudden they heard Ryder calling out for help.
"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP" yelled Ryder.
"That sounded like him. He must be close" said Elias.
Angel & Elias searched along the trail hoping to find Ryder. Eventually they came to a cliff overlooking the road. Ryder was down on a ledge below lying down. It appeared that he was hurt.
"Ryder's down there. He seems to be hurt. We need to get help" said Angel.
"Call the pups. They can help" said Elias.
Angel called the pups & let them know of the situation. After waiting for a few minutes Chase, Marshall & Skye showed up to help.
"Thank god you guys are here. We need to save him" said Elias.
"I can use my winch to tether him to my harness & pull him up to safety" said Chase.
"I can strap Elias into my harness so that he can assist Ryder in climbing up" said Skye.
"I'll stand by with my medical gear" said Marshall.
Chase released his harness & winch down to Ryder & strapped him in. Elias strapped himself into Skye's harness & was lowered down to assist Ryder. Marshall got his medical gear out & waited. As Elias & Ryder were being pulled back up Chase's tether broke & Ryder almost fell. Elias caught Ryder just in time.
"Hold on Ryder we're almost up" said Elias.
After a few seconds both of them were safely on the ground. Marshall gave Ryder a check up for any injuries.
"He has a few bruises but otherwise he's perfectly fine" said Marshall.
"I'm so glad you're alright Ryder. What happened?" asked Elias.
"I came out here for an early morning walk to think about what happened yesterday & I slipped & fell down to that ledge. I knew I couldn't make it off that ledge by myself. If it wasn't for you Elias I would've ended up in a much worse condition. Thank you" said Ryder.
"Whenever you're in trouble just yelp for help. I couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to you. You're not just a friend to me Ryder. You're my best friend. I'd do anything for you & I hope that you would do the same. Come on we better get back to school" said Elias.
Chase escorted Angel, Elias & Ryder back to school. Everyone was surprised to see Ryder arrive.
"Where have you been Ryder?" asked Miss Spearwood.
"I went for an early morning walk & I got stuck on a ledge. If it wasn't for Elias I probably would've ended up much worse than I am now. Elias I'm sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. I shouldn't have let my anger get the better of me like that" said Ryder.
"I'm sorry for breaking your Pup Pad. I never would've thought that things would end up like this" said Elias.
"You are forgiven. I would never forgive myself if we stopped being friends over something like this. You're also not just a friend to me either. You're my best friend too. I don't know what I'd do without you" said Ryder.
"Thank you Ryder. That's so sweet" said Elias as he pulled Ryder in for a hug.
"Well now that everything has been sorted out let's continue the lesson" said Miss Spearwood.
Throughout the rest of the day everything went back to normal. After school Angel & Elias went to the Lookout. When they arrived the pups all rushed to Ryder.
"Ryder I'm so glad you're OK. We were all really worried about you" said Rocky.
"None of us were prepared for what happened to you. It's a good thing that you had Elias to help you out" said Rubble.
"You're a hero Elias. You displayed a lot of courage & integrity by leaving school to look for Ryder. You should be proud of yourself" said Zuma.
"Thanks Zuma" said Elias.
"It's good to see that all of you managed to cope in a situation without my assistance. This is only the 2ND time you've succeeded in doing so. Good job pups. You also did a good job too Elias & for that I'm making you an honorary member of the PAW Patrol" said Ryder as he pinned a badge on Elias' shirt.
"Wow thanks Ryder. This means a lot to me. There's not 1 person in town I wouldn't help. I'm glad that everything has worked out. By the way when are you going to get a new Pup Pad?" asked Elias.
"It'll be a few days before I can get a new 1. I'm sure I'll be fine without it for most of the week" said Ryder.
"That's good. How about we head over to the pup park?" asked Elias.
"Good idea. Let's go" said Ryder.
Elias, Ryder & the pups spent the afternoon running around the pup park. Elias & Ryder were glad that they were still friends & that everything was going to be fine. That night as Elias was getting ready for bed he thought about the events of the last 2 days.
"It's so good to see that me & Ryder haven't ruined our friendship. I just hope nothing like this happens again. I know that our bond has gotten stronger & that we'll hopefully stay friends forever" thought Elias as he drifted off to sleep.
THE END
