(A/N: I do not own Paw Patrol, enjoy!)
Fire at Home
"I jammed my paw down on the accelerator and my cruiser accelerated as fast as it could" Chase explained, tears forming in his eyes.
"Go on" Cinder softly encouraged him.
"And then," Chase paused to wipe his eyes, "it finally clicked on my head what I was doing, that I was about to kill Skye just so I could risk my life to try and catch Hubcap and Dwayne. So I put my driving skills to work and skidded to a stop, just a whisker length shy of hitting her."
"I see" Cinder softly said, "and then what?"
"And then we came back" Chase glossed over.
"No partial melt down in the cab of your cruiser?" Cinder softly challenged.
"Maybe a little" Chase admitted, "I wasn't happy that Hubcap and Dwayne got away or that I almost ran over Skye to try and get them."
"Feeling a little defeated?" Cinder softly ventured.
"Defeated and a failure" Chase choked out.
"I'm sorry you feel that way Chase" Cinder softly cooed, putting a paw on his shoulder, "but you are not a failure just because Hubcap and Dwayne got away. Or because of what you said to Everest during her ultimate rescue." Chase looked at Cinder in surprise, they hadn't talked about that. "You really shouldn't be surprised that we girls talk" Cinder softly continued with a smile, "but the point is that none of that makes you a failure Chase. Sure, Hubcap and Dwayne got away from now but you saved the ostrich chicks. And sure, you couldn't keep Marshall from getting hurt, but you were there to help take care of Texas when Marshall couldn't."
"What's the point?" Chase asked forlornly, "yeah I did some stuff right, but I couldn't do everything right."
"You aren't perfect Chase, and you never will be" Cinder softly replied, "you will make mistakes, the question is how you learn from them. And guess what? Even if you do everything right, you can still feel like a failure because of things outside your control."
"What do you mean?" Chase asked.
"I didn't come to see all of you just because Marshall got hurt" Cinder softly opened up, "I was already coming because I had my first fatal incident as a Fire Captain." Chase's eyes widened in shock as Cinder paused, closed her eyes and took a deep breath before softly continuing, "Nine people dead, including three children; and nothing I could have reasonably done differently in the moment. Sure, hindsight is perfect and I could have done one or two things differently, but with the information I had available to me, I made the best decisions I could. And those deaths will be scars I always carry." Cinder paused, closing her eyes again, the pain threatening to overtake her again.
"So now what?" Chase asked quietly.
"I had a choice" Cinder softly replied, "I could either let it eat away at me and eventually destroy me, or I can pick myself up, learn, and continue doing my best to save lives, or quit. Quitting is just a more painful version of letting the pain destroy me, which really leaves one option. My brother sums it up quite nicely."
"Do your best and forget the rest" Chase softly quoted.
Cinder nodded, "in your case, you have one added step, can you guess what it is?"
"Apologizing to Skye and Everest" Chase answered glumly.
Cinder nodded again, "and Marshall, you hurt him too, even if not directly, and asking them to forgive you. You have to make space for the healing to occur. I think you'll find that you feel much better after you do."
"But how do I even start?" Chase half-whined, "it is so hard."
"Stop over thinking it" Cinder softly admonished, "keep it simple, like 'Skye, I'm sorry I almost ran you over, I wasn't thinking clearly, can you please forgive me?' KISS, Keep it simple…"
Chase had a few pretty good ideas of what the second "S" stood for. He opened his mouth to respond but something caught his eye and train of thought. "What's that?' he asked in surprise, pointing his paw.
Cinder turned to look in the direction of Chase's outstretched paw and her heart dropped. "Forest fire" Cinder softly breathed, "call Ryder."
*Bleep bleep* "Paw Patrol, to the lookout!"
"Ryder needs us!" Chase's responded automatically as he took off for his cruiser.
"Guess he already knows" Cinder softly said as she ran after the police pup. She barely managed to jump in the back of his cruiser as he sped to the lookout.
The rest of the pups were already in the elevator when Chase and Cinder skidded to a stop, perfectly drifting the cruiser in his spot. As they sprinted neck in neck to the elevator, Cinder gently nudged Chase, throwing him off balance. Chase yelped in surprise as one of his paws caught a tug of war rope and he went flying. The pups yelped as there was no time to move out of the way before Chase crashed into all of them.
"And that is how we launch a pupapult" Cinder giggled as she gracefully trotted in and sat down beside the pile of pups. The other joined her in laugher as the doors closed and the elevator ascensded the lookout tower.
The elevator reached the top and the pups, now geared up, jumped out to their spots. "Paw Patrol ready for action Ryder sir!" Chase sounded off, "well, at least those present are ready, fire pup style!" The pups all gave a howl, though Texas and Tracker both looked a little nervous.
"Yes Chase" Ryder replied seriously, "we are going to need everyone's help with this mission" he continued as the briefing screen activated. "We have a forest fire on Jake's mountain that is spreading rapidly and is out of control." The pups all gasped, that was not good at all.
"How big is the fire?" Cinder softly asked.
"We don't know yet" Ryder replied, "but it is spreading rapidly. This is an Ultimate Fire Rescue." All the pups howled in excitement.
"Ok, this is going to be a bit different since this is a rapidly spreading forest fire" Cinder softly said as she stepped forward and took command of the situation. "First up, we are going to have to mix and match a little bit. Ryder, we'll need to configure the air patroller to act as a water bomber."
"Got it" Ryder replied before keying his wrist comm, "RoboDog, hook up the fire package for the air patroller and meet us out front."
"Arf Arf!" RoboDog acknowledged.
"Skye," Cinder addressed the aviator pup, "I need you to fly up and find the boundaries of the fire and determine which direction it is spreading. While you do that, scout out to see if anyone needs rescuing. Once we are sure no one needs saving, get your water bucket and drop as directed."
"Let's take to the sky!" Skye sounded off.
"Rubble," Cinder softly continued, "once Skye figures out the direction that the fire is spreading, we'll deploy you and your rig ahead of the fire to create a fire break."
"Rubble on the double!" Rubble sounded off.
"Everyone else," Cinder said softly, "time to be smokejumpers and fight the fire where it is the hottest!"
"We're on it!" The rest of the pups sounded off, enthusiastically, if slightly nervously.
"Now, where is that brother of mine" Cinder softly asked Ryder, "I need someone to keep an eye on things while I'm on the ground."
Ryder pressed a button on his pup pad and Marshall's and Everest's icons appeared in on screen.
"Of course he is in the middle of the fire already" Cinder softly noted with a shake of her head. At that moment, Marshall's head appeared on screen. "If you are calling to report a forest fire, you are a little late" Cinder softly informed him.
"It is worse than that" Marshall replied seriously, "we need help."
*Minutes earlier*
Marshall's nose twitched as he smelled smoke. He blinked his eyes and opened them. Everywhere around, he saw fire. His adrenaline immediately kicked into high gear as he realized that he and Everest were on the front line of a forest fire.
"Everest!" Marshall barked in alarm as he jumped and looked around for the husky. She was laying a foot or two away from him but Marshall was immediately by her side, earnestly nudging at her side to get her to wake up. It took a moment before she responded.
"Marshall? Is that you?" Everest said sleepily.
"Yes" Marshall replied, anxiety and relief mixed in his voice, "there is a forest fire, we've got to get out of here, Eve!"
"It must have started from your hot body" Everest replied in a semi-conscious dreamy voice, "I mean, you are just sooo…meeeooow!"
"Meow?" Marshall asked in confusion. It dawned on him that Everest must have been tranquilized, which probably meant he had been tranquilized as well. He didn't know why he was more alert than her but he didn't have time to figure that out right now, they had to get out of there.
"Come on Everest, we've got to go!" Marshall implored her as he tried to get Everest to stand up.
"In a fire seems the perfect place to…you know…" Everest replied as she slumped over on her side and then casually rolled onto her back, her paws loosely drapped around Marshall's neck.
"Hold that thought" Marshall said, before pulling Everest up onto his back.
"O.o, so strong too" Everest replied, running her paws down Marshall's sides.
Marshall ignored her, swiping his pup tag to call Ryder. The control room in the lookout appeared before him, with Cinder front and center as if she was briefing.
"If you are calling to report a forest fire, you are a little late" Cinder softly informed him.
"It's worse than that," Marshall replied seriously, "we need help."
"Of course you do" Cinder softly replied, "how close are you to the fire?"
"Dangerously close to being overtaken" Marshall replied seriously, "and I think someone tranquilized us."
Every pup gasped at that.
"What makes you think that?" Cinder softly asked.
Marshall just turned so that Everest was visible on his back. The husky limply rolled slightly sideways, with Marshall quickly steadying her so she she didn't fall off of his back. "Oh hey there Cinny babe" Everest said, her voice just as lethargic as she looked, "is it time for some super special exercise with my favorite Dalmatians?"
"You've convinced me" Cinder softly replied, getting a tinge of pink in her white fur.
"I know you can't get to us before the fire burns us to a crisp" Marshall said, rolling the floppy Everest back into his back, "but I can get us to my ambulance before the fire overtakes us. I just need someone to drive us out."
"Got it" Cinder softly replied, "Skye, change in plans, fly Zuma to Marshall's ambulance first and then carry on with SAR and water drops. Zuma, drive them out to safety."
"Let's dive in!" Zuma sounded off.
"Paw Patrol is on a roll!" Cinder softly commanded.
Skye dove down the slide first with Zuma right behind her. There was barely enough time for the Cockapoo to lift off in her helicopter before Zuma flew out and landed perfectly in her waiting harness. The rest of the pups followed and jumped straight into the air patroller. RoboDog lifted off, collected Rubble's rig, and then headed in the direction of the fire.
A sigh escaped Marshall as the call ended, this was not going to be easy. Quickly checking to make sure that Everest wasn't going to fall off of his back, Marshall took a quick look around to make sure he knew what the fire was doing and then started down the fiery trail at a brisk trot.
The smoke was thick as Marshall kept making his way down the trail, so thick he could barely see the way. Fortunately, he knew this trail very well so all he was really watching was the fire. Marshall was the fastest pup on the Paw Patrol, but hampered by his injury and carrying the incoherent and minimally conscious Everest, the fire was slowly catching them.
Everything around them was already on fire, what Marshall was really watching was how the fire was progressing. Some areas were already impassible, but so far the trail could still be navigated. Marshall jumped to the side of the trail at hearing a branch crack overhead. A moment later, the flaming branch crashed down where he had been walking. Looking around, Marshall realized that the trail was no longer the safest route back.
Marshall picked up the pace, now running a path parallel to the trail. While now slightly safer from the fire, the path he now wove was tougher to physically navigate. Jumping over a burning log, Marshall felt a twinge in his chest and knew he was pushing himself to the limit. On top of that, the fire was starting to spread faster…
Marshall skidded to a stop when he encountered a wall of fire in front of him. Looking around, there didn't appear to be a way past the inferno. But Marshall saw a way across. Laying Everest down for a moment, Marshall pushed as hard as he could against a nearby tree that was only on fire in the branches at the top but whose trunk was still untouched. The tree refused to budge. Giving it every ounce of strength he had, Marshall continued pushing until he felt a crack vibrate through the trunk. Running back and scooping up Everest again, Marshall watched the tree crash down into the wall of fire, making a bridge for them to cross.
As Marshall jumped up on the tree trunk, he felt the flames licking up the sides. The trunk was barely big enough for him to walk across and he had to go slowly. He was about half way across when he felt the heat increase. Looking behind him, he saw that that base of the tree trunk was fully engulfed and it was spreading up the trunk.
Moving as quickly as he dared, Marshall continued along the trunk until he reached the wall of fire. The gap made by the tree trunk wasn't really big enough but he didn't have a choice; it was cross now or burn. Marshall walked through the ever shrinking gap, he felt the fire licking through his fur and heard Everest cry out in pain. Then they were through the gap and into clearer air.
In fact, past the wall of fire, the fire was significantly less progressed and Marshall breathed a sigh of relief. Taking a moment to swat out the patches of his and Everest's fur that were still on fire, Marshall then made his way back to the trail at athe best pace he could manage.
Marshall finally reached the trailhead and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the fire had not reached his truck. He laid Everest down in the cleanest patch of dirt he could find before jumping into the cockpit of his fire truck. With a bark, he changed it into his ambulance. Jumping back down, Marshall opened the back doors before collecting Everest and bringing her into the back.
"Skye, Zuma" Marshall said after keying his pup tag, "we are in the ambulance, what is your ETA?"
"Circling now, Marshall," Skye replied, "your ambulance is in a clearing that is ringed by fire. The road looks clear though."
"Copy that Skye" Marshall replied, "we are loaded and ready."
"Roger that, ready Zuma?" Skye replied.
"Weady!" Zuma replied. Skye descended, bringing the water pup in just above the flames. Zuma held on tight to the harness as he cleared the flaming tree line and Skye swooped in, bringing her helicopter into a hover over the cockpit of Marshall's ambulance.
Zuma released the harness, dropping the last few feet into the cockpit. Starting up the ambulance, Zuma made a quick visual check of the systems. "Weady Mawshall?" Zuma barked into the back.
"Ready, get us to the hospital fast buddy!" Marshall barked back, tightening the strap that held Everest down to the gurney.
Zuma pressed his paw down on the accelerator and gunned it put of the clearing. The fire was clearly still spreading rapidly, but fortunately it had not fully enveloped the forest road. As Zuma drove, he was able to outpace the fire. He soon was off the dirt path and back on paved road.
"We are cleaw Cindew" Zuma reported over his pup tag.
In the back of the ambulance, Marshall was finishing up cleaning and dressing Everest's burns. Thankfully, they were not too deep, mostly first degree burns with a few second degree burns thrown in, so all it took was a good thick coating of the burn gel. Marshall applied the remaining burn gel to his own, slightly more severe, burns before settling in for the rest of the ride.
"We have a problem, Ryder" Cinder softly said as she surveyed the fire. The initial report hadn't included an accurate size of the fire. "It looks like it has already consumed more than 2000 acres" Cinder softly continued.
"Are you sure it is that much?" Rocky asked.
"An acre is smaller than you think" Texas replied for Cinder, "one square mile is 640 acres, and while the burn area is slightly oddly shaped, overall it is a 1 mile diameter circle which gives it an area of approximately 3.14 square miles, or 2009 acres."
"Oh" Rocky replied, slightly abashedly. Cinder and Tracker shared a knowing smirk with Texas.
"Rubble," Cinder softly took back command of the situation, "we will drop you at the end of this ATV trail." Cinder pointed with her paw for Rubble and RoboDog to see. "I need you to widen it for it to serve as a firebreak to the south between the fire and Adventure Bay. The main road will be our firebreak to the East."
"Rubble on the double!" Rubble sounded off.
"That only gives us containment on two sides" Ryder pointed out.
"I know," Cinder softly replied, "but we do not have the assets to create another break. The fastest rate of spread is to the South West, towards town and the coast. We will do our first drop to the east to slow the rate of spread. But we need to activate the county forest fire response plan to get more air tankers on scene."
"Got it, I'll make the call" Ryder replied, "are you ok to serve as incident commander?"
"Like you even need to ask" Cinder softly teased, her voice full of confidence. "Take us in to drop Rubble, RoboDog"
"Arf Arf!" RoboDog barked in acknowledgement of her order. He brought the air patroller swooping into a hover right where the ATV trail met the main road. RoboDog deposited Rubble's rig with enviable precision, before touching down next to the rig. Rubble jumped out the back of the air patroller and RoboDog lifted the tilt rotor aircraft back into the sky.
As soon as the dust settled, Rubble transformed his rig and got to work widening the ATV trail. He felt pangs of regret as he knocked over trees with his dozer blade, but these trees were going to burn, and many more as well, if he didn't widen the ATV trail. So Rubble kept at it, working his way along the trail and making it wide enough to be an effective fire break.
"Three medium air tankers are being scrambled" Ryder informed Cinder, "the first will be on scene in 30 minutes, the next in an hour, and the last in an hour 30, round trip time is approximately 45 minutes for each aircraft."
"Understood" Cinder softly replied, surveying the fire as RoboDog flew a loop around the fire. "RoboDog, our first drop will be right on the front line of the fire. We only have water so we won't be able to affect containment."
"Arf Arf!" RoboDog barked in reply before bringing the air patroller in on their water bombing run.
"Cinder, I found a family trapped by the fire!" Skye's report echoed through the air patroller.
"Abort RoboDog" Cinder softly commanded. RoboDog immediately acknowledged and brought them back up above the fire. "Where at Skye?" Cinder softly asked.
"Eastern edge of the fire," Skye immediately replied, "they have taken shelter in a shallow cave. I'm hovering right above them."
"Take us there RoboDog" Cinder softly commanded.
"Arf Arf" RoboDog replied, vectoring them towards Skye's location. As they approached, Cinder was able to quickly pick out the hiding location of the family. The small cave was at the base of a large rock formation that jutted up above the fire. There were scattered trees that had grown into the rock formation that were on fire. Fortunately, they were right on the edge of the fire and Cinder saw a relatively easy way to extract them.
"Ok pups, here is the plan" Cinder explained as RoboDog brought the air patroller into another hover so that they could all see. "On the first pass, RoboDog, we will drop a split load right at the cave entrance to give us a landing area. Then, all pups will rappel down and link up with the family. Next, RoboDog will drop the rest of the load in a path from the cave to this clearing." Cinder indicated with her paw. "We will lead the family to the clearing and load them into the air patroller for evacuation. Any questions?"
The Paw Patrol pups all nodded but Texas looked more than a little concerned. "I'm not sure I can do this" the Rhodesian Ridgeback whimpered, "I've never fought a fire before, never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, never been trained for anything like this."
Cinder locked her bright blue eyes with Texas' amber eyes, "I know you are scared, Texas, but you can do this. I know you aren't trained as a fire pup or air rescue pup, but these people need our help. You have a role to play in saving them. We will quickly walk you through every step and be right beside you the whole way."
Something about what Cinder said lit a spark in Texas' heart. She was still scared, but she also felt the warm confidence that everything was going to be ok. "I'm ready to ride!" she sounded off.
Chase gave Texas a two minute talk-through of air rescue 101, making sure she knew what to expect. He would also be right beside her in case anything went wrong. Fortunately, since it was such a short drop, they would just rappel out the back of the air patroller which made it less complicated.
"Hit it RoboDog" Cinder softly commanded.
"Arf Arf" RoboDog barked in reply before making his first pass. The split load drop perfectly soaked their landing area and ensured that they could get down safely. He brought the air patroller into a hover in precisely the right spot and opened the ramp door.
"Time to walk on the fire side pups!" Cinder softly sounded off before jumping out the back of the air patroller, rappelling rope in her paws. When she was about half way down, Tracker jumped out as well. Cinder landed with her customary grace and immediately cleared the area. Tracker did the same as soon as he landed.
"You are clear Chase" Cinder softly passed up.
"Ready Texas?" Chase asked. She gulped and nodded in reply. Chase jumped out first, and Texas followed when he was about three-quarters of the way down. Chase landed and then immediately turned to help Texas. The Rhodesian Ridgeback's landing was not nearly as good, but Chase immediately stepped in to make sure she didn't hurt herself. As soon as they were clear, Rocky jumped and was the last team member on the ground.
As soon as Rocky was clear, Cinder signaled RoboDog who lifted the air patroller skyward and into position for the next water drop.
"This way," Cinder softly called, leading the pups to the cave where the family was sheltering. "Paw Patrol is here to help!" Cinder softly declared as she and the other pups enter the cave. There was a mom, dad, two boys and one young girl.
"We are so glad you found us" the dad replied.
"Ok, pups, pair up" Cinder softly directed. Chase and Rocky paired up with the two boys, Tracker with the mom, and Cinder with the dad to lead the way, leaving Texas and the little girl together.
"I'm scared" the little girl cried, hugging Texas tight.
"Want to know a secret?" Texas quietly replied back.
"What's that?" the little girl asked.
"I'm scared too" Texas replied, "but we will get you out of here safely."
"Yes we will" Cinder softly added with a sweet smile. "RoboDog, clear us a path" Cinder softly said into her tag.
"Arf Arf!" RoboDog replied. He brought the air patroller around directly over the cave on a direct course for the clearing. The rest of the water in the tank thundered out and down onto the burning forest. With a hiss, the water knocked the fire back. It wasn't enough to put the fire out though and immediately the fire began growing again.
"Let's go, we don't have much time" Cinder softly said as she lead the people and pups out of the cave. "Pups, use your water cannons to knock back any fire that gets to close, but never leave your buddy! Arf, water cannons!"
Cinder put her words into action, dousing a particularly aggressive hot spot as she passed, just enough so that they could all get past. Cinder and the dad led the way, followed by Chase and Rocky with the two boys, then Texas with the little girl, and Tracker and the mom brought up the rear.
"¡Tenemos que darnos prisa! The fire is catching up to us!" Tracker reported.
"We are almost there" Cinder replied. The fire was closing in more and more but they could see the clearing.
"Ah!"
Texas' yelp caused everyone to look at her but they couldn't see her or the little girl.
"Problema, they fell down a hole!" Tracker cried.
"Rocky, take the lead and the other boy" Cinder softly directed as she and Chase circled back to the hole.
"Green means go!" Rocky said as he led both boys to the clearing. Tracker and the mom followed behind.
"We are ok" Texas reported as Cinder poked her head over the hole. "But we can't get out on our own."
"Chase, we need your winch" Cinder waved the police pup over. "We'll use it to get the girl out. I'll jump down and help Texas." Before anyone could protest, Cinder jumped down in the hole.
"Ruff, winch!" Chase barked, his winch line shooting down into the hole. Cinder and Texas quickly hooked the girl up.
"Ruff, winch retract!" Chase barked. He slowly started pulling the girl up but then his winch stopped. "Overheated" Chase reported after making a quick check.
"You and the dad pull her out then" Cinder softly directed. Chase and the dad pulled and soon had the little girl out. The dad scooped her up in his arms.
"Ok, Texas," Cinder softly continued, "time to go."
"But I can't jump out, it's too high" Texas softly whined.
"Yes you can" Cinder softly replied, "I'll give you a boost." Cinder braced herself against the side of the hole. Texas clambered up on her back and then leapt as high as she could. And landed on solid ground.
"I told you that you could do it" Cinder softly gloated.
Texas opened her mouth to reply by instead a yelp escaped her as the ground suddenly started collapsing. Chase immediately grabbed a Texas by her scruff and pulled her clear while Cinder jumped back against the opposite side of the hole.
When they looked back, a burning tree had slid into the hole, blocking Cinder's way out.
"Cinder!" Chase and Texas cried out in dismay.
"Go, I'll be fine" Cinder's soft replied floated back to them.
"No, we'll get you out" Chase barked, scrambling to find a way to get the Dalmatian out.
"Chase, your responsibility it to get everyone else out safely. Now do your damn job!" Cinder ordered with enough force to rock Chase and Texas back on their heels.
Chase's jaw dropped. None of the pups had ever heard Cinder speak so forcefully, much less curse. But it had the desired effect of refocusing Chase on his task. "Come on, let's go," Chase immediately directed Texas, the dad and the girl.
"But what about Cinder?" Texas whined plaintively.
"She said she'll be fine and she gave us a job to do," Chase replied, "so we have to do our best."
Texas wanted to protest but didn't. Chase quickly led them towards the clearing. They reached the clearing just as the air patroller was touching down. Chase turned to look back, just in time to see another burning tree fall. He wanted to believe Cinder would be ok, but he wondered if she had just said that to save the rest of them. Shaking those thoughts from his head, Chase started getting everyone onboard the air patroller.
At the hospital, emergency department personnel swarmed over the ambulance the second it stopped moving. Marshall and Everest were pulled onto different stretchers as they were brought inside.
But that didn't stop Marshall from barking out directions, "We need blood toxicology tests of both of us to figure out what we were sedated with. Everest has first and second degree burns over approximately 9% of her body, concentrated on the sides of her torso, the burns have already been cleaned and covered with burn gel and a burn dressing; no other injuries noted. I have first and second degree burns over 9% of my body, also concentrated on the sides of my torso and treated in the same fashion; I also am pretty sure I tore one or more of the sutures closing the hole on my heart."
"We don't take orders from patients" one of the ER doctors said dismissively.
"No, you take them from me" Dr. Daniel said as he swept in, "and I'm inclined to defer to Marshall's experience as a paramedic over your dismissive attitude, intern." The intern shrunk back noticably as Dr. Daniel continued, "run the tox tests, check both of them for other wounds, and get the portable ultrasound unit in here to check the sutures in Marshall's chest. If negative, run him through a CT scan; if positive, get him into surgery ASAP."
"Yes director" one of the other ER doctors replied.
"Director?" Marshall asked quizzically.
"Of Emergency Medicine" Dr. Daniel replied with a smile, "not the whole hospital, don't you put that on me."
"Absolutely not" Marshall replied with a knowing smile as he and Everest were whisked into separate rooms.
Marshall waited patiently as they took a blood sample from him and wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine. Momentarily, they were checking his heart sutures. "It does look like you tore open one of your sutures" the technician confirmed. "We need to get up sedated for surgery."
"Part of that won't be possible" Marshall said nervously.
"Not until we figure out what Marshall was sedated with, and how much" Dr. Daniel said as he joined the conversation, "how do you feel about being awake for this?"
"Not good Doc" Marshall replied nervously, "but I'll do my best to stay still for you."
"I'll give you the strongest topical anesthetic I can and I'll be right there beside you" Dr. Daniel, putting a hand on Marshall's shoulder comfortingly as they wheeled Marshall back to surgery.
Everest's eyes fluttered open as she heard a pained yelp pierce the fog in her mind. She didn't immediately recognize anything of her surroundings and sat up quickly, only to almost fall over.
"Whoa thewe Evewest" Zuma said as he jumped up to support the unsteady husky, holding her in a comfortable sitting position, "take it easy, you've had a wuff day."
"Zuma?" Everest asked in confusion, "where am I?"
"At the hospital" Zuma replied.
"The hospital" Everest repeated in befuddlement, "why am I at the hospital?"
"I don't have any of the details, or know exactly what happened" Zuma admitted, "but the showt version is that there was a fowest fiwe, and you and Mawshall were in the middle of it. Mawshall thinks someone twanquilized both of you."
"Part of that makes sense" Everest quietly said, "I remember being on a walk with Marshall but nothing after that until waking up here." Everest eyes widened nervously, "did I say anything wierd while you've been here?"
"Uh no, why?" Zuma asked curiously.
"No reason" Everest replied, quickly changing the subject, "was there another pup that cried out in pain just before I woke up?"
"No, awe you suwe you awe feeling ok?" Zuma asked worriedly.
"No" Everest admitted, "everything is really foggy." Everest's brain finally started piecing things together. "Zuma, where is Marshall?" Everest asked slowly.
Zuma shifted uncomfortably before answering, "he is in suwgewy now, he towe open one of his stitches getting the two of you out of the fiwe."
"And not under anesthesia because our blood work hasn't come back yet" Everest finished. Zuma nodded in confirmation. Everest laid back down, thinking about what Marshall was going through, and trying to figure out how they ended up here, in this situation.
"Ok, that is everyone" Rocky said as the last of the family boarded the air patroller.
"Almost everyone" Chase replied, turning to look back towards the burning forest.
"Are we ready pups?" Ryder said, walking back to check on them. Tracker was giving each member of the family a check up to make sure that they were ok.
"Almost Ryder sir" Chase replied, "we are waiting on Cinder."
"Where is she?" Ryder asked in confusion.
"The little girl and Texas fell in a hole" Chase explained, "Cinder got them out but a tree fell on part of the hole before she got out."
"And you left her?" Ryder said in shock.
"She ordered us to" Texas sobbed, "she wouldn't let us stay and help her get out."
Ryder rocked back on his heels, looking out at the fire. "Did she say to wait for her?" Ryder asked slowly.
"S-She said she would be fine" Chase choked out, "so we wait until we can't stay any longer."
"That won't be much longer" Rocky said nervously, "the fire is starting to spread back over the trail."
"Todo el mundo está sano, Ryder." Tracker reported, "just a little bit of smoke inhalation, nothing fresh air won't cure."
Everyone turned to look as heard cracking, just in time to see a another burning tree fall, kicking up dirt, dust and debris. Everyone's shoulders slumped in defeat as the fire fully overtook the path they had taken out. No one wanted to leave but they all knew that they had to.
"Look!" Rocky barked. There was a shadow moving amongst the settling debris. The shadow slowly solidified as it emerged, taking the shape of a pup.
"Cinder!" Texas and Chase barked before racing out and grabbing the slightly singed fire pup.
"I told you I would be fine" Cinder softly admonished them as they jumped up into the air patroller.
"How did you get out?" Texas asked, "we saw the branch trap you in the hole."
"It takes more than a little fire to kill me" Cinder softly stated, "I just made a way out, and then ran to catch up to you."
"Happy you are with us again Cinder," Rocky said, "but we need to get off the ground."
"Yes we do" Cinder said as the ramp closed behind them and she made her way up to the cockpit. "By my estimate, the first tanker should be checking on station momentarily."
"Incident Command, this is Fire Tanker 133, checking in, 5 souls, 3+00, 3500 gallons fire retardant, angles 15, approaching from the north, squawking 7133, standing by for tasking" crackled over the radio.
Everyone looked dumbfounded at Cinder.
"Should I get that?" Cinder softly asked with a slight smile. No one moved or said anything so Cinder keyed the radio, "FT 133, IC, copy check in, proceed south of fire and descend to drop height as terrain permits, split load along the eastern front of the fire."
"FT 133 copies, proceed south…" everyone but Cinder tuned out the repeat back from the fire tanker as RoboDog lifted the air patroller up and towards an overwatch position above the fire.
The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. After the first drop, Cinder had the air tanker, a retrofit ex-military C-130Q Hercules, perform a second drop parallel to the first, but right on top of the fire line. After the tanker left to load and return, Ryder had RoboDog drop the family off at the lookout. Rocky and Tracker went with them to help them find a place to stay since their camp site was in the fire area.
Almost as soon as Ryder, Cinder, Chase and RoboDog were airborne in the air patroller again, the second tanker, an ex-military P-3 Orion with callsign FT 35 and carrying 3000 gallons of retardant, checked on scene. Cinder had the tanker perform one drop to the north of the fire just in case the wind shifted, and a second along the fire break that Rubble was finishing.
When that tanker departed, they collected Rubble and his rig from the fire break and returned him to the lookout. Rubble was slightly unamused that the tanker dropped before he could get fully clear and as a result, he and his rig had a light pink tinged to them.
The third tanker checked on scene, a former commercial 737-300 with callsign FT 304 and 4000 gallons of fire retardant, checked on scene. Cinder had this tanker split it's load into three drops, one each on the west side along the main road that served as a fire break, north parallel to the first drop, and finally along the east side again, slightly farther out than the very first drop. At that point, FT 133 returned with 3500 gallons of water.
Now that the fire was contained, Cinder had the tankers returning with water instead of fire retardant. Fire retardant was better for containing the fire, but water was better at actually putting the fire out as well as taking less time to reload the air tankers. Every 30 minutes or so, one do the fire tankers would return with a full load of water.
After FT 133 made the first drop of water, Chase noticed something. "Ryder sir?"
"Yes Chase?" Ryder asked hopefully. The leader of the Paw Patrol was feeling a mix guilt and pride at how little he had to supervise his pups any more.
"I think I saw where the fire might have started" Chase replied. "There was a cabin that we just flew over that looked particularly burned out."
"We can take a look Chase" Ryder said before keying his wrist comm. "Skye"
"I'm here Ryder" came Skye's immediate reply. The Cockapoo was getting slightly bored of watching the fire burn after she had confirmed that no one else needed rescuing.
"Can you meet up with us and take Chase to a cabin we just flew over?" Ryder asked. Chase thinks it might be where the fire started.
"On my way Ryder" Skye replied happily.
"I'll have the next tanker cover that area to cool it down for you Chase" Cinder softly said from the cockpit.
"Will that mess with any evidence?" Chase asked.
"I'll have them drop from high enough altitude to help with dispersion so that nothing is disturbed" Cinder softly confirmed.
RoboDog brought the air patroller into a hover and opened the back ramp while Skye go into position. Chase attached himself to Skye's harness before he jumped out the back of the air patroller.
As soon as the next tanker had completed it's water drop, Skye flew Chase over the cabin area. "See how the cabin looks really burnt, but there are direct trails from the cabin to the first?" Chase asked Skye.
"I do" Skye replied, "do you think this was started intentionally?"
"It is possible" Chase replied, "but I need to get on the ground and see.
Skye lowered Chase down ato the ground and he immediately began checking for any signs that someone set the fire intentionally.
While Chase was investigating the cabin, Ryder called Jake to confirm that the cabin was unoccupied.
"Yeah dude" Jake said, "I don't have anyone staying in that cabin right now, just a family that was camping in the area."
"We got them out safely" Ryder said, "Rocky and Tracker are helping them to find temporary accommodations."
"They can stay in the lodge" Jake said firmly, "I'll call the pup and let them know."
"Thanks Jake" Ryder said warmly.
Miles away, at the Adventure County regional dispatch center, a dispatcher took a very strange call. It started with the caller using a voice changing device. And it got even stranger a the caller spoke.
"L-T?" The dispatcher waved her supervisor over as the call disconnected as soon as the voice stopped talking.
"What is it?" the lieutenant asked.
"You know that forest fire in Adventure Bay?" The dispatcher said and the LT nodded. "I just got a call from someone claiming that they saw someone set the fire, even identified them by name."
"Great, get the info the Ryder and the Paw Patrol, hopefully the baddie is in the area and they can nail them" the LT said.
"It's more complicated than that…" the dispatcher said as he help up a sheet of paper with his notes on it. At the bottom was circled the name of the alleged arsonist.
The LT's jaw dropped in shock and his hand trembled slightly as he took the paper. "pull the call recording" the LT said, "I'll make a copy of this, I need to make a call…"
Many calls were made of the next few minutes as jurisdiction of the investigation was argued. Finally, the county fire Marshal decided what to do and investigators mobilized. Then the Fire Marshal called Ryder…
On the ground, Chase was becoming more convinced that the fire had been set intentionally. He found gasoline trails from the cabin to the forest, obscured tracks, and one discarded gas can. And through the pungent smell of gasoline, Chase found something he never expected to find.
"Chase" Ryder called him through his pup tag.
"Ryder sir, I just found something you won't believe" Chase replied.
"Stand down Chase" Ryder replied, "an arson team is on the way from Heartland to take over the case. Skye is on her way to pick you up."
Chase's eyes widened in disbelief at what that meant, mixed with what he had just found. The police pup slowly backed away from the gas can, careful to not to touch it or anything else. Committing to memory everything he had done and observed on scene, along with where he walked, Chase retraced his steps back to where Skye had dropped him.
In the hospital, the doors in Everest's room were opened and Marshall wheeled in on a gurney. Everest, now more alert, patiently waited for the nurses to move him to the recovery bed. When they finally left him alone, Everest, aided by Zuma, jumped up on Marshall's bed.
"Hey Eve" Marshall said raspily.
Everest put a paw over his muzzle to forestall any further words. Then she leaned down and kissed him.
"I'm glad see the two of you still have your priorities straight" a familiar voice said with a laugh.
"Hey Doc" Marshall and Everest said in unison as they turned to face the newcomer.
"How are you feeling Everest?" Dr. Daniel asked as he walked over to them and sat down on a chair.
"Groggy, foggy, out of it" Everest replied, "and definitely unsteady. Did our blood work come back?"
"Yes it did, but we'll get to that in a minute" Dr. Daniel replied evasively, "fortunately, your burns aren't that severe and we should be able to get you out of here in a few hours."
"What about Marshall?" Everest asked.
"I know how he is doing, we just came out of surgery together, he was great company" Dr. Daniel said with a chuckle. Everest gave him a very unamused look. "He tore one of his stitches" Dr. Daniel informed her, "relatively quick and easy to fix."
"Just a little painful" Marshall said with a tired smile, "I think it took longer to cut your way in and then sew me closed again than to repair the one suture."
"Oh it did, but you did a great job Marshall" Dr. Daniel said, putting his hand on Marshall's shoulder again.
"So, about our blood work?" Everest asked.
"Ah, yes" Dr. Daniel said, slightly hesitantly, "you both had some abnormalities in your blood. Everest, you were fully tranquilized, but not by something commonly available. In fact, you can only get it from the hospital legally. Anyone that uses it has to get it issued from here. And there is only one other place it is stored, ready for immediate use."
"Sounds like it should be easy to trace then" Marshall said happily.
"Yes and no" Dr. Daniel said before looking directly at the paramedic pup, "Marshall, it is the tranquilizer you have in your darts..."
Everyone looked at Dr. Daniel in shock. "That's not possible doc, my pup pack is in the ambulance and I haven't fired any darts. Why would I even tranquilize Everest?"
"I get weirder" Dr. Daniel replied, "your blood has the tranquilizer in it as well, as well as the reversal agent."
"That makes even less sense" Marshall said, becoming more agitated, "I only have two vials of that, one in the lookout sickbay controlled medicine cabinet and one in the same cabinet on the ambulance. What is going on Doc?"
"I know this raises more questions than answers" Dr. Daniel said, "but unfortunately, I have none of those answers. I wish I knew."
"Zuma," Marshall said shakily, "call Ryder and Rocky, we need to pull the logs on all my gear and vehicles to figure out what is going on."
"You got it Mawshall" Zuma replied nervously as he walked out.
Everest noticed that Marshall was starting to shake so she wrapped one of her forepaws around his and held his paw right in her own.
"I'll leave you two alone for now" Dr. Daniel said, "ring if you need anything." Marshall nodded automatically and Dr. Daniel left.
"What's going on Eve?" Marshall asked shakily.
"I don't know Marshy" Everest said soothingly, "I remember us being on a walk together and then waking up here with Zuma. We hoped you remembered something."
"What I remember doesn't help" Marshall whined. "I remember us being on a walk, then waking up with fire all around us."
"And you got us out" Everest finished.
"Just to the ambulance, I couldn't drive" Marshall replied sadly, "we were lucky to make it out at all."
Everest wrapped her paws around Marshall in a big hug and gently squeezed. "We seem to be each other's good luck Marshy" she said quietly, "and luck or not, we still have each other." The two pups shared a gentle kiss before pressing their heads together, forming a heart shape with their silhouettes. They were still that way when Zuma walked back in.
"Did you get a hold of them Zuma?" Marshall asked tiredly.
"In a manner of speaking" Zuma said as he cleared the doorway. Ryder walked in behind him.
"Is the fire out, Ryder?" Marshall asked.
"In progress" Ryder replied, "Cinder is still directing the attack, but it looks like we found where it started and it looks like it was set intentionally."
"Chase must be having a field day then" Marshall said with a smile, "hopefully we catch them."
"We've been pulled from the case" Ryder said quietly, "they are sending an arson team from Heartland to investigate."
Alarm bells started going off in Marshall's head. "Why is that Ryder?" Marshall asked quietly.
"There was an anonymous tip that came into county dispatch from someone claiming they saw someone start the fire, they even gave a name" Ryder said slowly, not looking at Marshall. "Chase also found collaborating evidence before we got pulled from the case. And GPS tracking on the individual confirms that they were at the place where the fire started, at the approximate time the fire started."
Ryder finally raised his eyes to look at Marshall. "Marshall, an investigation has been opened because they think you started the fire…"
A/N: To my readers, know that I care about all of you when I leave you dangling off a cliff hanger like this. Hang in there and let your imaginations go wild about what happens next. I am leaving on a work trip and will not have internet access so there will not be any updates to any of my stories until the middle of August. Depending on how much I get done during the trip, we'll see what the update frequency looks like when I get back but I'll let you know. Feel free to clutter up my inbox with your rants about how I'm torturing you, imaginative ideas on what happens or anything else!
A/N: Special thanks to PawPatrolAllStars for the time and talent of his character Texas
A/N: Soecial thanks to 18 For the idea for this chapter.