Chapter 3: Recovery
It was nine o'clock at night. The storm was still hitting hard in Adventure Bay, but it had dwindled down in intensity compared to earlier. At the Lookout, Ryder made the difficult decision to have his pups wait until morning for any relief efforts. He phoned Jake to let him know not to come down with Everest until morning. Of course, the team would be on call in case there was an emergency late at night. Earlier, their biggest concern was the tornado that ripped through town. Now, their biggest concern was flooding.
Ryder took the elevator down to the ground floor. Mere hours ago he braved the storm to find his pups, who were hiding in the tunnel of the jungle gym in the park downtown. They had missed being swallowed up by the tornado by probably a couple hundred feet. Downstairs, his pups were gathered in the common area. No one was in the mood to watch TV, so they all just spent the afternoon and evening close together, processing everything that had happened that day.
Upon seeing Ryder, Rubble jumped up and ran over to his owner. "Ryder!" he said cheerfully, licking his owner's cheek.
"Hey Rubble, hey pups," Ryder said. He looked at each of his pups. All six of them had dampened and discombobulated fur, ranging from ever so slightly in Chase's fur to really standing on end in Rocky's fur.
"We should all try to get some sleep," Ryder suggested. "It's starting to get a little late, and we have no clue what will be in store for us tomorrow."
"But Ryder," said Zuma, "we're not even tired." As soon as he said this, a yawn escaped from the chocolate lab.
"That yawn of yours says otherwise," Ryder chuckled. Another loud rumble of thunder echoed outside, shaking the Lookout from its intensity. "You can all stay in here tonight, since you still seem to be a little shaken up." This definitely made the pups more willing to go to bed.
"Can we make a fort out of the cushions and bean bag chairs and blankets and stuff?" asked Rubble excitedly.
"Sure but try to be asleep by 10." Ryder proceeded to enter the elevator and ride it back up to his room. The pups wasted no time in constructing their fort. Chase and Rocky gathered all the bean bag chairs while Marshall and Skye dragged over all the blankets. Rubble and Zuma began setting up the cushions. Before long, the pups had finished their fort in all of its glory.
"I would want to sleep in this every night!" said Skye. "We did such a good job with this!"
"And we have enough blankets left over for us to use ourselves," Rocky pointed his paw towards the pile of blankets that were left on the ground.
"We should go to sleep now pups," Chase yawned. He could feel his eyelids getting heavier with each passing minute. The six pups gathered inside their fort. Credit had to be given to them, for it was much bigger inside than it appeared to be on the outside. The pups found a spot to lie down for the night, and Chase, as usual, started his good night ritual.
"Good night, Marshall."
"Good night, Chase."
"Good night, Rubble."
"Good night, Chase."
"Good night, Rocky."
"Good night, Chase."
"Good night, Zuma."
"Good night, Chase."
"Good night, Skye."
"Good night, Chase."
Chase made his way over to the spot he chose to sleep at. He circled it once before lying down and shutting his eyes, almost immediately drifting off to sleep.
Outside, the storm raged on, the lightning and thunder not letting up. Most of the other pups had been able to fall asleep in spite of the loud noises of the storm, as being inside the Lookout certainly helped. Well, almost all the other pups were able to fall sleep. One particular pup kept tossing and turning, trying to find a way to get comfortable enough to sleep. A few minutes had passed, and she still was unable to fall sleep. Skye sat up and let out an agitated sigh. She threw her blanket off and crept quietly out of the fort, being mindful not to wake any of the others.
Once out of the fort, Skye walked over to the window next to the sliding glass doors. She sighed once again and she sat down, thinking back to what had happened that day. She normally considered herself one of the braver pups on the team, but she had shown so much fear today at the hands of this storm. It reminded her of her days before joining PAW Patrol, when it was just her in that barn, having to endure her fair share of harsh storms, some that produced tornadoes and some that produced blizzards.
There was no reason to be such a scaredy pup, she thought to herself. It's a good thing that no one else really paid any attention to you when you basically buried your face in Chase's fur.
"Chase," she whispered, the image of the German shepherd comforting everyone today warming her heart. Will I ever tell him how I feel? Does he even feel the same way about me? Why can't you be brave like him?
"Skye?" a voice whispered from behind her.
Oh no, she thought.
"Skye?" the voice whispered again. "Are you okay? You should be sleeping right now."
Skye didn't turn around. "I couldn't fall asleep," she said.
The police pup walked up next to her and sat down. He didn't really know what to say, so he tried to lighten the mood, at least a little. "Rough day, huh?" he said with a small chuckle.
"I guess you could say that," she replied, looking up at him. "Why are you awake? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I picked up your scent when you crept by," the German shepherd said matter-of-factly. "Is there anything on your mind?"
"No, not really," she said, her fear of being vulnerable taking over. She knew she was lying, Chase knew she was lying, and she knew that Chase knew she was lying.
"Are you sure?" Chase replied. "You seemed pretty shaken up earlier today." While he knew she was lying, he didn't want to intimidate her or pressure her into sharing. "You know you can talk to me about anything."
The cockapoo gave the German shepherd a small smile. "I'm okay Chase, I think."
"Well then we should get some sleep. Lord knows how much flying around you'll be doing tomorrow."
Skye thought about how much work could be in store tomorrow. Part of it scared her, as far as how immense it felt, but she knew that it was her job and she was eager to help anyone who needed it. Unfortunately, it seemed as though she wouldn't let herself be helped in that moment. As the German shepherd turned back to go to bed, she heard herself call out to him. "Wait, Chase."
The shepherd turned around and looked back at her. "What is it, Skye?"
"I-," she started, but couldn't find the words to continue.
"You…?" Chase asked inquisitively. He looked attentively at her, wanting to help her if he could.
"Please don't tell the others this."
"I promise this will stay between us."
"I was really scared today, like nearly beyond reason. And I shouldn't have been. I wish I was as brave today as you were." She hung her head in shame and cursed herself for ever opening up to her hidden crush. Smooth move, now he probably thinks you're a lame scaredy pup, she thought to herself.
Chase, recognizing the seriousness in Skye's voice, decided to stop being the PAW Patrol pup that has a crush on her. Instead he decided to be the PAW Patrol second-in-command that looks after his teammates. "Skye, you had every reason to be afraid today," the police pup replied, placing his paw under her chin and gently lifting her head. "In fact, you are really brave for admitting you were scared."
"But you weren't even scared today," she said.
"Uh, yeah I was."
"Huh?" Skye looked at him, puzzled.
"Skye, I was terrified today. I wasn't sure if we would all make it out alive. When we were in that tunnel I was nothing but scared.
"Y-you were?"
"Of course I was. We all were. But we're safe now. We're alive, and we're all still together, and that's what matters to me. It's okay to be scared, but it takes real courage to admit when you're scared."
Chase, she thought. He has such a way with words. "You really think so?" she asked, her tail discreetly wagging at the kind words from her crush.
"I know so. Now will you please come to bed so that I can go to sleep?" he asked. "I can't sleep knowing that you're still awake, lost in your thoughts." He motioned for her to come back to the fort.
Skye nodded and trotted back into the fort. Chase followed her inside and lied back down in his spot. Closing his eyes, he was about to drift off to sleep. That is, until, he felt something small and warm next to him. He opened his eyes and looked to his left. Skye had taken her blanket and crept over next to the German shepherd. She laid down next to him and finally drifted off to sleep.
Chase began to blush, seeing his crush lying so close to him. He carefully scooted over ever so slightly, so that the cockapoo could use his body as a pillow as opposed to the cold, hard ground. Sure enough, his plan worked. Skye had managed to nestle closer to the police pup, resting her head against his side. Chase then closed his eyes and fell asleep with the biggest smile on his face.
However, both he and Skye were completely unaware of a pair of eyes watching them and a set of ears that had heard most of their conversation. A particular chocolate lab, also woken up by the storm, took notice of the two pups' chat and, being so curious, listened in.
Zuma could hear Chase and Skye opening up to each other, with Skye revealing her fears from the day and Chase encouraging her. Can't he just ask her out already? he thought, chuckling quietly at his own thought. When the two pups finished their talk and walked back into the fort, the water rescue pup feigned sleeping should they notice him spying on them.
He slowly opened his eyes and could not believe what he was seeing. Skye was dragging her blanket over to where Chase had lied back down. The chocolate lab had to do a double take as he saw the cockapoo lie down next to the German shepherd and use him as a pillow. Wait 'til Rocky hears about this! he screamed to himself.
The next morning, as is the case every morning, Chase was the first one awake. He got up, groaned, and stretched his legs. This woke up Skye, who had fallen asleep right up against him. She, too, got up and stretched her legs before getting her bearings. He didn't need his megaphone to wake up the others this time, for most of them had woken up on their own minutes after the German shepherd.
"Oops," Zuma said, noticing how their magnificent and glorious fort they had constructed last night had been reduced to a pile of cushions and blankets on top of the pups.
"It must have collapsed while we were asleep," said Rocky. He sat up, only for the cushion on his head to stay there. He giggled before shaking it off towards Marshall.
"I-," the dalmatian started before being comically smacked in the face by the cushion. "I'm so hungry," he finished, earning laughs from the rest of the pups. As if on cue, Ryder walked into the living room with six bowl full of dog food.
"Morning, pups. Did you all sleep well?"
"I know I did!" said Rubble.
"I did too," said Zuma. "What about you, Chase?"
"Me?" the German shepherd said. He wasn't expecting to be singled out. "Yeah, I slept well."
"I'm sure you did," the chocolate lab replied with a giggle, leaving the rest of the pups and Ryder confused.
While the pups ate their breakfast, Ryder went upstairs to use the periscope to see what the damage was that the storm had caused yesterday. Wanting more answers, he picked up his pup pad and called the mayor.
"Good morning, Ryder," the mayor said.
"Morning, Mayor Goodway. Glad to see that you're safe after that storm."
"Same to you! What can I do for you?"
"Do you have any idea how bad the damage is to the city? The pups and I are going to be doing cleanup today and we would like to know what we might be getting into."
"Believe it or not, I don't think it's too bad. We should check the houses that were hit by the tornado for anyone trapped, but other than that, just a lot of cleaning up of the streets and what not."
"Sounds good mayor! We'll be there once we're done with breakfast!"
"See you soon, Ryder!" The mayor hung up.
Ryder finished his coffee before putting his mug down on his nightstand. He then called for his pups. "PAW Patrol, to the Lookout!"
"Ryder needs us!" his pups called. They raced to the elevator but were shocked when a certain fire pup did not trip on something and crash into them.
"Whoa, Marshall," said Skye. "You didn't crash into us or knock us over."
"Yeah, are you okay?" asked Rubble jokingly.
"Never better," the dalmatian said with a smile.
"Maybe it's a sign," said Rocky before the elevator doors closed. The pups ascended to the top, having changed into their gear halfway up. Chase was in his super spy gear while Marshall was in his medic gear. Once the elevator doors opened, the pups jumped out and stood in front of their owner.
"PAW Patrol ready for action, Ryder sir!" Chase declared proudly.
"Thanks for coming so quickly pups," said Ryder. "You all know why I called you here. We're going to be going into town to assess the damage caused by yesterday' storm. It'll be all paws on deck for this one."
The pups cheered, for it was a rare occurrence when they were all dispatched.
"Rubble, I need you and your rig. Your bucket can clear debris on the roads while your claw can lift fallen structures."
"Rubble on the double!" the bulldog said.
"Rocky, I need you and your tools to fix anything that might need immediate repairs."
"Green means go!" the mixed breed said.
"Skye, I need you to use your copter and goggles to search for people who may be lost. Keep your harness ready in case we need to airlift anyone."
"Let's take to the sky!" the cockapoo said with a backflip.
"Marshall, I need you to be ready to tend to anyone who needs medical attention. We can use your ambulance to transport people to the hospital in Foggy Bottom if needed."
"I'm ready for a ruff, ruff rescue!" the dalmatian said.
"Zuma, I need you to use your hovercraft to check the bay for anyone who needs help. You can also use your hovercraft to clean any debris in the bay."
"Let's dive in!" the chocolate lab said.
"Everest," Ryder projected his call onto the big screen so that the pups could see her.
"Everest!" they all said excitedly.
"I need you and Jake to help look for anyone who needs help. You two are in charge of determining who can be seen by Marshall and who needs more immediate medical attention at the hospital."
"Off the trail, Everest won't fail!" the husky said.
"And last, but certainly not least, Chase! I need you to use your drone, your nose, and your winch for rescue efforts. I also need you to help me make sure things run smoothly, from directing traffic to helping the other pups."
"Chase is on the case!" the German shepherd said.
"All right! PAW Patrol is on a roll!" Ryder called out, fist bumping the air before running to the pole and sliding down to the garage. The pups ran over to the slide and got into their vehicles, ready to tackle whatever was in store for them.
Zuma took off for the bay while the rest of the pups headed into town. They parked their vehicles at city hall. Rubble continued down Main Street, using his bucket to clear it of debris. It was then that he noticed a collapsed building.
"Ryder," he said over his pup tag. "I found a collapsed building. Should we search it for survivors?"
"Let's do that," Ryder said over his pup tag. "I'll send Chase and Marshall over to help you."
Rubble approached the building and began clearing debris that was scattered indiscriminately in the yard. Soon, Chase and Marshall arrived and the three of them began to decide how to lift the collapsed roof of the building.
"Rubble," Chase said once he had an idea. "You can lift the roof using your construction claw."
"Great idea, Chase!" the bulldog backed his rig up to the house and lowered his claw to lift up the roof. Once that was removed the three pups carefully walked into the house to look for anyone who might need their help.
"Hello?" Marshall called out. "Is anyone in here?"
Chase had his nose lowered to the ground, hoping to catch a whiff of anyone's scent. "I don't think anyone's in here. Let's get out of here before the walls cave in on us."
The three pups made their way towards the exit. However, Rubble got his front right paw stuck while trying to get out.
"Pups," he called out. "A little help please?"
Marshall and Chase giggled before making their way back towards the bulldog. It was then that they heard a loud creaking noise.
"What was that?" Chase said, his ears perking up. The three pups looked around for the source of the noise. It was then that Marshall noticed what caused that noise.
"C-c-chase," he said in a frightened tone.
"What is it Marshall?"
"L-l-look," the dalmatian said, pointing at something. Chase and Rubble turned to where he pointed and gasped upon seeing one of the walls falling right on top of them.
Outside, Skye was flying around looking for places that the pups could work at, whether that be looking for people who might be trapped or clearing out debris. She smiled as she could see Chase leading Marshall and Rubble in their task. But she gasped upon seeing one of the walls fall down where the three were standing.
"CHASE!" she yelled as the wall landed with a loud thud.