Regaining Trust-A Paw Patrol Story

Chapter Five

Ryder was sleeping when the alarm clock next to his bed went off. He reached over and shut off the alarm. Ryder sat on the edge of his bed, still waking up. He stood up and stretched. Ryder stretched too quickly, and dizziness came over him. He leaned against the drawer next to his bed for balance. He felt something under his hand. Ryder picked it up and realized what it was.

"Chase's old collar," he told himself. He stared at the collar for a while, remembering his first dog.

The past five years have been difficult without Chase, and a lot happened in that timeframe. Ryder took a shower and got changed. He walked outside to wake up the dogs. Ryder turned right and woke up the first sleeping dog and leaned down and shook the dalmation gently.

"Hey, Marshall," Ryder said. "It's time to wake up."

Marshall turned and stood up. "Hey, Ryder," he replied. He stretched his front legs and yawned. "Ready for the day ahead."

"Great," Ryder said. "Can you wake up the others as I make breakfast?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Marshall replied.

Ryder scratched behind his ear. "Thanks, Marshall." Ryder walked back into the Lookout. He walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast. He pulled out five dog bowls and filled them up with dog food and two strips of bacon each. After they finished eating, the dogs decided to go play for a while.

They were all playing volleyball until Ryder called them. "Paw Patrol, to the Lookout," Ryder said through their dog tags.

"Ryder needs us," the dogs said in unison. They all ran towards the Lookout. Marshall, over the past five years, has learned to keep his clumsiness under control, though he is still clumsy sometimes, so he didn't cause a crash in the elevator.

They all went up to the top floor and got in position. Chase's spot was still empty. They couldn't bring themselves to add someone new to replace Chase. No one could replace Chase. No one could replace any of them. So, out of grief, his spot remained empty. They have been taking turns saying Chase's catchphrase ever since the incident. This time, it was Skye's turn. It was also the day that marked five years since his death. She was going to say the catchphrase when a light shined in her eyes. She turned to find out where the light was coming from. It was coming from Chase's collar. Ryder had left it on the chair in the balcony, and the dog tag reflected the sunlight into Skye's eye. She remembered the last night she was with Chase, how they shared that very seat. She remembered feeling the cold air turn warm once her fur touched his. She loved Chase. She never admitted it to anyone, but they already had their suspicions.

"Skye," Rocky said softly.

Skye came out of her thoughts. "Huh?" She noticed all the other dogs looking at her, confused. "Oh, um, Paw Patrol, ready for action, Ryder," she announced.

Ryder knew something was wrong but now was not the time to talk about it. "Thanks for coming," Ryder said. He turned on the screen. "We have an emergency. Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta were in the forest when Mayor Goodway's backpack and Chickaletta were taken away by an eagle. We have to retrieve Mayor Goodway's backpack and bring Chickaletta to safety." Skye gulped, she knew what was coming. "For this mission, I will need Zuma. You will go with Captain Turbot and receive a fish. Skye, you will use your wings to catch up to the eagle and try to make her drop the purse for the fish."

"Let's dive in," Zuma called out.

"This dog's gotta fly," Skye said as she did a backflip. "Hopefully, not too close to that eagle." Although Skye grew a bit, she was still slightly afraid of eagles. She has had some close calls with some in the past, so the fear didn't go completely away.

"Alright, Paw Patrol is on a roll," Ryder said. Ryder slid down the poll and the dogs went down the slide. The first one to slide down was Zuma, followed by Skye. Skye's helicopter had a broken blade, so she flew using her wings the entire way. When they crossed the bridge, Zuma went to the dock to meet up with Captain Turbot while Skye and Ryder met up with Mayor Goodway.

"Thank goodness, you're here," Mayor Goodway said. "I put down my backpack to smell some flowers and an eagle swooped down and took the backpack with Chickaletta. She's probably scared. Please bring her back."

"Okay, Skye, go track down that eagle," Ryder said. "We will follow you from the ground."

Skye called out her wings. She was using her sonic jet wings from Air Pup missions. She took off and called out the binoculars in her goggles. After a minute, she found the eagle. It was a large eagle. "Ryder, I found the eagle."

Zuma drove over. "And I got the fish," he said.

"That's great," Ryder said. Skye came down and grabbed the fish and followed the eagle. She tried to get as close as she could without getting too close. She found herself right under the eagle. "Skye, we're losing you," Ryder said. "Once you grab the backpack, land on the ground and wait for us to find you."

"Got it," Skye muffles with the fish in her mouth. She tossed the fish up in hopes that the eagle would see it, which it did. The eagle let go of the backpack and dove for the fish. Skye tried to grab onto the backpack by its straps, but the backpack was too heavy and took her down with it. Skye tried using her jets, but it only slowed her down. "Ryder, I'm going down."

"Hold on, Skye, we're coming," Ryder said. He called Marshall to come help.

Skye knew that a fall from her height at her speed would be fatal. Ryder was too far away to catch her before she hit the road below. Well, she thought, at least I will see Chase again.

Skye closed her eyes, preparing for the impact that never came. Instead, she heard some tires screech to a halt nearby. She felt something, something big and furry, catch her from her collar midair. When they landed, she still had her eyes closed and she was breathing heavily.

Ryder, Zuma, Mayor Goodway, and Marshall all gasped when they arrived. Skye opened her eyes and her jaw dropped. Staring over her was a large German Shepherd. He was handsome and well built, but his size terrified Skye. She scrammed away from him and ran over to where Ryder was and hid behind him.

"Who...Who are you?" Ryder asked.

"Don't you remember me?" the German Shepherd asked in a soothing, yet firm voice.

Ryder realized who it was before the others. It can't be, he thought.

The German Shepherd noticed that they didn't remember, so he sat down straight and said, "Paw Patrol, ready for action, Ryder, sir."

All of their eyes grew wide. "Chase!?"