Marshall and Chase: On the Skase!

(12) Rufftopolis

"So you want to take Everest back to Adventure Bay with the rest of the pups?" Jake asked, interested in what Ryder was telling him.

"Yeah. Chase and Marshall are in an unknown location right now, as is Skye..." Ryder explained, "So we're going to need Everest as a main responder for a little while in case all of the other pups are doing their jobs."

Jake nodded, "But what about her head injury?"

"She's not going to jump right into rescues immediately, but she should be all good in a few days, based on what Marshall told me."

Ryder and Jake watched as four pups ran past the cabin. Rocky, Everest and Zuma were in a three-way race to a tree nearby. Rubble was announcing their race as it unfolded Everest, despite her previous concussion, was in the lead, followed by Zuma, then Rocky.

It had been six days since Skye was taken, and Everest got her head injury. The Husky had been improving steadily over the past few days after waking up, enough to be able to run without affecting her injury negatively.

"It looks like Everest is going to take this race home today, folks!" Rubble announced, "But wait, what's that?"

Zuma began running faster, slowly catching up to the oldest pup.

"Zuma is catching up to Everest, but will he overtake her?"

The Chocolate Lab began slowly passing Everest, trying his best to win the race. The Husky pup wasn't having any of this, though, as she began picking up her pace.

Rocky, even though he was in last place, didn't really mind it. He had front row seats to the events unfolding before his eyes. He knew that the two competitive pups would be completely out of breath afterwards.

Ten feet from the tree, Zuma managed to pass Everest.

Seven feet away, Everest took her first place spot back from Zuma.

Five feet...

Four...

Three...

"Woah!" Suddenly, Everest slipped and began tumbling on the snow. Rocky, who wasn't able to stop in time. The mongrel tripped over the snow rescue pup and landed on his face in the snow.

"The winner is Zuma!" Rubble announced before howling.

"I win!" The Chocolate Lab cheered, his tail wagging, "That was a little too easy, Ev— Oh..."

Zuma turned around to see Rocky and Everest on the ground and covered in snow. Rubble and Zuma walked to the two pups and went to help them up.

"You good, dude?" Zuma asked, helping Rocky up.

"I'm fine..." Rocky smiled at his best friend.

"Are you okay, Everest?" Rubble helped the Husky to her feet, "That was Marshall level crashing."

"Right..." Everest's ears fell, "...Marshall..."

Rocky, Zuma, and Rubble all exchanged looks. They had completely forgotten why they were having the race in the first place. After the strange call from Marshall, Everest didn't exactly seem too happy. Neither did Ryder, but the boy seemed more confused than anything.

Everest, meanwhile, was fuming. She, like everyone else at the cabin, knew that there was more going on than what Marshall was letting on. That, and how serious Chase sounded when calling out to Marshall. It was almost as if he was more mature.

So was Marshall, for that matter. When confronted about what was going on, Marshall remained firm and resolute. He would usually fold the moment any pressure was applied to him. How much were they unaware of? What was happening outside of Adventure Bay? And most importantly, what was happening to Marshall and Chase?