PAW Patrol: Lockdown

Chapter 20- Full Circle

Act III- Dawn of the Dogs

The explosion had seemingly come from nowhere.

All Rocky remembered was running toward the shelves, scattering tools and throwing boxes aside like trash as he frantically searched for something to free Chase. Even though the police dog had given his final rites through the door, the mix refused to walk away, desiring to try until the very last moment to save the shepherd. Zuma's body lay on the floor, splayed out as a faint trickle of blood came from his head. The Labrador had been struck hard, Rocky didn't desire to go farther, he just needed the problematic dog to stay down for a few moments. Overcome in panic and anxiety, Marshall tried to say something but his voice had given out, forcing the Dalmatian to flee for somewhere to hide. Rocky looked toward another shelf, still with a hopeful expression, when the blast happened. The walls smashed inward, a wave of fire violently erupting through it into the room. The explosion toppled the rest of the tower before they had any chance to react, the fires catching them within its surging claws.

It was a while before Rocky regained consciousness. Wincing, he tried to lumber himself back up, his paws scratching against the floor. He felt burned, his fur singed as fire screeched over him during the explosion. The door that acted as the barrier to the basement held against the blast for only half a second, before the pressure ripped it off the wall and sent it crashing through the air. Coughing out dust, he tried to see through the smoke that pilfered in the room.

Liberty was next to stand, hobbling her elongated body on four weak little legs. She tried to speak but only hacked out ash and dust. Blinking her eyes, she turned her head slowly, only to come to a massive hit of shock. She jumped back at the sight of a metal object smashed into the garage door, bending it inward and opening up the outside. It was the door from earlier, ruptured off its hinges and now used to break out of the garage.

"Marshall?!" Rocky barked, looking around the scorched room, "are you-"

"Yeah I'm right here," the Dalmation suddenly appeared at his side, his white fur blackened with soot, "you okay?"

To Rocky's complete absolute surprise, Marshall wasn't even a twinge afraid. He was clearly in somewhat distress, as he had just witnessed his home collapse, yet for the current situation, he was oddly calm and collected.

"Me?" The mix said, aghast, "what about you, you're covered in ash!"

"It's soot, actually, there's a difference," the Dalmation shook himself, producing a black cloud, "these kinds of scenarios are my specialty, I'm a firefighter, remember?" He gave a confident smile.

"Wait," Liberty ran up, "where's Zuma?"

All three dogs looked to where the Lab's body was left. To their alarm, the fourth dog had vanished without a trace. Not even a trail of pawprints could be seen, nor a blood trail, Zuma had seemingly woken up and slipped away.

"We need to find him!" Marshall looked to the group, "and Chase too," he was already walking toward the dark empty doorway.

Instantly agreeing with Marshall, Liberty jumped to his support, "I agree, we gotta find the Lab."

Rocky was unsure, "do we, though?" He questioned, "you saw what he did."

The Dalmation stopped in his tracks, quietly heeding his words. Marshall loved his family unconditionally and seeing Skye and Rubble fall to the monster nearly shattered him. He lowered his head, whimpering as he looked to the dark corridor.

The sadness within the poor dog was infectious, and Rocky lowered his ears as he sat down, "Marshall, come on." They needed to get a move on, and as much as Rocky's own heartache from leaving Chase and Zuma behind, the nightmare wasn't over. "Look, the garage door has been broken open," he pointed his tail toward it, a small cough puffing out of him, "let's just... go."