The Wounds We Heal

Chapter forty-five: The Perfect Storm

Ryder had just finished some work under an elevated PAW Patroller when his pup pad rang.

Then seeing the name on the screen, as he brushed an arm across his brow, he finally touched the screen to answer it.

"Hey Snowflake, how's the bonding time going?" He asked brightly.

"Going good. We ran into a problem though; we were playing in the foam cube pit at the Fun Center and Chase.. sank like a rock into the cubes. Yeeeeaaaah. Chase is stuck and I can't pull him out. I'm fine though," Snowflake explained.

"Uh oh, is he ok?" Ryer asked.

"Yes, Chase is okay. He's just stuck. Can you please help us?" Snowflake replied.

"Ok, sit tight, I'll be right there." Ryder decided, then they both hung up together. Rolling out a little farther, he stood up and set his wrench aside. And as he tucked his pup-pad away in his pocket, he began making his way to his waiting ATV.

"Ryder? Where are you going?" Rocky's voice asked, making his stop and turn around, even as his hands remained poised on the seat of his vehicle. "Do you need something?"

"No, Chase got a little stuck and Snowflake called asking if I can come help him get unstuck." the boy responded.

"But,.. don't you need some backup for that?" Skye wondered, while others among her displayed various looks of confusion and potential concern.

"Nope, I got it. It should be pretty easy." Ryder replied. "But I'll call if I need some extra paws."

"Ok,.." Skye replied.

"Bye.." Rocky sighed, as the boy started up the engine and drove away, leaving them all to wonder on this further.

xxxx

"Okay, Ryder must be on his way. I'll just stay here so you don't get lost," Snowflake said as she ended the call, facing Chase.

"Ih,.. where could I possibly go?" Chase wondered, somewhat dryly. "Isn't that why we called for backup?"

"Yes! But if you sink into the sea of foam cubes, how will Ryder and I know where you are? I'm not going to let you get lost in the play area before our bonding day is over!" Snowflake retorted sympathetically.

"Ok,.. you can spot me,.." Chase sighed. "But I don't know how much good it'll do,.. since this pit isn't that big."

"Well you can't exactly escape either," Snowflake pointed out.

"Well, true.. but.." Chase trailed off, but realized he didn't have anything to counter her statement.

"Hmmmm. How about some music to pass the time?" the husky pup suggested.

Then, Snowflake began to sing..

"Two pups chatting in a foam pit.. One pup stuck up to his nose. Singing songs, just two friends.. will find it hard to get out! But when Ryder's on his way.. they'll soon be free to play. And my buddy Chase will smile, having the time of his life.." Snowflake sang in a loud but calm voice.

"Uugggh!" Chase groaned, seeing as how there was nothing else he could do.

Snowflake blinked in confusion.

"I'm not that bad a singer, am I?"

And all Chase could do was sigh.

xxxx

Ryder came up the stairs of the landing platform overlooking the trampoline field and searched around for a moment.

"Snowflake!" he called.