Paw Patrol: A Runaway Pup

Chapter Six

The pups gasped all at once, hearing Ryder's soft voice.

"Ryder! You're awake!" Chase said, with tears

"Skye, go get a nurse!" Rocky added.

Skye hopped off the bed and went out of the room to find a nurse.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, dudes," Zuma whispered, "Ryder, are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Just a bit dizzy..." Ryder answered, slowly.

"I hope he still remembers our names," Rubble whispered, "Ryder, do you remember our names? What are our names?"

"Whoa, Rubble! Calm down, would ya? We don't want to-"

"Chase... Rocky... Zuma... Rubble... And Skye," Ryder answered, interrupting Chase.

"Oh, okay... That's a good sign, then!" Chase nodded, surprisingly.

Skye comes back inside, followed by a nurse to check on Ryder. After checking up on him for a while, the nurse gave the pups a little smile.

"He'll be okay for now, Pups," the doctor assured, "I'll leave you all alone here now."

"Thanks," Chase replied.

A moment of silence happened in the room after the nurse left them. Ryder gazed at each pup and gave a confused look.

"You think he'll forget about... You know?" Rocky whispered.

"I don't think so..." Chase whispered back, with a frown.

"Shut up, both of you. He might hear you," Skye shushed them.

Ryder interrupted them with a question.

"Wait, where's... Marshall?"

The pups looked at each other, with a mix of nervousness, sadness, and worry. They signaled each other with their facial expressions to tell who should reply. However, they just couldn't understand each other.

"Chase, you tell him!" Rubble said.

"Nuh-uh... Skye, how about you tell him?" Chase rejected.

"No," Skye nodded which meant 'no.'

"No, I'm not telling him either," Rocky declined as well.

"Pups, what's going on?" Ryder asked them.

Chase, Rocky, Rubble, and Skye turned to Zuma, who was just sitting there silently.

"Ryder... It's not easy for us to tell you this. We know how much this will break you if we do, but..." Zuma started but paused when tears started to fall on his face.

"Zuma... What is it? What happened to Marshall?" Ryder asked, listening intently with a worried look.

"Ryder..."

Zuma hesitated for a second, but he finally said what needed to be said.

"He's dead."

Ryder froze in front of them, without a word coming out of his mouth.

"Wait, no... I-I-It can't be," Ryder replied, stuttering, as he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"I'm sorry, Ryder," Skye said.

All the pups stared at him in sadness, and they didn't know what else to say. Ryder tried hard not to cry but he couldn't hold it any longer. He let it all go, covering his eyes with his hands as tears started to rush down his face. The pups, seeing Ryder crying silently, scooched in closer to him and hugged him. They all started crying as well.