Ashes | Paw Patrol

Lost

No... no no no, please! M-mom, dad! Where are you g-going? Don't leave me here! Come back-

The young mix-breed's nightmare was interrupted as he awoke with a scream, breaking the silence of the night as he shot upright in his bed. Gasping for air, the pup sat there in panic and fear. He was violently shaking with his ears pinned back, eyes wide with terror before understanding what was going on. Scanning his surroundings, he realized it was just another nightmare, which he experienced all too often. He knew that's all it was, and that it couldn't hurt him. But no matter how many times he was terrorized in his sleep, it always caught him by surprise. 

"So much for sleep... maybe tomorrow night," the pup sighed in sadness as he got up onto his paws.

The mix wiped tears from his eyes and cheeks as he tried to calm down and get his breathing back under control. Still catching his breath, he made his way outside. The mix's makeshift house wasn't anything special, but it did the job. His home was fashioned from old boxes, stacked as walls with rusted sheets of old metal as a roof. The floor was littered with all kinds of trinkets; old cans, machine parts, sketches, and scraps of paper strewn about. But hidden away safely, enclosed in a case in the back corner, was something more sentimental than all the junk he had collected. A photo that held more importance to him than anything else in life did. It was the only reminder of his past, the last piece of the pup's old life left. It wasn't much, but it was all that remained. He hardly even cared about his name. With no friends or owners to be with, it almost didn't matter what he went by. He was called a filthy mutt most of his life anyway.

But on the back of that photo in the case, the name of the once carefree, happy pup was forever engraved alongside another name... his name was Rocky.

Stepping outside, the cool night air rushed through the mix's fur as a deep sigh escaped his lips. It was time to start his day. Rocky winced in pain as a loud growl from his belly reminded him of just how hungry he was. Like every other day, he'd be forced to find food. Like it or not, that meant stealing what he could find, even if only scraps from restaurant dumpsters or grocery store alleyways.

A few nights back, he had stumbled upon his newest town. With no final destination or place to go, Rocky wandered aimlessly about. He had been to more towns and cities than he could count. A few days ago, he had spotted a potential food source: Mr. Porter's Bakery.

Well, today's as good a day as any to see what I can get from there, Rocky thought.

As the mix began gearing up for his next food heist, his ears twitched at the sounds of laughter and yelling filling them. He searched the beach for the source before his amber eyes came to rest on several pups and a young boy tossing a green frisbee between each other near the water.

Looking from one pup to another, he curiously analyzed each one.

So many different breeds in one place, is the boy the owner of all of them? A Dalmatian, a German Shepherd, a Cockapoo, and~

For a moment, Rocky's thoughts were distracted as his eyes fell on the chocolate lab down there with the others.

Hmmm, he's a cute one, Rocky thought with a small smile.

"Must be nice to have friends and a nice owner to take care of you. You all get fed three times a day and have a nice place to sleep. You don't ever worry where your next meal is going to come from and you're not all alone either." Rocky was now talking aloud to himself, jealousy and sadness evident in his voice.

With one final glance towards the group, Rocky decided he'd better leave. Suddenly, the brown lab turned his head up to where he was looking down from. It was far away, so Rocky didn't make eye contact, but he knew he had been seen. I must've stared a bit too long, he thought nervously as he hurried off.

Down at the beach, the brown pup was still staring in the place the mysterious stranger had just been seconds before. That's strange, I haven't seen him before in Adventure Bay...

"Wyder! Did you see that?"

The brown haired boy was about to toss the frisbee to Skye. "See what, Zuma?"

The rest of the pups stopped and now had all eyes on the lab, making him feel silly for stopping everyone's activities. "Oh, um, I just saw anothew pup up thewe on those wocks. I've never seen him befowe. Do you think he's a stway?"

The rest of the pups looked to the rocks Zuma mentioned, curiously scanning them for anything out of the ordinary but finding nothing.

The Dalmatian bounded up with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's nothing! Now come on, you have to teach me to surf like you promised!" the spotted pup exclaimed, excitement gleaming in his bright, blue eyes.

"I wish I hadn't agweed to that," Zuma giggled. "You'we like the most clumsy pup on the team, dude" he said with a laugh as he and Marshall took off towards the water, forgetting all about the mysterious mix breed he had just seen. The boy watched the pups run off before turning back to the rocky ledge in the distance, eyes narrowing as they scanned once more. We've never had strays here before... better keep our eyes peeled. 

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A/N -Hey everyone! If you're seeing this, thanks for reading! This may have been a short intro chapter, but stick with it because things heat up quick! Feedback means the world, so feel free to comment or vote if ya like it! The support for this story has been so, so, amazing and I appreciate every single read.

-Phoenix