Race Against Time - A Paw Patrol Story

Chapter Ten

Ryder and the Paw Patrol were on the way to Barkingburg. They were already a quarter of the way across the ocean when the sun started to set. They would be on the trip for about two more hours.

"You guys should get some shut-eye. It is going to be a long trip and we're gonna need the energy once we get there," Ryder told the team. The team didn't even fight with it. With all that's been happening, they didn't have a chance to go to sleep. They fell asleep one by one until Ryder was the only one awake.

Skye, Marshall, and Everest all had the same dream. They were at the park in Adventure Bay. They were laying down on the grass. They got up and looked around. They knew this place like the back of their paw. They knew where they were.

How did we get here? Skye thought.

"I don't know, probably just a dream, Skye," said Everest.

Skye was shocked. "Did you hear my thoughts?"

"I don't know, think of something."

Skye thought, Many things will catch your eyes, but only one will catch your heart.

Everest opened her eyes. "You said 'Many things will catch your eyes, but only one will catch your heart'. Who told you such a beautiful thing?"

"Chase did. On the same day, we met. He told me his mother told him," she said aloud.

"Yeah," said Marshall. "I remember being there when his mom told him."

"So, you two still remember it?" asked Everest. 

"Are you kidding," said Marshall. "There are things better left forgotten..." he frowned, but then shook his head. "And there are things worth remembering. What Chase's mom told him is one of those things you should remember."

Everest and Skye both were wondering the same thing. Why did he pause for a second? What has happened that he wants to forget? Was there more to the story than what we heard? These questions were going through their heads when Marshall brought them out of their thoughts.

"You do know that I can hear your thoughts, right?" said Marshall. The girls were embarrassed. They forgot about that for a second.

"Yeah, sorry," said Everest with her head down. "We didn't mean to upset you."

Marshall smiled at her. He lifted up her chin. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's alright. And you know, there is more to that story that you guys don't know about." He waited a second to see if they were to say anything, but they didn't. "Well, before the Paw Patrol came to be, it was only Chase, me, Ryder, and our dads."

"What happened to your mother?" asked Skye.

Marshall sighed. "We don't know. We said that Ryder's mom was out of town for educational reasons, but the truth is that she left to look for our moms. One day when we were still pretty young, they just disappeared. Chase and I went to look for them, but all we found was a broken window and an open door. We spent months looking for them." Marshall blinked back tears. "The reason we were in the woods that day during the story was that we were looking for them. We were getting close to them, but then the dogs popped out of nowhere. Chase says they had something to do with their disappearance because they had their scent. For weeks we were thinking about what could be the cause of their disappearance."

"Oh, we didn't know," said Everest.

"Yeah, no one did. Only we did," he said, wiping tears off his face. "So yeah, some things are worth forgetting."

Everest walked up to Marshall and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Marshall closed his eyes and accepted the hug. "Thanks, Everest."

At that moment, they woke up startled. Skye and Everest both looked at Marshall. They couldn't imagine what he and Chase had gone through. Everest wanted to give him another hug but didn't want to do it in front of all the others. Skye noticed the need in Everest's eyes. She thought that Everest and Marshall would be a great couple.

Marshall wiped a tear off his face. He didn't want to seem weak in front of the team at the time they needed him most. He couldn't afford to look weak and vulnerable right now. He had to make sure that they saw him as strong in order to have strength. That's what Chase would've done.

After twenty minutes in silence, Skye finally spoke. "So, what are we going to do once we get there?"

Ryder turned around in his chair. "Well, Skye, once we get there, we are going to track down his location. But that's going to have to wait. The tracker suddenly stopped at a spot a few blocks away from the castle. We're going to check it out once we get there and see what will happen after that.

Skye took a deep breath. "Ok, Ryder, but how long till we're there?"

"About an hour at least." Ryder yawned and stretched his arms.

Skye looked up at him. "Ryder, I may not be the EMT pup, but I believe it would be best if you got some rest before we get there."

"Um, no I'm good, I can...(yawn)... stay awake a little while longer."

Everest looked at Ryder, "Ryder, with all due respect, I too believe that you should get some sleep."

"Yeah, Ryder," said Marshall, "we can take it from here, right?" Skye and Everest nodded in agreement. "See, We will take care of the road."

Ryder smiled. He didn't know how he got such good pups. "Thanks, guys. I'm glad to hear that the Air Patroller is safe." He turned to Robodog. "Autopilot mode, track down Chase."

The mechanical dog barked. Ryder turned back to the pups. "If anything goes wrong, let me know, okay?" The pups nodded. "Okay, then. I think I'm just gonna..." He didn't even finish his sentence when he closed his eyes and fell asleep on the chair.

Marshall brought out a blanket and put it over Ryder carefully so he won't wake up. Everest was admiring how careful Marshall was with people. Marshall put a small pillow behind Ryder's head and sat down right next to Everest. A few windows were down, so there was that fresh moist air in the mornings. Marshall didn't really notice until Everest placed her head on his shoulder.

"It's pretty chilly here," she said in a soft tone.

Marshall took a moment to feel the air. "Well, it is, I guess."

"Can I stay here right next to you if that's okay with you."

Marshall thought about it for a second, "Um, sure, sure. Yeah, it's fine by me."

Everest eased down a bit. She was worried he might say no. "Thanks, Marshall."

"Yeah, no problem."

From the other side of the room, Skye was looking out the window thinking about Chase. She was thinking about how they first met. He saved me on that horrible day, she thought, I just hope I can do the same.