Marshall opened his eyes; His vision was a blur. His head felt heavy, almost like he had taken a fall. As his eyes adjusted, He could make out the controls of his firetruck in front of him, Snow had begun to pile up on the windshield. He craned his neck up, causing accumulated snow on his helmet to drop. Falling into his lap. The cold slush on his belly and legs sent a chill up his body. The dalmatian had noticed the snow fall forward from his lap and roll under his seat. Like it was being drawn towards the front of the fire truck. A very odd sight.
``Ten cuidado Marshall!''
``Tracker...where are you?''
Marshall began to observe his surroundings. That's when it all came back to him. He remembered driving along the snow-covered road towards Adventure Bay. He was ahead of the jungle pup, but the abundance of falling powder had made things a lot more treacherous. Even with his safety visor on, Marshall had trouble distinguishing the road in front of him. Let alone the sharp turn he was approaching. The fire pup had swerved hard, causing the truck to fish tail side to side, nearly striking Tracker in the process. He did his best to correct himself, managing to steer his truck to swing left, banking off the road and towards the surrounding wildness. He traveled quite a few feet before he felt his front tires fall downwards, Flinging the pup forwards and bumping his snout against the steering wheel, Dazing him in the fall. Marshall had realized that he managed to drive his truck directly into a small gorge. The truck's grill was wedged right against the stone wall. Putting the vehicle on a slope as the back of it stuck straight towards the sky, His back tires wedge on the wall behind him and only a few feet from the mouth of the gorge. Marshall turned his head over the driver's side, staring down. All the pup could make out was darkness below. He watched as mounds of snow fell from his truck and towards the abyss. He had no way to tell how far the gorge went. He was very lucky to not have fallen straight down, truck and all. Still, he was in quite a predicament.
``Whoa, not good.''
``Marshall! Are you ok?''
The fire pup heard the voice again, realizing it was coming from above. He carefully turned himself up. Looking towards the opening of the gorge, He could make out the familiar long ears of his friend looking down at him.
``Yeah! I'm good! Well not good but I'm not hurt!''
``Can you move at all?''
``Yup! I should be able to...''
A jolt from his truck took him by surprise. It was followed by a horrible grinding noise that echoed against the walls of the gorge. Marshall covered his ears at the sound, realizing that his vehicle had begun to dip forward. Scraping against the stone wall as it slid downwards. Marshall braced himself. Ready for both he and his truck to plummet straight down but to his surprise, it stopped. He leaned forward from his seat, the excess snow on his windshield had fallen and showed what had stopped him. His bumper had managed to wedge against a large, jagged stone protruding from the wall. The fire pup breathed a sigh of relief.
``Marshall! Oy-oy-oy!" Tracker called out in worry.
``I'm ok! I think...long as I don't move much!''
Tracker let out a small whine of concern and began to phone for help, activating his pup tag. Syncing it to Marshalls so he could hear everything that was being said.
``Ryder! Carlos! Can you hear me? Nosotros necesitamos ayuda!''
Static rung through their frequency. Every so often they could hear a voice but couldn't make out what was being said. The jungle pup continued anyhow.
``We need help! Marshall's truck is stuck in a gorge! It could fall in! Ayuda!''
More static continued to blare from the tags. No pup receiving a proper response back.
Tracker turned his snout back to the pup below.
``I can't hear them, Marshall!''
``Same! The weather must be causing some interference!''
Snow had continued to fall from above and down into the gorge. It had piled onto the back and front of the fire truck. Marshall began to fear that the excess wight would eventually cause the whole thing to fall into the darkness below.
``This isn't good. Gimmie a sec Tracker.''
Marshall took a breath to steady his heart rate and began to ponder. His truck was secure for now, but he had to assume it wouldn't hold forever. His first thought was to use his ladder, it would certainly give him enough height to climb out, but he feared that activating it would cause too much movement. The truck could become unstable and fall further into the hole. He couldn't find any use of water cannons in this situation. Everything at his disposal wasn't going to be helpful. He called back up towards Tracker.
``Tracker, I'm not going to lie. I'm not sure how to get out of this without causing my truck to fall.''
``No no no! Marshall...''
The jungle pup began to think, he looked around his surroundings and spotted what he wanted.
``I think I have an idea! Un momento!''
``No worries! I'll stay here...not like I can go anywhere...hehe.''
The pup did his best to lighten the mood, but he had to admit he was feeling very nervous. He hoped that Tracker would come up with something soon. He had no idea if his team was on the way to help or not. Marshall hoped they would all be ok driving out here. Especially Chase, He really wished he was here right now. The pup tried to remain calm, letting a whimper escape his mouth.
``It's ok, Tracker will be back. The team will be here eventually. Chase will be here soon...''
``Ruff Ruff! Winch!''
Chase barked, the winch on his vehicle reacted and started to pull back. It took a little bit of effort but soon enough, the blue sedan had begun to glide out of the snow mound and back towards the road. A family of three, which had been traveling along the road when their car had fish tailed into the snow, cheered in response.
Chase, Rocky, and Zuma had noticed them on their way towards the last location of Tracker and Marshall. As much as he wanted to make his way over, the police pup couldn't ignore his duty to help the citizens of Adventure Bay. Though as soon as he had managed to pull them free, Chase leapt back into his truck. He activated his pup tag, trying to give Ryder an update on where they were but found the signal getting all fuzzy. He did his best to cope.
``Ryder! If you can hear me, we just assisted a family in the snow! We're going back in search of Marshall and Tracker. Over!''
``Copy tha...Chase! The rest of us wi...over...Skye...REEEE~''
Static began to ring out louder than ever. The noise became a strain to the pups' ears. Chase shut off his tag when Zuma approached him.
``No luck dude?''
``Nope, this snow is really coming down. Might be interfering with this part of the bay. ``
``Rocky wants to lead the family back safely into town. His truck can manage it, do you want to keep heading towards Marshall's signal?''
``Yeah yeah! We got no time to lose!''
Zuma was quick to give a small kiss to Rocky before hopping into his hovercraft. Chase opened the screen in the front seat of his vehicle. Although communication was cut off from the tags, they could still track the GPS coming from them. He could make out what looked to be both Marshall and Trackers tags somewhere off the road. Chase and Zuma quickly sped off, giving a farewell to the family and the recycle pup as they made their way forward. Snow continued to pelt their vision as they drove. They barely noticed what looked to be a set of tire tracks on the ground. It looked to have weaved a few times on the road before it made its way deep into the white covered wilderness.
``No way...Did they veer off road dude?''
Chase felt his stomach twist with worry.
``One of them must have lost control of their vehicle.''
Chase didn't want to admit it, but he had slightly hoped that Tracker was the one to have spun out. He tried to rationalize the thought. Tracker's jeep was more compact and could handle the traction. Marshalls fire truck was a lot bigger, probably harder to turn with all the ice.
``Yeah, that's it.'' He thought. The feeling came and went but Chase still felt bad about it.
They slowly pulled themselves off the road. Chases four by four managed to drive along no issue but Zumas craft was struggling on the unkempt snow, He did his best to steady himself.
``Zuma? Are you ok back there?''
``Nah Chase. I'm having hard time keeping my craft from sliding all over the place! Whoaa!''
The water pup pulled off the throttle. Slowing his craft as it glided into a tree. The vehicle barely touched it. Only for it to dump a blanket of snow directly on the chocolate lab.
``Zuma!''
The brown lab quickly shook himself clean.
``All good, but I think you're gonna have to go ahead of me Chase.''
Chase didn't like the idea of going solo, but every second they wasted could be disastrous if the pup's needed assistance.
``Will do. Zuma, please stand by while I go in, If Ryder and the rest head this way, you can let them know what's going on. If I find Marshall and Tracker, I'll ride back out here as soon as I can!''
``Be careful dude!''
Chase nodded and carefully drove his police cruiser through the woods. He did his best to keep his composure. Remembering the family they had just assisted.
``They were a little shaken, but they were fine! Same with the boys, they'll be fine...by themselves. Alone.''
Chase bit his lip
``They're both going to fine. Marshall will be fine!'' He thought.
He did his best to convince himself but as the snow continued to pummel his vision and the trees around him, His hopes began to falter.
Another creak rose from the front of the firetruck, Marshall braced himself. He heard a sharp cling of metal and noticed a bolt fly off his bumper. Falling into the abyss below. He hoped whatever plan Tracker had in mind; he'd initiate it soon. He picked up the sound of whirling coming from behind him. Marshall turned and looked up. He saw the familiar figure of the jungle pup as he descended towards him. Both of his cables slowly guided him down. Tracker moved ever so carefully to land on the back of the truck. Another creak from the front made both pups' freeze. It soon settled, Tracker breathed low and inched himself towards the dalmatian. He walked down each rung of the ladder, his paws pressing into the snow that piled on it. He worked his way down past the ladder, almost reaching the cabin. Only a few inches away from his friend. Just then, A sudden click came from his pup pack. Tracker gently pulled forward, his cables only providing slightly more give. He gave out a frustrated grunt.
``No No!'' Tracker whispered, trying again to pull himself closer to Marshall.
``What's wrong?''
``My cables have reached their limit. I can't go any further. Lo siento.''
Marshall took this as his cue to start moving. The pup carefully undid his seatbelt and maneuvered himself towards Tracker. If there was a time for him not to be clumsy, it'd be right now. The dalmatian kept his gaze straight towards his friend as he moved. Taking every step slowly, managing to close the gap between them. Tracker couldn't help but wag his tail, happy his friend was close by now. That's when Marshall's paw slid.
``Whoa!''
He quickly tried to correct himself but couldn't keep up right. Just as he was about to fall, Tracker leaned in and nipped at his collar. Pulling him forward. Marshall panted loudly and tried his best to keep calm. Wrapping his front paws around Tracker and resting his head against his friend's neck.
``That was close...Thanks Tracker.''
``De nada. I don't have a tether or sling though. You're going to have to hold on super tight to me.''
``Can do! Hope you don't mind me being so close.''
Marshall quickly interlocked his front paws around his neck and hind legs across his belly. Tracker held back a blush at how close their snouts were right now.
``Not at all Marshall. Aferrate''
Tracker lifted all four paws off the truck, His cables keeping the pair perfectly suspended in the air. With a low bark, he commanded his pack to retract. Beginning to slowly pull them up and out of their situation. Just then, Tracker felt his ears twitch, picking up the sound of sirens nearby. Marshall felt a smile creep on his face.
``Is that...''
``Police sirens! It must be!''
Tracker listened as the sirens got closer, before hearing a set of paws above them. A familiar voice calling out.
``Marshall, Tracker! Where are you?''
``Chase! We're down here!''
Another horrible creak came from the firetruck. The front pivoted more, and another sharp shriek echoed off the walls. The bumper twisted and screamed as it popped off completely on the jagged rock. The pups watched as the truck grinded horribly against the wall, before it fell straight down. The back end of it coming close to the boys. The ladder swinging out towards them. Tracker used their momentum to dodge the incoming threat. The sudden action caused his cables to swing back and forth excessively.
``Whoa!!! Ahhhh!''
Both pups yelped as they swung precariously over the chasm. Marshall held a death grip on Tracker. Worried that he could be flung off at any moment. Tracker choked, managing to let a sharp bark out.
``Arriba! Arriba!!''
Trackers pup pack whirled loudly. The boys felt themselves rocket upwards. Their bodies practically flew out of the gorge. Marshall felt his paws let go of his friend and yelped as his body flung into the air.
``Trackeeeer Ahhhh!!''
``Marshall!''
Chase had followed the tracks in the snow. Noticing they had come to an abrupt stop near a gorge. The police pup immediately feared the worst and leap out his vehicle.
``Marshall! Tracker! Where are you?!''
He noticed what looked to be the end of Trackers cable wrapped tightly around the stump of a tree. The cables stripped away the bark and wood as they held a heavy load. Chase followed them towards the opening of the gorge and stuck his head over. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed Marshall's truck fall into the darkness below, it was then that he saw both pups swinging madly across the chasm. The fire pup wrapped tightly around the chihuahua. Chase was about to call out before he heard cables behind him begin to creak and recoil into the wood, a loud whirring noise coming from below as both pups were launched up and out of the hole. The blur of boys just inches from Chases nose before they flung into the air. Chase quickly jumped out of the way of the retracting cables. Diving into the snow as he heard a sudden crash nearby. The police pup pulled his head up and noticed Tracker first, the jungle pup was on his belly. It looked like his pup packed had slammed into the wrapped tree, His cables now looking frayed and worn. He quickly approached.
``Tracker! Are you ok?!''
The jungle pup slowly picked himself up, wobbling a little but soon faced the police pup.
``Si, I'm ok. Espera! Where's Marshall?''
Chase and Tracker looked around. They did their best to make out any black spots in the piles of snow. Chase quickly sniffed and followed his scent back towards the edge of the gorge. The dalmatian was on his side and not responding.
``Marshall!''
Both boys ran towards him, the police pup quickly burying his nose against his face. Lapping his tongue over his snout. The dalmatian began to stir, Opening his eyes.
``He...Hey handsome.''
``Marshall! Are you ok? Are you hurt?''
The dalmatian stood up slowly.
``Looks like I got the swing of things back there.''
Chase and Tracker couldn't help but grin at the terrible pun.
``Other than that, I think I'm go...ow...Owww!''
The pup tripped over himself, yelping loudly and falling backwards on to his butt. Chase and Tracker recoiled at the sight. Marshall tried to place his right paw down but let out a low whine in response. A sharp pain shooting through it.
``Marshall?''
``My paw...My paw really hurts. I think I might have sprained it from the fall.''
Chase could have sworn he felt his heart stop; he did his best to keep calm but his concern for his partner began to rise. He had tried so hard to believe everything was ok, but Marshall still got hurt. He felt like he had failed him. He had one job, and he couldn't do that for the pup he loved the most. He wasn't here fast enough; he should have been there for him. Some pup had to be here for Marshall! Chase hadn't noticed that Tracker left their side, not even taking note of the jungle pup running back with a small kit in his mouth.
``No bueno, Luckly I have a first aid kit in my jeep!
There it was again, that worry, that lingering fear that sat next to him and gripped his chest. Trying to lighten things up. Trying to get near the pup he loved. Chase couldn't have been here to protect Marshall, but Tracker was with him the whole time. At the lookout, on patrol and now in this situation. They were close, very close and yet he had failed to keep any harm from coming to his dalmatian, now he was trying to make up for it. Chase felt a spark light inside him. It was like nothing he had felt before.
``I've got it...'' He mouthed quietly.
Tracker paid no mind.
``Let me see your paw, Marshall.
``I've got it...'' Chase warned again.
Marshall caught the strange tone that came from his boyfriend.
``Baby?''
Tracker hesitated but tried to proceed.
``It will only take a minute Chase...''
All rational thought left the police pup and he turned in Trackers direction. Teeth bared.
``I've got it!!! You've done enough!''
The cold was harsh against the three boys. The wind, the snow, but none of that was as uncomfortable as the icy chill that ran up their spines at the sight of Chase. His eyes dilated, his ears drawn back, His mouth bearing all his teeth. The pups had never heard that type of voice come from him before. It was practically a snarl, one of caution and warning for Tracker to back off. It shocked them. The police pup had regained his composure slightly at the sight of his friend. His happy demeanor had disappeared, the pups ears had laid flatly on his head. He took a few steps back from Chase, tail tucked under his back legs. His eyes and lips quivered, looking like he was on the verge of tears.
``Lo...Lo siento...I didn't mean too...I didn't mean too.''
``Chase...What...What are you doing?!''
The police pup turned and gazed at the horrified expression of his partner. Marshall was taken aback at his aggressiveness, not recognizing the pup in front of him. Chase came back to his senses, realizing what he had done. His front and back paws shook, his throat dried up. He couldn't believe how badly he had frightened them, let alone his partner. He desperately tried to back pedal.
``Marshall. I'm...I'm..Sorr...''
That's when the pups felt it, the snow beneath them buckled, knocking Tracker and Chase off their feet. Before they could realize what was happening, the compacted snow had given way and began to fall towards the gorge in an avalanche. Marshall couldn't get back on his front paws and was just a few feet from the opening. He was sure to slide down below. Chase couldn't let that happen and did the first thing that came to mind. With all his strength, He grabbed Marshall by the collar. Flinging his head back, he threw the pup over him and into the trees. He winced as his boyfriend tumbled into the snow but out of harms ways. Tracker desperately tried to regain his stance to no avail. The pup fell on his back and towards the police pup. Chase managed to wrap himself around him. Bracing them both for what was about to happen next. The last thing Chase saw as they both dipped below the edge, was Marshalls horrified expression. The same one he had given him over his outburst. He couldn't bear it, the sight expressed one thing he thought he'd never meant his boyfriend to feel, fear. He shut his eyes tight as both he and Tracker fell past the opening and into the deep dark below.
