This is a pretty personal story for me, seeing as I'm type 1 diabetic. Enjoy!
Thunder rumbled in the distance as a summer storm moved into Adventure Bay. The sky turned gray, then nearly black, even though the clock read 11 am. The pups stayed safe and dry in the lookout, even as rain began to pound on the roof. The boys, minus Chase, sprawled on beanbags, watching an Apollo the Super Pup marathon. A little ways off, Chase was intently studying a manual on police dog techniques, while Skye dozed next to him, snoring softly.
The pups' tags suddenly blinked to life, startling them all. "Ryder needs us!" they cried, rushing to the elevator, Skye sleepily following a bit behind. Marshall, of course, slipped on some mud one of them had tracked in, crashing spectacularly into the back of the elevator. The pups laughed as the elevator rose.
They jumped into their uniforms, Marshall choosing his EMT gear. Strange, he almost always knew what uniform he would need on the day's mission. He pondered that thought, but quickly pushed it away as the pups leaped to action in front of Ryder and the huge screen. "Ready for action, Ryder sir!" Chase barked.
The screen displayed Aspen's face. She looked extremely worried, and kept shifting back and forth. The pups began whispering amongst themselves as Aspen began to speak.
"Pups, there's something really wrong with my brother Spruce. He's been acting super weird all week, and now he's really tired and he can't think straight. I'm scared something is really wrong. I need to get him to a doctor, but I don't know if I can make it down the mountain, even in my Jeep. It's really muddy, and I'm afraid of getting caught in a mudslide. I'll try to go down myself, but I can't risk losing Spruce," she whimpered.
Aspen's picture shrunk to a rectangle in the corner of the screen. Ryder swiped his pup pad, and Skye's badge appeared on screen. "Skye, I know it's hard for you to fly in the rain. But you're our best chance at getting them out of there. I need you to airlift Spruce out. Do you think you can do it?"
Skye nodded proudly. "This pup's gotta try! And fly!"
With another swipe, Marshall's badge appeared. "Marshall, I need you and your ambulance waiting at the base of the mountain to check Spruce out ASAP."
"I'm ready for a ruff-ruff rescue!"
"I'll stay here. I'm sure with the storm, there will be lots of emergencies around Adventure Bay. Paw Patrol is on a roll!" With Ryder's usual rallying cry, Skye and Marshall zipped down the slide and into their vehicles, tearing out of the lookout as quickly as they could. The remaining pups were left to wonder, what was wrong with Spruce?
Scene change - Aspen's badge
With lights on and sirens blaring, Marshall's ambulance rolled to a stop at the foot of the mountain. He grumbled as he wiped raindrops off his goggles. While he was always happy to serve Adventure Bay, he often wished that emergencies would happen more often when it was nice and sunny.
Skye's helicopter whooshed overhead as the small pup flew up the mountain. The rain had let up a bit, but she was still extra cautious, knowing how dangerous this mission could be. Her radio crackled to life, and Marshall's voice came through the speakers. "How it's going, Skye?"
"It's okay, Marshall," the cockapoo said. "I just have to make sure I don't miss their cabin. Aspen said she'd be outside waving... Oh shoot, I see her! Hang on, Aspen! I'll see you in a minute, Marshall!"
Sure enough, Aspen was outside her cabin, desperately pacing back and forth. Guided by the pup's bright green jacket, Skye carefully landed the helicopter as close to the cabin as she could. Aspen howled and rushed over as Skye got out. "He's inside! Hurry, Skye, he's getting worse!"
Skye and Aspen burst into the cabin. Spruce lay on a pup bed in front of the fireplace, which smoked as the last of the fire died. He lifted his head sleepily and gave the pups a slight smile, but his head quickly flopped back down onto his paws as if he was a ragdoll. "Sis, I told you not to worry..." he groaned.
Aspen growled. "Spruce, we're getting you out of here. Skye is going to lift you out with her helicopter, and I'll head down in my Jeep. We need to get you to a veterinarian, fast!" Skye nodded. "Come on, Spruce. I know we've never met, but you can trust me."
Spruce was too tired to argue. He struggled to his feet and followed Skye through the mud out to the helicopter. "Hop in the cabin with me, Spruce. It'll be a tight squeeze, but we can both fit." She rummaged in the glove box and tossed a spare pare of goggles at the Bernese Mountain Dog, who struggled to get them on, seeming visibly exhausted even by that small task. "Let's go, small fry," he said with a wink.
Once more, Skye's helicopter whirred to life, and she carefully rose through the trees. Aspen, seeing her brother safely in the helicopter, jumped into her Jeep and practically flew down the mountain herself, disregarding her own message of "safety first!" as she bumped over potholes and skidded through huge mud slicks. With a desperate whine, she accelerated even faster. Spruce would be okay... right?
Scene change - Skye's badge
Skye landed close to Marshall's ambulance. The EMT pup jumped out and rushed over to guide Spruce over to the ambulance. The larger pup stumbled as he slowly walked over to the small tent Marshall had set up. Once inside, Spruce slumped down on the floor, panting. "Do you have any water, bud? I'm dying of thirst."
Marshall rummaged in his truck and tossed Spruce a water bottle. Spruce eagerly grabbed it, twisting the cap off with his teeth, and downed the whole bottle in a few gulps. Marshall frowned and barked to retrieve his electronic clipboard. "Spruce, I need you to tell me your symptoms," the Dalmatian said in an unusually serious voice.
"I've been crazy thirsty for weeks now. It seems like no matter how much I drink, it never goes away. And it makes me have to, uh, go more often, you know?" Marshall nodded and tapped on his clipboard as Spruce continued. "Aspen says I've lost weight, but I think she's just jealous of how buff I'm getting." He smiled weakly. "I'm always pretty hungry, but now I'm REALLY always hungry. And sleepy. And my vision's gotten blurry the past few days. I hope I don't need glasses. Major dork alert."
The pups' ears perked as they heard Aspen's Jeep skidding to a stop outside. Gasping, she burst through the tent flap and flung herself at Spruce, giving her brother a tight squeeze. "Sprucey! Sprucey, what's wrong?"
Spruce scoffed and tried to push Aspen off, though he was so weak it was more like a light jab. "Chill, sis. I'm sure I'm fine. Right, Spots?" He nodded at Marshall, who looked very worried.
"Spruce, I need to take a blood sample." Spruce recoiled and growled at the spotted dog. "No way, dude. Come on, don't I just have the flu or something?"
Marshall shook his head and straightened up. "I only need a few drops. Spruce, this is serious!" he barked, and the rest of the pups looked at him, surprised by the Dalmatian's sudden no-nonsense attitude. Reluctantly, Spruce held out his front leg, squeezing his eyes shut and whimpering in spite of himself.
Marshall pulled out a small, rectangular device from the side of his ambulance. He barked, and a dispenser on the side of the compartment spat out a tiny plastic-like strip. Marshall carefully stuck the strip into the machine, and the screen lit up, blinking: "Test blood now!" The pups watched in fascination-- minus Spruce, who still had his eyes tightly shut-- as Marshall walked over with the rectangular device and a long, thin object. "I'm going to take a sample from your paw pad. You'll barely feel it, trust me." Marshall pulled back a small lever on the device, and held it against Spruce's paw. With a click, the lancet quickly stuck a tiny needle into his paw pad.
Spruce yelped and tried to pull his paw back, but Marshall stopped him. Guiding the blood sugar meter to the drop of blood which had appeared, he collected most of the blood on the tiny strip. Spruce licked his paw as Marshall waited a few agonizing seconds for the meter to give a reading. When it did, he gasped and nearly dropped the meter.
"What? What's wrong, Marshall?" Aspen demanded, stepping closer to the Dalmatian. "Tell me what's wrong with Spruce NOW!"
Marshall gulped and began nervously collecting his equipment, his composure gone. "We need to get Spruce to a vet right now, guys." Spruce furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong with me, Spots?"
Marshall hurriedly shoved the equipment back into his ambulance and shut all the compartment doors. With a sigh, he turned to face the other three pups. "Spruce, I think you have diabetes."
The pups' jaws dropped in unison. The wind howled outside the tent as they sat in stunned silence. Aspen was the first to speak. "What?" she whimpered.