PAW Patrol: Corrupted Minds

Chapter 3: Silver Eyed Friend

Coral was frozen in her place, her eyes wide in fright. She wanted to race over to Tiny and comfort the small pup, but her paws her frozen in place. Her blood ran cold like ice within her veins. She ignored the throbbing pain in her head, worried about the Jack Russel pup. Alaska had dashed over to Tiny, lapping the blood of his fur with her tongue. Tiny didn't even object, he just stood there, staring up ahead in shock. Coral looked over to Bear, who was shocked. He eyed Coral, wishing she'd say something. All the past rivalries between the two had faded, both now faced with a situation. "Coral, he's hurt.!" Alaska called out in a panic. Coral forced her paws to move, limping unsteadily at the two.  Tiny had some deep puncture wounds in his back and deep gashes in his legs which bled heavily. Tiny shivered in shock, unable to notice anyone. When Coral looked closer, she realized that there were teeth marks in his back. Alarmed, Coral spoke to the small pup. "Tiny, what happened?!" Tiny looked up with his brown eyes wide, his bottom jaw stuttering. It looked like he was trying to get words out but couldn't. Her heart sunk, the deep throbbing in her head hit harder. Turning to Alaska, Coral ordered, "Take him back to.. what's left of the Lookout. Bear, go with them and see if there's anything to patch him up with." Bear nodded and ran ahead, towards the Lookout. Alaska placed Tiny of her back, looking sympathetically at the scared pup. Coral watched them descend, a sudden anger boiling under her fur. 'Whoever did this will pay,' her mind snarled. Coral then turned and ran in the direction Tiny came from. Her pelt bristled in rage as she whirled past the trees. She ran through bushes and shrubs, following Tiny's scent hastily. Thorns pierced her paw pads as she ran, but she sprinted on, ignoring the pain. Sniffing the air eagerly, she followed Tiny's scent. A growl escaped her clenched teeth as she ran forwards. Soon, she came to a clearing. She slowed herself down, taking a moment to breathe. Looking around, Coral's eyes latched onto a familiar sight. Rocky's mighty vehicle, and Everest and Zuma's nearby it. Creeping forward cautiously, Coral crawled on her belly, suddenly afraid. If Tiny had been attacked in this area, she would have to be careful here aswell. She brushed past the short strands of grass, no way of her being able to hide if anything leapt out at her. Sniffing the air, she walked to the vehicles, why had they been left here? As she passed Rocky's vehicle, she braced herself for a horrific sight. She tasted fresh blood in the air, so she braced herself to see the team hurt or a body dead. But, she was greeted by a different sight. All the pup's vehicles were there, but they had all been turned over in various ways. She gave the air a quick sniff, but there was no scent of the pups or Ryder anywhere. Coral looked at Rocky's vehicle, only to realize it had been turned over and the bottom had been ripped open with wires and scrap metal pieces scattered along the ground. Coral let out a gasp, noticing deep claw marks along the abandoned car. Some creature must have viciously attacked it. She walked further in warily, watching for anything. Marshall's vehicle had smoke pumping out of it, a heat burning off it. Everest had a sheet of ice crawling slowly over it and Tracker's had roots and leaves enveloping it. Chase's vehicle has sparks flickering out of it and Skye's had clouds forming above it. "What in the name of-" Coral started when a twig snapped in a nearby bush. Coral raised her hackles in a startled hurry, eyeing her surroundings. She saw a tall silhouette within the bushes. Coral calmed at the sight, believing it to be a familiar friend. "Ryder, you scared me.." Coral sighed, a warm smile crept along her face. As she moved closer, she suddenly realised it wasn't Ryder staring at her, but a tall animal. 

Before she could react, the large animal burst through the brambles and pummeled Coral over. She let out a scream, heart racing. Coral watched in horror as a wolf held her down, it's teeth exposed and lips curled in a snarl. Coral tried to kick the wolf off, but it held her down with one paw on her neck. A pair of pure white eyes stared down upon Coral, causing her to freeze. She felt her bones go numb as those eyes chilled her soul. Her breathe trembled out in horrified gasps. The wolf growling seemed to go on for ages until the giant animal blinked. Her eyes turned a green-blue colour and she stumbled off Coral, landing unsteadily on her flank. Coral scrambled to her paws, watching the wolf bewilderedly. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Coral demanded, angrily swishing her tail. The wolf looked up at Coral, suddenly looking confused. "Strange, I could have sworn I was somewhere else.. Strange." The wolf muttered to herself, shaking her dusty-grey pelt out. Coral stared at the wolf, not daring to take her eyes off her. "What are you doing here, wolf?" She growled, bringing the wolf to her senses. "Wolf.. Oh no, I apologize but you've got it wrong." The animal shook her head, looking offended. "I am not a wolf, but a wolf-dog. A hybrid." She explained, raising her ears proudly. Coral only noticed then she had a lime-yellow collar tightly wrapped around her neck. "Who are you?!" Coral repeated, closely shoving her face into the wolf-dog's. The wolf-dog didn't flinch an inch, but closed her eyes. "I am Ghost, the Paranormal Activity pup in the PAW Patrol. You must be Coral." She spoke smoothly, calming in a way. "How do you know my name?" Coral stood astonished. "I've heard things about you, short-tempered little pup you are." Ghost stood up and circled Coral, taunting her with her words. Coral growled angrily, embarrassed that Ghost had only heard the bad things about her. She swished her tail and lowered her gaze, scowling at the grass. "Do not fear, I understand you determination." Ghost's voice was filled with wisdom, her strange tone calmed Coral. Coral shook her pelt, it was getting itchy with the wetsuit now. She scratched herself, but it got irritating. "You should take it off, you could get annoyed." Ghost bluntly cut in. Coral shot her a strange look, confused. "You're joking right? Not now, especially not now." Coral snorted, trying her best not to scratch again. "Why-" Ghost stopped speaking as soon as she looked up. She noticed the destruction around and hesitantly stared on. The abandoned vehicles still laid there in the grass ominously. Ghost didn't speak for several minutes, she only looked on with wide eyes. "What happened-" Ghost's blue-green eyes were wide in worry as she looked at Coral. Coral bit her tongue, shaking her head. "I have no clue. It was like this after- wait, aren't you the Paranormal Pup?" Ghost stood there for a minute, staring blankly at the ground. Then, her face lifted up to the sky and she spoke. "Strange activity, yes." She spoke simply. "Well, you can look around and see if there's anything you can figure out." Coral barked, her voice low as she felt her pelt twitch. "Oh, yes of course! Leave the work to me!" Ghost chirped, tapping her tail on Coral's shoulder gratefully. Coral watched her skuttle around, sniffing and pawing the ground eagerly.