Chapter 4

The alarm went off again. An arm reached out and shut it off. The boy tiredly got up and ready then descended the elevator. There was no point. It was his 32nd try already and it still has been the same.

Chase wakes everyone up, Marshall trips on Rubble, the rest come inside and talk about Groundhog day.

"How can a groundhog tell when we can have winter or not, Ryder?" Rubble questioned, oblivious to what his leader has been going through.

"If the groundhog sees its shadow, there's winter. If not, it's spring," the boy responded with slight irritation. Satisfied with the answer, the pup nodded and continued eating.

"But why a groundhog?" Skye pipped up. "I bet it has something to do with how they hibernate… Do groundhogs even hibernate?"

"Don't know, but if we don't hurry, we might miss the event!" Rocky exclaimed. Everyone went outside and got onto their vehicles, then drove down the road. Once again, Ryder stopped when a ball crossed his path.

"Sorry, Ryder!" Alex appeared next to him. The boy didn't try to stop the other this time, so he smirked a bit when the child stumbled back when a truck nearly crashed into him. He smiled at the boy, got off his ATV, and retrieved the ball. Before he could give it to its rightful owner, Ryder frowned before pulling out his survival knife and stabbed the toy, making it deflate almost immediately.

Alex looked in shock as tears weld in his eyes. Ryder chuckled sinisterly as he tossed the deflated toy away before hopping back on his ATV and driving away. Once again, they all reached town hall.

"Um, Ryder?" Chase spoke up hesitantly. "Don't you think you were, uh, being mean to Alex?"

"Well, how would you feel when the same kid always made the same mistake for the thirty-second time in a row?" He raised an eyebrow. Although confused, he shook his head. A moment later, Mayor Goodway came up to them and began to talk. Ryder ignored her completely.

"Ooh! Wydew? Can Skye and I check out the stuffed animal booth and see if we win anything?" Zuma wagged his tail, the cockapoo at his side doing the same thing.

"Well sure you can!" The boy exclaimed. "If you want to be kidnapped by Mayor Humdinger as he tries to steal Terry."

"What?!" The Mayor shrieked before running off to check on the groundhog. Zuma, hurt by the answer his owner gave him, cowered back a bit. Ryder did notice and felt guilty, but he needed to remind himself to try every possibility.

This is the 'bad boy' option.

"Woah! Watch out!" Came a warning. Ryder knew what to do. Elegantly, he stepped to the side and caught the girl, before he spun around and dipped her like they were dancing.

"Woah, Ryder, nice, uh, catch?" Katie madly blushed.

"No need to thank me," he smirked romantically. "By the way, if you had a crush on me since we first met, you could have told me."

Katie blushed harder. Even the pups were surprised. "H-How'd you know?" She squeaked.

"Let's say, I've had enough time to figure it out," he grinned crookedly. What he did next shocked the entire group. Passionately, he quickly kissed her on the lips. After that, he propped her to stand right before whispering right in her ear. "I feel the same way."

She didn't respond. The leader looked back to the frozen pups.

"If you all don't mind, I have a groundhog to steal." With that, he left them casually.

"Wait… what did he say?" Marshall questioned, being the first to come out of his shock. A moment later, Mayor Goodway came running up to them in panic.

"Ryder! He took Terry! You must bring him back!" She wailed. The pups were so confused but since they were concerned for their owner, they nodded and went off to their vehicles. After a few minutes, they saw an ATV in the distance.

"PULL OVER NOW RYDER!" Chase ordered through his megaphone.

"Sorry, no can do! Terry's taking the wheel!" The boy yelled back, pointing to the driving groundhog. "Nice going, Terry! They're chasing us."

"What are we going to do?" Skye questioned Chase via pup tag.

"Um… Rocky, what's up ahead of us?" The second in command questioned.

"Not much but the train tracks and construction site," the eco pup informed. "If we can push him to the site, then we'll trap him there."

"Alright, let's do that-"

"You know, you guys should really figure out how to use the private line," Ryder suddenly spoke up through their pup tags. The pups froze. "... But I like that idea. I'll head in there."

The pups didn't question it though they couldn't help but be bewildered when they followed the boy to the construction site. 'Did being evil make you dumb?' The pups all thought. The Paw Patrol stopped in front of the only exit and got out.

"There's no escape. He's going to have to give up," Chase sharply stated. In the distance, they saw the ATV pull up.

"Um… what is he doing?" Zuma questioned. Ryder revved the engine. Suddenly, the boy lurched forward at high speed. With shock, the pups watched as Ryder zoomed past them and into the large pit where some of the construction is made and crashed inside.

"He… could have survived," Marshall tried to think optimistically.

The ATV burst into flames right then, disapproving his theory.

"Nevermind."


6 am.

Again.

Ryder didn't bother to get up from bed. He just laid there. His eyes were fixated on the ceiling, like he was convinced that the wall would give him answers. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

What was the point of getting up anymore if all he does still gets him back to the morning? Robbery didn't work. Helping everyone in town didn't. Committing suicide didn't do anything either. Every decision he made got him to the same place— his bed at 6 am on February 2nd, Groundhog Day.

Should he take it as a sign? That his entire life is becoming predictable and consistent? If it was then, well, he has had a lot of chances to prove that theory correct. 106 was the exact number. He has been through the same Groundhog Day for 106 times, and nothing worked! He has tried everything and nothing helped him, and it was starting to drive him crazy.

"Why won't this day end?" He whined, bringing his pillow to his face in an attempt to suffocate himself — but he had already tried that once before. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. With a groan, he reluctantly got out of bed, changed, and opened his door only to reveal Chase and Marshall worriedly staring at him. He sighed and walked past them to the computer in despair.

"Ryder, sir?" Chase spoke up. "Are you feeling okay? You didn't come down for breakfast. It's been a few hours already and Terry has already decided that winter's over."

"We tried to wake you up earlier but you didn't answer. You've must've been really tired," Marshall chuckled.

"No, I heard you, but I didn't bother because I'll have to see that stupid groundhog again anyway," Ryder bitterly answered. The pups were fairly shocked to hear their owner call something stupid, as he has never done that before.

"Um, are you sure you're okay?" Chase questioned once more.

"Define 'okay'," Ryder sighed. He rubbed his face tiredly. His eyes suddenly snapped open, getting an idea. He twirled around to his pups. "Okay, you two. I have a… theoretical question to ask you."

"Fire away," Marshall nodded.

"If you were to be stuck in one day that kept repeating at the end, and whatever you do wouldn't matter because there was no end, what would you do?" The pups didn't respond, pondering the question.

"Well, for one, I would try every possibility I had to try and change the day," Chase suggested.

"And if that didn't work?" The boy insisted.

"I might drive myself insane!" Chase chuckled. When the leader didn't seem amused (rather understanding he noticed), the pup cleared his throat. "I wouldn't know what to do next."

"What about you, Marshall?" They both turned to the dally, who had a concentrated look on his face.

"Like Chase, I would try every way possible," he finally spoke. "And even when I run out of options, I would keep trying and wouldn't give up. The end is never the end, but calls for a new beginning."

"Wise," Ryder mumbled, going into deep thought. 'The end is never the end, but calls for a new beginning' he repeated in his mind. And Marshall's right, he shouldn't give up just because he's run out of ideas. With his situation, he has time to improve his outcomes and change things. Based on times before, he has mostly changed things with his pups. So what if he shifts to the next person? Finally breaking the awkward silence he put his pups in, he spoke up. "Do you pups know where Katie is?"

"Yeah, she should be at the town hall packing up her booth or at her parlor," Chase informed. The boy nodded and walked to his fireman's pole.

"Alright. Chase, you're in charge until I get back," the boy instructed.

"What about any emergencies?" The German Shepherd questioned.

"There won't be any, trust me." With that, the leader slid down to his ATV and rode away to the mentioned areas. He eventually found her at the parlor. Now, it was time to pursue his crush. He smiled when he saw the girl at work. "Hey, Katie."

She turned to him with a smile before returning to bathing Callie (with much difficulty). "Hey, Ryder. I didn't see you at the festival. Where were you?"

"I didn't feel like getting up from bed today," he sheepishly admitted. "The pups had to get me out."

"Well that's new," she giggled. "Never thought they would ever have to pull you out of bed. So, what brings you here? Not that I mind the company."

"I actually wanted to tell you something," Ryder hesitantly started as he approached her. He had never tried telling her about his feelings directly, it was more the other way around. Everything could go wrong. She could reject him, she could make fun of him and tell everyone else! 'Oh, the possibilities!' He thought frantically. But then he realized that he has an infinite amount of tries to perfect his plan. "Okay, I'm just going to say it because yeah… Katie-"

She looked at him expectantly.

"I like you," he finally told her.

"Like, like me like me?" The girl narrowed her eyes a bit. However, she couldn't help stop the blush flooding her cheeks. The same happened to Ryder a bit. When he hesitantly nodded she laughed before launching herself in his arms and her lips crashed into his. They closed their eyes in unison as their passion transmitted through the action. The bathing cat meowed in disgust before jumping out of the tub and scurrying away. The two kids pulled apart and stared at each other.

"How'd you know?" Katie asked. Ryder sighed and pulled further away. He took a deep breath and told her the entire story of what he had been going through. She was quiet and respectful, but she was shocked to hear it. When he was finished, she spoke. "Wow. I can't believe it."

"I know it's hard to believe, much less understand, but I'm starting to doubt that I'll ever leave this day," Ryder sadly said. "There's nothing I can do to change it."

"Well, as easy as it sounds, have you tried… not going to bed?" She suggested. Ryder froze. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't tried that. Interesting.

"Maybe I can give it a shot, but what if it doesn't work?" He doubted. "Then everything is going to happen again and we won't be together."

"The only way to find out is for you to try," she shrugged.

"Because the end is never the end, but calls for a new beginning," Ryder slowly realized as he remembered the words used earlier. He suddenly grinned. "Haha! Katie, you're a genius!"

"I know," she proudly agreed. "Now, what do you want to do for the rest of the night?"

"'Night'?" Ryder repeated, confusion clear as day on his face. Katie pointed outside and, indeed, it was dark. "What the? That's so strange. That was another thing that was happening, the days were shorter somehow. One minute its morning, and the next it's night. It kept getting shorter as I kept trying too."

"So what would happen if it keeps doing that until nothing is left? What will happen to you?" Katie worriedly questioned.

"I rather not find out," Ryder answered seriously. "What time is it?"

"11:50," the girl informed. Time was definitely getting faster. Suddenly, Ryder's pup pad rang. He picked it up as they both sat down at the chairs there.

"Ryder here."

"Ryder, aren't you coming home? It's time to go to bed," Chase began talking but then his voice slowed down and became disembodied. Ryder's eyes suddenly became heavy and started to close.

"Ryder, you need to stay awake!" He heard Katie fade in the distance.

"Ryder!"