*Thunk!*
The trunk of Smooch’s car made a loud thud as Colby closed it shut, having finally packed everything into the back that they needed for their long trip. The sun was just barely peeking over the mountains on the horizon, and a brisk but gentle wind blew through the yellow fur on Colby’s body as he felt the warmth of the morning light on his hair. Today, there wasn’t a single breath in his lungs that he took for granted. And for the first time in eons, Colby had never felt so truly at peace.
‘The end of one journey… and the start of another,' he thought to himself with a wistful smile.
“Hey Colby, did we already pack Kernel’s urn?” He heard Smooch’s voice call out to him from the front door. “I don’t see it on the shelf, but I just wanna be sure we don’t leave him behind.”
“I already got it in here, safe and sound.” Colby answered, patting the trunk in reassurance. “Don’t worry, I made sure there’s zero chance that it’ll get damaged.”
“Okay, good. Thanks, Colby,” Smooch said as she let out a sigh of relief. “Just, uh, make sure you don’t drive like you did that one time. You know the one.”
“That was only one time! Just who do you take me for?” Colby laughed dismissively. “And besides, I know you loved it.”
“Well, I’ll admit it did earn you some points with me,” Smooch smirked as she approached him, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. “You definitely made it a first date I’ll never forget.”
“Oh, by the way,” Colby asked, suddenly remembering, “You let your job know you’ll be gone for a while, right?”
Smooch fidgeted with her paws for a moment.
“Um, well, actually, I… I quit.”
“Woah, wait, what?” Colby blinked a few times, hardly believing his own ears. “You quit? But why?”
“Well, as much as I liked bein’ a cop, it was never really my passion. Not like singin’ was. Thing is, if we’re gonna try for a puppy, I wanna be home more to take care of them as much as I can. I know I’ve been a bit of a workaholic, but it’s time to admit I’m gettin’ up there in age, so I think it’s high-time I settle down and finally retire. Spend more time with you, with Scooch, and, if we’re lucky… our future son or daughter.”
Smooch placed her paw on her belly, though not sure herself if she was pregnant yet or not. Or, in fact, if she ever would be.
“I-I hope yer not upset about me quittin’,” she added nervously.
“Are you kidding?” Colby chuckled, lifting Smooch up gently and joyfully placing several kisses on her lips. “You know how badly I miss you every day while you’re at work. Especially now after what happened, I want to spend every moment of my life with you that I can. You’re my best friend, Smooch.”
“You’re my best friend too, Colby. And I’m glad to hear it,” Smooch smiled as Colby lowered her to the ground again. “‘Cause that whole ‘end of the world’ thing is the main reason what drove me to quit. I’ve realized that life’s way too short to waste it all workin’. So from now on, spendin’ time with the ones I love is the one and only thing that matters to me.”
“That sounds perfect to me,” Colby said as he held Smooch’s fluffy furred cheek in his paw, taking this moment to admire her beauty. Over the past several years, she had without a doubt only looked better with age.
Smooch looked back up at him as well, fully appreciating the dog that stood before her in just the same way. It was almost hard for her to believe that just a short day ago, she had been faced with the horrifying reality of losing him forever. But here he was, still miraculously standing before her with that adorable smile of his. She vowed to never let that smile wane for as long as she lived.
“I-I should get Scooch and tell him we’re ready to go, huh?” Smooch asked, coming out of the wonderful trance that looking into Colby’s green eyes had put her in.
“Sure, everything’s ready and packed. I triple-checked.” Colby gave her one more kiss on the cheek before going over to the driver’s side. He looked at his own reflection in the side-mirror, analyzing the furry brown stubble on his face. The canine face that looked back at him, that had once made him sick to his stomach, now felt more natural to him than his old human appearance. That was, except for his facial hair. As he recalled seeing his alternate self’s clean trim, he began to wonder if this beard really suited him after all.
“Hey Smooch, do you think I should shave this? And be honest,” he asked, looking at the reflection of her in the mirror.
Smooch was about to head back up the deck when she turned around, approached Colby from behind, and gave him a wet and well-placed smooch on his cheek.
“I honestly really like it, Colby. No… actually, I love it. Makes ya look rugged.” She gave him a sultry growl in his ear before returning back to the house to retrieve their son.
Colby sighed happily with a blush on his face as he looked on at Smooch until she disappeared behind the doorway. He looked back at himself in the mirror with a genuine smile as he reached behind his back, took out his cowboy hat, and placed it on his head, feeling more confident in his appearance - and his sense of identity - than ever.
‘My name is- No, I am Colby Pooch. And I’ve never been happier to be.’
With everything packed and everyone safely buckled in, Colby pulled the car out of the driveway and began driving down the street. After several blocks, Colby’s eyes shifted slightly when he saw an orange and purple blue quickly approaching them in the side-mirror.
“Scooch! Wait!”
Colby pressed his foot down on the brakes and pulled over to the curb at the sound of a familiar voice. Tag was speeding toward the car on her one-wheeled motor scooter before stopping at the back seat where Scooch sat.
“Hey, Tag,” Scooch’s ears lowered meekly. “S-sorry I didn’t come over to say goodbye one more time, it’s still pretty early so I didn’t know if you were awake yet. I didn’t wanna bother you.”
“I understand, Scooch, but I still wish you would’ve woken me up,” Tag said as she got off her scooter. “You know I wouldn’t have minded, I break into your room to wake you up all the time!”
“Haha, yeah, you sure do…” Scooch chuckled as his muzzle turned pink, still remembering what had happened between them yesterday.
“So… how long are you gonna be gone for?” Tag asked sadly, stepping closer to the little blue terrier.
“We’re not sure yet exactly, but… probably for a while,” Scooch replied. “But I promise we’ll be back. It’s not like we’re moving away or anything.”
“I know, but… it’s just…” Tag sniffled. “This’ll probably be the longest we’ve ever been apart since you moved to Pawston. I’ll miss you too much.”
“I’ll miss you too, Tag.” Scooch unbuckled his seat and stood up, anxiously leaning over and giving her a hug from inside the car. “I’ll call you every day, I promise.”
“You’d better.” Tag wiped a tear from her eye with a light giggle, her tail beginning to wag slowly behind her as she twiddled her thumbs. “And Scooch, um…”
But before she could continue, Scooch felt a surge of bravery well up in him as he suddenly held her cheeks in his paws and planted a quick but passionate kiss on Tag’s lips.
When they parted, there was a brief pause as they were both left in an equally-stunned silence.
“S-sorry, I don’t know where that came from. Just felt like I needed to do that.” Scooch rubbed the back of his head bashfully. Colby and Scooch quickly turned their gaze away from their son, coyly glancing back at each other with pride.
‘Attaboy, Scooch,’ Colby thought with a proud grin.
“Anyway, what were you gonna say, Tag?” Scooch asked, his face feeling like it was on fire.
“I… I was just going to say that…” Tag returned the favor, giving Scooch one more kiss on the lips in kind. “There’s more of that waiting for you when you get back.”
“All right, you two,” Smooch turned around again, unable to help her motherly instincts kicking in. “Go easy on the PDA. Save some sugar fer the bees, will ya?”
“Ha, yeah, you can slobber each other’s faces all you want when we get back,” Colby added with a laugh, earning him a stern but playful whap on the arm from Smooch. He looked back to his son with an approving wink, then turned his attention to Tag.
“We won’t be gone forever, but probably a few weeks, at least. Maybe around a month, give or take. But I’ll help remind Scooch to call you every day. Not like he even needs me to.” Colby leaned back and teasingly ruffled his son’s spiky hair. “We’ll be back before you know it, Tag. And we’ll make sure your boyfriend comes back in one piece, I promise.”
Tag nodded in understanding as she sniffled one more time, though that word still made her a little embarrassed to hear.
“Thank you, Mr. Pooch.”
“Just ‘Colby’ is perfectly fine. We’ll see ya later, Tag. Stay safe.” Colby gave her a warm smile before giving Scooch a look to remind him to put his seatbelt back on, which he did.
“Bye, Tag!” Scooch called out one more time as the car began to drive off again. “I l-love you!”
“Bye, Scooch!” Tag waved sadly, but smiled a bit knowing that he would be back soon. After all, she had Colby’s guarantee. “I love you too!”
“They’re so frickin’ cute together,” Colby whispered to his wife under his breath.
“Oh, I know,” Smooch replied, glancing back at her son with pride. He was growing up so fast - faster than she could have ever imagined.
“...I know.”
And with that, the Pooches drove off into the sunrise together. As they left the south side of town, Colby’s eyes caught a road sign that read,
‘Exit 42’
The yellow Labrador exhaled with his nose in amusement, which became a chuckle, and eventually turned into a full laughter.
“What’s so funny, Dad?” Scooch asked with a smile; both he and Smooch couldn’t help but start to join in on the infectious laughter as well.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really” Colby casually replied with a grin when he finally calmed down; the dotted yellow lines passed them by as he took the exit, now more ready than ever for his next adventure.
“It’s just a great day to be alive.”
Over the coming weeks, they saw all the amazing and wonderful new places they could as they traveled. Whenever they found a particularly-interesting landmark, especially one that Smooch imagined Kernel would’ve enjoyed, the three of them would carefully take out a bit of ashes from his urn and scatter them into the wind. They left some of Kernel here, some there, until there was a small piece of him spread out in nearly every corner of the country. Until, finally, the Pooches came to the last stop of their journey.
Bonesboro, Barkansas - Smooch’s old hometown.
“Well… here we are,” Smooch sighed as they got out of the car, looking up at the rusty chicken-shaped weathervane on top of her old abandoned farmhouse as it idly swung back and forth in the wind.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Colby asked, resting his paw on her shoulder. “It’s up to you, there’s no pressure.”
“Yep, it’s time. There’s only a little bit left.” Smooch clutched the urn tightly in her arms as Scooch gave her a gentle hug from the side. A small part of her still clung to the past, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes at the thought of saying her final goodbye to Kernel. “Colby… I think I should be the one to do it this time. Just me. But… before I do, could you tell me a bit more about… what it was like? I mean, when you met him? It’ll help me feel a bit better.”
“Yeah, I wanna know too,” Scooch added pleadingly.
“Oh, ok, sure. Um…” Colby thought for a moment, as recalling his short time in the afterlife felt much like recalling a dream. “Kernel. Just from the few minutes I spent with him, he had a very… brassy personality, but in a good way. I could tell he was the kind of dog who was probably always the life of the party.”
Smooch chuckled as she sniffled louder, nodding in agreement. She looked down at the urn in her arms as Colby continued.
“Kernel was nothing but friendly, and he had a very calming presence about him. Even when meeting for the first time, he welcomed me as though we were old friends.”
Smooch opened the lid of the urn, feeling the warm southern wind picking up slightly. For so long, she had been afraid of healing. Afraid of letting go of the pain. Because if she let go of her pain, she would be severing one of the last links to what she had lost.
“But most importantly…” Colby went on, rubbing Smooch’s back as well as his son’s head. “He was happy. And he loves you both so, so much. He always will.”
Smooch took a deep breathe in. A breath out. And then, she smiled. She faced the direction of the wind, and with one swift motion, she lifted the urn up high. Kernel’s remaining ashes escaped from the top, carried away to places unknown. Off to see the world, just as he’d always wanted.
“This isn’t good-by,” Colby declared, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek before watching the dust blowing away in the wind.
“It’s ‘see you again, someday’.”
After some time to further reminisce and process all their emotions, the Pooches finally got back into the car. And with that, they began the journey back home to Pawston. After some consideration, Smooch had left the urn behind, tucked away within the ever-spreading patch of rhubarb in the front yard. It almost seemed to want to be there rather than gathering dust on her bookcase back home, anyway.
“This whole trip felt like it went by so fast,” Smooch said, looking back at her old home as it got smaller and smaller in the distance. Although she would always remember the memories she made there fondly, she did not miss the house she made those memories in. Now was the time for making new memories. There would be years, decades of tomorrows to be had with Colby, with Scooch - and, although she didn’t know it just yet, with the unborn puppy that was currently growing inside of her.
“It sure did,” Scooch added. Although he missed Tag - and the comfort of his warm and cozy bed - he honestly wanted to see more of the sights the world had to offer. Although he himself had traveled quite a bit with Tag already in the years he’d known her, this trip with his parents had been so enjoyable and stress-free that he honestly didn’t want it to end just yet. “Do we have to end it so soon?”
Colby looked back at his son in the rear-view mirror, and to his pregnant wife seated next to him.
“Tell you what… there’s still so much more to see in this big, colorful world. So if everyone’s in, I say… let’s take the long way home.”
“Count me in!” Scooch exclaimed happily.
“I’d love that,” Smooch said as she gave Colby a loving look. “Let’s make this final road the best one yet.”
As they traveled down the gravel road, Colby suddenly remembered something that Kernel had once told him that he’d nearly forgotten. He then gradually leaned head out the side and stuck his tongue out, letting it flap freely in the wind like the dog he was. Colby felt a sense of pure elation as the strong wind hit his furry face, his tongue slapping loosely against his cheek. And just as Kernel had said, there really was nothing quite like this.
“Havin’ fun?” Smooch asked, snickering in amusement.
Colby brought his head back in, wrapping his arm comfortably around Smooch’s shoulder as he drove.
“With you, Smooch,” he answered with a smile,
“...Always.”
And they lived - truly lived - happily ever after.
When they returned home from their long trip, it wasn’t long before Colby and Smooch discovered that they would be expecting a new member of their family. And after months of waiting, the day that their precious daughter came into the world finally arrived. She was a perfectly healthy Labrador-terrier mix, with emerald green fur that evenly mixed her parents’ hues of blue and yellow. Because of this, Colby and Smooch had settled on the name ‘Emerald’ - or ‘Emmie’ for short. And, as Colby had lost all of his powers before she was conceived, Emerald would never inherit her father’s plasma element.
As Scooch grew older, he went on to become a dog of many talents, including - but not limited to - a black belt tail-kwon-do teacher, a renowned photographer, a master cake-baker with his own published cookbook, and Tag’s crew chief for her professional racing career. He and Tag eventually got married when they were old enough, and they eventually moved to a modest farmhouse just outside Pawston where they raised, of course, chickens.
Thanks to Scooch and Colby’s encouragement, Tag was eventually the first dog to end her mentor Sam Whippet’s winning streak, and she even held her winning record for even longer than his. And with her expertise on vehicles of all kinds, she and Scooch also eventually became the owners of the Pawston Pawtomotive Garage when her grandparents retired.
Needless to say, their lives were never short of excitement and adventure.
Smooch remained happily retired as she focused on being a more proactive mother to Scooch and Emmie, spending as much time with her family as she could. She still occasionally volunteered for odd jobs and helped out in other ways around Pawston to feel more a part of the community, but her police-dog days stayed forever in the past. Although she remained close with her friends from the ‘Ol Yellers, she decided she was content with keeping out of the spotlight of stardom. In the end, reconciling with them had mattered to her more than the life of a famous musician. However, they eventually found a new lead singer, who was surprisingly just as passionate about singing country music as Smooch was - of all dogs, it was Wagnes, the quiet waitress from the Big Bowl Diner. And, now sharing a connection between them, the two quickly became good friends.
As for Colby Pooch, he lived a quiet and peaceful life, just as he’d always wanted - full of many more fun and enjoyable adventures with his loving family. After everything he’d been through in his once dark and dangerous past, he was perfectly happy to never have to save the world again. He was happy to never again feel the plasma that once coursed through his veins. He was happy to just be a normal dog with a normal life.
For the rest of his life, and even beyond that, Colby Pooch was forever happy.
“...Now that is some mighty-fine pie, if I do say so myself,” Kernel said out loud to himself alone with a satisfied smack of his lips as he set the empty pie tray and fork down on open air, where it floated in place before disappearing. He slowly walked several steps forward as he looked around up into the sky, which was obscured with the same ethereal fog. However, as Kernel raised his arms and spread them apart like he was opening a window curtain, the true nature of his surroundings made themselves known.
The space above was an infinite white void, dotted with a scattered rainbow of countless colored orbs that glittered more beautifully than priceless gemstones. Each one held equally-countless stories; ones of heartbreaking sadness and bitter despair, but also of infinite love and undying hope. Kernel gazed upon constellations of stories and legends, of battles fought and won, and of destinies being fulfilled.
“And to think, that kid did all of this,” Kernel said with an impressed whistle. “Alright, Colby…”
He turned his attention to one multicolored universe in particular with a smirk on his face, his soul beginning to transcend space and time as an intangible spectator.
“Let’s go, dog, go. To where this all began.”
Marcus Colburn’s story will begin in ‘Destiny Delta - Road 1: The Cosmic Catalyst’
