The sign along the highway welcomed them to Minneapolis. Will gulped as he saw this, wondering if it was too late to ask to go back home. He took a deep breath and then looked at the display on what to anyone else would seem like an ordinary watch.
In reality it was something far more advanced and for that matter more advanced than even the most powerful supercomputers on Earth. The tiny device had been created by Dr. Ruff to track theta energy readings. It had been one of the first things Dr. Ruff created after sending Will and Jessie back to Earth. With it, Will could now take care of some unfinished business.
He had written a sort of speech to deliver when they got there. He rehearsed it again as they drove deeper in the city. When the car finally stopped, he realized he wouldn't need it. "This is it?" he asked.
"Looks like it," Jessie said. "Unless that gizmo is wrong."
She had parked in front of a Salvation Army thrift store. Will climbed out of the car, his legs stiff after the drive from South Dakota, where they had spent the night. A potentially awkward scene had been averted when Jessie insisted on booking two rooms at the motel. "You can trust me," Will had said. "I won't do anything. I promise."
"Yeah, well, I might," she said with a grim smile. It had been six months in Earth reckoning since they had left the Bloc of Planetary States. During that time they had gotten only one message from Tom, a brief message included in the packet sent along with the theta energy detector.
From what Tom said, things were getting back to normal in the Bloc. The Black Ships had yet to return and by using a similar theta energy detector, Dr. Ruff could find no signs of any lingering effects. The Bloc's fleet was being rebuilt and expeditions prepared to reclaim some of the worlds ravaged by the Black Ships. As for Tom, he spent much of his time as a liaison between Muttlandia, Bulldogovia, and Cattatonia. The war had eased much of the animosity, but couldn't fully erase centuries of mistrust. "They won't mess with a Creator, though," Tom had said in his terse message.
He had included a private section of the message for Jessie. Will knew better than to ask what his brother had said to her, not wanting to ruin their fledgling friendship. That friendship extended even to the hallways at school, which had inadvertently thrust Will into the highest social circles. A few girls had even asked about his plans for the homecoming dance, a situation he would have to deal with once he got back.
In the meantime, he concerned himself with reuniting with an old friend. He walked tentatively up to the front door of the thrift shop, not sure what he would find inside. Jessie put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to go in if you don't want to. I can do it."
Will shook his head. "No, I should do it." He pulled open the door and went inside. His knees turned to jelly, but he kept himself moving along racks of out-of-date clothes, obsolete electronics, and tacky knickknacks.
In the back of the store he found the toys. He ignored the action figures missing weapons, the dolls missing clothes, and the games missing pieces to make his way to the stuffed animals. The device on his wrist began to glow a violent purple, the theta energy readings going off the charts. He scanned the racks of bears, rabbits, and other plush toys. Then, on the top shelf, he saw what he had yearned to find these last ten years.
Spot I looked nearly the same, though his gray fur had become dingy and someone had awkwardly sewn a torn seam along his back right paw. The black stump of his right eye remained, the other eye seemingly to look right at him. He hugged the stuffed toy to his chest and couldn't keep himself from crying.
"I'm never going to leave you behind again," he whispered.
[END]
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