Doc meets Pup

Emmett stared around in the darkness, feeling his body float listlessly in the dark.  It was vast, and it went on forever. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. The last thing he remembered was the DeLorean, and the lightning bolt that struck it. For a moment he felt his blood run cold and he froze up. Had he died? Perhaps the lightning bolt triggered the time-circuit, overloading it and creating a catastrophic fracture in space-time, collapsing the universe upon itself. It was far-fetched but feasible. It was also possible that it’d merely sent him to a point outside of time itself, thus making where he was simply oblivion. That would just be a fate worse than death in and of itself, but far more feasible than this being the after-life.

He’d have taken time to think more on it however a sound echoed around him, a quaint jingling noise of a dog-collar, and the soft sound of doggie paws on a hardwood floor. Maybe there was a simpler explanation here after all…perhaps he’d merely passed out and somehow ended up back home.

“Einstein? Is that you?” Emmett called out. He squinted into the darkness, he wasn’t sure if it just kept going on or if it hit a solid surface. After a moment a figure became clear, and emerged from what could only be described as the nothingness.  It had no trouble walking on…whatever it was walking on. If it hadn’t been for the strange eyes, Emmett might have thought it was just a dog. As it came up to him it sat down and stared up at him. He looked back in confusion. Then the dog did something that made the good doctor double take.

“Heeeeeyyyy there Doc!”

Okay, he was all well and ready to acknowledge the dog being there, but a talking dog was just too out there for him. Obviously he was dreaming, or this w-

“Oh for the love of-“ the dog rolled its eyes, interrupting Emmett's train of thought, “Look I know you’re probably confused, talking dog, blah blah, dogs don’t talk, blah blah blah, dreaming, blahblahblahblah….but we’re on a bit of a time crunch here.”

“Ah-I’m sorry…it’s just, difficult to truly believe that any canine can speak, and articulately even. Obviously this is a dream, within which I’ve become lucid and have control over my own actions. You are merely a fragment of my imagination, a flight of fancy,” Emmett waved his hands around as he spoke, spinning a bit curiously in place much to the dogs amusement, “In this state seeing is believing, the brain can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is not, so while I may feel myself spin and turn here stranded in whatever this space is, it’s entirely plausible that it’s merely my brains cognitive awareness making use of external perception and memory to simulate my feeling of weightlessness.”

“Ugh, please will you just list-“

“It’s far more believable that, upon exiting the time jump after being struck by…by the bolt of lightning, thus triggering the DeLoreans time-circuits spewing me forth into whatever time period, I could have crashed, and will wake up in a tree or a ditch. Great Scott! What if I’m simply bleeding out, thus explaining this light and airy feeling as well as the sense of weightlessness, which could very well be from a concussion I suffered upon impact! No. Nonono. You’re story, my dear talking animal friend, may work on other scientist hacks who don’t know theirs alpha’s from their zeta’s, but they won’t be working on Dr. Emmett L. Brown.”

The dog stared at him. Then he simply burst into laughter.

“Oh yeah…I think you’re ready. Enjoy your stay in the City Doc. You’re in for quite the trip. Oh and watch the first step, not that you’ll remember me sayin’ that, but it’s a doozy,” The dog sat back on its hind legs, “You’re right though, my headspace is kinda out there…”

“Pardon?” Emmett stared on, wide eyed and confused as the dog his paws together, and his world was suddenly abuzz with the hum of an engine, the smell of ozone, and the crackle of lightning.