Even though they were at the pup park, they didn't really feel like playing. Chase had asked Ryder if he and Skye could go there, and of course, he agreed. Despite not actually playing, they still enjoyed just laying down and spending time with each other.
"I can't believe it's been a month since we lost her." Skye whimpered. Besides Marshall, she had been the most affected by Everest's death. She had lost her best friend, and although she was starting to get over it, it still hurt.
"It feels like we've all changed. We rarely leave the lookout, we don't do missions anymore, we almost never see Marshall. I-I just don't get it." She explained, starting to tear up. Seeing that she was upset, Chase wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, which seemed to cheer her up a bit.
"I know, but hey, I'm sure things will go back to normal one day. Eventually, we'll all move on, even Marshall." He reassured. Skye nodded and laid her head down on his shoulder, enjoying the company they were getting to have with each other.
A few more minutes of silence passed. "Well, Ryder said we should be back by now so we should get going." Chase stated, standing up.
"Awww, but I was having fun being with you." Skye pouted. Chase laughed at the face she was making. "What?" She asked, confused as to why he was laughing at her.
"You're cute when you're mad. But we do need to go. Come on, I'll let you ride on my back." He offered, laying back down. The cockapoo smiled and jumped on as they went back to the lookout.
Upon arriving, they were actually surprised by what they saw. Rocky and Zuma were playing with each other, which wasn't anything too uncommon, but they noticed Marshall was also outside. Granted, he wasn't doing much, he was just laying under a tree with Ryder, but at least he was getting some fresh air.
Skye jumped off his back as they walked over to the two. "Hey guys. Glad to see your out of your puphouse." Chase greeted.
"Blame him for that." Marshall dryly responded, nodding towards Ryder. The boy rolled his eyes and turned back to his pup, although he wasn't too surprised at his remark. It had taken lots of convincing to even get him out of bed.
"Marshall, for the last time, I made you come out because we're worried about you. It isn't healthy to stay cooped up in there all day." He told him, sounding like he had said it a million times by now.
"He's right buddy, it's a good thing you're out." Chase added. Marshall shrugged unenthusiastically and laid his head back down. The couple looked back at each other, and seeing as the dally clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, decided it would be best to leave him alone.
After noticing the two leave, Ryder turned back to Marshall. "Are you sure you don't wanna play? I got a new tennis ball if you want to play fetch." He offered. The pup only shook his head in response.
He was about to just give up and go back to his puphouse, when he suddenly heard growling, which immediately took his attention. He snapped his head over and saw Rocky and Zuma play fighting, something that, being dogs, they did often. Usually this wouldn't be anything new, but now, all it did was bring back the memories of Jake's mountain.
Marshall could feel his own heartbeat speeding up. He tried to stop the memories from getting to him, but it wasn't working. He was aware of everything that was happening, but he could see Everest being attacked again. Although this time, it wasn't a dream, as he was completely awake. No, this was a flashback.
The dally curled into a ball and started crying, having no clue what was happening to him. He was badly shaking as well. Ryder suddenly noticed what was happening, and was caught off guard immediately. "Woah, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly.
"Ryder...i-it hurts..."Marshall whispered, unable to say anything else. The boy didn't know what to do, so he simply started to pet his back, which actually seemed to calm him down a little bit.
"Hey, it's ok. Don't cry." His owner cooed. He wasn't sure of what else to say, but after a while of reassurance, the dally slowly calmed down. He stood up and wiped away a few tears, and he was still shaking slightly, but the memories had left his vision.
"W-what just happened pup? Are you ok now?" Ryder asked. Marshall looked around to make sure everything was back to normal. Thankfully it was, but he was clearly still shaken up.
"I-I don't know. I-I saw them playing a-and then I j-just saw Eve...w-when...s-she..." He started to explain, but his owner ended up cutting him off before he could finish.
"It's fine, you don't need to talk about it anymore, I get what you're trying to say." The boy interrupted. The last thing he wanted was for his pup to have another breakdown. He was already concerned enough. The two simply playing shouldn't cause something as severe as a flashback. He needed to get a second opinion on this. "Marshall, I'll be right back, just stay here."
Ryder walked away and called Katie, knowing she'd be the one to answer his questions. "Hey Ryder, what's up?" She greeted as she picked up the phone.
"Hey, it's about Marshall. Something really weird just happened." He replied. The girl nodded through the camera, signalling for him to elaborate. "So, Rocky and Zuma were playing, but then Marshall seemed to have some sort of a breakdown. He curled up into a ball and was crying and shaking. Afterwards he said all he saw was Everest being attacked. Do you have any idea what happened?"
Katie was silent for a few moments before speaking up. "That's not good. Has there been anything else unusual? I mean, I know he's probably still depressed about what happened. I'm not expecting him to be over losing his mate, but has there been anything else?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, he also has really bad nightmares. I've asked him about them and so has Chase, but he refuses to tell us what they're about." Ryder explained. The girl thought for a moment, but then had a grim realization.
"So wait, he had a flashback of her death and has also had terrifying nightmares. Ryder...do you know what these are symptoms of?" She asked worriedly. This question just made the boy more worried. He had a small suspicion of what might be going on with Marshall, but he really hoped he was wrong.
"Yeah, I do. But you don't really think he has that, do you?" He questioned in return, already aware of what she was thinking of.
"I hope not, but we need to know if he does, because if that's the case, then this is really serious. You should bring him over to my clinic, now if you can." Katie replied. Ryder nodded and thanked her before hanging up.
He walked back out to the yard, and thankfully Marshall was still laying outside, meaning he wouldn't have to drag him back out again. "Alright pup, me and you are going to Katie's. And don't even try to get out of it."
Once the two got there, Katie was already waiting for them, which meant they didn't have to wait. "Hey Marshall. I just need you to come in this room with me, ok?" She instructed.
"Am I sick?" Marshall asked which caused Katie to giggle slightly. Although now she knew he didn't know why he was here.
"No, you're not sick. I just want to ask you some questions, that's all. Just sit down, and answer them as truthfully as you can." She explained. The dally nodded, and despite being a bit confused, sat down. "So, let's start off easy. How have you been recently? And yes, I know you haven't been well, but can you describe it for me?"
"Uh, ok. W-well, I mean, it's just been depressing ever since Eve d-died. It's so lonely without her. There's nothing to do anymore. I don't know when the last time I even felt remotely happy was." He answered. Katie nodded and wrote a few things down, which only added to his confusion.
"Alright. Ryder said that you've been having nightmares. What about those, can you tell me about them?" She asked. She noticed the look of fear appear on Marshall's face, she already knew this wouldn't be easy. "I know you don't like to talk about them, but just trust me. I need to know so I can help you. And besides, the quicker you tell me, the quicker we can be done."
The dally let out a quiet sigh. He hated thinking about his dreams, but he figured there was no point in trying to get out of it. "I-it's the same thing every night. It's always E-Eve dying. I-I have to sit there and watch as she's attacked. T-then..." He explained, pausing for a moment. Now he had to talk about the part he hated most.
"Marshall, it's fine. You can tell me, I'm just here to help." Katie reassured. The pup nodded, knowing there was no point in trying to get out of this.
"S-she always says things. She says I-I should be the one in h-her place, that it's my fault she died, o-or that I never deserved her. S-she's probably right..." He mumbled.
The girl looked at him sympathetically and patted his head, trying to make him feel a bit better. "Don't listen to that, it's just a dream. Nothing that happened was your fault, and you definitely deserved her." She stated. She was a bit worried about the following questions, seeing his already negative reaction to this. They'd only get harder.
"Anyways, and this one I want you to be completely truthful about this, have you ever had thoughts about hurting yourself? Or, have you been hurting yourself? She asked.
Marshall looked up at her with tears starting to build up in his eyes. "W-why are you asking this? W-why do you need to know this?" He questioned, trying his hardest to not let his tears escape.
"Like I've said, I need to know so I can help you." Katie responded. The dally sighed, as much as he wanted to keep these things to himself, clearly that wasn't going to work now.
"Y-yes, I have. I-I've cut myself a few times." He replied. The girl went silent and wrote something else down. This was only getting worse, not to mention now she knew the pup had been doing these awful things to himself.
"I-I see. Ok, this is the last one and then we can be done. Ryder also said that you told him you had a flashback. When you saw Rocky and Zuma playing, it reminded you of how Everest died, and that's what triggered it, right?" She asked, and as much as she hated it, she already knew what the answer was.
At this point, Marshall was crying, unable to hold it in anymore. He didn't even bother to fully respond, he just simply nodded his head as an answer.
Katie bent down and started to pet him, now understanding what was wrong. "I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I promise that we'll do everything we can to help you. That's all, you can go now." She said. The dally nodded and left the room, relieved that it was over.
"Well?" Ryder asked once he saw the two exiting. The girl motioned for him to come over to talk in private. He immediately stood up and came over to her, worried about what might come next.
"I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it's true. We were right..." Katie started to explain. Ryder felt his heart drop, knowing what she would say. This was worse than anything he had imagined happening.
"Marshall has PTSD."
