Liam Pettman was your average underpaid freelance artist till one day when he begins to notice strange things happening around him. Soon these bizarre happenings begin to snowball into an adventure he never asked for!
Liam Pettman was your average underpaid freelance artist living in Atlanta till one day when he begins to notice strange things happening to his friends and neighbors. Letting curiosity get the better of him Liam begins to investigate these happenings. What he finds will lead him down the path to an adventure no one could have ever seen coming.
Cutie marks, ponies, and drug dealing gang bangers, OH MY!
Follow along as Liam spirals down the rabbit hole and trys to come out the other side unscathed. If he can just manage to hold on to his sanity and keep ahead of things he just might be able to not only help himself but a new group of very special friends.
~ Once upon a time, within the not so enchanted city limits of Atlanta Ga. ~
“Hooves hurt.”
My mind reeled as I tumbled through space, not from the teeth rattling kick I had just received but from the bluntness and stupidity of that first thought. Here I was spiraling into open air, my mind being so kind as to flood itself with adrenaline to create that all too surreal feeling of time slowing just to give me a chance to think, and that was all I could come up with? I strained myself to do better, to have a more profound though than that. Just focus Liam, just focus with all your mind and...
“Hooves hurt… a lot.”
Had I any air in my lungs left after the buck to my chest I would definitely dedicate it to a deep moan of aggravation at this point no matter how painful it would be with the tenderness of my chest. Still, I suppose I should just be glad that I’m still conscious. Of course that probably wouldn't last too much longer when I hit the ground, after that I will be pretty much done for. Even if I walked away from this without a brand new ninety degree angle in my spine I’m still pretty sure that most people don’t get up very quickly from an arching eleven foot face dive.
“I wonder where the gun is,”
Wait, was that thought mine? A thought so practical and utterly pertinent to the situation actually came from the same mind that could produce no better than “Hooves hurt” just a few moments ago? Thinking feels slow and laborious, like trying to walk through waist deep mud, but I know it’s important, I need to focus if I’m going to get out of this and save anyone, hell it was going to be tricky enough to just get myself out of this situation as it was. The gun you dummy! Where was the gun? Think Liam, Think!
My mind begins to try and reassemble the order of events that led up to this moment, searching for answers. Memories begin to arrange themselves in reverse order, painfully slow at first but as my mind builds up steam they begin to flood in faster and faster. The sickening thud of hooves crashing into my chest, the taste of blood and vodka, the gun being flashed at me in the alleyway, my birthday party, finding out my sister was com-... wait, the gun! Stressing itself to near failure my mind applies the brakes, skidding to a full and complete stop.
“Ok Brain”, I tell myself as I started reversing the film it stitched together for me. “This time slower, my life may depend on it”. Obediently my mind goes full flashback mode, the events of the past few days playing out again for me, laying out exactly how it had all come to this moment.
~ A Few Days Earlier ~
Thud!
“Oh come on! How in the hell can you possibly have a flush?” I groaned into the table. As I stared down at the grain of the table I could hear what remained of my poker chips being slid into the waiting pile across from me, the same large pile that belonged to the chuckling goon who had just pulled of one of the best bluffs I have ever seen in my (admittedly short) poker career.
“Not my fault I'm awesome at this game Liam. It’s just a natural gift I suppose”, retorted the jerk between gleeful fits of laughter. Glancing up from the table and past the large pile multicolored plastic chips and empty glass bottles I could see that he was really enjoying this.
Groaning I lift my head up from the table, flipping my own hand to reveal three of a kind. Moments ago I had held so much hope for the three matching Derpy faces; they're adorable little goofy faces enticing me to bet my few remaining chips. Sighing I tossed them back to the center of the table with the rest of the pony deck I had unwrapped just a few hours ago when the party had been in full swing. The deck had been just one of my birthday gifts from this evening, one given to me along with the poker chips by Ronald Parker who was probably the best friend I had made since moving to Atlanta.
Pushing my chair back from the table I offer the smug son of a gun a grin as I raise a bottle to his success. “Fine Ronnie, fine, you win you cheating rat. One of these days I’m going to remember to not play poker with you”.
Ronald (who went by Ronnie) stretches as he stands and runs a hand through his unkempt copper hair, pushing the mess back out of his face. “Ha! I'll believe that when I see it. With a gift as awesome as the one I picked out you’re going to want to show it off whenever you can. As a matter of fact I think that this little investment may just pay off for me in the long run… if you would ever man up and bet actual money.”
“Ha!” I bellow, as if I would actually be so dumb to play Ronnie for actual cash again. The man was a machine when it came to the game; a brick wall was easier to read than Ronnie’s poker face. “I learned that lesson a long time ago, so tonight me, and my bank account, are happy to announce that tonight you have won rights to the last slice of cake”.
“Hot Damn!” Chuckled the Glutton as he stood up from the table and moved to the kitchen. Shaking my head I can't help but join in his laughter as I follow him the short distance to the apartment’s kitchen. Ronnie was just that sort of guy, his moods were infectious and if he was of a mind to have a good time, odds were you were going to find yourself with a grin before too long. Pushing his glasses up the brim of his nose his grin widens as he slides the last slice of cake onto a cheap paper party plate, “Corner slice, very nice!”
“What, why does he get the last slice?” Comes a deep voice from the living room. The sound of zombies pounding at windows ceased as my roommate Josh paused his game and made his way to the kitchen to join us, posing in the entranceway. “I'm the one who should get it; I'm the one who picked it up”.
“One”, began Ronnie as he raised a thick finger, “I won this fair and square thank you very much. If you had wanted it so bad you could have stayed in the poker game instead of leaving when the others started to head out. And second you're leaving to go home for a visit tomorrow; the last thing you need to do is eat too much tonight and sleep in.”
“Look who’s talking about not needing cake”, I chuckle as I give Ronnie a joking poke in the side, barely stifling a laugh as he casually shot a bird my way as he dug into his victory cake, lifting a plastic fork full of its red velvety goodness to his lips.
The guy wasn't really fat or anything, but he wasn't exactly going to win any marathons either. In contrast Josh was pretty well built, going on daily runs and the like to balance out hours of playing first person shooters on his PlayStation 4. As for me? Well the term “stick-like” comes to mind when trying to think of a good way to describe myself. Unlike Greg I spent far too much time on my art to dedicate much of my time to physical training, and unlike Ronnie I just plain didn't have the budget as a freelance artist to really pack on the pounds. As a matter of fact If it wasn't for my part time job as a busboy at a nearby restaurant, I very much doubt I would be eating much of anything.
Josh rolls his eyes, moving to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. “Yeah, like I would stick around and keep getting whooped by you. It was fun with more people but you’re too good at it for me to have any fun with just the three of us. Honestly, I think this one is just a glutton for punishment for staying at the table as long as he did.” He says while jerking his thumb in my direction.
“Glutton for punishment?” I ask. “Oh yes that’s me, a regular sadomasochist alright, you caught me Josh. I have a whole closet full of leather, chain, and spikes that I wheel out whenever you’re not here. How did you know? Did I leave one of my victims tied up on the sofa again?” My tone positively oozes with sarcasm; elating a new round of chuckles from Ronnie who was already down to his last few bites of the cake.
“Nah, if that were the case there would be more signs, like say…. bruising, scars, oh and probably mysterious tattoos”. At his final suggestion, Ronnie fixes me with a knowing look and gives me a wink.
Paling a bit I look to Josh but thankfully he hasn't seemed to have taken notice of Ronnie’s meaning. Cutting my eyes back to Ronnie I try and figure out if he actually knew about the bright and colorful symbol on my ass. A glance down to my thigh and then back up to my face by Ronnie followed up with some eyebrow waggles was enough to convince me that he knew that I had something there now.
I mentally face palmed, I had meant to keep that covered up for a while longer. Yes I was a fan of MLP:FiM, but not as big a fan as Ronnie (who was possibly one of the broniest bronies to ever trot a convention floor), but still this was something that most people would consider over the top even back when the show was still going. How many adult men had cutie marks?
To make matters worse Ronnie was pretty much one of the few friends in Atlanta that knew as much, or cared for Ponies as much as me. If he somehow got a peek at it earlier tonight during the party then he knew exactly what it was for sure. At least he seemed to be content to just watch me twist in the wind for now and not do much more with the information. As juicy as this was, I'm sure it’s killing him to not be talking about it.
“Tattoo my ass”, grunts Josh as he takes the final swig from his bottle of water. “Like Liam would actually go through with something like that”.
Sharing a look with me over Josh’s choice of wording, Ronnie suddenly burst out laughing. Yeah, this was killing him, really eating him up inside. Josh just blinked as he tried to put together what he had said to set Ronnie off.
~ ~ ~
Seeing the light appear over the elevator doors I turn to Ronnie, giving him a punch on the shoulder. “Alright, drive safe Ronnie. I'll give you a call tomorrow man. Oh, and thanks for the deck again, I'll have to let you come over and beat me again sometime”.
Ronnie returns the punch in kind and grins. “Nah, we’ll play at my place next time. I haven't gotten nearly enough play out of my poker table yet. Anyway, sounds great, I'll talk to you tomorrow man, we can make plans to live it up while Josh is out of town”.
The elevator dings just as I was about to respond to Ronnie, a voice calling out from inside cutting me off. “Heeeeeey~ whas…. what, how are you guys?” Without having to look I instantly know who it is, trouble on two legs. Looking inside I see her, one of my downstairs neighbors, currently slumped against one of the metallic walls of the elevator.
Ronnie Steps onto the other side of the elevator from her, nodding his head. “Ummm, fine thanks. Going down by any chance?”
“Down?” She asks drunkenly, her eyes blinking unevenly.
Lord she looks so wasted, but then that wasn't too uncommon for her. Usually she managed to get to her room before making too much racket or a mess but then other times she just liked to roam around the halls. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why Mr. Shipley (the superintendent) didn't get more complaints about her bothering people. The only reason I could think of was pity, besides just getting sloshed on a regular basis, she had more than enough bruises to paint a picture of how her home life was with her punk boyfriend Marcus Koontz.
Sighing I look to Ronnie instead of her, not wanting to deal with her at the moment. “Yes Ronnie, Ms. Barry will be going down. She lives one floor down on the fourth. You're going back to your apartment, right Janet?” Silently I pray she picks up the hint without me having to take matters into my own hands. I had learned my lesson before about how clingy she could get when she was like this.
When I had first moved here a year and a half ago I had made the mistake of helping her to her room whenever she got like this, only to win the ire of Marcus who didn't seem to like the idea of anyone taking an interest in his girlfriend. After a particularly terrifying confrontation in the hall one night I had agreed to keep away. This however, was easier said than done as Janet had sort of bonded to me like a puppy that follows you around.
A drunken puppy who likes to fall asleep outside your door once every few months.
“No, I’m… I’mmm..Hmmmm… what was I? I’m looking for someone. Liam? Could you help me look? I…. I just need to find… who was it?” She mumbles while trying to stabilize herself, clearly about to try and step out of the elevator.
Deciding to nip this in the butt before I wound up getting involved in a drunken game of hide and seek, I nod to Ronnie. “Fourth floor Ronnie; Make sure she gets off ok? Oh and that she takes a left, that’s the direction of her room. Ok?” I felt bad for her, but she was doing this to herself and as much as I would love to help her out I really didn't want to piss of her drug dealing boyfriend either.
Ronnie nods and presses the down button quickly, waving to me as the elevator dings. “Happy birthday again, thanks for having me over!”
The last thing I see is Janet blinking in confusion as the doors start to slide shut. Her glazed over eyes move between me and Ronnie, “It’s... Your birthday?” Anything she said after that was cut off by the thud of the doors and the hum of the Elevator carrying my friend and neighbor down.
I felt a twinge of guilt for not helping her, but what was I supposed to do exactly? People had called the cops on Marcus before, but she always denied what was going on. So really this was all on her, but still it hurt to just stand by and watch it go on. The really bizarre thing to me is why she would even want to stay with the guy. She was young (around my age I would guess) and attractive, she could pick up a better guy than that easily.
Scratching my thigh I sigh to myself as I turn around and head back down the hall towards my apartment.
~ ~ ~
Stepping out of the shower I wrap a towel around myself, making sure that it completely covers the mark on my thigh before moving to my room. Josh had already gone to sleep but I still wasn't keen on risking him seeing the thing. As good of a roommate as Josh was, I knew that he would never let me live this down after seeing it. Thankfully though, Josh was nowhere to be seen and I managed to easily make it from the shared bathroom to my room unseen.
Sighing I lock the door behind me and move to my mirror. Quickly unwrapping the towel I begin to dry of my short sandy blonde hair, giving it a towel dried fluff. Moving down I make sure that I’m fully dried off before pulling out a pair of boxers and sliding them on, stopping just before they reached the cutie mark to inspect it in the mirror.
The thing looked good, not great, but I had seen worse before. This cutie mark happened to belong to my favorite pony, Rarity, featuring the three distinct diamonds. I hadn't been able to stop grinning when I had first gotten it (after the pain had went away that is) but now the thing was just itchy. “Healing” the tattoo artist had said, giving him a tube of some stuff to rub on it to help with the process.
Grabbing the tube I grumbled as I started to rub a bit of the cream onto my birthday gift to myself. It was only a few days old but already I was starting to regret getting it. Frowning at it in the mirror I turn and lower my boxers on the other side to show my blank left thigh. It didn't even look right just having it on one side!
Done applying the cream I lift the boxers back up and yawn, thinking about how I had already failed in keeping it hidden once. It was really only a matter of time before everyone knew that I had gone and actually gotten such a silly tattoo. The best thing I could hope for now was to at least keep it secret until my sister had left town, the last thing I needed was her telling our parents about this.
Putting the thought out of my head I move across the room to my calendar. She would be arriving in three days now. Thinking I look to my alarm clock next to my bed to check the time. It was now one fifteen in the morning, May 1st. Smiling I bend down and pick up a pen. Scratching of April 30th I smile as I note that it’s now just two days till the 3rd, a date I had checked off as being doubly special since I heard a few weeks ago she would be taking a bus up from Savannah to visit. My parents had said they wanted to visit as well but it was still nice that she could be here on Sunday.
It was a shame that she couldn't be here for the birthday party but I had already planned to have it yesterday long before I found out she was coming since it was the last day Josh was going to be in town and he wanted to be part of it. Knowing her though, she would probably want to have another small one when she got into town. From what I had heard from dad she was already working on jokes, getting ready to rub how old I now was in my face.
Twenty five, I really don’t feel that old yet, but then again I guess that almost makes sense.
Yawning I move to the bed and flop, ready to pass out. It was the end of a long day for me, with work and then a birthday party, but it had been fun. A blast really. Smiling, I close my eyes and quickly drift off to sleep.
Editing graciously provided by the wonderfulTheGingaNija
~ ~ ~
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt …
I silently watched the cell bounce and dance on the counter-top as it vibrated. Lifting my freshly opened bottle to my lips I take a long sip as I muse over how much the small plastic object reminded me of a bug. It was small, annoying, and wouldn't shut up. About all the same qualities I equate to a bug.
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt ...
Setting my beer aside I wipe a bit of froth from the corner of my mouth with the back of my sleeve. A few years ago I wouldn't have been caught dead doing something like that, especially not in a dress uniform. Spare or not It still had meaning, or rather it should have meaning. These days I had a hard time building up much enthusiasm for anything really.
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt …
Buzzzzzzzt ...
Sighing, I rub my baggy eyes trying to remember when the last time I had a proper nights sleep. Glancing up at the clock I saw that I had already missed the changing of days, the digital clock read out announcing brightly that it was now four in the morning, May first. Seeing the cell’s screen light up, signalling it was ready for another round of buzzing, I hastily made a prayer.
“Please you annoying little bug, just shut up and let me sleep,”
Buzzzzzzzt …
Not unpredictably, the cell phone doesn’t seem to pay my request much mind at all and goes ahead with the vibrating anyway. I'm just starting to consider the merits of crushing the fat plastic bug with my bare fists just to get some measure of peace and quiet when it thankfully, mercifully silences itself.
The screen lights up again but I don't bother looking, I know near enough what it’s trying to tell me. What was that, eight missed calls now? It didn't particularly matter to me as there was absolutely no one I wanted to talk to anyway. If whoever it was on the other line wanted to get in touch so bad they could drag their ass over here to see me as far as i'm concerned. Why should I answer a call at four in the morning when I had made it clear to everyone that I didn't want to talk, especially this day of all days.
Sighing, I lean back in my seat, twisting around in it as much as I could, trying to find a comfortable position and failing. A year and a half I’ve had this chair and I still can't get comfortable in it.
I laughed at that, not a pleasant sort of laugh but an ugly, almost maniacal one. The laugh is almost enough to scare me, almost enough to get me to reconsider actually picking up that new antidepressant prescription my quack therapist was trying to shovel on me, almost enough to hit redial on the phone and beg whatever good natured soul that had tried to reach out and help me at this ungodly hour for help, almost …. but not quite enough. Instead I just sat there and continued to try and get comfortable.
Comfort never came.
Scratching my chin I think about sleep. Sleep had come easy to me once upon a time, but that seemed like a whole other life now. A happy life that belonged to a completely different version of myself, a whole other Cole Greene. Second Lieutenant Greene, not this piteous slob that wore his spare dress uniform and couldn't even sit in a chair properly.
Feeling my eyes watering up I glance to the large windows of my apartment. I had always felt like the massive pane of glass was very much like a screen, giving the world a peek into my own private den of woe. Picking up my beer, I place it in my lap and begin to push my chair towards the window, my gloved hands angling the Large wheeled frame right up to the edge of the glass. Stopping I look out into the night to find all eyes on me, no doubt all those twinkling lights were expecting a repeat of last years performance.
Lifting the beer to make a quick toast to all my viewers I throw back the rest of the stiff drink in one long swallow. The drink never helped with this damn chair, but it did help sleep come. Maybe this time I wouldn't dream, or if I did maybe I wouldn't dream of the accident. Then another thought came, one that actually did manage to give me a small degree of comfort, maybe I would have the other dream…
the one where I'm flying again, only without a plane.
"Is there a problem with the chute?" I asked sheepishly to the lower half of the superintendent that was hanging out of the open metal hatch in the wall. Hearing a low grumbling from inside the garbage chute I immediately started to regret my decision.
Most everyone living in my apartment building knew better than to disturb Mr. Shipley while he worked, and most avoided him as best as possible the rest of the time anyway. Standing in the hall with a large plastic garbage bag of trash from the party last night in silence for nearly five minutes however, had made me feel sufficiently silly enough to try my luck.
Looking up and down the hall I debated the possibility of just running for it before he managed to pull himself out of the garbage chute and identify me. Some would say that was a bit of an overreaction, but those people had never been on the receiving end of one of Mr. Shipley's tirades before. The man seemed to loathe his job, the building, and every tenant living inside of it.
Fleeing may have been a good plan but before I could implement it he had already pulled his head out of the dark hole in the wall, letting the metal door close with a loud snap that made me jump. Just as I had imagined the vein in his forehead was already throbbing, like some sort of glaring red warning. Combined with his towering stature and evil eyed glare the overall effect was quite stunningly intimidating.
"What?" he asked in a low voice that seemed to just dare me to repeat myself.
I paused for a moment, building up the courage to follow through with my question. "uhhh.. The chute, I was wanting to use it and I was wondering if something was wrong with it". With each word his eyes just narrowed more and more.
Cocking his shaved head Mr. Shipley raises a brow and glances at the garbage chute, then back at me. "This garbage chute?".
Ok, he was fucking with me now, I knew it, and he knew I knew it, but I still just stood there looking completely flummoxed by his question. This clenches it, I should have just run for it, or maybe just have avoided contact in the first place.
Pointing the heavy mag-light in his hand toward the Chute he continues to taunt me. "You want to know if there is something wrong with this garbage chute? You think I would just go poking my head in there if there wasn't anything wrong with it? Like I don't have anything better to do with my time?". Narrowing his eyes at me I can see the tattoos on his exposed skin contract as he tightens his muscles like a beast preparing to pounce.
"I'm just going to go take this downstairs myself and toss it in the dumpster" I awkwardly spit out and quickly started to backpedal. Turning I increase my pace as I half jogged for the safety of the elevator. Though I didn't dare look back as I could feel Mr. Shipley's eyes burning a hole into the back of my head as I fled.
~ ~ ~
Rubbing some of the sleep from my eyes as I walked back into the lobby after dumping my trash I decided to go ahead and check my mail since I was already downstairs. moving to the wall of locked mailboxes I fish out my key and slide it into place, pulling out a small hand full of letters and tucking them under my arm before locking the box shut again.
“Bill, bill, trash, birthday card, bill, birthday card…”, I say out loud as I browse through the collection of letters, absentmindedly scratching at my sore tattoo. Moving to the elevator I nudge the call button with my elbow without looking up, Climbing on and riding it up as I opened the birthday cards (deciding to avoid the bills till I was more awake). Hearing the door open I start to step forward, still thinking aloud. “That was nice of aunt Pam,”
“What was nice of aunt Pam now?” comes a cheery but strained voice from just outside the door. Glancing up I see a slim pair of legs poking out from under a large cardboard box.
“Janet?” I ask, trying to figure out what she was doing on my floor. Glancing to the glowing row of buttons I noticed I was one floor short, having stopped on the fourth. Looking back to her I step forward and peer around the box, “Need a hand with this?”
The grinning face on the other side of the box nods, small beads of sweat apparent on her brow from trying to do this on her own. “That would be great Liam, I’m trying to get this downstairs quickly. If you could just help me get it to the lobby I would appreciate it, I can get it to my car from there”.
Grabbing hold of the box I try and nearly fail to lift the box out of her arms, almost throwing myself off balance from the unexpected weight of it. Whatever was inside this box was heavy as hell, it was actually a bit baffling to me how such a small woman like Janet had gotten it to the elevator by herself. From the look of her red face (which was not from drinking for once) it must not have been easy.
Stepping back onto the elevator on unsteady feet I make room for her to follow. “Hope you don't mind going up first, I was heading up to my room,” Breathing deeply from effort Janet just waves her hand to show it wasn't a problem. Chuckling I lean against one of the walls and use it to help keep balance. “Alright… so what is all this anyway?”.
Fanning herself with her hand she takes a few more breaths. Besides being sweaty I'm again reminded how pretty she was when not passed out in the hall, my thought from last night and how she could easily pick up someone better than her boyfriend floats back to the surface of my mind. She wasn't stunning by any means, dressed in jeans, a fuchsia v-neck shirt , and her head overflowing with dark frizzy hair, but she could still do better.
Finally catching her breath she nods towards the box, “Just some of my stuff I need to get out of the apartment for the night.”
“Like what?” I ask bluntly, glancing down at the heavy box in my arms. I know it was none of my business to know what was inside the box, but I'm a bit of a snoop by nature. Already I could feel my curiosity starting to rise over what I was holding and why she needed to be rid of it for a while.
Sticking her tongue out she makes a goofy face. “None of your business, all you need to know is that it’s mine and that I need to get it out to my car before my boyfriend sees it. He’s having some friends over tonight and I have to get it out of sight before they show up.”
Blinking, I think back to my trip to the dumpster and frown. “You mean Koontz?”
Laughing lightly at my question she nods. “Well DUH! Who else would I be talking about? You know that if Markie ever cut it off with me you would be the first to know!” she says in a teasing tone, following it up with a wink.
Despite myself I couldn't help but blush a little (which probably looked like a great deal more than a little with my pale complexion) at her joke. It had been a long time since I had actually gotten to talk to Janet while she was sober and I had forgotten how much of a joker she was. “Yes, well if you're trying to keep Marcus from seeing this then you're not going to be able to get it out the lobby. I was just outside dumping some garbage and I saw him parked in the alley nearest the front door.”
The elevator dinged to announce we had arrived at my floor, meanwhile Janet just blinked as she processed what I had told her. “He’s… wait, he’s parked? Was it a yellow Honda? The dick, I told him I needed my car today! Why’d he have to pick today of all days to use it!?” Her face quickly begins to go red again as she starts to fume.
Cursing my luck for getting caught up in Janet and Marcus’s business again, I nod at her question of the car. “He was talking to some people, looked kind of shady actually…”
“And he’s working in it too!?” She snaps, moving from the elevator in a huff, her shoulders hitched up as she stomps away from the sliding doors. I mused to myself that the whole effect of seeing someone who didn't even break the five foot mark so mad was almost cute. However I quickly got over that thought as I realized she had just exited onto my floor.
Cursing under my breath I follow after her as quickly as I can while still holding the mysterious heavy box. “Wait, where do you think you’re going?” I called after her even though I was fairly sure I knew the answer already. My heart dropped even before she answered as I saw her turn left down the hall in the direction of my apartment.
“I told you I had to store that for the night,” she says without turning, clearly talking about the box in my arms. “Since I can't get it out to my car and I can't very well leave it at my place tonight I need someplace to put it”. Stopping, she sighs before turning around and fixing me with what must have been a very well practiced puppy dog face. “You wouldn't mind holding on to it would you? It would mean an awful lot to me.”
Feeling a twinge in my chest I can already feel my defenses falling. Why? Why couldn't I just keep out of other peoples business! If Marcus caught me spending time with Janet he would play hopscotch with my spine! But on the other hand, how could I say no to that face? That evil face, it was sure to be the death of me.
Groaning, I nod as I accept my fate. “Fine, you can keep it at my place but only if you tell me what it is I'm holding onto here. We have a deal?” The last part was phrased as a question but was more of a statement. Janet seemed to be out of options and If I was going to get cornered into watching out for her box, then at the very least I could have was the satisfaction to sate my curiosity. Besides, color me cautious but watching a box belonging to a drug dealer's girlfriend without knowing what was inside was just a dumb idea.
She grinned as I caved into her request as she turns and returns to walk to my door, this time a satisfied spring replacing her angry march from before. “It’s a deal, just wait till we get inside to open it up ok?”
~ ~ ~
Josh whistles as the box is finally opened, even from where he was standing across the living room going through the letters he had picked out from the pile on the counter he could easily see the contents of the box. “Now that is a metric butt load of liquor!”
Taking it as a complement Janet grins as she begins to pull out some of the bottles one at a time and set them on the coffee table. “You bet your ass!”
I had to agree with the sentiment, the box was absolutely overflowing with various bottles of different alcoholic drinks. As much as I feel like I should have seen this coming, I'm also astonished that this was what she was making such a big deal over. Lifting a hand to my temple I begin to rub away an oncoming headache. “Janet, why are you stowing what I assume amounts to nearly half of a bars inventory at my apartment?”
“Because Marcus is having some of his friends over tonight to party and I don't want them to drink all my stash. I mean look at this! A full handle of Kraken Spiced rum, bottle and a half of flavored Vodka, Scotch, and Brandy. If I leave this there tonight, those animals will leave me dry!”
Josh muttered something that sounded an awful lot like “God Forbid” under his breath which earned him a harsh glare from Janet. Turning tale josh pockets his mail and makes for his room. “Back in a sec, need to go grab my bags. I'm heading out in just a bit,” I had to bite my tongue not to laugh a bit at his retreat.
Pushing myself to the edge of my seat on the sofa I lift my head to look down into the box. Janet had already pulled out quite a few bottles to display on the table but I could see there were several more inside. I could easily identify most of them but there at the bottom of the box, or what I could see at the bottom past all the bottles, was a whole row of jars. “Say, what's that at the bottom?”
Turning her glare from Joshes door she looks back to me and then the box, a wide grin spreading across her face. “That,” she began as she dug out a single mason jar, “Is a little gift from back home.” Brandishing the Jar in both hands she holds it up for me to see, peering at me through the transparent liquid inside of it. “White Lightning!”
I nearly choked as she spoke, nearly a third of the box was full of those jars! “Janet are you nuts? I don't want to store your moonshine in my apartment!” I hissed quietly so Josh wouldn’t hear from his room. Its not like I’m much of a stickler for rules and such, but Moonshine was illegal for Christ sake. The stuff wasn't exactly super hard to come by, I had even sampled it once a long time ago at a party (or so I was told, the whole night is a blur to me) but Janet had at least a half dozen jars of the stuff in this box.
Rolling her eyes she pulls out another jar, this one clouded and tinted purple, and unscrews the top. “Oh don't be such a stiff,” she commented offhandedly as she reaches her fingers into the jar and plucks out some small dark shape. Raising it to her lips, she pauses long enough before popping it into her mouth for me to see that it is a grape, which explained the odd colorization of Moonshine.
The grape squishes in her mouth as she bites down and I can see her cheeks starting to flush as she chews the plump liquor filled fruit. Smiling, she swallows and holds out the jar, “want one? They’re really good!”
I was already ready to fall over from the smell of the hooch from the second she opened the jar, but now that it was in my face I couldn't help but scrunch up my nose. “Ummm, no thanks, I’ll pass”. Janet giggles and swallows, pulling the jar back and resealing it before placing it and the rest of her stash away in the box with a shrug.
“Your loss, they really are terrific. I was even going to leave you a bottle as a thank you for letting me keep this at your place tonight, but I’m guessing that you wouldn't accept.” Standing, she folds the top of the box closed again and turns to face me, another goofy smile on her face. “So instead I think I’ll let you buy me a drink tonight.”
“No,” I say a little more quickly and flatly than I had intended. I was already worried enough about Marcus flipping out on me for just spending time with Janet around the apartment, but taking her out for a drink? That option was not on the table.
Janet’s happy little grin melts into a dejected frown as she flops down on the sofa next to me. Pulling out her old bag of tricks she fixes me with her pouty lips and big watery green eyes. “Oh come on, it will be fun. I really need someone to go out with me tonight, ok? I swear Marcus won't have to know, hes going to be home all night anyway getting high and drinking everything I left behind at the apartment!”
Between the realization that this wasn't the entirety of her collection and her begging, I wasn't sure what to be more shocked about. She had always been clingy but to put so much effort into getting me out for a drink? This didn't seem right to me, she knew how crazy Koontz was. There was something I was missing here and for once I was going to try and keep my nose out of it.
Turning my head I roll my eyes, I felt bad to turn her down like this but she really was being a child. I'd sooner go and knock on Mr. Shipley’s door at two in the morning than risk a night out with Janet. “I don’t think it’s a good idea Janet”
“Please?” she continues. “I don't want to go out drinking alone tonight and most of my drinking buddies are busy. Consider it a birthday present, ok?”.
I almost scoff as she tries to play the birthday card, like this was some sort of gift for me. Before I could comment however Josh speaks up as he steps out of his room with his luggage slung over his shoulder. “A bit late for that, party was yesterday Janet. I bet you would have been a hit though if you had brought some of that up. Though, now that I think about it, how did you know it was his birthday, you remember it from last year or something?”.
Rolling my eyes I stand up from the sofa, moving away from Janet as I go to open the door for Josh. “I bumped into her last night and again today when I was reading some cards from home, besides I didn't even have a birthday party last year.” I shuddered a bit and glanced to the window while thinking about last year but quickly pushed the thought from my mind.
Blinking Janet looks between the two of us, “Oh, Liam had a birthday?”.
Turning the door handle I prop the door open and look to Janet, “Yes, you don't remember last night, in the elevator?” From her blank Look I could tell she did not. Thinking back, I had never explained the comment in the elevator about aunt Pam, and there really was no way she could have seen the cards before I pocketed them to help her with the box. The gears of my mind start to stall a bit as they try and work out how she knew.
“Consider it a birthday present”, she had said, but how could she have known?
Josh was halfway to the door when I finally figured it out. Mentally facepalming at how obvious it was I reprimand myself for not figuring it out before. For a pro snoop like me its a bit embarrassing it took me so long to puzzle it out. Looking back to Janet I offer a small smile as I guess. “sooo… its your birthday is it?”
The small woman on my sofa nods as I finally catch on, her arms crossed in front of her. Chuckling as he passes Josh and gives me a soft punch in the shoulder as he glances back her way. “Oh shit man, I guess you don't have a choice. You have to take her out for a drink now.” From the smile on Janet's face she seemed to agree. “I’ll catch you around when I get back, leaving my spare above the door in case you lose your key again while i'm gone. try not to get pummeled while I'm not here to watch your back alright?”
My shoulders slump as I locked the door behind Josh and leaned against the back of the door. “Ok, so I have one question for you-”
~ ~ ~
“Where are we going exactly?” asked Ronnie From the driver seat as I quickly ducked inside. The Idiot was smiling like a kid on Christmas morning while I was just trying to manage ducking as low into the back seat without completely wrinkling my outfit. It was fairly dark out but I still didn't want to take any chances being seen.
“What's wrong with him?” he asks as Janet follows me into Ronnie's car, his voice drifting of a bit at end as the split in her dress parts as she steps into the back with me. I don't look up from her leg to check but I’m pretty sure that Ronnie was also staring. As nice as Janet usually looked, she was now dressed to the nines having picked up a change of cloths earlier in the day while I got some work done on an important commision. She was now fully made up and dressed to kill.
Ignoring Ronnie's long whistle of approval Janet shuts the door behind her and fixes her dress. “He’s just worried about Markie when he should be focusing on having a good time. Hopefully a few drinks will fix that”. Turning she smiles at me, thankfully I had returned my gaze to head level in time to avoid being too obvious.
Fixing the rear view mirror Ronnie loosens his tie a bit and puts the car into drive. “Alrighty, then let’s go get some social lubricant in the kid. Any ideas where we can do that exactly?”
Watching the apartment roll past us as we pulled into the street I couldn't help but question my choice in back up when I had selected Ronnie. My deal with Janet allowed for one friend to tag along, so long as it was someone she had at least met before. Ronnie fit the bill and was a good pall but I needed someone to watch my back tonight, not help me get drunk.
Grinning, Janet lifts a finger into the air triumphantly, a grin plastered across her face. “Tonight Gentlemen, the night of my twenty fifth year on this earth, we shall be dancing and drinking at Terminal West!”
It was already late by the time we turned the corner and got our first look at the crowd outside of Terminal West. We had parked a few blocks away but all things considered we had gotten pretty lucky, Terminal West was a very popular local music venue, and tonight it looked like things would be in full swing. Not wanting to waste any more time than we already had parking, we rushed to jump into line of other eager partiers.
Most locals knew about the Terminal West as it was pretty much one of the coolest places to catch a show in Atlanta. Built inside a century old foundry just off the train tracks in midtown, it was equipped with state of the art sound systems, lights, and a killer bar. Visiting this local treasure really was an awesome way to spend your night, especially if that night just so happens to also your birthday.
Finally breaking through the last of the line we found ourselves in the main room along with a growing crowd of people milling about sipping on drinks and waiting for the stage crew to finish setting up for tonight's act. The room was alive with activity, and as crazy as this whole night was I couldn't help but find myself grinning as I looked to my companions.
Ronnie who was to my left gives the place an approving nod, “Well why the hell didn't we come here for your party? This place kicks the hell out of your place man.”
Chuckling I give him a nudge with my elbow. “Duly noted, next year i won't let you beat me in your favorite game and instead we can all go out and get drunk”.
“Did someone say something about drinking?”. Hearing Janet's voice from behind me I glance over my shoulder in confusion to see her quickly closing the last few steps towards us from the bar. Looking back to Ronnie I share a confused look with him. Hadn't she been standing next to us moments ago? Ronnie just shrugs and before I can even bring it up i'm interrupted as Janet arrives and thrusts a plastic cup into my hands.
“What? You think I would waste any time getting a drink?”, she asks as she hands the second cup to Ronnie, holding onto a third for herself.
“Well no, but really, how did you get them so fast?” Glancing over to the bar I noted that the line had not dwindled since we had first stepped inside and still looked fairly long, easily a ten minute wait at best. Looking back to the short Brunette I could already feel my curiosity growing, biting at me like an itch I needed to scratch. Brushing up against the thought of itching I absentmindedly give my tattoo a scratch through the denim of my jeans and make a mental note to apply more ointment when I got home.
Laughing she raises her plastic cup up and brushes a stray strand of her Deep brown hair from her face. “Well… I guess it helps when the bartender knows what you like to drink. Being a good tipper helps out a bit as well”.
Joining in her laughter I raise my own drink to meet hers, a small portion of the blue tinted beverage spilling onto the hardwood floor. Never one to miss a chance to be dramatic, Ronnie joins in with a childlike mirth as he slams his cup into ours spilling even more onto the floor. Raising our drinks even higher we make a toast to anoint our evening of fun.
“To the birthday girl!” Begins ronnie with a nod to Janet.
“To me!” Agrees Janet with a grin wide enough to make the Cheshire cat feel inadequate. “And to a night that shall go down in infamy!”
The last portion was left to me to close out, both Janet and Ronnie's eyes falling on me expectantly. “May we never forget it!”. Finishing the toast we bring the cups to our lips and take a long drink of the deceptively sweet contents.
~ ~ ~
Falling
Tumbling through space I writhe about as the ground and sky blur together, one replacing the other rapidly in quick succession. Up was down and down was up, only to be reversed again and again. Disoriented beyond recovery I fail about like a rag doll as my panicked mind races.
Worse than the air whipping around me blocking out any ambient noise, worse than the blurring landscape spinning about me, worse than all that was the knowledge that I would be hitting the ground but didn't know when. No chance to brace myself, no chance to wince, it was a silent specter hanging over my head. The crash was coming but I was blind to when it would come.
~ ~ ~
An explosion of pain erupted in my head like some sort of firecracker from hell, jolting my aching body awake. Groaning I strain myself to open my eyes, searching out the source of this wall of force which seemed to have decided to punch me in the face. Finally managing to focus my sight past the end of my squashed nose I saw something that I hadn't expected, A wall of red plaid pressed flat against my face.
Blinking, my mind tries to process what it was seeing but I quickly give up on that process as a new wave of sharp pain cuts across my head. Wanting to rub at my temples to relieve some pressure of this killer headache I find my arms pinned underneath me. Realizing I'm on the floor I wince in effort as I roll over, my flannel shirt tail pulling away from my face as I do so. Cringing as light assaults my eyes my hands shoot to my face to shroud my eyes.
Headache, light sensitivity, the acidic taste of night old puke on the back of my mouth, it didn't paint a pretty picture but at least I knew what I was dealing with. Grumbling I rub at my eyes and try to start steeling myself for the next few hours of nursing myself back from this massive hangover.
“What even happened last night?”
Not hearing any response from my mind I wearily open an eye to investigate. Sighing a breath of relief I am glad to at the very least, see that I'm back home at my apartment. I had never gotten plastered like this in public before and I had heard some pretty messed up stories from friends about waking up in the oddest places. The fact that I was lying on the floor in the living room with my legs still hanging halfway off the nearby sofa was great news, wish I could have made it to my bed but as far as options go this wasn't so bad.
With no small amount of effort I pull myself up from the floor and stumble groggily to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. While I sipped at the cold drink I tried to put together what had happened yesterday. Everything before the club came back easily but after that things started to get fuzzy.
There had been drinking, lord had there been drinking, Janet had been like some sort of mythical alcohol producing wizard. Foggy memories were slowly trickling back but nearly all of them featured me with a drink in my hand. About the only memory that I had that didn't feature a drink instead had a certain jar of grapes.
Finishing the water I glance back to the living room to confirm that yes the box was open, various bottles were removed and scattered about, and there on the edge of the coffee table was the mason jar in question with its tinted contents. Groaning I set down the glass and begin to move towards the shower. Maybe it was best that I wake up a bit more before I tried to dredge up any more memories.
Once in the bathroom I give myself a look in the mirror, grimacing at what I see. Still dressed in the same faded old band t-shirt (featuring the name “white wizard” over the skeletal wizard offering his hand to the viewer) with my favorite red flannel over it from last night I looked like a complete mess. The shirts were rather crusty looking and reeked of a potent mix of sweat and alcohol that spoke of the wild night my body had endured. Of course I wasn't looking much better with a head of disheveled hair, my nose glowing red from my fall off the sofa, and the large droopy bags which had formed under my bloodshot eyes.
Turning from the mirror I get the shower going and start to strip, making a mental note as I do so to try and find out where my pants where when I was done as they seemed to currently be missing in action. Kicking the cloths into a pile in the corner of the room I step into the shower and start to scrub away the nights grit and grime.
Inspecting myself as I bathed I made mental notes of my findings, some of them even sparking brief memories of the nights events. Bruise on the shoulder from a mosh pit gone awry, sore ankle from twisting it the wrong way stepping out of the cab, and finally my slightly swollen nose from when I rolled off the sofa after the dream. Blinking away a bit of soapy froth I tried to remember what it was I was dreaming about, but the more I grasped for it the less I remembered, the details slipping away like sand between my fingers.
Giving up on remembering the dream I rinse and turn off the shower. Grabbing a towel I give my head a good rub down as I step out of the shower and exit the bathroom. Draping the towel around my neck I smile, enjoying the simple pleasure of being able to walk around my apartment in the nude for a change with Josh out of town. Reaching my door I step inside, not noticing the light snoring coming from my bed till it was too late.
Lifting a brow at the odd noise I tilt my head towards the bed and gasp at the sight of a human sized shape underneath my sheets with a pair of well toned feminine legs protruding out from underneath them, a mess of frizzy chocolate colored hair poking out from underneath my pillow. My mind froze as synapses misfired, there was a woman in my bed, why was there a woman in my bed? As my brain tried to reboot the tangle of sheets started to move.
Rolling over her snoring gives way to mutterings as she starts to wake up. Sheets pull back as she reaches up to the pillow, revealing a very familiar dress. Janet, dear god it was Janet, Janet was in my bed and her dress was hitched up so high I could see her panties. I instinctively want to turn away from the sight, feeling wrong on so many levels at seeing her like this, but something catches my attention.
There, nestled beneath her undergarment on her thigh was a large stylized tattoo.
Blinking I look down at my own tattoo, then back to hers, they were even in the same spot. Of course there were differences, even from across the room I could see hers was far superior to mine, whoever had done it must have been a master at his craft. Also of course the design was different, whereas I had chosen Rarities cutie mark she had opted for a background ponies. Berry punch had always been popular with fans, but she was still just that, a background pony.
Still her odd (yet strangely appropriate) choice had my attention in a vice grip. How had I never known that she was a fan of the show? I can understand most fans not talking about it with strangers but to be so big of a fan as to get an actual tattoo, you would think I would have noticed before. Looking back and forth from it to my own I can't help but compare.
“Liam?”
The soft groggy voice of Janet broke me out of my stupor as she pulled the sheets up to completely obscure her already half hidden strawberry and grape tattoo. Glancing up I can see she has pulled away the pillow to reveal her face which is currently blushing deeply as she averts her gaze from me. “Would you mind covering up?”
A soft breeze between my nethers courtesy of a nearby ac vent is enough to alert me to a monumentally embarrassing fact. Yanking the towel from my shoulders and wrapping it around my waist I sprint out of the room, shutting the door behind me with a slam. Leaning against the door I wince at the loud noise, the crack of wood on wood echoing in my head. Apologizing hastily to Janet I push away from the door and start looking for my pants.
By the time I find them stuffed in between the cushions on the sofa my head has mostly calmed back down, It still hurt but I was ready to start putting together what had happened to me last night. Stepping into the jeans I search my pockets, pulling out my wallet, cell phone, and receipts for not one but two cabs. Finding the wallet (annoyingly) missing my ID and my cell phone dead I check the receipts finding both of them paid for with my credit card.
Tossing the towel over the sofa I groan as I plug my cell phone in to charge, I was a nosy person who loved to get to the bottom of things but having to solve the mystery of how I spent my own night was proving to be rather annoying. Rubbing my face I focus, trying to bring up any useful memories that would explain things. Stepping across the room I stare into a mirror and fix myself with a serious look.
“What did you do last night?” I ask myself in a flat voice. The image in the mirror stares back and its eyes open wide in surprise along with me as it notices the same thing as I do. “Better question, why do i have a hickey?” Alarm bells go off in my noggin as I tilt my head and inspect the deep red mark on the nape of my neck, grimacing as I notice another nearby the first.
“FUCK!”
Cursing loudly I take a step back from the mirror, running my hands through my hair. This never happened to me. I was a mousy artistic sort who like to stay cooped up in his room and snoop on his neighbors, not some wild party animal!
Taking a few deep breaths to calm down It was then that I noticed a few other things out of place in the mirror, not on myself but instead in the room behind me. Turning I reevaluate the living room, desperate to put together the events of last night.
The most obvious thing is my “Inspiration board” which has been moved out of my room for some reason. Propped up against the wall the large quark board still has most of my photos pinned to it, but a few have been removed. Glancing around I see a few sitting on the floor where they must have fallen off, but a few are collected into a pile on the table. Shuffling through them I see they are all shots of the guy in the wheelchair across the street.
Glancing at the window I start to form foggy memories from this portion of the night. Me and Janet had been looking at the pictures, she had asked about my camera on the table near the window and I had produced my inspiration board. Had I told her about what had happened last year? That I couldn't remember, all I could recall was her laughing at something as she picked out all his pictures, acting like she had before in the elevator before she had come in to dry off.
Processing this information I glance at the towels on the floor, still soggy from us using them for whatever reason. Feeling more confused than ever I instead focus on the other lead, the elevator. We had stumbled in after climbing out of the cab, riding up to my room together as she continued to play with my hair. Why had she been doing that? I couldn't remember specifics but she had also been saying some pretty crazy things as well.
Hearing my door crack I look up to see Janet exiting my room, her dress pulled back down to normal level and her shoes back on her feet. Taking a few uneasy steps towards the door I climb to my feet to help her only for her to wave at me, “No no, don't worry. I am an expert at navigating with a hangover. I can manage”.
Frowning I stand anyway and move to the door, beating her there, “Good morning to you as well,” Its true that I wanted her out of my apartment but I also wanted answers, besides, she was hardly in any condition to go sneaking back to her own room.
Seeing me standing in her way she pouts, crossing her arms over her chest. “I'm sorry but I really need to get home and shower, I'm not sure why I ended up crashing at your place tonight but I'm sorry ok? I know you're worried about Marcus so why don't you just let me get home so I can get out of your hair, ok?”.
Here eyes were still a bit foggy with sleep and she was obviously still feeling like shit from all the drinking we had done but more than anything she looked upset, probably over waking to see me in the nude staring at her. I mentally reprimanded myself for being so creepy and step out of the doorway with a sigh. “Alright, head out then,”
Sighing she moves and pauses at the door, looking back to me as her harsh look melts away to an apologetic one. “I really am sorry, I guess I really got carried away last night, right? I mean, I don’t know what happened but I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong, you're always a real gentleman Liam. I'm not mad at you or anything, I just… didn't sleep well, bad dreams and all that”.
“Bad dreams?” I echo back, thinking back again to the wisps of my own dream. What had it been about again, something about falling?
“That's right,” she nods, her gaze going distant for a brief instant. “One I have had before, but its odd because I usually can't remember my dreams when I drink,” Pausing I can't help but notice how sad she looks, but before I can bring it up she shakes off whatever she is thinking and turns the door handle. “Anyway I need to get home and get cleaned up, feeling really messy!”
Just like that she is back to her old self, completing one of the most bizarre emotional rollercoster rides I had seen since my sisters teen years. Following her a few steps I stop in the doorway to hang out into the hall, waving I call out to her. “Alright, well I had fun. Oh and happy birthday again”.
Turning she grins and waves back, “Thanks for coming! I'll see you around sometime ok?” With that she was around the corner and heading for the the elevators, once again out of my life and back to her own.
~ ~ ~
One change of fresh cloths and a rapid cleaning session later and I was once again draped across my sofa. Sighing I glance around the room, the towels were picked up, my board of pictures back in my room, and the box of Janet's alcohol repackaged. A scented candle completed all the cleaning I was ready to do just yet, now was time to kick back and relax a bit after such a long night and confusing morning.
Unlocking my cell phone, which I had collected from the wall moments ago, I once again start probing for clues. Immediately I'm informed about two missing text messages. Navigating to my inbox I start to read through them one at a time.
(470) 555-6790 Call Me ;)
Blinking at the first one I brush the still sensitive hickey on my neck. I had assumed that I had gotten to close with Janet but now thinking back to it there was no proof of that. Feeling a bit disappointed I make a mental note that whoever had sent this to me at least had an Atlanta area code. Deciding to deal with this later I open the next one.
Me and the worst headache of all time woke up in my car together, still parked near Terminal West. Heading home now, you guys make it home ok?
Recognizing Ronnie's number I quickly send a reply letting him know that both Janet and I made it home alright. Leaving out some of the more interesting details I simply add that we should catch up later today before sending the message along. Checking for any missed calls and seeing none I decide to look for clues in one last place, my picture folder.
When not pointing the lens of my Pentax digital camera out the window looking for inspiration for my art, I often take pictures with my cell on the street. Uploading pictures from the phone to my computer was easy and a whole lot safer than carrying my expensive camera with me around town.. So long as I had remained sober enough to work the phone last night there was probably a good chance of there being at least a few shots from the evening.
Seeing a large influx of new pictures I grin happily to myself, enjoying the dual pleasures of being both correct in my guess and having new clues to my growing mystery. Eagerly opening the picture file I start to sort through its contents.
The first few pictures were fairly obvious, Janet, Ronnie, and myself smooshed together for group shots and various other pics of us enjoying ourselves. Not seeing much in the way of clues I continue on to a few pictures of the band, a local group that was playing last night that went by the name “Arcane Arachnid”. I didn't remember much about if they were actually any good or not, but I did recall reading the name on the Terminal West website yesterday when me and Janet had been checking out who was going to be playing that night.
Cycling through a few more pictures of the band rocking out on stage I paused as I came across one featuring a very blurry image of Janet climbing up on stage. Blinking I stare down at the poorly cropped shot and tried to figure out what I was looking at. Janet was on stage and looked to be grabbing for the mic stationed before one of the band members, who seemed to be staring blankly into space. No doubt he was as shocked as I was at Janet's behavior, how the hell had this come about?
A few more shots follow of Janet on stage, each one more and more blurred as the crowd seemed to get more and more active. Rubbing my shoulder I think back to my half formed memory of the out of control mosh pit. Had Janet started something, maybe a fight? As the images continued the singer seemed to get over his shock and Janet, who appeared to be singing into the mic at some point, retreated off stage.
Next came what looked like a series of backstage shots, the three of us taking turns posing with the band, grins all around despite whatever had happened on stage. More and more pictures came in as we seemed to get swept up in some sort of after party, pictures shifting to a new location at some house I didn't recognize. Ronnie danced, Janet drank and generally horsed around, while I… oh well that would explain the hickey.
Stopping I study a shot that must have been taken by someone else as i was quite busy making out with the person who had crawled up into my lap. While it was hard to make out who it was exactly I could easily tell it wasn't Janet. Seeing only the back of the persons head I see a wild tangle of dreadlocks, dark skin, blue tribal tattoos, and a sexy lith body posed on top of me. Grinning I let out a long whistle of approval, this was one I would be showing to Ronnie for sure.
After taking my time to analyze the shots of the party for clues I move along till I find another shift in pace as I see the three of us packed into a taxi together. Soon afterward there is a shot of Janet and I waving goodbye to Ronnie as he climbs out of the cab and into his car. Thanking god that Ronnie had not driven in his state and instead slept in his car I skip to the last set of pictures.
Standing there in the the middle of the Centennial Olympic Park was Janet running through the circle fountain, jets of water falling around her as she sprinted. Smiling warmly I nod at the explanation of the towels that needed to dry off. After that was just a picture of the two of them together in another taxi cab, probably on the way home. She was posing beside me with a drunken smirk plastered on her face and her hands raised above her head to form what looked to be a pair of goofy tilted ears.
Declaring the mystery solved I grin as I let loose with a long yawn and stretch. I had apparently had one hell of a night, despite not being able to remember most of it I was glad to have my answers. Clicking back to the picture of Janet in the fountain I think about how full of life she is, one night out with her and I’m going to after parties, making out with (hopefully) hot mystery girls, and making a fool of myself in public. Not my typical Friday night, but still awesome.
Continuing to look at the picture something starts to nag at me. Swatting at the pesky notion I reassure myself that everything was explained now and that my nosy nature could safely crawl back into its hidey hole. Still the feeling continued to bite at me, something just seemed to be wrong with the picture, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
A sudden knock at the door pulls me away from the picture but doesn't quite pry my mind from this fresh feeling of suspicion. Standing I Stretch and move to the door, my eyes still looking down at the cell. Opening the door by route I glance up from the picture to see Janet standing in the hall.
Not waiting for me to say anything she pushes past me, barging right into my apartment. Confused i finally give her my full attention, she has showered and changed by now but looks more upset than ever. Closing the door I fix her with a concerned look, “Umm… is everything ok Janet?”
Biting her lips she shakes her head in the negative, “No everything's not alright, I just ran into Markie and hes really mad about whatever happened last night. I mean I have seen him more pissed off before but after he saw me he still looked like he was ready to do something crazy,” A sense of dread washed over me as she speaks, my face now mirroring the worry on her own.
Leaning against the door for support I curse under my breath, my legs starting to feel like jelly. Did Marcus know about us going out last night? It was innocent enough, I had the evidence to prove it, but Koontz was hardly the sort to listen to reason. Looking up to her I fix her with a deadly serious look, I needed to know exactly how bad this was. “Ok Janet, think. How much does he know, did he find out about us getting a drink last night?”.
Staring at me bewilderedly she again shakes her head. “What? No, Im talking about the mark, the one I woke up with. He’s pissed I went and got a tattoo” Pulling down her khaki pants a few inches she shows off the top of the cutie mark to me that I had noticed this morning. “See? he’s really pissed about it and I don't know what to say. He ran off before I could tell him I didn't know how I got it in the first place”.
My mind finally snaps the last bit of information together as it realizes what was wrong with the next to last photo, glancing down at my cell again I quickly confirm my suspicions. Running through the rain of water in the picture Janet's dress sticks to the side of her leg, the water making the material nearly completely transparent, showing off a good bit of leg as well as the undergarments I had seen earlier this morning when I had walked in on Janet.
What it didn't show was a sign of a tattoo of any sort.
I blinked as I realized she had just said something to me. The revelation of the picture had been quite a shocker and for a few moments I had just let my mind run wild trying to justify what I was seeing. Lowering my phone I glance back to her with a look of pure dumbfoundment on my face. “Um, sorry, say that again?”
Still looking shaken as when she had stormed into my apartment, Janet pouts disapprovingly at my lack of concentration. “I was asking what we are going to do about this. Do you even know how we got them? I don't remember much from last night but I think something like this would sort of, you know, stand out,”
Opening my mouth to start explaining what I had already discovered about last night I paused as my mind caught up to her odd phrasing. “...I’m sorry, did you say how we got into this?” It wasn't until I saw her face starting to harden that I realized that despite how smoothly I was handling this (pause for sarcasm) what I had just said may have come across wrong.
Quickly closing the distance between us and brandishing her outstretched index finger Janet begins her assault with a few jabs to my chest as she rants, painfully poking me as she punctuates every line.
“Yes as in we you jerk, the two of us. I know you are afraid of my boyfriend, I can understand that, but if you think for one second that you can just back out of this because you don't have the balls to own up to your mistake then you have another thing coming. Last night I left with you and your friend and now we both wake up with mysterious tattoos, you can ignore yours but your not going to ignore me!”
Backpedaling I try to retreat away from the tiny ball of fury but she matches me step for step, never relenting from her tirade. Bumping into the wall I raise my hands in a sign of defeat as I try and defuse the situation. “Whoa, whoa, time out Janet. Thats not what I was saying, I just didn't know what you were talking about with the tattoo.”
Janet's face softens a few degrees but she still looks skeptical as she glances down at my thigh. “But you have one too, like mine but different. I saw it this morning when you were…” Trailing off, Janet's face flushed as she glances away from me, my mind filling in what she hadn't said. She had seen my cutie mark tattoo this morning when I had walked in on her naked.
Feeling my ego cringe I mentally sigh as yet more puzzle pieces start to fall into place. Of course she has seen my tattoo, at the time I hadn't considered it as I was too shocked by her own but it made sense that she had gotten enough of a peek at me to see the triple diamonds on my thigh. The whole thing was of course already monumentally embarrassing, but the additional knowledge that she now knew I had a bright and colorful tattoo from a kids show that ended half a decade ago plastered on my ass made it that much worse.
Realizing that neither of us were talking I decide to break up the silence. “So… you saw my cutie mark then?” This really wasn't something I wanted to talk about, but anything was better than just standing here pinned up against the wall quite literally trapped in an awkward silence.
“I, well yes it was hard to miss… wait, what did you call it?”
My ego cries out for mercy as it desperately tries to tap out. Not only did she seem to not have a clue what a cutie mark was but I could already see in her face that she wanted an explanation. Offering a sheepish grin its my turn to blush a bit in embarrassment. “Ummm… you know, cutie marks, from that old show My Little Pony. The tattoos look just like them, like straight from the show”.
Janet takes a step back as her defenses finally fall, her brow scrunching as she mulls over what I just said. “Wait, let me get this straight now. You're saying that our mysterious marks are not only from some old kids show but that you know about said kids show?”.
Ding Ding! And by technical knock out my ego is downed.
Chuckling nervously I nod in the affirmative, “I may have seen it before, once or twice. Maybe more than that actually, like maybe I have seen every episode a few hundred times over”.
Janet just inspects my face for a few moments to see if I'm pulling her leg but after it becomes apparent that i'm being earnest her face cracks. A goofy lopsided grin crosses her face, her eyes watering from effort as she tries her best to keep her laughter contained.
“Bwahahaha!”
She really should have tried harder.
I sigh to myself and deflate a bit as she guffaws away at what a nerd I am. Rolling my eyes I push past her back towards the center of the living room. “That's right, laugh it up, but at least I know what they are. I didn't just get some tattoo without knowing what it was,” Wincing at how that could have come across I glance back to Janet and am surprised to see that she is still all smiles as she nods in agreement.
Grinning she closes the distance between us and surprises me a second time with a hug. “I know right? I feel like an idiot for getting it but I can't help but feel grateful that I'm not going through this alone. Stupidity loves company I guess, its just good to have someone in the same boat that I can talk to about this,”
Returning the hug my face pales as I realize exactly what is going on, she thinks that my tattoo appeared last night as well like her own.
“Liam?” she asks in a small voice. “Thanks for not leaving me dangling in the wind. Marcus isn't really the sort to be helpful in this sort of situation and I really… well I really don't have many other people I trust with something like this”.
I know its a bad idea, but I don't correct her.
~ ~ ~
“Right, So you know the plan then right?”
Janet rolls her eyes as I ask the question for the umpteenth time. “Yes Liam, its not rocket science alright? Were not breaking into fort Knox, we're just splitting up to cover more ground. I'm not the brightest tool in the shed but I think I can handle asking a few questions on my own,”
I want to roll my own eyes in return but I suppress it, she was already in poor enough of a mood as it was without me agitating things further. Janet's mood had started to go south when our research into her mysterious tattoo hadn't turned up anything. Nearly three hours of nonstop web crawling hadn't managed to unearth anything that could even come close to explaining a tattoo that could be applied so quickly without leaving any redness or other tell tale marks of its application.
Each hour that passed made Janet more and more upset and eventually she just went back to looking at the photos on the table she had been looking at the night before. She had already told when we had compared notes on what we remembered that she could not recall why she found them so interesting. As a matter of fact she didn't remember much that I hadn't already guessed, though I suspect that she may have a few clues regarding the picture of me and the mystery girl that she didn't want to share.
For some reason I didn't like the way she had giggled and refused comment when I had shown her that particular picture.
After she had become completely frustrated with my futile independent research she had decided it was time for action. It had taken a bit of convincing on her part to win me over but eventually she convinced me that what we were doing was not the best way to spend our time. This was not a problem I was going to be able to solve from the comfort of my apartment.
Janet's idea was to go visit a tattoo parlor and consult with a professional, reasoning that even if we didn't find answers we could schedule a time to come in to have them removed. Of course since this would require showing my perfectly normal tattoo as well and revealing me as a fraud to Janet I made the suggestion of splitting up.
While she was out talking to tattoo artists I would be looking more into what had happened last night. Even if we could figure out what her tattoos were we still would have no way knowing who had put them there without some more investigation. While Janet really didn't understand the importance of this herself I personally was feeling ready to burst wanting to get to the bottom of this whole mystery.
She wasn't too happy about going alone to the tattoo parlor but had eventually agreed, her need to get this all behind her overcoming her want for company.
“Come on, don't get smart with me. Both our asses are on the line, remember?” I ask, handing over the folded up directions I had printed out for her. “Its already past lunch and we need to get going if we want to get all this done,”
The short brunette nods, her unruly head of hair bobbing with more bounce than I seemed to remember from before. I swear, girls are so weird, waking up to find a mystery tattoo that should be impossible to have on either side of you and she still had times to use some fancy conditioner of some such thing.
Taking the directions from me she hands over her keys. She was within walking distance from the tattoo place, the small building being located just a few blocks away from our own apartment. I however, would be making a much longer trip across town to where this had all started the night before, Terminal West.
“So what will you do when you find something out from the tattoo guy?” I ask, risking going over the plan one last time.
Janet releases a long drawn out and overly dramatic groan as she pushes me towards the doorway. “I call you, alright? I call you as soon as I hear anything and you do the same, when we're done we meet back up at your place. Convinced I have it memorized yet? Stop over-thinking things so much or else we won’t ever get anything done”.
Before I can offer any more complaint or argument she shuttles me out of my nice safe apartment and into the hall, a mischievous grin on her face.
“Jeeze Liam, you would think that you had never been on an adventure before”.
~ ~ ~
“She did what now?”
The shock in my voice was easy to pick out and if I had to bet, I would put good money on my face matching my feelings over what I had just heard. Originally the plan had been for me to play this cool but my poker face was effectively blown out of the water. Raising a brow the man at the door inspected me with an hint of curiosity, his arms folded across his chest.
“You heard me, she got up on stage and started singing. Saved the show really”
Trying to compose myself I fall back on my old standby of rubbing my temple, my mind attempting to sort this new information. Already I could feel myself starting to get a bit upset even though things were quite honestly going far better than anticipated. I had expected to have a hard time getting any meaningful information when I first showed up but had been surprised to find myself immediately recognized and while I could not come inside one of the employees had been glad to talk to me at the door.
“Let me get this straight”, I began with a sigh, “The singer choked on stage and Janet just climbed up there and started improvising?”
The employee, one of the sound technicians I believe he had mentioned to me before, nods with a chuckle. “Was one of the damndest things I have ever seen. The guy just totally blanks out on stage and its obvious to everyone, I mean the crowd knows, we know, and the band is just freaking out as they keep playing. Then this short girl just clamors up on stage, takes the microphone and starts free-styling lyrics”.
Ridiculous, this story couldn't be true, it was practically something out of a bad teen movie. Even if this matched up and helped explain more of the pictures it was almost beyond belief that something so campy as this had happened. “... and then?”
Closing the door the technician reaches into his pockets and fishes out a half crumpled up box of cigarettes and a zippo. Lighting up one he offers the box to me, shaking my head in response he shrugs and returns the items to his pocket. Taking a deep drag he then continues his story.
“And then after a bit the spaz comes to, really looked freaked out to see Berry up there with him. Got over it once he saw the crowd was into it and the two sort of play off each other a bit, passing the mic and just letting things flow for a bit. After the song the crowd goes nuts and a few stagehands escorted Berry backstage”.
Pausing to take another long drag on his cancer stick I fill in the conversational break with the most intelligible thing my mind could conjure up.
“Wow”
Chuckling to himself the guy just shakes his head, “Wow is right, I don’t know how you forget something like that dude. I mean I know you were there, we met actually after Berry vouched for you and your buddy when you showed up backstage. Sure you were shit faced but I didn't think you were that bad off,”
Joining in his laughter I shake my head as well, as wacky as this all sounded it not only fit in with what I had seen on my cell, but in some of my blurred memories as well. “Well that's what I get for trying to keep up with Janet I suppose”
“No kidding, Berry is a freaking mutant or something, I god damn swear it. She drank me and half the band under the table at the after-party”.
Another puzzle piece fell into place with that tidbit of information. There had been an after-party with the band, no doubt the one same party I had recorded on my cell. With every bit of information about the night, things just kept getting more and more strange, as much as I doubted it I started to wonder if every night was like this for Janet. In any case she had certainly made quite an impression at Terminal west, it would be a long time before anyone forgot about Berry (as she had apparently insisted everyone call her) or how she had saved the show.
“So, you were at the after-party?” I asked, hopeful to dig up more details about what happened there. Maybe I would luck out and this guy would remember seeing a mad tattooist handing out free samples of his experiment no pain process.
Nodding he puffs away at the last bit of the cigarette. “Yup, I don't always show up to these things see but after a night like that I couldn't pass it up. Hell, half the stage crew even showed up. Bet most of the crowd would have too if there had been enough room for it to be public. Especially after the end of the show when Berry was invited onstage for an encore”.
“You're kidding!” I scoffed.
Dropping the butt of his now spent cigarette to the ground and grinding it under his boot he raises a hand into the air. “Hand to god, the crowd was chanting her name and they wheeled her out for one more song. After that they announced she was now an honorary member of Arcane Arachnid and called it a night. The crowd loved it”.
Leaning against the brick wall of the ancient building I give a low whistle. “Sounds… well honestly I can't believe it. Shit like this doesn't happen, does it? I mean I don't get out much but I'm pretty sure this is… well this is something else”.
“Pretty bizarre,” agreed the employee as he glanced at the door. Before he had told everyone inside he was taking a smoke break before pulling me outside to talk, probably wanting to catch up. As much as I needed to get information from him I would have to be quick, I was already feeling a bit guilty bending his ear for so long as it was.
“So, thanks for taking the time to talk to me…” I start, extending my hand to him and waiting for him to fill in the blank for me. Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long before he slapped his hand almost painfully into mine with a loud clap, giving it a firm shake.
“Ted, the names Ted. A pleasure to remake your acquaintance Liam”
Grinning despite another twinge of guilt of him remembering who I was despite being unable to remember his, I nod my thanks. “Pleasures all mine, I'm really glad you took the time to talk to me. Like I said before I'm just trying to fill in some blanks from last night so if you could just really quickly tell me if you remember anything… well anything that stood out about the after party that would be great”.
Scratching his stubble Ted thinks on this for a moment before shaking his head, “Well nothing too strange. I mean it was a party with Berry so there was that, she and Zed free styled some more which was fun to watch. I have partied with Arcane Arachnid before and honestly I have never seen the guy get into a flow like that before,”
“Zed?”
Ted barks out a short bout of laughter at my question. “Oh wow, you really must be a lightweight. Do yourself a favor and never try and keep up with Berry again, ok? Seriously, I thought you would at least remember him, he was the lead singer. Short guy with lots of tattoos and dreds, hung out with you a good bit at the party. Right before I left he was talking to Berry about getting her set up with a band tattoo to make her honorary status official”.
My mind did back-flips, joy swelling up inside of me. This had to be the lead he was looking for, some guy trying to talk Jannet into a tattoo the night before this could not be coincidence. Ted had also mentioned this Zed character had tattoos of his own, it would make sense that a tattoo buff would know if there was a way to get a highly detailed bit of ink like Janets overnight without any soreness the next day. Clapping my hand on teds shoulder I laughed in relief of feeling so close now to bringing this mystery to a close.
“Oh man, thanks a lot Ted, you really have been a help. Now if you could just do me one more favor and tell me how to get in touch with this Zed guy?”.
Once again Ted fixes me with a look of mild confusion. “You don't know? Well I guess you were pretty wasted and its clear you don't remember much but I figured you would know better than me how to get in touch with Zed”.
Clearly missing something I return his look as he turns and moves towards the door. “Wait, what is that suppose to mean?”
Shrugging Ted opens the door and turns back to me as he steps halfway inside. “I just mean the two of you spent some quality time together, now if you'll excuse me I really need to get back to work, boss wants the amps reset for tonight's show right away. Arcane Arachnid was suppose to have a second show but they cancelled so now we have to get prepped for their replacement act”.
Opening my mouth to press him for more information Ted cuts me off, “No seriously, I have to run. Been a blast catching up man, come back around with Berry sometime Liam, seriously you guys are always welcome but we are all in a bit of a rush today. If you want to know more about the after party or Zed you’re going to have to get in touch with Arcane Arachnid,”
Nodding towards a poster from last night for the band Ted steps back inside and closes the door behind himself. Pouting in disappointment at having the conversation end so quickly I sigh as I move to the indicated poster. Ted had been a prodigious well spring of useful information about last nights activities but I still had questions, like who that girl I had been making out with was.
Inspecting the poster my artistic side couldn't help but appreciate the stylistic choices of the band. The poster was mostly colored in shades of violet and blues, featuring stylistically rendered drawings of spiders and webbing, a heavy sort of tribal design being present through the whole thing. The name “Arcane Arachnid” was plastered across the center of the poster with the webbing in the background extending from, waist up photos of the five band members posed just above it and filled up most of the top half of the poster.
My eyes move from one band member to another, studying them and the names listed under their photos. They were all similarly dressed in dark clothing which was a bit cliche to me but at least they had refrained from any sort of stage makeup. Stopping at the last photo I nodded at the name under the picture confirmed that I was looking at the singer named Zed. Leaning closer I inspect my final lead.
Zed looked to be a young twenty something like most of his fellow bandmates but seemed to have a much more weathered and experienced look about him. Certainly the other band members were much more imposing than the short guy featured here but he seemed to have an air about him that allowed him to actually pull of the look that the others were trying for. Numerous tribal band tattoos striped his arms along with various other similar designs decorating his dark skin, when combined with his dreadlocks and numerous piercings I could only think of one word that adequately summed up the look.
Mysterious.
Steely eyes glared out at me from the poster and seemed to bore right into me, by comparison the rest of the group seemed like a joke. It was no wonder why Zed was the singer, if Zed had this big of an impact on people from his picture alone then he must be an amazing front man. It also seemed to me that the name of the band may also have more than a bit to do with the slim singer, arcane certainly was a word that came to mind when looking at him.
The longer I looked the more something started to nag at me, something about Zed seemed familiar to me. After a few moments of thinking over it I gave up and instead just jotted down the information at the bottom of the poster, copying the bands email address and contact numbers on a scrap piece of paper from my pocket which turned out to be one of the taxi receipts from last night.
It wasn't until I was halfway back to Janet's and was dialing the number from the poster that I realized where I new Zed from. Cancelling the call I open my pictures folder and cycle through to the images till I arrived to the one in question featuring a back shot of Zed as he made out with me at the after party, his feminine form sitting in my lap as his obscured face worked to give me the hickies on my neck.
“Sup?”,asked the voice on the other line. Even distorted as it was by the cellphone it dripped with exotic undertones that were hard for me to put my finger on, his accent a unique popri of unplaceable origin.
“If you're hearing this then you have tried and subsequently failed to reach Zedrich Calhoun, or just Zed if you're a fan. Stick around after the beep to leave me some deets so I can get back to you as soon as I can. FYI thats return numbers, why your calling, and measurements if you got this number from me at a bar”.
My head thudded lightly against the glass of Janets drivers side window as I listened to the message yet again, lips easily mouthing along silently with Zeds pre-recorded voice. Since leaving Terminal West I had tried calling the number listed on the Arcane Arachnid flyer but had not been able to reach anyone after a few attempts. Moving on from there I had tried Calling the number from the text, confirming that it was in fact Zed’s number but nothing else.
The first time the message played I had fallen for the simple greeting and subsequent pause at the beginning, jumping right into rushed conversation before realizing the joke. four more attempts later and I was now starting to get over my original hesitance to leave a message, something I usually disliked doing in the best of circumstances. However In this one case I’m willing to admit defeat and wait to hear the full message yet again.
“Anyway you know what to do, talk to you later!”
BEEP!
“Ummm… Hi, this is Liam, Liam Pettman. Not sure if you remember me or not but we met at the concert last night, I'm Berries Friend. I was just calling with some questions, we both have some gaps in our memory and were hoping to see if you could help us out. Berrie and I would really appreciate any info you could provide…”
Looking awkwardly out the window of the parked car at the half empty lot near the apartment I considered my words carefully. I had promised Janet that I would be as discreet as possible with what had happened, but seeing as Zed was current the only lead I was going to have to say something. The direct approach would have been my preference but since Janet was the one who was going to have to deal any fallout from this incident I was willing to do things her way. Dropping subtle hints and hoping that the singer was able to pick up on their meaning was the best I could do for now.
“So if you could just give me a call that would be great, would let me mark off something from my list of things to worry about, really help me ink in some details. You know what I mean? Well if you do please give me a call back at this number”.
Subtle, very subtle, I should be seeing that recruitment letter for MI6 any day now.
Leaving my number (but certainly not my measurements) I terminate the call, staring down at the phone for a moment before bringing up the call history. Three calls to the number on the poster, five to Zed’s cell, and two unanswered calls to Janet. It seemed abundantly clear that no one was in a mood to answer any of my calls today, an annoying fact that had made me feel slightly less bad about having ignored the single call I had received from Ronnie. The guy was fun to have around but with the mess Janet and I had found ourselves in after last nights fun I'm less than eager to spend time goofing off with the guy.
He’s my buddy, and I would to just about anything for him, but Janets fate did not rest on the two of us palling around.
Pocketing the cell and locking the car door as I exit the cramped vehicle I couldn't help but notice the nagging feeling that I had heard something similar to this line of thought before. Dismissing the notion I instead start reviewing all that I had learned while making for my apartment building. Janet was sure to have long since returned from the tattoo parlor and I was eager to share our findings.
~ ~ ~
Walking around the side of the building and pressing my way through the front door into the lobby I allowed my mind to lose itself in thought, completely overlooking Marcus Koontz until he had stepped onto the elevator with me and shoved me headlong into the polished steel back wall of the small enclosure with a powerful shove.
Bouncing off the back wall stars appeared before my eyes as my wobbly legs gave out underneath me. Still dazed from the impact the elevators loud chime echoed around in my skull as the double doors slide closed, shutting me and Marcus off from the rest of the world for some alone time. The shadow of my attacker grew as Koontz stepped over my crumpled form, twin images of his snarling face peeking out from his hoodie spinning above me.
"Ouch", I grumbled unintelligibly to the dual images of Janet's boyfriend. Leaning down over me and grasping me by the chest my perspective shifted quickly as Koonts pulled me off the ground and pressing me against the same wall my face had become intimate with moments earlier. The contents of my stomach roiled at the sudden motion but I managed to keep from spilling my lunch even as Koontz leaned into me, his weight alone keeping me upright on my still weak legs.
"Where is she?", He spat venomously through clenched teeth, his partially shrouded face inching closer and closer to my own with each threatening word.
My wits were slowly recovering after Koontz brutal surprise attack but my head was still swimming in a thick fog, my throbbing head pounding harder and harder as I felt a warm sensation growing across my brow. Blinking at the predatory face of the Apartments resident goon it honestly took a few seconds to realize what he was asking me. Judging from the growing glare of his narrowed brown eyes he was starting to tire of waiting so I quickly stammered out the best line my rattled mind could come up with.
"Who?"
Koontz wasted no time in showing his displeasure with my response as he swiftly reared back and delevered a vicious headbut, my face exploding with pain as his forehead crashed against the brim of my nose. The stars from before paled in comparison to the sea of light that flashed by my dimming eyes. Blinded by pain a wave of blackness rolled across my vision obscuring the sight of Koontz and the elevator for a short while. I didn't even feel it when my body crashed against the hard floor for a second time.
Laying there with my head spinning I slowly became aware of a distant sound. It took me a while to realize that Koontz was talking to himself more than me and longer still to regain enough composure to make since of his words. Bits and pieces of the one sided conversation floated in and out of focus as my mind rebooted.
"-ck'ing tattoos, tryin-..."
"-ole taking our car for a joy ride, leaving m-..."
"-ing from me like this, Ingrateful runt! Going to drag her ass back home where she belongs and get some answers about what's been going on around here".
Groaning I twisted my head away from the sight of the slightly dented elevator wall above me, my mind only vaguely registering what the fresh red stain was, and tilted it towards Koontz. I had missed a majority of his speech but it was fairly obvious what, or rather who, he was after. Marcus Koontz was allot of things, a drug dealer, a jerk, an abusive boyfriend, but he wasn't a moron. Somehow he had made the connection between me and Janet, true it couldn't have been that hard when I was driving around in her car all day, but still I had been holding out hope of avoiding this exact encounter.
So much for that hope.
~ ~ ~
The trip to my room had been short as always but oh how much more interesting it had been made by the antagonizing of Koontz! Between the elevator and my door alone I had manage to acquire two more harsh bruises from where he grasped my arm with a death grip as he escorted me quickly through the hall. While not as immediately noticeable as the line of crimson running down my face from my brow or my now slightly crooked nose it was still quite painful, more than enough so to keep me from struggling.
For his part Koontz was all business, his partially covered stubbly face showing little of the fiery mood from the elevator. While I couldn't tell for sure so long as he wore his prefered tinted shades I suspected from the occasional tilt of his head that he was on the look out for any interruptions. Luckily for him (and subsequently unluckily for me) no one appeared to intercede in my forced march
Stopping abruptly at my door Koontz finally released my arm but remains close at my side, staring down his nose at my from behind his shades. From the other side of the door came the unmistakable sounds of the television, which I had left off when I had left. There was no doubt Janet had made it back well before me, just as planned.
Frozen in place and with no obvious means of escape my mind blanked yet again, unable to think of a single plan to escape this mess. Koontz had me, there was no way around that, Even if I refused to open the door for him he would just beat the snot out of me and take the keys for himself. One way or another he was going to get into my apartment, and when he did he was going to find exactly who he was looking for.
Glancing at the door I contemplated shouting, giving Janet a warning about what was awaiting her. Not that there was any escape from the room besides the front door, even with a warning she would be trapped. Seeing no other alternatives though I had almost worked up the nerve to yell out when Marcus beat me to the punch, barking out a quick order under his breath.
“Shift a leg loser, get the fucker open!”
My fortitude collapsed like a house of cards in a earthquake. Reaching into my pocket I fished out my key ring and fumbled with the lock for a bit before opening the door with a click. Turning the knob I was quickly shoved aside as Marcus stepped in before me.
Failure, I had failed Janet completely. This wasn't a fight I wanted to be any part of but still I had given her safe place to work out her problem only to throw her back to the wolves at the first sign of trouble. I could have at least tried to resist, or called for help, or one of a hundred other things rather than just let myself be dragged up here to turn Marcus loose on her. Instead I had complied, and in doing so I had failed.
I am not a hero, I am not a guardian angel, I'm not even a well meaning neighbor who can be relied on in a time of need. What I am, is a coward, a coward who watches life from behind a lense and can't even endure a bit of pain to save another from the same fate. Pressing myself up against the wall outside the door I cringed as I waited for the imminent clash, unwilling to actually watch as things played out.
“Howdy”
Ok, not the voice I was expecting. A confused look plastered across my face I quickly poke my head around the door frame to see Ronnie sitting at my table casually shuffling a deck of cards. The once muffled sound of the television now revealed itself to be one of my pony DVD’s (currently playing Season 1 episode 4: Applebuck Season, if you were wondering). Scanning the room quickly It became immediately obvious that the common area of the two bedroom apartment was devoid of anyone besides the shockingly calm Ronnie and the again furious Marcus.
With a smirk I even noticed that the box of booze had been moved away from view, to where I couldn't imagine. Looking to Ronnie for answers however proved futile as he was currently locked eye to eye with my torturer, his gaze giving nothing away. As always Ronnie was the king of the poker face, and today he was proving its mettle like the glorious bastard he is.
“Something wrong?”
Snorting at the comment Marcus steps forward quickly, grasping the back of the chair and throwing it and Ronnie backwards onto the ground, his face darkening. “You know what the fuck is wrong, Janet fucking Berry is here somewhere in this shit apartment and your going to tell me where”. For his own part Ronnie seemed totally non plussed.
“Nope, just me. What makes you think she would be here?”
This earned Ronnie a quick kick in the side, I didn't hear any cracking but from the way he reeled from the attack it was more than obvious how painful it had been.
“Last chance, chubby. Buddy of mine said he saw her hanging around this ass hat last night”, he didn't say my name but from the jerk of his thumb towards the door It was apparent which ‘ass hat’ he was talking about. “Now im going to ask one more time, where is my girlfriend. You feed me that bull again and im going to tear this place apart and if I DO find her? You're dead!”
Gasping and filling his lungs with air after the kick Ronnie rolls over and brings himself up to his knees. “Fucking prick, look around dumb ass. Shes not here!”.
Stepping over the sea of playing cards now scattered across the floor Koontz started to do just that, making his way first to the kitchen. “You better pray I don't find her!”. Once the brute had turned his back Ronnie offered a quick one finger salute before giving me a sidelong look followed by a wink. It wasn't uncommon for me to have no idea what Ronnie was up to, but in this case I was immediately glad for his shenanigans.
Rushing inside to Ronnies side I stooped low and began to whisper before being quickly cut off by my friend who was now starting to gather up the cards from the floor. A simple shake of his head and nod towards the sound of Koontz steel toed work boots thudding against the floor as he moved on to the bathroom to search there gave me a loud and clear message.
Play it cool.
Still unsure of what was actually going on I did just that, Helping ronnie as Marcus Koontz turned over my apartment in search for his girlfriend. Which was actually a good question, from the sound of his cursing it was becoming more and more clear that janet wasn't actually here, which begged to question where in the world she could actually be. Compounding the mystery further was the presence of Ronnie who had somehow managed to get inside my apartment without a key.
By the time Koontz searched every room in the small apartment Ronnie and I had finished collecting the cards and the DVD had already proceeded to the next episode. The two of us watched as the walking inferno of rage marched back into the living room to find us, from the sounds of his search I dreaded looking to see the state of the other various rooms in the apartment.
“Alright, If shes not here then where is she? And dont try and feed me any bu-”
“Pinky Pie!”
Rainbow dash’s nasally yell was loud enough to interrupt Koontz as we all turned to look at the multi colored pegasus and her pink friend who replied sheepishly.
“Umm… I mean, Perfect. Now just wait for my signal.”
The three of us stood stupidly and watched as the scene played out on screen, Spike stepping outside of the library with a arm full of scroll only to be startled by Rainbow Dash. It was an odd interruption to be sure but it seemed to give Marcus Pause, his brow twitching slightly as he suddenly noticed what was actually playing on the television. Never had I been more glad for Pinkies pure randomness.
Composing himself Marcus waves an open hand towards the screen, his fire and brimstone replaced by a look of annoyance. “What… in the hell am I looking at?”.
Had I not thought that it would earn me a further beating I probably would have laughed at his confusion. As it was however I managed to contain my humor at the whole ridiculous situation and shared a look with Ronnie, the two of us silently debating in that way that only good friends can with only their eyes which of us should even start to even try and explain Ponies to the Madman in my living room.
“Its called My Little Pony”, came the response from a fourth voice in the room from the doorway, this one gravelly and deep, a voice I and every tenant in the apartment building knew well.
When I found out I had made out with a guy last night, I had been surprised to say the least. Ronnies voice coming from the apparently otherwise empty apartment after Koontz appearance had been quite a shock. By the time we had arrived here at this moment where a episode of My Little Pony had provided enough of a distraction to sidetrack Marcus from violence I had decided that there was nothing left that could take me by surprise.
Apparently the universe had decided to prove me wrong.
Standing in the doorway was none other than the buildings superintendent, Mr. Shipley. As imposing as always the hulk of a man stood just inside the threshold of my apartment, his beady eyes appraising the situation as his hands rested easily on his tool belt. Thumbing the end of a wicked looking wrench Mr. Shipley silently eyed us as the episode continued to play out behind us, even marcus was visibly shaken by the appearance of the man.
Either to stupid to know better or slightly more suicidal than I took him for It was Ronnie who broke the silence. “How did you kn-”
Mr. Shipley was quick to interrupt, cutting Ronnies question short. “Daughter, what's your excuse?”. Not waiting for a response he looks down at the floor, all eyes on the room following his gaze to the trail of red drops leading into the room from the hall. Following the trail Mr. Shipleys eyes shift to my face, a thoughtful look of calculation forming behind his steely gaze, it wasn't hard to imagine the man recreating what must have happened in his mind.
Pointing with a thick finger at Ronnie, Shipley maintains a level but dangerous voice while never letting his eyes leave from there new found target of Marcus Koontz.
“This one I have seen hanging around here before, but I think you must have gotten off at the wrong floor Mr. Koontz. Your Girlfriends apartment is on the floor below us. I think you should go back to it and wait for her, unless of course you would like to help me find out who it was that put a dent in the Elevator that is. With such a mess to clean up i'm half convinced I should maybe even call the cops”
Marcus had managed to close his mouth but still looked unsure if he wanted to start anything with the likes of Mr. Shipley. He was a bully and a real jerk, but Koontz wasn't stupid and knew well when he was outmatched. No amount of blustering would get Mr. Shipley to back down, anyone who had tried arguing any point with the man knew of his unmoving nature.
“Of course I could see about settling things myself If you like?”
The sight of Mr. Shipleys hand finally coming to a rest on the handle of the Wrench was enough to break Koontz’s will to remain in my apartment. With a defiant shrug and a huff Marcus adjusts his hoodie and makes for the door, stepping easily by Shipley as he moves to allow the younger man to pass. With a turn down the hall towards the stairs Marcus was gone without so much as a further threat or taunt.
Mr. Shipley however was not above some final threatening words. After stepping into the hall and watching for a few silent moments to be sure Marcus made it all the way back towards the door the large slab of a man turned his attention back to us, raising a threatening finger.
“I dont know what the hell you did to piss of that punk but I swear to the lord almighty above that if you keep it up and make more of a mess for me to clean up that he is going to he the least of your worries. Understand?”
Both of us quickly nodded in the affirmative, noticing that he still had his hand waiting on his wrench. Squinting his eyes at us Shipley reaches for the door knob to close it behind himself with a loud thud. I swear, that piecing look is going to haunt my dreams for days!
Laughing nervously I turn and give Ronnie a grin which he returned before wincing and pointing at my now puffy face.
“Oh geez man, what did he do, jump on your head like a trampoline?”
~ ~ ~
“Wait, so Janet is here?”, I asked while wincing as I applied neosporin to my forehead.
Investigation in front of the bathroom mirror showed I had suffered little serious damage from my scrap with Marcus. A cut had formed just above my hairline and was already starting to scab over when I started administering first aid, besides that I had a few bruises here and there as well as a partial black eye from my original face plant into the elevator. All in all nothing a bag of ice and the contents of my trusty medicine cabinet couldn't solve.
“Yup, out on the fire escape. How else do you think I got in? She was watching MLP when I showed up to see if you wanted to do anything”.
Groaning at the obvious answer that Janet had been the one to let Ronnie into my apartment I stared once again at my crooked nose. I had told Ronnie I didnt think it was broken, but now I wasn't so sure. At first I thought it was the swelling that was giving it that slanted look but worry was still welling up at the sight of it. Shouldn't it be bleeding a lot more if it was actually broken though?
“Fire escape?”, I asked without turning around or even looking at his reflection in the mirror.
“Josh's room”, replies my friend with a shrug and no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. “Seriously, you have been living here how long and you didn't know he had a fire escape?”
Finally turning I cross my arms, the throbbing of my now treated wounds putting me in no mood for sarcasm. “So I don't make a habit of going into my roommates room and checking his windows, sue me”.
Ronnie and I just stand there for a few moments looking at each other for a while longer as a nice sized awkward silence grows between the two of us. As grateful as I was for Ronnies save here at the apartment I could tell there was something else bothering him besides Koontz. Wanting to break the silence I nod in the direction of Joshs room.
“...so, any reason she is out there?”
Shrugging Ronnie waves dismissively, the serious look that had encompassed his face during the awkward pause not leaving. “Probably just thinking over all the stuff thats going on, what with the cutie mark and all. She was already out there before Koontz showed up. Sort of surprised she hasn't come back in yet though…”. Trailing off Ronnie glances towards josh's room with a slight look of worry on his face.
Groaning mentally I nod, Of course he now new. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all though, he had just endured a direct conflict with Marcus without spilling the beans. Already he had shown more backbone than I ever did.
“She told you about that did she? Sort of surprised, she didn't seem to want anyone to know”
Marcus nods in agreement, “Ya, she mentioned that to me later, but really when you see someone answer the door to an apartment that doesn't even belong to them with a different hair and eye color than they had yesterday, well questions came up and she was kind enough to get me up to speed after a quick freak out”.
Calmly, and with no amount of haste or rush my mind flipped the sign on the door to its office from open, to closed.
