-1VIVA PINATA
WORLD WARZONE
(By: Tobias Pretzhog)
PROLOGUE - Beginning of the END
"So what's your story?" a stunted, male cocoadile asked me quizzically as his facial expression stood still as stone.
"Well…" I scratched at the small earbud that was stuck in my ear earlier. It was the only thing allowing us to communicate clearly, and wearing that alone made me feel awkward. "There's not that much to tell…" I sighed, realizing someone from a meager place where I lived really didn't have a story to share.
"Oh come on, pretztail," he urged me, "I doubt your story can be as dull as my mug," the cocoadile poked fun at himself.
"Er, Okay…" I don't believe I caught the piñata's name the first time it was mentioned, I decided to attempt at guessing it, "Weh…,Wi-"
"The name's Will," Will corrected me, "but that's not important- Go on…Er" his sight aimed at the sky for a certain word to say.
"Hm?" I hummed while contemplating what he was going to say next.
"Your name!" He blurted out.
"My name?" I said as he nodded, "I… I don't believe I have a real name… Everyone calls me Pretztail," I closed my eyes and shook my head.
"That won't do, you need a REAL name," Will suggested.
"Huh?" My eye's shot open. A name wasn't a big deal to me, but it was a shocker to hear someone give a crap about it.
"You know what I'm talking about!" The cocoadile exclaimed, "you need to be called something less generic."
"But-" I was cut off…
"No buts! You need a decent name! Besides, Pretztail can refer to ANY pretztail here!" he gave out a good reason.
"Um… Well then what name do you think suits me?" I pointed to myself.
"Hmm…" Will took a few seconds to think, "… Gustavus seems just fine," he nodded approving his own suggestion.
"Gus-taa-vis," I tried emulating the name slowly, it sounded nothing like how Will had put it.
"Gus for short then," he summed it up, "you can remember that right?" His face still sat idly.
"Sure, Gus it is then," It felt awkward, but it was a name of my own I guess.
"Now that that's taken care of, tell me more about the life of Gus," I imagined his mental ears perking up right at this moment.
"Okay… Well, I come from Remtrii," I said, expecting him not to understand since his appearance wasn't as of the scar covered citizens of Remtrii. Instead Will nodded as I continued, "it's nothing flashy, I mean it doesn't even hold a torch to this place…" I gawked at the metal plating in the room.
"So you're from the slums…" The cocoadile assumed.
"The slums? What's that?" I never heard anything like it. Still, Will's face remained unchanged as he went on.
"A garbage dump to be perfectly honest, If you're not from here you either live in the wilderness or the slums," he explained as he stretched his body out in a tiredly fashion.
"I wouldn't put it that badly, but how did you know I lived in such conditions?" I questioned in awe of his good perception skills.
"Many reasons, the biggest being you possess your own language, or 'slum speak' as I would like to call it. Another is you come from someplace that has a name," Will chuckled, however his face didn't look so happy.
"I… I see," I felt stupid for not realizing that earlier.
"Do you have any friends back in… rim-tree?" He took a shot at pronouncing my town, almost nailing it.
"…No, but I do talk to other piñatas occasionally," I shrugged my shoulders.
"You still look young… What about your parents?" Will pointed out.
"Parents? …I… I can't remember having any…" I admitted.
"Well that's no good, how'd you survive?" Will crossed his arms as he studied further into my eyes.
"Scavenging, though unlike most, I scavenged around alone," I most likely implicated myself as a 'lone mallowolf' to the cocoadile.
It wasn't my style, but I just couldn't bring myself to really open up to anyone. However the only reason I'm talking to Will here is because I don't have any other choice. You see, I haven't made this clear yet but… Going outside means certain death, not outside the door mind you! I mean outside outside. And what lies out there is unlike anything I've ever seen in my life.
"Really? It's hard to imagine you're telling me the truth," Will uncrossed his arms, I knew he wasn't going to take me seriously anymore, but that's alright.
"You don't have to believe me, I'm just telling you what you wanted to hear in the first place," I stated.
"True…" he didn't argue, "anyways, I think it's time you met the crew," Will stood to his feet, "come on, I'll introduce you," He motioned me to follow him out.
"All-…Alright then," I said, not having much of a choice. Will navigated through the hallway as I trailed behind him. The steel floor was icy cold on my bare feet, making me want to request some shoes… or socks at the least. However I kept silent as we both happened upon four piñata's gathered around a table discussing matters that concerned the outside turmoil.
"Hey guys, I finally talked with Gus here," Will halted in front of me, nearly causing me to trip over him if I was careless enough.
"Oh, so that's his name," A gray fudgehog looked up from the table he was standing at and set his gaze on me. His visage held a cold vibe, however I read his eyes, they appeared to be friendly.
Reading piñatas is second nature to me. Since I never hung around anyone in Remtrii, I spied on others. Reading body language and language in general. After studying it for so long I incorporated it and attempted to predict the actions of others. Such as what they would do in certain situations, Eventually with some determination, I was able to know some of the locals without even getting knowing them personally.
"Sure is," Will nodded as the fudgehog approached me.
"My name's Phil, I'm the guy in charge here. It's glad you have you on board here…Gus," Phil greeted me as he shook my paw with his.
"On board? For what?" I looked to Will for an answer, there was something I was clearly not informed about. Will fumbled around with his paws nervously, however his face didn't show it. He had a poker face alright, but his body gave him away.
"You didn't tell him?" Phil scowled at the cocoadile.
"Well, I've told so many before…" Will began to defend himself, "they ran back to the outside in fear. They don't want to fight, so they just take their chances and just run…" I listened in.
So they want me to fight? I'll admit, what I saw outside nearly scared the mache off of me. But I know by the looks of it already, I wouldn't last a second out there if I ran now. I'm sure this place and the piñatas here would offer me the best protection possible.
"Fine then, I'll be the one to ask," Phil shoved the short cocoadile aside, nearly knocking him down as he shot me a question, "would you be willing to serve in our fight against this war?"
The way he put it made it sound so contradictory… fight AGAINST this WAR. Weren't wars supposed to be fought? Not fought against?… Then there's really only room for surrender. But I guess that doesn't matter now.
"Sure, why not?" I agreed, shrugging my shoulders as if it was no big deal. But I knew there was much, much more to come. Might as well enjoy what ever little peace I have left here.
"Excellent," Phil patted me on the shoulder and scooted me forward slightly towards the rest of the group near the table. He pointed to the yellowish pieena who was standing at the leftmost of the group. "That's Ryan," he whispered as if he didn't want anyone else to hear, "He pretty much handles the file managements of this base."
His finger followed the next in line, a female mallowolf who looked more ornery than Phil did, and actually had the eyes to match it. "That'd be Kayla, she handles the communications, but do yourself a favor and stay out of her way whenever possible, she's got quite a temper on her," I nodded and took dire note of it.
"Thanks for the tip," I murmured back, not taking my eyes off the mallowolf.
Phil then pointed at the yellow fudgehog, who had the other two piñata's full attention. "And the fudgehog right there, he's Evan, my younger brother," I listened in to what Evan was saying, some of his words didn't register in the translator, but I did pick out something about a weapon that'll stop the aforementioned war.
But what was the war all about anyways? That was the real issue for me to figure out. I would have asked Phil, but he was still going on.
"… Don't let his appearance fool you, he's the brains behind this whole base," I could tell Phil really enjoyed bragging his brother up.
"Yeah, he seems really intelligent," Phil nodded at my comment, "…Why isn't he the leader?" This was what made Phil laugh, but he caught himself, not wanting to draw any attention.
"Well there's some things even Evan can't do, and one of them's how to take charge," The fudgehog clarified, drawing me back to the hallway for some privacy.
"Ohh, make sense," I replied, trying harder to pick out Evan's flaws, but none had shown in the mere moments that pasted.
"Hey Phil!" Evan call out to his brother, "we need you to hear this too if you haven't forgotten!" Phil patted me on the back one last time before leaving me to myself.
"Make yourself at home soldier," He departed towards his allies, leaving me to myself. I noticed right off the bat Will was missing, So I really was alone. The recent solitude reminded me of home, not that I was homesick or anything, but because I missed just having time to myself. Heading back towards the room I was in previously, I realized this would be a great opportunity to mentally map the place out. This was my new home after all, might as well know the place inside and out.
"…You sure that's safe?" I heard Phil say to Evan. His speech made my translator squeal a bit. Futzing around with it in my ear, I've come to acknowledge that I'll have to learn their language soon to avoid this disability. That or the echoing of their native babble paired up with the words I've learned will drive me nuts, it'd be best to start studying what they say now for my sake.
"Completely! However this is still in the early stages, give me some time and I'll have the final product all worked out," Evan said as I strode past them making my way to the stairs.
"This may be our shot at ending this shitstorm for good," I heard Phil comment as I trailed down the flight stairs.
"Well they're at least getting somewhere…" I muttered to myself as I finished the stairs, only to find myself in an area that seemed like a place of relaxation, there were a few piñata's tapping dense balls around in an indented table using narrow sticks. I never seen a table be used in that style in Remtrii before, but I didn't stay and gawk as I moved closer to what was a wooden table ledge that protruded from the wall. There was a large opening on the other side slightly above the ledge where I pinpointed the scent of food being cooked. The table ledge was complemented with some stools for piñatas to sit and gossip at as well as obtain drinks.
The slurping of liquid through plastic straws made my stomach growl and my throat dry. I was thirsty and could use something to moisten my lips. The problem was getting one, because I bet they wanted something of value for just one glass. However I spotted Will sitting on one of the stools and luckily the seat next to him was open, maybe he'd tell me how to get one.
"Hi Will," I got his attention as I propped myself on the tall seat, I bet he had trouble getting himself onto one he was sitting on.
"Oh, hey Gus," The emotion was still gone from his face, which led me to the conclusion he must suffer from some sort of face paralysis, because no one can keep their face still for so long.
"So what are you drinking?" I chose to beat around the bush for now.
"Just some lemon iced tea," he spun the contents inside the glass around as he spoke of it, but lemon iced tea was something I never heard of, "I wasn't around to hear the rest, but have you decided on whether you're gonna fight or not?" Will asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna help you guys," I nodded, however I changed the subject as the dryness in my throat urged me to change the topic, "anyways, do you know what it takes to get a drink here?" I cleared my throat out.
"Hm?" He gave me the same dull face, but I knew by response alone that he didn't get the question.
"You know, what do I have to give to receive a drink?" I restated my question.
"Barter and currency mean nothing here anymore young Gus," Will had sprung in a hearty laugh, but it seemed so unfitting that his face didn't match it. So I tired to pretend that I didn't notice, however I wasn't doing so well as my eyes scanned his face ten times over.
"So…" I tried to get my mind back on the subject, "I just ask and I can get a drink… Free?" Something like this was unimaginable back in Remtrii, thus I relied on my natural scavenging habits. And I do admit I did succumb to committing petty thefts when I was really in need.
"That's how it works here, don't be afraid, the machine here doesn't bite," Will gave me some advice. But what was he talking about by 'machine'?
"How may I serve you sir?" I heard an artificial voice call from the other side of the opening.
"Um," I turned around to realized I was being greeted by a fizzlybear android who stood on the other side.
Robots in general were talked about in many fictional stories in Remtrii. I never thought these beings could exist, however my eyes proved that I was wrong all along.
"How may I serve you sir" it repeated again in the same monotonous tone.
"Ju-Just water please," I wasn't indecisive, I knew water would probably be a safe choice considering the strange variety they had like lemon iced tea… Whatever that was.
"Coming right up, sir," the robot departed, swiftly coming back with a glass filled with the most purest, crystal clear water I've seen in years… Something like this was one of the highest delicacies in Remtrii. I hate to admit it, but Remtrii wasn't the most cleanliness of places and so most of the water would be tainted, and drinking it would be risky. I had been forced on several occasions to drink the polluted stuff just to keep myself going, however I'd try to purify it the best ways I could before downing it.
My mouth was salivating rapidly as I gazed at the sparkling water, I didn't even realize what Will even said to me earlier. However, I had to control myself, I didn't want to show Will, or anybody else, that I was just some savage. Plucking out the straw, I placed it on the table and began drinking the water right from the glass. The taste was sensational, I couldn't believe this place and it's luxuries so far, and there was still so much more left for me to see.
"I see you're enjoying your drink there Gus," I had opened my eyes to see that I was swallowing nothing but air now. My cheeks flushed a bit as I set the glass back down.
"I'm sorry, it's just I never had anything like it…" My paw was still on the glass.
"I understand, not everyone is graced with nice things," Will took another sip of his iced tea. "…Still thirsty? You can help yourself to another if you want," Will offered, however I refused, not wanting to be gluttonous. "Eh, alright then, more for me," Will laughed with his stone cold face remaining in it's place. My seat popped me up in the air a few inches as I could sense a huge vibrating motion traveling through the earth and the building.
"…What was that?" I asked hesitantly as soon as the room settled. My eyes were widened, though it was expected that Will would remain unfazed from the event.
"An air strike, don't worry, they don't hit often," he informed me.
"Y-You sure? That sounded pretty strong," I cringed, remembering the ungodly noise of it all.
"This base is equipped with the best walls E-N-D could forge," Will knocked on the wooden table to show emphasis.
"E…N-D?" I felt out of place reciting it, "what's that?" My curiosity got the best of me.
"That would be us, dear Gus, all of us: Everyone one of us in this base. And every base like this one scattered around the land," he bobbed his head in approval and admiration.
"But what do you-… We do then?" I dug up more questions.
"Our purpose is to stop the war and to sustain peace, which would explain our name- Enders of Notorious Destruction, if this isn't enough for you, I don't know how the hell I'm gonna explain it," I could weed out his sarcasm in the end.
"I get it, I get it," I said, waving his sarcastic remark away.
"Good, you would have driven me insane otherwise," the cocoadile laughed and took another sip of his drink.
"Heh heh…" Uneasiness set in, as if he told me a joke I didn't get and he was the only one laughing.
"Anyways, you have a lot to learn- And piles and piles of crap heading your way, you better be ready for the days to come," Will downed what was left in his glass and hopped out of his seat. "Anyways, I'm going to bed, I'll talk to you tomorrow Gus," he waved to me as he departed.
"See ya…" I returned the gesture and watched him enter what I assumed was his room, I almost had the urge to follow, almost.
I wasn't a social butterfly, I was far from it, but Will however… Something drew me more to Will. Probably because he treated me more like a person than some stranger. Plus he joked about things, even though I didn't get most of them.
I decided to blow off some time by means of exploration. Leaving my empty glass unattended, I left the stool and decided to enter the nearest room to my person… Which happened to be the kitchen as far as I could tell. I was instantly shooed out by an angry female fudgehog before I could even get a good look at the place. I traveled next door and tried it, though to my surprise it was locked. I put my ear up to the door and I could hear screaming, then everything was pretty much silent. I could hear faint commands, as if some sort of surgery was underway.
I've gotten a few strange looks from onlookers who were enjoying their peace lounging on the couch. I didn't want to attract more attention so I left hoping they wouldn't continue to watch me. I went down to the next door and attempted to open it as well, but I was let down again as this one needed identification to enter, which I probably have yet to receive.
On the verge of giving up and returning to my bed, I spotted more stairs that go to a lower floor. Still unable to control my inquisitiveness, I had let myself wander downstairs, that is until I was stopped by a giant screen that seemed to drop down from the ceiling and face me personally.
"Where do you thing you're going?" Kayla's face appeared on screen, looking more ticked off than before.
"Kayla," I heard a voice from the distance call her from the monitor, "what are you doing? We need you for this discussion y'know,"
"Oh just hold on a minute!" Kayla yelled back, looking at the piñata who had the balls to interrupt her. I took a step back in fear, as if she could breathe fire through the screen and end my life in an instant. She returned her glare back at me and immediately I froze stiff.
"That's right, keep movin'!" Kayla barked at me as I finally found the strength to retreat. I didn't dare look back to see if she was still watching me, or if the screen came off its hinges to chase after me. Stopping at the first set of stairs I took, I knew that irritable mallowolf would be up there. So instead of taking my chances of her catching sight of me again, I decided to wait it out back at the bar, besides… I don't think another glass of water could hurt me.
I chuckled to myself as I sat myself on one of the stools. As the android approached me again I requested the same thing and was prompted with the glass water only moments after. I thanked the robot and began gulping down my drink, or straining myself to sip it. It was good, but I wanted such a delightful taste to last unlike the last time.
"Hey, you're pretty cute," I heard a perky voice call from behind. I assumed it was for me, but I dared not to turn around. "What's your name?" the question really narrowed it down that it WAS for me. "I'm the new guy… So it's obvious pretty much no one knows my name here…"
"I'm… Gus," I said, turning around to find my eyes only a foot away from a stunning pink pretztail's, whose age appeared not far from my own.
"I like that name," she commented with a smile, "my name's Tess," she took a seat next to me without my approval, not that I had minded or anything.
"Nice to meet you Tess," I didn't offer out my paw yet, because I still have yet to know if I could trust her or not.
"So where did you come from?" She asked… Seems like a lot of piñatas would like to know where I came from, but I guess that's natural to some.
"…Remtrii," I also expected her not to understand as her mache was flawless in comparison to mine which was missing patches in some areas.
"Oh! …Interesting, what's it like there?" She shot another question at me.
"Not nearly as great as it is here," I came to realize as I took another drink of water.
"So there's war where you're from?" This question had caught me off guard, I had completely forgot about the outside world above us.
"No, not at all, just poverty, and a lot of it," I shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"Seems like somewhere I'd rather be right now if there's no war there…" She gazed dreamily into the distance.
"Well where are you from," I decided to turn the tables with the popular question. Instantly her attention was mine again.
"Oh me? I was born and raised here. However both of my parents left for a mission… And never came back," her eyes left mine for the floor, "I've never heard from them since, and it's been almost a year now," I wish I could sympathize, but honestly I couldn't relate to the issue at all.
"I'm sorry…" Was all that came out of my mouth.
"Thanks," she looked back at me with forced smile, "I try not to think about them much," I realized it was my fault for picking at old scars.
"I shouldn't have said anything, I'm really sorry," I apologized again.
"It's not your fault, you deserve to know," the bartender android asked for Tess' order, but she shunned him away instantly, shortly returning to the conversation, "What about you… You were brought here by the dark-spawn if I heard correctly." Dark-spawn… Sounded so foreign to me, I wanted to ask about it, but I had decided to wait, "what were you forced to leave behind as they took you away?" She asked as I took another sip of water.
"Nh…Nothing," I felt cold for saying it, but it was the truth.
"Nothing! What about friends or family? Wha-" I had to cut her off before she began getting loud.
"Look, I don't have either… I ended up fighting for my own survival," I added, putting a paw on her shoulder to calm her down.
"All…Alright…" I could tell she was speechless as I retracted my paw.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me, what has happened, happened, and I'm here now, still in one piece," I directed her attention to the brighter side of things.
"Yeah… But with the conditions we're under, who knows how long that'll last," the outside world came to mind again.
"At least here, I get clean water," I displayed my glass, now half filled of water, to her.
"Again, who knows how last, we could have our water tanks sabotaged at any moment," she scowled as if I were being cocky about the whole dilemma. I knew the outside was bad, but what I heard from Will, this place seemed impenetrable.
"But I thought-" I started but Tess refused to let me finished.
"Forget what you know! You haven't seen the destruction like I and many others have!" She was steaming with fury from my ignorance right now, "They probably told you some lie, 'that it's all gonna be okay,' 'that we're all gonna be safe,' well wake up call! We're up against something that has us in the palm of its hand if we don't take the right precautions, if we don't watch our backs each night we're kept up to stay on guard duty… You, you just don't know…" She stomped off in a huff of rage as everyone else, including me, were stunned in silence. I quickly scanned the others who were around, their eyes were either trained on me or Tess, who was shortly out of sight.
Eventually conversations slowly struck up again and I kept to myself as usual. My chest ached with the pain of guilt… It was a rare pain to me, but still hurt nonetheless. My intentions weren't to make her mad, just to put her edginess at ease. Somehow I ended up fueling her fire with my words…
"Don't worry… She's like that from time to time," I heard Will's voice talking from behind me, though I could easily tell he was lying. I turned to spot him already taken Tess' spot, but this time he had nothing to drink with him.
"Did she wake you up?" I asked, more concerned about Will than his statement.
"Yeah, unfortunately," he laughed lightly to himself before going on, "she has a better chance of waking me up than the bombers do," we both ended up laughing. However I had no idea what bombers were, but if I had to guess, I would assume it was the thing that cause the air strikes that Will told me of earlier.
"Heh… I still feel bad about what I did though," I admitted to the cocoadile.
"Don't be, I said she gets like this from time to time," his lying act was a little better concealed this time around, but I had already knew.
"Alright…" I shrugged my emotions away for now, "they still talking upstairs?"
"Phil and the gang?" Will questioned.
"Yeah, just wondering," I hid behind that, I was tired, but not desperate enough to sneak by Kayla to get to my own bed.
"Probably, ever since Evan made a discovery with one of his new inventions, they've been talking non-stop," Will yawned from being further deprived of his sleep.
"You should go off to bed Will," I said, knowing it's not good to stay up past what you're normally used to.
"I should… Here's hoping she doesn't wake me up again," I winced at the words, knowing I should stay away from Tess… Incase my presence alone sets her off on another rant.
"Good night," I waved Will off, however I didn't think he heard me… Or wanted to hear me, though I didn't take it as an insult. I mean, I'd be generally ticked off at myself for doing the same thing as well if I was trying to sleep. Well I can only hope that moods will settle by tomorrow.
I decided to take my chances and climb the stairs to the main room. During my climb, I've come to realize that I've made a crappy first impression so far with nearly everyone I've met… If this keeps up, who knows what might happen. Maybe they'll kick me out, and then I'll be back at square one…Only this time it'll be ten times as worse.
As I made the last stair, the only piñata I could spot out in the room was Evan, who was very much busy with his work. I guess that meant everyone else was on break or sleeping. Not wanting to disturb Evan from assembling what could be another lifesaving contraption, I tiptoed back to the beds.
"Hm?" I subconsciously hummed as I heard faint sobbing come from the bunk room, "looks like I might not be getting some sleep then," I mumbled as the cries grew louder once I reached the doorway. Peeking inside, I saw that it was Tess who was the one behind all the crying. After I found that out, I couldn't find the strength to even enter as the guilt found it's place back inside my chest.
"Way to go…" I sarcastically cheered to myself. It was crazy… I never felt so bad about anything before, so why now? Was it because I actually got to know her a bit? I couldn't think with my emotions raging through my mind along with Tess' cries. Both made me want to breakdown myself and eventually I had myself a silent cry, plopped down against the wall away from the bunk room.
"W-what are you so upset about?" I heard Tess' voice and realized I had zoned out into my own sadness.
"…" I looked back up to Tess, wiping my tears away incase she didn't see them, but I knew it was already too late, "I… I didn't mean to make you cry," I said, deciding it was useless to hide my tears anymore.
"…It's not your fault," Tess sat next to me, "I just envy you… You reminded me of Benji… Er,,, Benjamin," she corrected herself.
"…How?" I sniffed the snot back up my nose as my voice began to sound nasally.
"Well, you both came here having nothing to lose… It's something I wish I had… But I can never pull myself away from the things I've come to know and love," she let out a miserable sigh.
"Oh… I, understand," I couldn't think of what else to say.
"No you don't!" I could tell she really wanted to raise her voice again, but she did a good job to restrain her frustration.
"Then tell me so I can!" I almost stepped down to her level of anger as well.
"Benji was arrogant and careless, knowing he had nothing to lose, he'd throw his life away and dedicate everything into putting a stop to the war," I nodded, acknowledging what she had explained. "Of course I never thought the worse would ever happen back then too, but now I know better…" she fell silent.
"What happened to him," I dreaded to say.
"He… Was caught off guard by a landmine… The only reason I know about it is because his partner came back to tell the story," I could tell she didn't want to return to her sadness again as she strained to keep her emotions inside. I guess this Benji sounded like me to an extent, but I wouldn't be going into the outside thinking I could take on the world, that's just TOO arrogant, even for me. I was only acting the way I was because I was surrounded by protection, I could afford to say what I said, or at least that's what I believe.
"A mine eh…" I recalled the object. There were a few of them re-rigged in my lifetime in Remtrii, I got to see a few of them in action from idiotic piñatas who didn't even bother to look at they were placing their feet. I mean the mine was right there in plain view!
"Yes, there was nothing left of him… Not a thing of him to be sent back to us," She snorted, trying not to let her snot run down her nose.
"I… Don't know what to say," this time I announced it to her.
"It's alright, you don't need to say anything, just know that no matter where you are, you're never safe," she warned me as I stood up, feeling bad that I was about to leave her.
"Okay…" I nodded heading into the bunk room to get some rest.
"Good night Gus," she said with a broken smile. I knew she was somewhat happy though that she got her point across.
"…I'll see you in the morning," I waved as I crawled into my bed, turning out the lamp that was next to my bed.
Time seemed to fly by as I had just sat their idly in the darkness. I couldn't sleep in something like this, at least not right away. The bed was too soft for my tastes. I'm used to spending my nights on firm piles of cardboard, covered up with pelts of the deceased, and the comfort of the streetlights to keep my company. It was just too dark to trust any of my surroundings, and each random noise had my mache stand on end. However there was what seemed like a conversation spoken in gibberish taking place just down the hall that grasped my attention the most.
"My translator!" I sought for it all over my bed, assuming it must have fell out when I was tossing and turning. Soon enough, I found it and put it in. I winced as I heard the hiss and whine of malfunction. "Must have rolled over it a few times," I silently cussed at myself.
"Are you sure it's her kid…" I heard Phil speak from the hard static of the communicator.
"Positive!" I heard Will reply, "don't you realize? He looks like the grown version of 'em!" Their talk made me wonder who the subject of the discussion was.
"Well, now that you mention it… He does look like Gustavus," Phil responded.
"You mean his father, right?" I could tell by Will's tone of voice that he was smiling right now.
"Maybe… You might be wrong about this y'know. I've talked to him a bit, but not long enough to assume anything like you have… Look, tomorrow, I'll take him under my wing, train him for the day, and see for myself," I heard Phil say.
"Alright then, but I'm telling you it's him," Will walked off downstairs, leaving the fudgehog to chew on those words.
All that lingered in my mind after that was: "Who exactly are they talking about?" I fell asleep to the question only to wake up an hour later to Tess' voice…