Well, sorry this took so long to make, hadn't really had any inspiration towards this story, but now i'm gonna give it a try.
Also, if you haven't noticed yet, the story is being dictated to someone, but you won't find out who's telling it, or who's listening until the end of it.
Meth has to be introduced at some point in this chapter in order for it to make sense later on, and some other characters may come into play.
Let's get going.
When Lumpy finally arrived to the scene with Sniffles in tow, he wasn't prepared for what he saw.
Of the two Ambulances that were already there, one was leaving in a blare of horns and flashing lights. Several of the neighbors had come out to watch the event unfold, but they all kept a wary distance. The driver and navigator of the remaining truck were both leopards, and seemed to be arguing with each other, while a third came running from the back of the vehicle carrying a bag.
In the waning light of the sun, the sky was turning a dark shade of purple, and Lumpy couldn't make out any of their features, and none of the twisted and mangled remains of the vehicle.
As they moved closer, however, the red and white lights of the Ambulance illuminated more than he wanted to see. When they moved past the car there was another paramedic talking quietly to the passenger who remained upside down.
"It got dark really quickly, Mr. Lumpy." Sniffles said nervously as they approached the ambulance.
The driver who had been arguing turned to face the two who were approaching.
"Stay back, we have everything under control."
Lumpy removed his wallet from his pocket and opened it before showing it to the paramedic, "I am a scientist for the Military, I am trained in C.P.R and Micro-Engineering. I can help."
The paramedic who had been carrying the bag dropped it and blew smoke from his mouth, "Ain't much help you can do. We have to wait for the fire department to show up with the jaws of life. The car's so crumpled, it's holding everything in place. The person trapped is seven months pregnant, so we can't cut the safety belt until we have a way to keep her from falling."
The driver shook his head and sighed, "Seven fires downtown. Seven! It's chaos. If I was a religious man, I'd say the whole world is going to hell."
Lumpy looked to the rear half of the car and saw the empty booster seat.
As if reading his thoughts, the driver nodded towards to his left, "The car spun on wet pavement and slammed into the overturned truck."
Lumpy glanced towards the still burning truck, then the spot next to it.
Following his gaze, the driver continued, "The driver of the vehicle was thrown into the air when the tank blew. He would have died when he hit the pole, but luckily he was wearing a hardhat. The motor from the truck landed on his hands and he was unconscious when we found him."
A loud scream from the remains of the sedan caught their attention, but after a moment it was replaced by the heavy breathing they had heard before.
"The badger had a kid in the backseat, they took him to the-"
Lumpy stopped him and turned to Sniffles, "Why don't you go get your father? Perhaps he can help in some way."
Sniffles nodded and ran off in the direction of his house. The trip would take nearly ten minutes one way, so he wouldn't be present should anything else happen.
The driver nodded at the moose, a new found respect now residing on his face, and continued, "The other ambulance took him with the beaver, but he didn't look too good."
Lumpy turned to where another scream escaped the sedan and the paramedic came rushing over shaking his head, "If we don't get her out soon we're gonna lose both of them. She's weak from hanging upside down, and the kid is nearly three months early. It'll take a miracle to save it."
Lumpy kept his gaze fixed on the car, and barely heard the driver yelling to call the fire depot again. Lumpy nodded slowly and ran toward his house.
"Where you going?"
Lumpy yelled back to the driver, "I have an idea!"
Upon reaching his driveway, Lumpy was sweating and out of breathe, yet he still saw the glowing form of a person standing in the middle of the street.
It seemed to be a teenage bear with long black hair. He appeared to be glowing due to the white color of his fur. He kept a cold gaze centered on the moose while simultaneously lifting his cigarette to his mouth, a task only achievable by a seasoned user of nicotine.
Lumpy, who had unknowingly settled to a stop on his driveway, had begun a slow approach to his house, half intrigued by the thought that he had met him before, half by the curiosity of what was inside the bag he had slung over his shoulder.
He nodded smugly and backed into the darkness until only three red orbs remained visible, one was the cherry on the cigarette, the others appeared in the same space his eyes were.
Overcoming the fear of turning his back on this remembered stranger, he hurried into the house and ran down the stairs to his lab.
Pushing the event from his mind for the moment, he returned to the task at hand.
There isn't anything he can do about the fire crew arriving any sooner, but maybe he can free the victim so the medics can leave to the hospital sooner.
In a flurry of movement, he quickly combines an ounce of nitroglycerin with a small dose of sodium chloride. He slowly tips the vial of the solution he made onto the base of his metal workbench and a small drip slides to the surface. In a puff of smoke, the liquid takes on the effects of an acid and the metal begins to rust and eventually disintegrate into a harmless powder of flakes.
"Hmm..."
Lumpy turns back to his desk and pulls over a potted plant he had growing under a black light and snaps off the stem of what appears to be a large and thick blade of purplish grass.
From the snapped end of the severed plant small drops of pure chlorophyll begins to drip out, and he quickly holds it over the vial, not wanting to waste any of his precious experiment. With only two more of his plants left, worth over two and a half years of his life spent on research, he should be more careful of their use.
Happy with the creation, he caps the vial and shakes it as he climbs up the staircase and leaves his house.
A passing glance over his shoulder shows the street to be deserted of anyone, excluding himself.
Arriving to the scene for the second time, the paramedics are now actively involved in trying to lift the remains of the vehicle.
After only budging an centimeter, if that, they give up and slowly allow the shell to fall back to its place.
Breathing heavily, the driver shakes his head as Lumpy approaches, "No use, too heavy to lift," glancing back, the driver whispers, "It's not looking good, the fire department is delayed another ten minutes, at least. If you have an idea, we better try it now."
Lumpy nodded, and approached the wreckage, "Get over here with your bag of tricks."
The paramedic returned to the side of sedan and placed his medical bag safely away but within his close reach.
Lumpy nodded and looked in through the window, "Okay, cover your face if possible."
The victim moved her arms slowly, however only one moved enough to cover her eyes.
Lumpy stood up and pulled the vial from his coat, "Okay, when I pour this on the metal," he says to the driver and navigator, "The car is gonna begin to rust. I need you to be prepared to lift her."
They nod and begin to quickly crawl beside the vehicle.
With a sigh Lumpy removes the cap from the vial and raises it over where he believes the victim is directly under.
"You have a shot of Tetanus in your bag?"
The paramedic nodded and replied nervously, "Yeah, but I'm gonna need something stronger than that when this is all through."
If Lumpy thought the joke was funny, he showed no sign of it. He tilted the vial and a good half of the liquid landed on it's mark. A hiss of screeching steel told him to step back and be prepared to help the others.
The exhaust was the first to go, it's sleek and shiny pipe turned into a brown spotted piece of fragile steel. Once that broke away, everything else picked up in speed. The steel floor pans began to sag inward before splitting and disappearing altogether.
The remnants of the uni-body frame took longer, but in the end succumbed to the power of the aging liquid. Looking to the back of the car, he realized he forgot one small detail. As the fluid entered the exhaust pipe, the angle of the vehicle caused it to run to the rear end and pool in a bent spot directly above the gas tank.
Lumpy removed his lab coat and slid it through the opening of the floor to protect the victim from flurries of rust, then began to punch in the remaining parts of the connected metal.
"We have to hurry, it's beginning to rust through to the tank."
Lumpy kicked in the rocker panel, which wouldn't rust due to the fact it was fiberglass, and assisted the driver in hoisting the patient.
Now free from the vehicle, they carried her to where the other paramedic had wheeled over a gurney when Lumpy was looking.
"Damn," said the driver while the rest began to load the ambulance, "I don't know how you did it, but you may have just saved her life."
Lumpy nodded and waved him towards the waiting crew.
"Well," came a familiar voice from behind him, "Good to see you still know how to save the day."
Lumpy turned to see Dr. Mitchell walking towards him, leaning considerably more, than he used to, on his cane. Now a man of nearly sixty-five, the anteater seemed spry enough to challenge that statement.
"Only when it applies," replied Lumpy, picking up his lab coat from where it had fallen.
Dr. Mitchell nodded and looked at the wreckage of the scene, "Seems this neighborhood has had it's share or excitement today."
Lumpy looked over the scene and the crowd of bystanders now returning to their homes, deciding there was nothing more of interest.
Lumpy walked toward the leaning lightpost and threatened the law of gravity by placing his weight against it.
Dr. Mitchell slowly leaned over the Sedan's flaked remains and picked up a pinch of the powder, "Still using some of my old tricks, eh?"
Lumpy shrugged and tossed the vial to him, "Had to use some of my remaining magic plant."
Dr. Mitchell chuckled at the joke and inspected the contents, "Ah, that's why it didn't harm her. The special chlorophyl tuned into the other organic life form."
The slow trickle of the escaping gasoline had turned into a river of the flammable variety. When the hole rusted wider, it had caused more to escape.
A quiet explosion caught their attention and they both looked in the direction of city to find a plume of smoke rising over a soft orange glow.
Dr. Mitchell shook his head and with a sigh walked towards Lumpy, "The fire department will be delayed even more. Shall we retire to my estate and discuss the days events?"
Lumpy nodded and they both began walking towards the gate at the end of the road.
"Actually," Lumpy began, slowing his pace so the doctor can keep up easily and talk at the same time, "I saw someone outside of my house earlier. He looked familiar."
"How so?"
"Well, he was about this tall, had black hair, and had to be in his teens. He was pure white, and had red eyes. The area around them were red, almost like he had painted himself, but it wasn't paint."
Dr. Mitchell stopped suddenly, "You don't mean,"
Lumpy nodded, "Yes, it appears to be the test subject from Black Rain."
Dr. Mitchell shook his head and began walking, "If that's so, I also have something to discuss with you, but let us wait until we are safely inside. Can't risk any spying neighbors listening in."
Well, there it is. Sorry it took so long.
Pop will be in the next one, along with some dialogue from Meth. And, we'll also find out what they're gonna talk about.
Thanks for reading, and thanks to all the reviewers!
