Chapter 4 - Missing Boyfriend Goes Into Stranger's Basement with Cat
Bea was finished with the heater by now, so she was at the Ol' Pickaxe, once again watching 80s videos on her computer. That was one of the great things about working at the Pickaxe lately. The current video was for Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts." Bea had heard this song numerous times, so she went over the lyrics in her head.
"Bea, *wheeze* Gregg hasn't come home and *huff* I'm freaking out." Angus said, walking up to the counter.
Bea took her headphones out and set them down on her laptop's keyboard. "Angus? I didn't even hear or see you come in." She noticed that his hands were on his knees and he was breathing fast. His fedora slipped off his head and fell to the ground. Bea felt weird looking at the bear without his titular hat. The alligator came out from behind the counter and went over to him. "You okay, big guy?"
"Not *puff* really. I'm freaking *huff* out!" He said, looking up. He had worried eyes behind his glasses. "I think *wheeze* *wheeze* maybe.."
"Relax, Angus. Deep breaths. Where's your inhaler?" Bea asked. The bear reached into his pocket and pulled out his inhaler, sticking into his mouth and pulling the trigger, shooting the medicine into his throat. He stood up and took a deep breath, letting the liquid do its magic.
"Okay, I'm good…" He said. "But I'm also bad because my boyfriend is missing!"
"Have you checked Mae's house yet? They said they were going to hang out there. Maybe he fell asleep or something." Bea suggested. Angus smiled, filled with hope.
"I haven't checked there. I forgot that they were doing that." Angus said, putting his inhaler back in his pocket.
"We can check after I lock up in about fifteen minutes," Bea said. "Unlike you guys, I don't leave work whenever I want."
"I don't do that!" Angus argued. "Only Gregg does that. I'm surprised, but glad he still has a job."
"Like I told Mae, it seems like the world plays by Gregg's rules," Bea said. There was a pause. "Do you think he'd be the same if you two never met?"
Angus shook his head. "Though I love theoretical fantasy situations, I don't even want to think about a world without Gregg. But he'd probably get himself into the worst trouble imaginable, especially during the time Mae was gone."
"But they get into trouble anyway." Bea pointed out.
"Yeah, but Mae isn't...what's the word...As senseless as Gregg?" Angus said. "Ugh, but that sounds rude to my boyfriend."
Bea snorted. "Angus, you do know that Mae, like, runs and jumps on power lines and rooftops?" Does he even know about Gregg's bipolar depression…? It wasn't her place to tell him, though.
"I know, but I just don't think she'd get Gregg into any deadly situations." Angus said. "I mean, they're both still alive and they've known each other forever."
"That we know of." Bea said. Angus frowned at her. She averted her eyes. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Just finish up so we can go." Angus said.
"Will do."
Back at Don George's house…
"Ugh, hurry up. I don't want old Don to shoot us or something." Mae said, looking down at Gregg. He was on one knee and wiggling a paperclip in the lock to the fancy door. He had learned to carry a paperclip with him at all times, thanks to their little visit to the Historical Society.
"That's not how it works," Gregg said, his tongue sticking out in focus. "You can't believe everything you see in movies and TV." Mae rolled her eyes.
"Says the guy that acted like a stereotypical gay when he first came out." Mae said.
"...Whatever." Gregg said, and the lock clicked. "Got it." He grabbed the brass knob and turned it and pushed the door open, revealing a white wall with nothing on it. The area inside was that of a closet, so Mae and Gregg could walk in.
"Why does this dude have a closet with nothing in it?" Mae asked, kicking the wall gently.
"I don't know. Maybe there's a secret button somewhere." Gregg explained, already feeling around the wall. The fancy door had pushed open just so that it was like the left wall of the "closet." "You gonna help?"
"You literally just told me not to believe things that happen in TV and movies. Secret buttons are some movie shit." She crossed her arms, standing to the right of Gregg. He sucked his teeth.
"Shut up and just help me." He said. The cat uncrossed her arms and now they were both feeling up the wall. Not even a minute passed when Mae groaned.
"We're literally just two idiots rubbing our paws all over this guy's wall." She said. Gregg hadn't stopped. His hands moved to the very left and he felt a crack that he could just barely stick his digits in. Once he could fit four in, he grabbed the door and, walking backward as he pulled it toward them (Mae was also walking back, until she bumped into the wall behind her). The fox shut the door and it was pitch black now, not that it was much brighter before.
"Yo, Mae, I think there's more this way. Follow me." Gregg said, already beginning to walk toward the blackness. He held out his paws in front of him.
Did we literally just have to close the door the whole time… Mae thought. At least I got my daily wall feeling in. "I think I'd rather walk next to you." She said. "This place gives me familiar vibes…" It was the same eerie feeling she felt in the caves during that one night in the woods. She moved to be next to Gregg. Or maybe it was just cold.
"Weeeak." Gregg said. "Do you need to hold my hand too?" He asked in a patronizing voice, nudging her.
"Stop talking." Mae huffed. Not even five seconds later, they were falling and rolling down a wooden staircase, grunting and groaning as pain once again coursed through their unlucky bodies. They hit the concrete floor, and Mae felt something heavy on her back. "Ow ow ow get off get off get off!" She shouted. Gregg rolled off of her, groaning.
"I know I don't say it, like, ever...But fuck that hurt." He said. Everything HURT once again. "Maybe the universe is trying to tell us that we shouldn't have gone against Angus' will…"
"Bitch I told you," Mae said. "Besides...Do you even believe in that?" She was looking up at the ceiling.
"What?" Gregg asked, also looking at the ceiling.
"You know, like, Karma?" Mae asked.
"Well, it makes sense. You do some bad shit and bad things will happen to you." Gregg explained.
"I believe that's called bad luck." Mae said. "My luck machine is just acting janky today."
"Your what?"
"Nothing." She never wanted to move again, but she's a cat and her curiosity got the best of her. She winced and struggled to get up, but eventually was successful. She held her stomach (something had collided with it while falling down the stairs), looking down in the general direction of Gregg. "Dude, there's like...No air conditioning down here, you're going to die if you just stay there."
Gregg put his arm over his face. He sighed. "Okay, one sec." It took more than a second, but he got up eventually. "I'm ready, I guess." He held his head. "God, I have a headache."
"Mm, you sure you don't want to just get out of here?" Mae asked. "I seriously don't want to get hurt anymore."
"We're already here, let's just do it." Gregg said. He thought about what might be down here and smiled, and even though his head was killing him, he was somehow invigorated to continue.
"I'm gonna go up the stairs, you can mess around down here," Mae said. Her bed was sounding really incredible in her head right now. Or, any bed, really. She began walking and slowly ascending the staircase.
Gregg listened to her steps and the creak of the old wood for a bit, his ears twitching. He held his head as he walked forward.
At the top of the stairs, Mae returned to the area where they did their wall business, and once again, started feeling around for the doorknob (on the opposite wall, of course). She felt it in her paw and tried turning it, but it wouldn't budge. "Shit shit shit shit shit." She cursed. The bastard locked us in here! But in reality, he was still in the bathroom, distracted by videos and articles on his phone. But he had heard that the duo wanted to steal some of his crap. Mae groaned. "Can this day get any worse?" Suddenly, there was a huge crashing noise and a very girly scream from somewhere in the basement. Mae knew that scream anywhere. "Gregg? Are you okay?" She called.
"My nose is definitely bleeding and I tripped over some kind of table! I think it had a bunch of paper on it?" He called. "I fell in a way that it didn't hurt too much, though! I'm coming!"
"You can't, Don locked us in!" Mae explained. A very clearly frustrated sound from the fox made Mae's ears twitch.
"Are you serious!?" He groaned.
"No, Gregg, I'm not serious. I obviously got the door open and left like I said." Mae sighed. "I'm coming back down." So she descended the steps again. She made sure to keep one hand on the wall, as the other stayed around her stomach. She followed along the wall and felt something small poke her middle finger. "Gregg, I think I found the light switch!"
There was an excited sound and then an "oh shit" and then the sound of glass shattering on the cold, concrete floor. Mae paid no attention to this as she flipped the switch and the light flickered on. Gregg was looking at her, his grey Boyfriend Material shirt covered with dirt and a few holes. His nose was definitely bleeding and his muzzle was caked red. In front of him were a few shards of glass and the metal part of a light bulb. A light buzzing noise filled the room. "I thought he said there wasn't electricity way out here…" Gregg muttered. He looked down at his feet, looking at the smashed bulb.
Mae looked at one of the lights. It was like one of those light bulbs sticking out of the wall that had a small cage on it. "I honestly don't know what to believe now…" She moved her eyes to what actually filled the basement. "Woah, Gregg. Look." She pointed with her free hand.
Gregg moved his head and his ears perked. "What the-" He blinked, studying what he was seeing.
"Well, at least it isn't dead bodies," Mae said.
Stan Borowski was home at this hour. About forty-six minutes ago he had fallen asleep after an episode of Garbo and Malloy. This episode was about some explosion in the woods that collapsed an old well or something, but Stan was too tired to really pay much attention to it. He grew curious where his daughter, Mae, could be. She was usually home by now. But eventually his tiredness got the best of him and the big cat dozed off.
He awoke to a sudden knock at the door. He had begun to drool a bit and wiped it off, wondering why he did such a childish thing. It didn't take long for him to get to the door and unlock it. When he opened it, he saw the blank face of Beatrice Santello and the worried face of Angus Delaney.
"Oh wow. Haven't seen you kids in a while." Stan said, smiling. "How's your dad, Angus?" Angus made a sour face, and Stan noticed this.
"Uh...He's fine, sir." Angus said, averting his gaze. He was obviously lying. Angus didn't know where his dad was or if he was alive. Frankly, he didn't care.
"I'm 20, Mr. Borowski." Bea said.
"One day you'll understand that you'll always be the kids to us," Stan said. "Come in." He stepped to the side and the alligator and the bear walked in. Bea had her dummy cigarette in her mouth, and Stan shut the door. "Bea, would you kindly not smoke inside the house?"
"Does it really look that real?" She murmured quietly. "It's a dummy, Mr. Borowski. I'm trying to quit."
"Oh. Well, good for you!" Stan said. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise visit?"
Angus was already sitting on the couch, and Bea was still standing next to the doorway. "Well, Mae and Gregg are finally hanging out like normal people." She explained. "I thought they'd be here, maybe."
Angus turned his head and looked at her. "I thought you said they said they were going to hang out here."
"Relax, big guy. I didn't make it up. Mae told me in Messenger." Bea said. She turned to Stan. "So, are they here?"
"Not that I know of. You can check Mae's room, though." Stan said. He trusted Mae's friends not to make too much of a mess. Well, he trusted Bea and Angus, specifically.
"Thank you, Mr. Borowski." Angus said, standing up and already heading toward the staircase. Bea watched him go. "Gregg is never this late to show up, and if so he would tell Angus. They have surprisingly good communication."
"Ah, I see. Yeah, Mae is usually home by now, but I haven't heard anything from her. Maybe they went to sleep early or something."
"We are talking about the same people right?" Bea asked. This got a chuckle from the big cat.
"Tell me if you find anything." He said, heading toward the couch. Honestly, it was more comfortable than the bed at times.
"I will," Bea said, moving and heading up after Angus.
The bear was already in the room, sitting on the bed with his face in his paws. "They're not here." He whined. "What if something happened to them?"
"I'm sure they're fine, Angus," Bea said. She looked around the room at Mae's posters and spotted her computer next to Angus. "Maybe if we can see her chat with Gregg…"
Angus' ears perked up. "I bet I know her password too." He said, grabbing her computer and putting it on his lap. The background was a picture of all of them they took recently. Angus looked at Gregg's beautiful face and felt determined. The login box sat in front of him, the cursor blinking, waiting for him to type.
"Really?" Bea asked. "She told you?" Angus shook his head and began typing.
"Well, not directly." He said. The login was successful. Angus smiled. "We had a conversation, and I guessed from that. I think the little pizza cursor she has is pretty Mae." Bea came and sat to the right of Angus. The bed was just barely big enough to fit both of them. The alligator looked at the screen.
"Donut Wolf background?" She blinked. "Isn't that place, like, dangerous to her health."
"I'm sure it's dangerous to anyone's health. Anyway, she, Gregg, and I went to Donut Wolf last week and she did not have a good time. I wonder why she kept it." Angus said, moving the pizza around in little circles.
"Yeah. Alright, open Gregg's chat so we can finish this." Bea said, looking at the little Palecat icon for Demontower. It was cute. Angus moved the cursor over to Gregg's chat icon (Angus chuckled a bit at Gregg's apparently not fascist hat) and clicked it, then messed around a bit so the chat would appear like a regular messaging app. He scrolled up and started at the first message of the day.
Gregg: Yo Mea r u redy2 break sum glassss
Mae: But Angus
Gregg: It'll be fine, he's cool. Plus, he won't find out.
Mae: Mm, I dunno. Angus is like God. He sees all.
Gregg: C'mon I've been like super depressed lately I need to do something exciting!
Gregg: And also that's exaggerating
Gregg: The Angus thing, I mean.
Gregg: ?
Gregg: Mae come back I'm booored
Gregg: Pls I will do art for u
Gregg: :'(
Mae: I was getting a sandwich ho
Mae: And nooo I know what you mean by art
Gregg: U luv it
Mae: Says the gay
Gregg: Heck yeah I love it. And ur pan
Gregg: Please. Break. Glass. With. Me.
Mae: Can't we just smash light bulbs again?
Gregg: I don't hvae anyyy and I wanna do something neewww
Gregg: I promise Angus won't find out it and it'll be the funnest thing you've ever done
Mae: Promise?
Gregg: Yasss queen
Mae: Then heck yeah, let's go break some shit!
Gregg: AWOOOOOOOO!
Mae: AWOOOOOOOO!
Gregg: I'll be at the Snalcon. Got cups on my ears, again.
Mae: Well, the ocean is pretty calming, I guess.
Gregg: U kno, porn can be pretty calming
Mae: I thought it was the opposite
"Okay I'm uncomfortable and it's clear to me it doesn't take much to convince Mae to do something." Bea said.
"You just realized that now?" Angus said, then groaned."Ughhh they went to the glass factory even though Gregg said he wouldn't." He looked sad. "I hope he didn't get cut or hurt ot impaled."
"That's a little vivid." Bea said. "I'm sure they're totally fine. The most they'll have is some cuts."
"Sorry...I'll try to stop being so morbid." Angus said. "It's just when Gregg is out there..."
"I know, I know." She stood up. "Let's get to that factory, shall we?" Angus closed the laptop and stood up, smiling at her.
"We shall."
