Hey there, best friend! New chapter is new! Just look at it!
Lately, I have been debating with myself over whether or not this fic should have so much cursing. Some have said that it's too much. Others have said that they think it's just fine. So I've come to some twisted sort of compromise. Volatile amounts of inappropriate language will be prevalent for the remainder of THIS fic, HOWEVER my NEXT fic will have little-to-no language in it. "But what IS your next fic?" Oh, I'm so glad you asked. I'm juggling three different ideas around in my head, all of them having a big focus on Rip Runner (that's Rev's brother, for those not "in-the-know"). So, uh, yeah. Here is Chapter... 10! HOLY CRAP TEN ALREADY?
(P.S. – Please, if possible, could you tell me which chapter so far has been your favorite? I'd really appreciate it, thanks!)
Wow, I have been gone for a while. I feel so bad for not uploading anything for so long. I am sorry, and I WILL make it up... somehow...
*ahem*
Heroes Aren't Forgotten
Chapter 10 – Reality
Tech E. Coyote, hero to millions, is wearing a blue suit, dark brown dress pants and red tie. His brown fur complements the colors nicely.
He strolls out onto the brightly-lit stage, a spring in his step, a grin on his face and a look of confidence in his green eyes.
There is a podium, wrapped in black wires and what look to be a dozen microphones mounted atop it. He stands behind the podium, unnerved by the massive auditorium before him.
The room is filled with folding chairs, hundreds of folding chairs, thousands of folding chairs, brightly lit, yellow light from yellow chandeliers. And the walls, which are bare save for some ugly yellow wallpaper.
But wait – something's wrong.
There is no one here.
Confused, Tech's eyes dart around the room, desperately searching for someone, anyone.
He is alone. And it is
silent.
Now he steps up from behind the podium, walks to the edge of the stage, looks down. He sees his shoes, black loafers, with white dress socks.
He jumps off the stage, feels like he's floating
until his foot lands on one of the chairs.
It gives way beneath him, and he comes crashing down, down, down, until he hits the ground, but it does not hurt. He quickly stands back up, giving his shoulder a nonchalant dusting.
He turns and looks to the chair, the one he jumped onto, and sees it tipping over slowly, too slowly, as if it were floating to the ground.
It hits the ground and
the clatter of the metal chair rings through the coyote's ears, but the noise never stops. It echoes, getting louder and louder and louder and louder and-
-The coyote covers his ears, eyes wrenched shut, jaw clenched, sharp teeth grinding together-
-louder and louder and louder and-
-The noise is too much to bear, it crushes down on him, taking strength from his knees and forcing him to the ground-
-louder and louder and-
-now he jerks violently on the ground, screaming in agony as-
-the noise stops.
Surprised, Tech E. Coyote opens his eyes and cautiously pulls his hands from his ears.
Something's definitely wrong here.
He rises from the ground, facing the stage. But there is no more stage.
Just a wall.
His head darts left and right, searching for chairs that are no longer there.
"What the-"
The coyote steps forward, toward the yellow wall, and stretches his arms out, feeling, as if searching for something, a trap door, maybe, or a-
"Hiya-there-Tech!"
He stops, arms still out, dead still, not even breathing. Then he relaxes.
He spins around and, sure enough, there he is, the blue roadrunner, his yellow beak twisted into a fantastic grin. He looked to be dressed nearly identical to Tech, a blue suit, a red tie and brown dress pants, except the roadrunner's state of attire is a bit of a mess, his tie loosened, his shirt unbuttoned, and one black loafer missing.
"Rev, do you have any idea what's going on here? I mean, the stage was just-"
"Hiya-there-Tech!"
Tech's face grew quizzical and he motioned over his shoulder.
"Yeah, 'hi Rev.' Now am I crazy or was there just a stage with a big podium on it behind me, because I-"
"Hiya-there-Tech!"
He was getting annoyed now.
"Wow Rev, you must have really lost a lot of blood, because I'm getting the impression that you have something seriously wrong with your head."
The roadrunner pointed to his head, and for the first time Tech noticed that the giant purple crest atop his head was moving, almost like it were swaying in the breeze.
"Oh-no-Tech-I'm-just-dandy-you-don't-have-to-worry-about-a-THING-or-at-least-a-thing-about-me-because-I'm-pretty-sure-I-don't-see-a-podium-there-not-that-I'm-calling-you-a-lier-or-anything-I-mean-all-I-see-is-a-door-but-what-I'm-trying-to-say-is-maybe-YOU'RE-the-one-with-the-head-injury."
The coyote spun around and, sure enough, there it was, a door, bright red, with a single round brass doorknob. Tech let out a nervous chuckle and raised his right hand to the back of his neck.
"Ya' know, Rev, I think you just might be right."
Tech looked back at the roadrunner, who was jumping up and down.
"I-feel-like-playing-a-game!" he chirped.
"I-know! TAG-ooh-I'll-run-first!Guess-what-Tech-you're-IT!"
And just like that, he ran past Tech, threw open the door, and was off.
Just like that.
"Okay, that can't be Rev... can it?"
He chuckled.
"Maybe I am insane."
Tech looked at the door.
Looked past the door.
He saw a hallway, walls all covered with that sickly yellow color. God, was this place ugly.
As he stepped through the doorway, something crunched beneath his feet. He lifted his shoe to find a black button, split in two. He looked down at his own suit, blue
with black buttons.
Except this one came from Rev.
This was the longest hallway Tech had ever seen in his life. It just... went on forever.
He ran, ran for hours, huffing and puffing, every now and then stopping to take a break, telling himself to just give it all up. But then he'd hear Rev's voice, echoing down the hall to him:
"C'mon-Tech-if-you-REALLY-want-something-you-gotta'-WORK-for-it-everyone-knows-that-well-everyone-but-YOU!"
As he ran, Tech kept finding more and more pieces to Rev's outfit, sometimes another button or two, other times a whole piece of blue or brown cloth. Tech had ran by so much clothing he figured Rev must be nearly naked.
"Okay, this is really strange."
He had begun to pace how often he would discover a new piece of clothing. Tech guessed that every two-hundred feet he found something. God, his lungs ached. And his knees, oh god, his knees felt like Jell-o.
But he would find Rev.
And then there were feathers.
Blue, like Rev's.
Tech held one in his hand, looked at it, and couldn't take his eyes away.
The coyote stood there, in the dim yellow hallway, stance quavering
and then he collapsed.
Ohhh, was he tired. He could barely breath, his chest hurt so much.
He just needed to rest.
"This is stupid."
…
Now he yelled, "REV? YOU STILL THERE?"
…
Silence.
The coyote stood. There was no time to rest. He needed to end this.
Feathers, so many feathers he was finding, and it seemed that he found them more and more often.
Damn, now they were everywhere! So much blue!
Blue, blue, blue, red, blue-
Red?
Tech looked down, searching for the outlier. He kneeled down, muscles tightening in agonizing protest.
This feather was red. And wet.
Oh shit.
He was sprinting now, yelling as he moved.
"REV! REV, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"
Bones crunched beneath his feet, hollow bones. He didn't care. He slipped and skidded in puddles of blood, nearly loosing his balance
but he kept his pace.
He was moving faster now, faster than he had ever ran before, too fast, and
he tripped.
The hard, wet floor smashed into his face, shattering his jaw. Pain shot up through his neck and his chest. He lay there, moaning.
"Ohhh, owwww..."
Slowly, he rose, one shaky hand pushing from the floor, the other grasping desperately at his midsection. He pulled his knees up and, shifting his weight to his backside, put his back to one yellow wall.
The entire front of his once-blue suit was now soaked red with blood, and he could feel the warm liquid quickly soaking through his pants as well.
The coyote's mouth was open, jaw at a slight slant. He couldn't close it. His green eyes, once hopeful and determined, now pervaded by a loss of hope, a willingness to give up, stared silently at the wall.
No more. It isn't worth it.
Then he heard Rev.
"But-you've-already-done-so-much-how-can-you-give-up-NOW?"
Tech looked down at himself, at his blood-soaked clothes, his blood-soaked fur. A paw rose up, cautiously, to touch his jaw, which hummed with a dull pain.
No, Rev, just... no...
"C'mon, Tech! You're-oh-so-close-and-you-know-you'll-NEVER-forgive-yourself!"
Cheery and care-free.
The coyote's eyes looked left, then right. Bones and blood.
Rev, I'm not sure I want to reach the end of this hall. I don't think I want to see what's waiting for me.
"Awww, don't-be-like-that! And besides, the-only-thing-you'll-find-down-here-is-me!"
Exactly.
"But Tech, we're-"
GODDAMMIT REV JUST SHUT UP AND DIE SO I CAN STOP!
Tech E. Coyote wrapped his arms around his knees and pulled them to his chest. His ears went flat and his eyes closed.
No more, Rev. This is too much for me. I can't take it.
I can't take it. I can't take it. I can't take it. I can't-
"-Take it, I can't take it, I can't-"
"-Tech?-"
"-take it, I can't take it-"
"-Tech-that-is-terrifying-"
"-I can't take it, I can't take it, I can't-"
"-TECH-TECH-TECH-TECH-TEEHHCH!-"
"...What... What is it?"
"-Sorry-to-be-a-bother-but-it's-already-hard-enough-to-sleep-without-your-PSYCOTIC-NIGHT-TIME-RAMBLINGS-honestly-that's-insanely-creepy-"
"Yeah... Yeah, Rev, whatever. I'll try to keep it down, just... don't wake me up again... trying to sleep..."
"-It's-freezing-cold-my-head-hurts-and-YOU'RE-the-one-complaining-about-sleep...-"
...
"-DAMN-what-idiot-said-that-counting-sheep-was-a-good-idea...-"
...