Author: I know it's about a half hour late in my time zone, but Happy Easter anyway. :o)
):B
Well, Happy Easter to you too, Karkat.
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High and Frightened
Karkat wakes with a jolt. He immediately grabs his head in pain, and feels that his left horn is cracked. He tries to hold in a scream, but slightly fails, letting out a small, but loud whimper. After a couple minutes the pain subsides enough for him to open his eyes. How did I get down here? He looks over and sees Sollux lying in a chair, sound asleep. He touches his left horn again. The pain is excruciating, but he keeps his fingers on long enough to feel that the horn isn't just cracked, but split at the top. He figures that conventional ibuprofen isn't going to help, so he decides to search for Gamzee's sopor stash. He carefully gets up off the couch. He remains careful as to not bob his head the wrong way or get hair on the cracks or split in his horn.
Karkat sneaks around the basement, careful not to wake Sollux. How would he react if he found out Karkat is addicted to sopor slime?
Karkat makes his way out of the living area and into this place humans call a furnace room. Unaware of the low-hanging pipes, his head accidentally brushes against one, irritating his horn. "GOG DAMMIT! SON OF A FUCKASS!" He shouts many profanities, effectively waking Sollux who tries to find Karkat but trips over the coffee table again. "Kk, you okay?"
Hearing Sollux, Karkat quiets down. "Kk, Ii heard you thoutiing. Ii know you're awake." Wait, did he lisp? Since when does Sollux lisp?! Karkat effectively ended that whole thing when he dropped Sollux down the stairs…wait…stairs…Yeah, that's how I got down here…
Quietly, hoping that Sollux or that Jane bitch won't walk in on him trying to find out what's wrong, Karkat makes his way around the room, searching every corner, every nook…hehe, nook… and cranny, and eventually the furnace. Inside the furnace he finds two round bright green trays of goo. Is this seriously how Gamzee bakes those things? Karkat doesn't care though. He just wants sweet relief from the pain that is his left horn. He reaches in and, despite the searing heat, grabs a tray and consumes the entire pie, still mostly unbaked, but has the same effects. Within minutes his pupils are dilated and he's hearing colors and tasting sound. He looks down at his hand, which is red and burnt from the red hot pie tray he pulled out of the furnace. "I should probably treat that," he says in a weird, childish, innocent tone, but right now, he's just too high to care.
He stumbles out of the furnace room and back into the living area, where Sollux has found his way back into the chair, still waiting for him to respond. Karkat silently creeps past him, moving into the downstairs parlor. He never could understand the difference between the living area and the parlor, given that the words mean the same thing, but the Egberts and that Crocker bitch insist otherwise.
Upon entering the parlor, Karkat "silently" trips over air, alerting Sollux of his presence. "Kk, you can thtop tryiing two hiide. Ii already know you're down here."
What exactly doesn't Karkat want Sollux to know again? He forgets. "Solus, can u help me fine Gamze's slime shot?"
"What the fuck? Kk, are you high?"
"So moterfuckin' hi. You have know ideas."
Sollux does a facepalm x3 combo. x3 because Karkat joins in and slaps him, thinking that is the object of some game Sollux is playing. "Kk, Ii think you miight have two lie down for a bit."
"Why, Slolux?"
"Becauthe you're tho doped up on thopor thliime that your thpeech ith thlurriing."
"Hehe, you tok funny."
"Yeth, Ii can thank you for that." he grabs Karkat's wrist quickly while he still knows where it's at and drags the unwilling, high, usually ill-tempered troll over to the coffee table, where he flings Karkat the rest of the way to the couch so he doesn't have to risk tripping over it for the umpteenth time. He fails at not falling when he accidentally brushes too far against it and loses his balance, knocking his glass of water off the table and onto the carpet.
.
.
"Guys, my head hurts," John complains.
"John, our heads hurt just from you talking," Dave becomes increasingly impatient with the weretroll with every word spoken. Everyone's heads hurting is actually an understatement. As is John's headache.
"Seriously, guys, I feel like I'm about to pass out."
"Just hold on for about another twenty minutes, John. We're almost to Kanaya's and my house." Rose attempts to be comforting, but there exists a hint of frustration in her voice.
Another twig snaps behind the group. "Guys, seriously, that's like, the sixth snap I heard behind us." John attempts to complain. It seems that's all he's good at at the current moment.
"John, I wouldn't be quite so sure it was behind us," Kanaya says, a hint of fear in her voice.
"What do you mean, that was definitely behind us. It sounded like it was only a few feet behind me!"
"John, Look!" Kanaya points in front of her. John looks around her and sees a tall figure with horns that seem taller than Gamzee's, if that's even possible. One horn curves inward and comes to a sharp fishhook point. The other splits around the middle and swirls into three different spirals. It wears nothing but a loincloth and a pouch on its back. It has a weird symbol tattooed onto its bare chest. It stands, bearing its razor-sharp fangs and growling at the group, arming what appears to be a bow with a razor-sharp bone arrow. Seeing this, Kanaya goes into an adrenalin rush and pulls out her jade-colored lipstick, which quickly transforms into a revving chainsaw. She runs toward the wild troll and is almost hit by a car speeding along, running over the wild troll and slamming on the brakes. The driver turns on the headlights, which reveal three more trolls behind the six kids and Kanaya. The window rolls down. "Kids, get in the car, now!"
"Dad!" John becomes the most ecstatic kid in the group when he hears Dad's voice. They open the car doors and rush in as the wild trolls begin running toward the vehicle. When the last kid enters the automobile, Dad slams the accelerator down to the floor before the doors can close, effectively wiping out two of the trolls. About a hundred feet down the country road, he makes a sharp three-point turn and slams the accelerator to the floor again, running over and killing the last troll. He speeds off toward the city. His hands remain white-knuckled for several miles after the incident.
"John, you should really keep your phone fully charged." Dad has a stern tone in his voice, but there is a hint of relief there as well.
"Sorry, I think that weird explosion wiped out most of the battery life."
"It's okay. I was just extremely worried about you all."
"Is Karkat okay," John says, hoping to move the conversation over to something else and not make it awkward."
"I sure hope so. The poor guy was left all alone when me and Gamzee—OH MY GOD, I FORGOT GAMZEE AT THE GAS STATION!" A sudden realization sets in as Dad looks around the car and gets a worried expression on his face. Actually, it was more terror than worry. Sure, he doesn't like Gamzee very well, but the juggalo does frighten the shit out of him sometimes, and he just wants to stay on the creature's good side. "Kids," he tries to stay calm-ish, but fails, "we'll be taking a short detour before I return everybody to their proper homes…probably for the last time in my mortal life…"
"Mr. Egbert," Kanaya tries to be reassuring, "if it means anything, I don't think Gamzee will kill you for leaving him alone in a strange place. That happened once back at our old homes and the guy was only in the intensive care unit for about three weeks before he was sent home. Of course he became a quadriplegic after that, but I don't think he'll kill you." Okay, that may have failed at being comforting.
"Yeah, that makes me feel better." He then finishes off with, "I'd rather be dead than quadriplegic," under his breath.
Back at the gas station, the poor, abandoned stoner has struck up a friendly conversation with the clerk. The station was supposed to close a half-hour ago, but the clerk decided to let Gamzee stay until someone picks him up. Call the clerk crazy, but Gamzee is actually appealing to him. He might try to get his number, assuming Gamzee even has a phone.
But that chance wouldn't come tonight because finally, minutes later, Dad and the kids and Kanaya pull into the parking lot. Seeing this, Gamzee quickly finishes up the conversation and says goodbye to the clerk. The clerk says his farewell as well and wishes Dad good luck. Gamzee seems hot about being left behind.
Gamzee hops in the passenger seat in the front of the car. After he closes the door he becomes serious, even though he is extremely high. "So, is this a new trend goin' on; leave the motherfuckin' clown alone at gas stations?"
"Gamzee, I swear I didn't mean to leave you behind." Dad pleas to Gamzee, trying to receive his forgivness. "I was just exited to find out that the others behind you were still alive that I guess I was just in too much of a hurry to find them that I forgot that you were with me. Just please don't hurt me."
"Nah, motherfucker, I ain't going to hurt you now. It's too dangerous with everyone else in here. But sometime, somewhere, somehow, I will summon all the motherfuckin' miracles I can to exact my revenge upon you. It may be later today, it may be next year, or it may be three minutes into the motherfuckin' past. But believe me when I warn you, motherfucker, there will be bloodshed, and I will drink and bathe and paint with that blood for as long as it flows from your limp, almost lifeless, pathetic body! Your body will become my bitch, and I will become its murderous, bloodthirsty pimp, you understand that, motherfucker?" Gamzee stares at Dad coldly, with a bloodlust showing clearly in his indigo irises. Dad gulps loudly and nervously as he nods, feeling Gamzee's murderous glare on his jugular vein.
It's a good thing Gamzee is high off his motherfuckin' rocker right now.
