Chapter 6: Back to 'good'
One touch, one look, that is all it takes
These things forever change us
---Seal "State of Grace"
"Hey, there he is!"
"Welcome back, cueball!"
"The little fucknut is still alive, eh?"
"Can it," I said as Smiley attached my cuffs to the ring on the cafeteria table. I sat down and eyed the goop with some distaste. Although I was used to it, it was getting boring.
"Didn't know you were such a badass," said Ernie. "Getting into solitary. None of us ever went there."
I didn't say anything.
"So quiet? Usually you never shut up." Ernie laughed at his weak sarcasm.
I concentrated on the goop.
Tattle leaned over our table and shook his finger at me. "I hope you learned your lesson, Overlander. Don't screw with me."
Ernie waited till he was gone before he spoke again. "Maybe we could bust outta here. Then I can see my honey again."
"Yer honey?" asked Drago.
"Eh, I'll call her anything just to get into her pants."
Drago laughed and slapped Ernie on the back.
"You don't really love her?" I asked.
"Who cares if ya love her or not? As long as ya screw her," Drago spun his empty bowl around on the table.
"So...you think lying to get sex is right?"
"Course. Long as ya get between them legs." Drago laughed again.
I frowned, feeling the skin between my eyebrows crinkle up. He gave me a sidelong glance, his pupils dilated like a cat's. "What, cueball? Ya got a problem with that? Mr. Morality over here gots a problem with it."
"Little wussy pussy," snorted Sleuth. "No wonder he ain't ever got pussy. Not with them shining standards of his."
"No...he ain't never got pussy because he likes the rump roast better! Ha ha!" Drago pounded on the table, making all our bowls bounce. I glared at him.
"I happen to prefer women, Drago."
"Suuuuurrre!"
"C'mon, Sniv', come clean. You can tell us!" Ernie chuckled.
I debated whether or not to throw my bowl at him, but decided not to. I didn't want to get into any more trouble.
They had their fill of teasing me for the day, and moved on to converse other things, mostly the events in Ernie's newest porn book. I ignored them and drifted off into other thoughts.
Most of my early sex experiences (well, sex-related, not sex itself) were pretty odd. Probably because most of them came from Devon, my cousin. At the time we didn't think of it as sick. We were just dumb kids, but it never went further then touching.
She was a nutcase, that girl. She liked me. How stupid. With her beauty, she could've gotten many of the boys in school. The good-looking boys, the jocks, the popular crowed. But no. She wanted me. What a damn fool.
She was my first kiss, the first breast I ever touched, the first girl to ever touch me...
I shook my head suddenly. God, how fucking gross that is. I felt my cheeks get hot, and hoped the crew wouldn't see. But they were too busy talking.
But even if she was my cousin, I had an attraction for her then...
I can't deny it.
I hate to admit it.
But I still have an attraction for her now.
Marshe and Smiley came around and brought us back to our cells. I thought I'd be able to read my books and get my mind off her, but she stuck in my mind like a stubborn stain on a favorite shirt.
There was a day that clinched my attraction for her. At the time, I didn't realize it, but now when I remember it, all I can think of is how her fingers felt on me, and how beautiful her face looked. I can't believe it, of all cards fate has thrown at me, one had to read 'thou shall fall for your cousin...'
It was just that typical thing that kids do sometimes. Play touchie-feelie. 'You take a peek, I take a peek' sort of thing. It was mostly curiosity, not sexuality, but thinking about it now is almost always arousing...
We were alone in the house that day. It was a weekend, in the springtime, I think. Yes, because the birds were chirping and all the windows were opened to get rid of the stale winter air trapped inside.
Beau and Fala, my parents, along with DaSilva (my other cousin who lived with us), and my two brothers were all out shopping. My older sister was at her acting class.
I was cleaning my room, which Beau had screamed at me about that morning. I limped over to a book on the floor and picked it up; the same book Beau had hurled at me.
I sat down on the bed with the book, and bent down to rub my sore leg. The book flipped open, and when I looked at it, I saw it was on one of my favorite parts. I started to read, and became engrossed in it; remembering the storyline, and the characters, and all the wonderful dialogue and fight scenes...
I was so entranced that I barely heard the squeak of my door opening. But I looked up at the sound of a throat being delicately cleared.
Devon was standing there, smiling. Her body was wrapped up in a white towel, and her hair was wet and dripping all over my floor. The light from my window was streaming in, making her wet skin shine. I didn't see her without her makeup very often, and her face had a clean, fresh look that was appealing.
I looked down at the pool of water she was creating, at the same time noticing her legs, the firm muscle of her athletic frame, the softness of the skin, not much darker than the towel. Normally, I found paler skin like my own, sickly looking. But not hers. She was like a china doll, delicate and pretty. Except I knew she was not delicate.
"Hey, the shower's yours. Unless you want company; I wouldn't mind taking another one."
"No."
"We're alone, you know," she said, smiling in a strange fashion.
"Yes, so what?" I looked back down at my book.
"Look." I heard her say, so I looked.
She lowered the towel for a moment. I dropped the book. Her breasts were shining in the sunlight.
"You like them?"
My 'thing' (as we called it at our age) perked up. Like those hovercraft...zero to two hundred in seconds.
Devon saw it.
"What's wrong with your pants?" she asked. It made me look down. A small denim mountain had grown from my jeans.
"Nothing," I said. "You know how jeans stick out in the front."
She didn't buy it. She knew the sticking-out of my jeans wasn't from bunched-up denim, but from something underneath.
"You've got a...a boner," she said, and giggled. "I'll let you touch these," she indicated her newborn breasts. "If you let me touch your thing."
I looked at her breasts more closely. There was a pink nipple, and underneath that a slight swelling, that would be the underside of her future generous breasts. But...even though her breasts...or the beginning of her breasts...were sweet and beautiful, I didn't think it was a fair trade.
"I want to see your thing then, too," I said.
"Ok." She agreed willingly, then closed the door. Nobody was home, but still...
"You first," she demanded, and I gave in. I unzipped my pants and faltered. My hands stopped and I felt a furious blush hit my cheeks. Even with the temptation of seeing Devon's thing, I was too afraid. She would laugh at me...laugh at my thing because it...it wasn't very big.
Then she stepped forward and took over. She shoved my hands aside and yanked down my briefs so viciously I fell back onto the bed.
"Wow," Devon said, staring down at my thing. She crouched down before me, and I felt her warm breath wash over my lap. Then she reached out her hand, so bold, and grabbed my thing.
"It's so smooth," she said. "And nice...I like it." She held it in her hands, staring down at it.
"It's purty," she crooned, stroking it like it was a dog or something.
"And these are your nuts?" she asked, grabbing something else. I howled.
"OWWWW! Not so hard, Devon!"
"Sorry. Didn't know they were so sensitive...I thought the...the thing was. I mean, when you kick a guy in the crotch, it's the thing that hurts."
"No...it's the...the..." I was starting to stutter, one of my nervous habits.
"Well, whatever," she said. She resumed petting and fondling my thing. "This is so neat. I've always wondered what these really looked like. It's a lot prettier than those crappy drawings in science class. You know, the reproductive ones."
"Yesss," I said and my voice came out as a groan. I was starting to tremble and there was a terrible sensation in my belly...something building and begging for release.
"I...I think it's my turn," I gasped.
"What's wrong?" She frowned. "Just another minute." She smiled again and looked back down at my thing. "Could you imagine...putting your thing in my thing?"
The thought, along with her stroking was too much. "Devon, stop...please, Devon...!"
"What's wrong..." she began, and then screamed. I'd just came all in her hands. She looked down at her hands in disbelief, watching the white liquid dribble off them.
"I'm sorry, Devon," I whimpered, hiding my now limp thing with my hands.
She rubbed her hands off on her towel. "That was cool!"
"Cool?" My eyes widened.
"It just scared me at first. That is really cool. You know, I'm almost jealous...I can't...shoot like that."
I still felt stupid and weak. My legs were trembling.
"I don't need to see yours," I said.
"You do," she said.
"I don't really."
"Fine," she sniffed. She sounded disappointed. Then she headed for the door.
"What were you doing in there?" A voice demanded and I paled. Someone was home!
I didn't have time to pull up my pants, because they poked their head in the door. It was my older sister.
"Snively! You were masturbating!" she screamed.
"No!"
"You're dribbling," she said.
"No, I wasn't."
"Did you make Devon touch you? You pervert!" she howled. My sister was a man-hater, turned that way by a childhood rape and several abusive boyfriends.
"No..."
"I'm telling dad. He's gonna rip the skin off your ass."
"No! I didn't do anything!" I wailed. "I swear! Devon, tell her!"
"He didn't do nothing," my cousin agreed.
"Don't tell me you two were gonna have sex."
"No," said Devon. " I just wanted to see his thing."
"YOU wanted to?"
"Yes."
"Fine. I won't snitch. But if you two wanna play doctor then you'd better make sure nobody's home."
We nodded, relieved. Pops wouldn't touch Devon, but he would slaughter me if he knew.
Leaving the memory world, I laid back on the prison bed, pulling the blanket over me. I had another hard-on, but this time decided I wasn't going to do anything about it. I didn't need any more teasing. Besides, it would go away by itself.
"I'm frickin' bored," said Drago. "This sucks. I was gonna rule part of Robotropolis. I was gonna be a duke, Robotnik said."
"For God's sakes, you actually believed him?"
"Hell yeah, I believed him. He gave me his frickin' word."
"You're even stupider than I thought." I was lying on my back, so I leaned my head way back so I could see him, upside down and frowning at me. "You were with the Freedom Fighters before...how come you double-crossed them?"
"Well...here's what happened. We were captured on a mission; me, and Lupe' and that rabbit broad and some geeky-ass fox. Then Robotnik wanted to talk to us separately, to ask about Knothole or whatever."
"Yes," I said, barely surpressing a yawn. It was an old old story. You would've thought at least one prisoner would've given away Knothole...but they never did. Lots of the prisoners who were caught DIDN'T know where it was. And the ones who did live there would rather die than give up their sanctuary.
"He's like,'tell or ya'll be roboticized' or whatever. I say to him, 'hey, I don't give a shit about those little squirts'. Ya should've seen his face." The wolf laughed.
I could imagine. Robotnik at a surprised moment was funny. His eyes would get all round and his huge mouth (always reminded me of a nasty old cave) would drop open. It was like some black hole opening up. He certainly would've been surprised at a prisoner actually agreeing with him.
"I said 'hey man, I scratch yer back, ya scratch mine, ya know.' He was all for it. So, I told him I'd give him the princess and Knothole, as long as I got a chunk of that city."
"He lied, he would've never given you any of it," I said.
"I don't believe ya. He would've. What does he care, long as Knothole's a frickin' ghost town?"
He wouldn't care, not really. But Robotnik was a neat and tidy guy. He didn't like loose ends. He would've seen Drago as a nuisance after he served his useful purpose. Nuisances were usually turned into workerbots. Or shot and thrown out in a dumpster.
I was curious about one thing though. "I know Robotnik had some agent dressed as Sonic cut the rope that the princess was using. But he never told me who."
"It was my girlfriend, heee hee!"
"How'd you manage that? Or did she turn 'naughty' too?"
"Fat ass never told ya nothin', did he?"
"Not really."
"That Sonic mask had chips in it. Ya know what they did?"
I shrugged.
"Made everything look like ya! Don't look at me like that. They did. She thought it was ya climbin' down the buildin'! Stupid bitch, eh?"
"Why the hell would I be climbing down the Death Egg?" I shook my head at the blatant idiocy of the girl. She must've been braindead to fall for that.
Drago was laughing.
I shook my head. "You were just as stupid."
"And how's that?" he demanded, his mouth still curved in a smile.
"You really thought Robotnik would keep his word." I let out a laugh of my own.
"He would've," the wolf insisted. He reached towards his nighttable and grabbed his box of cigarettes. He shook one out and grabbed the lighter.
I laid back on my bed.
He blew the smoke towards me, making me cough and wheeze. My lungs are not the best, and smoke didn't help in the least. But it was no use telling him to stop.
Drago lay silently, puffing the cigarette. Once again, I found myself wishing for my booze. Booze was my cloud. It put a haze over my problems, and held me up over the pit of depression. It didn't solve anything, I know, but it helped me cope.
The wolf put out his cigarette and got out the package of cookies his mother had given him. He didn't bother to offer one to me, just scarfed them down.
"My ma's great, isn't she," he said, with crumbs tumbling from his mouth. "She came all the way here, plus brought me fresh porn and goodies."
I shrugged. "She's all right." For trailer trash, I added in my head.
"What a mama's boy," said the frog suddenly.
"Shut up, ya probably didn't even have a mama. Ya probably was a test tube baby or something."
"Technically, you'd still have a mother...because the eggs had to come from someone," I said.
"Shut the hell up, cueball. I didn't ask ya." Drago threw a cookie at me. I snarled at him and brushed crumbs off my head.
"My mom ruled, but I wasn't a mama's boy," said the frog. "I didn't ask mommy for everything."
"Neither did I! She brought me this stuff outta the goodness of her heart!"
"Bah!" spat the frog. "I wouldn't visit my kids if they were dumb enough to get thrown in jail!"
"Then ya suck," said Drago. He looked at me. "Where's yer mama at?"
I closed my eyes for a second, feeling an almost overwhelming urge to start bawling. "She's dead," I said.
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that."
"It was cancer..."
The wolf munched a cookie, looking sympathetic. He offered me one for consolance, I suppose, but I shook my head.
"Part of the reason we...my family...came to Mobius was hoping they had a cure, or at least the new environment would be good for her. But she died anyway."
"Oh boo hoo," said the frog. I glared over at him. He was being such an asshole today. Maybe he and Drago had switched souls or something; usually the frog was the cheery one and the wolf the meanie.
"Shut up, frog. Yer just mad because yer mama won't come visit."
The frog stuck out his long tongue and turned his back on us.
"So, how was yer mama?"
"Oh, she was a good lady. But she wasn't strong. She was weak-willed, and weak-bodied... Too bad, because she had a good heart. She tried her best..."
The wolf shrugged. "Mama's are either good or bad, ya know. Worst way to insult someone is to insult their mama. Especially if it's a good mama." He was talking through a cookie now. "Ya know when I said stuff about yer ma, I was just tryin' to rile ya up, cueball, I didn't mean nothing 'gaisnt her."
I sighed. "Don't worry about it, Drago."
"LIGHTS OUT!" I heard Marshe's voice bellow. The lights flickered out seconds after his warning.
For a moment, I couldn't see anything but pitch black. I heard Drago's teeth grinding cookies. Pretty soon, I could make out his white form, just barely.
But I was tired. I didn't want to talk anymore. So I snuggled under my covers and fell into a deep sleep.
Please please please. Please let this be a dream.
It was...it is a dream...
But at the same time, it isn't...
This couldn't be. Pops, the stupid bastard...he was drunk on the couch. The tv was blaring. Laugh tracks? Stupid sitcoms. Who can laugh at a time like this?
I was leaned up against the wall. I was slamming my head into it. It hurt. Wetness on my cheeks? I was crying. Not just tears, but the kind of crying that makes your face scrunch up and your chest hurt and ragged sobs break from your mouth.
She can't be...she can't be...
"SHE CAN'T BE!!!" I screamed.
"Shut the hell up," growled Pops.
I slammed my fists against the wall. They made an erratic thumping sound, much like my heart at the moment. I beat them harder. Thump-thump. It sounded like the drumbeat of an angst band.
My angel...my friend, the only one who cared...she couldn't be...
(down in the dirt, where it's cold, oh God no)
She couldn't be
(the hole would be dug, the minister would talk...no, it's not right to talk to God at a time like this. He took her, how could he take her)
My mother...
(rose petals will cover her gra...ve...my tears on her tombstone) NOOOOOO!!! My mother...she couldn't be dead!!!
This is a dream, WAKE UP!
But I knew even if I woke up, it would still be the same.
My mama would still be dead.
One touch, one look, that is all it takes
These things forever change us
---Seal "State of Grace"
"Hey, there he is!"
"Welcome back, cueball!"
"The little fucknut is still alive, eh?"
"Can it," I said as Smiley attached my cuffs to the ring on the cafeteria table. I sat down and eyed the goop with some distaste. Although I was used to it, it was getting boring.
"Didn't know you were such a badass," said Ernie. "Getting into solitary. None of us ever went there."
I didn't say anything.
"So quiet? Usually you never shut up." Ernie laughed at his weak sarcasm.
I concentrated on the goop.
Tattle leaned over our table and shook his finger at me. "I hope you learned your lesson, Overlander. Don't screw with me."
Ernie waited till he was gone before he spoke again. "Maybe we could bust outta here. Then I can see my honey again."
"Yer honey?" asked Drago.
"Eh, I'll call her anything just to get into her pants."
Drago laughed and slapped Ernie on the back.
"You don't really love her?" I asked.
"Who cares if ya love her or not? As long as ya screw her," Drago spun his empty bowl around on the table.
"So...you think lying to get sex is right?"
"Course. Long as ya get between them legs." Drago laughed again.
I frowned, feeling the skin between my eyebrows crinkle up. He gave me a sidelong glance, his pupils dilated like a cat's. "What, cueball? Ya got a problem with that? Mr. Morality over here gots a problem with it."
"Little wussy pussy," snorted Sleuth. "No wonder he ain't ever got pussy. Not with them shining standards of his."
"No...he ain't never got pussy because he likes the rump roast better! Ha ha!" Drago pounded on the table, making all our bowls bounce. I glared at him.
"I happen to prefer women, Drago."
"Suuuuurrre!"
"C'mon, Sniv', come clean. You can tell us!" Ernie chuckled.
I debated whether or not to throw my bowl at him, but decided not to. I didn't want to get into any more trouble.
They had their fill of teasing me for the day, and moved on to converse other things, mostly the events in Ernie's newest porn book. I ignored them and drifted off into other thoughts.
Most of my early sex experiences (well, sex-related, not sex itself) were pretty odd. Probably because most of them came from Devon, my cousin. At the time we didn't think of it as sick. We were just dumb kids, but it never went further then touching.
She was a nutcase, that girl. She liked me. How stupid. With her beauty, she could've gotten many of the boys in school. The good-looking boys, the jocks, the popular crowed. But no. She wanted me. What a damn fool.
She was my first kiss, the first breast I ever touched, the first girl to ever touch me...
I shook my head suddenly. God, how fucking gross that is. I felt my cheeks get hot, and hoped the crew wouldn't see. But they were too busy talking.
But even if she was my cousin, I had an attraction for her then...
I can't deny it.
I hate to admit it.
But I still have an attraction for her now.
Marshe and Smiley came around and brought us back to our cells. I thought I'd be able to read my books and get my mind off her, but she stuck in my mind like a stubborn stain on a favorite shirt.
There was a day that clinched my attraction for her. At the time, I didn't realize it, but now when I remember it, all I can think of is how her fingers felt on me, and how beautiful her face looked. I can't believe it, of all cards fate has thrown at me, one had to read 'thou shall fall for your cousin...'
It was just that typical thing that kids do sometimes. Play touchie-feelie. 'You take a peek, I take a peek' sort of thing. It was mostly curiosity, not sexuality, but thinking about it now is almost always arousing...
We were alone in the house that day. It was a weekend, in the springtime, I think. Yes, because the birds were chirping and all the windows were opened to get rid of the stale winter air trapped inside.
Beau and Fala, my parents, along with DaSilva (my other cousin who lived with us), and my two brothers were all out shopping. My older sister was at her acting class.
I was cleaning my room, which Beau had screamed at me about that morning. I limped over to a book on the floor and picked it up; the same book Beau had hurled at me.
I sat down on the bed with the book, and bent down to rub my sore leg. The book flipped open, and when I looked at it, I saw it was on one of my favorite parts. I started to read, and became engrossed in it; remembering the storyline, and the characters, and all the wonderful dialogue and fight scenes...
I was so entranced that I barely heard the squeak of my door opening. But I looked up at the sound of a throat being delicately cleared.
Devon was standing there, smiling. Her body was wrapped up in a white towel, and her hair was wet and dripping all over my floor. The light from my window was streaming in, making her wet skin shine. I didn't see her without her makeup very often, and her face had a clean, fresh look that was appealing.
I looked down at the pool of water she was creating, at the same time noticing her legs, the firm muscle of her athletic frame, the softness of the skin, not much darker than the towel. Normally, I found paler skin like my own, sickly looking. But not hers. She was like a china doll, delicate and pretty. Except I knew she was not delicate.
"Hey, the shower's yours. Unless you want company; I wouldn't mind taking another one."
"No."
"We're alone, you know," she said, smiling in a strange fashion.
"Yes, so what?" I looked back down at my book.
"Look." I heard her say, so I looked.
She lowered the towel for a moment. I dropped the book. Her breasts were shining in the sunlight.
"You like them?"
My 'thing' (as we called it at our age) perked up. Like those hovercraft...zero to two hundred in seconds.
Devon saw it.
"What's wrong with your pants?" she asked. It made me look down. A small denim mountain had grown from my jeans.
"Nothing," I said. "You know how jeans stick out in the front."
She didn't buy it. She knew the sticking-out of my jeans wasn't from bunched-up denim, but from something underneath.
"You've got a...a boner," she said, and giggled. "I'll let you touch these," she indicated her newborn breasts. "If you let me touch your thing."
I looked at her breasts more closely. There was a pink nipple, and underneath that a slight swelling, that would be the underside of her future generous breasts. But...even though her breasts...or the beginning of her breasts...were sweet and beautiful, I didn't think it was a fair trade.
"I want to see your thing then, too," I said.
"Ok." She agreed willingly, then closed the door. Nobody was home, but still...
"You first," she demanded, and I gave in. I unzipped my pants and faltered. My hands stopped and I felt a furious blush hit my cheeks. Even with the temptation of seeing Devon's thing, I was too afraid. She would laugh at me...laugh at my thing because it...it wasn't very big.
Then she stepped forward and took over. She shoved my hands aside and yanked down my briefs so viciously I fell back onto the bed.
"Wow," Devon said, staring down at my thing. She crouched down before me, and I felt her warm breath wash over my lap. Then she reached out her hand, so bold, and grabbed my thing.
"It's so smooth," she said. "And nice...I like it." She held it in her hands, staring down at it.
"It's purty," she crooned, stroking it like it was a dog or something.
"And these are your nuts?" she asked, grabbing something else. I howled.
"OWWWW! Not so hard, Devon!"
"Sorry. Didn't know they were so sensitive...I thought the...the thing was. I mean, when you kick a guy in the crotch, it's the thing that hurts."
"No...it's the...the..." I was starting to stutter, one of my nervous habits.
"Well, whatever," she said. She resumed petting and fondling my thing. "This is so neat. I've always wondered what these really looked like. It's a lot prettier than those crappy drawings in science class. You know, the reproductive ones."
"Yesss," I said and my voice came out as a groan. I was starting to tremble and there was a terrible sensation in my belly...something building and begging for release.
"I...I think it's my turn," I gasped.
"What's wrong?" She frowned. "Just another minute." She smiled again and looked back down at my thing. "Could you imagine...putting your thing in my thing?"
The thought, along with her stroking was too much. "Devon, stop...please, Devon...!"
"What's wrong..." she began, and then screamed. I'd just came all in her hands. She looked down at her hands in disbelief, watching the white liquid dribble off them.
"I'm sorry, Devon," I whimpered, hiding my now limp thing with my hands.
She rubbed her hands off on her towel. "That was cool!"
"Cool?" My eyes widened.
"It just scared me at first. That is really cool. You know, I'm almost jealous...I can't...shoot like that."
I still felt stupid and weak. My legs were trembling.
"I don't need to see yours," I said.
"You do," she said.
"I don't really."
"Fine," she sniffed. She sounded disappointed. Then she headed for the door.
"What were you doing in there?" A voice demanded and I paled. Someone was home!
I didn't have time to pull up my pants, because they poked their head in the door. It was my older sister.
"Snively! You were masturbating!" she screamed.
"No!"
"You're dribbling," she said.
"No, I wasn't."
"Did you make Devon touch you? You pervert!" she howled. My sister was a man-hater, turned that way by a childhood rape and several abusive boyfriends.
"No..."
"I'm telling dad. He's gonna rip the skin off your ass."
"No! I didn't do anything!" I wailed. "I swear! Devon, tell her!"
"He didn't do nothing," my cousin agreed.
"Don't tell me you two were gonna have sex."
"No," said Devon. " I just wanted to see his thing."
"YOU wanted to?"
"Yes."
"Fine. I won't snitch. But if you two wanna play doctor then you'd better make sure nobody's home."
We nodded, relieved. Pops wouldn't touch Devon, but he would slaughter me if he knew.
Leaving the memory world, I laid back on the prison bed, pulling the blanket over me. I had another hard-on, but this time decided I wasn't going to do anything about it. I didn't need any more teasing. Besides, it would go away by itself.
"I'm frickin' bored," said Drago. "This sucks. I was gonna rule part of Robotropolis. I was gonna be a duke, Robotnik said."
"For God's sakes, you actually believed him?"
"Hell yeah, I believed him. He gave me his frickin' word."
"You're even stupider than I thought." I was lying on my back, so I leaned my head way back so I could see him, upside down and frowning at me. "You were with the Freedom Fighters before...how come you double-crossed them?"
"Well...here's what happened. We were captured on a mission; me, and Lupe' and that rabbit broad and some geeky-ass fox. Then Robotnik wanted to talk to us separately, to ask about Knothole or whatever."
"Yes," I said, barely surpressing a yawn. It was an old old story. You would've thought at least one prisoner would've given away Knothole...but they never did. Lots of the prisoners who were caught DIDN'T know where it was. And the ones who did live there would rather die than give up their sanctuary.
"He's like,'tell or ya'll be roboticized' or whatever. I say to him, 'hey, I don't give a shit about those little squirts'. Ya should've seen his face." The wolf laughed.
I could imagine. Robotnik at a surprised moment was funny. His eyes would get all round and his huge mouth (always reminded me of a nasty old cave) would drop open. It was like some black hole opening up. He certainly would've been surprised at a prisoner actually agreeing with him.
"I said 'hey man, I scratch yer back, ya scratch mine, ya know.' He was all for it. So, I told him I'd give him the princess and Knothole, as long as I got a chunk of that city."
"He lied, he would've never given you any of it," I said.
"I don't believe ya. He would've. What does he care, long as Knothole's a frickin' ghost town?"
He wouldn't care, not really. But Robotnik was a neat and tidy guy. He didn't like loose ends. He would've seen Drago as a nuisance after he served his useful purpose. Nuisances were usually turned into workerbots. Or shot and thrown out in a dumpster.
I was curious about one thing though. "I know Robotnik had some agent dressed as Sonic cut the rope that the princess was using. But he never told me who."
"It was my girlfriend, heee hee!"
"How'd you manage that? Or did she turn 'naughty' too?"
"Fat ass never told ya nothin', did he?"
"Not really."
"That Sonic mask had chips in it. Ya know what they did?"
I shrugged.
"Made everything look like ya! Don't look at me like that. They did. She thought it was ya climbin' down the buildin'! Stupid bitch, eh?"
"Why the hell would I be climbing down the Death Egg?" I shook my head at the blatant idiocy of the girl. She must've been braindead to fall for that.
Drago was laughing.
I shook my head. "You were just as stupid."
"And how's that?" he demanded, his mouth still curved in a smile.
"You really thought Robotnik would keep his word." I let out a laugh of my own.
"He would've," the wolf insisted. He reached towards his nighttable and grabbed his box of cigarettes. He shook one out and grabbed the lighter.
I laid back on my bed.
He blew the smoke towards me, making me cough and wheeze. My lungs are not the best, and smoke didn't help in the least. But it was no use telling him to stop.
Drago lay silently, puffing the cigarette. Once again, I found myself wishing for my booze. Booze was my cloud. It put a haze over my problems, and held me up over the pit of depression. It didn't solve anything, I know, but it helped me cope.
The wolf put out his cigarette and got out the package of cookies his mother had given him. He didn't bother to offer one to me, just scarfed them down.
"My ma's great, isn't she," he said, with crumbs tumbling from his mouth. "She came all the way here, plus brought me fresh porn and goodies."
I shrugged. "She's all right." For trailer trash, I added in my head.
"What a mama's boy," said the frog suddenly.
"Shut up, ya probably didn't even have a mama. Ya probably was a test tube baby or something."
"Technically, you'd still have a mother...because the eggs had to come from someone," I said.
"Shut the hell up, cueball. I didn't ask ya." Drago threw a cookie at me. I snarled at him and brushed crumbs off my head.
"My mom ruled, but I wasn't a mama's boy," said the frog. "I didn't ask mommy for everything."
"Neither did I! She brought me this stuff outta the goodness of her heart!"
"Bah!" spat the frog. "I wouldn't visit my kids if they were dumb enough to get thrown in jail!"
"Then ya suck," said Drago. He looked at me. "Where's yer mama at?"
I closed my eyes for a second, feeling an almost overwhelming urge to start bawling. "She's dead," I said.
"Oh. Sorry 'bout that."
"It was cancer..."
The wolf munched a cookie, looking sympathetic. He offered me one for consolance, I suppose, but I shook my head.
"Part of the reason we...my family...came to Mobius was hoping they had a cure, or at least the new environment would be good for her. But she died anyway."
"Oh boo hoo," said the frog. I glared over at him. He was being such an asshole today. Maybe he and Drago had switched souls or something; usually the frog was the cheery one and the wolf the meanie.
"Shut up, frog. Yer just mad because yer mama won't come visit."
The frog stuck out his long tongue and turned his back on us.
"So, how was yer mama?"
"Oh, she was a good lady. But she wasn't strong. She was weak-willed, and weak-bodied... Too bad, because she had a good heart. She tried her best..."
The wolf shrugged. "Mama's are either good or bad, ya know. Worst way to insult someone is to insult their mama. Especially if it's a good mama." He was talking through a cookie now. "Ya know when I said stuff about yer ma, I was just tryin' to rile ya up, cueball, I didn't mean nothing 'gaisnt her."
I sighed. "Don't worry about it, Drago."
"LIGHTS OUT!" I heard Marshe's voice bellow. The lights flickered out seconds after his warning.
For a moment, I couldn't see anything but pitch black. I heard Drago's teeth grinding cookies. Pretty soon, I could make out his white form, just barely.
But I was tired. I didn't want to talk anymore. So I snuggled under my covers and fell into a deep sleep.
Please please please. Please let this be a dream.
It was...it is a dream...
But at the same time, it isn't...
This couldn't be. Pops, the stupid bastard...he was drunk on the couch. The tv was blaring. Laugh tracks? Stupid sitcoms. Who can laugh at a time like this?
I was leaned up against the wall. I was slamming my head into it. It hurt. Wetness on my cheeks? I was crying. Not just tears, but the kind of crying that makes your face scrunch up and your chest hurt and ragged sobs break from your mouth.
She can't be...she can't be...
"SHE CAN'T BE!!!" I screamed.
"Shut the hell up," growled Pops.
I slammed my fists against the wall. They made an erratic thumping sound, much like my heart at the moment. I beat them harder. Thump-thump. It sounded like the drumbeat of an angst band.
My angel...my friend, the only one who cared...she couldn't be...
(down in the dirt, where it's cold, oh God no)
She couldn't be
(the hole would be dug, the minister would talk...no, it's not right to talk to God at a time like this. He took her, how could he take her)
My mother...
(rose petals will cover her gra...ve...my tears on her tombstone) NOOOOOO!!! My mother...she couldn't be dead!!!
This is a dream, WAKE UP!
But I knew even if I woke up, it would still be the same.
My mama would still be dead.