Thanks to all my reviewers! n.n Again, apologies for all the bad
language. Anyone else besides me notice that guys swear a lot more when
they're drunk? Or maybe that's just the people I know.. *shrug*
Disclaimer thingit: None of the *cool* characters are mine... No, I got stuck owning Alex-tachi and Horney the owl... .()
Oooh, one more thing.... check out the scary J/S chibis I drew the other day:
http://www.ainself.net/space/guest/ChibiSJ.jpg
More thanks goes to Space Elf, who let me borrow space on her site. n.n (I WILL get my own page one of these days, damnit.) Comments and crystal ball jokes are welcome. n.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that all there is?" Sarah asked in disbelief as a dozen hot dogs were snatched up by eight pairs of hands and devoured almost immediately. The great outdoors had a way of making a person really hungry, and that one hot dog she'd managed to grab just hadn't cut it.
"Naaah," Alex assured her with a grin, "That was just an appetizer to tide us over until the -real- food's ready! Hope you're a steak person."
"Ooooh..." Sarah smiled, mouth watering in anticipation. "Steak sounds really good right about now..."
"Hey Jason," her neighbour yelled, "Throw on the meat, will ya?"
"Sure thing," Jason nodded, reaching into one of the coolers for a pair of big Ziploc bags with slabs of beef marinating inside. "Baggie number one.." he announced, lifting three big steaks out of the bag and arranging them on the hot grill with a pair of tongs.
"Hey, make mine medium rare, okay? Gonna go check something by the river." Alex grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her along behind him, everyone but Jason migrating after him.
"Yeah, sure, leave me all alone to slave over a hot grill, making your steaks," Jason joked, "Maybe they'll just be gone when you get back."
"Do it and I'll kick your ass," Alex's retreating voice promised.
"Heh, I can take you on any day," Jason shouted after them before turning his attention to the steaks slowly turning brown in front of him. He poked them with the tongs and waited.
...And waited, and waited. Barbecuing sure dragged out when all your buddies were off messing around without you, he noted. 'Oh well, I did volunteer for it,' he thought to himself as he turned and dug around for the A-1 sauce.
When he turned back to face the grill, the steaks were gone. Jason blinked and shook his head, wondering what was in that beer he had. Sure enough, when he looked again, the grill was still conspicuously empty of the sizzling meat that had been there a moment before.
"Shit, I wasn't serious.." he muttered, checking around the fire pit to see if the wind had somehow managed to knock them onto the ground.
Yeah, right. Like that would happen.
"Hey man, came to check on the grub. You dead of boredom yet?" Alex grinned from behind him, then frowned when he noticed the empty grill. "Where're the steaks?"
"They're... umm..." Jason tapped his fingers against his leg and scratched the back of his head with the other hand. "Hell if I know, they just vanished."
"Steaks just don't get up and walk the fuck away, man." Alex looked unconvinced. "Jesus, I didn't think you were serious. It's not very funny, jackass."
"Alex, dude, I swear I don't know where the hell they went." Alex rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to make a biting remark.
"Hey Alex, come check this out!" Kate shouted from by the river. Alex glanced over his shoulder and then back at Jason.
"Whatever, man, just have them back by the time we wanna eat, or you sure aren't gettin' any." He turned and wandered back through the trees, muttering about assholes with a messed-up sense of humor.
"What the hell?" Jason asked the air confusedly. The air didn't offer any suggestions. "Weird shit.." he muttered as he threw on the other three steaks.
The moment he turned his back on the grill, it happened again. It was strange enough the first time, and by the second, Jason was starting to get pissed off, and a little bit creeped out.
"What the hell is going on!?" He wondered aloud.
Naturally, the others didn't believe him when they wandered back from the river, all looking forward to nice juicy steaks only to discover none available. Jason couldn't really blame them. He wasn't sure he believed him, either, except that the beef was gone and he hadn't done anything with them other than try to cook them.
"Shit, man, I dunno what kind of fucking joke you think this is, but you've got one fucked up sense of humor, asshole." Alex was muttering angrily. Everyone was standing around the fire pit, glaring at Jason.
"Yeah, I mean, fuck, man..." A boy named Chris was saying, "At least buy the goddamned steaks yourself next time if you're gonna pull this shit."
"I don't give a rat's ass who bought the steaks, I'm fucking famished!"
"I told you morons already, it wasn't me, goddamn it!" Jason glared back at them. "I bet it was one of you dickheads. Alright, fess up. Who's lame-ass idea of a practical joke was this, huh?"
"Wasn't any of us, we were all by the river."
"Well, it sure as hell wasn't me!" Jason was getting really angry. Whoever though this was funny was going to get his ass kicked.
Alex glared at him. "I don't care who did it, you were put in charge of them, you lost them, so you... " he pointed at John, the driver, "..and you can both run into town and buy some more." There were various murmurs of agreement as Alex grabbed a beer out of the cooler and sipped it with an air of finality. "Go on, move it, asshole. Hope you brought money, 'cause you're paying."
Jason snarled. "I'm not shelling out that much money when it wasn't my fault in the first place!" Alex squared his jaw stubbornly.
"Whose fault are you saying it is, then?"
"I don't know! One of you assholes obviously thought it'd be a good idea to mess with everyone's heads! Or maybe it was a wild animal or something."
"Jason.." Alex gritted his teeth, "Go... get... the fucking... steak. Now."
Jason glanced around, but the looks on his companions' faces told him he'd get no support from them. Letting out a frustrated growl, he trampled off into the darkening forest and back towards the truck, with John trailing behind him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, like all failed schemes, it had -seemed- like a good idea at the time. It had been a simple enough plan, not that he was capable of anything overly elaborate in his current state. He should have been able to execute it flawlessly.
Things had been going so well. The boy had been furious over the continual disappearances of their meal. Someone had taken the truck back into town to purchase more meat while the rest of them waited, drunk (for the most part), hungry and irritable. Tempers were frayed, and accusations were flying. The little toad had already blown up at Sarah for trying to get him to calm down, and now she was angry as well. With any luck, they would want nothing more to do with each other by the end of the night. Jareth was winning, and he knew it.
He certainly hadn't expected that blasted horned owl to make an appearance.
He'd been all set to swoop in and steal the latest steak off the grill, perhaps drop it in the dirt this time to be especially annoying. The boy's friend had experienced problems with his vehicle on the way back, and since no one trusted anyone else to be left alone with the food, they had all gone and left it alone. He had been so focused on listening for their return that he hadn't noticed the almost inaudible sounds of another predator about.
The other owl dove down out of nowhere, just as he was making off with his latest prize. Jareth dropped the heavy steak with a startled cry and wheeled around rapidly, but he wasn't fast enough. Sharp talons sunk into his wings and he screamed in pain and surprise, struggling to no avail as he felt the horned owl's grip tighten in response.
Desperate to escape, he craned his head around and bit sharply into the other bird's leg, viciously beating his wings at the same time. The horned owl was surprised enough to loosen his hold, and that was all Jareth needed. Talons sliced through flesh and muscle as he tore himself free and dropped like a stone, his now useless wings refusing to respond. One was less damaged than the other, and he managed to spread it enough to slow his plummet a little. Squeezing his eyes shut as the picnic table came rushing up at him, he crashed into the dozen or so empty cans of beer and tumbled gracelessly head over tail, rolling all the way to the other end and off the edge by sheer momentum. There was a heavy 'thunk' as Jareth landed in the half-empty cooler on the ground, the container wobbling enough with the impact to shake the lid into swinging down into place.
In retrospect, perhaps it hadn't been the best plan he had ever come up with, Jareth thought as the walls around him shook. He huddled in half- melted bits of ice and cans of cold beer, shivering and wet, while that monster of an owl nudged and prodded at the box, looking for a way in. The ice and his injuries were taking their toll, and Jareth could literally feel himself going into shock as blood seeped out of his mangled wings. He was afraid to look at them, unwilling to confirm what he already knew about the extent of the damage. At least the chill was numbing the worst of the pain to a dull throbbing ache, although it wouldn't matter in a moment. He was crippled and helpless, and it would only be a matter of time before his assailant found a way in, or was chased off by a bunch of children who wouldn't know how to help him anyway. He gradually realized that he was dying.
By the time he heard voices outside, Jareth was too far gone to care. It really didn't matter if they found him now. He noted dimly that the cooler had stopped shaking, so at least he wouldn't be eaten by that brute that had wounded him.
"..Fucking owl the entire time!?" The snatch of conversation penetrated Jareth's haze as the cooler lid was swung open. "Shoulda shot the goddamned thing and grilled HIM..."
"You believe me now? You guys are all paying me back for buying more fucking beef, I swear to God.."
"Wonder what he was af- ... oh my god..." A voice directly above him said as a hand brushed up against him. The hand jerked away immediately when Jareth managed a hiss of pain at the contact. Apparently he wasn't as sensorially-deprived as he'd thought.
"Guys, there's something alive in here!" The voice announced. A moment later, a beam of bright light was shone in his eyes, and Jareth squeezed them shut. Good gods, couldn't they just let him die in peace?
"Maybe we could grill -him-.." someone suggested.
"John, that's mean!" A female voice scolded.
Jareth's momentary alertness was fading fast, replaced by the same hazy darkness that was slowly enveloping him. Wonderful. The idea of being eaten by these Neanderthals was -so- much more appealing...
He was on the brink of oblivion when he heard a familiar intake of breath. "Oh my god.." Sarah's voice echoed the speaker from earlier as a finger lightly brushed his feathered cheek. The soft contact and the tone of her voice caused a new sort of pain, a bittersweet ache inside of him. Here he was, dying in front of her, and she'd never even know it was him. Being mocked by her friends like some sort of wild animal... he didn't want to go like this... not this way...
A gentle pair of hands lifted him tentatively from the icy water, carefully bundling him in something warm and soft. He could barely feel the pain any more as reality faded around him. 'Sweet Sarah..' he felt a lingering sense of regret as he was swallowed up by darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wanna find out what happens next? Gotta review! Or I might just decide to let Jareth die... ) *waggles finger and grins* Mwa ha ha ha haaa....
Disclaimer thingit: None of the *cool* characters are mine... No, I got stuck owning Alex-tachi and Horney the owl... .()
Oooh, one more thing.... check out the scary J/S chibis I drew the other day:
http://www.ainself.net/space/guest/ChibiSJ.jpg
More thanks goes to Space Elf, who let me borrow space on her site. n.n (I WILL get my own page one of these days, damnit.) Comments and crystal ball jokes are welcome. n.-
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that all there is?" Sarah asked in disbelief as a dozen hot dogs were snatched up by eight pairs of hands and devoured almost immediately. The great outdoors had a way of making a person really hungry, and that one hot dog she'd managed to grab just hadn't cut it.
"Naaah," Alex assured her with a grin, "That was just an appetizer to tide us over until the -real- food's ready! Hope you're a steak person."
"Ooooh..." Sarah smiled, mouth watering in anticipation. "Steak sounds really good right about now..."
"Hey Jason," her neighbour yelled, "Throw on the meat, will ya?"
"Sure thing," Jason nodded, reaching into one of the coolers for a pair of big Ziploc bags with slabs of beef marinating inside. "Baggie number one.." he announced, lifting three big steaks out of the bag and arranging them on the hot grill with a pair of tongs.
"Hey, make mine medium rare, okay? Gonna go check something by the river." Alex grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her along behind him, everyone but Jason migrating after him.
"Yeah, sure, leave me all alone to slave over a hot grill, making your steaks," Jason joked, "Maybe they'll just be gone when you get back."
"Do it and I'll kick your ass," Alex's retreating voice promised.
"Heh, I can take you on any day," Jason shouted after them before turning his attention to the steaks slowly turning brown in front of him. He poked them with the tongs and waited.
...And waited, and waited. Barbecuing sure dragged out when all your buddies were off messing around without you, he noted. 'Oh well, I did volunteer for it,' he thought to himself as he turned and dug around for the A-1 sauce.
When he turned back to face the grill, the steaks were gone. Jason blinked and shook his head, wondering what was in that beer he had. Sure enough, when he looked again, the grill was still conspicuously empty of the sizzling meat that had been there a moment before.
"Shit, I wasn't serious.." he muttered, checking around the fire pit to see if the wind had somehow managed to knock them onto the ground.
Yeah, right. Like that would happen.
"Hey man, came to check on the grub. You dead of boredom yet?" Alex grinned from behind him, then frowned when he noticed the empty grill. "Where're the steaks?"
"They're... umm..." Jason tapped his fingers against his leg and scratched the back of his head with the other hand. "Hell if I know, they just vanished."
"Steaks just don't get up and walk the fuck away, man." Alex looked unconvinced. "Jesus, I didn't think you were serious. It's not very funny, jackass."
"Alex, dude, I swear I don't know where the hell they went." Alex rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to make a biting remark.
"Hey Alex, come check this out!" Kate shouted from by the river. Alex glanced over his shoulder and then back at Jason.
"Whatever, man, just have them back by the time we wanna eat, or you sure aren't gettin' any." He turned and wandered back through the trees, muttering about assholes with a messed-up sense of humor.
"What the hell?" Jason asked the air confusedly. The air didn't offer any suggestions. "Weird shit.." he muttered as he threw on the other three steaks.
The moment he turned his back on the grill, it happened again. It was strange enough the first time, and by the second, Jason was starting to get pissed off, and a little bit creeped out.
"What the hell is going on!?" He wondered aloud.
Naturally, the others didn't believe him when they wandered back from the river, all looking forward to nice juicy steaks only to discover none available. Jason couldn't really blame them. He wasn't sure he believed him, either, except that the beef was gone and he hadn't done anything with them other than try to cook them.
"Shit, man, I dunno what kind of fucking joke you think this is, but you've got one fucked up sense of humor, asshole." Alex was muttering angrily. Everyone was standing around the fire pit, glaring at Jason.
"Yeah, I mean, fuck, man..." A boy named Chris was saying, "At least buy the goddamned steaks yourself next time if you're gonna pull this shit."
"I don't give a rat's ass who bought the steaks, I'm fucking famished!"
"I told you morons already, it wasn't me, goddamn it!" Jason glared back at them. "I bet it was one of you dickheads. Alright, fess up. Who's lame-ass idea of a practical joke was this, huh?"
"Wasn't any of us, we were all by the river."
"Well, it sure as hell wasn't me!" Jason was getting really angry. Whoever though this was funny was going to get his ass kicked.
Alex glared at him. "I don't care who did it, you were put in charge of them, you lost them, so you... " he pointed at John, the driver, "..and you can both run into town and buy some more." There were various murmurs of agreement as Alex grabbed a beer out of the cooler and sipped it with an air of finality. "Go on, move it, asshole. Hope you brought money, 'cause you're paying."
Jason snarled. "I'm not shelling out that much money when it wasn't my fault in the first place!" Alex squared his jaw stubbornly.
"Whose fault are you saying it is, then?"
"I don't know! One of you assholes obviously thought it'd be a good idea to mess with everyone's heads! Or maybe it was a wild animal or something."
"Jason.." Alex gritted his teeth, "Go... get... the fucking... steak. Now."
Jason glanced around, but the looks on his companions' faces told him he'd get no support from them. Letting out a frustrated growl, he trampled off into the darkening forest and back towards the truck, with John trailing behind him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, like all failed schemes, it had -seemed- like a good idea at the time. It had been a simple enough plan, not that he was capable of anything overly elaborate in his current state. He should have been able to execute it flawlessly.
Things had been going so well. The boy had been furious over the continual disappearances of their meal. Someone had taken the truck back into town to purchase more meat while the rest of them waited, drunk (for the most part), hungry and irritable. Tempers were frayed, and accusations were flying. The little toad had already blown up at Sarah for trying to get him to calm down, and now she was angry as well. With any luck, they would want nothing more to do with each other by the end of the night. Jareth was winning, and he knew it.
He certainly hadn't expected that blasted horned owl to make an appearance.
He'd been all set to swoop in and steal the latest steak off the grill, perhaps drop it in the dirt this time to be especially annoying. The boy's friend had experienced problems with his vehicle on the way back, and since no one trusted anyone else to be left alone with the food, they had all gone and left it alone. He had been so focused on listening for their return that he hadn't noticed the almost inaudible sounds of another predator about.
The other owl dove down out of nowhere, just as he was making off with his latest prize. Jareth dropped the heavy steak with a startled cry and wheeled around rapidly, but he wasn't fast enough. Sharp talons sunk into his wings and he screamed in pain and surprise, struggling to no avail as he felt the horned owl's grip tighten in response.
Desperate to escape, he craned his head around and bit sharply into the other bird's leg, viciously beating his wings at the same time. The horned owl was surprised enough to loosen his hold, and that was all Jareth needed. Talons sliced through flesh and muscle as he tore himself free and dropped like a stone, his now useless wings refusing to respond. One was less damaged than the other, and he managed to spread it enough to slow his plummet a little. Squeezing his eyes shut as the picnic table came rushing up at him, he crashed into the dozen or so empty cans of beer and tumbled gracelessly head over tail, rolling all the way to the other end and off the edge by sheer momentum. There was a heavy 'thunk' as Jareth landed in the half-empty cooler on the ground, the container wobbling enough with the impact to shake the lid into swinging down into place.
In retrospect, perhaps it hadn't been the best plan he had ever come up with, Jareth thought as the walls around him shook. He huddled in half- melted bits of ice and cans of cold beer, shivering and wet, while that monster of an owl nudged and prodded at the box, looking for a way in. The ice and his injuries were taking their toll, and Jareth could literally feel himself going into shock as blood seeped out of his mangled wings. He was afraid to look at them, unwilling to confirm what he already knew about the extent of the damage. At least the chill was numbing the worst of the pain to a dull throbbing ache, although it wouldn't matter in a moment. He was crippled and helpless, and it would only be a matter of time before his assailant found a way in, or was chased off by a bunch of children who wouldn't know how to help him anyway. He gradually realized that he was dying.
By the time he heard voices outside, Jareth was too far gone to care. It really didn't matter if they found him now. He noted dimly that the cooler had stopped shaking, so at least he wouldn't be eaten by that brute that had wounded him.
"..Fucking owl the entire time!?" The snatch of conversation penetrated Jareth's haze as the cooler lid was swung open. "Shoulda shot the goddamned thing and grilled HIM..."
"You believe me now? You guys are all paying me back for buying more fucking beef, I swear to God.."
"Wonder what he was af- ... oh my god..." A voice directly above him said as a hand brushed up against him. The hand jerked away immediately when Jareth managed a hiss of pain at the contact. Apparently he wasn't as sensorially-deprived as he'd thought.
"Guys, there's something alive in here!" The voice announced. A moment later, a beam of bright light was shone in his eyes, and Jareth squeezed them shut. Good gods, couldn't they just let him die in peace?
"Maybe we could grill -him-.." someone suggested.
"John, that's mean!" A female voice scolded.
Jareth's momentary alertness was fading fast, replaced by the same hazy darkness that was slowly enveloping him. Wonderful. The idea of being eaten by these Neanderthals was -so- much more appealing...
He was on the brink of oblivion when he heard a familiar intake of breath. "Oh my god.." Sarah's voice echoed the speaker from earlier as a finger lightly brushed his feathered cheek. The soft contact and the tone of her voice caused a new sort of pain, a bittersweet ache inside of him. Here he was, dying in front of her, and she'd never even know it was him. Being mocked by her friends like some sort of wild animal... he didn't want to go like this... not this way...
A gentle pair of hands lifted him tentatively from the icy water, carefully bundling him in something warm and soft. He could barely feel the pain any more as reality faded around him. 'Sweet Sarah..' he felt a lingering sense of regret as he was swallowed up by darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wanna find out what happens next? Gotta review! Or I might just decide to let Jareth die... ) *waggles finger and grins* Mwa ha ha ha haaa....