Before Perfection
by The Great Red Dragon
Chapter 12
"I watch the sun go down like everyone one of us,
I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign…
A better place for those who will come after us,
This time…"
-Ozzy Osbourne,
Dreamer
Huh? Wha-? What time is it?
I sat up straight in my cage, banging my head violently on the low ceiling.
Had I overslept? Was it too late?
It was dark all around; nighttime. The only light came from the moonlight shining through the window, giving the room an eerie appearance. I was back in full power. I sat up and kicked away the metal door of my cage with ease. It made a nice noise, but obviously nobody was there to hear it. I gave a sigh of relief and praised myself beforehand. This was turning out pretty well.
But there was something that irritated me. The dog food that I had been fed was taking its toll on my stomach. I was starting to feel sharp jolts and unpleasant gurgling in my belly, and it felt much like the shocks I had received at the hands of Jumba.
Well, I can't live with that!
I jumped up to the edge of a sink. I held myself up by my arms and stared into the sink for a moment, pondering about what would be the best way to do this...
Oh heck, why not go for the most obvious? I leaned my body back a bit, and then slammed myself stomach-first into the edge of the sink.
It came faster than I thought it would. I barely got a time to regain my grip before I vomited all that I had eaten for the last week into the sink. My eyes burned with tears for a moment, and it felt like I had busted a rib or two. But when I opened my eyes again, I felt better immediately (actually, I think I could've avoided looking into the sink, where my vomit actually looked worse than vomit itself).
I hopped back down and took a few seconds to steady myself. I felt a bit weary and disoriented, but I didn't let that intervene with my sense of pride. Sure, it couldn't have been easier to break out of the cage, but at the moment I was proud nonetheless. When I was fully fit again, I immediately started for the window. There was no lock on it, so no need for my strength there. I opened it, and began to make my way out...but then I stopped.
I looked back at my cage...and my eyes caught sight of the scorpion necklace, hanging on the edge of the cage's torn-out entrance.
What about Riley?
The Shark had sacrificed so much for me. He had been forgiving, understanding, and had brought out what was undeniably [although I might deny it] the best side of me. What would it be like to him if he showed up tomorrow and saw my cage dismantled and empty? Would he think I was taken? That I had somehow broken out like I had? Or would he just worry about me?
I dropped back to the floor and paced back to the cage.
Somehow, I didn't feel like going anymore. I mean, what was out there that wasn't here? Here, I didn't need to hunt for my food, or wake up in the middle of the night 'cause it started to rain. Here, I was served food (as horrible as it was) four times a day, and it was actually comfortable to hear the thunder crashing and the rain pattering away outside while I lay safe and content on my cushion.
And Riley...well, what more can you say? I meant the world to him; I knew that. I was affecting him as well if I left.
Choices and ideas came down like the rain did in a hurricane. I stood staring at the scorpion necklace for what seemed like hours and hours, pondering the matter of leaving or staying.
I gave a heavy sigh as I finally made up my mind:
The entire ordeal was my problem alone. It was by pure coincidence that I met The Shark; nothing more, nothing less. Riley was a smart sensible person, and he would probably forget about my entire existence in less than a month, and so would I.
...But somehow I couldn't believe the words I was thinking.
I reached out my hand and took Riley's necklace. Carefully, I slipped the strings behind my head and fastened them around my neck. I let go, and the pure silver scorpion stood out remarkably from my blue fur.
It was really quite nice.
I don't know why I took the necklace. I think it could have been considered stealing, but something just told me to do so. I began heading back to the open window. Perhaps I would meet Riley again some day. Maybe I would give it back then...but that meeting would be only a coincidence as well.
I jumped up and closed the window behind me. I hung by the ledge of the window for a second, gazing in at what had been my home for a week...and the one place where I was sure to find Riley.
And then, I fell to ground and began running from the Mana pet spa as fast as could, not even looking back.
2 Weeks Later
I sat on a small cliff overlooking the ocean. The sun was halfway submerged into the water, mixing together to give it a beautiful golden color, so bright that one would need to sport sunglasses.
This was one of the first times that I enjoyed one of nature's spectacles. I thought it was beautiful. Nothing that I saw on viewing-screens in Jumba's lab could have been so wonderful, so awesome, or so beautiful.
The scorpion pendant glinted singly against my chest, reflecting the sun much like the ocean. I put my hand around it, and felt its texture like I had done many times before. My mind began to drift back to the pet spa, and back to Riley.
As hard as I tried to keep my mind from him, I kept missing The Shark. I hadn't gone near the spa since I had left, and I actually had no intention to. As much as the longing inside of me burned, my resolution to live my life alone had built a wall that prevented any action. Still, I would often dream about it.
The sun was practically gone now. The surfers and beach-waders were starting to move away, and the ice-cream stands were disappearing. My stomach growled loudly, signalling the fact that it was dinner-time.
Huh, now I could really use some of that on-the-hour food. But then again, finding some leftover pineapple in the base of a trash-can was easy enough...
As I got up and left, I looked back at the water, and wished that I could somehow get in there and surf. But, realizing the way I had been made, remembering my levels of molecular density...
I turned away and took my mind off it by intentionally stubbing my toe on a stone protruding from the sand.
I was lucky to find a pack of unfinished fries outside of a burger joint, joy! No mold, no worms crawling around, no people throwing things at me, and shouting obscenities like I was some common neighbourhood cat.
I jumped a few houses away to eat my well-deserved supper. I nearly slid off of one roof, on the cause of some slick tiles. I eventually settled atop some old, unused apartment building and started fingering my food. Now and then I would pull a single fry out and pop it in my mouth, chew, swallow, and start the process over again.
The streets below me were sad and deserted. It was a rat-hole, a place that usually don't find on an island as beautiful as Kauai. Here and there came a screech or click, probably made by a stray rodent or beetle. The trash cans that lay tipped-over across the sidewalk halfway held garbage that had been there for so long it looked like stone. Garbage so old, even the flies stayed away from it.
This was the kind of place that I felt should be nuked right off of the map and be completely rebuilt.
But then again, who would care about the ideas of a blue, marooned little alien?
I had become much more appreciative of the Earth throughout the time I had spent on it. I had also learned a lot about it. I took the time to analyze the climate of the island, so now I knew when to sleep in a tree or under the shelter of dumpster. The knowing of the weather made life a whole lot easier, so now I wasn't surprised by sudden rainstorms.
Yeah, I could enjoy myself occasionally. Things had become increasingly better, but still...nothing could compare to the time I spent with Riley.
Riley...I just couldn't stop thinking about him.
It just nagged at me, chewed at my mind like a boar and then spat me back out. I couldn't keep The Shark out of my life...
...But hey!
I looked down from my fries, and saw a figure, walking along the right end of the sidewalk. More specifically, the one that was closer to me. I was more than three stories up, so I wasn't noticed. Plus, it was night, and the only thing that stood out from my body was the scorpion pendant, hidden by the majority in my fur.
There was something about this figure...the way it walked, the way it held itself, and that hair...and it wore the same jacket that Riley had worn to the pet spa. He had worn it everyday!
Good Lord, that was Riley! Riley! Riley! Riley!
I threw the half-finished cup of fries over my shoulder and started down the side of the building. Oh, he would be so happy to see me-...
But then I remembered my promise to myself. I said I was going to live my life alone, in personal isolation.
But he was right there! Less than thirty feet away! I wanted to see his face again, hear him talking again-!
"No, 541", I told myself.
"You made yourself a promise, and you're not going to break I;, no way."
My ears drooped sadly as I watched him move further into the distance. I think I actually felt a tear well up in my eye...
WAIT!
I had promised myself not to make contact with him, so certainly it wouldn't hurt just to follow him!
Renewed with a sense of hope, I began my usual educated building-jumping in an attempt to keep up.
I followed him for some time. I figured that he was heading home, seeing how late it was. I was just starting to wonder how much further we would have to walk when Riley turned around. So did I. We both heard a heavy pair of footsteps approaching from behind. No, make that plural.
It was a whole gang of footsteps. And a whole gang of people were attached to them. It was at least seven or eight big, mean-looking thugs coming down the road and advancing on The Shark.
Riley squinted to see through the dark. But eventually, his expression of concern faded and replaced with almost annoyance.
"Jason!", he called towards the advancing crowd.
"What is this: a mugging?"
Jason...yes, the guy he had fought in the match I saw! The big guy. Now that I knew this, his face seemed to stand out from the group. His clothing was that of dark leather, but his hair and yellow eyes shone almost as brightly as my pendant.
They didn't respond until they got within eye-contact range. And by then, they had formed a circle around The Shark, blocking him of all escape.
"Jason, what's going on here?", Riley asked loudly, not showing any sign of weakness.
When Jason spoke, his tone was as strong as his arms, but at the same time, as cold as the night.
"Dave told me you quit the EWF. Tell me Riley, is this load of crap true?"
Riley sighed to himself.
"Yes Jason, I did quit, and I did it because-"
"EXCUSE me, but did I just hear what I think I heard? You DID quit the EWF?"
"Yes I did."
Jason's eyes narrowed, and Hell-fire burned within them I was starting to tense up.
"Why, out of all your God-forsaken shitty ideas would you do this, huh? Do you know exactly what you did when you quit?"
Riley shook his head.
Jason's nostrils flared.
"Dave cancelled my contract too. When he cancelled my contract, he cancelled my monthly credit income. Do you know what that means, Shark-boy? That means that I don't make no more money."
"Jason, face the facts! EWF was drowning even with me in it! We weren't making anything in Hawaii. It was just a matter of-"
"Don't you talk back to me!"
Jason's words were now shaking with rage. He spoke like a machine gun: quick, and loud.
"You sold my money, just so that you could hang out at some greasy little pet-joint at the ass-end of the island?!"
Riley took a step forward. And his next words were said right into Jason the Terrible's face.
"If that's what you wanna call it, yeah, I did. And I don't give a damn what you think about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home now."
THAT set Jason off. He shot out both hands and knocked Riley to his feet. My ears perked up and alerted.
"Oh, I don't think you're gonna make it home. Not after we're through with ya!"
The entire gang began to bear down on Riley, who had barely enough time to pick himself back up before they would be upon him.
I looked down in fear. They were going to kill him, I knew it. That was the only way to explain the deranged looks in their eyes. I wanted to go down there, to help Riley. I knew I could beat the others easily...
But what about my promise? I had promised myself that-
But this was a life and death situation! If I don't act, Riley would...he would...
Ideas raced through my mind: solutions, outtakes, shortcuts, anything. But in the end, it all came down to what would prevail; my sense of justice, or my promise to myself?
Life or death?
