The second posting in this series, containing chapter 4 You asked for it, you got it kiddies. Have fun and don't poke your eye out.
Another note: Fox is very close to my own self. She is a characterization of ME, and the whole artist thing isn't fiction. I do a lot of Hellboy- related stuff....not the comic, no, but I draw. Some of my art has ended up as tattoos, other stuff is scattered about the internet. Drop me an email at GossamerGargoyleaol.com if you want me to send you a few samples. Sadly, I don't have a portfolio together yet...I'm only a sophomore in High School! Anyhoo, back 2 da story...
Chapter 4: A Rather Small Dog
There was another chilly breeze of oil-scented air as the small group trotted down the hall. When Hellboy had slammed the door, a silent alarm went off and it had taken a good hour to settle things down. In this hour, Hellboy was taken to some sort of office with Broom while Fox and Liz sat down for a small chat. Abe, of course, listened in with fascination. It was an odd occurrence when a dark creature Hellboy usually beats to pulp joins the 'good guys.'
"Watch your step, Agent Foxley." Broom said, waving his cane in the direction of a long set of stairs. They were leading downwards.
For some reason Fox could not understand, Liz, Hellboy, and Broom were all following her. It was obvious Broom was going to show her the room she would be staying in. (Little did she know Hellboy was following them because not only was he slightly jealous of Father's attention but he liked Fox, and Liz wanted to make sure nothing happened between the two) They were a little past the hall with the golden door, near the kitchen of the B.P.R.D. Fox tried to ignore the bad spray-paint jobs on the walls.
The group stumbled silently down the stairs. Fox wondered what happened when Hellboy and Broom were called to the office. Thinking of Broom, she glanced over at him. For an old guy with a cane, he knew how to get around.
"So, uh, Fox...how's it going?" Hellboy asked her in his deep voice. It reminded her of a train, but a little velvety. Fox took a few more steps then turned around to face him. She noticed he was taking two or three steps at a time.
"It's going fine, Red. I hate these god-forsaken hallways, though...too friggin cold." Fox muttered the last part. Then she smelled yet ANOTHER cigarette. She wheeled around to face Liz, but didn't see the usual white stick dangling out of her mouth. She kept walking, then felt the sting of ashes being flicked on her face. It was Hellboy.
"Yeah. I hate the cold." he said, the dying embers making his face glow eerily. There was something off about him...
'He's acting like a shy little boy.' she thought silently. At first he seemed a bit...confident, but he had toned it down. Did he....have a thing for her?
"I think I can finally take these damned gloves off now." she said, tugging the leather around her wrists. When she pulled them off, Broom looked over in time to see her clawed hands before she thrust them into her pockets. Fox seemed like the shy type, but not.
The stairway ended with a sharp turn, and Fox jogged down the last three stairs... and right into a guy holding a large stack of envelopes.
The thick white slips of paper fluttered everywhere. The man, who was short and thin with scraggly black hair, stumbled a bit and stooped down to retrieve them. Luckily, the man was cheerful enough he did not look up from his work and notice the six-foot-six tall 'new recruit' standing in front of him, ebony horns and clawed hands exposed. He hummed merrily and Fox tip- toed away in fear of being 'discovered.' Hellboy stopped to help scoop up some of the papers while Fox did her best to shrink into the shadows. Liz stopped at the end of the stairs to catch Broom's arm as he stumbled, nearly falling onto the cold concrete floor.
"Thanks." the guy said shakily, looking up at Hellboy's massive frame. Fox winced, hoping to God not to be noticed.
"No problem. My job." Hellboy said, the stub of a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The filter at the end was chewed, like a cigar. Fox could just barely see a string of white hanging in between two huge teeth...she chuckled a little. Realizing her mistake, she cupped a hand over her mouth. But it was too later. The man looked up and saw her.
"Oh, who....who's that?" he said, scratching his mop of black hair. Fox could see he was balding.
"That's Fox. Say hello Fox." Hellboy said, sounding a bit muffled. Fox put on a nervous grin and stepped out. She twisted her hair around her finger again.
'She does that when she gets nervous.' Hellboy thought.
"Hello Fox." she said sarcastically. The man chuckled, sending a lone envelope soaring onto the floor again. Hellboy stooped to pick it up for the guy as he stared at her. He saw something from under her tight black pants, under her coat. He could see a long tail tucked into one pant leg so that it ran down her leg....she had a tail? Realizing this he looked up at her horns and gulped.
"I...I have to get going. Take care, all of you." he said, his voice quivering slightly. His eyes opened wide, and he carried the stack of papers up the stairs until he was out of sight. Hellboy looked confused. Fox was upset. Liz and Broom were talking quietly...
"To the room, then." Broom announced, interrupting Liz. They walked in silence down the rest of the dim and barren corridor.
Broom stopped at the sloping door of a large room. It looked like the door to a dungeon. Fox prayed that it wasn't cold an unfriendly. Broom pulled the door open with a loud groan to reveal a small boiler room.
"We're still working on it, but this is going to be your new room. I hope you like it." he said. Fox grinned.
"It's gonna be perfect." she said, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, but you aren't staying in here." Broom said plainly. Fox ignored him and looked at a small black dog painted on the wall.
"That's a rather small dog." she said, not realizing what Broom had just said.
"We had to pull a cot up for you in Hellboy's room. Liz's room is too small." Broom explained. Somehow, Fox wouldn't have argued that at that moment Hellboy had a sort of evil grin on his face. She could see in her mind a 'Hellboy face' contorted with all sorts of zany thoughts.
"Yer bunk'n it with me!" he exclaimed.
haha! its gonna be a long and arduous road for fox and HB...I wonder what'll happen next...
chapter 5 is soon to come! Make sure to read 'n review, my pigeons...