Chapter Five: Roz-Shaped Stains/The Need To Think Of Another Witty Title Involving More Exposition Chapter
Randall had no idea how long they'd been traveling. The minutes, hours, maybe even days, all blended together in a boring monotony.
Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt, sending suitcases tumbling down from where they had been perched precariously. Randall glared at the frilly pink backpack that had come down upon his head, rubbing the sore spot with one hand.
The train had barely stopped moving when the side door was flung open, revealing a group of CDA agents dressed in their traditional yellow uniforms.
The shapeliest stepped forward, taking off her headgear, revealing a stunningly beautiful - and female - lizard-monster.
Swish, swish! Went her long fronds as they were shaken from her helmet.
"Wow, sir, she must be your obligatory hetero love interest!" Pin exclaimed, digging himself out from underneath a pile of luggage.
"I am Waternoose (the third's) long-lost illegitimate daughter! I have braved my ridiculously dark past to rise in the ranks of the CDA. I read your file and have decided to come and rescue you, utilizing a plot hole to locate you! Oh yeah, and I'm also Roz's twin sister; we were separated at birth!"
Randall screamed in terror as the newly revealed monster stalked forward, a predatory grin on her scaled face...
Bwahahahaha! The looks on your faces were priceless. >:)
No, really, here's the real beginning of Chapter Five:
Randall had no idea how long they'd been traveling. The minutes, hours, maybe even days, all blended together in a boring monotony.
One could only stare at the weird, brown, Roz-shaped stain on the ceiling for so long before going insane from boredom (or, perhaps, from staring at that Roz-shaped stain for hours on end). He'd brought along the two books he'd bought weeks before, Jurassic Park and A Midsummer Night's Dream, but he'd already long since read them.
For the first few hours of travel, Pin had tried to engage him in conversation, even going to far as to chatter to himself with no reply from Randall, until the lizard-monster's sullen glare caused his sentences to peter off into silence. Now, one could hear a pin 1 drop two kilometers away 2.
May as well do something useful...
Randall removed a file-folder from his supply bag; the one he'd received before leaving, his assignment. It was very thin, only containing a few pieces of paper. One was a clip from a newspaper. The article merely stated that a farmer had found something "As large 's a house, I tell ya!". The only description beyond that was that it was hairy and had claws, which could basically apply to every other mon in the entire Monster World, and even more human-world animals, so wasn't very helpful. It also stated that several people had expressed interest in buying the creature, so it was (presumably) sold, because there were no further articles. It didn't include a picture. Other than that piece of paper, there had been several maps (now stuffed in one of the many pockets in Randall's trench-coat), and several suggested methods of getting there and how to proceed in certain situations. There was also a small allowance of human money, all in small bills, "Just in case".
He'd read the file's contents too many times worth remembering since he'd first received it several weeks ago. Nothing jumped out at him; he didn't have a sudden epiphany of how he should go about rescuing the monster.
...Dammit.
No new information at all since he'd first read it. A pointless exercise; he'd practically memorized it by now anyway.
Finally giving an irritated growl, Randall replaced the papers into their folder and stuffed it into his bag, then turned to search through some of the surrounding suitcases. He'd accepted that he was stuck with Pin, for the present time, at least. Might as well make use of the time he had to teach the kid something useful.
He found what he was looking for in two separate bags; a baseball signed by someone named 'Babe Ruth'3 (for all that it meant to him) from a red, white and blue duffel bag containing other sport paraphernalia, and a small, delicate paper fan from a suitcase labeled with Asian-looking symbols that Randall could make neither head nor tail of. He placed the fan carefully in one of his inner coat pockets for a later lesson. Now, for the current one.
Casually, the lizard monster threw the baseball up a few feet into the air and caught it again in the same hand.
"Think fast!" He chucked it (relatively) gently (for him, anyway) over the pile of bags, at Pin.
"Huh?" Ponk! It bounced off the top of Pin's head, ricocheted off the ceiling, landing neatly in the same hand that Randall had thrown it with. "Ow..." Came the faint cry from the other side of the train car. "What'd you do that for!" The apprentice bit out, poking his head up into view from behind the pile of luggage where he'd been hidden, rubbing the new lump on his head.
Randall ignored him. "Your reaction time is pitiful. Try again." He tossed the ball once more.
Ponk. "Ow!" At least he'd tried, this time. Still, the ball had bounced off the hand/tentacle the younger monster had brought up to catch/block it. It rolled back towards Randall, who quickly scooped it up.
"Again!" The ball was thrown again. This time, it wasn't as much a surprise, and he caught it, fumbling it awkwardly, nearly dropping it. Pin smiled a toothy grin in his teacher's direction, only to find him gone. His face went blank for a moment, twisting around, searching for Randall.
"What - " He was tackled from behind, and soon found himself in a choke hold, face pressed against the dirty metal floor of the train car.
"Always keep an eye and ear out for your enemy, kid." Pin was released, and as he slowly got up, he realized something was missing.
"Sir, where's the ba-" Ponk! The ball hit him in the back of his neck.
"I tell you to do things for a reason, kid."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, let's try this again..."
Two hours (and many more lumps and bruises later), Randall was satisfied that the lesson was done -- for the day at least. By the end, Pin had caught nearly every ball tossed his way, but the kid still relied mostly on his sight to find the ball. If Randall turned invisible and hid the ball behind his body, it always caught the younger monster by surprise, even if the lizard-monster made no effort to quiet his breathing or footsteps.
But that was enough for now.
Something was different about the train.
It was slowing down.
Which was actually more significant than it sounded; slowing down implied coming to a stop, which it did, with a jerk that sent half the baggage rolling from their places. Something marked 'Fragile: Handle With Care' crashed against the far wall. The sound of several smaller pieces of said fragile case rang in the air with delicate tinkling sounds several seconds after it landed.
Soon enough after the train had come to a complete stop, the railway workers arrived, methodically unlocking all of the railway cars. As soon as theirs was unlocked, and the coast was clear, Randall slid the sliding doorway open just far enough for him and Pin to slip through, and swiftly and silently hid in the shadows underneath the same train car, out of view of the average unobservant railway worker, waiting patiently for night to fall. To any more observant workers (not that there were any), all they would have seen (had they cared to look) would be the subtle glint from two separate – decidedly inhuman – pairs of eyes in the darkness. But, as it was, there was no such worker, and certainly nobody else cared to look.
1 Haha, pun :3
2 No, not really, but it sounds better than 'They rode on in silence'.
3 Uh... Is that how it's spelt? I have no real idea who he is; I don't even know how to play baseball. --; I just needed a famous name, okay?
A/N: I just wanted to apologize for the long wait. This chapter would never have been uploaded were it not for random reviewers like Random Drifter, Cheatachu82, Fanman, Coffee Monster and many more for reviewing, making me feel awesome, and reminding me that this fic actually existed. I'm ashamed to say that I've actually had this chapter (and a part of chapter six, and a large outline) sitting in "My Documents" for well over a year. I apologize most profusely!
I'm going on vacation tomorrow for several weeks, and what would make me feel absolutely awesome would be if people took notice of the update they asked for and reviewed – if that is so, I'll certainly take a peek at my outline when I return and see if I can't work on this baby. :)
If you're bored and can't find much Randall Boggs goodness on head on over to this fic : http/ ww w.de vi an tart .c om /v iew/1 7743 13 5/ (remove spaces).It's called "Limbo: How Irony Bit Me Squarely in the Rear", and was also written by me, ages ago – and best of all, it's complete! XD It's my pride and joy, so please give it a try if you've enjoyed this fic so far.