Chapter nine's up, and Ran gets out and…wait why the am I telling you? Read for yourself and find out! Also, for anyone who wants to see what the band looks like, I drew them myself!
Hey, kid, y'got any weed?" hissed another inmate. He had a face like a human, that somehow resembled a rat, and he had bat wings, black talon claws and a stance like a humans. He also looked very pinched and unhealthy.
"No, sorry." I said, with a slight trace of sarcasm in it. I dropped my wings limply behind my back, so they resembled a cape, and Anthony told the guy off.
"Leave the kid alone, huh? She just got here." He snapped, baring his fangs.
"Thanks." I said.
"No problem, Chunky, there, he's a convicted sex offender, likes little kids. No one here likes him much." Explained Anthony.
"Lovely." I said. I found it funny that a guy as sickeningly skinny as him was nicknamed 'chunky'.
"Hey, kid. Y'got a visitor." Said the bandaged cop, banging the bars. Following him was Freddy, wearing a leather jacket, undoubtedly from one of the guys on the sound crew.
"Freddy!" said Anthony and me at the same time.
Freddy looked mildly surprised at seeing his brother there.
"They moved you, huh?" asked Freddy.
"Yeah, the one in New York got so crowded 'n' all. You here for the pet?" asked Anthony, nudging me gently.
"Yeah, Guppie-"
"-Screw Guppie. Why'd you do that, huh?" Anthony suddenly cut him off.
"She told you everything, didn't she?" asked Freddy mournfully. I guessed the others had already given him a thorough tongue thrashing already.
I said nothing. I preferred to run the guilt home by remaining silent and giving them sad looks. It seemed to be working so far. Freddy looked as if christmas had been canceled.
"Damn right. From the sounds of it, you'd be dead if she hadn't been there." Snarled Anthony. It struck me then just how much they looked alike. They must've been twins, had to be. Aside from the two-inch height difference, the different hair color and the radically different blue skin shade, they were identical.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay! The others have already threatened to quit the band if I didn't come bail you out." He suddenly cried.
"That's not an apology. That's desperation." I said coldly. I walked up to the bars, closed my eyes and my body passed through the bars like…well, water. Freddy stepped back and surveyed me carefully. Finally, he gave me a bone-crushing hug, which completely took me by surprise. Eyes wide, body tense, I allowed him to for a few seconds, and then gently pushed him away.
"I really am sorry, Ran. I was scared, y'know?" he said. I could tell from the look on his face that he was, too. His Halloween orange eyes were a soft pastel and he had an open, innocent look, one that made me think wow. He really is good looking.
"Fine. Now can we leave?" I asked.
"Let's. Seeya, Ant." Said Freddy, waving.
"Don't call me Ant! My name's Anthony!" he shouted. Freddy chuckled and I turned back.
"Thanks Anthony. For being there." I said so Freddy wouldn't hear.
"No problem. I'm a nice guy." He said.
I reached through the bars and gave him a hug, my arms and chest dissolving into water to embrace him. He hugged me back and I let him go.
"Bye." I said.
"Seeya."
"You coming?" asked Freddy.
"Just saying bye." I said.
"You guys twins?"
"Yeah, fraternal. I'm just the short one." He grumbled.
"Oh, cheer up, you're not that short. You're tall enough to drive, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, by four inches.""Shut up." I said, not wanting to argue. He didn't say anything. Apparently, he thought I had a valid point.
Outside, the guys waited in the tour bus. The door had been removed and replaced by a solid slab of corrugated cardboard and it made the bus look kind of derelict. Guppie waved through the window and Blacky even stuck his head out to smile at me. For the first time since the Buschemis, I felt wanted. Happy. I'll hand it back to Guppie now.
I grinned at the girl. I was glad she had survived her first encounter with jail. What she had said on the phone really hadn't been funny and for a minute I had actually worried. But seeing her now, smiling, I was relieved. She looked happy. Freddy ushered her up to the door and I shoved the cardboard away for a minute. Damon was at the wheel as usual and we all had clean medical bills-none. The hospital hadn't been able to do a thing. They had, though, dubbed Ran's milky white stuff as "bio-scab". The rest of the guys said it didn't even feel like they were hurt, although Blacky had complained at having his fur shaved off. Beneath, the skin you could see was a dark, gravelly gray, like the markings on his face.
I watched the kid walk up to the bus with Freddy and my face broke into a grin as sharp toothed as a saber fishes. Damon got up and moved the cardboard aside so they could pass through and Damon gave Ran a smile as well. We all had clean medical bills-that was, none. The hospital hadn't been able to do a thing for us, but they had dubbed Ran's milky white stuff as "bio-scab". The guys all said they didn't feel a thing, but Blacky had complained at having his fur shaved off. The skin beneath was a dark gravelly gray, like the markings on his face. I moved away from the window and wrapped her in a big, multi-tentacled hug. She hugged me back."Euugh, you're all cold and slimy." She grimaced, laughing as she said it.
"Euugh, you're all warm and bony." I whined back, grinning at her.
"Hey, Ran." Said Blacky. Ran turned at his voice and he pulled her into a hug that could have been mistaken for a headlock. She hugged him back fiercely, tangling her fingers in all the fur, but surprisingly, he didn't protest. She let him go and he was smiling at her too.
"You saved my life, Ran. You really did." He said. The atmosphere in the bus was suddenly tense. Ran looked a bit uncomfortable.
"It was nothing." She said.
"No, it damn well wasn't. I liked you from the start, but I never forget a favor. You ever need anything, tell me. Got it? And no being modest, either." He said a little more sternly.
" 'Kay."
"Hey, Ran. We called out folks and told them what happened. You shoulda heard our mother, she actually screamed." Chuckled Adrian. Kou rolled his eyes and said "It's not funny, Aid, we coulda died."
"No shit. So thanks." Finished Adrain.
"No problem." She said. She was blushing furiously now, trying not to look too happy. It wasn't working.
Suddenly a cell phone rang.
"Speaking of which, that's probably her now. She'll be wanting to talk to you." Said Kou brightly. Ran looked a little nervous all of a sudden.
"Hey, mom. Yeah, she's here. You wanna talk? Here she is." Kou handed her the cell, which was orange and had a pattern of skulls and surfboards all over it, his two favorite things.
While Ran talked, I pulled Freddy aside.
"So? What are you gonna do to make it up to her?" I demanded.
"I dunno, I thought I could take her out to dinner or sumthin'." He said thoughtfully.
"Freddy, she doesn't really seem to be the type." I said.
"We could let her record a song with us. We have a single that's overdue, we could invite her in as a guest singer." He said suddenly, as if he had reminded himself to suggest just the very thing all along.
"Yeah, but can she sing?" I asked. He shrugged, which was unlike him; his biggest pet peeve is when someone starts singing and they just can't.
"No clue. We can play a song on the radio and find out easily enough." He said fairly. Ran gave the phone back to Kou and Kou said "Hey. Okay. See you then." And hung up.
"Who was that?" I asked, crossing all four arms and a set of tentacles.
"My dad. He says he'll see us at the show and to look for him. So we'll be looking for that Caleb guy, his kid and our parents." Added Adrian.
"I forgot Caleb was gonna be there! Can I get in too?" asked Ran, as if her very existence depended on it.
"Sure Ran. No problem. In fact, you can even invite Caleb and his son backstage with us afterwards, after those two rookie bands leave." I said, smiling and throwing the bloody rag we'd used to clean the floor up aside. She grinned and suddenly threw her arms around me!
"Woa." I said, staggering under her weight. I hugged her back, with all four arms, and felt the skin beneath my right hand give way, as if there were something missing that should have been there.
"What's wrong with your side?" I asked.
"Oh, that. When they separated my brother and I, my liver was on the wrong side. It's okay. It's just where my liver should be." She said.
"Weird." I muttered, so she wouldn't hear me.
"What say we get to the Civic Center and do that show? We're running a little late as it is." Said Freddy suddenly.
Damon started our much abused bus with a roar and we were off!