The Scrapyard
Hours pass, and after Max's short-lived sleep, he found himself waiting by the garage for his father to arrive. Desmond told him to be up before sunrise, but it seemed that demand did not apply to him. The young imp watched the sun slowly creep over the horizon, his mind wandering back to the things he had read. What he wouldn't give to see the relics of mortal history himself, just once…
"Good morning!" His father called loudly as he walked across the yard, making Max flinch from the suddenness. "Ready to go then?"
"Yeah, I've been ready for half an hour…" Max responded stiffly, looking away again as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"Ah, good." His father said, walking past Max and entering the garage. His son followed behind him, entering just in time to see his father climb into the driver side of a maroon pick-up truck. "Get that door open while you're out there." Desmond called to Max, the young imp stopping dead before he could get in the truck himself. With a stiff sigh, Max walked to the garage door and kneeled down, grabbing the bottom of the door and grunting loudly as he slowly forced it open. It would be a lot less of a hassle, if his father wouldn't have damaged the automatic mechanism in one of his many fits of rage, no one would need to force it open in this way. With the door now opened, Max made his way back to the truck, the engine turning over loudly while the young imp climbed into the passenger seat.
The drive to his uncle's was quiet and uneventful, with his father preferring to listen to the local radio rather than attempting small-talk with his son. While looking outside as the two drove along, Max listened quietly to the morning's news reports. It was pretty much the same as usual, at least in his opinion. The words of the radio DJ began to blur together around the weather forecast, his mind wandering back to his readings. As much as his parents may try to convince him otherwise, Max was totally smitten with mortal history. Almost more than he was with Hell's own history, frankly. The stories he read made him yearn to see it all for himself. Granted… He also read heavily romanticized stories as well. He had no idea just how much he could truly risk going there himself.
Without warning, however, his father clears his throat and turns down the volume on the radio. "Now, son… We're gonna be there most of the day. So, you need to focus. Got it?"
"What else am I gonna do?" Max retorted in a quiet, but sarcastic tone, "We're just gonna be sorting scrap all day."
"You're gonna be sorting scrap all day. Lloyd and I have shit to do, son. But he told me Katie's gonna be there too, so you won't be workin' alone." Desmond said plainly, giving his son a sideways glance.
"Hm… Alright." Was all Max had to say to that revelation. His cousins were nice to be around, so at least it wouldn't be mind-numbingly dull all day.
"You'll get a good workout from this, too. I remember your grandfather working me the same way, you know. Besides… You need some muscle on your bones, son. You won't get a workout sitting around your room and reading those mortal history books all day."
"I-" Max started, but he didn't know how he should retort. So, he just sighed and slumped back in his seat, looking outside as the two drove through the town of Blood-Hearth. It was a modest and small town compared to others, where the locals knew each other relatively well and the businesses were family owned. Desmond slowed down to a cruising speed as they drove through the tight, two-lane streets.
"Look, son, this'll be good for ya…" Desmond said with a sigh, "I know you wanna be a… History teacher or whatever, but your mother and I need you here with us. Jade ain't gonna take over now that she's got herself that fancy ass job working in business. You're all we've got now."
The young imp listened quietly, watching the buildings slowly pass them by. As much as he wanted to protest, he knew there was no reasoning with his father. He was a stubborn old imp, always so sure of himself and how things should go.
"Which is why you should quit working at that old school, Max," He continued, a confidence in his tone, "It's not gonna do ya any good since you're staying with us."
"Maybe I should move to Pride, then. Jade will let me stay with her." Max remarked, shooting a cold look at his father.
The old imp gripped the steering wheel tight, returning the cold look while pressing his hoof on the brake pedal. "Listen here, Max. You are NOT leaving this ring without your mother and I knowing. You're staying here, starting a family, and taking over the farm when me and Annie retire. You understand?"
"No, I don't understand." Max retorted, raising his voice a little bit. The frustration in him was starting to grow again, mixing with the turbulent thoughts already spinning in his mind. "Why can't I do what I want to? You didn't make a big deal out of this when she was still living with us! Why can't I-"
"Don't you raise your fucking voice at me again." Desmond snapped, glaring at Max with enough anger to make the young imp visibly recoil and shrink back. "You're still living under our damn roof, so what we say goes! We're giving you everything, so you have to return that kindness. Am I clear?"
Max said nothing, instead choosing to turn away and look outside his window with crossed arms.
Seeing this issue settled, Desmond took a deep breath as he continued driving. The rest of the ride was silent, a thick tension filled the cab as the two ignored one another. Finally, they arrive at a huge scrapyard on the outskirts of Blood-Hearth. 'Lloyd's Junk 'n Things' was spelled out in big neon letters across the arch over the chain-link fence gate. To their right, there was a trailer nestled up against the reinforced fences. Barbed wire was strung along the top of the border fences, and massive mountains of scrap metal and parts towered like steep hills.
As Desmond parked and stepped out of the truck, the door of the trailer was thrown open, and a greasy haired imp stormed out onto the makeshift deck. "Desmond!" Lloyd boomed, his voice echoing through the scrapyard. It was loud enough to scare off a small murder of crows perched across a powerline. "Finally," he laughed as he made his way to his brother and nephew as the latter exited the truck, "I was starting to wonder when you slowpokes would get here."
"Good to see you too." Desmond laughed softly as he and his brother gave each other a tight hug. He leaned out of it after a moment and looked around the scrapyard. "Looks pretty light today."
"Ahh, it'll pick up later. You know how it goes." His brother chuckled and shook his head, then after patting Desmond on the back, he turned his attention to Max. After walking up to the young imp, he put an arm around his neck and picked him up off the ground. "And how's my favorite nephew this morning?"
Max, amidst grunting and choking slightly, let out a weak laugh. "I'm good, uncle Lloyd." He eventually gasped out, kicking his legs a little as he tried to find the ground.
After patting his uncle's arm, he was lowered to the ground and released. "Well, let's not waste any time." Desmond said, crossing his arms while he watched the two imps. "Let's get started."
"You go ahead, Des," Lloyd waved his hand slightly, "I wanna catch up with Max real quick."
Des gave his brother a nod, then as he walked off into the trailer, Lloyd turned to face his nephew. "How're you doin'? How's it going at Uni?" He asked, setting a hand on his nephew's shoulder.
"It's going well." Max replied quietly, giving his uncle a forced, though weak smile. "I, uh… I brought home some more stuff the other day. The librarians are actually pretty cool with me buying the old ones."
"Yeah?" Lloyd gave a slight laugh as he started walking with Max, his hand still resting on his nephew's shoulder. The middle-aged imp was riddled with scars, a sure sign of a hardworking imp with an eventful life. His left horn was broken at the tip, and his long black hair was greased back over his head. "Glad to hear you're still enjoying it there."
"I am. But I just wish dad was happy about it…" he sighed, putting his hands in his pockets as the two walked along. "He doesn't even care. Neither does mom."
"Oh, don't say that. Of course they do!" Lloyd exclaimed, giving his nephew a grin. "Des just has a hard time, er… Expressing himself."
"Doesn't seem like he is when he's being an asshole about it…" Max grumbled in response, keeping his eyes on the ground as they walked. "I just wanna go to Pride with Jade. At least she listened when I wanted to talk about it all."
"Yeah, well… Des and Annie need you on the farm." Lloyd said plainly, though he didn't sound as insisting about it the way Desmond did.
"No, they don't. They make enough money to hire a bunch of help…" He growled, shooting a cold look at his uncle before he stopped and thought for a moment. "Can… Can you help me get there?"
"To Pride?" Lloyd stared down at him, then the old imp laughed softly. "Maxy, if you wanna go there, just go. If that's what you truly wanna do, they can't stop you. I don't want no part of that."
"Please, uncle Lloyd," Max started, lowering his voice as he glanced at the trailer. "At least give me a ride or something… Or, or tell them I'm staying with you for a while. If they find out I've gone to the city, they'll skin my hide…"
Lloyd let out a heavy sigh, then he set a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Look, Max. If this is something you absolutely want to do, then you gotta do it. You're a grown man now, and I know Des can be… Des," he shifted his stance slightly as he glanced at the trailer as well, "But he can't control you, despite whatever he tells you. If you wanna go to Pride, then I'll support that. Just, don't expect him to be happy when you get back. If you plan on coming back…"
"I do wanna come back." Max remarked, "But on my own terms… Not theirs."
"Then do what you wanna do, alright? And don't rush into this. Pride ain't as quiet as it is out here. It's full of Sinners, and they ain't the kindest to us."
"Is anyone kind to imps?" Max asked with a soft laugh, then he thought on his uncle's words for a moment before he looked down at the dirt. "Alright. Thank you, uncle Lloyd. I've got a lot to think about now…"
His uncle grinned weakly, then he patted Max's shoulder a bit before he continued walking to the trailer. Despite what he wanted to do, Max knew it wasn't going to be easy. Like Lloyd said, Pride wasn't nearly as quiet as it was out there in Wrath. Imps had to be tough if they wanted to get by in the city, and there was no exception to that. His uncle was right; this was something he absolutely should not rush. He shook the thoughts out of his mind for now, then he made his way to the trailer as well. Despite what he wanted to do, he still had work to do here. Making his father angry with his delaying would just make his planning harder.
