I'm back with avengence and i promise quick updates on this story from now on. Inless you all tell me to stop writing it because it's a waste of time... and even then, i'd probably still update quickly coz i got nothing better to do with my sorryy life. lol. Everyone say 'awwwwww' like you would at a panto.
D/C: It's not mine. Like most things in the world. Although soon that will all change. My plan for world domination is well underway.. mwah ha ha ha ha
And now you all think i'm mad - on with the story...
Vince groaned, writhing painfully at the back of the carpet.
"Bollo, watch Vince doesn't fall off." warned Naboo. Bollo put a paw on Vince's shoulder and held him safe. "How is he?" continued Naboo.
"He moving more now." growled Bollo. "Look a bit better."
"I was hoping that would happen. The closer we get to retrieving the sentence the better Vince should get."
"Good." Bollo said looking down at Vince who was still squirming about. The colour was returning slowly to his cheeks but he was still cold as ice.
"Damnit!" cried Naboo after a few minutes of silence.
"What is it?" asked Bollo.
"I think we've gone the wrong way."
"What?"
"It's this flaming sat-nav. It's useless. It keeps telling me to go left, but there is no left."
"Straight ahead for 100 yards." the mechanical voice piped up "Turn left in 50 yards. Turn left in 25 yards. Turn left in 10 yard. Turn left. Turn left."
"There is no left!" screamed Naboo beginning to lose his rag. "You stupid machine."
"Make a U-turn. Make a U-turn."
"ARGH!" yelled Naboo smacking the sat-nav over the edge of the carpet. "Stupid technology!"
"Naboo?" groaned Vince hoarsely, sitting up slowly and holding his head. "What's happening? How did I get on the carpet? What happened at the gig? Where's Howard? Why does my head feel like it's going to explode? Did we go out drinking last night Bollo?" smiled Vince knowingly.
"No." Bollo said. "How's your head?"
"Feels like millions of Borrowers are trying to drill a tunnel straight through my brain." Vince said rubbing at his temples. "I've never had a hangover this bad before. How much did I drink?"
"You haven't got a hangover." frowned Naboo flipping the map over in his hands and grumbling "This would be easier to read if I knew where we were in the first place."
"I know where we are." Vince said as he peered over the side of the carpet.
"What?" asked Naboo looking at the Goth in disbelief.
"Yeah. That's that boring jazz museum down there that we had to go to for Howard's birthday last month. It's not far from that massive Topshop. The one I snuck off to in the middle of 'Jazz: An in depth tour of it's history'. Remember, it was so big I got lost." Vince blushed. "It took Howard nearly an hour to find me."
Naboo looked over the edge and saw the huge shop that had occupied Howard's birthday.
"Vince, sometimes I think there's more than one brain cell in that head of yours."
"Nope." grinned Vince "Just the one, but he works hard sometimes. Ouch!" he gasped, clutching his head again. "Maybe he's working too hard. Can you get a headache from thinking too much?"
"No" Naboo smiled, he thought he would probably have laughed if he hadn't been so stressed.
"You got a parectemol then?" Vince asked rubbing his left temple.
"No, sorry."
"Bollo?"
"Sorry Vince." the ape sighed.
"S'ok. Where are we going anyway?"
"Hospital." Naboo said, guiding the carpet in the right direction.
"My headaches not that bad." Vince said looking a little alarmed.
"Not for you!" scorned Naboo "Howard's there, he's had a car crash."
"What?" asked Vince turning a pale shade of green.
"He's fine." Naboo reassured him seeing Vince's ill look. "You just relax. We'll be there soon now that I know which way to go."
--
A short time later, the strange party on the carpet arrived outside a large and very busy looking hospital. Bollo helped Vince stagger into the building, the smaller man's legs were too weak to support his own weight, while Naboo searched for somewhere to park the carpet.
Vince and Bollo walked as inconspicuously as they could manage to the reception and asked where Howard was.
"What the hell is that?" screamed the receptionist pointing a trembling finger at Bollo.
"Ummm, what?" asked Vince helplessly.
"That thing." she squeaked.
"Oh this." said Vince as though he'd just noticed Bollo for the first time. "He's my, uh, guide gorilla"
"Guide gorilla?!"
"Yeah, they ran out of dogs. Would you believe it?"
The girl shook her head, pale and frightened.
"He's perfectly safe." Vince continued cheerfully "He's even house trained." he said flashing this girl his best smile. She weakened a little at this and told them the ward Howard was on still glancing nervously at Bollo.
Bollo picked up a coat from a rack in the corner of the reception and put it on as some sort of disguise. Then he and Vince went to find Howard. It didn't take them long although they were stopped every five minutes by doctors who were suspicious about the appearance of the gorilla. Vince managed to convince them that Bollo was his Romanian uncle and soon they were at the door to Howard's room.
Vince pushed open the door. His hand flew to his mouth and his stomach sank. Vince tried to walk towards the bed but he wobbled dangerously and his head exploded with pain. Bollo steadied the small man and helped him to the single chair at Howard's bedside. Naboo had said the doctors had called Howard's injuries as 'a few cuts and bruises' but that's not how it looked. Howard was fast asleep, he had a black eye, a gash in his knee, cuts all over his face. His lip and cheek was bruised and swollen. Vince thought that Howard looked as though he'd been put in a giant blender and barely survived.
"Howard." Vince whispered touching the taller mans hand "What have you done to yourself, eh?"
"Vince shouldn't feel bad for Howard when he the reason you may die." grumbled Bollo angrily.
"What?" asked Vince spinning around suddenly. "I may die?"
"N-no." Bollo lied unconvincingly
"Why might I die?" pressed Vince, his voice becoming panicky. "what's Howard done?"
"Nothing."
"Bollo." warned Vince.
"Nothing." Bollo insisted "I go find Naboo." and with that he disappeared out of the door.
"Bollo!" Vince croaked after him. "What's Howard done to almost kill me?"
"I'm sorry." Howard said gruffly from behind him.
"Howard." breathed Vince, turning back to Howard both relieved and furious to find the older man was okay. Vince smiled at him. The older man smiled back. They held each others gaze for a moment. Then suddenly Vince frowned "Are you plotting to ill me?"
"No." said Howard horrified. "It's Naboo's stupid typewriter. I didn't realise it was magic."
"Yeah," scorned Vince "Because hardly anything of Naboo's is magic."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Why might I die?" Vince asked again but this time his voice was much quieter, much more fearful.
"It's that stupid character in my novel, Prince. Well, you're him. I mean… he's you. You're living his life. Everything that happens to him is…" Howard swallowed hard choking on his emotions "it's going to happen to you."
"But…" Vince gasped "He get's shot… in the head. Is that why I keep getting headaches?" Vince asked feeling sick as the realisation of what could happen washed over him. "Oh my god." he breathed. Then he looked at Howard "You killed me." he said accusingly.
"Not yet." Howard pointed out.
"I'm going to get shot… because of you." Vince screamed hitting Howard as hard as he could, thumping him on the chest until he became tired which, fortunately for Howard, was pretty quickly. He slumped back into the chair and looked into Howard's dark brown eyes. "Howard" he whispered tearfully. "I don't want to die."
"I know little man." Howard said sitting up painfully and reaching out a hand to rub Vince's arm "But it's okay. We're going to do all we can to stop it from happening. We've got to get to the publishers and stop Hamilton Cork from reading that sentence."
"Why?" asked Vince. Howard explained everything watching Vince turn paler and paler.
"S-so, so we've gotta s-stop anyone reading your story." stammered Vince, fear etched across his face. "Well, let's go." Vince said fiercely, standing up a little wobbly. Howard threw back the bedcovers revealing more deep cuts along his body. He stood up and winced in pain at his movements.
"You okay?" Vince asked a little concerned.
"Yeah, yeah." Howard said offhandedly "I'm fine. Come on."
Howard and Vince staggered along the corridor holding each other up. People were giving the two men, both who looked like they needed to be in a hospital bed, very strange looks as they made their way slowly down the corridor's ducking out of the way of nurses and doctors. They were just about to limp through the double door when there was a loud cry from behind them.
"VINCE! Vince Noir, you sly devil. What are you doing here?"
"Don't look round or people will notice us." hissed Howard, "just keep walking."
"You're wearing a hospital gown and neither of us can walk straight. I think people have noticed us." smiled Vince, thought he took Howard's advise and kept walking.
"VINCE!" came the voice again, it was much closer this time and Vince felt a strong hand on his shoulder spin him round suddenly. "It is you." bellowed the man pulling Vince into a strong hug, drawing the attention of the entire waiting room, it was lucky Howard was so generic looking or one of the nurses would have taken him back to his bed by now.
"Yeah, hey Leroy." said Vince weakly. As Leroy released him Vince wobbled slightly and Howard grabbed his hand to stop him falling to the floor.
"Wahey!" laughed Leroy. "What's going on here then?" he asked indicating their hands. "You two a couple now."
"No." scorned Vince, snatching his hand from Howard's and using a wall to steady himself instead. His head was pounding and he felt a little sick but he tried to look as natural as possible. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Ridiculous? Come on," laughed Leroy doing a pretty convincing impression of Vince "'we've been crimping for years, at night times, in our rooms, when no one's watching'. We all know what 'crimping's' a euphemism for. And you admitted that in front of the whole of the Velvet Onion! And I've heard about that weird thing you do with Satsuma's."
"It's not that weird." insisted Vince turning a violent shade of red.
"Whatever mate. So… Howard Moon?" Leroy continued to bellow "How are you?"
"It is him." gasped a nurse from across the room. "he's not been checked out. Get him."
"Run!" cried Vince and both men turned and ran, well tried to run. After less than 100 meters Vince sank to the floor holding his throbbing head and Howard collapsed beside him panting heavily holding his bruised side and face, his whole body aching. The nurses dragged them both, none to gently, back to the hospital.
"I know you probably feel fine." smiled the nurse sympathetically as she checked the clip board at the end of Howard's bed "But you can't leave until after the doctor's done his rounds tomorrow."
"When will that be?" asked Howard.
"I don't know probably around one o'clock."
"In the afternoon?"
"Of course in the afternoon." giggled the nurse. "And you." she said turning to Vince "Well, we can't find anything wrong with you but we're going to suggest you try and get some sleep."
"What in this chair!?" Vince asked indicating the wheel chair the doctor had given him to stop him from falling over. "No way. I'm having way too much fun." he laughed wheeling around the room as quickly as he could.
"Well," laughed the nurse, leaving "Just don't run anyone over."
"Hey Howard! Look at this!" Vince cried. Howard turned over to see the younger man balancing carefully on two wheels. "I'm like a stuntman!"
"Very clever." Howard sighed turning away from Vince.
"Howard?"
"Yes little man."
"You okay?" Vince asked, rolling over to the bed.
"No, not really."
"It'll be okay."
"No Vince!" snapped Howard letting all his emotions go. "It's not going to be okay. You need to face facts. You heard what that nurse said, we wont be able to get that sentence back before people read it. You're going to die Vince and there's nothing I can do about it!" he sobbed loudly. "I'm so sorry Vince."
Vince rolled slowly to the other side of the bed so he could see Howard's face which was wet with tears. Vince reached out a hand and dried the tears away with his sleeve and for a while the two men just looked at each other in silence.
"Howard."
"Hmmm?"
"It'll be okay, won't it?" Howard looked up at those innocent blue eyes. He didn't want to lie to Vince but it was going to be so hard to tell him that it was very likely things wouldn't be okay so he said.
"I don't know but I want you to know I'm going to do everything I can to make it better."
"I know." Vince nodded giving Howard a watery smile. "You always look after me. Well, sometimes look after me."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Howard a little angrily.
"Well," smiled Vince mischievously "There was that time you left me to the mercy of Kodiac Jack and there was the time you tried to eat me on that island and the time made me do all that digging and stuff in the tundra and the time you…"
"Okay," Howard said "I get the picture but you haven't exactly been the best friend either."
"I know." Vince said dropping his head "I know I'm an idiot sometimes. I'm sorry."
"I know little man. You know Vince I love you."
Howard caught Vince's blue eyes and for a moment they just looked at each other until Vince snorted.
"You what?" he chortled.
"Oh don't do this again." snapped Howard.
"Do what?" Vince asked drying to sound indignant but failing miserably as he laughed again/
"Laugh at me when I tell you I love you."
"Sorry," giggled Vince "I just don't expect it from a man of action like you. It take's me by supr- Argh!" Vince suddenly screamed.
"Vince!?" Howard said sitting up. "Vince, are you okay?"
"My head! It's getting worse."
"Vince." Howard said holding the smaller man and pulling him into a hug. "Where the hell is Naboo?"
As though responding to his name Naboo and Bollo walked through the door.
"Howard. What you done now?" Bollo said angrily ripping Vince from Howard's clutches and cradling the electro-poof like a baby.
"Naboo, why's he getting worse?" Howard asked the shaman choosing to ignore Bollo.
"It's half past six." Naboo said looking at Vince who was wincing and squirming in agony. "Iguess Hamilton Cork could be on his way to work."
"We have to go." Bollo growled placing Vince gently over his shoulder. "Now!"
"I can't leave. The nurses are watching me." Howard said.
"Don't need Howard." Bollo grumbled.
"Yes we do. The publishers aren't going to give that sentence back to just anyone." sighed Naboo. "We'll have to sneak out of the window. I'll summon the carpet. We have to get to that sentence before Cork does or… well let's not think about that."
I think maybe these chapters are a bit long. :s
Okay, let me know what you think! Just push that lil' review button and write what you think - good or bad, I still wanna know.
Thanks for reading.
Sisi…xx