CHAPTER 5: JUDGEMENTS
A/N: Hello! Sorry this chapter took awhile, but I've been having problems getting on the laptop and getting the internet working and whatnot.. But hey, here I am. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to message me :). Hope you enjoy this chapter!
It takes us a long time before we reach the town.
I blame it on the darkness. Had Goggle not been there, I'm pretty sure Pluto and I would've stumbled to our deaths on several occasions. I'd asked Goggle about his seemingly natural ability to navigate through the rocky desert in complete darkness, and he claimed it was just practise, but I know it's something more. I mean, I would often travel at night instead of having to withstand the oppressive heat of the typical desert day, but even I wouldn't dare travel through the treacherous hills in the darkness, instead preferring to stick to the flatter areas. I wonder if all the mutants, apart from Pluto, who seemed to be having as much trouble as I was, are able to handle the cliffs as neatly as Goggle.
My thoughts trail off as I hear a babble of voices coming from the same house I was in earlier. One voice in particular, a voice similar to Goggle's, stands out from the rest.
"Do I have to go inside?" I ask, desperation creeping into my tone as I gaze at the back of Goggle's bowler hat. He just nods before turning his head around and smiling reassuringly at me.
The door creaks upon entry, and the mannequins grin at me as if welcoming a long-lost relative. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck begin to prickle as I gawk at the mannequins with suspicion, still expecting them to suddenly start moving. Goggle, sensing my discomfort at the models, is quick to push me through to a room which is ringed with rotting seats and people alike.
The chatter of mutants stops abruptly as I step into the room. All eyes are on me; some friendly, like Big Mama and Ruby, some spiteful, like Lizard and another mutant whose skin is flaming red in colour and trimmed with large welts.
But what I find the most disturbing is the man in the middle of the room. He's in a wheelchair, wearing nothing but a pair of mouldy shorts which are encrusted with sand. His eyes are fastened upon me, and I can't help but notice the array of emotions which cross his features. Something between hatred and curiousity, I suppose. But his eyes aren't the first thing that catch my attention. His head, like a big, grey blob, flops over the back of his chair as if it's about to drip off at any moment. I shudder.
"This ta' gurl?"
My head snaps around to face a man who, like Big Mama, is rather lacking in mutations. All I can see on his face is an unkempt beard and frantic, glaring eyes. I'm about to question if he even is a mutant, until I notice the large bulge underneath his jacket where his shoulder is supposed to be. God knows what kind of mutation could be under there.
Better leave questions until later, I warn myself, peering at the intimidating man standing before me.
"Yeah, tha's her, Jupiter." Big Mama confirms warily, her motherly gaze flitting between me and her husband.
Jupiter looks me up and down, scrutinizing every inch of my body like a farmer at an auction, eyeing up a promising looking cow.
"Why did ya' kill Jeb?" He finally asks, his voice becomming more poisonous with every syllable.
I'm about to reply, but, to my humiliation, choke on my words. It takes me an unbearable amount of time before I finally manage to throw them out.
"I-I didn't know he.. was importan-" I start, before being interupted by Jupiter.
"Don' matter what you know or don' know. Ya killed 'im, an' I wanna know why!" He spits, his deadly sneer gradually inching closer to me.
My large, silver eyes stare at the man as his lips pull back, displaying pointed, yellow teeth. My nose twitches as I catch a whiff of his horrid breath which seems to consist of a mixture of maggots and cow dung. I can't help but wonder what Lizard's breath would smell like, considering his mouth is constantly being held open by his cleft lip. God knows what's crawled in there in the past...
"W-was.. hungry.." I mutter pathetically, my usually strong presence practically crumbling under the intense glare of the intimidating man. I feel ashamed to admit it, but I'm scared.
"Don' fuckin' care if ya were hungry!" He snarls, a glob of spit hitting my forhead and sticking to some strands of hair. "You could be lyin'! You prolly' killed 'im fir no good reaso-"
"She ain't lyin', papa. Seen 'er with my own eyes." I can't see the mutant who stuck up for me, but I know, by the voice, who it is. I feel myself relax a little as Jupiter turns his venomous glare from me to his son. Goggle clears his throat, and it's easy to tell he's as uncomfortable as I am. But he carries on, regardless. "Watchin' 'er for days 'fore she got Jeb. Was all but draggin' hersel' through the sand. S'rprised she managed to take Jeb down. Know he ain't never much o' a f'ghter, but..." He trails off as his father begins to stalk towards him. My eyes flicker over to the pair, watching as Goggle gulps down his fear. I'm obviously not the only one to be petrified in the presence of Jupiter.
The stare-off between Goggle and his father seems to last forever. The tension never eases, and I'm frightened to move even a muscle. I all but jump out of my skin when Jupiter spins back to face me, fastening me with his death glare yet again.
"Like I said a'fore..." He growls, making his way over to me until he's but a few inches from my face. "Don' give a fuck wh'ther she wus hungry or not. M'sendin' her down ta Hades."
I can vaguely recall someone talking about Hades a few hours ago. I don't have any idea who this Hades is though, but I assume he's bad as I hear the sharp gasps coming from Big Mama and Ruby.
"You can't do tha'!" Big Mama cries, clinging onto her husbands arm desperately. "She's jus' a lil' girl! Give 'er a chance!"
Jupiter's face doesn't soften at all. He just continues to glare at me with nothing but contempt. It's only when a rather unexpected voice pipes up when he finally breaks the taunting eye-contact.
"Jupiter..." It rasps, wheeling a few inches forward. "Look.. at 'er. She's... fit 'nuff. R'member... we were.. disc'ssing... earlier. 'Bout... Ruby..."
I have absolutely no idea what the man with the bulbous head is on about. If anything, I'd say he's lost the plot. But something dawns on Jupiter's face, and he gawks at the man in the wheelchair quizzically.
"She'd r'n away." He states firmly, seeming the forget the idea in an instant. "And anyw'y. Wouldn' trust 'er one bit. Look," he says, pointing to the necklace which I'd put on earlier in the gas station. "She ev'n steals tha stuff we gave ol' Jeb!"
"Not... if.. you promise her.. to live. She would... not run away. And.. you could.. watch 'er... Goggle..." The man suggests, his eyes rolling from Jupiter to me, and back again.
Jupiter seems to consider this. I still have no idea what it involves, but I'd be more than willing to do it if I means I can live.
Oh, what a pathetic creature you are, I scold myself, begging for your life like a desperate infant.
"Please... I won't run away." I plead, despair etching itself onto my sullen face.
Jupiter crosses his arms over his chest, narrowing his perilous eyes at me. "We'll see." He spits before turning towards Lizard. "Make s're she gets to tha gas station. Leave now. I exp'ct ya to watch her at all times, Lizard, and Goggle. She's yer respons'bility now, both o' ya!"
He leaves the room, grumbling atrocities under his breath.
Everyone stands in silence for a few moments. Apart from Lizard, ofcourse, who is chuckling haughtily to himself.
"Looks like... you ain't... gettin' that... job then, huh... Ruby?" The man in the wheelchair comments, and it seems to take a lot of effort for him to speak. Ruby just nods eagerly. It isn't difficult to tell that she does not want this job, whatever it is. I have to admit, her happiness at not getting it doesn't exactly give me much hope.
Surely it can't be that bad, or Jupiter would not have considered his daughter to do it... I reassure myself.
"Let's git goin' then!" Lizard hollers before grabbing the top of my arm and painfully dragging me out the door. Out of all the mutants I've met here, Lizard and Jupiter are, by far, the worst. And now, here I am, alone with Lizard in the middle of a town filled with mutants who potentially want to kill me.
"Ya ain't leavin' w'thought me!" I hear someone call from inside, and it isn't long before Goggle and Pluto appear, jogging to catch up with Lizard and I. The man holding onto me snarls, obviously not wanting company on our little trip. Goggle just shrugs it off, and I'd be surprised if Pluto even noticed.
The walk to the gas station is a long and tiresome one, especially when you're being forced to jog by a frightening mutant who would probably cut you into several chunks if you dare complain. I manage to keep my mouth shut the entire way, but even I can't stop the occasional gasp of pain when Lizard digs his nails into my skin, making little crescent shaped cuts which weep a small amount of blood.
"Lizard, yer hurtin' 'er..." Goggle mumbles as we pass a large, dried-out boulder.
"Shut yer mouth, Gogs."
"I told ya not ta call me Gogs..."
"I tol' ya ta shut yer mouth! Ya deaf or somin'?"
"M'not deaf, jus' don' want ta be called Gogs!"
"Too fuckin' bad fir you, then!"
Goggle mumbles something offensive under his breath as he kicks at a little grey pebble. To my right, Pluto giggles quietly, which earns him a steely glare from Goggle and effectively shuts him up.
No more words are exchanged until we reach the run down gas station. I sneer at the memory of it; of sliding through the shadows and, ultimately, being brought down by the very mutant who's pulling me through the desert right now.
"Yer home now!" Lizard guffaws brightly before shoving me, face first, into the washed-out door. The side of my face hits against it with a loud smack! which only serves to make Lizard even happier. In a state of rage, a snarl rips from my mouth. Lizard chuckles at me, shaking Goggle's shoulder and pointing at me with a mocking expression.
"Ooooh..." Lizard taunts, sliding over to me and running his fingers through my dark hair. "Lil' kitty got claws." He purrs in my ear, sending a repulsed shudder down my body.
"L'zard..." Goggle makes a move to pull Lizard away from me, but seems to have second thoughts and takes a few steps back. "You're scarin' 'er."
"Not my probl'm." The man with the cleft lip says with a sinister grin.
I grit my teeth together as Lizard grabs my neck, swings the door open, and pushes me inside. I fall on to the wooden floorboards, but I'm able to swing my hands out to catch myself just before my face goes hurtling into the ground. I rapidly scramble to my feet, avoiding a foot that had been aiming for my rib cage.
"Yer gonna stay 'ere now. Goggle n' I gonna' be watchin' ya all the time. Try n' run, I'll come kill ya mysel'. Save papa tha hassle. Yer gonna' wait fir people ta come, then yer gonna call us on this." Lizard holds up a walkie-talkie before demonstrating how to use the different buttons. "People are gonna come in 'ere, normal people, n' yer gonna act normal. You gotta' d'stract 'em 'till we come. Just... make sure they stay 'ere 'till we get 'ere. Un'erstand?"
I nod my head dumbly, taking my time to digest this new information.
Is this what Jeb did for them before? Am I replacing him?
"One las' thing," Lizard says before stuffing a bottle of water into his jacket, "I'm gonna' be campin' out there." He jerks his head off to the side, towards the direction we came. "I'll come v'sit ya some time." Lizard adds with a wink, making me want to puke.
It seems like forever until they finally leave, Lizard tossing the walkie-talkie onto a table and abruptly strolling out. Goggle follows, leaving me with a tip of his hat. My eyes trail after them as they make their way through the door, making sure they are actually going away and not just hanging around outside.
I breathe out a sigh of relief when I look through a crack in the wall. They're only little specks in the distance now. I can't help but wonder how close Lizard intends to stay to the gas station, but I doubt it'd be much further than they are now. Maybe Goggle is staying with him too, so they can watch me up close with the aid of binoculars. A huff passes my lips, disgruntled at the fact that I'm practically being baby-sitted. Except my babysitters aren't exactly bored teenagers who want money.
Well, they might be teenagers.
I instantly realise how stupid that idea is and a wave of slightly hysterical giggles pour from my mouth. Lizard, teenager? Don't think so. Well, I suppose he is moody enough, but I doubt the wrinkles on his face are only an effect of sunburn. If I were to guess, I'd say he was around 40. Goggle, maybe 30... It's harder to tell with Goggle. Heck, it's hard to tell with all of them. They're all older than me, anyway. Except from Ruby... She doesn't look that much younger than me. Two years difference, maybe three? I'll have to ask her sometime.
That is if you even see her again. I remind myself sharply.
Well, I have a walkie-talkie that I can ask her with.
Cocking my head slightly, I look at the little talking device laying on the table. If I speak into it, how many people can hear me? Can I make it so only one person can hear me? Curious, I pad across to it and pick it up in my hand. I twist it around, debaiting whether or not to test it. After a few minutes, curiousity wins over, and I press the buttons which Lizard showed me and raise it to my lips.
"...Hi?"
I jump back when a stream of responses come pouring out the speakers.
"What tha' fuck?"
"Who th's?"
"Ta gurl?"
"Aysel?"
"There people down th're?"
"Lizard! We're comin' down ta get the people. Ays'l, keep 'em there!"
"'Kay, Papa. Me n' Goggle already goin' ov'r there."
"Pluto, get ov'r 'ere!"
"Oah-kaaaay."
"Wait, wait! False alarm!" I cry desperately into the walkie-talkie, cursing at myself internally.
Stupid curious stupid fucking pathetic moron...
"False al'rm? Ya fuckin' kiddin' me?"
"Fuckin' gurl... Shoulda' nev'r givin' 'er a talkie..."
"Sorry..." I mumble before tossing the walkie-talkie as far away from me as possible. Insults are still pouring through it. Two voices in particular seem to take pleasure in throwing as many cuss words at me as they can. I assume it's Lizard and Jupiter. They don't seem to like me very much.
And you wonder why, when you keep doing stupid fucking things like that...
As I continue to throw every single demeaning word I can at myself, I slowly make my way across to a crack in the wall. Leaning forward, I press my eye to it and take a look outside. In the distance, I can still see two specks, slightly smaller than the last time I checked, standing out in the middle of the desert.
"Atleast Lizard isn't coming back..." I mutter, running a shaking hand through my hair.
God, it was so much less stressful when I was alone...