Chapter 35

Vince's birthday was equally as quiet as Christmas. Leroy hadn't been able to show up, as his baby and girlfriend were both ill. He did tell the kid over the phone that he'd be there that Sunday, and Vince was obviously very excited about his planned day out with his best friend.

The kid was also chuffed to bits over turning seventeen, even though Howard couldn't help slipping in a few driving jokes as they ate ice cream and had a Colobus marathon into the night.

Vince also wore Howard's gift with as much pride as he had the white cowboy hat. It was definitely the shoddiest present Howard had ever gotten someone, but he was scraping by with groceries and payments as it was. And it was the only thing at the little boutique within Howard's price range that he knew the boy would at least tolerate. The kid had assured Howard that he loved it very much, and the little black and pink wristband was currently on his left wrist, Vince proclaiming his intention of never taking it off. Howard had replied that he should do well to remove it during work if he didn't want it covered in dirt and animal food. For once the boy had seen his logic.

Vince was currently digging about in his dresser drawers, looking for a good shirt to wear. He'd neglected to do his laundry, and Howard forced himself not to do it for him, merely reminding Vince casually every afternoon until finally the kid had no clean clothes to wear.

Now he silently observed as the kid let out a cry of victory, holding up an old yellow shirt, wrinkled horribly but apparently passing Vince's cleanliness test as the boy sniffed it and nodded in satisfaction.

He pulled the shirt over his head, covering his skinny torso. He made to close the bottom drawer, pausing and letting loose another shout.

"Holy shit!"

Howard was sitting straight, alert and concerned.

"What? What is it?"

The boy grinned and pulled a small video camera from the tangle of clothing and items. He looked over at Howard, who sat back with a huff.

"Forgot I even had this! I'm gonna take it with me when Leroy shows."

The boy instantly searched about for the box of blank tapes, finding them quickly and popping one into the recorder. Leroy chose this moment to knock at their door, and Vince was up and outside with his friend, shouting his goodbyes to Howard and already laughing with the taller young man.

Howard sat in the stillness for a few minutes, shifting about in his seat and turning the volume on the tv up quite a bit. He was resolved not to go into a panic. He was going to get over this strange fear of being alone in the Lodge if it killed him! It was ridiculous! He knew it was; Bollo was dead. Howard had spent seven years alone in this old hut, and he'd never come to any harm. So why was he sweating so much?

Time crawled by and Howard tried desperately not to count minutes. Eventually he had the volume all the way up, even though he knew this would only agitate the animals, and he was focusing so intently on the show playing out in front of him that he wasn't even sure what was happening in it.

As night descended and the windows grew dark, the boy came back, and Howard attempted not to look as relieved as he felt. The kid, of course, picked up on this immediately.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Vince."

The man smiled calmly at the kid, and the boy looked as if he were going to reply, but Howard noticed something in his hand. He pointed to it, asking what it was, and Vince grinned as he moved over to his dresser, setting the recorder down and walking back toward Howard.

"This is Cheekbone. It's this amazin' magazine. Saw it in a shop with Leroy and got to readin' it. It's incredible! I never really thought much about the style, but this thing has so much cool stuff in it. Like this Mod suit, see? I'd love to have that. I'd wear it everywhere! And this lunchbox is pretty cool. Look at all these really popular new bands. The Mod Wolves, that's the famous one. They're apparently tourin' the country as we speak! Maybe they'll choose a spot near here an' I can go watch 'em."

Howard took hold of the magazine, flipping through it and making faces at the little Pop models and various clothing they had for order. Just when he thought fashion couldn't take a step further down the shithole. Vince leaned over Howard, turning the pages until he reached what he wanted. It was two pages dedicated to a man; in each photo of him he stared directly into the camera, face almost dour. It was very offputting.

"Who's this prize tool?"

"That's Über Mod. He's like the king of the entire Mod fashion. But that's all gonna soon change. My hair's loads thicker than 'is! With a bit of hairspray, I bet you I could top his highest length within the month!"

"Vince...you're not going to spray your hair so that it stands up on top of your head like that. You'll look ridiculous. You'll look like...flippin' Antoinette or something."

Vince grinned, not seeming put off in the slightest.

"That's what Leroy said. He told me I was barmy, but bought me the magazine anyway, heh."

Vince proudly took back his magazine and proceeded to flop down onto his stomach on his sleeping bag, paging through the articles and photos.

That night he made multiple attempts to phone in and order various items from the catalogue, and Howard had to intercept him several times. Eventually the man confiscated the magazine and told Vince to get to bed. The boy had proceeded to sulk the rest of the night and into the morning.

The amount of animals disappearing was beyond alarming. Now it was just downright unthinkable. Multiple animals from multiple exhibits were gone in single nights. And before Howard could completely process it, their zoo had only a handful of animals left. It was horrible, and Fossil had taken to giving guests group tours around the zoo, just so he could explain how many of the creatures were 'hiding' or 'blending in with their natural environment'.

Howard was becoming increasingly depressed as the zoo quite literally fell down around him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Police had been informed of the recurrent theft, and were on high alert for any news or sign of someone harboring animals in the area.

Howard was also incredibly frustrated. He just couldn't seem to write a good song! Everything he wrote was shit, and what he did think was passable the kid immediately tore into. The boy was beginning to make Howard very cross. He had a new gig coming up that weekend and really wanted a song of his own to sing. Vince had already written up one for him, but he was determined to try his hardest to do this one completely on his own.

"Hey, Moon. I got a job for ya."

Howard looked up from where he was carrying a bucket of bird feed back to the zoo storage, having finished feeding all the zoo's remaining birds. Vince's own marsupials and reptiles were completely gone; all he had to tend to were the various rodents.

"What is it, Fossil? I'm very busy."

"Shut it, Moon. Listen, there's gonna be a visitor at our zoo later on, and I heard from a reliable source that she makes donations to places she likes. Now, apparently this woman loves gorillas, so I want you to put on a gorilla suit and run around in Bollo's old cage. I already got the suit and everything back in my office-"

"No way, Fossil. Go ask someone else, or better yet, why don't you dress up."

"Did I say I was giving you a choice, Moon?"

"The answer is no. Good day, Mr Fossil."

The man stared long and hard at Howard, before finally walking away. Howard considered it a victory, up until he went to check on the boy, only to find Fossil shoving a gorilla suit into his arms and telling him he was to act as Bollo.

Vince looked incredibly unsure and slightly devastated at the prospect of pretending to be his dead ape friend. Howard quickly stepped forward, ripping the suit from the boy's loose grasp and shoving it back at Fossil, who glared up at him.

"This is none of your concern, Moon-"

"No it is my concern. You will not go around ordering Vince to do things I told you I wouldn't. You hear me? I catch you trying any of this again, I'll be ensuring the Zooniverse's need for a new manager. Got it?"

The man thundered away in fury, and Vince looked torn between wanting to stay on Fossil's good side and really not wanting to dress up as Bollo. Howard patted him reassuringly over the back, and then returned to his own post, very glad that it was only a half hour before break.

The lady really did arrive, and Fossil led her around the zoo, avoiding Bollo's cage as long as possible. Eventually the woman outright asked to see him, and Fossil reluctantly brought her to it. She didn't believe him for an instant when he claimed the ape to be camouflaged. She left the zoo quite put off, muttering about the rubbish littering the ground and the lack of animals. Howard was torn between being incredibly embarrassed over the condition of the zoo, and smug as all hell as Fossil kicked a bin repeatedly.

This performance was quite easier on Howard's nerves than the last one. For one thing, it was simply a local club, and everyone was too busy dancing wildly to really pay much mind to the artists as they played and sang.

Once he was through with his song, (Vince's song; Howard had given up. Goddammit.) The man joined Tristan at a booth. They ordered drinks, talking idly and watching Vince as he jumped around in the crowd, coming back every few minutes to pull on Howard's arm, begging the man to dance with him.

"We can slow dance if you want! Like back at the theatre; it don't have to be no crazy dancin' like these guys are doin'."

Howard had went red and refused the boy again and again, and eventually Vince had given up with a huff, moving off. Tristan grinned questioningly across the table at the man.

"Slow dance? What's he mean?"

"I ah, at the theatre...we arrived early and so I taught Vince to dance a bit."

He didn't dare mention the heartwarming conversation they'd had. That was to stay between him and the kid. Tristan smiled brightly at him, making him feel a little bit less like a tit.

"Aw, that's so cute, Howard!"

Okay, more of a tit now. He slid down a bit in his seat as the woman beamed at him, going on about how she wished she could've seen it, and how adorable Howard must've looked 'dancing with his kid'.

'Oh god, someone just get into a massive pub fight and knock me out in the crossfire.'

Suddenly Vince was coming back up to the table, mouth opening in a grin, and Howard raised his hand up at him, not even looking.

"No, Vince, for the last time I will not go dance."

"Doubt you could, really."

Okay that wasn't Vince's voice. Howard looked up to find Naboo standing next to the boy, who was now looking a bit on edge at the already tensing atmosphere. The kid quickly began speaking, gesturing at Naboo and over to Tristan.

"Naboo, this is Tristan Butler. She's Howard's girlfriend. Howard, this is Rudi van Disarzio. He's a musician too!"

Howard hadn't noticed the third member of the group, and nodded up at the tall man. He was even taller than Howard, dark skin slightly sweaty, which meant he most likely just got through with his performance. Those spotlights practically burned. The man had quite a large afro, with a little purple door placed onto the front of it. He was also sporting some odd purple robes, and Howard wasn't sure if he looked incredibly out of place in the middle of this club, or if he fit in perfectly.

The man gave a short bow to them all, and Vince was launching excitedly into speech once more.

"He's super famous! Naboo's known 'im for years. Rudi here's been to the Desert of Nightmares and back, and even managed to find the New Sound! That's why he's so talented."

Rudi smiled down at the teen, looking quite smug at the boy's obvious admiration. Howard noted his dilated pupils in the low light and dearly hoped the boy didn't demand to leave with them. Naboo was looking a bit like he was on another planet, mostly tuning them all out entirely.

"Thank you, Mr Noir, for those kind words. It is true, I was able to discover the New Sound. I made an album about my journey. You can find it in most stores, by the way."

Naboo seemed to snap back to the present, and nudged Rudi, looking up at the taller man.

"Hey, we gotta go meet the boys."

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Well, it was nice to meet you all. Always remember to open your mind, and there your quests begin! For if you look into a pebble, you will see your own face."

With that the two men moved off, and Howard took a second to stare after them, Rudi's words making absolutely no sense in his mind. The boy took this opportunity to grab up Howard's drink from his grasp, downing it in one before the man could pull it back. He had set a limit for how much the boy could drink when they went out, but Vince occasionally found underhanded ways around it; namely just stealing Howard's drinks. The boy grinned in response to Howard's glare and dove back into the throng of moving bodies.