Chapter 5
"There is something I want to show you son."
Emmet walked by his father's side and he pointed out into the horizon of the cliff where they were at.
"This land is your land. And mine. We all share the same world and the same sky. This is the world that God created for all of us." Said Emmet's beloved father.
"But there are so many bad things in the world. Wars, sicknesses, and death." Said Emmet once.
"Do not focus on what you cannot control. Focus on what you can do. What your love can do." Said Emmet's father.
"My love? Don't you mean my heart?" Said Emmet.
"You are you. And that is enough." Said Emmet's father.
And then he woke up, hearing loud music. He found himself in the tent he went in after his time in the woods. He was still dirty and his clothes were either torn or had mud stains. He stood up, stretched his arms and noticed a small plate of fruit next to him. He took a banana and an apple to eat. After he ate those goodies, Emmett stepped outside, to see where he was.
The first thing he saw was a shirtless guy dancing up on a stage wearing small shorts that revealed a little too much skin. His body was painted with red and green stripes and he wore a sweat band on his forehead. He was tall, well built and he sticked out his tongue while dancing provocatively on stage. The audience were mostly made out of hippies wearing neon colored shirts and they had glow sticks up in the air. The place where Emmet found himself was like a dark part of the forest, only that it was illuminated by neon lights, paint and glowing bugs. The audience was made up of a diverse group of people from many cultures and there were also non human folks too like the Vegetable people, Sasquatches, and even fairies.
It was then that Emmet realized he was in Neon Village. It was said that this was an independent village far from Rood Bridge Park's law and order. It was also known to be the destination for High School graduates, newlyweds, and people looking to break things, but most importantly, it was known for its excessive parties. The parties in Neon Village were said to be profane and full of vice and sin (so says Queen Imani). Emmet knew this was a place he shouldn't be in, but he knew that passing this village meant he was a little close to finding flowers for the medicine.
Emmet walked through the crowd as the shirtless guy was dancing on stage and stretched his muscles, making uncomfortable moaning noises.
"Y'all enjoying the party?" Asked the man as he put on some sunglasses, and put on a giant golden necklace with the peace sign.
The audience cheered wildly as the guy kept on dancing.
"You guys are total rock stars. And my type of crowd. As you all know, today is the day we all pull the middle finger right at her ladyship herself. You know who I'm talking about. Just the utter mention of her name makes me want to vomit!" Said the man as he started to make throwing up noises.
Emmet's attention was on the stage, not taking his eyes off the guy. Was he saying bad things about the Queen? He never heard anyone bad mouth Imani before. Not ever. Sure, he knew there were people who didn't like Queen Imani for many reasons, but he never met an actual Imani-hater up close.
"It's no secret I used to be captain of Imani's soldiers. A bunch of brainwashed poor souls if you ask me. We fought in her name. But what did the fights bring? Blood and violence. Remember my dudes and dudettes. Make love, not war." Said the man.
"We love you Joshua!" Cried a lady from the audience as she lifted her shirt and flashed at Joshua.
"Woah woah, little lady. Relax. I WAS a married man. I'm still a devoted husband to my late wife, you know. I'm still taken." said Joshua.
"Joshua? THE Joshua? The captain of Imani's army?!" Cried Emmet. A young man next to Emmet turned and nodded.
"You're right, kid. He's the ex-captain. Now, he's a bonafide rebel and why on Earth are you here? Don't you know this is an Adults only event. Kids should be in the daycare center." Said the guy.
"I'll let you know I'm 11 years old! Or soon I will be." Said Emmet. At first, he was somewhat angry and then he felt ridiculous. He decided to walk into the crowd and watch what Joshua was doing.
"Imani made so many promises. She declares that Rood Bridge Park is safe and beautiful! Yet she makes laws that make no sense like the banning of Body is Beauty magazines! Remember, yours truly was a model for them until they were put out of business?" Said Joshua.
The audience went crazy and Joshua stuck out his tongue. He then made cat sounds and then called for somebody on stage.
"Tiny! Bring out the portrait!" Cried out Joshua. Tiny, a teenage Sasquatch came out holding a large portrait of Imani herself. It was actually a painting of her, sitting on a chair surrounded by purple lilies. She was holding a cute Pomeranian puppy in her arms. It was a beautiful piece of art.
"Joshua, don't you think this is going too far?" asked the teenage Sasquatch, Tiny.
"I know what I'm doing." said Joshua.
"Yeah, but you're a white guy and she's a black lady…" said Tiny pointing at the picture.
"Do you HAVE to bring up race? And I suppose you want to bring in sex as well? And did you forget I'm not white? I'm of Middle Eastern ancestry, thank you very much." said Joshua.
"But it's still a bad idea…" said Tiny.
Joshua patted Tiny's shoulders and turned to the audience with glee.
"This portrait is about to be destroyed!" declared Joshua. There was then a wild cheering.
It was then that Emmet felt his stomach turn, realizing this portrait was about to be destroyed by this Joshua person. Emmet never met the man, but he did hear of him back home. It was said he was a brave, truthful and honorable young man. The man Emmet was seeing was not that.
"You will all puke on what I'm about to do with this piece of crap. This woman is a menace to our forest and she destroys dreams! Plus, she's a Queen! A good for nothing wench Queen that brings a bad definition to the word BI-! That's what she is!" Said Joshua angrily, losing his cool.
He then pulled his pants down and turned to face the portrait.
"Watch as I degrade your precious Queen!" he screamed like a maniac.
Everyone in the audience either cheered, clapped or looked away in disgust.
Emmet met the Queen herself and he knew she was not at all how Joshua described her. Imani was worried sick for the children back home. And this freak was about to piss on a painting that was said to be expensive. Thank goodness this was a replica. But still, Emmet angrily walked through the crowd, picked up a rock from the ground, climbed up on stage and threw the rock straight at Joshua's head. The crowd gasped and Joshua cussed. "What the F- just happened!?"
"Stop what you're doing you pig! You are dishonoring Rood Bridge Park!" Cried Emmet bravely. He stood his ground and put his knuckles on his hips. Joshua didn't scare him. Emmet faced savage beasts in the forest ten times scarier than this crazy man.
Joshua turned his head and gasped. He quickly put his pants back on, and turned around angrily.
"What the what? What is this? Who the heck are you? Where's your mom?" Cried Joshua in a mixture of annoyance and surprise.
"My name is Emmet and I'm a servant of the Queen. You should all be ashamed of yourselves! There are dying kids in Rood Bridge Park and you're all here bad mouthing a kind and caring lady who likes kids!" Cried Emmet.
The audience booed and some even screamed the word liar or conspiracy theories.
Joshua's eyes widened and he started to laugh. "You poor kid. You've been brainwashed by that woman! This is what she does. She lies to kids and forces them to live like some goddess! Oh you poor baby! Hahahaha!" Laughed Joshua hysterically.
Emmet didn't move. He stood his ground despite not knowing what else to say to him. He needed to say something to dethrone this guy quickly. Something that could make him look bad. And then it dawned on him. Earlier, he heard Tiny mention it wasn't a good idea to pee on Imani's portrait. Yes, that was the only way.
"I don't take orders from a guy pissing on a black woman's picture." Said Emmet, still standing his ground.
The audience gasped and Joshua's smirk faded away.
"Everyone here is diverse and love is love and all that. No war, make love. But why would you pee on a black lady's portrait? Isn't this racism in disguise? I know she's the Queen, but isn't she an easy target? For all we know, this could have been someone else. Someone like my Mom." Said Emmet.
The audience began to murmur among themselves and Joshua's face turned pale.
"That is SO NOT my intention guys! You all know how vocal I am against the Queen. And remember, I used to be her captain. This means I KNOW her and I actually met her. I would never do that to another person's painting." Said Joshua.
Emmet then pretended to cry. He tried not to smile, but he tried to fake tears.
Tiny raised his arms, shaking his head and walking towards Joshua.
"I told you! This was a bad idea! I warned you! But did you listen? No you did not! Now they will all come after you! I can just imagine the scene! Pitch forks, and angry people! Oh Joshua, you are so damn STUPID!" cried Tiny.
"Tiny, for Jesus Christ's sake, would you please, and very calmly, please please SHUT UP!" Joshua said.
The audience felt awkwardly silent for a moment and Joshua had no choice but to call curtains.
"Tiny! Get the disco ball! Get rid of the painting and put on the damn crystal ball! And have the plant folks walk around offering beer and soda to the party goers." ordered Joshua.
"Oh sure, like soda and beer is going to make this all go away. And the disco ball? Dude, this ain't the 70s." said Tiny.
Joshua put his hands together and pleaded to Tiny. "I've been good to you for so long. Don't make me kick your ass." said Joshua.
Tiny rolled his eyes and quickly got to work as Joshua pulled Emmet's hands.
"Let's go! You got a lot of explaining to do young man!" cried Joshua. He walked through the crowd of people either throwing some garbage at him, or blowing kisses. The audience were all mixed with surprise, disappointment and awkwardness. No disco ball or soda or beer was going to set things right that night. Joshua knew he screwed it all up by peeing on Imani's portrait. Blast that Imani, thought Joshua. Even in the sanctuary of Neon Village, she still finds a way to ruin his life, he thought.
As they entered Joshua's tent, seven possums were inside, playing poker. Emmet was utterly confused and Joshua shooed them away.
He then sat with his legs crossed on the puffy carpets in the large tent and Emmet sat across from him. They both scowled at each other for a good long minute. It was Joshua who spoke first.
"You got some nerve to come and disrupt an adult's only party kid," he said.
"You were bad mouthing Queen Imani. The most loved woman in all of Rood Bridge Park." said Emmet angrily.
"Excuse me. Did you hear what I just said? You look like you are intelligent enough to know what an adult's only party is. You could have walked into an all nude party for all we know." said Joshua and then he continued.
"You're just a puny little kid. I should go easy on you." said Joshua.
"Puny?" asked Emmet, annoyed.
"Gotta say, you had guts to come up and say that what I was doing was wrong. I know you used the racism thing to get me to stop." said Joshua as he bit on an apple.
"Racism thing? I'm sorry, but seeing a white guy pee at a picture of a black lady is just enough to make your stomach hurl and for the record, YOU should not be doing that sort of garbage!" said Emmet.
Joshua rolled his eyes. "I'm not white. I'm actually of Middle Eastern Ancestry. You see kid, my grandparents were from Lebanon. Also, this thing with Imani's portrait? I know the lady. I know her personally. And I don't like who she is. Period. And this was a political statement. You are too little to know what that is." said Joshua.
"Still, what you did was really gross and against Rood Bridge Park laws," said Emmet.
"What do you know about law, little boy?" asked Joshua, putting his arms up. It was then that Emmet could smell Joshua's horrible body odor.
"Racism is a cancer! And here in Rood Bridge Park, you can get punished for that!" said Emmet.
"That is true. In fact, if any of my men were here, I would have been arrested on the spot and God knows where they were going to do to me. Also, there is a law for freedom of speech. And my distaste for the government is MY own opinion. But you're just a boy. I'm not going to be discussing politics with you. Not until you're seventeen at least." said Joshua.
"How dare you look down on me." said Emmet.
"And how dare you come and interrupt a very good rave. Things were just getting better, until you came and brought up race to the party." said Joshua.
"Race is an issue that needs to be addressed." said Emmet angrily, losing his patience.
"Ah. And little kids shouldn't be in these raves. As I already told you a couple of times tonight, Neon Village is an adult's only village. It's the place where you can be who you want to be, and do whatever you want to do. In my case, it's booze, hookahs and eating excessive amounts of food until you rip apart your freaking guts. A party here and there as well. In your case, perhaps it's candy, video games and nachos and Pizzas galore." said Joshua with a smirk.
Emmet was about to say something when Tiny burst into the tent. "I managed to ease the crowd outside! Everyone here understands why you're against Imani. Don't worry. I made sure no one outside would question your… activity. But in the future dude, talk to me before you do anything like that again! Peeing on Imani's painting was WAY too much controversy." said Tiny.
Joshua stuck his tongue out, which was an annoying habit of his. "I live for controversy," said Joshua.
"At the expense of your dignity?" asked Emmet.
"You use a lot of fancy words for an eight year old." said Joshua as he pulled a hookah close to him and started to smoke.
"I'm 10." said Emmet.
Tiny quickly meddled into the talk. "I'm sorry. Little boy, you really shouldn't be here. This village isn't for kids. And you look like you need a bath. You can use the bath outside the tent. It's private. And I can pull off fresh clothes for you. I usually sell clothes in different villages I travel to." said Tiny calmly.
"Thank you Tiny." said Emmet giving the Sasquatch teen a smile.
"My pleasure kid." said Tiny, nodding awkwardly.
"And how are you going to get home, kid? Don't you have parents that are worried sick?" asked Joshua.
"About that, the public transports are closed off. There is a lot of unusual predatory activity in the forest. Some say they have seen those prehistoric cats roaming about, not to mention T-Rexes." said Tiny.
"Don't those live off the Cannon Beach Islands?" asked Joshua.
"I ran into a lion like those a day ago." said Emmet.
"You were alone? All alone?" asked Joshua.
"Yes." nodded Emmet.
"You see Joshua! I told you something isn't right in the forest! Ever since we got here, have you noticed more and more people are coming to Neon Village? It's because some people want to live out their last days doing shit!" cried Tiny.
"Like what?" asked Emmet innocently.
Suddenly, they heard screaming. Lots of screaming. Joshua, Emmet and Tiny all went outside the tent to see people running.
They were all being chased by what appeared to be a giant Wendigo. It was none other than Moss.
"Joshua! Where is Joshua!" he cried.
"Oh F me. It's that loser." said Joshua.
"You owe him money don't you?" said Tiny.
"Yes." said Joshua.
"You work for that monster?!" cried Emmet.
"No. But I did "burrow" money from him. A guy's gotta eat." said Joshua.
"Great. Just great." said Tiny.
"Kid, get back to the tent. I hear that guy gobbles up kids." said Joshua.
Emmet did as he was told and hid in the tent. He peeked through the zipper line to see Moss come face to face with Joshua.
"You cannot escape me." he said, waving a finger at Joshua's face.
"I have your money. Here." said Joshua, hanging Moss a small bag with coins.
"Excellent!" he said. Then he started to count them. Tiny shook his head nervously and Joshua glared at him to stop.
Moss smiled wickedly, and Joshua could see the gleam dancing in Moss's eyes through his thick large sunglasses. "You're still short of what you actually owe me. How much money did you make in your little…" Moss looked at the nearly naked screaming people running and he started to laugh heartily.
"I didn't interrupt anything spicy did I? Oh dear. No wonder why this place reeks of total humanity. And you know how much I loathe humanity." sneered Moss.
"You walked in on the dance floor Moss. If you want to dance, I would like to see you dance." said Joshua.
"Still the smart-ass from before, are you Joshua? Dancing is not my thing. And I'm surprised to see you keep weird company. Especially with a lowly Sasquatch like Tiny here." said Moss.
Tiny didn't say a word and Moss kept on taunting him.
"The son of the chief of the Sasquatch Tribe, living among the filth that is Neon Village. A place where vice and sin rule. Bah. If I ruled Rood Bridge Park, I would definitely disown this place and erase it from the maps. Just like what your father did to you? Isn't that right Tiny?" said Moss.
"Do you want the money or not Moss?" said Joshua firmly, putting a hand on Tiny's shoulder.
"Yes, yes I want the money. And I'll be back for the rest that you owe me. I hope to see you again, perhaps wearing a shirt next time? I can smell your nasty armpits from here. You're very lucky I'm not going to throw up on you." said Moss, his hot smelly breath spraying on Joshua's face.
He smiled a toothy grin and walked away deep into the forest.
"It's now closing time. Might as well turn in early." said Joshua.
"What about the boy?" asked Tiny.
"Have him take a bath, give him fresh clothes and send his little butt back to whatever village he's from. It's not safe for him to be here, especially after what just happened." said Joshua.