Gotham Oddities
File 003: Chuck (& Chee)

A woman screamed, there was just endless shrill shrieking at glass-breaking volumes and he was paralyzed by it. Eyes as big as dinner plates, neck feeling like it was shrinking into his body as she pointed at him and drew another breath for another horrified cry. There were no words beyond the single hysterical note until another person came rushing to the scene. A man looked at the woman and then turned his gaze to what she was pointing at.

"What the fuck…"

As if the presence of another broke the spell of being unable to move Chuck turned quickly and skittered off down the alleyway. His feet slid as he tried to find a grip on the slick alley pavement, they eventually propelled him forward. He knocked over trash bins and a pile of cardboard as he ran nearly sliding into a deep pothole puddle of filthy water as he turned to jump onto a large green dumpster. He could still hear that woman screaming – to a lesser degree, but it was there. Quickly he climbed an iron fire escape up the side of the building. Fleeing ten stories to the roof panting heavily. He'd never had his chest beat so painfully hard before almost like his heart was going to be torn out. His breathing came out in semi-snorts and gulps of air through bucked teeth and flared nostrils. His wide eyes looked upward at the gray skyline as he flopped to his ass thinking it was now safe.

Chee had told him not to go. That it wasn't safe during the day. Chuck had just wanted to be helpful, to find something to eat himself instead of resorting to chewing on an old shoe. She always scolded him not to eat shoes.

"Up there, officer!" That woman's voice echoed from the alleyway and Chuck took a chance glance over the edge of the building. Two officers in blue were squinting upwards. He ducked his head back down quickly, got on all fours and crawled away trying to stay low going to the other side of the building. The gravel on the rooftop dug into his palms a bit and he disliked the feeling. Be that as it may, he crept efficiently to the other side before finding a spot to slide down. He used a water drain that was bolted to the side of the building. He had slipped away from the scene, scurrying back home. Behind a plywood board with a red X on it into a condemned mini-mart. The decaying mini-mart was not his home but one of the ways to get to it. Within the old, yellow-stained bathrooms with the tiny blue woman decal was a hole in the tiled wall he could crawl through. It twisted and wound until he saw light. Next came three flights of wooden stairs.

His digits fidgeted together as he could hear the creaking from above, someone was inside. Only Chee knew how to get in that he knew of. Slowly he pushed open the wooden door into the attic room.

"Chuck!" She yelled and he metaphorically shrunk a bit, "Oh, I'm sorry Chuck, you just startled me," her voice was kind and softer. Her eyes were the same, "I was worried about you, you know you can't go out during the day." Her voice lulled him from shrinking away and he stepped in cautiously. He'd never run off in the day before – he was worried she'd be mad. Madder at least.

"I brought you some food from the shelter, come eat." There were three large brown bags on the wooden floor next to the space he slept in, "There are cheddar biscuits." Her smile grew sly knowing those were his favorite.

He loved it when she smiled at him, "Chee." It was probably the only noise he'd really learned how to make and it was such a miracle that it was her name! He looked at the little white tag pinned on her shirt: Chealse. Chee.

Chuck padded across the floor and scooped up a bag into his arms, shuffling the contents around with eyes only for the biscuits. Upon finding them he stuffed one into his mouth, hardly chewing he got crumbs all over. He once again plopped onto his ass with the bag between his legs and he stuffed cheddar biscuit after cheddar biscuit into his mouth.

Chee chuckled as she helped him tidy up his space from falling crumbs. She went to set the other bags where he could get them as he got hungry later then came back. And especially he loved more when she patted his head as he lay down. He had only one biscuit left in the bag he would hoard for later when he woke back up. Chee pulled a thin blanket down from a shelf and laid it over him, "Goodnight Chuck, I'll come by tomorrow with more food."

As she left he stared at the doorway for a long time before rolling over. A grimy mirror had been propped up right next to where he slept and he looked at his own reflection. Chuck could be mistaken as a child if fully covered, he was small, roughly only three and half feet in height. His legs were longer than his arms at least. His face was not like Chee's he knew that much. The long nose, wide dark eyes, bucking teeth, whiskers, and rough patches of fur… No, Chuck resembled his other silent friends: The city rats. It did not matter that the shrill woman from the bright city had screamed at him. Chee still liked him and that was all that mattered. With this pleasant thought, he nestled under the cover, tucking in his feet and closed his eyes.

A/N: Do you like music? Me too. Want to know what I listened to for this?
the sound (w/ Mob Rich) by pluko, Mob Rich.