CHAPTER 8 (From Rui Ophelia)
It was a bad bad day.
As I sat there on Julio's couch, staring at the TV, I realized it was crystal clear. I could feel every breath, and each and every one was perfectly clear and precise. Not so deliberate.
The TV was crystal clear. I could see it.
I could tell what was going on completely.
No problems at all.
I waved my hand in front of my face.
It looked normal.
That was precisely the problem.
"Hey, Julio, man, I think you might've got some bad shit." I said, my voice sounding utterly normal. Nothing edgy or trippy about it whatsoever.
"Hey, Julio." I said.
No answer.
"JULIO." I turned to look at him, and his dumb ass was half passed out next to me. He was completely fried, just sort of staring at the wall, mesmerized by some halucinagenics that only he could see.
"Shit." I said, lighting a cigarette.
That felt different too.
I didn't cough.
I usually coughed.
No, I wasn't coughing. I didn't feel anything. None of the usual calming peace that washes over me with the seventh cigarette of the day.
Something was wrong with me.
I looked over at the mirror.
I looked the same.
About five feet and a half a foot tall, with skin as pale as death and eyes the color of mud. Pretty mud, though. Lots of eye liner, and blood red lipstick. My hair was soft and bleached platinum, hanging to my cheekbones and then flipping out, falling completely over one eye. I was wearing a red lace bra and short shorts. Combat boots on over the fishnet stockings that I had on.
I sighed.
Julio made a little noise.
"Oh sure, rub it in." I muttered, laying back on the couch and throwing my cigarette over my shoulder.
Let the rug catch fire. 'not like it's my appartment.
Just the place where I've been sleeping for the past week.
And Julio? The guy I've been sleeping with for the past week.
Yep. It's a good situation this week. Julio was passed out most of the time, and the rest of the time, he wasn't home. It was a virtually perfect situation. PLUS, he offered me whatever he was snorting/shooting/smoking.
I was happy.
It was better than last month's man/apartment.
It was about two am. Ish.
I yawned and stretched my hands back and jumped, suddenly touching something.
I turned and nearly fell off of the couch.
"Jesus christ almighty, what the fuck you think you're doing?" I managed, my heart beating about a million times faster than a second ago. "Who the hell are you?"
He smiled and cocked his head to one side.
"Do you believe in god?" He asked softly.
I narrowed my eyes. "Huh?"
"An icebreaker." He said. "Should we decide to continue our relationship. Do you believe in god? I'd like to know where you stand."
"Oh, god?" I said, smiling and sitting down on the TV tray, next to the TV. "You mean that cunt that let me get to where I am today?" I laughed. "Nope, I don't believe."
He smiled. "You will."
I narrowed my eyes. "Who are you? Are you one of Julio's hookups?"
He raised his eyes. "I suppose. I am actually here to 'hook' Julio 'up'." He smiled and shook his head.
"Well here, give it to me." I said. "He'll give you your money when he wakes up and I'll keep his shit safe 'til he comes to."
The stranger smirked and clicked his tongue. "I don't think you'd want this."
"What is it?" I asked. "Smack? Hashish?"
"No no." He said. "This isn't exactly tangible. This is... more of an appointment, really."
"An appointment?" I asked. "With a lord?"
"OHhhhh yes." He said. "With the biggest of all of the lords..."
"Oh, shit, man, hook me up too, huh?" I said. "Who? JJ Williams?"
"Oh, I'd tell you..." He said. "But you don't believe in him anyway."
He sat down next to Julio and smiled at him.
"Wow, what a waste, huh?" He said, shaking his head. "Such a short life. It's a pity. He could've really benefitted the world, huh?" He looked up at me and laughed.
I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"
He sighed.
He pulled a black and gold fountain pen from the breast pocket of his patent leather jacket.
He smiled up at me and suddenly stabbed Julio in the neck with it.
I cried out and covered my mouth.
He filled the pen and then pulled it out of Julio's flesh. He pursed his lips and drew a few seemingly random characters on Julio's forehead.
He stood and tucked the pen in his pocket.
"Well then." He said. "I've an appointment to keep, and you've some running away to do, don't you?"
I was speechless.
"I bid you adieu." He said, tipping an imaginary hat at me. "Good luck. I'll be back for you in a while, of course. Hold tight 'til then and avoid the Beyonds, alright?"
With that, he sunk into the floor, as though he were sinking into water.
He was gone.
I stood for a moment, trembling.
And then there was another stranger.
She climbed out of the mirror and slowly stretched out.
She was tallish, about five feet and seven inches tall, with skin the color of peaches and cream. Her hair was majenta, and straight, hanging past her waist in a pony tail. She had wide blue eyes and matching lips. She wore a simple black dress, fishnets, and black strappy no-back stilletto sandals. Quite well dressed.
She turned and set eyes upon Julio.
She held a sickle in one hand, and a clip board in the other.
She hadn't seen me yet, and I was just about to scream when hands came out of the TV and pulled me in.
I would've screamed here, but there was a hand over my mouth.
"Shhh..." He whispered. "If you value your life, don't say anything. Lay low, she'll leave soon enough..."
The woman inspected Julio's body and seemed distressed. She shook her head and began furiously taking notes on her clip board. In a few seconds, she stepped back through the mirror, and was gone.
There was a whooshing sensation, and we were suddenly sitting on the living room floor.
Maybe those drugs had kicked in after all...
But this seemed way too real.
The man was a punk. He was extraordinarily pale, with blue hair hanging in spikes around his face. His eyes were the same color, sort of a deadish color. Rather freaky. He wore black clothes and was just sort of all around weird looking.
"Who the FUCK ARE YOU???" I demanded.
"I'm Zappa." He said, smiling. "And I just saved your life."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain later." He said. "But for now, you've got to come with me."
"No way." I said, standing.
He narrowed his eyes.
"You're going to have to catch me first." I said, and then turned and ran out the door.
As I ran, I heard his fading voice in the distance yell:
"That can be arranged!!"