by Adam Pepper
She walked up to the small manmade tree and there was a man whose head was wrapped in a dark-colored cloth, standing behind glass. “Can I get a Newport?” she asked him.
“A pack?” he asked, his voice sounded short, as if he already knew her answer and didn’t like it.
“Naw, baby. I need a onesy. I only have ten cent.”
“No onesy. We can’t do that anymore.”
“Come on. I just need one.”
“Sorry. Can’t do it.”
She brushed aside the purple, fake animal fur she wore around her neck and reached into her purse. Counting coins and unraveling bills, the frustration mounted on her pock-marked face.
“I only have four bucks.”
“Can’t help you. I’m sorry.”
“Come on, man! Hook a sista up, dammit. I spend a lot of money here.”
“I can’t. Now either buy something or I call the cops.”
“Fine. Can I have some matches then?”
“Alright. Just leave now.”
The man tossed the matches through an opening at the bottom of the glass. Then shook his head, scratched his grayish beard and turned away.
She grabbed the matches, and walked on. The girl took a colored box from her purse and took out a stub. She scraped a piece of match against the case and pulled fire from her finger. She lit the stub and took in a deep inhale. She blew out the smoke as her eyes flittered.
It ducked into an alleyway that separated the small manmade tree from a larger and more brightly lit manmade tree. Many wheeled boxes stood next to the large, well-lit manmade tree, but they seemed to be sleeping.
Flashing red lights caught its attention; they came from a wheeled box that was colored blue and white. The wheeled box quickly cut off the brown-skinned girl’s path as she walked along the edge of the hard ground.
The glass from the box went down, and a man wearing a blue shirt said from inside the box, “Are you looking for trouble tonight?”
“No, babydoll. You know I don’t want no trouble.”
“Then go on home.”
“Why? I ain’t botherin’ nobody, officer. Why you trippin’ on me?”
“Knock it off.”
“Knock what off?”
A brown, wheeled box slowed down then stopped underneath a hanging red enclosed light. The shadow of a balding, middle-aged, pale man could be seen alone in the car.
“Friend of yours?” the man in the blue shirt asked.
“I don’t know him.”
“You sure he’s not your date?”
“I said I don’t know him.”
“Yeah, whatever. Just get off the streets. Hear me? I see you again tonight and I’m bringing you in.”
“Yes, sir. I’m headed straight home.”
The man nodded as his window went up. Then the blue and white wheeled box purred and pulled off, just as the red enclosed light disappeared and a green one lit up.
The brown, wheeled box started forward as the pale man inside it looked the girl’s way. She smiled at him and jiggled her perky chest balls. Despite her small frame, she had a healthy ass and large chest balls; she’d make a nice meal. The man appeared to like what he saw but also gave off nervous energy. The brown, wheeled box continued on, and soon the red enclosed lights in its ass faded.
“There he goes,” she said as she scrunched her face, “along with my cigarette money.” She shook her head and started walking. “Man these shoes,” she said as she twisted her legs inside boots with tall stumps.
She turned off the well-lit hard ground and onto a darker, quieter hard ground.
It followed.
The ground was long and quiet, and when she reached the end, she turned again, to an even darker and quieter section of hard ground. A sound from an oncoming wheeled box was heard, and soon after its enclosed front lights became visible around the corner. Just a few seconds after that, the brown wheeled box slowly rolled down the hard ground, then came to a stop, the box squeaked, but only for a split second.
The box settled at the edge of the hard ground, and its side glass rolled down.
She walked quickly towards it. “You lookin’ for a date, baby?” she asked. Her voice was suddenly like a child’s.
The man inside the brown wheeled box pushed the small sliver of hair he had on his head to one side and in a confident voice, a voice he’d obviously used many times in this manner, asked, “How much for a blowjob?”
“How much for a blowjob,” It repeated, quietly, not knowing what it meant but guessing it was another odd mating ritual.
“Thirty.”
“Come on, sweet thing. I only have twenty.” He played with his hair some more.
“Come on, sweet thing.” Its human impressions were improving.
“I need thirty. Man, it’s too damn hot out here to be risking for twenty.”
“It’s all I got.”
“Twenty-five.”
“Let me see what you’re offering.”
She pulled down the front of her low-cut top and stuck out her chest. Two chest balls stood at attention, their middles pointing upwards towards the dark sky.
“Your ass. Can I see?”
She turned around and quickly unbuckled her belt, dropping her jeans to knee-level. She flexed her butt muscles so the balls of her ass bounced up and down, one ball at a time like a juggler It had seen in the yellow and white soft houses.
“Niiiiiiice!” he said while licking his lips.
She pulled up her pants and said, “You want a blowjob or what. I ain’t about to get busted behind this dumb shit. Five-oh is everywhere tonight, yo. Let’s do this or not already.”
“Okay. Get in.”
She ran around the side while he reached across and pushed open the passenger side door for her. She got in and said, “Twenty-five and let’s do this.”
“I only have twenty.”
She blew air and crossed her arms. “Fine but make this quick, yo. Twenty don’t get you no deluxe blow. Just do what you got to do and get on before the man come back around and we both spend the night in the joint.”
He nodded and handed her a bill. Then, he leaned back in his seat and grabbed the back of her head.
“Don’t be grabbin,’ yo.” She said as she slapped his hand back. She took an object from her oversized bag, ripped it open with her teeth, then spit the corner piece out. She bent down and was out of sight.
It watched from the darkness as her head came in and out of view until the windows quickly fogged. It couldn’t see much after that and It was confused as to how the humans mated with their mouths. While It waited, It began to hum a soft tune.
Within a bit, she stepped out of the car. She started walking back in the direction she had come, but instead of staying on the hard ground, she cut though an area with long green and brown soft ground.
The humming in its head turned to singing. The symphony began to play.
The remnants of a building stood on the soft ground. A sign out front said FIX-A-FLAT. It was a small, blocked structure with a long caved-in door at the front. It had a small opening that led out to soft ground—empty other than a few rats It smelled hiding amongst some trash.
It picked up a hard block that was once part of the structure, but now stood amongst the litter in the soft ground. She walked ahead, not taking notice of It, nor the scurrying rats. She obviously couldn’t hear the woodwind section either. The clarinets invited her death knell with harried pleasured while the oboes simply nodded to the inevitable with sophistication and dignity.
By the time she heard the orchestra approaching, she turned back to meet a hard block head-on like a mallet walloping a gong. Her young face aged twenty years in seconds. The power of the symphony hit her again, this time in a downward motion, and she fell. Not so much as a scream left her lips, only a short and pitiful groan.
It dragged her inside the decrepit structure. It would eat well tonight, undisturbed; It wouldn’t leave much of this girl behind.
It would pick
up the yellow-haired girl’s trail in the morning. She saw It without its human camouflage. As long as she was alive, she was very dangerous. It wasn’t very keen on measuring time, but it didn’t matter. No matter how long it took, It would find the girl.
It was an expert tracker. Come morning, the nondescript vagrant would head north again.
* *
The red, hot ball in the sky came and went many times as It trudged northward. Feeding on several humans allowed It to build a fair reserve, but the walk burned energy. Luckily, the trail was getting very warm.
She was close.
The red, hot ball had disappeared once again, leaving It to follow her scent under black sky. The trail veered off the busy hard ground and onto a long and windy smaller piece of hard ground. It climbed up a steep hill, leaving the hard ground to cut through brush and trees. At the top of the hill were lights, and noise.
The black sky was several hours old. It was pretty sure that the beautiful warmth and light would be coming again soon. The noise grew louder as the light grew brighter. The source of the light came into focus. There was a large sign with blue enclosed lights shaped like letters on the side of a silver-colored manmade tree. There were several young humans outside the silver tree, leaning against their wheeled boxes and putting little burning torches in their mouths. They were making loud joy-noises.
A man wearing a jacket and thick string around his neck walked out of the silver tree and called out, “Come on, kids. You have to get moving or the neighbors will call the cops and complain.”
“Okay,” a young male said.
“He is such a pain,” said a female.
“Come on,” the male said as he opened the door to his tall, red wheeled box.
“With all the money we spend here. He should kiss our asses,” the female continued as several of her companions crammed into the back of the wheeled box.
“Let’s just go.”
Finally, she walked around the side, stepped up and climbed into the front of the tall, red wheeled box.
* *
The red, hot ball shone brightly, the sky clear and blue, and the air beautifully warm as It walked towards a wall made of stones, each stacked one upon the next high above the soft ground. She was behind the tall stone wall, somewhere within the property it surrounded; It could smell her distinct mix of aromas in the air.
Perhaps it was reckless to scale the stone wall when the hot ball was so bright, but if It were spotted, the humans would probably just chase the old vagrant off the property. It wasn’t likely they’d pay him much mind. It was careful enough to walk far around the side of the wall before climbing.
At the top of the wall, It could see a wide manmade tree, far off in the distance, partially hidden by a cluster of tall nature trees, several oaks with a pine and a maple mixed amongst them. In front of the nature trees were well-trimmed hedges that stretched a few hundred yards each, all in neat rows with a crisscross pattern cut into them precisely.
It hopped down from the wall and cut through the crisscrossing hedges. It closed its eyes and sucked in the fresh air. There were several humans about, but none very close. Her scent was not in the air; not a fresh scent, anyway. Traces of her were everywhere, but she was not to be found.
It considered going towards the wide manmade tree to search for her, but that would draw the attention of more humans. Instead, It curled into the hedges and ducked down. It would surely smell any human approaching long before they saw It.
Time passed, perhaps minutes, more likely hours, when her smell finally hit its nose. It sprang to attention immediately. She was close. She was outside. She was near.
It rose from its spot between the hedges and walked towards her. She walked alone, It was quite certain. It was almost too good to be true.
It was hungry and perhaps too weak to contend with her large male companions, but they were not with her, and It had enough energy reserved to handle her one on one.
Caution was Its best ally. If It got overanxious, It might make a mistake—even a fatal one. It would remain calm. Follow her and wait for the right opportunity. Then It would strike.
She walked down a stone path that was lined with potted plants, the plants a variety of colors and sizes. It followed behind, the vagrant cover still intact, for the most part; the energy it took to maintain was great, and It had to let go some of the small details that one might notice, if one was looking up close—the color of its eyes darkened gradually, the texture of its skin slowly roughened.
Odors of a variety of different animals were present in the air as the stone path widened, and let out into a circular clearing, the clearing also paved with stone. Around the circle stood a variety of cages, each cage housing animals. Animals of all types: monkeys, goats, pigs, birds, each with a comfortable enclosure.
She stopped at a small cage that housed three small pigs. Their odor was pungent, but she didn’t seem to mind a bit.
“Hello,” she said in the tone of a child. “How are my little sweeties today?” She made odd faces at the pigs.
She walked to the next cage, which housed two large goats. She pulled a carrot from a sack she wore around her shoulder and cracked it in half. The two goats rushed over, and she held the two halves through the bars, allowing them to eat. Each got its own half and the exchange was quite harmonious.
“That’s my babies,” she said. She reached in and patted one, then the other on the tops of their heads.
Loud screeching filled the air as she walked towards the next cage. A half dozen small monkeys ran towards her, their fur a mix of white and brown.
“Hello, pookie.” She cooed.
They jumped up and down, excited to see her. She tossed in treats and they scrambled for them. She walked around the corner, waving and calling, “Bye.”
It waited for her to round the corner, then It walked up to the cage. It watched the monkeys jump and play together. Two kneeled towards the back of the cage, behind a leaning tree branch and groomed one another. It tilted its head with confusion.
Why did they behave this way?
It pulled itself away from the cage, and looked both ways. It smelled animals, but no other humans. It followed the human scent around the corner.
She was cooing and fussing in front of another cage, still taking no notice of the man in holey jeans and an old windbreaker who followed her.
She didn’t reach into this cage, but merely stood in front of it and smiled. As It got closer It saw lions inside a large enclosure. In the front, just a short distance from the bars that separated them from the girl were three small cubs; a large lioness looked on a few feet back. The mother didn’t seem threatened by the human’s presence, perhaps used to seeing her, but still she kept a close watch on the cubs.
Twenty feet or so behind them were two other lions. One a lioness, and the other a large male. They appeared to be courting. The female was crouched down and the male circled around her while licking and sniffing the air repeatedly.
“Oh, look,” she said. “Are we disturbing you?” She made silly joy-noises. “We better leave them alone,” she whispered, apparently to the cubs.
The cubs didn’t respond. They were as puzzled by the girl’s actions as It was.
She walked on, again out of sight. It walked up to the cage. The animals had It so thoroughly confused. It had never seen anything like it: the lions, the monkeys, the goats, the pigs—all happily living together. Eating, grooming, playing, procreating. They all had use for one another.
It had no use for any other animal other than for food. It never gave much thought to its solitary lifestyle before, but watching the animals suddenly left It frazzled, and confused.
How had It come to be here, and be what It was?
It walked around the corner she’d disappeared behind and saw a path to a dark enclosure: a small manmade tree with an overhang. It walked up to the manmade tree. She wasn’t inside. She’d gotten ahead and It had lost sight of her. The combating scents of
all the animals in the air made it difficult to pinpoint her exact location. She was close, but not in the tree.
It walked into the tree anyway. It would pick up her trail in there.
Inside, the small tree was dimly lit. The air inside was thick and a bit stale. It saw several glass tanks stacked up. Inside them were snakes. There was a larger tank, with a small crocodile inside.
The snakes and crocodile behaved so differently than the animals outside. They seemed unaware or at least unconcerned by its presence. It admired their staunch, yet carefree attitudes.
In the far corner of the dark room was another tank. It walked over, fascinated by the reptilian creatures, very curious as to what was next.
Inside the tank was a creature It had never seen before. It had seen snakes before. It had heard about crocodiles before. But this creature was unfamiliar to It. The creature was about two feet long with a bright, lime green body. The green scales were lined with brown stripes and yellow and blue spots. Its head had a sheath, almost like the male lion’s mane, but made of skin not fur. Its hind legs had spurs.
It walked closer to the tank. There was a small sign underneath the tank. It wished that it could read the words. It wanted desperately to know what the creature was.
As It looked on, the creature’s color faded to a drab olive red, but the creature didn’t move a bit. It faded its own skin color, mimicking the lizard. There was a small flying bug in the tank, well above the scaled creature. The creature stood completely still. It too stood completely still, its fondness and admiration for the scaly being growing with each passing second.
The bug flew lower. The creature didn’t move, its dull skin made it hard to spot against the dark backdrop of the tank. The bug flew lower still. The creature’s tongue lashed out, and the bug stuck to it, and was quickly curled back into the scaly creature’s mouth.
It launched out its own tongue into the air, finding itself joyful at the crafty creature’s success.
What an odd and wonderful place.
It marveled at how well they seemed to get along. The monkeys grooming one another. The lions procreating while their cubs frolicked. Even the pigs seemed to enjoy each other’s company.
