Buccaneers of Black Pond Chapter 6
#8 of Tiger Troopers
Our boys are assigned a mission following the mc's rescue from dire odds by his bunny boss.
Chapter theme:
Once fully resuscitated, but still in the thralls of potential hypothermia, Billy manage to utter his only on request, "Pppp please don't take me to my dad."
And so they, freezing wet rabbit, freezing wet sophomore and dry freshman, chucked the one remaining dirt bike into the back of the sixty year old truck and piled into its cabin. Thankfully, Elizabeth had enough sense to turn her archaic vehicle's heat on, before driving a dirtbike into the frozen pond, making the drive to Reknowned Furniture, while humid, at least warm.
And quiet, except for the buzz of the ventilation; although, Roger did offer a few comments on how his bike was treated, but soon let it go once they were underway.
Billy didn't remember much of the drive, other than it was bump-filled and that they were going so fast that it was possible they had violated the speed limit once or twice if not constantly, but they only stopped when they reached the back of Reknowned Furniture. How Billy got into the bathtub he currently resides in, though, is a blur. The first thing that Billy notices is how prune his hands are, ascertaining that he must have been soaking for at least an hour. As Billy further examines his surroundings, he soon finds Elizabeth at his side outside the tub. She is currently administering hot water into the tub in increments so as to slowly raise his temperature, pressing against Billy's forehead every now and then with her padded fingers, making him feel pampered, fragile and in need of constant attendance, like a baby.
And now that Billy was fully aware of this pampering, he immediately asked "Aren't you going to need a bath too?"
"Schiesse, I vas not in for as long as yu vere." She tugged at the tuft of her on her chest. "Und I have fur."
Billy noticed that she was in a new set of dry clothes: a blue skirt and a wifebeater without a bra, if those bumps along her chest were anything to go by.
It was then that Billy came to the sudden realization that he was, in fact, naked, and with a splash, brought his legs to his chest and blurted "I think I'm fine now!"
The rabbit girl raised an eyebrow, muzzle dipping for a scowl, but her expression softened as she realized he wasn't being ungrateful.
And so she laughed, laughing as she stood up to head for the bathroom door. "Yur friend said he vas getting yu closses. I vil be right out ze door for yur privacy."
"Thanks," Billy replied.
Once Elizebeth left the room, Billy puffed out his crimson cheeks and sighed.
"Fuck me, why am I embarrassed?" he thought. "Wasn't my end goal something like this? Now she'll think of me like a kid. Or gay. Fuck."
He raised his arm out of the tub and rubbed its porcelain exterior. Maybe she already thought of him like a kid. Undressing him and throwing him in the bath, feeling his forehead and all. All actions Billy felt were mother-like, on top of being kind and caring.
"Kind and caring", Billy repeated in his mind.
Then, past the bathroom door Billy could hear the sound of a microwave running. He thought It sounded just like the model at his house. Billy internally sighed as he now fully grasped where he was and how the lupine lass had helped him. She could've taken him home, he thought. Expose the chittering mess to his father and then once again he would feel the clap of the belt. But she didn't. She took him to her house, thawed him in her own private bathroom, and even gave him privacy when he asked. On top of rescuing him from certain death beneath the ice. As Billy looked around the bathroom, he felt a warmth in his heart.
"I t-think ... I t-think I love her." He whispered.
"So vat vere yu doing at sat pond?" Elizabeth yelled from the other room.
"What were you doing there?,' responded Billy
"I vas ze one asking se questions." He heard the creaking of floorboards outside as she stepped closer to the bathroom. "I called yur house und talked to your faser und he said yu vere at sat pond."
Billy slapped his forehead. Of course he wasn't going to get off scot-free.
He sighed before asking "How did you know where I was? Did my dad give you directions?"
It was her turn to sigh, barely audible with the distance between them. "It vas vere my foster faser died."
"Mr Dovin-Basil?," asked Billy.
"Ja."
Silence fell on the apartment, save for the drip of water from the bathroom faucet.
"Hello?" Elizabeth questioned, breaking the silence. "Ar yu svalloing vater?"
"Oh no I'm fine!," He startly responded, splashing water that smattered the tiled walls.
"Stop splashing or I vill throw you back in the pond!" She hollered, making him chuckle.
Billy asked one more question. "So this store specializes in selling your dad's stuff?"
"Foster faser, ja."
"Cool," said Billy.
Silence again. Billy wondered how long until Roger would get back with some dry clothes. Maybe his wet clothes were drier now. He could wear them home, sneak past his dad, and get in his pajamas before being noticed; get warm under the covers and dream of a different opportunity to be naked in a bath with Elizabeth. He fantasized different occasions with the lapine lass. And as the idea of marriage came up he kept thinking about proposing with a ring. A ring. The ring. The ring that he found at the bottom of the pond.
"Hey Lizzy." He called, having come up with the nickname for her while daydreaming. "Do you have that ring?"
There was a clattering of paws against wood and what sounded like heavy boards. "Ja. Is in yur pocket vere I put it. But not for you to keep."
Before he could ask what she meant by that, Billy heard Roger yelling at the top of his lungs. "Captain Wolcott, your relief has arrived."
The metal stairs clanged and the wooden floorboards creaked and then to the bathroom doorway came Roger. Onto the pink-tiled floor by the tub he tossed a couple pairs of pants and dress shirts. "Get dressed so we can escape this wenches' clutches."
"Thanks Raj. Dad suspect anything?"
"Nah my dad wasn't at home." Roger said, sill standing in the doorway with his back to Billy. "And luckily neither were my brothers. Those clothes too tight?"
"I was talking about my dad. But no, they fit fine." Billy said, toweling off his head while in new garbs. "Get me my belt, will ya?"
"Sure." The freshman walked away from Billy's view, yelling "Speaking of belts, I think we don't have to worry about replacing yellow's."
"Vil you turn yur voice down?" Spat the rabbit woman, getting in Roger's face. He half expected her to smack him and raised his arms in defense. Only to feel the leather belt be placed in his hands.
"What happened to yellow?"
As he listened to Roger relay the story of the dirt bikes fate in saving his life, Billy kept watch of Elizabeth. Sitting on the bed by the spiral staircase, she was busy looking at something with a magnifying glass. Though she showed a lack of interest, her apathetic frown became a slight smile when she caught him staring. Perhaps of embarrassment, or out of pride, Billy couldn't tell. But it was a smile that he would like to see until the end of his days.
"But don't worry!" The freshman capped off his tale. "We still have red! We'll still keep it at your house, and I'll ask for a new one for my birthday. That cool?"
"Yeah." Not a single word had actually been understood by the sophomore. And Roger knew it by how little Billy spoke. So taking Billy's shoulder, Roger pointed at the stairs and said "It's getting late, we should go."
"Vait." Dropping the magnifying glass into the pink covers, Elizabeth rose from her bed. "I vill give yu a ride home."
It was dark outside, and the old lights of the truck barely illuminated the road as they drove.
Their first destination, Roger's house, was at the east side of town along the bay, no more than a two minute drive. Light reflected off the shiny-black shutters of Roger's House as they pulled into the driveway. It was L-shaped, a white-washed whaling captain's lodge. Bolted to its western face, a steel nameplate, with golden letters that read "Jebediah's Redoubt."
Before Roger left the truck, Elizabeth made a quick announcement
"Tomorrow, I vill need both of yu und any friends yu have for a serious task." Her attention shifted from directly to Billy. "Yu do sis, I vill consider it repayment for saving yur life und I vill forgive ze destruction of my property."
"Deal!" Billy didn't didn't even wait for Roger to respond. He wanted nothing more than to get on the rabbit's good graces.
"Good," said Ellizibeth.
Roger opened the door, waving goodbye to Billy and walked to his door as slow as possible. Most polite people would have waited in the driveway for their guest to reach the door before leaving. Elizabeth, however, reversed as soon as Roger was out of the truck, and headed for Billy's house. Leaving the roger to watch as his friend drove off with a strange rabbit.
Said friend was absolutely enamored with the lapine though. Leaning against the passenger window, he casually glanced and peaked at her before shifting focus to the road. His attention wasn't on the physical beauty of her. Though there was plenty before him. How the shirt curved around her chest, confirming that she did indeed have eight rows of nipples. How the sapphire skirt tightened against her thighs as she hit the gas. Little details that were at the back of his head, but weren't what was really on his mind. Rather, he just imagined being the one to drive her next time, to be her personal chauffeur.
When she looked right ways coming onto the rotary, Elizabeth noticed his stare. "Yu okay?"
"Oh yeah I'm fine." Billy straightened his back against the leather seat. "I uh, ow you a lot, Lizzy."
"Elizabeth." She retorted.
"Elizabeth." He said respectfully, heart fluttering as he thought about saying 'I am forever grateful to you' only to hold back. 'Saying something like that isn't cool.' He chided himself. 'I'm going to be cool. I'm going to be cool and that's how she'll love me.'
A right turn and a couple blocks of houses past and they reached Billy's house. Dad was standing in the doorway, nursing a beer.
Taking a deep breath, He sauntered up to the truck, and opened the passenger-side door and said, "Go to bed."
Billy obeyed, first running a few steps, then stopping to wave at Elizabeth. With a weak but warm smile, Elizabeth waved back, and said "See yu tomorrow."
Then she addressed the boy's father. "Thank yu for yur help. Ven he verks vith me tomorrow, he will have paid his dets."
"Good." Mr Wolcott closed the truck door and returned to his home, leaving her in silence.
The silence carried on into her drive as she took the wrong turn at the rotary. A left here, a right there, casually getting lost down roads whose name she didn't bother to read. It was all foreign to her, worth nothing more than resentment so long as she was stuck there. Forever unable to greet them again. Or give a proper goodbye. Or feel their warmth in a group hug. Or even see them, for even in the most intimate and important memories, their faces were nothing more than a cloud fading into nothingness. And until she saw them again would she never feel peace.
Somehow in getting lost in her thoughts Elizabeth found her way back to the parking lot behind Renowned Furniture. She walked around to the front entrance, the back door now boarded up. Once she was before her bed again, the rabbit woman collapsed onto the covers and sighed.
Grabbing the magnifying glass and returning to her deep focus, Elizabeth thought about Billy. That despite all the trouble he caused, the boy could be a boon.
Turning over the bronze ring in her paws, Elizabeth whispered "Jetzt hast du deinen frienden."
The Sleeping Town
By 10:00 P.M. the small new England town of Catuvella roads and passages were tucked under darkness save for the black-steel street lamps along Main Street and the more modern lights of King's Highway. However, anybody turning onto Seaside Road from any of two prior streets, would find themselves immediately enshrouded by darkness, as they entered the mostly untouched wilderness conservation of Webb's Causeway. The unlit route runs along avery narrow sub peninsula that hugs the south and south east coast of Cattuvela, gradually jutting out from the mainland and into the ocean. However, Despite stark contrast between these three routes, night was the great equalizer silencing without prejudice. From its usually bustling residential zone, where every square inch was packed with cottages, mansions, resorts and parking lots, to the mostly untouched conservation of Webb's Causeway, the town slept. Though some parts more than others, such as on Webb's Island, located at the very end of Webb's Causeway.. Where its iconic weather dome stood over the treetops, her interior abandoned though her exterior is known well by locals. At day it was a landmark, the last man-made building seen by every fishing ship and clamming skiff before they exited Orc harbor. At night, it
was the preferred hiding spot for Catuvella P.D.'s own Officer Williams.
In his cruiser he slept much like how he did winter nights before. Bundled in blankets, with the heater blasting and the seat reclined. This was his self-imposed vacation, a gift for working so hard in the summer and coming home exhausted after dealing with drunk teens and lost foreigners during the AM.
An easy shift where nothing disturbed him.
And then he heard it.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Officer Williams opened his eyes and brushed aside crumbs and looked out the windshield, but he didn't see anything.
Thunk.
Thunk.
He quickly turned the keys to his car and then blasted his brights in a frantic attempt to reveal the thunker.
Every tree in the forest ahead of him was illuminated, but he still didn't see anyone.
Thunk.
Thunk.
The policeman had enough. He took a deep breath and reached for his radio. "Dispatch, Dispatch this is Officer Williams."
"Williams, this is dispatch, come back." The radio cracked.
"Yeah I took a detour to Webbs for a leak, and heard a strange noise." He said, eyeing the building to the right of his car. "Possible trespassers in the abandoned weather station. Going to kick them out, over."
"Roger that. Dispatch standing by."
And so Williams threw off his blankets, opened his car door and started for the dome. He didn't feel it necessary to lock the car. What idiot kid trespasser would be willing to commit a felony?
Thunk.
Thunk.
Again came that noise, this time in rapid succession. Just when he was standing before the weather station's entrance. Williams reached for his pistol, a Colt m1911 with a flashlight attachment. Turning on the flashlight and maintaining the safety as he stepped through the rotting dorway.
Once through, his nasal cavities filled with snot as they tried to adjust to the musky interior. His flashlight cut through the oppressive darkness only to reveal that nothing much was really inside: grass growing through the moss-covered hardwood floor, a rusted white desk was turned on its side beneath the stairway leading to the dome, and hanging from the middle of the ceiling, a wooden beam, nibbled on by termites he could probably see if he stepped closer.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Williams pointed his gun upward towards, the noise was coming from the next floor up. Still sure that the thunkers were just kids messing with him, Williams tried being diplomatic.
"Hello? This is the police."
He sidestepped closer to the stairs as he yelled, keeping his aim high above.
"You're trespassing on condemned property. Don't make me come up there."
His tone was serious and authoritative, but truth be told he didn't want to go up there. The wood of the stairs was rotting and in some places gone, leaving just the metal under frame remaining.
Then the noise came again.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
And this time, it felt directed at him, teasing him, even intimidation. Whoever was up there was challenging the officer, and Williams will not stand for such insolence, especially from a bunch a dumb hooligan kids.
So Williams climbed the stairs, slowly, taking each step bit by bit, keeping his pistol trained upwards. He still didn't dare turn off the safety. A negligible discharge at best towards a kid, or worse, a harmless animal?
Once at the top, the officer could see no one and nothing there..no one was peering over the side, not even a telescope or whatever he thought went in a dome like this.
So, three steps from the top and seeing naught but the bolts and beams making the weather dome, Officer Williams breathed a sigh of relief. "Must've been the wind or... or a woodpecker."
He started his descent down the stairs, and then he heard it again.
Thunk.
And then soon after, the stair step beneath his foot gave way.
He slipped downwards through the narrow step opening, through the broken board right before his waist was caught in the steps narrow rectangular frame, leaving his legs dangling beneath the stairs. "FUCK." He yelled, his pistol dropping.
In the dark he struggled, heaving and kicking without any vision as the flashlight on his pistal pointed at the door.
Then, the steps at once, the steps that surrounded the one he is currently stuck in broke, frame, board and all.
He landed on his ass, smacking against the desk, which surprisingly caught his weight without a sign of breaking.
"For fucks sake." Williams cursed , stepping off the abandoned furniture and rubbing his ass as he carefully made his way to his pistol, stepping over what was once part of the stairs...
Thunk
Thunk.
He picked up his pistol and made a quick egress out of the building, before stopping to catch his breath.
"All that for nothing but ass pains." The officer said, tapping the side of his pistol flashlight. It flickered, and then died. "And a broken flashlight."
The pistol was holstered, a deep breath was taken, and the cop walked back to his car.
Thunk.
Thunk.
THUNK.
It was right behind him now, and Williams spun on his heel, hands on his pistol, only to freeze what he saw.
"Hello laddie." Its words, her words for the voice was distinctly female albeit husky, seemed to ooze out like the last gurgles of a drowning victim.
"Why don't we go for a swim?"
Minutes later, Webb's Island was silent once more. Then the radio of Williams police cruiser barked.
"Williams, Williams, this is dispatch. Come back, over."
"Williams, Williams, this is Dispatch. Come back, over."
"Williams?!"