Early Rising

Boyd eventually changed his bedsheets, cleaned up the goat turds, and got to sleep. He felt like he was back in the meadow again, this time lying by himself under a gunmetal grey sky, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened, and he began to get restless. He tried in vain to move...but felt like he was just stuck there, like a lifeless corpse, forever doomed to stare up at the unchanging grey. For all eternity.

He rose early, just as the May sunshine was piercing through the gap in his curtains, and shook away the dream. 

He made his way into the lounge. There, Yuck was playing on his games console, some beat-em-up game called Pavement Pulveriser 17.4 Turboextremeplus. Zy the Death Goat was in tow, bashing a controller frantically with his hooves. Sarah was on the couch, doing less than very little, as one would expect.

“He’s won the last six games straight,” Yuck sighed. “His character looks kind of like he’s doing the special dance you did last night. But, it works.”

“Yuck, have you ever played a console before?”

“No, but I’ve watched people do it. It’s really entertaining. That, and bananas, two good things this world has going for it. Oh do you mind, I helped myself to some in the kitchen. And, you’ve got company.”

“Not them again.” Boyd dashed into the kitchen, to be greeted by two old Chess players. “Dobroye utro, tovarishch!”

“Get out. Now.” Boyd swept the pieces off the board.

“But. My bishops!”

“Screw your bishops. Leave.”

“Capitalist pig dog!” The two players hurriedly scooped the scattered pieces up from the kitchen floor, and left the flat, slamming the door behind them.

“Sorry!” called Yuck. “Remember, we cannot see them, and can’t interact with them. But if they had left food out of their hands and Zi had ate it…he would be one of theirs. Just to remind you.”

Boyd shuddered, and resolved to take better care of his Death Goat. Plus, to lock the door at night.

He returned to the lounge, and stood next to Sarah. She looked intoxicatingly beautiful, lying peacefully on the couch, pale white, flawless skin and angelic blonde hair cradling her perfect face.

I just wished…you were enough. I hate you for not being enough. You only look like you are.

Boyd turned to Zy and made sweeping movements, writing and writhing in the air as well. Zy bleated. Soon, Sarah came alive, but seemed to be in a sleep, ample chest rising and falling, Yuck staring at her frame from behind Boyd. Soon after, she awoke with a shudder and raised herself to a sitting position. 

She began babbling. “Ughh…that was so horrible. Monsters and frozen souls, trying to suck me dry…deader than dead...always dying.”

“So that’s what you saw?” Boyd said in mock concern. You saw what I wanted you to see, pale angel.

“I guess…that’s death? Last time I felt so peaceful, I think. But not this time.”

“You sneaky so and so,” Yuck laughed out loud, with only Boyd hearing it.

“I’m sorry Sarah, I had to give you a real taste of my power this time. To make you realise what your choice could bring…”

“I guess…I have no choice, really. I guess you can do what you want with me. With my body.”

Boyd backed away. “Hey. Hey! What do you take me for? I wished for this power to clean up the world. Not to make it more messy. What a hypocrite I would be.”

“Well then…what do you want?”

“To prove a point to you. This world is worth clearing up. It's better this way. And you’re going to help me.”

Sarah mused while gulping in sharp breaths, “I died and you brought me back to life…I guess I owe you my life. And you could kill me again…”

Boyd said nothing to counter this. He looked coldly at her.

“Oh Boyd, please! Don’t send me back there…anywhere but there!” She wrapped herself around him, pressing herself fully against him.

Boyd felt numb. So right now, I feel the difference between being feared, needed…but actually not wanted. Not chosen. 

He released her. “I just need your help. Not much help. I just need to know that you’ll help me out a bit. A lot, at times, okay? But after a year or two, you can just go about your life in a better place. Won’t that be great? And you’ll know it was you who helped make it that way.”

“I…guess…”

“What do you truly want, Sarah?”

“Well…I want to work at the nearby Cat Café. But I’m scared the cats will hack my boobs to pieces. I want to play bass in Hermione’s band, Guilty Cow. And…”

She looked into him deeply.

“I want to go to a special, peaceful place full of angels and unicorns and ice cream. When I die. Not that horrible place. I want to go to heaven. You’re a God, you can make that happen, right? Right?”

She fixed her blue eyes on him.

“Sarah, I…”

“You can do anything, right? I know you can. You brought me back to life, out of Hell. Please. I’ll do what you want. Anything. Anything, any time. I’d love to. For you.”

“Well crikey Boyd, old sport, what you going to do now?” Yuck cackled. The girl was begging. Pleading for him to save her soul.

“Okay, sure. Consider it done. When your time comes, that is what will happen. If you make good choices. If not…” Sarah shivered.

“Of course, of course, thank you thank you!” Sarah sobbed in full submission.

No turning back now.

“Hey! Enough of that. Go back to your apartment, get yourself cleaned up. We’re going to see your father. It’s not fair that he thinks you're dead.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Okay, my…Okay.”

Sarah quickly got up and left his apartment, travelling six apartments along, past Hitomi’s, Genghis the sailor’s place, then Yuri Salenkov the regional grandmaster’s, General Huffy of the JSS Sayonara’s, and Robbie’s pad – a part-time taxi driver and cat groomer, and notably her first crush who was definitely history.

Yuck stared at Boyd, a small crooked smile playing on his rectangular, pulpy lips. "You really believe that you can give her that heaven she asks for? Surely you know it's a false hope. A personal customised dose of her Opium for the Masses, o God."

"I...I'll make it right. Somehow. The ends will justify the means."

"Well. I guess time will tell. How fascinating!" Yuck clapped his hands and laughed manically. 

Twenty minutes later, after nuzzling Zy and getting changed into his most formal attire, Boyd met Sarah at Hadouken Station, with the goat and Origami secretly in tow. Unfortunately, the trains weren’t running due to a build up of biologically mutated chewing gum that had to be removed before more lives were tragically taken, so they had to rent pogo sticks and undergo the lengthy hop to the Kamikaze Mansion.

“Wait here,” Boyd whispered to Sarah, concealing her in a large bush near the front door. Stiffening up, he marched towards the door and mentally prepared himself for a meeting with Elgar Kamikaze, fridge magnet magnate extraordinaire.