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The shon:gili feinted to
the right, then left. It picked up a brick and tossed it at Benny.
Then it said, “Hey, brat. How’s your mom?”
“Screw you. Go to hell, creep.”
“Been there, done that.” The shon:gili
shrugged. “And lost the scars that proved me.”
The animal sprang. It moved so fast, Benny didn’t see until too
late that it held a stick.
He was knocked back. Benny buried the knife in its chest, but the
jaws closed on his shoulder, and fangs scratched the skin under the coat.
The head moved back, and the animal leaped away. It zipped up the
side of a building, hopped across the street and was on Benny before he could
move.
It laughed.
“I’m alive. If you weren’t so frickin ugly I’d kiss you,
redskin. Did you miss me?”
Stiff and cold, Benny said, “Give me a gun and silver and
we’ll see.”
With a warm laugh, it lapped at Benny’s face.
“Ugh, gross. Stop it,” Benny shouted. “Kill me, but don’t
torture me.”
“OK. But can I have a hug?” The speech was slow, each vowel
spoken in a harsh growl. “Hey, no c-c-rap. This ain’t like our time in the
manse or the Walnut Street Jail. I ain’t no myjack like Cherry and the
judge.”
Staring up at the broad head and grinning jaws, Benny shuddered.
“Carl?” Then he shouted it and grabbed the thick neck in a
killing bear hug, sobbing, “Carl, Carl.
I’m sorry, Papa Bear. I killed you.”
The shon:gili whined. It
turned a questioning thought at Carl. Carl smiled, mentally stroking the
pleasure centers.
Friend?
One of the best, Carl
told the shon:gili. To Benny, he said,
“I killed me, kid. I avenged your baby sister and rid the world of a gross pig.
Hey, stop crying or I’ belt you.”
Grinning through the tears, Benny crawled up.
“Geez, Carl, but Mom always said you were a dog. Now you really
are.”
Benny prowled the night next to Carl. Men challenged them but slid
away at the sight of the shon:gili.
They came to the shack near Sedgley Street. Benny stilled.
“Sue . . . You got to meet her man. She’s the one and only.
You know?”
“Like, Anna?” There was a wistful note in the hoarse voice.
“Yeah, but nice. Not a wolf.”
Carl rasped a laugh.
“They’re all wolves, kid, with the wrong guy and over their
kids in any case.”
A cry came from the row house. Benny threw open the door. He
darted into the kitchen and found Sue surrounded by men. JJ leered at him over
the sights of a Zapper.
“Dead meat. You be good to these boys, punk, and I’ll let you
live a while.”
The tiny eyes widened. Benny ducked, and the bolt hissed over him
to strike the door.
The shon:gili lunged
through. He roared in delight, and a mist of blood filled the air. Two men rammed
through the door at the same time leaving a corpse and a moaning JJ.
Crawling to Sue, Benny stood over her. A savage grin leered at the
big man.
“Hey, JJ. I want you to meet my best friend. Second best,” he
said, his voice dropping and modest. “This is my stepdad, Carl, back from the
grave just to say hello. Say hey to the nice myjack, Papa Bear.”
The shon:gili snarled a
laugh. JJ’s eyes rolled up in his head. He slumped in a dead faint.
The shon:gili settled
over the corpse. Bones snapped and shattered between drooling jaws. Sue
shuddered, burying her face in Benny’s chest.
“Hey, ah, Carl?”
Carl grunted. A few raw, red ribs sticking out of his mouth, he
glanced up, then swallowed.
“Ah, could you, like, do that somewhere else? You know how women
are about making a mess in their kitchen.”
Grumbling about Sue and women in general, Carl picked up the
corpse. It flopped in his jaws. He glared at Benny but jumped out the door. JJ
moaned and sat up.
Benny whistled. “Yo! Hey, Carl? You forgot one.”
JJ shrieked and ran out the door, with Benny and Sue shouting a
laugh.
©2004 StoriesByEmail.com
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