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Manu Ahi.
Dilo Township.
The house party was in full effect, dull multicolored lights painting the dark street, projecting against the side of a yellow school bus. Warbly music kept the neighbors up, a few dinos from UV sitting atop the porch, filling it with a drug-infused fog. Rank fumes of their wanton indulgement drifted lazily across the shared living space, seeping into neighboring homes with unwanted abandon.
A bright red woody wagon slowly pulled up, a few students taking notice. They all thought it would be the next batch of party goers, the next load of people ready to get fucked and make mistakes.
The door opened, a foot stepping out, and expectations were shattered.
A lone aquatic looked up at the house, taking the clasper off his prosthetic and replacing it with a hook before closing the car door behind him.
Determination was etched on his snout as he raised a phone to the side of his head.
“Cousin, you were right.”
“I think this is hell.”
James sat in a blanked out space, lost in retrospection.
“What am I even doing here?”
…
“Oh, right, it’s the only thing I ever do.”
His beer can remained forgotten in his hands, the only thing he could’ve been doing that he no longer even had the stomach for.
“Maybe I should just get the hell out. Not just here, but… everything.”
…
“It’s better this way-”
And then James watched as a stoner next to the door was completely knocked on his ass after someone kicked it open with the power of a mule.
“What-?”
Framing the now splintered door frame was an aquatic, one of the local denizens of Manu Ahi, blue scales murky in the prismatic light and wearing what looked to be a motorcycle jacket over an aloha shirt, not a single bit of hair on his head. A pair of shades obscured his eyes, and he wore something on his left arm.
… No, not wear but-
“An amputee? Where the hell does Quandale even find these people-”
But James should’ve known from the sheer intensity of the dinosaur’s scowl that he was not here to party, his hook reaching for the light switch and flicking it on.
Bright, normal light flooded the house, a few partygoers wincing like vampires as the music suddenly stopped. The dancer swayed for a moment, coming to a stop as her unfocused green eyes widened, standing like a broken doll.
The aquatic then spoke, his voice not loud… but stern with every bit of force.
Giving a declaration.
“Party’s over.”
It took a few seconds for the partygoers to react.
“Hey, who turned on the lights?”
“Yo, who does this Finner think he is?”
“Hey, can we get the music back-” A dino made a reach for the boombox on the kitchen countertop.
“AIIIIII-!”
A shrill, vicious warcry suddenly sounded. James watched the aquatic bring his leg up.
“-YA!”
And smash his heel atop the boombox, turning the cheap plastic into dust, much to the shock and surprise of everyone.
“Music stays off.” The aquatic simply said.
Now a couple of people from upstairs were coming down, hurriedly dressed as they checked what the commotion was about. Necktie-draped doors creaked open, curious and wary eyes poking through to understand what the hell cut off the party vibes. Quandale made his appearance, ever the negotiator as he stepped forth to the doorway, a few lackeys already following.
“Alright, alright, party pooper. We’ll just go somewhere el-”
“Where’s everyone trying to go? Bingo?” The aquatic narrowed his eyes, “The party is over.” He then grabbed a forgotten broom by the door with his hook, pressing the cleaning tool against the burly human’s chest. “But the cleaning’s just begun.” He looks out at the rest of the occupants. “And all of you are going to make it look better than when you arrived, and after that, never ever return.”
“Pssh.” Quandale stared at the aquatic with what James assumed was an incredulous look (he could never tell with his eyes). “Or what?”
The aquatic then grabbed Quandale by the hem of his shirt and effortlessly forced the human to a knee, raising his shades over his eyes to reveal the fiercest blue eyes James had ever seen, so full of furious rage that the heat could be felt throughout the room and a glower that could melt steel. A few seconds passed, Quandale’s eyes wide open.
And then…
Quandale began to bawl, closing them as he slowly turned around, shakily holding the broom while continuing to bawl as he swept up some broken bottles.
“... Did he just hit Quandale with a fucking penance stare-?”
The aquatic then looked to James.
“Right, clean up.” He immediately grabbed what looked to be a duster, the other partygoers having gotten the clear message as they worked to get the house back into functioning order.
Yet there was one who hadn’t.
James blinked, looking up at the dancer, still standing atop the table with an uneven hunch, her snout open and eyes vacant.
“Hey?” James spoke, slowly lowering the duster. “You go-?”
And then her nose began to bleed, her eyes going wayward alongside her body. James reacted, duster falling to the floor as he held his arms out, catching the raptor in his arms before she could take a bad fall, her legs knocking over a few beer cans.
“H-Hey!” James shook her, seeing no response to her widened eyes, her pupils contracted to pinpoints and her breath unsteady. It came in, out, then gurgled past an invisible rasp that withered her already meager breath. “Crap. She definitely needs an ambulance!”
The human was then aware of the shadow growing over him, feeling an instinctual gulp go down his throat.
“What happened?”
“I-” He looked up to see the aquatic, looking down. Yet the dino’s gaze wasn’t on him, but her, and despite his hard look, he could see concern brushing the aquatic’s features. “-think she’s overdosing.”
Instantly, the dino knelt, getting a claw on her other side to help. “Here. Lift her up.” James obeyed, the aquatic turning his head to him. “Ambulance will take a while in these parts. I'll drive her to the hospital down in Kiekie.”
James wasn’t sure if the aquatic was clearing his throat with that last word, but he didn’t care. If anything, he was glad. He couldn’t have imagined anyone but the aquatic would’ve been serious about this, especially seeing one of the partygoers having stopped cleaning to gleefully hold his phone up to record.
The aquatic quickly fixed that by swinging his free prosthetic, turning the phone into scrap as it’s halves smashed into the wall.
“Duuuuude!” The primate bemoaned.
The two-person carry continued to the door, James feeling the raptor’s shaky arms around his shoulder, her claws digging uncomfortably into his shirt. As they arrived at the door, James could sense the other partygoers brightening, knowing they were about to be let go.
Except…
A few more aquatics showed up from seemingly nowhere, the front of the house filled with…
“Are those hot rods?” James thought in bewilderment, unsure why the entire car convention had shown up.
A big paunchy kronosaur stepped onto the porch, nodding at the amputee. “Ey, she okay, cous?”
“Dunno. We’re bringing her to the hospital.”
James was surprised that the other didn’t even flinch as he nodded at the prompt command. “Gotcha.”
The fat aquatic brandished a wrench with murderous intent, continuing into the house alongside the rest of his crew.
“So which one of ya started squatting at my friend’s place?”
James was a lot more glad being outside than inside, arriving at a woody wagon as the aquatic opened the back door. He then opened the passenger side, looking to the human expectantly, James blinking. “You… want me to come with?”
He couldn’t see the aquatic's eyes behind his shades.
But he could feel the gaze as the dino asked him.
“Aren’t you responsible?”
James wanted to give an excuse, a fact too, considering that he had barely anything to do with the party, especially with the overdosing dancer!
But…
“Nhh… ha-...” He heard the raptor girl’s heavy breathing, and he simply just moved on his own, clambering into the passenger seat as the aquatic came to the driver's side.
And as the engine started, James kinda understood what the aquatic actually meant
“Aren’t you responsible?”
Was he?
If he was, why had he ever even been in a place like that? Why did he even drink himself into a stupor at times?
Why did Cathy leave him?
The feeling of a claw brushed him from her thoughts, peering behind to see the raptor dancer reaching out to him.
He didn’t know why.
But he felt some responsibility to hold it, gently grasping her shaky digits.
Leaving hell behind them.
“How’s it looking, Dr. Akefu?”
James quietly stood by, watching the aquatic converse with the doctor, an elderly koshisaur overlooking the raptor.
She was sitting down now. Whatever they had given her, it was enough, lucidity having returned to her eyes as she stared down at the floor.
….She was also still holding James’s hand, even as the doctor had prescribed her an IV syringe.
“We’ve given her a small dosage of naloxone, and her breathing has returned to normal. Do you know what she may have taken?”
Both James and the aquatic shook their heads.
“What of any other potential injuries?”
“No.” The aquatic gestured to James. “Thankfully, uh-” He turned to the human. “What’s your name?”
“James.”
The aquatic nodded, looking back at the doctor. “James caught her just as she collapsed.”
“Do you know her name?” The doctor asked.
“Ashley.”
The two of them blinked, realizing it had come from the sat raptor. Red locks matted with sweat and shame moved as she slowly raised her head, staring into James’s soul.
“Ashley.” Dr. Akefu speaks, “You are at Kiekie hospital. Is there anyone we can contact? Your parents? Family?”
Ashley remains silent.
“... Nurse Tooru will be here shortly to escort her to an observation unit. I’ll need to make preparations. Keep an eye on her, if you would.”
“Of course.” The aquatic responded
A few moments passed, James feeling her claw squeeze at his hand, as if testing to see if it was real.
And then she spoke up, thin and warbled with exhaustion.
“... I’m sorry. I don’t know why I-...” She trails off. “It would’ve been better if I’d just…-”
“Just what?” James asked.
The aquatic stepped up to her, shaking his head. “No.” He repeated, heaviness in his voice as he places a gentle claw on her shoulder, clearly knowing what her finished sentence would’ve been. “No… it wouldn’t have been.”
She looked to the aquatic, confused, surprised? James wasn’t sure.
“Wish I knew-” She sighed wearily. “-what is wrong with me?”
James wasn’t sure if it was just the side effects that were making her ask questions of that caliber, but he felt he needed to answer. He knelt down, head level to hers. “It’s just… stimulus.”
Now, Ashley and the aquatic were looking to him, the human put on the spot.
“It’s-” Where was he even going with this, organizing his thoughts into something approaching sensible, relatable? “Reality just sucks too much, and we just do these… distractions, things that lessen the burden. It’s-” He let out a breath. “It’s what I do to keep my life in a pit.” He then shrugs, realizing something. “And you know what? I don’t even know why I was even there. Do you?”
Her silence was enough of an answer.
“So just… focus on staying alive, okay?”
Ashley paused, staring at him, her tears dried up long ago.
Her irises were faded. A wan, irrefutable exhaustion tinged with self-loathing kept her expression drawn low.
But something was there. Something that made James let go of the clenched knot that sat at the base of his throat.
Footsteps returned, a fukiraptor with a weird hairdo. “Ashley, are you able to walk? Do you require extra assistance?” To answer Tooru’s question, Ashley shakily stands on her own, the nurse helping to support her. “We will take it from here. Thank you.”
“... No problem.” James said.
He felt her claw leave his hand, but not her eyes, still peering by the shoulder of the nurse as she was guided away.
Not as terrifyied as when he first saw them.
She then rounded the corner and then-
Ashley was gone.
James quickly came to notice another staring at him, the blue aquatic looking at him with a slight tilt of his head as if he was inspecting a canvas. “Hm. Got a lot on your mind, huh?”
“That’s putting it lightly.” James admits, looking back out the hallway. “Maybe I’ll go check up on her tomorrow if she got discharged or something.”
The aquatic slowly smiles, one corner of his mouth quirked in approval. “Yeah, that’s responsible.”
“You need a ride back?”
The two stood outside the hospital, close by the parking lot. “Uh, that’s the thing.” James embarrassingly admitted. “I got nowhere to go back to.”
The dino stared at him with far more patience than expected.
“It’s… a lot of things…” The next part came out harder, hooked from far below and dragged to the surface. “A lot of it is my fault.” He let out a bit of air from his nostrils; not amusement, just incredulity. “God, I am just a mess up. All that I said to her before, it’s all true, isn’t it?”
James breathed.
“My life’s a living hell.”
The aquatic looked to him before looking out at the dim parking lot.
He then spoke.
“And that’s what it’s ever going to be-”
“Geez, would’ve at least expected a ‘that’s rough buddy-”
“-if you never start taking the steps to change it.” The aquatic finished. “You know, I used to think the same a long time ago.” He holds his prosthetic up, and James could easily guess why. “But I realized that I was the one making it like that. So I improved myself, kept what was good, changed what was not.”
The aquatic’s snout tightened.
“People think there’s a rock bottom to catch their fall, a place they can finally land to start climbing. But that’s not true. Your personal hell only stops when you stop making it personal.”
James blinked at the surprising wisdom.
“... Think you’ve finally taken the first step.”
James opened his mouth before closing it, wondering if the warmth in his chest was from the beer he had drunk before.
“So where’re you planning to stay? You’re still gonna visit Ashley tomorrow, right?”
“Well uh-” James kicked at the grass. “The grass looks kinda comfy, and it’s convenient so…?”
An incredulous look flashed on blue scales before James heard a huff. The aquatic shook his head. “Yeah, no way.” He gestured to follow. “Come stay at my place.”
“I- You’d offer that?” James asked in disbelief. “You hardly even know me.”
“So?” Inco shrugged. “As long as you don’t wake up my wife and kids, you’re free to stay the night. And-” He shrugs. “Maybe we’ll see the next couple of days as well, until you get back on your own two feet.”
“... I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Inco. Inco Gnero.”
And James…
Finally smiled for real.
“Thanks, Inco.”
Inco returns a smile, replacing his hook with a clasper as he opens the door. “By the way, you like the Beach Brachios?”
“Huh?”
“It’s one of the prerequisites if you’re gonna be staying over.”
“Really?”
“Heh.”
Inco turned on the stereo, face turning serious.