Good Things Never Last

Chapter 68

I slowly filed into the Camarvan alongside everyone else, the cramped space quickly filling up.

"What's this..."
My gaze was drawn to a hunched-over horned man holding a cigarette, which he waved around in the air.
"A surprise birthday party?"
His laugh filled the small space as I tried to stop myself from choking on the smoke that engulfed the room. Everyone began whispering amongst themselves, the bulk of them confused and frightened that it was a trap.

But everything went silent as Wilbur stepped forward.
"What are you doing Schlatt?"
He towered over the horned man as they stared into one another's eyes.
"Are you... Are you drunk?"
Schlatt just laughed again as he pulled out his flask and took a long drink, silently answering Wilbur's question. No one let their guard down as everyone stood in silence, each pair of eyes fixated on Schlatt.
"He hasn't changed one bit"
I watched as Big Q took a small step forward from the crowd to get a closer look at Schlatt.

"Ah, Quackity, my old friend"
I snorted slight as Schlatt took yet another sip from his flask.
"Good of you to join us"
Silence descended upon us once more as everyone exchanged glances at one another, unsure of what to do until Wilbur stepped forward once again.
"So, this is the leader you follow?"
He turned to Dream, whose mask still faced the horned man.
"This man is not my leader, he never was"
He shook his head in disgust before shoving his hand through his already tangled hair in frustration.
"This... was not part of the plan."

He then took a step forward then walked over to Schlatt, looking at the goat-man's eyes with the mask's dead ones.
"Are you fucking drunk?"
In answer, Schlatt gave him a lazy smile, which caused the vehicle to erupt in whispers of annoyance and disappointment.
"I think it might be time to end this"
Wilbur walked over to Dream's side, never taking his eyes away from the president.
"No... no, not yet. I don't even know where his armour went"
"Probably sold it to get more drink"
All eyes in the room quickly landed on me as I shrugged.
"What, I'm not wrong"

"What the fuck..."
Tommy's eyes stayed on Schlatt as Fundy appeared in the doorway. As soon as he saw Schlatt, the smile that had been on his face vanished.
"Fundy? What are you doing here?"
Schlatt last saw Fundy before his betrayal, when Fundy was the last person he had left. And I would have felt sorry for the guy in a different situation. Schlatt thought Fundy was the only friend he had, and he abandoned him when he needed him the most, just as everyone else had done before him.

Just like everyone had done to me.

Schlatt straightened himself from his slouched stance and tossed his flask in Dream's direction, which he easily caught. The goat-man then reached inside his suit for a new beer bottle.
"Come here you bitch!"
When Schlatt hurled the glass bottle at him, Fundy was able to react quickly enough. He quickly raised his arms in front of his face, leaving the glass to shatter against his armoured forearm.

I grimaced as I watched Quackity flinch in response to Schlatt's unexpected outburst, and it took everything I had not to hurry over and hug him.
"I could've drunk that you bitch"
All eyes were briefly drawn to me as I attempted to lighten the mood before they returned their attention to the goat-man. The scent of fresh blood and sweat was drowned out by the aroma of booze.
"You bitch!"
I rolled my eyes while Schlatt there a  drunken tantrum that reminded me of Tommy when he was younger and couldn't find a toy.

"Listen! Listen Schlatt!"
I watched as Fundy took a step forward, leaving him barely a metre or so away from Schlatt.
"Schlatt listen to me! You fucked up the country. You fucked up everything! You had a dream and I followed it! But you brought it downhill... Everything! You ruined it! You ruined everything we had. I thought you were something"
Fundy looked away, clearly disappointed. But that was a big mistake on his behalf. As soon as his gaze was taken away from the president, he leapt forward and grabbed the fox man's collar.