Kanker Sore

Chapter 4 - Stolen items

At around 9 a.m, Rick was rudely awakened from his sleep. An unwanted presence was standing right next to him, shaking him frantically and grumbling. Caught off guard, the Flicker's first instinct was to draw his sword and point the blade at the troublemaker's throat. But when he saw who it was, he immediately stopped his move. Eddy was a nuisance, but not so much that he would be traumatized. What the hell is this pest doing in my room ? This annoying dwarf was leaning on the edge of his bed and shouting in his ears :

« Time to get up, groundhog ! »

Of a sharp gesture, Rick pushed back Eddy's hands which hammered his tired body. Then he intimated him to close his trap by throwing him a murderous glance. Guaranteed effect, Eddy calmed down immediately.

« Can I know what you are doing here ? I didn't order a "wake up call" option, so go yell somewhere else ! »

« Tell that to your uncle, you moron ! » Eddy retorted. « He's the one who asked me to come up and wake you up. So get off your ass, or I'll get a bucket of water. »

« Jesus, curse that little sod... »

Rick didn't insist and obeyed. He had hoped that with the vacations, Hooper would let him stay up longer. But obviously, he preferred his nephew to stretch his legs. Unless he wanted to give him an intensive training session that only he had the secret. But it was Monday, and his uncle hardly ever took a day off. He was a workaholic, just like his father. With a rusty robot's vivacity, Rick brushed his teeth, showered, and put on a red T-shirt with a white target printed on it. In the kitchen, he was greeted by Hooper who was sitting at the end of a rectangular table. The three Eds were at his side, eating jams and sandwichs.

« Ey Rick, come and pig out with us ! » His uncle joked.

The Flicker sat down between Ed and Eddy, right across from Hooper. He grabbed a knife, the butter, and began to make himself a slice of bread.

« Sword dude has good tastes. » Exclaimed Ed with a weird laugh. « There's nothing better than buttered toast ! Well, except for chicken in gravy. »

« Uh... thanks, I guess... »

Oddly enough, before Eddy came and screwed things up, Rick had slept pretty well here. With his uncle's creepy warning and homesickness, he had expected to doze off at best. But in the end, he was adjusting to his new pad faster than expected. All that remained was to see if he could find a friend who was not completely barmy among his neighbors. He hadn't met everyone yet, and he intended to do it today. But for now, he wondered why the Eds were having breakfast here, rather than in their respective homes. However, he would rather not ask this question out loud, for fear of creating discomfort. Perhaps they had family issues.

« By the way, could someone pass me the toast ? » Hooper asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

In the middle of the table, a whirring toaster was on. The timer was about to go off, and the two pieces of bread would pop out of the machine. Once that happened, Rick tossed his knife nonchalantly. The blade pierced the slices in flight and carried them away. The weapon flew straight at Hooper. While drinking his glass, the uncle intercepted the projectile by wedging the blade between two of his fingers. All this while the Eds looked on in astonishment. The whole scene took only a split second, and yet they felt as if they had seen it in slow motion.

« Thanks, pal. » Hooper replied, separating the knife from the toast. He was acting very casual, as if the whole thing was perfectly ordinary.

« Oh, dear... » stammered Double D.

« Are you putting on a show for the circus ? » Asked Ed.

« Ey, this gives me a great idea for a con that could surely... »