Kanker Sore

Chapter 7 - No rest for the Eds

Immediately upon exiting the Park'N'Flush, Rick looked behind him to see if the Kankers were still following him. No one was around, except for the grumpy fisherman who was going home empty-handed. The fiendish sisters seemed to have given up... for this time. Rick would have to be very careful henceforth. He knew that these three wackjobs weren't done with him, and that he'd have to run into them again soon. Conflict was unavoidable with bossy bastards like that. They never put up with anyone refusing to play by their rules, and even a neutral attitude towards them could sometimes be enough to get them riled up.

Cohabitation would certainly not be fun with such assholes. Especially since they had apparently developed a rather insane obsession with Rick. Unless it's the same with all the other guys in the district, which wouldn't be surprising. Fortunately, the Kankers seemed to fear the sheriff. The Flicker figured this out because they had stopped tracking him precisely when he had appeared. But Derek wouldn't always be there to watch out for the cul-de-sac's young residents. Surely he had more important things to do than keep an eye on the same scummy gang over and over. Going forward, Rick better get used to rely on himself to foil the Kankers' evil schemes.

The Flicker passed the Cock and Plucker and headed back to his dead end. He'd hung out enough in that dodgy spot for the day. On the way, he came across a van parked near the river and bearing the words "Professional insect killers from father to son" in bold letters. Now, he planned to find Jonny to give him back his Plank and go practice his swordplay until nightfall. He had hardly touched it since he came to Peach Creek, and he was beginning to miss it. As soon as he reached the cul-de-sac, three familiar figures rushed towards him. Ed, Edd and Eddy kept running as if they had a demon army on their heels. As the smallest of the trio approached the Flicker, he called out to him in a breathless voice :

« Rick... Do us a favor... If you see an angry mob coming after us... Tell them we're hiding out in the old construction site, okay ? »

Then he joined his friends without giving him time to answer anything. Effortlessly, Ed grabbed a manhole cover and lifted it over his head. Eddy and Double D dashed into the sewer passageway, then Ed did the same and put the heavy metal plate back in place after disappearing too. Not bad, this goofball has some lifting potential. A few moments later, Kevin, Nazz, Jimmy and Sarah showed up. They looked both furious and... sick. Terribly sick. Rick had to back away from Nazz's vomiting on his shoes. That poor girl was obviously suffering from indigestion.

« Flicker ! » Kevin interjected, looking just as bad. « The three dorks, did you see where they went ? »

« Positive. I saw them fleeing towards the disused building site. » He answered by pointing to the road ahead.

« Ah, I knew it. » Said Nazz, holding her stomach to keep from barfing again. « That's their favorite hidey-hole. »

« This time we got them ! » Sarah added. « Hurry up, I can't wait to beat the crap out of those three poisoners. »

Kevin and Nazz raced after the unfortunate trio. Sarah and Jimmy wanted to do the same, but the Flicker waved them off for a while.

« Minute you two. Since you're here, I've got something for you. »

Rick took the two damaged toys out of his pockets and handed them to their owners. Owners who were clearly upset to find their belongings in such bad shape. The nervous redhead was the first to express her annoyance :

« Damn, they're totally screwed up ! » She yelled in her still shrill voice. « Did you play "whack-a-mole" with our stuff, or what ?! »

« Nope, they were already like that when I came across them. If you're not happy, go complain to the Kankers, they did it. »