Mystic Resonance

Reservation for One... Make it Two

"You've got to pound it to unleash the flavor." I pause the video on Ricardo's phone. I give him a look.

"Don't say it", he says.

"Say what?" I imply.

"Don't say 'that's what he said'... Goddammit... I hate you." I smile in victory. Sometimes I don't have to try and serve my dishes when I have someone do it for me.

"Why am I looking at this fatass mothafucka again?" I ask. Not gonna lie, after meeting the turtles, my daily life has gotten... bland. Bland as in the color gray kind of bland. Nothing goes on my days. Five whole days of my daily routine consist of morning exercise and afternoon laziness leading to nighttime movie marathon. I'm pretty much living the fucking dream. My point: I'm bored. I called Ricardo to see if he was free. Fortunate for me, he was. I made sure to get a quick shower before meeting my former gopher. It was past seven when we meet, and he lends me his phone to see a video his friend sends him.

"Ever heard of Rupert Swaggert?"

"Rupert Swaggert? The chef who claimed to be better than Gordon Ramsez and Iron Chef Bobby Flay? Thinks his show Kondescending Kitchen is better than Hell's Kitchen? No, can't say I have."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad."

"Swaggert got jealous and created a bootleg show to imply he's got the biggest scrotum."

Ricardo sighs. "I can't stand you sometimes. Watch the damn clip."

I rewind the video and press play. "This isn't how you make the pork risotto!" the portly chef with ginger hair yells at the shorter man. He hits the contestants with the pork in front of a crowd. And people say I'm rude. "You've got to pound it to unleash the flavor." God, I'm so tempted to say it. Then I say something out of the ordinary. An abnormally size bug coming for Swaggert. My scanners zoom in. It was a mosquito, but not just any mosquito. The same mosquito that carried Draxum's mutagen. It stung into Swaggert's neck and injected the liquid. In seconds, the celebrity mutated on live television with a live audience.

"Holy fuck", I mumble, handing back Ricardo's phone.

"I know, right. No one knows where these bugs came from. They came out of nowhere stinging anyone and anything they see worth stinging."

"How long ago was this?"

"About four, possibly five days top." Don't tell me those idiotas forgot to close the gate? Wait. The key was broken! FUCK! This is basically my fault – but it's mostly the turtles are to blame; I just got on the wrong train. "You okay, Merrill. You're looking a bit pale. Well, paler than usual."

"Gee, thanks for telling me I need more sun, pendejo." I can't believe I haven't heard about this. Maybe it's partially my fault for not going to the news. I really should watch the news more often.

"Color me shock. I thought you know everything."

"Just 'cause soy rico doesn't mean I know the answer to life or the wonders of the universe."

"Don't be such a smartass. I'm warning you to keep a heads up and make sure you have chemicals or bug killer. Since these things appear, items like those gets out of stock like trendy merchandise."

"I'm sure I got Lysol somewhere in my bathroom." My head suddenly throbs. I massage my cranium. The throb gotten stronger. I close eyes and reopen, but I wasn't with Ricardo. I was running, chasing after a creature.

"Come back here, silverfish!" I blink. Leo? The turtle I mention stops. "Merrill? No, no. Cool it, Leon. He's not here. Like he said, I'm never going to see him again." Not my exact words, but kinda hurtful even though I did say it. "Oh, silverfish. Stop swimming away. I won't slice you into fish sticks. Scouts honor." His jokes are too stale for my taste. He lost track of the silverfish. I can't believe he lost a mutant silverfish that is half of his size. Until a huge shadow overlaps his figure. He turns facing a large hand coming for him. A scream brings me back to my area. Leo's in trouble!