What You Learn

Chapter 4: Nip

Then there was Zach. He is tall, dark, lean, handsome, and totally batshit crazy. He falls in love with everyone to a fault. His name became Nip after the apocalypse. I barely knew him prior to the apocalypse, but he's a hot commodity now. He pierced his own nipples and consistently has a chain tying them together. You can see the menagerie of his war torn nipples through his mesh shirt. That's why we call him "Nip". He baits us with stories deep into the night.

We anxiously gather around a fire as we listen to another of Nip's stories.

He begins his newest tale with flawless execution. As a group, we crowd in closer to the fire. Waiting for our next adventure.

He begins,

"Once upon a time, there was a man. This man was named Jack, but he was known by the townsfolk as 'The Corpse Weaver'.

He continues as we hold our collective breaths.

"He was a healer in the village in a local temple a long time ago. He is obsessed with the idea that he can defy death. Emboldened by his ambition, he delves into dark alchemy. He grafts the skins of the dead into himself while his family is tucked into their beds at night. Jack spends long evenings that stretch until morning in the woods. His wife and children don't know what he does or where he goes. But Jack knows. And every day he finds a new reason to dig a 6 foot pit.

He always brings his two hounds wherever he goes. Trusted and true, he loved them more than he loved his own family. The hounds sense his dysfunction and howl when the children miss their father. However, their father is steadfast in his plans and goes forward.

So far, we have no clue why Jack disappears so frequently. He has a hunting cabin where he takes his two dogs. We can't understand his adventurous spirit, but he has now met his match in the woods. A match that only he understands. 

He's not sure anymore if he is the predator or the prey. This latest object of Jack's attention is all-consuming.

His match is named TailyPo.

Jack assumes his next adventure. Harsh silence surrounds him and the only thing he can hear are the murmurs of TailyPo.

"TailyPo. TailyPo. Bring me back my TailyPo. You forgot or you don't know. Bring me back my TailyPo."

Jack ignores the calls as his hounds cry deep into the night.

You see, Jack was an avid hunter. Thus, why he always had his hounds even when he forgot his own children. He loitered in the darkness as he sought another encounter with TailyPo.

For description's sake, TailyPo was a rat like creature, but 6 feet tall and with fangs longer than your forearms.

Jack might have made him up within his deteriorating mind. He asked himself if it was too much booze or not enough sleep. However, something told him that TailyPo was the real deal, because the hounds found him first. There was biting, barking, and screeching. That's when Jack pulled out his machete and hacked off TailyPo's tail. Tailey Poe ran away in crying pain.

That's when the bleak, haunting voices began.

"TailyPo. TailyPo. Bring me back my TailyPo."

We're on the edge of out seats. Legs crossed and going numb, we anxiously crowd closer when Nip leaves us on a another cliff hanger.

He addresses the crowd and says, "Make sure I stay alive for another day to hear the rest. Thanks!"

He walks away from the bon fire with a strut.