Lost in Thought

Chapter 10

The sun is barely up the next morning when Hulk, laying on my chest, begins to stir. His awful breath smacks me into consciousness. My eyes barely open, I see his big, sloppy tongue as it moves toward my face in slow-motion, like a monster attacking a city in one of those cheesy movies. Like the terrorized citizens in those movies, I don't make it out of the way in time.

I let out a groan as he slobbers on my cheek, trying to push him away before he can bathe my whole face in his disgusting saliva. At nearly eighty pounds, it isn't easy to move him, but I succeed after more of a struggle than I was expecting.

"What do you want?" I groan, wiping his slobber off of my cheek. "What time is it?"

"Early," he says, sitting next to me, tongue jutting from his snout and panting heavily. "And Ron says it's time to wake up and begin. Says you have a long day ahead of you." His tail is wagging again, smacking off my leg, a WHAP! sound emanating from each strike.

I continue laying there, mumbling hateful things under my breath. This is like the alarm clock that I hated so much, only it weighs eighty pounds and licks my face. My mind suddenly drifts to thoughts of how much money one could make with an alarm clock like that back in my former home. Rich yuppies who love to exclaim how difficult it is for them to wake up in the morning would buy one at an exorbitant price. I'd laugh all the way to the bank, smugly gloating about my creation. Me and the Toaster Stroodles guy would become fast friends, thinking much too highly of ourselves.

I'm snapped back to reality by Hulk, who has now placed his paws on my shoulders and stands on me with all of his weight. I let out a grunt and he begins to lick my face again.

"Alright, alright," I shout. "I'm getting up, just stop licking me. I have no idea where that tongue has been."

I quickly get dressed and stumble out into the living area. The trio is already dressed and appear ready to start today's adventure. I'm still barely awake, so even my thoughts are mumbled under my breath as I saunter over to them.

"Glad to see you're awake, Sunshine," Xavier says, slapping me on the arm. I know it's meant to be a friendly gesture, but he's friggin' huge and it feels like a battering ram has just slammed into my arm. I try not to show how much it hurts, but inside I'm screaming and maybe even crying a little bit. I hope that it doesn't leave a mark.

"What's going on?" I ask, snapped from my semi-coma by the throbbing pain in my arm. "It's so early."

"Early?" Xavier says, feigning shock and surprise. "Hell, the day is half over! We've got plenty to do today and not enough time to do it. We better get moving."

I mumble something, mostly a mix of several different words, but not one of them belongs in the same sentence as the others. I was trying to inquire where it was we were going, but I could barely understand what I was saying so it was no surprise that they didn't have the foggiest clue, either. Realizing that communication is not an option, I grunt, pull on my shoes and follow them out the door.

We walk quietly through the ruins of the city, Hulk trotting ahead of us, head held high in the air. He always looked like the proudest dog in the world while he was running and here was no different. Almost as if he were our defender, valiently keeping the area safe for us to pass through.

About an hour into our journey, I begin to lose patience.

"Is anyone going to tell me where we're going?" annoyance in my voice.

"Here," Ron says, gesturing around him.

"A bunch of burned out and broken down buildings? What could we possibly be doing here?" I'm not even fighting back the aggravation this time.