"I'll come back, ya hear me?" Fennec coughed, hands grasping onto the clump of intestines that wormed through his grip. Alex chuckled, arms folded. "Go home, scumbag. Leave us alone." Fennec wrinkled his nose, and limped away, muttering swears under his breath.
"Good riddance." Jackie chuckled, mouth slanted in a nonchalant smile. He walked towards the maroon coloured trail that Fennec had left behind and picked a small blade up, almost disguised by his blood. He wiped a bit off on his jeans and stuffed the blade in his pocket.
"This calls for a drink."
"Absolutely."
The old bar at Delson Road always had a lingering smell of a decaying carcass, hence the nickname, "Death Corner". The origin of the peculiar smell was always a mystery, though some had quite disturbing theories of how it came along. Many of which involved, not surprisingly, cannibalism. Though, it would be best not to think about them while enjoying a beer. Mostly because you'd have a traumatising realisation that the beer's taste had a hint of meat in it.
Alex, with Jackie following behind, weaved through the crowded bar. The bar had its usual inhabitants, including the various gangs who sat together with their kind, showing off their latest tattoos and the questionably sane creatures who sat at a small table tucked away in the corner chattering, mostly to themselves. The owner of the bar, Eden, was doing his thing, cleaning cups and gathering the nonsensical gossip that spread like a contagious virus in a bathroom. Alex and Jackie sat at their usual seats, right in front of the stage.
A deer-like creature with a television for a head made its way onstage, accompanied by the cheers of crowds. A waitress sashayed her way to the table. As soon as her gaze met Jackie, she scrunched her nose. "Would you... 'boys' like something to drink?" Jackie secretly scoffed, but continued with his order."T-Two beers, please." Jackie said, sliding six iron chips across the table, avoiding any eye contact with the waitress. The waitress nodded slowly, shoving the metal chips in her beer-stained apron, walking away briskly in disgust. "Jeez, that was rude." Alex said, leaning towards Jackie. "You okay Jack? You sounded pretty pissed off... For a guy like you." Jackie groaned and turned his head to the stage. "I'm just trying to accept the fact that people still won't take guys like me seriously. But other than that, i'm perfectly fine."
They watched as the small deer-like creature twirled around the stage, its hooves clacking along the wooden floor as it danced along to the accompanying piano music. Alex felt a small tug on the bottom of his shirt. He slowly lifted his gaze from the stage and looked down. A blue-skinned monster peered back, grinning widely. "YO, YO BRO." He whispered, unsurprisingly loudly. "Marcus? What're you doing here?" Alex asked, bending down a bit.
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Marcus' voice was trembling a bit as he spoke in awkward slurs. "SOMET-HING WRONG BRO." He peered back, as if someone, or something was stalking him. Then he turned back, letting go of his forced grin. "Listen, someone's been spreading rumors about you guys, man. And they're pretty nasty, man." "What?! What kind of rumors? Who would do such a thing?" Alex asked in slight anger. Marcus shrugged, his head tipped to the side a bit. His eyes flinched. "Uh, I h-have to go." And with that, he was gone.
Alex informed Jackie about the problem. Jackie's head was clearly wracked with disbelief. He stared at the empty cup of beer, lips quivering in the slightest way. As soon as Alex saw Jackie's grieved expression, he knew exactly what Jackie was thinking of. He inched towards Jackie and slowly placed his hand on his shoulder, comforting him. "Oh, come on. That can't be what the rumor's about." Jackie refused to look at Alex. "But, what if i-it is?" His eyes were slowly swelling up as gripped the beer glass tightly. Alex heaved a long sigh. He brought Jackie into a hug. "It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine. We'll find the person who person who did this, okay?" Jackie nodded slowly as he tightened his grip, sobbing softly. Slowly, he let go and wiped a tear from his eye. "S-so," he spoke softly, voice trembling in the slightest. "What are we g-gonna do now?"
The two men quickly made their way to the front of the bar where they were quickly greeted by Eden. "Ey, boys! Good to see ya!" He placed his hand on the table and continued. "What brings y'both here, eh?" Alex nodded, leaning forward cautiously. He spoke thus. "Eden, you know about anything that happens in this bar, right?" Eden nodded. "Then tell me, have you heard of any rumors of me and Jack?" Eden stopped smiling. He looked back in slight irritation, muttering a few swears. He looked back at Alex and Jackie with a worried grin. "I, have no idea what you're talking about, haha." Eden looked back again, sweating profusely. Alex sighed and turned back, ready to leave. All of a sudden, Eden grabbed Alex by the shirt and whispered sternly. "Look, they'll kill me if I say anything. But go to your brother." Alex looked at Eden in disbelief. "Fen? That idiot?" Eden nodded, briskly walking to the other end of the table where Jackie and Alex were. He quickly grabbed them by the shoulder and dragged them to the entrance of the bar. "What? What are you doing?" Jackie shouted. With as much force as he could, Eden tossed them out, dusting dirt off his hands afterwards. "Don't come back!" He shouted and slammed the door shut.
