Ravenwings (Imaged + Completed) [1st in Trilogy]

Part III: Chapter 44

Woodman had announced he was coming to check my progress, but he had to be there for more than just that, because he was closely followed by the rest of his gang. I already felt uncomfortable; I stood up just so I wouldn't feel so small in the situation, but I still felt tiny compared to the six taller, stronger men.

Craig, Percy, and Ben sat on the stairs where they had earlier, while Dave stood next to Craig, and Earnest stood next to Woodman, who had his arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall.

"Ay, I had some relationship advice for ya," Craig taunted me. "I know how to make Birdsh*t like you; you just need a bullwhip, a scalpel, and duct tape."

They all chuckled except for me. "And dog food," Ben added, "the expensive kind."

"You put a remote-activated shock collar on it," Woodman suggested, "and it'll do tricks for you. You know; sit, down, play dead." They all gave his joke a good round of enthusiastic laughter. 

I gulped, recalling how awful that uniquely-shaped burn around his neck was. So it was a shock collar. How hard were they shocking him to have made those two glaring, nasty points in his neck where the electrocutes rested?

"How long did it take to potty-train that thing?" Craig threw out another joke. "Or did it just leave bird-sh*ts everywhere?"

Percy guffawed and cried with laughter. "Dude, you're killing me!"

"That's what Birdsh*t would've said if it'd have been able to talk during any of its teen years," Craig shot off another one.

Percy finally tumbled down the stairs in his heaving laughter. Landing in a heap on the floor but somehow saving his beer, he quickly insisted, "I'm good, I'm good!" before any of his friends could move to help him, hoisting himself up to his feet.

"What? Bird got your tongue?" Ben teased me as I didn't say a thing.

I turned silently back to scrubbing the floor, hoping to deflect them.

Unfortunately, this only made them more intent on grabbing my attention. Percy and Woodman, already standing, approached me, followed closely by Craig.