Silas Jones: The Gang Fight

10

With a sinking feeling, which he mostly ignored, as he did with most feelings, Silas began searching for a hotel. However after passing the same public toilets 3 times, he realised he should probably look for hotels somewhere other than the park. So of he wandered, not really concentrating on anything other than trying to remember what the lady from Bill office has looked like. So he didn't notice the guy in front of him. Well he didn't notice him until they both ran into each other and fell over.

"AWWW SORRY MATE" shouted Silas apologetically. Rising to his feet he extended a hand to the person on the ground.

"OH NAH MATE ALL GOOD, COMPLETELY MY FAULT" shouted the guy, grabbing Silas outstretched hand and pulling himself up. Staggering around a bit, he asked "WHY ARE WE SHOUTING AGAIN?" then grinned, looking in Silas direction.

"SHOUTING? I'M NOT SURE WHY YOU'RE SHOUTING. ANYWAYS MY NAME'S SILAS JONES. I'M THE LOCAL BOGAN FROM LOGAN."

The guy shook his head in wonderment at this loud guy in front of him. "WELL" he started, then stopped and gave up shouting as heads turned in their direction. "Well, I'm Reano, and I'm from round these parts. I work with three mates in the pigging business. We're meeting up at the pub. Wanna join us? Drinks on me."

"AH SURE MATE, BE GLAD TO COME! BUT I DON'T DRINK BOOZE"

"Oh sure sure, I bet u drink heaps. Oh yeah but you gotta promise to stop shouting."

"OK... I mean ok." Silas said. Reano smiled at him, and they walked off down the road to the local pub.

They were about 20m away from the pub when it started to rain. At first it was a pitter patter, but it quickly escalated to a full blown summer storm. Silas hadn't noticed the clouds when the first appeared, because he was intent on finding a hotel, and as it got darker, he figured it was just the sun setting. He probably wouldn't have noticed the clouds even if he had been looking up into the sky. As Silas and Reano ran towards the open door, a gust of wind blew it shut, and when they reached it, somebody had locked it to stop it slamming.

After a few minutes of banging on the door, they were finally let in and they went over to a corner table where Reano's two friends were waiting.

"Look what the cats brought in" one laughed, "two half drowned rats!" this brought a laugh from Reano and his other friend, but Silas didn't see how it was funny. They sat down, and Silas pulled off his now tattered shirt, holding it out and wringing it dry. A few people stared but Silas didn't notice. Finally after all was settled, a waiter came over and asked the four men what they would like. "4 cups and a 4 pint jug of beer." Replied Reano.

As the waiter walked off, one of the other men addressed Silas. "I'm Jake, and this" he gestured to the other guy "is our friend Bodeen (pronounced bow dean). Us two and Reano here hunt feral pigs all over Ipswich. It's a booming industry, supports a lot of jobs. Probably the council's best idea, introducing feral animals to Ipswich. We're all part of a hunter's union. People come in with guns and stuff like that. Takes all the game away from us poor guys with bowie knives and longbows. So us traditional hunter get most of the town, and guns are only allowed in some sections." He paused as the waiter came back with the drinks, and he took a sip. "Sorry, I didn't hear your name or where you're from."

"HUH WHAT?" shouted Silas absentmindedly, looking up at Jake for the first time. He had been staring at some barmaid. "OH ME, WELL I'M SIlAS JONES" he grinned "AND I'M FROM LOGAN. JUST A LOCAL BOGAN. OH YEAH I'M HERE COS I WAS LOOKING FOR A GUY NAMED BILL TATE" Reano winced slightly as every eye turned to Silas. "Mate" he said in a low whisper, "remember not to shout."

"OH SOR- I mean oh sorry." said Silas, lowering his voice. The he set about relating the events surrounding him meeting Bill Tate, from getting out of hospital to running into Reano. When he had finished, all three men burst out laughing.

"You mean to say" said Jake between laughter and gasps "you mean to say that you supposedly survived the big explosion, with no injuries?! That's bulldust. Utter rubbish. The emergency services say that no survivors, even dead people, have been found! Oh man... have a drink." And he burst out laughing again.

As a matter of fact, Silas hadn't touched his glass of beer. The other guys, in stark contrast, had drained their cups multiple times, and another full jug had just been put on the table. "ACTUA- I mean actually, I don't like the taste of beer. I tried it once and I decided never again." Silas said with an air of self-righteousness. He probably said it self-righteously by accident.

"Aww c'mon man" replied Bodeen, speaking for the first time. "It makes you feel good. You forget about all your troubles. It's cool."

"Well ok." agreed Silas. With that he picked up the glass, drank one mouthful, and spat it out, where it landed in the puddle of water from his shirt. "AWW THAT'S BAD MAN, THAT'S REALLY BAD!" shouted Silas. "IT DIDN'T MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER".

"WELL DUH!" shouted Bodeen. "You have to drink enough, like that much." he pointed to the full jug.

"Oooohhh ok." Silas picked up the jug, and before anyone could say anything, had skulled 4 pints of beer, which is about 2.2L. Then clutching his stomach, he moaned "This stuff seriously doesn't make you feel good. I'm gonna be sick!" he jumped up, slipped on the puddle, and fell, regurgitating beer at the same time, making a lovely beige arc for a second. He fell to the ground and hit his head. A wild cheer went up from the pub occupants. They had all been watching silently. A man walked over and pulled Silas to his feet. Then he shouted "WE HAVE HERE IN OUR MIDST, A CHAMPION BEER SKULLER. AND HE'S GONNA REPRESENT US AT THE NEXT COMPETITION, TOMORROW NIGHT!" The drunken pub occupants, the drunken pub cat, and an escapee from a mental health institution all went wild with applause.

Silas looked around in confusion, not quite sure what was going on, but then, caught up in the moment, he shouted "I'M GONNA BE IN A REAL FIGHT! WAHOOO TAKE THAT!" and threw the jug, which he was still holding, into a wall, smashing it to shards. Nobody noticed.