Tattooed Away

Chapter 17

Sound whooshing through my thoughts is ended with a sudden tumble onto the cold stone that encircled Lady Liberty's head.  My breath is coming in sharp inhales; I can't slow it down.  Looking at my hands on the rough ground, my vision tunnels.  I know the familiar shadows that are creeping into my line of sight.  I know the tight grasp within my chest.  I feel the waves of panic start to take over.  I am in the throws of an anxiety attack.  This has all been too much.  I don't care if I am safe or if I am captured.  I don't care what mega-talent is surrounding me.  I just wish I was alone with Pete.  The love of my life.  The center of my galaxy.  The foundation of my home.

Then, as strong arms grasp me from behind, lifting my head up off the dirty floor, I hear a whisper.  

"I didn't know this bunny could fly."

"Pete." I gasp as I turn my face to his larger, goofier one.  My desperate hands claw at him to hug me tighter. "What...how..." I could barely process that he was here.  In a single instant, I felt safe again. 

"I came for you baby, why do you think I wouldn't have?" He said to me sweetly, and then added with a nod. "And I couldn't have done it without your fan club over here."

I look around at Matt, Kevin, Ameer, and Kiko; all of them have proud smiles plastered on their faces.  I turn to Tupac, who is standing off to the side.

"Guys...thank you." I got up and gave each of them a tight squeeze.  I whispered a 'Nice to meet you' to the quiet Tupac.

"So Pete here, realized something was wrong the minute you disappeared from the apartment.  He tracked down Aika, who said his only hope for getting you back was in Malaysia, with the gatekeeper." Pete interrupted Matt's explanation to add: "Who is freaking Tupac by the way!"

"And while Pete was heading to find Tupac, we lost you to the pig monkeys.  We don't know anything about their nest or how to rescue someone from it, so we tried to think of another solution.  We came here and convinced Tupac to come back to reality with us and find Pete.  Good thing you escaped because after finding Pete, we were out of ideas." Matt finished in a huff and looked at me pleased.

"Well...yeah, I guess it is good I escaped too! And just happened to come to the Statue of Liberty...hey, why didn't the pig monkeys get me? They were so close, and have already caught me before.  I thought it was over." 

"They're scared of the water."  Tupac said quietly. "That is actually the closest they have ever come, you must have made them pretty upset.  I live out here because they like to stay in the city.  Now, I am not so sure."

Pete grabbed my hand and gave it a little tug. "Well, let's get out of here Ari.  We don't want those pig monkeys to come back for you." I could tell he had no idea what the hell that meant.

"We can't!"  Everyone stopped and stared at me. Shit, what am I doing... Alright. Roll with it. "I know what the pig monkeys' nest is like.  I have seen enough to know their patterns, know where the guards are, stuff like that.  Let's take them down!"

Everyone kept staring for a moment and then burst out in laughter.

"Honey, you don't know how the Spirit World works.  Humans can't just rebel."  Tupac said as he shook his head in sympathy.

"Well, why not!" I spit out. "You guys clearly enjoy coming here." I pointed to the Brockhampton boys. "You are the freaking gatekeeper." I pointed to Tupac. "And Lana Del Rey is fucking stuck singing for her life up there!!"

"Wait...what did you just say?" Tupac looked at me with dread in his eyes.

"I said, Lana is up there. She sings every night for them.  That is the only way I stayed alive for so long.  We sung together."  To my surprise, Tupac started crying.

Kiko stepped closer to me and whispered, "They were in love, she disappeared about a month ago and he thought she just went back to reality for good.  He thought she had left him."

Tupac seemed to have gathered up his emotions and spoke to the group with determination, "Alright Ariana, I'm in.  Let's fuck these pig monkeys up."

The Brockhampton boys spoke among themselves for a moment and then Matt turned to us, "We'll get the other guys in on this shit.  We would love to come here and not be scared for our lives.  You can count on all 15 of the Brockhampton guys."

"Do you think Amy and her group would be interested?" I asked Matt.

"Fuck yeah, she hates those things."

I turned to Pete with pleading eyes. 

He gently touched my cheek and said, "Anywhere you are, I am.  Anything you want, I want.  Let's fuck some pig monkeys up."

I wiped away a tear from my eye and shook my bunny ears proudly.

"Agreed, let's fuck them up."

*****

Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, for finishing this book.  I had incredible fun creating this alternate reality and exploring the use of different celebrities as characters.  Any and all feedback you have (especially criticism) is welcome.  I am here to become a better writer and storyteller.  I want to learn from your experience and knowledge!

Let me know if you would be interested in a sequel... I hope Lana is okay!

Also, I think this story would be a fantastic graphic novel/comic.  If anyone is an illustrator or knows an illustrator, I would DIE if someone drew up one of the chapters or scenes.  Direct message me!

Again, this has been so fun and I hope you guys enjoyed the ride! 

More stories on the way soon :) <3