Dearest Penguin People,
Here is the latest chapter of Max and Sebastian. In the last chapter Max met Larry, a homeless germaphobe, and the little demon that follows him.
If you are new to Max and Sebastian please start here…
And as always, a special thank you to P.Q. Rubin for little penguin guy up top…
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Sebastian rose up in a cloud of black smoke. He yanked the slimy apparition by the scruff of its neck and drop-kicked it into a red hazardous waste bin. They heard a surprised “Arf,” and then muffled yapping as Larry slammed the lid tight.
Part II - Chapter 13
Sebastian eyed the hazardous waste bin. It was too quiet. “I should have eaten her,” he said.
Max made a gagging noise.
Concerned, Eve reached down to touch her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t touch me.”
Sebastian leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Not this one. Be nice to her.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
Eve, thinking Max was talking to her said, “Why what?”
Max sighed. It was exhausting to see and hear what others could not.
Meanwhile, Sebastian was trying to avoid the wide-eyed stare of the idiot in the paper sheet. Sebastian’s nostrils flared, emitting dark puffs of smoky ether. “Who the hell are you?”
The man pulled the sheet tighter around his thin frame. “I’m Larry.” He tilted his head slightly. “And you are?”
“None of your business.”
Eve was running out of patience. “Are you still talking to that stupid imaginary dog?”
“Nope, I have a new friend now.” Larry peeked under the hazardous waste lid. “Besides, I think the fiendish hound is gone.”
“I am not your friend.”
“Of course, you are.” Larry raised a gloved hand and passed it through Sebastian’s chest.
“Do you mind? There is this thing called personal space. You should try it sometime.”
“Believe me, I usually do.” Larry sized him up. “So, you’re a ghost.”
“I prefer the term life emeritus.”
“Because that’s not pretentious at all.”
Sebastian disappeared in a huff of ice and ozone, then reappeared next to Max.
Larry didn’t take the hint. “You’re not the typical run of the mill spirit, are you?” He crinkled his nose. “You’re more like a gargoyle with mommy issues.”
Sebastian’s eyes flashed yellow in the dark creases of his face.
“Hey, leave him alone,” Max said.
Larry almost rubbed his chin, then stopped. His glove had been in questionable places. He would have to do his pondering sans hands and yet, ponder he must. Max was sitting next to a toothy reptilian creature that would feel at home in an old Roger Corman film and didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“You’re okay with this?” He waved his hand in front of the ghost lizard’s glowering countenance.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She gazed into Sebastian’s kind face, which if possible was becoming more paternal by the second.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she be, okay?” Sebastian fixed his gleaming eyes on Larry. His lips parted in a wide, toothy grin.
Larry cringed, taking a step back. Max sat next to the creature with an easy camaraderie, like an Andy next to her Barney. “What do you see when you look at your companion here?” he asked.
“What do you mean? He’s, my friend.”
“What does your friend look like?”
Puzzled, Max began, “Well, he’s old.”
Sebastian scowled. “I think you mean distinguished.”
“Yeah, whatever. And he’s wearing a suit like he always does. He has gray hair. He’s kind of thin and he has a nice smile.”
Sebastian swiveled his head 180 degrees to stare at Larry. He wet his scaly lips with a thin, black forked tongue. “Yeth, I have a nithe thmile.”
“Wait, you weren’t lisping before.”
Sebastian smirked.
Larry returned it with a weak smile. “No accounting for taste, I guess. But enough of this.” Larry turned to Max. “How is it that you can see your friend here, and my foul four-footed associate? You appear to be very much alive.”
Max considered her response. This was one person who might actually understand. “I think I’m at least partly dead. That’s what the gray people said.”
“They would know.” Larry leaned in closer. “And I’m sorry about the partly dead thing.”
“Don’t worry about it. But, what about you? Why do you see ghosts?”
“Not sure, but I’ve been hit in the head a lot.”
“Go figure.” Sebastian rolled his eyes.
Eve stood apart from the others. She massaged the back of her ever-tightening neck with tired fingers. Dealing with Larry was difficult enough, but this little girl seemed like she had more than her share of crazy. Partly dead? More like partly sane.
Thankfully, the nurse returned with a chair. “We’re out of beds,” she told Larry.
Larry remained standing. For a moment his smile slipped, the corners of his mouth pulled down in a pensive curve.
Eve noticed the dark shadows under his eyes, mirrors that were always one degree away from panic. She felt that strange twinge in her chest again. How could this sweet, albeit obnoxious germaphobe survive like this?
“Can we get him a gown?” she asked. She knew he wouldn’t let his skin touch any part of that chair, in his mind, a veritable cesspool of bacteria and germs.
Larry brightened. “How about some scrubs?”
“Why would I give you scrubs?” the nurse asked.
His eyes glittered, almost feverish. “Do you really want to discharge me in a hospital gown? Think about it. People will see a destitute man walking down the street in a hospital gown with his derriere sticking out. You think they won’t be calling 911 to come pick the poor soul up?”
“Lunatic, more like it.”
“Potato, po-tah-toe.”
The nurse sighed and walked into a supply closet. She returned with a set of dingy blue scrubs.
“Booties, too?”
She stomped back into the closet and came back with fabric shoe covers.
“You’re a doll,” Larry said as he pulled on the pants.
“Keep telling yourself that.” The nurse turned to Eve. “You need to watch Larry. I don’t have available staff right now. I have four patients waiting for CT and only one nurse to watch them.” She pointed at a male nurse seated down the hall with his head bowed over a cell phone.
“I can’t. We’re slammed right now.”
“And we aren’t?”
Max piped in. “I don’t think he’d mind one more person, do you?”
“I don’t expect you to understand but we have protocols to follow,” the nurse said.
Max’s eyes grew dark. “But you can make an exception, right?”
The nurse swayed in place, her eyes briefly rolling up in her head. Her voice came out soft and wooden. “Yes, I believe I can.” She pivoted and walked away without another word.
“Are you kidding me?” Eve called after her retreating back.
The others were silent.
“Huh.” Eve tucked her clipboard under her arm. “I guess I’m leaving, then.”
“Wait.” Larry gave his chair a meaningful glance.
“Fine.” Eve took a bottle of disinfectant from a supply cart and began wiping down the chair. She paused mid-swipe. A cool prickling sensation brushed her face.
“Sebastian, what are you doing?”
Eve froze. The child was staring at the space next to her. A patch of frost sparkled briefly on the wall beside her.
Again, the child asked, “Seriously dude, what’s your problem?”
Sebastian lowered his cupped hands from Eve’s face. “Don’t you see the stuff on her chin?”
“Yeah, Buttercup slimed her.”
“I can’t let my daughter leave like this.”
“Wait. What?” The words thudded in Max’s ears. She gripped the gurney railing in a tight fist. “First you’re married, now you have a kid.”
“Hold on, I don’t have kids,” Eve said.
“Not you.” Max waved her off and stared angrily at the wall.
Eve didn’t let it go. “Why did you say Sebastian? Why that name?”
“Forget it.”
Larry couldn’t contain himself anymore. “Short stuff is afraid to tell you that your dad is standing next to you.”
Eve dropped the disinfectant bottle. “That’s enough.”
“But it’s true.”
Eve stood in the center of the hallway, shaking. “My father died in this hospital.”
Larry hung his head. “I’m truly sorry.”
“Aw, Peanut.” Sebastian stood helplessly by her side.
“Peanut?” repeated Larry and then he covered his mouth.
Eve wilted. “What did you call me?”
“Nothing. Just nothing,” Larry whispered.
“Would you all just shut up?” Max said.
Everyone went silent.
Max pulled her sheet up to her nose. Think fast. “I don’t feel well,” she said, playing the sick card.
Eve hesitated. The little girl did look ill. She had shadows under her eyes that could swallow a house. She took a deep breath. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No.”
Eve unclenched her hands and walked the length of the hall to where the nurse was seated, swiping left on his cell phone. Like a lot of nurses, he was an off-duty firefighter.
“Hey, Joe.”
He looked up. “Oh, hey.”
“Larry’s all yours.”
He grimaced. “And he’s here because…?”
“To rule out head injury.”
“It’s a little late for that isn’t it?”
“I know, but can you watch him?”
“Oh, why not?” he said. “And while we’re at it, let’s just put them in bunk beds and stack them along the wall.”
“I knew you would understand.”
She walked away, rubbing her chin with the back of her hand. It felt like something was crawling on her face, its tiny cold legs whispering across her skin. And it was only getting worse.
*****
Leonard sat by himself in the break room. It always emptied out when he was there, which suited him fine. He thought of Max and the way her eyes followed him. Someday he would close those eyes forever.
He caught a whiff of brimstone and compost. He checked the bottom of his shoes.
“Ahem.”
He looked up. The ugliest mutt the world had ever created stood in the doorway. She was a Rorschach nightmare with moldy dreadlocks twined around gnarled paws.
Leonard fancied himself an expert on ugly dogs, he liked them. But this one was exceptional. He could swear her eyes were glowing. He leaned forward and extended two plump fingers. “Here pooch,” he said.
“Pooch yourself,” she snapped back.
Leonard felt a stabbing in his chest. Was this finally it? He would die in the break room next to the Coke machine and an overflow of bedpan boxes from the supply closet?
“No, you’re not dead, yet.” The dog’s voice was smooth and oily, like tainted molasses.
Leonard’s pain receded into a dull murmur. “You can talk.”
“Yes, Einstein, I can talk.”
Heart still racing, he leaned in. “What are you?”
“A means to an end.” The small dog sidled up to him and whispered in his ear.
As a side note…none of this was written with AI and I kindly ask that no one use it for training purposes. Thank you :)
Life emeritus... Most of us are :)
I’m half-dead with Larry