Adam Peaks and the Living City

Chapter 9: Your New Best Friend!

Adam woke with a start and groaned as his bones made their creaking protest at being moved so damn early. His heart was beating fast, and his forehead was coated in sweat. He stared up at the eggshell ceiling of his room and waited for the adrenaline coursing through his body to dissipate. The dream was slipping away, and the screeching of tires was leaving his ears. It would seem that, even after years of the same nightmare, it was no less horrifying to have to watch his brother die and be flung into the street like a ragdoll. He blinked the sleep out of the corners of his eyes and yawned.

He saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

He froze and snapped his eyes closed, peeking out through his eyelids. A shape was moving just beyond the periphery of his vision, swaying back and forth in front of his window as if dancing to some unseen music. The shape paused and then shuffled closer, stopping at the end of his bed. Fangs glinted in the morning sun and weirdly enough, he felt his heart rate return to normal. He sat up with a smile and opened his eyes.

"Good morning, Camilla," he rubbed his eyes, "Jesus it's early, I-"

The shape leapt up onto his bed and came fully into view. He yelped as a short man landed on his legs and leaned over him, hunched over him like some sort of bird of prey. The creature's face was covered in tight, waxy skin that looked as though it had been stretched over a skull that was far too large. He was wearing a black t-shirt, orange hoodie, and faded jeans. His horribly-burned face was twisted into a wide grin. The man blinked and Adam noticed that his left eye was milky white.

"Nope!" he practically shouted, "I'm not pretty enough to be Camilla, but I can put on some lipstick, if it'll make you feel a bit more comfortable?"

"I, uh ..." Adam gulped at the frightening creature perched on his bed. He turned to look at his bedside table and jumped. On it stood a large, black rat that was glaring at him through narrowed eyes, its tail wagging excitedly.

The man on his bed followed his eyes and his wild eyes seemed to shimmer, "Aw, Piggy seems to like you!"

"Piggy?" Adam blinked up at the man.

"My friend!" the man shouted as if he was deaf, "the rat on the table? See him?! That's Piggy! Piggy the Rat!"

"O-okay," Adam scooted away from the strange man and shook his head, "uh-"

"Piggy is a really good chef," the man muttered more to himself than anyone else, "but more important than that, he's also an excellent judge of character! That means you're a good character. Or a bad character with good character, yah dig? Dig! Love the slang, man. Wait, I said that not you. Pig, what's the happenin', little man? I-"

"I'm sorry," Adam sat upright, "but who are you?!"

"What? Oh. Oh! Dammit! Did I forget to do that bit first? Time's kinda all over the lace right now. I get mixed up sometimes. Sorry, where are my manners?! Name's Jake, Jake Moorehead," he extended a waxy, horribly scarred hand, "and you're Adam Peaks, right? Wait. I'm not in the wrong house, am I? That would be embarrassing. Please tell me I don't have to knock you out and wipe your memory, buddy. You seem nice."

"Nope, you're in the right house," Adam shook his hand with a worried smile, "no need to knock me out. I'm Adam, pleased to meet-"

"WOAH!" Jake grabbed his arm and pulled it closer. He leaned in and sniffed the broken watch, his sky-blue eyes glowing, "nice watch! May I taste it?!"

"What?!" Adam jerked his hand away and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, sorry," Jake blushed and looked away sheepishly, "I like clocks. Got too excited there. Everything should work like clockwork ... I mean like a clock works, wait, no! Like clockwork ..." he blinked absent-mindedly and then took Adam's hand into a strong handshake again, "sorry, I've lost my clock of thought. What were we talking about?"