Gallows Humour | Watty's 2023

The Never-ending Dinner

A blazing fire kept the shadows at bay while True recounted the disasters at both After Markets. Farmboy Linc listened in near-silence for what was probably the first time in his life, interrupting only to clarify a point or laugh when True's sneezing got out of hand.

"And now you're here," he finished for them. He chewed on his thoughts for a minute before smacking his knees. "Damn shame."

Leaning forward, he snagged a skewer of meat chunks from the fire. The carcass of a hairy wild animal lay at the edge of the asphalt, lingered over by the three stooges. At Linc's motion, two of them—Cal and Mu, True thought—crept forward with makeshift skewers of their own and laid them on the embers.

"Quite a kerfuffle, isn't it, Trudy?" Linc was saying around a mouthful. It took True a beat to realize he was addressing them.

"It's True," they said.

"It is!" he agreed in a burst of hearty laughter. What a hilarious joke. True tore a bite from their skewer and waited for Linc to recover from his own comedy.

"You're extra spooky in the dark, ya know?" he said when he sobered up. He waved his skewer at their face. "The fire makes your face holes look all lit up like a jack o' lantern."

True leaned a little farther away from the light of the flames. They were beginning to wish Farmboy Jokes would slide over to the other side of reactions to their face—unsettled silence.

"You're headed to Vancouver, then, huh? Far walk."

"Vancouver," True repeated, slowly. They hadn't mentioned it in their recounting but now that the word was in their ear they realized Otsana had.

"Well that's—hold on—Eliza!" he bellowed the last part. True winced, casting wary glances at the shifting grass on either side. It was like Linc was trying to get himself mauled. Fortunately, the only malingerer was Radio, crouched on the shoulder just out of the circle of light. Its gaze fixed on the flames.

The only one, for now.

Grimacing, True turned back to the fire where Eliza now stood next to Linc. Blood was drying on her hands and the corners of her mouth, and she stared vacantly at True. Through True. Like they were a specter that hadn't solidified yet.

"Eliza, dear, the Red Faction operates out of Vancouver, right?"

"Vancouver" Eliza confirmed.

"Good girl."

She tensed when he patted her butt, but her eyes stayed distant, focused on a point she could see through a window in True's chest.

"Get out of here," Linc dismissed her and she shrank back into the lesser light, back to the carcass.

"You treat all your bodyguards like that?"

As if he wasn't already insufferable.

"Nah, just Eliza, she's special."

"She's eating raw coyote." True hadn't missed how the other two bodyguards had been invited to cook their meat.

"She doesn't need it cooked." He leaned forward conspiratorially. Stage whispered, "she's a shadow crawly."

Yeah, right. True hadn't needed any convincing to leave the guy behind but if they had, that would have done it. This was why they travelled alone. This. Jonesy. Even Galya had gone and gotten herself killed and left them worse off with a sore spot on the inner-facing surface of their breastbone that felt permanent.

"You look surprised for someone waltzing around with a shadow crawly of your own."

True blinked at him. Sleep deprivation and those last several blows to their noggin had rattled their brain loose. They checked over their shoulder at the long stretch of dark, lonely road, half-expecting a shadow dweller to be looming over them. No one. Zilch. Just Radio.