Fifty Feet Tall

Out The Door

"Sean, get off of me, please..." Lou begged into the couch's worn leather cushions. He was lying face down in the living room of his apartment with his room mate sitting on his back. Sean was a well built man, with strong muscles and square shoulders. He stood a fair 5'11, though with all of that bulk you would expect something taller. His physique was offset by a thin face and angular features, creating a resemblance between him and a beautiful elf. A pair of square framed glasses perched on his nose, framing deep black eyes. Thick locks of black hair rest on his head, complimenting his ebony skin. Sean had an almost charmingly childish smile, one that tended to attract attention from the opposite sex. He grinned down at his helpless house mate, knowing the boy couldn't move with his small stature.
"Suck it up, squirt. You make a good couch," Sean leaned against the cushions, still resting on Lou's back. The smaller resident just grumbled some swears, unable to pull him off of his back. Sean turned on the cheap pawn-shop TV they owned, and began setting up some shooter game. Lou, knowing full well that he wasn't going to be rescued or released any time soon, turned his head to watch the game.
A knock sounded from the apartment door, though Sean didn't even shift in his seat. "The door's open!" He yelled, earning a grunt of disapproval from his unwilling captive. The door swung open, revealing Marley. Her eyes traveled across the room until they came to rest on the pair on the couch. Lou met her eyes and silently mouthed 'help me'. In any other circumstance Marley would have jumped at his cue, and Sean would already be on the floor with his arms pinned behind his back. Instead, a smirk appeared on her lips.
"You were supposed to meet me for coffee," She informed her friend, dropping her bag on the kitchen table and walking to the couch. "I know," Lou grumbled into the couch. "I got caught up. There was a really cool piece of graffiti, and--" Marley cut him off as she sat on his legs, squishing him down more than he already was. "I get it. But this betrayal will cost you," she informed him, earning a fist-bump from Sean, as well as a controller to join the game.
Sean was a good friend to both Lou and Marley, but he was closer in personality to Marley. Both were strong headed, stubborn and loud mouthed, though Marley was by far the most gruff. Sean was always charming ladies and gentlemen alike. He had a bit of a silver tongue.
Lou guessed there would be no escape in the foreseeable future, so instead he turned his attention to the game. "I do not know why you play such a violent game," he grunted, his words strained thanks to the heavy college student sitting on his back. "That's the whole point, dumbass," Marley replied once she killed Sean's avatar, earning herself a glare from both residents. "Fine. Can I get up now? My legs are numb," Lou complained, making another weak attempt to pry Sean away. After a brief exchange of glances between the gamers, they grudgingly stood up to allow their captive to sit.
"Thank you," Lou mumbled as the others sat down again on either side of him. "And I really am sorry about forgetting," he added to Marley, not wanting her to be mad. She just sent him a small smile. "It's cool, nerd, you only made me look like a lonely sop in front of a dozen people," she looked at Lou with a sly smirk, proving she was just teasing him. "And I think getting sat on by this behemoth might be punishment enough," she added, jabbing her thumb at Sean. "Behemoth?!" Sean replied in outrage, his voice raising at least three pitches. Marley only replied to him by grabbing his shoulder and shoving him completely off of the couch. That action earned a grin from Lou, happy to see his tormentor in discomfort, even if it was only temporary. The wounded beast just slipped back on to the cushions, a salty expression on his face. The others all knew this was a momentary state. Sean was terrible at holding grudges.
As expected, within seconds he was grabbing a third controller for Lou and changing the game to something more appealing for the softie.
Sean and Lou's apartment wasn't an comfortable place. The windows were blotted and the paint on the walls were peeling away. The furniture looked like it was taken from a poor band's drug den, and smelled like it, too. They tried to keep it clean, tried being the operative word. Lou's photographs and camera trinkets were strewn on every table top. Sean had a tendancy to leave around his books and writings, usually nudged under coffee cups. He was studying biology at the local university, which was always a surprise considering his appearance. He wanted to be a high school teacher, for some bizarre reason his friends could not understand.
"So Lou told me that you met a ghost who styled herself after Ripley from Alien," Sean commented, putting his controller down as he lost a round of the game. Marley nodded in reply, a bit caught up in the game that she had yet to lose. "I don't know if she looked like Ripley, but she was definitely undead," she dropped her controller when she actually did lose, sending Lou a sour look. "This is why we don't let him play," Marley said to no one in particular.
"But why would a zombie board up their own window? Isn't that the opposite of what a zombie would do?" Lou continued with the former string of conversation, though he gave Marley a polite and infuriating smile to her loss. "Maybe it's to darken the room, or something?" Sean suggested, beginning a new round of the game. "You know, those little light box things? That show the stars?"
"No way a professional astronomer would use a cheap observatory," Marley answered, sounding very matter-of-fact. She always got snobbish while talking about astrology in any way. It had been her home territory ever since she got that telescope in 8th grade. After that it had been all 'This constellation' and 'that supernova.' Neither Lou nor Sean could complain, since the former talked about little other then books and photography, while the latter's favourite subject was usually the girl he had picked up the night before. "Well, then, I don't know! Maybe she was trying to make it atmospheric?" Sean suggested, though the idea was as stupid as it sounded. "You said it was facing the lake? Maybe she hates water or something."
"She hates water, so she boards up a window to block a river? You couldn't even see the lake much from there," Marley pointed out, getting up to grab food from the kitchenette when she lost the round. The behemoth on the couch scowled, clearly a bit annoyed that she was able to poke so many holes in his idea. Of course, there were so many holes already that it may as well have been a net.
"And what about that map?" Lou piped up, smiling as he won yet again. "That lake has been uninhabited for as long as I can remember. There are literally no possible inhabitants..." he paused, thinking about the situation, "I suppose it is possible for astrologers to get access to the lake, but I find that highly unlikely. I would guess only ecologists would get permission, or possibly chemists."
The mystery hung in the air as the room occupants fell quiet, like a closed book just out of reach. Sean, however, was less dumbfounded then the rest. "It's probably no big deal," he pointed out as he lounged back on his side of the couch. "You two are acting like it's some big conspiracy. If you think it's such a big secret, just break into the lake."
He said it so nonchalantly, as if it was a regular activity for him to break into places illegally.
That's when a spark of an idea lit in the other's minds. They made eye contact, a silent argument taking place, while Sean sat oblivious. Finally, Lou spoke. "No way, it is a terrible idea."
"Terrible? It's brilliant!"
"As brilliant as Napoleon's plan to invade Russia!" He snapped back. Sean stared over at the other boy, clearly a bit confused by the metaphor. On the other hand, Marley had heard this analogy many times before and was happy to elaborate for clueless Sean. "His plan failed."
"Ah. I still think it sounds like fun. It's a big area, I doubt they have enough park rangers to go around."
"Does that mean you'll come?" Marley asked Sean, glancing over at her large friend.
The boy scoffed, shaking his head. "Are you kidding? I'm not an idiot. Plus, I have a date."
"Of course you do," Marley said, rolling her eyes. It wasn't exactly rare.
"My point is that I do not want to go to jail for trespassing," Lou snapped, interrupting the others. He was at the edge of his seat, now jumpy and riled up. He didn't get into arguments often, mainly because he was a bit of a pushover. He had been pressured by Marley into joining the internship, by Sean into sharing an apartment, by his parents to not go to university for photography. It wasn't that he was unhappy with how any of the situations turned out, but he hadn't chosen them. But on occasion there was something he really, really didn't want to do. This was one of those situations. It was a plan that could get them arrested, and that didn't even touch the fact that the heavy metal everywhere could potentially hurt them. It was just a bad plan.
Still, Marley seemed all for it. "Lou, it's an adventure! A real one! Don't you want that?" Her friend vigorously shook his head, completely against it. Despite all of their talk of going on wild journeys, of visiting worlds like Narnia or Earthsea, or traveling across the ocean like in Treasure Island, Lou had always kept the grounded knowledge that it would never happen. On top of that, this seemed less like an adventure and more of a substitution: Something that was trying to be an epic quest but really wasn't.
"This is not a real adventure. It is just you wanting some cheap thrills," Lou told her sourly. Marley sighed and stood up, walking in front of him before crouching down, giving him the higher ground. "Lou, we aren't going to get caught. I promise. It's just a bit of fun, and..." she trailed off, her argument growing progressively weaker.
"And you can take some sweet pictures," Sean piped up.
Well, that would be something, Lou thought silently. No one was allowed in that area... he could take exclusive pictures, and no one else would have been able to do the same.
His expression changed from firmly against to uncertain, and Marley jumped at the chance. She popped to her feet, grabbing her coat and bag from the table. "So it's decided, we're going!" She strode over to the coffee table, beginning to pack up Lou's assorted photography equipment. "No, I never said that," he protested, though it sounded only half-hearted, and he wasn't trying to stop her.
"I promise we'll stop anywhere you want for as long as you want to take pictures," Marley bribed, throwing the camera bag onto his lap once she had packed it up.
Finally, Lou swayed. "Okay, I will do it, on one condition," he began, catching Marley's interest. "If we even catch a wiff of park rangers or police officers, we are out of there."
Taking a giddy jump up from her spot on the floor, Marley nodded. "It's a deal!" She quickly grabbed Lou by the hand and yanked him to his feet. "We're going, come on!" She pulled him from the apartment, and it was all he could do to pick up his camera bag before they disappeared out the door.