To Mend a Broken Memory - [Troy Otto]

Chapter XX - Part II

Nothing good can come from Troy being out there, so I nervously shake Nick to wake him until he makes some annoyed noises.

"What? The one good thing about the Apoc is not having time schedules... leave me alone"

"Nick, Troy disappeared. It's the middle of the night and he's high, because of you, I'd like to underline. Move your arse and let's go find him."

"What am I, a damn hound?" he protests, turning on the other side of the bed.

"I hope you are, for your sake, because if he does something stupid, it's on you"

"Ok Captain. Captain, my captain. Let's go" it takes Nick a while to get up and get back on his feet, but we manage to get out of the 'bedroom' and we walk outside, where everything is quiet around us, but there are lights and music coming from the bar, people must still be partying. I want to take a look at the gates, but first we have to pass by the party, they're on the path that eventually leads outside. It's difficult to get through this mass of people, and to be honest, I wouldn't even want to. They're loud and crowded, but above all, they're mostly weirdos. Fifteen minutes later, we manage to get out of the screaming crowd and reach the main gates, but he's nowhere to be found. And Nick's not really helpful in this state, he looks sleepy and absent. So I make my way back, to go check the other entrances. But the sense of danger I felt earlier now kicks in more.

"You do realise he's a vacant bullet, don't you? Thinking of all the ways he could screw things up makes me shiver!" I must yell to make sure Nick hears me, because we're near the party again.

"That was the first time for him, he had a rough time. I am sure now he's passed out somew-" he interrupts his statement, looking visibly puzzled.

"Holy crap" and he stops, abruptly, staring at his left.

"What" his mouth is forming an 'O' and he can't even look at me, he just gestures me towards a crowd. And if I wasn't absolutely certain I was awake and sober I would not believe my own eyes. Troy's in that crowd, and a girl's dancing around him. I guess that's the most shocking thing I've seen since the Apoc came over. And that says a lot.

"What the fu*k did you give him Nick?" the drug he's taken must be awfully strong. This blond girl is wearing a cheeky smile and she's rhythmically moving in front of him, he looks just like Nick, confused and absent-minded. Probably he's not even fully understanding what's happening. After today, he'll never get high again, I am sure as hell.

"Oh you can see them too, I thought I was hallucinating" once I recover from the shock, I give Nick a little push forward.

"Go drag his arse off to bed again" but he shakes me an uncertain look.

"Why? It seems he's having fun. Let him" actually I am not so sure. He seems lost and distant, although he doesn't seem ready to leave. He just stands there and observes her carefully. He probably must be wondering how the hell he ended up there. And I actually feel sorry for the poor girl who thought he would indulge her.

"Yes, for these current ten minutes. Then the poor girl will do something wrong like, I don't know, smile at him, and she'll find herself with a knife in her stomach because he's unstable" Troy has always scared me somehow, because he's the most unpredictable person I've ever met. But when he's high, god knows what his labyrinthic mind could forge.

"Aren't you a little too pessimistic?" I must be really patient today with these two. So I take a deep breath and look Nick right in the eyes, to make sure he understands completely what I am about to tell him.

"Nick, this world has become a land of dead monsters and illness, we all risk our lives every day and now Troy is dancing with a girl. What else must the universe do to prove you there's nothing to be optimistic about?! Put a bloody T-Rex outside your tent?!" Nick sighs in defeat and shakes his arms.