Chronicle of Nautilus

Chapter 32: The Preparation, Part 3

 “How does it feel?” The Outsider asked Glen.

“Good.” Glen replied plainly.

“Is it all you have to say?”

“What do you expect?”

“Perhaps ‘amazing’ or ‘awesome’ would be a better word.

“You think too much. You talk too much.”

“Do I?”

Glen was in control of his body now. He carried a large bag with the package he received from Lou on his shoulder and its weight had worn him down. Not much left, he thought, walking up the stairway, panting. A long grey jacket and a hood concealing his face gave hard time for his skin to breathe. He did not dare to lift it up before he reached a less crowded place. Now, when his pictures were on the media he needed to take additional precautions. 

After he got to the top, he walked the main path for a minute and turned to a small pathway covered by overgrown trees. He brushed his way through until he found himself standing in front of a large white house. He lifted his hood. The cold wind blowing on his sweating forehead refreshed him. Glen stroked his hair, caught his breath and went to the house.

“Don’t be afraid, Glen,” The Outsider spoke,  “Come in, meet my puppies. Meet the guys.”

The sound of the door slamming shut brought out the creatures living in this place. Two dirty drunkards walked out of one of the rooms.

“S’up. I’m Jin,” said the first one.

“S’up. I’m Dean,” added the second.

“These are your friends?” Glen mocked the Outsider.

“Here,” Glen said to the men, dropped the bag to the ground and was about to walk away.

“Stay, man,” Jin said.

“Yeah, stay,” Dean added.

“Stay, Glen,” the Outsider whispered. An unimaginable pain pierced Glen’s back.

Glen turned to the men and said, “Well, If you insist,” The pain went away.

He followed the two to the kitchen and sat down. A smell of tobacco was strong there, it irritated Glen’s nostrils.

“So, bro. You friends with the Voice?” Dean looked at Glen with his round eyes.  Both men did not try to hide their excitement.

“Ye, me and the Voice are buddies,” Glen stressed the word ‘buddies’.

“Amazing.” The men nodded, saliva was about to drip out of their mouths.

Glen talked to the Outsider in his head, “What do you want me to talk with them about? Women, politics, science, or …”

“I want you to wait and endure. One of them is coming home in a few minutes, I want you to get him. He’s a bit of annoyance. He has a bad attitude.”

“What do you mean by ‘get him’?”

“Oh, you know, smack him a bit. He needs to sleep off a week or more.”

“Sure,” Glen sighed. He was finally free. He did not want to lose the control again. A bit of controlled violence was a small price to pay for the pleasure of feeling alive

“Hey, bros. What up with that?” The third ‘boy’ entered the room. He was carrying a lase-gun in his on hand and slamming it hard by the grip with another. In an instant, Glen bowed his head under the table. He looked at man’s legs and saw him walking out of the room.