Omen and Chad Over the Edge (Part Two)
An unauthorized Critters Cult story in six parts
๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐พ๐ฝ๐ด, ๐๐ด had just finished hearing all about how regal Chad looked day-to-day. A perfect specimen of Steampunk lineage in the ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ world.
One morning, he stood in the darkness of the doorway as Omen sat below him on the back stoop, out in the sunlight, harshly lacing up his boots. Omenโs whole body was pointed toward the dunes. (If you remember, these dunes marked the edge of the Cyberpunk realm.)
โYou mustnโt go out there again,โ said Chad.
Omenโs breaths were short. Purring, slurping sounds that were amplified by his mask.
โI canโt let you go this time. Thereโs nothing out there for you. This land,โ Chad weakly motioned to the sands. โIs possessed of evil. It changes you deeply each time.โ
Omenโs boots were very tall and flame-retardant and very difficult to tie.
โYou wouldnโt notice, of course,โ Chad continued, picking up a small book and nervously riffling the pages with his thumb. โBecause you are youโand you are inside you, inside your own selfโas you should beโbut, still, you are very, very far in there. Too far I say. If you could come to the surface a little, Omen. See what I see. And stay, dear brother.โ
He said this all in a way that would have sounded extremely endearing to anyone listening. But to Omen it sounded fake.
โWell then why wouldnโt you come with me?โ Omen glanced back at him. He took another breath, as if gearing up to speak again. But he then he let out an exasperated exhale.
โWell, no,โ said Chad. โI said not to go. You shouldnโt go. And I definitely shouldnโt go.โ
โNo, you should,โ said Omen. โTo see what Iโm doing. To see how important it is. How vital.โ He clenched his fist in a way that would have seemed passionate and strong to anyone watching. But to Chad it looked quite fake.
The book that Chad was holding, by the way, isnโt anything special. Itโs a childrenโs bookโfor felis children that isโabout some children who get locked in the Guggenheim and have to science their way out of it. You know the kind of book Iโm talking about. A fantasy for children that think theyโre smart. Chad wasnโt reading the book, nor was he trying to find a break in the conversation so he could recommend it to Omenโnothing like that. It was simply in the stack of shit on the kitchen counter right by where he was standing. The house was just that much of a mess. In fact, if you walked up the staircase on the first floor of the manor, there were books on EVERY SINGLE stair of both flights leading up to the third story. Omen, Chad and their deceased Uncle had been treating stairs as shelves. It was even worse if you opened the door off the kitchen leading down to the basementโthere were jars of canned deer meat on those stairs. (Oh and the Guggenheim just referred to is not the same that we know of here on Earthโbut an equivalent of some kind, very similar in appearance and in its placement within the dense Steampunk downtown area. We donโt know much about it because weโre all waiting on RGB for more lore, in order to know exactly what the hell.)
โRight well.โ Omen stood up and checked the fit on his mask. โIโm off then.โ
He walked away, knowing perfectly well that Chad would follow. Clouds were brewing in the sky and Chad hated to be alone in a thunderstorm. (In addition, itโs terribly annoying to have rain fall on your fireball relic, causing a lot of sizzling sounds and steamโoccassionally even a hot drop or two in your eyes. We often think of fireball-crowned critters being impervious to snow and ice, but rain is a real trial for them.)
Of course, Chad could just stay inside. But he had convinced himself that today he had Omenโs best interests at heart. โHold up, hold up, Iโm coming, brother.โ
Yes, he might have glanced back a few times as he ran to catch up, to see how dark, how electric those impending clouds wereโbut it was clear to him that today could be the day when Omen went crazy in the desert.
๐ฐ๐๐พ๐๐ฝ๐ณ ๐๐ท๐ธ๐ ๐๐ธ๐ผ๐ด, ๐ฐ ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ท๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฝ did begin. And Omen and Chad had some visitors. Travellers, winding their way up the lane toward Wildemore.
I wonโt say these crittersโ namesโbecause I donโt personally own those NFTs and Iโm not certain the etiquette (or legality) of my spinning a tale for other peopleโs NFTs. (Yes, Iโm making this whole story up. Duh!)
And thatโs that. Thank you for joining me again. Iโll be back with Part Three soon. A link to the first part is here.
(Part Three has been published.)