Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 25

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When he arrived, Colt spotted a group of kids watching his car approach. They scampered off before he got too close, and by the time he finished parking and stepping out of his vehicle, they were just specks running down the narrow road that he'd just used.

He didn't have long to wonder what they were doing here. After grabbing the kids and walking up to the church, he noticed a bright purple mark on the church's otherwise pale white exterior. It was only a small thing, though, on the western corner of the building's front side. It almost looked like a little tail.

Hmm.

Instead of ignoring it, Colt walked around to the western side of the building for a better look.

Ah.

It was a tail. And it a belonged to a giant, poorly spray-painted demon-like creature with squiggly wings, long horns, and a raging erection. All purple.

Wow.

Colt didn't stick around to admire the artwork. He went inside the church.

The main chamber was empty, just like the last time, but he didn't have the luxury of being able to sit in one of the pews and wait for Alice to show up. He walked past the seating arrangements and over to the rear doorway. He shifted the kids over in his arms and rapped on the wooden frame with his knuckles. "Ms. Ridgemont?" he called with a raised voice. "Are you back there?"

The sound of shuffling books and papers arrived, followed by the light thumping of hurried footsteps. Alice soon appeared in the doorway, looking mildly disheveled but still just as gorgeous as he remembered.

"Oh! Hello again, Mr. Thompson! How are you?" Her cheerful smile told Colt that she had no idea what was waiting for her on that wall outside.

"I've been better, actually," he told her. "I was wondering if I could get your help on something."

She tilted her head, curious. "My help? What do you need?"

"I heard in town that you run an animal shelter. Is that true?"

"Ah! Yes, it is. Technically."

Colt got stuck on that last word. "Technically? What do you mean?"

Alice averted her gaze. "Oh, it's, ah, nothing to trouble you with."

He cocked an eyebrow but remained silent.

"Anyway, what can I help you with?" she asked.

"There's an injured dog at my cabin. He's not mine, though. He just showed up out of the blue."

"Oh, I see. And you want me to take a look at him?"

Colt gave a single nod. He was a bit reluctant to ask his next question, but he felt he had to. "Do you have training as a veterinarian?"

Her own nod was more hesitant than Colt's. "I do... but..."

He waited for her.

"I am not, currently, in possession of certification," she said. "The regulations here in Snider are different than they are in Richland where I studied. And... er..."

Was there more she wanted to say? Colt was growing impatient. "I don't really care if you mess up treating him. Like I said, he's not my dog."

She looked appalled. "That's a rather horrible thing to say, don't you think?"

Colt's natural frown didn't budge. "He tried to bite me."

"Ah..."

"Also, he doesn't seem that badly injured. I just want you to examine him. Maybe tell me what happened to him, if you could."

"Well, I suppose I can give him a look. He is at your cabin, you said?"

"Yeah. Do you mind going back there with me? I would've brought him along, but he's a Dantean Shepherd. A big one. And he doesn't like it when I touch him, so moving him is pretty impossible."

She looked at him for a moment, perhaps thinking.

Shit, was she about to say no? Of course she was. A normal woman would never agree to go with him back to his creepy little cabin in the woods. Well, he supposed he should've seen this coming. Maybe someone in Lagoroc would--

"Okay," said Alice, big blue eyes staring straight at him. "Let's go."

Stupidly, he almost asked her why she'd agreed. He certainly didn't understand her decision, but there was no point in questioning it and risking her changing her mind. So he just said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They began walking to the exit together. "As payment, how about I help you clean up that purple penis-demon on the side of your church?"

She stopped. "The what?"

Colt just nodded his head toward the building's western side.

She rushed outside ahead of him and immediately turned the corner.

Colt followed at a more leisurely pace, and when he caught up to her in front of the artistic masterpiece, he found her just standing there with her head in her hands.

He leaned against the corner of the building, not wanting to subject the kids to that image a second time. They wouldn't know what they were looking at, of course, but all things being equal, he could do without that extra bit of fuckery.

Alice wasn't moving, though. Was she crying? Didn't sound like it. Hard to tell, though.

"...You okay?" Colt asked.

She sighed more deeply than Colt had yet heard from her, then put her hands down at her sides and looked at him again. "I'm fine." The cheer was completely gone from her face, however.

Hmm.

"Like I said, I'll help you clean it up," said Colt. "Sound like a fair trade?"

"Yes..." Her voice was completely lifeless. "Thank you..."

Damn. She was actually making him feel a little bad. "It's just graffiti," he said. "It'll be easy to take care of."

She made no response.

Well, shit.

"...Could be worse," said Colt, trying to give her a smile. "Imagine if the artist had been more skilled. You could have a hyper-realistic demon dong on your wall, right now."

For some reason, she didn't smile back.

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