#Perceus Drivas

[fluorescentvermin]

Chapter 9

The Vultures

Charlie

“Who’s Blair Nimble?” I ask Gage on our way back to their reclaimed factory.

“You remember when I was talking about the Vultures before?” Gage recalled.

“Yeah, what about them?” I encourage.

“Blair is also a part of that gang” Gage frowns.

“Okay, that’s not that bad, right?” I hope.

“Well, if you want to get your phone back, you’ll have to actually go in their den to get it. I don’t think she’d be willing to just hand it over” he hypothesized.

“How do you know her?” I pry.

“I used to be a part of the vultures. Not anymore, of course. I managed to get out” he explains with a melancholy expression.

“Wouldn’t that make it easier? You know what they’re like so, we can just go in and out” I reason.

“I know what they’re like, so I know it won’t be easy” Gage added. He said earlier that the Vultures were just pests. Petty criminals. Even though they’re a gang, maybe it won’t be that bad. Who knows? After all, I followed Gage to an unknown place, and I was safe. For now, anyway.

“Thanks, by the way” I let out.

“For what?” Gage responds.

“For helping me. I still don’t know why you did but I appreciate it” I ramble.

“Hey, it’s no problem” he smiled. Damn it, I thought he would tell me why he helped me. He talks a lot, but he doesn’t talk too much about himself. He’s kind of mysterious.

“So, why did you want a notebook?” he asks. Changing the topic from him to myself again.

“I have a lot of thoughts, sometimes I like to write them down” I lead him on, trying my hand at mystery.

“So, you’re a writer?” Gage continues.

“I’m a journalist” I let out.

“A journalist? What kind of journalism?” he pries.

“I’m not some kind of celebrity gossip writer if that’s what you’re thinking” I scoff.

“Good. I don’t get those people. Celebrities are just people, why make a big fuss over them?” he challenged.

“Exactly!” I exclaimed. That’s something I would say. Weird.

“What do you write about?” Gage pries further.

“I write the honest truth. It’s hard to find that, these days” I declared.

“Oh, really? I’d like to read some of your articles” he smiles.

We made it back to the factory, and as we made it through the door, two women greeted us from the couch.

“Gage! Where did you go?” a woman with shaggy lavender hair calls out.

“Just to the pawn shop. This is Charlie. I don’t know if Artemis said anything yet” Gage introduced.

“Typical Arty, saving all the juicy gossip for himself” the other woman scoffs but with a light-hearted nature. She had long grass green hair that she tied into a braid. Gage walked over to the couch, sitting next to them. I guess I should follow him. They start talking amongst themselves as soon as he sits down, so I walk over and join them.

“Charlie! I’m Nova, nice to meet you!” The woman with the lavender hair greets. She bows to me. What a formal greeting.

“Hi” I let out.

“I’m Percy” the green haired woman continues the formalities.

“Hello” I repeat.

“I would ask about the black eye, but you saw Artemis, so you’re probably fine now” Nova rambled. These two were the first people around these parts that weren’t wearing dark colours. Nova was wearing lots of layers of pink, purple and brown clothing, and Percy was wearing a flowy yellow dress with a jumper underneath. They looked like nice people, at least for now.

“So, what’s your story? How did you get stuck down here?” Percy pried, leaning on her hand.

“Um. My wife kicked me out” I explain.

“That’s terrible!” Nova cooed.

“No, it’s fine. It’s only temporary” I smile politely. Percy narrowed her eyes at me.

“Maybe you guys could help us out. Charlie got his phone stolen by the Vultures” Gage mentions.

“Good luck with that” Percy laughs. She seems like a strange character.

“Charlie can’t go anywhere without his phone. Not like, he’s addicted to it. He could be, I don’t know” Gage rambled.

“You don’t have to talk for me” I grimace.

“Oh, shit. Sorry” Gage retreats.

“It’s really embarrassing, but I don’t know anyone’s phone number off by heart. If I get my phone back, I could call my wife… Or my sister. Just let them know where I am and that I’m okay” I explain.

“It’s a stealth mission!?” Nova beamed.

“I guess so” Gage chuckled.

“Do you know who stole it?” Percy asks.

“Do you remember that guy I was talking to for like, 2 days?” Gage smirks.

“Oh my god, Shatlas? He stole the phone?” Percy gasps.

“No way!” Nova marvelled.

“What a coincidence, right? Well, either he has it, or Blair does” Gage continued.

“This is the only instance where I’d say I prefer Shatlas” Percy huffs.

“What are you going to do?” Nova asks with a frown on her face. Nova was like an excitable puppy.

“We’ll have to go in there and get it, obviously” Gage pouted.

“That could be a death wish” Percy mused.

“What other choice do we have?” Gage huffed.

“It’s okay. Maybe I don’t need my phone” I try to be positive, but thoughts race through my mind. I thought Gage said that they weren’t that bad and now his friend is saying that going into their den could be a death wish? What have I gotten myself into?

“I think you’re being a little dramatic, Gage. You can definitely handle whatever the Vultures throw at you” Percy reassured.

“Yeah! You’ve done it before; you can do it again!” Nova cheers.

“God, I don’t know” Gage sighs.

“You just got to go in there and show them you mean business. You’re built for this!” Percy mused.

“Oh! You guys need Vulture attire! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited! I’m going to go make Charlie an outfit!” Nova beamed before bouncing off upstairs.

“Wait a minute, what am I signing up to here? Why would I need a disguise? Is this really a stealth mission?” I panic.

“I think Nova is just excited. You don’t need a disguise really. Atlas already knows your down on your luck, even though it was his fucking fault” Gage assured with a huff.

“Charlie, if you go in there, it’s going to be really hard to get back out. They’re called the Vultures for a reason” Percy explained seriously.

“What do you mean?” I implore.

“It means you might be stuck down here for a while” Percy winces.

“How long?” I continue.

“It took me 5 years to get out” Gage huffs.

“5 YEARS?” I shout. This is insane. I can’t be stuck down here for 5 years! Even one year might be too much. This is a lot; I don’t know if I can handle this.

“Hey, it probably won’t take us that long to get out this time” Gage defends.

“I need a minute” I breathe. I walk out of the building to get some fresh air.

#Fluorescent Vermin #Fluorescent Vermin Preview #Fluorescent Vermin chapter 9 #chapter 9 #Charlie Miller #Gage Guzman #Perceus Drivas #Nova Mai