Roadkill - by Halden

RESPAWN Chronic, also Chapter 3 by Adrian

Chapter 3 - by Adrian

The last day I saw Halden, my parents were pretty rough on me. I was socked in the face by my dad because I accidentally dropped a glass and it shattered all over the kitchen floor. Idiot! My parents had screamed. You know what that cost us? Antique! 100 years old! It wasn't cheap! You idiot! After cleaning up the mess, I had went to Halden's, and one parent had thrown a shoe at me on the way out. No reason for that. But these last few days, they've been taking it easy with me. No punches, no slaps, no screaming night and day. These last few days, they've actually been unusually reasonable with me.

Maybe it was because I hung out with Halden that they were so rough. 

Maybe it was because of them that Halden had to go away forever.

Roadkill - by Halden

Today is one of the more interesting days since the death threat by Adrian's parents.   I actually get something that will entertain me properly!

It happens this way.  So, my dad's new bodyguard, James McCourtney, was driving us to work at around 6.  As I listen to the car's music (classics, that's what my dad likes), I look out the window with boredom.  Then, I see it:  a little smudge by the side of the road.  "Stop the car!" I scream, causing McCourtney to panic and come to a screeching halt.  Once the car stops moving, I open the door and run back to where the smudge lies, then go observe it.  It's just as I thought:  a cat.

The cat is bloody, but it's not bloated and it looks like it had just been hit a few hours ago.  Therefore, not rotten.  I pick up the cat by its tail and bring it back to the car.

My dad waits outside the car patiently with McCourtney, who has a scowl on his face and arms crossed.  I drop the cat at their feet.  "No," Dad says as I near him with the cat.  "Absolutely not."

"Please?" I beg.  "Please?"

My dad shakes his head.  "You don't know where that thing has been.  It could have fleas.  Parasites.  A disease."

"We'll take it to the vet," I whimper, doing the 'cute face' that my dad always bends to.

"No.  It might make you sick.  I don't even know if you're allergic to cats!  Are you allergic to cats?"

"Well, no...  Adrian used to have a calico..."

"And what if it's a wild cat?  A stray?  It could be very aggressive, you know.  Cats have very sharp claws, you know that, right?"

I frown.  "But RESPAWN will change its personality, right?  So even if it's an aggressive stray, it could turn out alright, I think."

My dad frowns back.  "What if it's a nice stray, and the RESPAWN turns it aggressive?"

I don't have any answers for that, so I cross my arms and look down at the cat.  It's a white and orange tabby, and it's ripped practically in half.  The poor thing.  "Please, dad, please?  I'm so bored at home, just so bored... I need a cat to keep me company..."

I can finally see my dad's stubbornness growing to tiredness, and he shakes his head a final time.  This time, though, I know that I have won.   "Take the cat, Halden, and get into the car."  And turning to McCourtney, "I'll cover the costs for cleaning and refurbishing your seats."

Author's Note

Chapter 3 is with Halden's chapter because I felt that it was too short to have a chapter of its own.

Thought I should continue copy and pasting these chapters from my computer documents... could have done it a lot earlier but I've been lazy.