Chapter Three - YtiC

  Placing my trusty earphones on (over-ear for the win) and putting my hood up to protect them from the rain, Keats and I (dogs can probably hear the music from our earphones, right?) begin our journey with some AZALI as we start down the few city blocks that separate Run’s place from the riverwalk path.

  Ever a slave to the beat, I can’t stop myself from bobbing my head, doing little dance-adjacent things with my feet, and generally giving my will to the electro-synth-orchestra as I let the music paint a dystopian lens over the ever darkening city.

  Keats stops to sniff a particularly popular fire hydrant out front of a row of closed up storefronts. I try to peer through windows as Keats catches up on the latest dog-gossip, but the multiple layers of dust do a good job in keeping the insides a mystery. Flapping fabric catches my eye, causing me to look up and see more than one old canvas banner advertising “Going out of Business!” being blown about by the wind of the incoming storm.

  We head through a block of old apartment buildings, the weather highlighting the unique state of disrepair plaguing each of these slummy, towering OSHA hazards. I can’t decide if I should laugh or cry at a neon sign cheerfully advertising studio apartments starting at only $2,399.99 a month.

  The monstrously inhuman greed of it all nearly has me forget to guide Keats around the broken glass left all over the sidewalk in this area, evidence of the plethora of past and future car thefts that have just become part of the flavor this block has to offer.

  Deciding that I prefer beauty over efficiency, we take a few extra minutes to pass by the old brick library, built back when architecture was unique and strange.. The library, once likely the tallest building around, is now a relic dwarfed by skyscraping towers on all sides.

  The ancient structure (well, ancient by American standards) is all the more intimidating with the lights off and the storm to give it ambiance. As a drop of rain hits my hand I instinctively look up at the sky, and instead of the storm I notice for the first time a gaggle of gargoyles perched all along the edges of the library's roof…

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  That… makes me smile. How had I never noticed them before? I wave to the stone guardians as Keats snuffles a nearby bush, somehow both relieved and a little disappointed they don’t wave back.

  Around the back of the library, just off of the little courtyard Keats and I have spent many an hour sitting and reading in, is the riverway. My old mutt still has it in him to nearly pull me off my feet trying to get us over to his favorite spot on the railing that overlooks the river. I shake my head at the floof as he marks his territory, still unsure as to why this particular spot matters to him, and look out at the water, clearly buffeted by the storm, churning, crashing, swirling past us, eager to meet the sea hundreds of miles away…

  I scruffle Keats’ head, “Alright boy, the rain’s picking up so we’re ganna have to hurry a bit.”

  Keats clacks his teeth, giving me a wink that I know is unintentional but I, because it's cute and oddly consistent, still count as something he does on purpose.

  With that we both start down the riverway, and thanks to the storm we actually have it to ourselves for once. I walk my fingers on the railing as we walk down the path, calculating how long it’ll take to go the mile or so to get home, and actually slow my pace a bit.

  I turn to Keats, whose curled and wagging tail tells me he is happy as can be, “Mind if we get a little wet boy? I kinda want to see some lightning before we head in.” Keats gives me back a low howl and a prance of pads that I associate with ecstatic approval.

  Mmmm…

  Well.

  Alright then.

  I reach into the inner lining of my coat for the pocket I had sewn within a larger pocket, undo the button hidden by the seam by extra fabric, and pull out one of the THC pens that I stash there.

  I hold the pen up to the light of the lanterns that are spread out along the riverway, and realize that I managed to grab one that I have not tried yet. Its bright orange casing is stamped with the image of a cat-eared chibi figure, giving me the side-eye with one black eye, and one white. The female figure is topped with a glowing halo, and is drawn offering a decently inviting looking hug…

  Other than that? No brand name or other info on the thing…

  Honestly I have no memory of buying this one… Which... Is not uncommon for me... Plus, the branding is awesome so...

  I hold my ticket to another world and take a deep puff off the thing, blowing a dragon's worth of smoke out over the river, watching as my little cloud drifts off to join the storm just on my heels.