Page 15
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” says Stove, his voice quivering. Man, that kid is annoying.
You open the cooler just a bit and see what appears to be a bird’s wing. You open it a little further and see what appears to be a cat’s tail. Okay, this kid is driving around in an ice cream truck with a bird and a cat in the back of it. You wonder why the cat wouldn’t eat the bird, but when you fully open the cooler it becomes clear. The cat is the bird. Or, rather, it’s a small gryphon.
“What the fuck…” you turn and look at Stove, who’s giving you a smug little I-told-you-so glare. Before you can process the situation, the gryphon is on you. It’s sinking its claws into your skin, biting at your face with its beak and batting you with its wings and tail.
“Don’t let it get away!” shouts Stove. There is a conflict of interest here: “away” is exactly what you want the gryphon to get. It takes everything you’ve got to force the mythical beast off of you, and when you do it flies out the open window of the truck and down the street.
Stove jumps into the car, grabs the keys out of your hand and takes the wheel. Before you can react, you’re involved in a high-speed chase between a gryphon and an ice cream truck.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was a gryphon?” You shout over the high-volume twinkling sounds you can’t figure out how to turn off.
“Oh, like you would have believed me.” He’s got a point. “We have to catch this thing or my boss is going to kill me. Literally kill me. Did you see which way it went?”
“Over there,” you point to the left, where you see the it flying in the distance. The truck swerves, nearly toppling over.
“Okay, just stop and let me out,” you say. “I don’t need to be a part of this. I’m already an hour late for work.”
“We don’t have time to stop. Buckle your seatbelt.”
Stove is a decent high-speed driver. It must be all the video games kids are playing these days, which also explains why he drives onto the sidewalk to mow down a prostitute.
“We’re catching up to it. We’re going to have to try something risky,” he tells you as he rolls down the window. “Look under your seat.”
You find thirty-two cents in change, a Metallica CD and a high-powered rifle.
“When I get close enough, you need to shoot the gryphon,” he says firmly. “No questions.”
To do as he says, turn to page 19.
To refuse, turn to page 20.
2 years ago • Notes