Moving through the dark, winding cave, Binkedge struggles to navigate in the dim light. Only occasional rays filtered through narrow cracks in the rock ceiling, along with faint glows of small creatures, barely illuminate his pathway forward.
“Shit, maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” he said, regretting his decision to venture into the cave. “I wonder if I could’ve taken that big round cocksucker on, he was practically blind from my awesome attack.” Suddenly, he heard strange, whispering through the cavern, which made him stop. “Are there people down in this shithole?”
Continuing on, he reaches an area where the whispers seemed to originate, but found nothing. “Must be the damn cave atmosphere playing tricks.” While scanning the ground, he spotted a tiny mouse by his feet.
“Cute little mouse, bye.” With a swift kick, he sent the creature flying, injuring it. “Now you’re gone. I hate anything smaller than me, especially varmints.”
Just then, he felt a warm, unsettling breath on the back of his neck. Turning around, he found himself staring into a pair of glowing red eyes, the eyes of a massive, toxic black rat.
“Good little mousey, want some cheese?” Binkedge muttered, a note of fear in his voice.
The toxic rat’s venomous gaze fixed on Binkedge, then shifted to the injured mouse he had kicked.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to hurt your friend, if that’s what happened.”
Enraged, the toxic rat refocused its attention on Binkedge and unleashed an ear-splitting shriek directly into his face.
“Well fuck you too, I don’t have any cheese!” Binkedge yelled, punching the creature on the nose, which only served to further anger the already volatile rat. “Your ass should’ve gone down.”
The toxic rat snarled with vicious intent, slamming a powerful blow into Binkedge’s face with its paw. The impact sent him careening backward, crashing against the cave wall.
“Great, getting killed by a large ugly rat in a dark cave. This is fucking wonderful,” Binkedge muttered grimly, resigning himself to his fate as he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
But just as the toxic rat prepared to pounce, a rock whistled through the air with tremendous force, striking the creature’s head with pinpoint accuracy and knocking it unconscious.
Slowly opening his eyes, Binkedge’s vision adjusted to see the toxic rat sprawled on the ground, its black fur rising and falling with shallow breaths. “Who the fuck did that? Better not be some more duck dick heads,” he growled.
Turning toward the source of his unexpected salvation, he found Jazz standing beside him, a mischievous grin across his face. “Hi there, Binkedge,” Jazz said cheerfully. “How’s it going?”
“Jazz, what the fuck are you doing here?”
“I’m hiding from the tax collector. I’ve got no money to pay him.” He paused, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “What about you?”
“I’m down here playing hide-and-seek. Didn’t you see all the other players hiding before you showed up?” The sarcasm dripped from his words.
“Oh, can I play too?” Jazz clapped his hands excitedly, his eyes lighting up with childlike enthusiasm. “It’s my favorite game!”
“Are you fucking stupid, Jazz?” Binkedge snapped. “I’m hiding from Inkedge’s tax collector goon, not playing some stupid game.”
Quickly, Jazz’s face fell, his shoulders slumping visibly. “So you’re not playing hide-and-seek?”
“No!” Binkedge yelled.
Jazz looked at the rat, its chest still rising and falling slightly, then back at Binkedge. “You going to eat that thing?”
“What? Fuck no!” Binkedge recoiled, disgust evident in his voice.
“Well, dinner’s served.” Without hesitation, Jazz pounced on the rat with predatory grace, pulling out a knife. With one swift, practiced motion, he skinned the creature, the wet sound of separating flesh filling the cave as he carved off a substantial chunk of meat. His eyes gleaming with hunger, as he tore into it ravenously, blood dripping down his chin and onto his shirt.
Binkedge’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead as he stared at Jazz eating, unable to look away from the grotesque spectacle. “Damn, that’s fucking sick. What the hell’s wrong with you?”
Jazz pauses his eating to respond, strings of raw meat hanging between his teeth. “I was hungry. I haven’t eaten for a few days. This is good protein I don’t want to go to waste”
Slowly, Binkedge’s gaze fixates on the dead animal. “Seriously? At least cook the meat you’re eating, it might be poisoned.”
“That’s okay, I’m fine with it raw. Plus, it’s a win-win.” Jazz says between bloody chews, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“How’s that?”
“I get a full belly, or I die and never have to worry about life again.” Jazz cheerfully explained.
“Indeed a win. I hope it’s the second option. Continue eating.” He encourages with no care.
Slicing methodically, Jazz cuts more flesh off the rat. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Turning, Binkedge scans the darkness. “Hey, before you ran into me, did you happen to hear any voices?”
“What kind of voices?” Jazz speaks through a mouthful.
“Sinister-sounding whisper kind.” Binkedge’s voice dropped to barely above a whisper itself, as though afraid of being overheard.
Jazz spits out a thin, curved bone that clattered against the ground. “Nope. You think we should be worried?”
“Probably not, I’m sure it was nothing. Keep eating,” Binkedge dismisses, though his eyes continue to dart nervously around the cave’s perimeter.
“Can do.” Jazz resumes his grim meal as Binkedge watches on, unaware of a pair of glowing green eyes observing them both from the deepest shadows of the cave.
…
