{"id":795,"date":"2021-08-18T16:35:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T16:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/?p=795"},"modified":"2021-08-25T21:36:22","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T21:36:22","slug":"fishbones-book-i-chapter-8-ends-of-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/2021\/08\/fishbones-book-i-chapter-8-ends-of-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Fishbones Book I \u2013 Chapter 8: Ends of the Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"Illustration by Eyugho<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

There had been a blackout that afternoon. October had been especially rainy and more days were filled with storms than not. They were Juniors now\u2014not quite young, but not quite old.<\/p>\n

School had only been out for five minutes and Ferris was already waiting in front of a bodega down the street. He browsed the sun-bleached advertisements wallpapering the window, hands stuffed into his pockets.<\/p>\n

The Lincoln was parked along the curb. Somehow, Demos had convinced his uncle to lend it to him for the afternoon, but he was still inside, \u201cshopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

The door opened with a chime. Demos emerged, carrying a weary look and a pack of cigarettes. He was by no means old enough to purchase them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey.\u201d Demos picked at the plastic wrap.<\/p>\n

Ferris looked over. \u201cFunny meeting spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI ran out.\u201d Demos shrugged, retrieving one cigarette and pocketing the rest. \u201cI couldn\u2019t wait.\u201d He folded back the cover of a matchbook, then cupped the cigarette to light it.<\/p>\n

It was strange, how good that smelled\u2014a freshly struck match, the wisp of smoke as it was shaken out. It smelled like fireworks, like winter nights.<\/p>\n

Like standing beside his friend beneath a bodega awning.<\/p>\n

Demos looked up at the darkening sky. \u201cLooks like rain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGot a feeling in your bones, or did the power outage tip you off?\u201d<\/p>\n

The blackout had been unceremonious. Lights had returned to the building within seconds. Demos\u2019 remark seemed to have been on cue, however, as the sidewalk began to speckle with rain. The awning was sufficient shelter for the time being.<\/p>\n

Demos was quiet. There was a far-off look about him, one he got when he couldn\u2019t find words. He wasn\u2019t flicking his cigarette. The paper was slowly burning down to a long, fragile column of ash that would only fall when its own weight was too much to bear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to ask you something,\u201d Demos said. \u201cIt\u2019s silly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demos inhaled smoke and held it, stalling for time before he breathed out a long plume. His attention drifted down from the sky to Ferris\u2019 face. \u201cWould you follow me to the ends of the earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe earth is round, Ghost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demos rolled his eyes. \u201cHumor me, asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d Ferris said with a shrug. \u201cWhy not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cylinder of ash broke, sending flakes of burnt paper to the damp sidewalk below. \u201cGet in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferris\u2019 hand stopped short of the passenger side door. Demos\u2019 hand was on his wrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Demos said. \u201cI need you to drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferris paused. He had only gotten his license three months ago and wasn’t sure if he wanted to test his skills on Victor Giorgetti\u2019s newly-repaired car. The look on Demos\u2019 face, however, was one he couldn\u2019t say no<\/i> to.<\/p>\n

The doors slammed shut, followed by silence as Ferris waited for further instruction. Rain speckled on the windshield, the soft pattering only intensifying the quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cNinth and Manning,\u201d Demos said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d left the key in the ignition. Ferris thumbed it and felt the Lincoln rumble to life. He pulled into the street. \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n

Demos took in a breath so deep it distracted Ferris from the fact that he was pulling Victor Giorgetti\u2019s Lincoln slash firstborn child into rush hour traffic. That far-off, stock-still look was back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014\u201d Demos closed his eyes. \u201cIt\u2019s an auto shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou, uh\u2014didn\u2019t your uncle already<\/i> fix this car?\u201d<\/p>\n

Demos shook his head. Ferris gave him a moment\u2014it looked like he needed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one shipment,\u201d Demos said. His voice cracked. \u201cJust stereos and dash kits. All I had to do was fence them. It was supposed to be so fucking simple\u2014just meet them and make the exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferris could hear his friend\u2019s throat tightening with each word. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey left me there.\u201d Demos stared harder out the window. \u201cThey fucking left me there and took the van. They didn\u2019t pay\u2014they were never going to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the corner of his eye, Ferris saw his hands begin to shake.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when I found them, they\u2014\u201d Demos said. \u201cThey laughed in my face. Called me a kid, told me to go back to school.\u201d He took a hard breath, his shoulders falling as he exhaled.<\/p>\n

Ferris stopped at a red light and finally looked over. \u201cHey,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not your\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is<\/i> my fault. I had\u2014I had one fucking job to do, and I screwed it up.\u201d There was pain in his voice. \u201cI need<\/i> those stereos.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sounded desperate. So desperate, in fact, that he\u2019d opened the glove compartment to start loading a handgun. Ferris saw it from the corner of his eye as the light turned green. His heart skipped; they\u2019d just passed 10th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat exactly are you planning on\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust drive, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d Demos said. \u201cStop here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the auto shop, an old gray building with four garage doors. The letters \u2018Now Open\u2019 were faded, paint peeling from the fa\u00e7ade. Cars had been stuffed into every corner of the narrow parking space, some half rusted, others half missing.<\/p>\n

For a moment, they both sat motionless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be right back,\u201d Demos said, reaching to open the door. The lock made a hard click as the knob went down, stifling his effort. He looked over at Ferris, who was glaring back at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cFerris, unlock the door,\u201d Demos said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. We\u2019re going home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said you\u2019d follow me\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the ends of the earth, yeah. I never said I\u2019d drive you to your grave<\/i>,\u201d Ferris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFish\u2014\u201d Demos eyes dropped, his voice quieting against the rain. \u201cI know what you\u2019re thinking. But I have to do this. I could come back later and do it alone, but\u2014\u201d He sighed. \u201cI need you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferris\u2019 finger still hovered over the master lock. If he pressed the button, he could be sending his best friend to his death. He would have to live with that decision for the rest of his life. If he drove off right now, Demos would be stupid enough to do it anyway, but he\u2019d be by himself.<\/p>\n

If he died, it would be alone.<\/p>\n

Ferris exhaled. Something in his gut twisted, pulling him in on his own body. It hurt. The ends of the earth\u2014that was certainly what this felt like. For a moment, there was only the sound of drops hitting glass.<\/p>\n

The lock clicked up.<\/p>\n

Demos spoke, perhaps the last words Ferris would ever hear him say. \u201cIf I\u2019m not the first person out the door, drive away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Ferris could reply or think, the passenger seat was empty.<\/p>\n

Minutes passed, but the sick feeling low in his body remained. Ferris\u2019 eyes were locked on the entrance, his hands in a vice grip on the steering wheel. He could hear it, a hollow thudding where his heart used to be, aching as he waited for something, anything, to happen. The prickling in his hands intensified. He couldn\u2019t see through the windows of the shop or hear anything from inside. What if they had already hurt him? What if he was already\u2014<\/p>\n

Ferris shut his eyes. He shook his head, begging himself to stop visualizing the worst. Demos was fine. He had to be.<\/p>\n

Gunshots echoed across the open space\u2014three of them. Then two more. Then silence.<\/p>\n

Ferris straightened, his eyes fastened on the door. His pulse had invaded the inside of his skull\u2014pounding, deafening.<\/p>\n

The door flung open. Ferris\u2019 eyes strained, making out the silhouette.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Demos.<\/p>\n

A bloodied man rushed outside, eyes darting from left to right before landing on the running car\u2014and Ferris. As their eyes met, Ferris remembered what he was supposed to do.<\/p>\n

Drive away.<\/i><\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

It was impossible\u2014Demos couldn\u2019t have lost. Drive away.<\/i> Those weren\u2019t his last words. This wasn\u2019t where he was going to die.<\/p>\n

The man stumbled forward. His hand grasped at the car\u2019s door handle.<\/p>\n

Drive away.<\/i><\/p>\n

The body jerked, collapsing against the passenger door before sliding to the ground. Red streaked down the window, but Ferris could still see past it.<\/p>\n

There was one figure in the doorway, silenced .357 still aimed at the corpse. This time, it was Demos.<\/p>\n

His eyes flicked up to Ferris\u2019.<\/p>\n

Ferris surged across the center console, flung open the passenger doors, and blurted, \u201cGet in the fucking car<\/i>!\u201d<\/p>\n

He was already halfway down the block by the time Demos slammed the door shut against the smell of burning rubber. \u201cThe warehouse,\u201d Demos said, his breath coming in gasps.<\/p>\n

Ferris knew exactly what he meant. There was a small warehouse only a few blocks away that Nicky and Sal, two of Victor\u2019s men, used as storage. It was a struggle to keep the car in its lane, to keep from going 90 on a quiet, industrial backroad.<\/p>\n

Once they arrived, Demos leaned over the driver\u2019s seat, hands shaking as he entered the pass code.<\/p>\n

The gate closed behind them.<\/p>\n

They took a moment to breathe, cloaked in the shadow of the warehouse walls. Ferris cut the engine, dropping them into silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Demos was trembling. He lifted a tight fist speckled with blood. His fingers opened slowly, revealing a set of keys in his palm. \u201cFor the van,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

He swallowed. Somehow, he was even paler than usual, the spots of red on his face standing out against his skin. Ferris fumbled through the glove compartment for a handkerchief, leaning in to wipe the blood from Demos\u2019 temple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not mine,\u201d Demos said. \u201cI\u2019m fine. He was still struggling to breathe, eyes wide as they fell on the keys in his hand. \u201cThe van.\u201d Demos\u2019 next breath came in a shudder. \u201cIt\u2019s\u2014it\u2019s parked on Tenth. I have to go back and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

He sucked in a chestful of air, then curled forward into his own lap. He put a hand over his mouth. \u201cI\u2014I shot them,\u201d Demos said through his fingers. \u201cThree of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferris\u2019 hand found Demos\u2019 back, his fingers tightening against the fine fabric. \u201cIt\u2019s okay,\u201d he said, not knowing which one of them he was saying it for. \u201cBreathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shaking stopped. The inside of the car was still\u2014quiet. As the seconds passed, Ferris could feel his friend\u2019s frame calm beneath his hand. \u201cI\u2019ve never done that before,\u201d Demos murmured.<\/p>\n

It was then that Ferris remembered that he was angry. \u201cThree guys?<\/i>\u201d Ferris snapped. \u201cThere were three fucking guys and you still did it? You stupid asshole! You just scared ten years off of my goddamn life. I almost had a heart attack\u2014I think I did<\/i> have a heart attack. Jesus Christ.<\/i> I hope you\u2019re happy with\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFish\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Demos said. \u201cFor staying.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Ghost\u2019s smile, Ferris forgot the rest of his rant, \u201cWell.\u201d He looked away. \u201cSomeone had to.\u201d He fought to keep his lips flattened. Demos didn\u2019t deserve a smile back. Not after that stunt. \u201cNext time,\u201d Ferris said. \u201cI\u2019m leaving your ass on the curb.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGot it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a moment, Ferris swallowed his pride and looked back. His glare softened as he thought back to the dread that had taken over every inch of his being, the terror at the thought of never seeing Demos again. Here he was, alive in the passenger seat, smiling like a jackass.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sure you\u2019re okay?\u201d Ferris asked. \u201cYou can walk and everything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you, I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Ferris said. \u201cBecause you\u2019re about to clean the living fuck<\/i> out of your uncle\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illustration by Eyugho There had been a blackout that afternoon. October had been especially rainy and more days were filled with storms than not. They were Juniors now\u2014not quite young, but not quite old. School had only been out for five minutes and Ferris was already waiting in front of a bodega down the street. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fishbones-book-01"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oWx8-cP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":799,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795\/revisions\/799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fishbonescomic.com\/novel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}