🚀 go-pugleaf

   The morning passed slowly, but the pace quickened at lunchtime as
early vacationers and those with longer lunches kept Stefan, then Ray
bus taking orders and then ferrying them back to Gilda and another
matron who was helping her.  Between that and keeping the tables clean,
Ray could see why Stefan would call it a long day.  Gem's color
commentary and speculation about every person that came in didn't make
things go any quicker either.
   As he took a small break while there were no customers, he felt his
muscles all complain sorely.  And he'd though his wilderness days could
be exerting.  He closed his eyes for a moment.... and snapped them back
open as a girl, maybe a year or two younger, came in, rattling the
bells attached to the door.  He started to get up, but Stefan waved him
off.
   "Heya, Pops.  Coke, please?"  She pushed her hair away from her
shoulders, letting it fall halfway her back.  She hopped on a chair
nearby and drummed her fingers on the table.
   Stefan grunted, as he brought her drink.  "Stefan.  Not Pops.  And
is
here.  You keeping out of trouble, yes?"
   The girl grinned impishly.  "Not looking for it, Pops.  Stayin' off
Midway for a while.  Besides, even if I did, I don't do anything
_wrong_...."
  "Yes, yes, you too lucky for own good."  Stefan glowered.  "Be safe."
  "Yes, _sir_, Pops, sir."  She mock saluted.  "'Sides, I've gotta head
home in three or so.  Just wanted to stop by my favorite hideout before
you forgot me."  She winked.
   "Forget?  Hah.  I retire first."  Stefan shook his head bemusedly as
the girl finished her drink.  As she passed Ray's booth, she grinned
and waved at him..... then paused for a second.  She frowned for a
moment, then shook her head as if to clear it.  Ray blinked as she
left.
   "Hmm.  Two possibilities.  She's either latent and sensed me for a
second, or you need to change deodorants." mused Gem.  "Bet the odds on
the second.  Whew."
   Ray sighed as he got up.  "Do not, and s'none of my concern," he
muttered.  Latent?  Latent _what_?
   "Ri-ight.  Then why do I get the feeling of a hunt in the future?"
   Stefan must have had the same train of thought as Gem.  "Don't
bother.  Name is Lucky.  Good kid, but trouble.  She's survivor, loner.
Hm.  Maybe you know better after all, but you working hard, eh?"
   Ray nodded.  "Yessir."
   "Again with the sir.  Both of you can't call me Stefan either. Feh."
Stefan snorted. and got back to work.  "Clear out trash, since break
time is over."
   Ray nodded again, and got back to work.

   Lucky shook off the feeling she'd had since she'd seen Pops
Popelli's new guy.  Seemed harmless, but something said "no."  In a way
she couldn't wrap her head around.  She tried to clear her mind about
it.  Her gut feelings weren't ever WRONG, but sometimes, it was hard to
guess what they meant till later.  She decided to keep an eye on  Pop's
a bit.  The old man didn't need trouble with the new grandson, after
all.  She giggled at the irony.  Stealing a glance at her watch, she
cursed inwardly, and made a dash for home.  She was going to be late if
she didn't move...
   She sighed as she spotted her aunt waiting, uniform in her hands.
"M'sorry, Aunt Irene.  I forgot the time."
  Her aunt sniffed disapprovingly.  "Ashley, this is the last day The
very least you can do is be timely, and not give the judge or anyone
reason to say you were defiant."
   Lucky shook her head in negation.  Defiant wasn't part of it at
least.  Community service and juvenile probation was much better than a
gambling charge on an open record.  She cursed whoever finked on her
penny-ante games.  Though, she had to admit, she didn't mind working at
the hospital.  Was kind of fun, in a strange way.  Maybe she'd keep
doing it.  Maybe.  Try a taste of freedom first.  Besides, it was all
on a toss of the dice anyway.  She took the uniform, and slid into the
passenger seat as her aunt started the car.

   The next day was much the same for Ray, save being spared Gem's ever
so helpful commentary.  Can was his normal, near silent self, keeping
out of the way.  The only distractions came when someone innocently got
to close to Can and he let his claws voice his disapproval on their
sandals.  Many souls cursed the poor workmanship of their footwear that
day.  Ray kept things moving, otherwise, and was surprised when an
older man arrived in a workshirt like his own.
   Stefan nodded to the man.  "Good.  'Tonio come, you go.  Enjoy night
off."
   Ray blinked.  "But I just started..."
   Stefan shrugged.  "'Tonio wanted out of house, knows how Friday
nights is.  And you do well so far, but is much much more crazy here
then.  You find out next week."
   Ray nodded after a pause.  He blinked for a moment.  "Uhm, could I
have Monday off, Stefan?  I almost forgot something.... and I better
take care of it."
   "Fine, fine.  Is slow anyway."
   Ray tried not to let his relief show visibly.  "Thanks."
   "Whatever.  Now, go.  Enjoy.  Not going to happen to often, eh?"
   "Yessir."  Ray took off for the back to settle the days' tips with
Gilda.

   Freedom sometimes was a joke, thought Lucky darkly.  She leaned back
into the bench seat, a few friends toying with a 'zza and their drinks.
All were, honestly, bored to tears.  Fran and Mike were arguing ...
again; Jim and Mark were _gossiping_ for crying out loud.  Lucky was
ready to scream... no, she was ready to turn around, scratch herself a
hole an exit through it and escape.  She glances that the other silent
one of the sextet.  "'Lish?"
   Alicia slid her tinted frames back up her nose as she regarded her
friend.  "Yah?"
   "We're dyin' here.  Why aren't we _doing_ anything?"
  Alicia shrugged.  "Beach's closed for the night, Midway's not an
option, and the plex's movies bite."
   "Midway's starting to look damn good now."  Lucky muttered.  Even if
it meant dealing with the rent-a-goons again.  It's not like she did
anything WRONG....  "What's about the 'cade, then?"
  "Some real weirdos have been there lately.  Give me and mike the
creeps."
  "Is that all?  Hell<tm>, if they're trouble, the cops'll get 'em, if
not, ignore 'em."
  "I dunno...  these guys are _different_.  Seems really risky."
Alicia blinked as her mental tape player rewound those last few words
and replayed them for her.  She then thudded her head on the counter,
hard.
  "Risky, huh?"  Lucky's eyes lit up as one of those words she lived
for came to her starving ears.  Her face positively lit up.  Mike and
Fran abruptly stopped their spat as the look caught their attention.
Jim and Mark stopped as all the rest had become quiet.  Finally, Jim
sealed Alicia's mistake.  "Okay.  Who dared Lucky?"
   Her head still trying to be one with the Formica, Alicia replied
weakly.  "I told her going to the arcade is risky."
   The reactions around the table were mixed, but all notable.  Fran
patted Mike consolingly as he facepalmed.  Jim and Mark looked at each
other and grinned.  Lucky, for her part, wasn't sure to smack someone
or just keep the wide grin on her face.  A challenge.  Finally,
something to do.  "Well, it can't _hurt_ to see these guys, right?"
   Mike tried to talk though his hands.  "Here we go.....  Lucky, you
just got OUT of trouble.  Hell<tm>, you're on probation...."
   Lucky glared.  "I'm _not_ going to be stupid, Mike.  If the odds are
too high, I fold.  Besides, I'm not about to do something that'd get me
in trouble that way.  Just see for myself."
   Mike just kept his hand to his face.  "Man.....  I'm out.  These
guys just seem like bad news in leather jackets."
   Fran looked at him and nodded.  "Me too."
   Jim and Mark, however, looked like they were ready to deliver Lucky
there on their shoulders.  Alicia, didn't say a word one way or the
other.  Lucky shook her head.  "Hey, I'm serious.  Nothing more than
seeing myself.  Don't need to come if you don't want to.  C'mon, though
if you are."  She slid out, placed down her share of the pizza bill,
and walked toward the front.  Jim and Mark did the same.  Alicia sighed
and got up, fixing her glasses and putting her money down.  "SOMEONE
sane better go with them.  Later."
   Fran and Mike watched them all leave.  Mike shook his head.  "Sorry,
but this time....."
   Fran nodded.  "Me too." she confided.  They looked out again as the
door finished swinging shut.

   Beachside arcades are the closest thing to the dark side of
boardwalks for teens.  Most of them are poorly lit, loud, smokefilled
mazes of electronic devices where teens could hang out, watch friend
spend their hard earned McDonalds paychecks, and enjoy relative privacy
in a public place.  A better description may be taking the classical
seedy bar, supercharge the sound system, add about ten degrees to
temperature... hm.  Maybe it doesn't have much in common at all.
   In all honesty, Ray wouldn't have given it a second glance.  Save
for the fact that Can stopped abruptly and arched his long neck back
and hissed loudly.  He stopped at that.  Can could be surly....  his
moods were as black as his carapace, but actively hostile?
   "What is it?"  He looked at the arcade.  "Yeah, it's loud.   But
we're leavin' it alone anyway.  C'mon."  Can looked back at Ray with
his obsidian eyes and hissed again.  He scuttled back from the
entrance, but kept facing it.  Ray sighed and looked at him.  "Look,
it's not out business, so let's go already.  I don't have any money to
waste there anyway."  As he was about to turn about again, he spotted a
familiar figure heading into the arcade, along with some others.  Well,
at least he thought he did.  Can started hissing even harder and
started moving toward the door.
   Ray looked at Can, looked at the arcade, and shook his head.  "I
must be nuts....."  He headed inside and looked about.

   "I must be insane," muttered Alicia, as she watched the others look
about.  "C'mon, Lucky, this is asking for trouble."  She sighed as Jim
and Mark got distracted by the Virtua Street Brawl '97.  "And the ADD
twi- er twins just lost interest.  C'mon.... you don't even have an
audience for your little danger-daring..."
   "'Lish, it doesn't matter.  I gotta see these guys...... it's the
principle of the thing."  Lucky's eyes darted back and forth as she
moved about, looking at the posers, the occasional metalhead, couple
people making out (she hurried her eyes there... move along, nothing to
see or be jealous about), and then stopped suddenly.  Alicia missed the
unannounced braking maneuver and crashed into her.
   "Lu---"  Alicia stopped as she replaced her glasses and saw why her
companion had froze in her tracks.  Gothic?  The three people in front
of them transcended the notion.  If they had come from a bit of old
black and white celluloid, they may have had more color definition than
the pale faces and black hair, black outfits and dark, dark crimson
touch of lipstick.  Even in the bustle and crowd of the arcade, these
people had a zone of free space about them.  As if everyone there knew
precisely where the personal space of these characters are. Alicia had
an answer too.  As much as they wanted.  Something about them just gave
her the creeps.  She glanced toward her friend and caught the tail end
of Lucky's own expression of apprehension, then watched the jaw start
to jut a bit as she set it.  Alicia stifled a groan.  No, not NOW.  Now
was not the time to get stubborn, Lucky.  She watched as Lucky started
to stalk forward toward the trio.
   Her tongue failed her as she wanted to say SOMETHING to stop her
friend, but she just watched as Lucky started to march up.  The leader
of the trio just raised a level stare at Lucky.  From her spot, she
felt as if the eyes were throwing dry ice directly at her neck.  Lucky,
on the other hand, just grinned at the man ferally.  "Evening.  You
seem to be new around here.  Mind if I play the game?"
   The reaction was languid, the voice icy crisp.  "This game gets
expensive quickly."  Alicia winced.  No, not wordplay. Please...
   "I make do.  Got a lot of quarters."   Lucky purposely ignored him
and plopped two quarters into the game next to him.  The leader glanced
at his two companions, and walked behind her.  He just stared at the
screen.  Or was he trying to make eye contact with Lucky though the
glass?  Lucky seemed to be trying to ignore him.  She shivered again.
Then saw the other two start moving in the sides..... no, bad, BAD
news.  One of the sides stopped suddenly and clutched his arm as she
heard the sound of fabric ripping.  Some detached part of her mind
noted the snake tattoo on his arm, but her mind was working more on
instinct and adrenaline as she dipped in and grabbed Lucky's arm.
   "LuckyIthinkwe'dbettergonowandletthesecreepsfindsomeoneelseokay?"
With the leg strength and speed many woodland creatures know all too
well, Alicia grabbed her friend and bulldozed by the others.  She
dashed madly toward another row of games.... that ended in a
cul-de-sac.
She turned about, seeing momentarily the shocked look on her friends's
face.  Well, fine, right now she was quite sure hers was raw panic.
She looked as the three started walking toward them.  Somehow, people
seemed to be ignoring them, moving out of their way, just not SEEING
the three men coming their way.
   "Welcome to the next level," said the leader said quietly.  Then,
everything went nuts as the power died.  Chaos reigned as people
stumbled in the dark.  This time Alicia was the one dragged as Lucky
dashed through them and straight out of the arcade.  Both out of
breath, the leaned against the rail and looked back.  Their pursuers
didn't seem to follow them.
   "'Lish.....  the odds... just changed.... in a second.... in there."
Lucky panted.  "That ... snake..."
   "Cool.... tattoo.....creepy.... guy......"
   Lucky looked at her friend strangely.  "...right.  C'mon.  Let's go
before they try to get out of there."  She whipped her head back to the
arcade as she heard people running.  She recognized Pops' white shirt
... though that sure wasn't Pops.  Had to be the new guy.  And the trio
was chasing him, now.  Maybe she should.....  she shivered.  No.  She
couldn't face those guys again.  Especially after seeing that snake....
She'll check in on him at Pops' tomorrow.  She led Alicia away.

   Ray kept running down the boardwalk at an almost breakneck pace.  He
paused for a second, and relaxed a bit as he looked back.  Events
happened almost too quickly for him to follow.  After he got inside,
Can had scuttled about the corner, and when he turned the same corner,
he saw that girl.... Lucky?...  starting to be surrounded by some
guys....  she seemed almost oblivious.  Can, however had been scuttling
up the side of one of the machines.  Before he could do anything, Can
leapt onto the arm of the closer man.  Can's pincers clawed at the
man's arm, rending his coat..... and a snake hissed and snapped back at
Can right before the man covered his arm with his hand.  Can hissed
back and lunged, but another girl ran by grabbing Luck.  All of the
rest moved to follow, leaving Can with no target.  Can hissed
irritably, then hissed at Ray.
   "Bleedin'...  I don't know, Can...."  He rushed toward the group
that left.  "Maybe I can distract them."  Distract them?  With what?
He didn't watch Can start to scuttle up the wall.  As he saw the girls
in the corner, he wondered if screaming would help.  A sparking sound
drew his attention back to Can's position..... slicing the cable above
the fuse box.  Right as the lights cut out.  "Okay, that works.  He
looked up ahead, then blinked.  He could still see the guys up ahead.
Distinctly.  And they were turning his direction.  Two people dashed by
him quickly.  The three fellows weren't looking at them any more.  They
were looking at him.  He could tell that just from their luminous
slitted blue eyes, boring into his space.  "Can.....  I'll thank you or
kill you later. Let's go..."  Then he turned around and gave into his
gut feeling.  He ran. Ran hard and fast.
   So that left now what that meant.  Snakes?  Glowing eyes?  This was
things he had no clue about.  And maybe they were isolated..... but
something nagged at him.... they seemed familiar in someway.
Inwardly, he cursed.  Three days, and already things looked shaky.
Still, he thought of the look on both of the girls' faces.  They were
in over thier head.... and so was he, likely. He sighed.  Maybe Libby
will have some answers Monday.  After checking again for the three, he
started heading for the house, Can scuttling after.

[To be continued.]

----

   Well, I can safely say I didn't expect to see this one out of the
barrel this fast; as a matter of fact I started a different Refractions
before this one.  However the characters here seem to have commandeered
space in the writing studio, and will let this go first. I'm not sure
if I'm rather annoyed or not, considering I'm still trying on RM#3 and
two crossover/mini's (All of which are stalled flat again... *sigh*)
Obviously, there's part two, so none of the characters are up for grabs
yet, but soon they should be.
  Well, relax, grab some refreshments, and hurry back.... the
intermission shouldn't be too long.

-JRR