Rest Stop Chapter 2
All the characters in this story belong to me and no one else. Please enjoy and comment.
The sun, starting to set, was still pulsing warm on the beautiful spring afternoon as the wind blew lightly through Xavier's hair, giving it a light flutter with each gentle gust of the cool wind. Confused and flustered, the white flying fox still had doubts about his frosty white friend saying he didn't grope his butt, but the white bat kept these suspicions to himself as the two of them rested against the clunky Rustbox Eighty Eight. Plus, it was too warm out to argue this little spat any further. He looked up into the sky and watched the clouds drift freely high in the sky making cool shadows drift across the ground below. One of the giant cotton masses floated just above the two and they sighed as the gentle coolness swept over their bodies.
"I love clouds," purred Mark, "they're so gentle and soft looking, like cotton candy . . . I wish that they tasted like cotton candy too." Xavier giggled and shook his head at Mark's naïve comment. The bat knew right well that the clouds tasted only like water and nothing else, but he said nothing, leaving his friend to dream of the sweet flavors of the giant clouds above. The clouds seemed to loom so close that the two of them could reach out and touch the white masses that glided by overhead. The two basked in the majestic beauty of the clouds as they rolled by high in the sky, not having a care in the world . . . until a tan feline came blundering out of the old decrepit building. The two taller boys broke out of their daze and stared at the now panting lion boy. His long scarlet hair washed over his eyes as he was bent over and leaned against the car, trying to catch his breath as if it was a mile ahead of him. The two stared at each other, bewildered, and then looked at the huffing jungle cat.
"Something . . ." the lion panted out as his breath slowly returned to him with his heart still racing a mile a minute. The two other boys leaned forward to get better reception of Joey's babbling as he held a paw on his leg to steady himself. "In the . . . restroom," he continued as he stood there with his friends worrying about him, ". . . gotta come see."
"Relax," Mark said, "take a deep breath and speak slowly." Joey obediently did as his boyfriend told him to and inhaled a large amount of air. His chest puffed up as if he was proud of something and exhaled. The air rushed out of his muzzle carefully as if he was afraid his lungs may come tumbling out as well. His heart slowed down and his breathing returned to normal as he stood up from his bent position adjusting his glasses, calm and ready to explain himself. "Now," Mark sighed as he continued, "tell us calmly what's wrong?"
"Well," Joey started slowly, "when I was finished with washing my paws, I needed a towel, but the dispenser was empty." He leaned against the car as he explained his story more: "So, I went into the first stall and found a roll of toilet paper, which I used to dry my paws." His words rolled out gently as his friends watched him intently, "And I noticed graffiti, so I began to read, so much filth if you ask me." His friends started to glare at him, wanting him to get to the point. He looked at them and blinked, realizing that he was just babbling again, so he set himself straight, "Okay, so I went into the final stall and found the weirdest thing . . . an old broken open trunk." The two looked at each other in question; silently asking "What the hell is he talking about?" then looked back at the timid lion boy, his eyes glistening behind his glasses. "The trunk had an eerie feel to it," he said gently and shivered slightly as a chilling sensation ran up his spine.
"And what, pray tell, do you want us to do about it?" Mark said in a smartass tone. Xavier nudged him sternly, as if telling him to shut up in a much nicer way. He clammed up reluctantly and listened to his boyfriend's babblings, acting like he was interested.
"Well," the lion boy continued, "I want you two to come and look."
"Why?" asked Xavier and Mark simultaneously.
"Like I said," the lion boy began, "because something's eerie about it and it had all these odd stains inside." He explained the entire trunk to them as the two watched him attentively, listening to the description of the box itself. Xavier raised his left brow in question. "What?" Joey asked as he noticed the odd gesture of Xavier, oblivious to that his boyfriend and best friend didn't outright believe him.
"What exactly was in the trunk?" the giant bat asked as his arms crossed over his tight chest with a slight grimace, starting to realize that this whole story was nothing but in Joey's imagination while Mark thought it was pure bullshit . . . or so they thought.
"That's the thing," Joey added, "I don't know what was inside; it was empty when I looked inside." The two taller boys looked at one another with a strange look on their faces than at the old restroom building, more specifically at the Men's room door.
'Maybe he isn't telling a story,' thought the flying fox. Joey had a wild imagination, yes, but when he was intent and explained things well, his stories usually weren't make-believe. Xavier was convinced. "Only one way to find out," Xavier said suddenly, startling both Joey and Mark, "we have to go in there and have a look for ourselves." A relieved smile crawled across Joey's lips as he purred contently, thinking his friend had believed him. Xavier didn't believe him outright, but something was indeed strange about how Joey was acting, which needed immediate investigation. Xavier nodded and humored him as the two of them went towards the restroom, leaving Mark far behind to argue the position he was in, during the situation, with himself.
'Goddammit,' the frosty feline thought as he groaned, 'at this rate, we'll never see Marilyn Manson.' After some long thought and fights with himself, Mark reluctantly followed his advancing boyfriend and his tall bat friend stumbling over the crumbled walkway towards the restroom.
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The restroom door swung open and the three stepped into the dim restroom with a greeting from the hollow musty smell that loomed in the cramped air. The last stall rested near the end of the room with the door wide open still from when Joey ran away from it. Wanting to debunk the trunk being there, Mark went ahead of the two, scoffing as he came up to the opened door. He stopped before the door and a surprised expression crossed his face as he stared inside in awe. The other two came over and looked in as to see the interest.
The old trunk still lay on its side in the stall, untouched. Mark shook his head as his thoughts collected, telling him that Joey was right all along about the trunk, and bent down to inspect this odd looking box sticking his nose right inside. Red and brown stains covered the old ragged walls of the trunk. The linen walls themselves were torn apart, as if they were clawed to shreds. Besides the red and brown stains, pale yellow stains were also present in the crate that Joey forgot to mention or didn't notice when he took off suddenly. A moldy and musky smell wafted from the inside of the trunk, but it was bearable enough for the frosty speckled cat's nose as he inspected the rest of the dried interior. Finding nothing, he went to inspect the outside. The top of the box was dusty, so he ran his finger across the outside of the box, leaving a deep trail in the dust on the trunk. 'It must have been sitting here for God knows how long,' he thought as he blew off the dust from the top of the box, making a grey cloud hover in the air. The dust cloud dispersed, floating softly towards the ground where it finally came to rest on the tiles, making them dirtier than they already were. He looked at the padlock as well. The latch on it seemed to have been stressed open, rather than sawn off and the whole box was on its side, as if it was tipped over by someone . . . or something. Mark stood up and looked at his wondering friends as a confused expression crossed his face, making his friends wonder even more. "Someone," Mark began, "or something was inside there and had broken out of it." A cool sensation ran down Joey's spine as his boyfriend continued to explain. "I don't know how long ago the trunk had been opened," he said as his nose wrinkled in thought, "but whoever, or whatever, was in there is long gone by now."
A stall door creaked suddenly, snapping Joey's attention towards the sound as his friends discussed the box some more. He saw something long and skinny disappear underneath the first stall door. "What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed in surprise as his trembling paw pointed towards the dark and ominous stall. The other two snapped out of their conversation and rushed to the stall to find whatever it was that was pointed out as Joey followed closely behind, shuddering with each step towards the old stall. Xavier got there first and slammed open the door just as the vent above the toilet clanked shut. Odd clicking and scurrying sounds echoed loudly from the vent as whatever it was disappeared into abysmal maze of ventilation that was the veins of the old building. The two feline lovers stared at the closed vent as the sounds and echoes from inside slowly became distant. Then silence. Xavier froze, bewildered by what that thing was. Some time passed, but nothing happened. The thing didn't seem to come back.
"Whatever it was," the bat whispered as if not to attract that thing back, "it's gone for now." Joey panted in shock as he recalled how large the skinny fleshy thing was that flew under the stall door. Mark hugged him closely and tightly to comfort his poor frightened kitten as he shuddered in Mark's arms.
"It's okay, sweetheart," Mark spoke softly into Joey's ear as he stroked the trembling jungle cat's back tenderly, "it's gone now, gone for good." Joey nuzzled his boyfriend for comfort as he still trembled in the snow leopard's arms.
"I wanna leave now," Joey whispered gently, "please, Xavier?" Knowing Xavier, he would never want to see his good friend cry. So, he nodded and smiled warmly at the shivering feline with his arms tightly around Mark. The three of them left the room in a slight haste. Xavier, leaving the door first, was greeted by the warm air of the spring afternoon as Mark cuddled his lover tightly, following the bat down the broken path towards the Rustbox.
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"What do you mean by, 'I don't have the keys'?" asked an impatient Mark who still clung to his boyfriend as Xavier dug his paws inside his pockets, producing only lint and emptiness. Joey continued to tremble slightly in Mark's arms as he recalled the thing in the restroom again slinking around the floors and disappearing into the vents.
"Like I said," Xavier repeated, "they were in my back pocket, and now they're gone." His paws disappeared into his pockets again, hoping that the keys would just appear back there so they can leave this shitty place in a cloud of dust and enjoy Ozzfest in peace. His paws slid out of his back pockets as he sighed heavily in frustration, his paws still empty.
"Maybe they're still in the car?" asked a trembling Joey. The flying fox blinked at the sudden realization; they were still in the car. He went to the left side of the car and poked his muzzle in the open driver's window. Nothing on the dashboard, nothing on the front seats or back seats. He opened the driver's door and checked the front seat floors . . . nothing. The backseat floors revealed the same thing. The glove compartments, the cup holders, the large soda cup, the radio shelf, even the ignition? Empty. The Rustbox keys seemed to have disappeared into thin air. The fruit bat's head popped up over the top of the car and glared at the benign snow leopard, remembering the little "surprise" that had happened before.
"What?" the bewildered feline noticed as his tall friend stared into his icy blue eyes intently, searching for something. The tall bat walked over to the feline lovers and held out his paw to Mark. "What?!" Mark repeated a bit more impatiently as his friend still stared at him sternly.
"Well, you stroked my ass," the angered bat said as he stared at the confused white leopard, "now, gimme my keys back." Joey perked his ears up and locked his focus on his lover's eyes, stunned. Mark looked back and forth between Joey and Xavier with a frantic expression as if saying "I didn't do anything." Joey narrowed his chocolate eyes behind his glasses to magnify his penetrating gaze, angered by the unexpected realization that was laid before him. In his mind, he saw Mark stroking Xavier's butt with a lewd smile crossing Mark's lips. His wild imagination fueled his anger even more as his gaze became much more intense, almost as if he wanted to fry Mark for his supposed lecherous intentions.
"I was two feet away from him when this all happened," the frantic leopard said to his angered lover, "and my paws were still in my front pockets the whole time." Mark became more frantic as he continued to explain his predicament to the ridged lion. "So I couldn't have touched him, Joey, even if I wanted to." Joey grimaced and looked away from Mark's apologetic gaze, but Mark held Joey's muzzle in his paw and forced him to look him in the eyes. "He would have seen me do it," he spoke with more of a collective tone than before, slowly letting the words roll off his tongue, "and besides, he's my best friend too, and I have no interest like that in my good friends . . . only you." Mark's eyes were sincere with each word he spoke, trying his best to apologize to Joey. Joey still had a slight glare in his eyes, but he nuzzled Mark anyway. He knew it was true, Mark had no interest in friends because he was a very traditional cat and only dated other felines, albeit male felines. "But I will say this;" he said suddenly, snapping Joey's and Xavier's attention to him again, "Xavier does have a nice butt." Mark blinked after he said this, surprising himself as he reeled back for a slap or punch from Mark or Xavier. Instead, a gentle purr rumbled against Mark's chest and a tender lick crossed his cheek as Joey hugged Mark tightly. Mark's mind raced thinking, 'Why the sudden affection?' His head started to try and comprehend what was going on.
"At least you're honest with me, Mark," purred Joey as he broke Mark out of deep thought, surprising him slightly. "And you're right, he does have a cute butt," Joey purred into Mark's ear. Joey then gave Mark a gentle kiss as he stroked his back firmly, causing Mark to purr softly with each stroke.
"But yours," Mark started as he took a lion butt cheek in each paw and gave them a hard firm squeeze, eliciting a soft gasp and purr from Joey. "Is the cutest," he purred softly into Joey's ears. His lips then engulfed the lion's in a warm and tender lock as they both purred softly into each other. A gentle warmth washed over them with their faces becoming warm, hot even, as their kiss became more accented in the heat. Their tails wrapped tightly around each other's waist as they gently ground their hips into each other, their pants tightening from arousal and moaning gently as they enjoyed their kiss. Xavier just chuckled at this display of apology and affection . . . then snapped out of it as a sudden realization flashed through his mind.
"If neither one of you have my keys," the flying fox said suddenly, startling the lip locked couple out of their kiss as they stared at their tall friend, "then where could they possibly be?" The two feline boys looked at each other then back at their tall friend as they remembered the matter at hand. Suddenly, the two of them blushed when they noticed what the aftermath of what their kiss led to. So, they tried their best to hide their impending arousal, still both blushing deeply as Xavier hunkered down on paws and knees, oblivious of his friends' frantic and stumbling efforts to hide themselves, to look underneath the Rustbox Eighty Eight. He looked to the front and to the back of the underbelly of the car; revealing nothing but dust, bugs, dirt, weeds and rocks below, but no keys. Leaning up onto his calves, he looked around the car, trying to find a glimmer of the keys anywhere. Nothing. Nothing shined to give away its position from its hiding spot. He crawled around the car, to find the keys, but wherever he looked, the keys weren't there. He came back around and rested his paw on the passenger door handle. He steadied himself on the door handle and pulled himself up as he groaned softly to his feet. His knees popped audibly in doing so as he stood up straight. Dust covered the knees on his jeans from all the crawling under and around the car, so he brushed them off with his paws the best he could, creating a dust cloud with each gentle pat. The pants were still dirty, but he didn't care; all he cared about were his keys. His blue eyes still glided around the ground desperately still looking for the keys when he finished dusting off his jeans. But no keys.
"Maybe they fell out on the walkway," Joey said as he loosened his embrace with Mark, their arousal finally flushed from their systems as their tails gently broke off their grip from each other's waist. Mark only nodded in agreement. Xavier only sighed in irritation as the three of them looked over the broken cement, darting their six eyes back and forth in search of the lost key ring. 'It shouldn't be hard to find,' Joey thought to himself, ‘they do have a chrome sheen too them after all.' Before they knew what was going on, however, their search led them to the front of the restroom doors with no keys lining their paws.
"Well, one last place to look," Mark said as he pointed at the Men's room door. Joey started to shiver as he recalled what had happened in there before. His mind spun in circles as he whimpered softly; something crawled underneath the stall and disappeared into the ventilation maze. His eyes widened at the thought that crossed his mind as he shivered more heavily at whatever that thing was.
"But I don't wanna go in there again," whimpered the scared lion, cringing slightly as the creature's tail swayed to and fro in his wild imagination. Mark, however, knew of a way to encourage his lover to go in. Again, Mark's warm wet tongue stroked over Joey's cheek suddenly, causing Joey's tail to curl upward in surprised bliss. A soft purr rolled from Joey's chest as the tongue worked over his cheek some more and closed his eyes in a warm ecstasy. Mark whispered some warm words in his ear and Joey's eyes bulged. His cheeks flushed heavily as he purred deeply with Mark still whispering the warm sultry words into his ears. After a while, Mark finished his heated whispers and Joey, still blushing hard and giggling softly, licked him back and nodded gently. Whatever Mark whispered, it worked quite well on Joey.
"Mark, you naughty boy," Xavier giggled, "What did you tell him?"
"I-it's our luh . . . little s-s-secret," Joey stammered out with his cheeks still burning slightly from the warm whispers he had received. Mark just stood there proud with a pleased grin knowing quite well what he said to Joey. Xavier only nodded, knowing exactly what privacy was, even though he had a thought of what Mark had whispered to Joey.
"So," the flying fox started, "ready to go back in there, Joey?" Still shuddering softly, Joey nodded as his cheeks were still warm. "Good," said Xavier with a gentle smile, "now let's find my keys, guys." The fruit bat and snow leopard walked through the restroom door with Joey left behind, still unsure of what might be crawling around in there, but his body rebelled against him and carried him into the cool flickering room regardless of how he felt about the ominous room. ‘Hope he lives up to that promise,' thought Joey shuddering as the door closed behind him in a soft slam.
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