Clay and Josh (Part 1)
"Hey Josh!" Clay yelled over the buzzing and whirring sounds of the machinery that surrounded them like large gray steel sculptures cast by the hands of unimaginative engineers long since passed. "I'm Climbing Mount Sutter tonight when we get off work, are you down?" Clay, a gray wolf, had large, powerful paws, yellow eyes that seemed to light up even the darkest room, and a coat of fur that seemed impossibly smooth for someone that worked on pumps and valves every day. Not only was the machinery room loud, but was a little on the warm side, too. Actually, it was down right hot, with temperatures of 90 degrees or more, depending on what equipment was running. Clay's work shirt hung carelessly over a valve, leaving his formed chest and abs exposed, which was the norm.
"What?!" Josh yelled, poking an ear up from behind a rusty flange.
"Do you want to climb Mount Sutter with me after work?!" Clay raised his voice to match Josh's.
"but we're not gonna get off until almost midnight!"
"So?! You're not gonna let a little thing like sleep deprivation get in the way of a good time, are ya?"
Lifting his head so that now his muzzle rested on the flage he was working on, Josh replied "You are the only one I know that comes up with crazy stuff like 'night mountain climbing'...yeah, I'm in!"
Clay smiled. "Good, now lets get this thing back together and on to the other one before the next crew gets here. You know they aren't gonna get around to it."
Josh nodded and his head disappeared once again underneath the flange.
Josh, a German Shepheard, had a strong face, young, yet with a stare wise beyond his years. His entire body was toned and sharp, which was a feature that none of his other co-workers shared with him...none except for Clay. Bent over a pipe, tail in the air, the top of his boxers poked out from the top of his pants, which were dirty from crawling out from under a refrigeration unit to retrieve a tool. He handed the wrench to Clay as they pressed on with their work.
It wasn't four minutes before midnight when the last nut was torqued, completing the repairs to the second flange. The Midnight crew had already arrived and most of them were finishing up their first cup of coffee in the adjoining building.
"Ya see?" boasted Josh, "finished with time to spare!"
"Yup," Clay laughed, "now we've got a whole minute to relax before I let the the others know where we left off, then we'll head over to my place, get some gear, and set off for the trailhead." Clay wiped the rust off his paws and threw his rag at Josh, hitting him in the head and coming to rest over one of his ears.
"Thanks a lot, buddy! I'm gonna put this stuff away and meet you in the front?" Josh yelled as he took the rag off his head and started picking up the wrenches that were lying at his tail.
Clay was already heading for the door, "yup yup!" he yelled behind him as he left to talk to the other crew.
In the front of the complex stood an old brick building, the first building inside the complex's chain-link perimeter, and thereby the last building separating work from the rest of the world. Just outside was the parking lot, much larger than it really needed to be, and dimly lit so that it resembled a vast, flat desert of black asphalt checkered with cars.
When Clay emerged from the brick building he scanned the parking lot for his friend. Josh was sitting on the hood of a random car and and called over to him when he saw his figure in the halo of a street light. "come on, night time's a wastin'!"
"I'm comming, I'm comming. My Jeep's this way." Clay said as he pointed to a small cluster of cars in the distance.
"It's not like you parked far away or anything," Josh chuckled as he shouldered Clay playfully.
"yeah, yeah, we're about to go hiking and you're complaining about walking across a parking lot?" Clay shot back, pawing his arm.
Josh's tail lowered a little as he looked over his shoulder at Clay.
"I'm just messing with you, Josh, geeze!" said Clay and smiled as they headed toward the cars and to his Jeep.
The Jeep rumbled over pot holes and rocks as the two made their way to Clay's house, rocking out to the island's only rock radio station 106.5 "The Fox." Clay lived alone in a large house on top of a hill, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, but more importantly miles away from work. The house was huge, much too big for just him, but that's the way Clay liked it--it was his ocastle--quiet and peaceful. Pulling up the driveway, Josh's mouth fell agape, his tongue hanging out in awe. "Holy crap, you live here?!"
"Haha yeah, I love it here. Come on, I'll give you a tour while I get the stuff we need for our hike" Clay killed the engine and opened the door to the house.
"This is the kitchen" Clay explained, closing the door behind his friend. "I barbecue most of the time, so there isn't much in here aside from the bare essentials."
"How can you live without a dishwasher?" Josh questioned as they walkied through the dining room and into the living room.
"Well, it's just me here...that and the dishes are just for show really. I hate washing dishes so I eat off of paper plates" Clay laughed and winked. "And this is my living room--couch, armchair, computer desk... I actually sleep on my couch because I don't have a bed."
"How do you NOT have a bed?! everyone has a bed!... I have a bed!!" Josh stopped and stared at Clay with disbelief.
"Meh, I just don't care to have one. The couch is fine for me. Besides, whenever I get a little antsy I just put some blankets on the carpet and sleep there, see?" Clay pointed over to a corner next to the couch to a pile of neatly folded blankets. Josh just blinked and nodded his head in understanding.
"And last, but not least, this is my bedroom, or as I like to call it, my 'walk in closet.'"
On the floor of the room were two piles of clothes, just thrown upon each other, unfolded. There was nothing else in the room, nothing but a cheap floor lamp which made the mounds of clothes cast long shadows on each other and the walls.
"Now to the untrained eye, it would appear as if these are just piles of dirty clothes, when in reality, they are actually piles of CLEAN clothes. I don't have a dresser, so I see no need to fold 'em if I have nowhere to put 'em" Clay explained as he walked carefully over to the closet and grabbed two large flashlights, a compass, a machete, and a canteen.
"So no dishwasher, NO BED, and no dresser?! Now I KNOW you're not right in the head!" Josh exclaimed as he scratched his ear with his paw with a puzzled look on his face.
"When did I ever say I was sane, Josh?" Clay joked as he filled the canteen from the kitchen sink and put everything inside his backpack. "So, you ready?"
"You're not gonna get me killed are you?"
Clay just smiled, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and motioned for the front door. Reassured by this somehow, Josh returned his smile and followed him out of the house, closing the door behind them.