Exquisite Corpse: "Get Off My Farm, Punk!” - Chapter Seven

Good golly gosh what a ride! This is part seven of a collaborative story started by @blockurator! I'm running late with my contribution... Sorry bout that everyone! But it's here now for those of you following this story! And for anyone jumping in now here are the first six parts:

Chapter 1 by @blockurator
https://steemit.com/fiction/@blockurator/exquisite-corpse-2-get-off-my-farm-punk-a72c9a1a217a2est

Chapter 2 by @sarez
https://steemit.com/fiction/@sarez/get-off-my-farm-punk-part-2-serial-short-story

Chapter 3 by @quillfire
https://steemit.com/writing/@quillfire/exquisite-corpse-get-off-my-farm-punk-chapter-3-the-genre-shakespeare-refused-to-write

Chapter 4 by @ireenchew
https://steemit.com/steemitbloggers/@ireenchew/exquisite-corpse-get-off-my-farm-punk-chapter-four-4f2f1c1f17815est

Chapter 5 by @fromage
https://steemit.com/fiction/@fromage/exquisite-corpse-get-off-my-farm-punk-chapter-five

Chapter 6 by @dranuvar
https://steemit.com/writing/@dranuvar/exquisite-corpse-get-off-my-farm-punk-chapter-six

And now that you're all caught up... Here's Part 7!

Hotel Lobby

Hampton smiled politely at the hotel clerk. It didn’t appear to help. The swat team had just made their way up the stairs and the girl looked like she was going to give in to a panic attack any second now. He hated resorting to shows of force like this, but according to his witness the suspects were dangerous. He was risking a lot with this move. The courts would say one little boy who had just seen someone baked alive and a mystery phone call weren’t reliable witnesses. Generally he would agree, but it was this or put out an APB on a snake and a bird with a fondness for gold jewelry.

Screams carried down the staircase and filled the lobby. Hampton turned and ran towards the stairs but was pushed backwards by a wall of flames. His head collided with the hard marble floor. He tried to stand back up but his vision blurred and his lungs filled with smoke. The building burned around him. Everything faded to black.

Hotel Room

Fromage was staring out the window trying to ignore his godly captors declarations of love for one another. It was better than the arguing from earlier in the night, but only slightly. Apparently love is a difficult sea to navigate, even for the gods. He watched black vans pull into the parking lot.

“Um... guys?”

The love struck gods continued to coo at each other like excited pigeons.

“Hey! Plenty of time for that later, hopefully when I’m not stuck in a room with you, but we need to go.”

Quetzalcoatl glared from across the room. “Silence human! You should be honored to be privy to-”

The door burst open and men with guns began to file into the room. They screamed for everyone to get down. Fromage would have complied given the chance, but Quetzalcoatl had other plans. The god grabbed his lover with one arm and Fromage with the other. He then unfurled massive wings and leapt from the window with them. He deposited both safely beside their car.

“These insignificant humans dare to threaten us?” Quetzalcoatl spread his wings again and launched himself back towards the window.

“Wait!” Fromage tried to run after him but was held back by Cihuacoatl. He turned back to face her. Her gaze was surprisingly calm in contrast to the destruction Fromage could hear coming from the hotel.

“Stay put human. You can’t interfere with the wrath of a god. Come. Drive me to the ball of yarn you spoke of earlier. Quetzalcoatl will catch up with us.”

The Luxurious Office

“My lord, I gathered them all as you asked.” The thing that had taken the form of a teenage boy was bowing its head politely.

“Thank you. You’ve done well. I have one more task for you tonight.”

“Anything my lord.”

“Quetzalcoatl, Cihuacoatl, and Fromage. I want them brought to me.”

“Forgive me my lord, but is that wise? They are a threat to everything you have worked so hard to build for yourself.”

“Yes, and currently they wish to speak to the prince of hell. If my enemies are actively seeking their deaths, why wouldn’t I help them? Now go. Bring them to me quickly and I may even manage to forget that you questioned my judgment.”

“Of course my lord, my sincerest apologies.” The young boy bowed his head and vanished.

On the Road

“Speak human. The accusations in your silence are beginning to annoy me.”

Fromage kept his eyes on the road. He considered not answering, but blatant passive aggression towards a goddess seemed dangerous. “What Quetzalcoatl did was unnecessary. We were already out. Why go back?”

“To send a message. Humans have been pursuing him ever since he returned. Now maybe they will know better.”

“Maybe he thinks that, but you’ve been here longer. You must know better. If anything this will just make them throw more trouble our way.”

“You’re right, humans are relentless creatures. But it has been a very long time since any human has had Quetzalcoatl to contend with.”

Fromage pulled the car into an empty parking lot. “We’re here.”

“We most certainly are not. I don’t feel divine energy anywhere near this place.”

Quetzalcoatl landed beside the car. His wings shrank into his back. “Why have we stopped here?”

Fromage got out and slammed the car door. “This is it. This is the place you wanted me to take you. So here we are.”

Quetzalcoatl glared down at him. “This can’t be right.”

A young greasy looking boy stepped out of the shadows to address them. “Don’t be cross with young master Fromage. The shard was here, but my Lord thought it best to have me gather all of the shards and deliver them to his care a few hours ago. More recently he has sent me to extend an invitation to the three of you.”

A fire burned behind Quetzalcoatl’s eyes. “And just who is this master of yours?”

A small smile crept up the sides of the boys face. “An old friend. If you’ll follow me sir, my Lord would be happy to answer any questions you may have.” The boy waved his hand in the air and a shimmering hole leading into a waiting room appeared in the middle of the parking lot.

The trio stepped through.

Hospital

Hampton tried to stay asleep. Waking up was dangerous. Snakes, fire, and screaming were all that waited for him in the waking world. He tried his hardest, but the harsh hospital lights won. He slowly blinked awake. His wife was asleep in a chair beside him. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed.

A wave of guilt washed over him. This was far from the first time he’d woken up in a hospital. He didn’t like scaring his wife like this, but he had a job to do. Besides, he always woke up. He was a tough son of a bitch to kill. He crossed the room to where she was sitting. She was always beautiful, but especially when she was asleep.

He reached out to brush some hair out of her face but his hand passed straight through her almost like he was a… He whirled around to the hospital bed and saw himself laying there, covered in burns. Had he spoken to soon? He checked the heart monitor. No, he was still alive. That was a relief, but it definitely left him wondering what the hell was going on.

The Luxurious Office

They waited in silence for what felt like an eternity. When the boy finally reappeared in the waiting room, he beckoned for them to follow him through the large oak door into the office.

Quetzalcoatl’s eyes narrowed into slits when he saw who sat on the other side of the desk. “What is the meaning of this? Cihuacoatl said you were dead.”

Tezcatlipoca smiled back at his old friend. As much as he enjoyed his new life, it was thrilling to be recognized for what he truly was. “You can’t blame her for thinking as much old friend, it cost me a good deal of money to stage my death. Now, I heard you were seeking an audience with the prince of hell?”

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Thank you so very much for reading! <3

With that I pass it on to @bennettitalia who has the super fun task of coming up with an ending!

The image used above is from pexels.com and you can find it here:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-clear-glass-ball-with-flame-1047878/