RANKED 2nd BY VOTERS IN CHARACTER CREATION CONTEST #75!
Date | Paulette & Chaffin: The War on Wishes #1: | View | Read the... |
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08/05/18 | The First Wish is Free | (Blog) (Forum) | Disclaimer |
Rating | Rating Explanation |
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T | Drug dealing discussed (fictitious drugs). Mild cursing. |
Norfolk, Virginia
Dylan Smack held the capsule with the pale blue light between his thumb and forefinger, and brought it up level with his wide eyes. "Whoa," he whispered. "What is this, homes?" Then remembering that his guys were watching, he became sterner. He shrugged, and said, "XLR8R? Firewater? Frost? Blanks? Evo? Why should I push this instead of Vig?"
"Because this is Wish!... guaranteed."
The man clad in grey plate armor and dressed in blue leaned forward, his mask only revealing his smile, but they would have known he was smiling from the glee in his voice. "Because this is Wish! You'll be able to charge more for each hit, and your customers will pay it... guaranteed."
Rolling the pill between his fingers, the light flickered inside. Watching it play across the walls of the dark, nearly empty warehouse, Dylan said, "Legit? Just how addictive is it?"
Standing up straight again, the man said, "Oh, it's not ...at all. But I promise you that once your customers get a taste, they won't be able to stay away. They will come back for more. And you won't have to solicit anyone after the first few. When others see what it can do, they'll come to you."
Smack scoffed. "Wack. Who ever heard of a non-addictive drug catching on like that?"
"Maybe you'd like to try it?" asked the masked man with a smirk.
"I'll stick to Vig, man." Dylan flipped the pill back to the man like a coin, and the man caught it in his fist. "You're selling dreams."
Smiling smugly, the man said, "No. I'm selling wishes."
Scoffing again, Dylan said, "You stupid, homes." Snapping a finger at his gang, he said, "Let's go, guys."
"Actual wishes. In a pill."
"Actual wishes," the man said louder. "In a pill."
Dylan stopped, and turned back slowly.
"How much would you pay for that?" asked the man.
"Bull," challenged the dealer.
"Again- maybe one of you would like to try it," said the man, offering the pill on an outstretched palm.
"Yo, Smack," said one of his boys. "I'll try it. Just if things get stupid, don't let my moms see me until I'm right again."
The two bumped fists, and Dylan said, "A'ight, C-Note."
C-Note strutted back over to the armored man, looked at his inscrutable mask, and swore he saw light dance behind the white eye lenses. Sniffing once, he picked up the pill, looked at it, and said, "How's this work?"
"Just take the pill, and wish for something."
"Just take the pill, and wish for something," the man said, sounding almost threatening.
"Wish for something?" asked C-Note, looking slightly confused. "Wish for what?"
The man pinched his fingertips together next to the pill in C-Note's hand, and flicked them open, pulling his hands outwards in an exploding motion, and whispered, "Anything!" The whisper seemed to echo around the warehouse, making the other gang members look around nervously.
C-Note snorted once. "Anything," he laughed. "A'ight, homes, we'll see." With no ceremony, he popped the pill into his mouth, and swallowed. He felt no different, but he looked at his chest, and watched the blue light shine from inside him, working its way down to his gut. He laughed aloud, and turned towards his homies, all of whom- even Smack- got wide-eyed. "Will you look at this?" declared C-Note. "A'ight! A'ight, homes!" he declared, pointing back at the man. "You want a wish?" Turning back to the gang, he nodded, smirked, held his arms wide, and said, "I wish I had twenty million dollars and some bitches to celebrate with!"
"What's with these fuggin' dogs, dude?"
His boys started to cheer their approval when a stack of money appeared between them and C-Note, along with ten mutts of varying breeds. The cheering stopped, and the gang jumped backwards before inching forward slightly. "Yo, what the--?" said C-Note. "What's with these fuggin' dogs, dude?"
"You asked for bitches," stated the man. "Bitch: a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter." With a sinister chuckle, he wagged his finger, shrugged, and said, "You could have wound up with wolves, you know." Crossing one arm over his chest, and resting the other elbow on it, he curled a finger against his lip, and said, "The otters might have been cute though. But never foxes. No. Foxes are trouble."
Dylan, having moved no closer to the money and dogs, called out, "Yo. Peeps don't get what they wish for, they gonna start beef."
"Then I suggest you tell them what they should already know: be careful what you wish for," growled the man.
C-Note did a slow walk around the money, and the dogs jumped around him happily.
Dylan looked at the pile of money, and stared at the man for a long minute. Finally, he asked, "How much?"
The man waved his hands, and oil drums of the glowing pills appeared before him. "I'll give you all that you want," he said with a bow.
"What's the catch?"
"Huh," Dylan scoffed. "What's the catch?"
"You have to give away the first hit, and you can't sell anyone more than three," said the man, holding up three fingers for emphasis. "A person only gets three wishes, after all. Remember: you can sell the second and third hits for as much as you like, and they're going to pay."
Dylan narrowed his eyes. "You're pretty sure about this."
"I am."
"Anything else?" Smack asked.
"Just two more things," said the man, holding up a finger. He suddenly disappeared, and reappeared right in front of Dylan, making him flinch. Motioning with his finger for Dylan to lean closer, he leaned to the dealer's ear, and whispered. Then aloud, he said, "And remember: you must tell them this before you sell them the third hit."
Dylan looked shaken, but covered it with a deep breath. "I got one more thing too," he said. "The Liberteens don't work with no one that I don't know."
"Ah, a wise decision," said the man, sounding pleased. Bowing slightly, he said, "You may call me The Wishing Demon," and a guttural growl seemed to come from the masked man.
Smack hid his fear, but began sweating. "You said you had two more things. What's the other one," he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Oh!" exclaimed the Wishing Demon, suddenly standing bolt upright. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, and growled, "Make sure you clean up after your bitches before you leave." With that, he disappeared.
The gang looked over towards C-Note and the money, and saw that three of the dogs were peeing on the cash.
"Damn, C-Note! Clean that crap up, and meet us back at the crib!" shouted Dylan.
"Why me?" complained C-Note.
"Because you're the one that wished for dogs, stupid!" Snapping a finger, he ordered, "Everyone else get those barrels on a truck."
"Yo, Smack," called C-Note, petting one of the dogs as it licked his face happily. "What'd he whisper in your ear? What we gotta tell junkies before they buy a third hit?"
Dylan looked at C-Note uncomfortably. Then he told him.
Next Issue: What do you wish for?. | - |
Please let me know what you think, and thanks! -cb | Originally Presented In: CCC #75. |
Story and characters owned by Chris Bishop, copyright 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
Exceptions: the Real Life Super Hero Project (RLSHP) names belong to the heroes of the RLSHP.
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