#10
I slowly walked around my neighborhood, taking in it’s charms for the last time. I wandered past the abandoned playground with it’s toppled over seesaw and half broken swings, then past the crumbling old folks home where the people outside yelled at me from their wheel chairs as I strolled past.
As their shouting faded, I thought to myself, “Man I’m gonna miss this place.”
I think Steve knew what I was thinking, because he bumped into my leg and looked up at me with his mouth hanging open.
I smiled at him and went to pat his head, but before I could, he went bolting away from me. He jumped across the street and into the alleyway barking wildly.
“Steve!” I cried. “Where are you going?!”
This blog contains affiliate links that I could make money from at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Running Into A New Friend
Thankfully I was able to follow his barking. Otherwise I never would have found him. It was almost like he was trying to lose me with all those twists and turns. Finally though, I found him laying on top of a struggling man.
“Steve! What are you doing!? I’m so sorry sir,” I said as I pulled Steve off this new friend.
He barked and tried to lick the sort of familiar man’s face.
I wrapped my hands around his neck and yanked him off, falling back on the sidewalk.
The man sat up and brushed the dog prints off his black T-shirt. He didn’t seem that big when Steve was on top of him, but as he moved, his beefy arms bulged out. This guy definitely works out and I was sure I was dead meat.
“I-I’m so sorry,” I tried. “He’s um, he’s got a mind of his own.”
He glared at me and slicked back his black hair.
“You should keep that thing on a leash,” he complained.
I laughed awkwardly as I held Steve back.
Before this new friend could say anything else, he got wide eyed and twisted back to a satchel with its flap hanging open. He rummaged through the bag and looked back at it’s spot, now noticing it had fallen over a sewage grate in the road.
“No, no, no,” he mumbled as he hung panicked over the grate.
“Did, um, did you lose something?” I asked.
He glared up at me and sneered, “Your mangy mutt knocked a vial out of my bag and I think it’s just entered the sewer system.”
I pulled on Steve as I leaned back and answered, “Well, maybe we could help you find it? What exactly was in it?”
The man hung his head, then reluctantly answered, “It doesn’t matter what’s in the vial, only that we get it back.”
The Suspicious New Friend
Honestly, between his threatening us and evil looks, it’s all a bit of a blur until we got into the sewers. Boy did I regret that suggestion to help. You know that slime craze that was going on? Ok, imagine that stuff with mushy chunks and the whole rainbow of colors. I really wonder what some of these people have been eating. I almost wish this new friend didn’t have such a good flashlight.
To distract myself from the goop I was treading through, I began with my normal childish fashion, “So, um, my name’s Comet. What’s yours?”
He paused and stood straight before he snuck a glance back at me. For a split second I could’ve swore he was a different person. His shoulders relaxed and his breathing slowed. His eyes had the most pained look like his parents just told him his dog was hit by a car. Then he shook the stare, and went back to his usual guarded stance.
“I’m Matt,” he answered.
That was that. No more, no less. Seriously this guy was like a brick wall in more ways than one, and I was stuck in a sewer with him. Yikes.
Even though this guy freaked me out, I really couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him. Maybe we frequented the same coffee shop a few years ago? Who knows.
Soon enough though, we had reached a Y in the tunnel, and this clump of “things” that had been flushed or washed down the drain had collected into a slimy mass.
Without hesitation, Matt shoved his hands into the glop, letting it make bubbling and spitting sounds as he moved around.
After a few minutes of watching him, I couldn’t take it anymore, and I had to turn away. Especially when Steve popped his nose in it to try and help.
Holding my mouth for dear life, I glanced around and happened to notice something shining in another clump of undefinable mush.
“Hey Matt,” I called.
He glared back at me and I pointed to the little lump by my feet. He sloshed over, and pulled out the mucky vial in his crud covered hands.
“You couldn’t have mentioned this sooner?” He asked sarcastically.
“I swear I just found it,” I answered holding my hands in the air.
He rolled his eyes back and started walking away. To my disgust, Steve happily followed behind splashing past me.
The Not So New Friend
We finally reached the entrance and Matt climbed out first, carrying Steve with one hand. Was this guy trying to make me feel like a weakling?? Cause it’s working!
Anyways, I heard a mess of voices above my head and once I finally got out of the stench hole, I saw three other guys of much bulkier, and more threatening builds, standing around me.
“Oh! This is the guy who helped you out huh? What a real Charlie!” One of the men said as he patted me on the back.
“More like a good Jim really,” Matt returned coldly.
The man stared at him for a few seconds before taking his hand off my back.
To fix the awkward silence and possibly escape these hulking people, I nudged Steve away and said, “Oh really, I was glad to help! It was actually my fault in the first place. I really need to get a leash for Steve here.”
I’m assuming their next questioning glance was because I called the dog Steve, but I wasn’t about to hang around for more conversation.
“Well, I’m gonna get going. I hope you guy have a good rest of your day!” I finished before nearly running away.
Steve stuck close to my side and we slipped down an alley, safely out of sight from the body builders and the now sort of small Matt.
“Steve, you’ve gotta stop doing that,” I scolded.
Before we left the alley though, I realized something.
Matt, was a joke my college roommate and I made up. He was supposed to be the stereotypical jock, but was a complete moron. So whenever the jocks started messing with us, we’d call them Matt and start laughing hysterically while completely confusing everyone else.
“Was that…..was that my roommate?” I though. “Was that a test to see if I’d remember him?”
I looked back down the alley, and made a really dumb decision. I walked back to the group of living muscles, and could clearly see my old roommate standing with them.
“Beck?” I called out to this new friend of Steve’s.
The three men glared at me a lot less friendly than before as Beck squeezed his eyes shut, and hung his head low.
“Well, looks like we’ve got ourselves a Johnny,” The man said before lunging at me.
That’s It!
Thank you for reading chapter 10 in The Adventures Of Comet And Steve! I post every other Tuesday so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! I also post about my adventures thought adulthood. If you’d like to read those posts, click here. If you missed the last chapter of Comet And Steve, click here.
Thanks again for reading this installment of The Adventures Of Comet And Steve! Please leave your email below if you like the series and want to read more, and please share on your favorite socials! I’ll see you in a few weeks!