Ghouls

My thumbs tapped violently against the XBox remote as the disgruntled groans of servicemen and the desperate screams of civilians amongst the rapid gunfire and supreme explosions echoed through the room. The Call of Duty games had always been favourites of mine. The games themselves never scared me or made me squirm, but this afternoon I jumped out of my skin; not due to the game, but because my phone unexpectedly started going off. Skilfully, I leant up from the couch to lean over the coffee table to look at the screen of my phone whilst still playing the game. As I played, I let my eyes drift down to the phone for a second before continuing. From the screen, I gathered that it was time for me to finish off playing and sort myself out; today I was heading to Chicago!

I finished playing and tidied everything up; putting the remotes back, taking the game out, turning the console off, turning the TV off, cleaning the living space. I then proceeded to pack Hudson’s things; I’d arranged for Mike to take him in while I was away; it wasn’t until recently that I realised I couldn’t take him on the flight and I was not prepared to put him in a kennel, so I asked Mike if he could stay with him and Lexie, which Mike was all too glad to accept. I put his collar and lead on him, his harness in a bag along with his toys, bowls and food before heading to my bedroom.

From there I showered (as I hadn’t really moved in two days,) finalised my packing and dragged my suitcase and hand luggage to the door. I then picked up my passport, tickets and money from the counter and put them in my rucksack while putting my keys and phone in my pocket. I did a final quick sweep of the apartment to check I had everything before leaving. It was half past 1 in the afternoon and my flight left at quarter past 3. That left time to drop Hud off at Mike’s and get through customs with time to spare. The flight itself was 4 hours, 15 minutes long which meant I’d arrive in Chicago for half past 9 local time. I knew before I’d even rolled out of my bed that this was going to be a long afternoon.

I managed to get downstairs with my few, big bags and Hud in record time, all things considered. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs, the apartment block’s security guard, Marcus, noticed my struggle and offered to help take my bags to my truck, which I accepted. We loaded the suitcase into the back of the land rover and put my rucksack and Hud’s bag onto the back seats while Hud jumped into the passenger seat while I held the driver’s door open as I thanked Marcus.

Before long, we were heading to Mike’s. I’d rolled down the passenger window to let Hud put his head out, letting his tongue flap out of his mouth in the breeze. We powered down the coastline with the soothing sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Slow Cheetah pulsing through the truck. Hud seemed to lean back in his seat as he turned his head to watch me sing, his face looking as if he was smiling; enjoying the ride. The moment as almost too bittersweet; although the time spent was probably the best I’d had my entire trip (; there was no worrying or paranoia, funnily enough, no other real people, no drama, no upset; just me and my best friend enjoying the Californian life for the first time since we landed), I couldn’t escape the fact that I was going to have to leave my oldest, closest friend behind while I toured America.

The fun stopped all-too quickly as I pulled up outside Mike’s suburban home. It was a large but fairly modest home (but still much larger than most you’d find in the UK.) As I stared, Hud began to whine next to me. I looked to him to find him sulking; he was no longer smiling but had his tail tucked between his legs, back arched and head bowed, eyes sadly looking up at me.

“C’mere,” I whispered as I opened up my arms and motioned for him to come closer.

He clambered over the small cubby box and gear stick as he sat on my lap, tail wagging quickly while his nose nestled into the side of my neck,his body pressed flat against mine, cuddling.

I wrapped my arms around his body and kissed his head, “I’ll be back soon, Buddy, okay?” I kissed him again, looking down at him. He looked up at me before proceeding to lick my face, making me chuckle.

I pushed his snout away and allowed him to cuddle again while I scratched behind his ears, “I’m only going for a couple of weeks; I’ll be back before you know it.. you’re gonna have so much fun with Mike and Lexie that you’ll barely notice I’m not there,” I noticed small tears escape my eyes as I rubbed my face against his, cuddling him further. “I’m gonna miss you, dude,” I croaked against his fur as I kissed him and continued to scratch his ears. He seemed to let out a long breath as a response, looking up at me and cuddling again as I pulled away.

I jumped as there was tapping at the window. I looked to find Mike and Lexie with her paws against the window, looking in, smiling at Hud which caused him to cheer up; standing up (on my crotch, causing me to hiss in pain as I pushed his foot onto the fabric of the seat) and wagging his tail excitedly, now smiling. I opened the door and allowed for him to walk over me once again and jump onto the floor to greet Lexie.

As they played on the lawn, Mike spoke, “Hey, Kid, y’all okay?” he smiled, holding my hand to help me out of the truck.

“Yeeah, I’m good.. just a bit upset about leaving him; I’ve never really left him any longer than a day before,” I gave him a small smile.

“Aaw, really? Well, he’ll be fine here, I promise,” he gave me a sympathetic smile as I gave him Hud’s bag from the backseat.

“Yeeah, I know.. I’m just gonna miss him,” I said as we watched them play, “well, thanks for this, Mike; I really appreciate it,” I hugged him.

“Aaah, don’t mention it, Kiddo, I’m happy to do it. You enjoy yourself on the road with all them big rockstars,” he rubbed my back and winked at me as we pulled away.

I rolled my eyes, “thanks, Mike!” We chuckled as I climbed back into my seat. I waved to them all as I pulled away, quickly finding my way back to the highway to get back on my way to Los Angeles.

I sped down the highway as my iPod found itself playing Avenged Sevenfold. I smiled at the irony as a song I didn’t recognise made the entire truck vibrate with its ferocity. I let my eyes drift from the road for a mere second just to check the title. Critical Acclaim. My smile beamed as I felt myself drift to cloud nine; forgetting for the moment that I’d become friends with the guys and simply enjoying the skill and talent of the band. Being a fan. My fingers tapped the steering wheel and my head banged all the way to LA; occasionally singing along with the songs I did know.

I got to LAX in no time. I took my iPod from the radio and plugged my earphones in, placing them in my ears. I proceeded to put my rucksack on my back and drag my suitcase from the truck. I then got a 2 week parking ticket (because they had those...) and locked all the doors. I then had to double-check I had everything, again, as I kept panicking I’d forgotten something. I then made my way to the front of the airport and continued in to go through customs.

Notes