Page 24 of Finding Jeremy
“I swear to you, kid, if you don’t get me out of here, I will make you regret it!” Chaos bellowed. “Don’t know how yet, but you best believe you’ll find worse than random Ghostface masks in every closet you open up! I will stick them to the insides of the lampshades this time and on the goddamn bathroom mirror and inside the shower too!”
He couldn’t help it; just the memory of his old man’s month-long Halloween prank left him doubled over, laughing, while Gray whipped his phone out and started taking pictures too.
“Shouldn’t we get him out of there?” River asked in between giggles as Chaos wiggled, trying and failing to rock the hammock enough to flip himself over in order to set himself free.
“Always knew there was a reason I liked you, kiddo!” Chaos bellowed, squirming again. “Yes, you really should get me out of this fuckin’ thing.”
All the yelling brought Haven and Loki-Bear rushing over, and like Gray, Haven had come armed, with a heavy, black metal flashlight he dropped the moment he spotted Chaos. Haven groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes before he started chuckling, while a barking Loki-Bear spotted the big, trapped biker who always fed him yummy bits of meat and trotted over to lick his face.
“Awe, I know, boy, this is some bullshit, isn’t it!” Chaos said, unable to reach out and pet him in response. “You make them let me out of here, and I’ll fix you a big, juicy steak.”
That fluffy tail wagged a mile a minute, sending up bits of fluff as he woofed at Chaos in between covering his face in doggy slobber.
There was no denying the humor in that moment. Chaos swung squirming between two sturdy trees wrapped up in the webbing of the hammock like a bug stuck in a spider’s web, helpless to free himself or do anything but holler and glare between the mesh at all of them.
Focusing, Jeremy took several more pictures, moving so he could capture Loki-Bear lavishing affection and drool all over Chaos’ face while his old man grimaced. The echo of booming laughter erupted through Haven’s phone, a sure sign that he was sharing the mishap with Maddox via video stream.
“If you fuckers are done having fun at my expense, I seriously gotta take a piss here!” Chaos complained, though he was no longer yelling, no doubt because he didn’t want to scare Loki-Bear, who they all knew had been given a rough start in life before Maddox had brought him home to live with him and Haven.
That just made Maddox laugh harder, while River scurried forward and Jeremy clicked the camera button a few more times before tucking his phone back in his pocket so he could help.
“Told you not to get one without a frame,” Jeremy grunted as he and River tried to flip the thing. “You had to know this would happen.”
“Didn’t know shit besides it was on sale and I wanted something the rest of you wouldn’t claim,” Chaos grumbled. “A man shouldn’t have his favorite napping spot usurped by mouthy little hammock thieves.”
Snorting, Jeremy glanced over at the other four hammocks swinging between the trees his folks had planted when his old man had first bought the place.
“No one else was here, pops; you could have used one of the other ones,” Jeremy hissed as he and River shoved again and only managed to swing him, rather than spin him and set him free.
“Here, scoot over. You two take the ends, and I’ll take the middle,” Gray remarked, nudging Jeremy until he moved.
The humor in his voice was unmistakable. With him adding brute strength to the process, they were able to lift and flip the hammock, not realizing the mesh was so tangled up that all they managed to do was spin him over, tangle him more, and give Loki-Bear another opportunity to lick him.
“We might have to cut him out,” Gray said as he stepped back for a moment and eyed the tightly wrapped rope and meshJeremy had been attempting to tug at. “Or at least cut one of the ends.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“You want out?” Gray shot back.
“Just see if you can untie it.”
“How, when there’s no more slack?”
“We can try shoving from the other side,” River offered. “We might have to spin him a couple times, but that might work.”
“It’s worth a shot since he’s being stubborn.”
“Just spin me already!” Chaos muttered, sputtering when Loki-Bear licked him again.
“Haven, stick Maddox in your pocket and get over here,” Gray said. “We need all the hands we can get. Someone’s been feasting on his own barbeque a bit too much.”
“You best believe I’ll be the only one feasting on it if you fuckers keep it up,” Chaos complained.
Three flips later, Chaos hit the ground with a groan and a thud, only to find himself pounced and pranced on by Loki-Bear, who was happy to see him freed. Sputtering and struggling to fend off the dog, Chaos finally went sprinting towards the house, their laughter following him as he vanished inside.
“Damn, talk about a homecoming. You don’t see that shit every night.”
“Thank the goddess for that,” River said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’d better get going before Lux starts worrying, or worse, finds the coffee ice cream I shoved in the back of the freezer and kills it before I have the chance to turn it into a milkshake.”
