chapter 20
- - -    - - -  - -  – - - –- doin battle –- - - - - - - - - -
Evry body hit the deck.
exept me.
—i dont see im⋞  i said ⋟
—dont look downhere⋞ D hisst from under the table ⋟he has to think
your alone.
i still didnt see him. course there were alota people around.
—whatre yall gona do to im?
—knock im  out. whado you think we’re gona do, kill im?
thats when i saw taylor. he was makin his way tword the table, pretendin not to see me.
as he walkt by, he happend to notice me. i could almost
see the stage directions.
—Oh hey i didnt see you there, mind if i sit down a sec?
—um, sure.
—c'mon, i’m not that bad am i?
—no its not that.
i didnt wana betray my new friends. but neither did i wana
hand over taylor like i was judas.
taylor could tell somethin was up, tho i think he interpreted it
as me tryin to get rid of him.
—well i hope ya dont mind if i atleast sit here a second.
taylor flopt down into a chair and put his backpack on the table.
there was a bulge in it that lookd suspishusly like a camra.
—actualy, you gota minute? i may go ahead and shoot some test footage.
—would i hafta be in the test footage?
—well you wouldnt have to—
they must of grabd him then, cause
all of  a sudden taylor lookd at his feet and tried to push his chair away
from the table but was unable to do so.
p i t c h e r s a n d c u p s we n t f l  y   i    n p i t c h e r s a n d c u p s we n t f l  y   i    n p i t c h e r s a n d c u p s we n t fl y i n p i t c h e r s a n d c u p s we n t fl y i n p i t c h e r s a n d c u p s we n t fl y i n
the table lifted up the table lifted up The table lifted up
i thought somebody was stuck under there—
until i realized that D had aholdof the table.
she was infact lifting it over her head.
—whad i do?⋞ taylor askd ⋟
—time for words is past, taylor⋞ D ⋟
D threw the
t a b l e
Taylor caught it.
now that they were out in the open, i saw that andy and doctor shit hammer each gript one of taylors ankles.
—can you atleast gimme a reason?
—you know perfectly well the reason taylor,
quit trynta distract me.
Taylor threw the table.
D just barely duckd it.
T a y l o r s q u a t t e d d o w n T aylor s q u a t t e d down T aylor s q u a t t e d d o w n
punchd shithammer’s p u n c h d shit hammer’ s p u n c h d shit hammer’ s nose.
shit hammer let go of l e t g o o f l e t g o o f his ankle. his ankle his ankle
D advanced D advanced D advanced D advanced D advanced D advanced D advanced
T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d A n d y ’ s f a c e A n d y ' s f a c e A n d y ' s f a c e
shit hammer g r a b d a t g r a b d a t g r a b d a t Taylors ankle.
T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d shit hammer s h i t h a m m e r s h i t h a m m e r in the face.
D came at taylor with her wedge attack—
Taylor brushd it aside.
Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot but Andy held fast.
D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot D took a shot at Taylor  ’s chin. duckd.
she hit the top of his head.
thwok--
like punching concrete.
she tried to play it tuff but it clearly hurt.
T aylor kickd T aylor kickd T a y l o r k i c k d T a y l o r k i c k d T aylor kickd
Andy A n d y A n d y A n d y in the face.
Andy got tired of bein kickd,
he took a swing t o o k a s w i n g t o o k a s w i n g t o o k a s w i n g t o o k a s w i n g t o o k a s w i n g at Taylors balls. crack! c r a c k ! c r a c k ! c r a c k !
[ he musta been wearin a cup ]
Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot Taylor y ankd his foot free—
D t u r n d a r o u n d . t u r n d a r o u n d . t u r n d a r o u n d . t u r n d a r o u n d . t h r e w i t t h r e w i t t h r e w i t t h r e w i t
pict  up a ch air p i c t u p a c h a i r p i c t u p a c h a i r p i c t u p a c h a i r p i c t u p a c h a i r
Ta y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r dove outa the way—
went into a roll
popt up nexto his backpack.
D moved in for another strike.
Ta y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r reachd into his
pack
came out with somethin weird—
one a those triangle boomerangs.
T aylor threw it— caught it. threw it—
D dodged
it saild past her back to taylor.
pluckd it p l u c k d i t p l u c k d i t p l u c k d i t p l u c k d i t outa the air—
tossd it aside like a broken toy.
Taylor grabd a pitcher.
D tried to block it t r i e d t o b l o c k i t t r i e d t o b l o c k i t t r i e d t o b l o c k i t t r i e d t o b l o c k i t t r i e d t o b l o c k i t but it got past her—
like one of those wild goals in soccer.
\
—
crick!
/
Deidra saw the look of alarm on my face.
she gave her atention to me, jus for a second—
which she shouldnt of done, i now realize.
tho i did apreciate the gesture.
—dont be afraid a-l, we’re just doin battle. b a t t l e b a t t l e b a t t l e \|/
smack
a roundhouse kick to the face!
you could hear it hit,
like somebody puntin a football.
D stood there, tottering—
her face a blank.
if she was feelin pain it didnt register, but she musta been.
i dont know how she was still standing.
Taylor couldnt believ it either.
he lookt around. he was clearly set on
incorporating a prop into the knockout blow.
but his bag of trix was nowhere to be found.
[ i think andy snagged it ]
T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r T a y l o r l e a p t across the patio—
he swung
grabd something off the ground—
D’s purse!
D
sudenly realized the threat to the
sleeping chihuahua.
Taylor had no idea.
—N o o o o o o ! [ evrybody gasped ]
Andy dove A n d y d o v e A n d y d o v e A n d y d o v e A n d y d o v e A n d y d o v e
D threw up a hand
—yirp!
[ that was fermina ]
Taylor had the oh shit look. i think he just realized who was in that purse.
—you fuckd up.
[ cant remember who said it, we were all thinkin it ]
taylor backd away.
—i didnt know fermina was in there.
—she lives in there⋞ andy said ⋟
—how was i sposta know that?—
-— hirr. hir- hrrr...
it sounded like— wimpering!
suddenly--
T aylor lookd at the purse—
D
he was out before he hit the ground.
—hrr. hirr, hrrrrr.
—a-l, can you hand me my pruss.
i was still stund from how quick the fight ended.
—chop-chop.
i handed her the purse.
—luckily for fermina, taylor swings a purse like a girl⋞ D ⋟
—what about him?
i glanced at taylors still form.
—dont wory about taylor, he’s taken alot worse than that
and lived to film again.
—hr, hirrrr.
D removd the chihuahua gingerly. she had little
hobbit fingers that were perfect for this kind of work.
fermina trembled. her eyes rolld like a horse in a barnfire...
til she recognized deidra. that calmd her down a bit.
—she’s fine. mightof even dunner some good.
D held fermina up to her face.
—i’m so prouda yooou. you distracted that mean ole taylor so i could
kickim in the face, yes you did lil darlin. here, hold this.
she handed me fermina.
fermina’s mouth fell open during the transition, and it stayd open. her breath envelopd me in a cloud of foul. i was tryin to decide if it was bad form to close her mouth for her.
D started rootin around in her purse.
—the thing about doin battle that you always gota
remember, a-l— its not who strikes most that wins, or even who strikes the hardest...  its who strikes last.
D found what she was lookin for— a box
of cold medicine. you know that dayquil/nyquil variety pack? it was
one a those, but generic.
she popt two blue pills into her palm and pried open the slumbering taylors mouth.
—you hafta be firm with taylor or he’ll walk all over you.
she forced a pill down his throat til his reflexes tookover.
—its just nyquil.
—oh, i know⋞ i said, as if that explaind things ⋟
she fed taylor another pill.
—itll make it easier, trustme. we wont have to tie the knots nearly
as tight.
This was the point in the night, i think, when i decided it was easier just to pretend evrything was normal.
—speakina knots⋞ D ⋟andy can you go get kathleen?
—you go get her,
andy said, then he went to get kathleen.
[ she was inside, gettin more drinks ]
D lookd at me.
—whyre you holdin fermina?
—you gave her to me.
—just while i got the nyquil, not forever. take some initiativ.
i put fermina back in D’s purse.
she lookd kinda uncomfterble. so i took the initiativ to make a nest for her out of some bar napkins.
fermina burrowd into the napkins and slipt off to dreamland.
andy came back, sans kathleen. he pickd up taylor and threw im over his sholder, like one a those giant bags of dogfood.
—wheres kathleen?⋞ D askt andy ⋟
—she on her way.
—i need her now.
—then go get her now.
—i took a serius blow andy, dont even start with me.
—i got kickt in the face, D. twice.
—so? i been knocktout by taylor multiple times. ive lost teeth.
thanks, by the way, for hangin onto his ankle.
[ she said that sarcasticly ]
—i had a clear shot at his balls.
—he wears a cup dude.
—i realize that, now.
—well, bygones be bygones, lets get im shackeld.
andy carried taylor over to the table [ which dave and jondavies just finishd settin back up ] and laid him out like a fish they were fixin to clean.
—get his hands first⋞ D said ⋟
i thought she was talkin to me for a second. but she was actualy adressing kathleen. she’d just walkd up behind me.
kathleen said—
—gimme some room.
we gave her some room.
she sat down in front of taylor, tookout a crochet hook, and went to work. first she made a little band of light-blue, it lookd like a scarf for a baby. then she wrapt it around taylors wrists and stitcht it closed.
soft handcufs, minus the key.
she set about reinforcing the little band until it wasnt so little anymore. kathleen was intense with that croshay hook, it was hard to take your eyes off it.
at some point in the process, taylor woke up in a panic—
—wheres my camra?!
—your camras fine dude, dont worry. hold is legs yall.
andy grabd one leg, johnson the other.
taylor seemd to consider— fight or lie down?
dreamy— drowsy—
lie down.
—whad you give me?
—dont freakout, its just nyquil.
—no, i like it. i feel kinda— woozy.
—isnt it nice not to hav to pace about franticly?
—yeah. i dont even wana film.
—somebody write that down⋞ andy said ⋟
i wrote it down. i think jondavies may have as well.
—you know what i feel like doing?
—this aint fantasy island, taylor.
—lissening to electric ladyland. on headphones.
—does anybody have an ipod?⋞ andy calld out ⋟
—with electric ladyland on it?⋞ johnson said ⋟
—the whole album⋞ taylor added ⋟
taylor nodded off.
—nows a good time to get  is legs.
kathleen started crocheting shackles for taylors legs.
her fingers were a blur. you could actualy watch the bonds grow bigger.
change colors, too. she was working with a blue pallet.
The only problem with pretending evrything is normal, is that eventualy you start to believ it. here they were in the process of shackling taylor like it was bisness as usual with no reaction from the resta the bar aside from a few compliments on kathleens needlework, and me, rather than be like, peace out yall buncha freaks orwhatever, i thought, good, thisll keepem busy for a while, i can try claire again.
i grabd a phone off the table, i dont know who s it was. i didnt realy giv a fuck.
took it to a dark corner of the patio. flipt it open.
1:26. a.m. shit.
she might be up. better try one more time anyway.
8 1 7—
right?
was i seriusly forgetting the area code?
deep breaths.
817, 664, 5091. send.
—we’re sorry, the number you are trying to reach is nottin service.
have i been dialing the wrong area code all along?
no, cause i got her voicemail. i even got her, once, sortof.
the other way, justin case.
871, 664, 5091. send.
—we’re sorry—
back to the first one—
817 664 5091 send.
[ silence ]
[ silence ]
click.
a new low— it didnt even ring.
I gotback to find taylors legs bound, knee-to-ankle, in what lookd like a giant legwarmer.
taylor sudenly jerkd awake, his eyes wide with horror—
—wheres my camra?!
—your camras fine⋞ D ⋟remember?
—oh right.
taylor tried to move his legs. faild. tried to move his arms.
i think he was only now realizing that he’d been shackeld.
—you didnt hafta do that⋞ taylor ⋟
—your not filmin im tonite⋞ D ⋟
—but i wasnt—  how was i spose to—- i just ran into him.
—and you happend to have your camra on you?
—i cant leav it in my car, its a two thousan dollar camra.
—maybe in nineteen eighty six it was⋞ andy ⋟
—you can untie me. i promise i wont film im.
—sorry taylor. you only get one firsday, and he aint spendin it in your movie.
—can somebody atleast give me a sweater to lay my head on?
—why the eff would we have a sweater, its june?
—i ve got an extra shirt⋞ johnson ⋟
johnson untied a flannel shirt from around his waist.
—johnson you been livin in oregon too long⋞ D ⋟it aint gona be
cold enough for that til october.
taylor lookd concernd.
—is that clean?
—is that clean?⋞ johnson mockd ⋟your our prisoner,
take it or leav it.
taylor took it.
he laid back and lookd at the sky.
—do you by any chance know where andromeda is?
—y know what my father would say?⋞ D ⋟
—whats that?⋞ taylor ⋟
—if it was up yer ass youd know it.
—did you drug me?
—dude weve been over this already, i musta kickd you harder
than i thought, your not havin double vision, are you?
—i might be.
D tookout a flashlight and shined it in taylors eyes.
—your fine.
i mustof been lookin concernd again, cause D said—
—dont frett, a-l. this is how we show taylor we love im.
i laffd. but at the same time i suspected it was true.
Kathleen croshayd like a grandmother on meth. she already had taylors
arms and legs secure, and now she was goin back and addin decorations—
a smileyface for his wrists, and for his legs
a
flower—
.
it
was
the
firstime i’d ever lookd at an instrument of bondage and thought—
how precious.
as soon as she fastened the button in the middle of the flower, kathleen put down her hook.
—done. unless you want me to felt it.
—nah, this’ll suffice⋞ D ⋟
—hey, whada yall say we make like shepards and get the flock
outa here?⋞ andy ⋟
taylor lookd distraut.
—your just gona leav me here?
—no way dude, keep your friends close but your enemees closer.
—your takin me with you?
it nearly broke my heart to see how excited taylor got
at the prospect of hangin out with us.
even if it was as our prisoner.