Larry and Ralph

Larry and Ralph

In the early hours of Monday morning, Larry woke up and tugged on the loop, holding him to Ralph. They were lying next to each other in the corner, discarded, left to recover until dawn when the monster would seize them, and the punishment would start all over again. Days and days and days of abuse. Larry didn’t think he could take it much longer. He knew Ralph was worse off, bruised from slipping the day before and tearing his mudguard. The monster hadn’t cared about the pain or the harm done. It growled at them and pressed on, slamming them into the mud and pounding them on concrete.

They needed to escape the monster. They couldn’t live like this much longer.

“Wake up, Ralph,” Larry whispered and tugged again.

“What …but it’s not morning,” Ralph mumbled and sleepily opened his six pairs of eyes.

“Shh,” Larry said, “listen, I think we should make a run for it. Get away while the monster sleeps.”

“Now?”

“Yes, come on. The monster won’t wake up until the sun slants through the blinds. We have time.”

“Where will we go?”

“Down the trail to the woods. We can lose our tracks in the underbrush.”

Ralph pushed away from the wall, wincing at the pain in his side where a mud bruise remained. He glanced up at the bed where a hairy appendage hung down, letting out its stench.  “Okay, let's do it,” he agreed, “I’m tired of smelling that thing.”

They tip-toed their way to the door and carefully pushed it open. The monster rumbled thunder in its lair. The bed creaked as it rolled over. Larry and Ralph froze mid-step, waiting, scarcely daring to breathe. The thunder snorted, stopped, and started up again. Larry nodded to Ralph, and slowly, they eased through the half-open doorway and into the hall. The floors were polished wood, glimmering faintly in the light of the setting moon. Their tread made small squeaking sounds like mice. Ralph turned towards the front door, but Larry stopped and gestured to the back.

“The cat entrance won’t make any noise,” he reminded Ralph and added, “Plus, the monster will think we went for the front door. It may buy us time.”

They crept down the hall of wood and into the kitchen with its cool black and white tiled floors. Larry dared to glance back. He could still hear the rumble from the bedroom. It was distant but steady. They could do this. They could make it to freedom. Slipping through the partition, he waited for Ralph to join him. Together, they stood on the back porch and took in the sensation of fresh air. It was different from when they usually emerged, imprisoned, slammed to the ground with stinky things thrust into their bodies, squishing them, pounding upon them as they walked, jogged, and ran. Without the stink of the monster, the air smelled cleaner, vibrant, and alive.  

“I can’t believe how good it smells out here.” Ralph opened his collar.

“I know.” Larry eased his laces and let his tongue wag, collecting the scents. It was delicious and invigorating, but … they couldn’t linger. Dawn was approaching, and the monster would be up soon, looking for them. “We must keep moving.” Larry could feel the day warming up in the stone beneath his tread. He wanted to get to the woods, away from the house, the monster, and the endless torture.

They jumped down the steps and landed on the damp ground. Larry could feel the crinkle of the dirt. He could smell the fresh scent of dew on the grass and taste freedom in the air. They started to walk faster and broke into a slow jog, building up their strength. Larry felt the stiffness of his body leave him as he began to limber up.

Dawn crawled up the edge of the horizon and brightened the tips of the landscape. Birdsong broke out, welcoming the day. From behind them came a roar. The monster was up. Larry paused to catch his breath. Were they far enough away? Could they hide in the underbrush? Did they leave any tracks? He didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to die.

“What do we do, Larry?” Ralph asked.

“We run,” he said.

Ralph looked at him and gave a nod. “Okay.”

They started to run, clomping onto the dirt path, building up speed, watching the landscape brush past them in a blur of green mixed with shades of blue, a painting brought to smeared life. The dirt gave way to low-cut grass. They were in the park. Cutting across the open space, they found the regular pathway and turned onto it. The concrete was wet from the sprinklers. Water splashed up as they raced by, feeling the endorphins kick in, listening to the bellow of the monster as it reached the park. Would they make it? Would it see them? Pain stitched along Larry’s side, and his breathing started to become forced. He didn’t know if he could keep up the pace. It was relentless, but with every stride, he panted “freedom.” Ralph repeated it with him, and they smiled at each other. They could do this. They could win. The muscles in their vamps stretched to the limit, their heel cups strained, and they found the resources, the second wind, and the rush of the runner high. This time, the rush was not accompanied by the stench of the hairy appendages.  

 The monster roared again, closer this time. Larry risked a glance over his heel and saw the hairy beast drawing closer and closer.

“Quick, this way!” He made a sharp turn, barely hanging on to Ralph with their knotted ties.

It was a path they hadn’t been on before. Larry raced down it, feeling twigs and old leaves crunch beneath his outsole. Ralph was next to him, both of them matching stride for stride, feeling life flow through them. Behind they heard the thunder of the monster. It was catching up. Larry rounded the corner and suddenly screeched to a stop. They were at the edge of a high cliff. Ralph dug his heel in and stopped as his toe box spit gravel into the valley at the bottom. The two friends panted, looking down. The land was far below. The sky was an endless expanse of blue before them. They had nowhere to go.

“What do we do now?” Ralph asked, breathing hard.

“I don’t know,” Larry confessed. “One thing’s for sure, though, I don’t want to return to that life. This morning, with you, running on our own, feeling the earth beneath us, smelling the freshness of life … I don’t want to go back.”

Ralph tightened his loop hold. “Me either.”

“What do we do?”

The monster crashed through the underbrush, hairy, sweating, and snarling. It saw them and growled. Larry took a step back, feeling the cliff beneath him.

“Let’s keep going,” he whispered to Ralph.

“Really?” Ralph asked.

Larry turned his back on the monster, grabbed tight to Ralph, and said, “Yes.” And together, they leaped off the cliff and flew into freedom.