“*screeeeeee!!!..*chirp…*chirp…nuuuuuu!!!..*chirp…*chirp…”
Jerome had tilted the can slightly downward, the little foal now screaming as she struggled to keep her footing. With the canister’s base being completely translucent, the foal could see how high up she was, her expression of sheer horror growing every second as she slid, inch by inch closer to the can’s opening.
Jerome was laughing, clearly ecstatic at his purchase. Seth watched as the abuser apprentice tortured the newborn fluffy, slowly nodding at the teen’s choice of psychological torment. “That’s good kid, but don’t actually let her fall just yet. Get your money’s worth out of her first.”
Still smiling from the foal’s terrified screams, Jerome looked back to Seth. “Oh what, like you’re some kind of fluffy guru or some shit…” He laughed, clearly intending it to be a playful jab at Seth, who simply shrugged. “Compared to you kiddo, yeah I am.” Leaning down so that he could see the foal, her eyes wide as she chirped and screamed, Seth laughed. “All I’m saying kid is that you probably won’t get another fluffy for a while. So you should take your time with this one.”
Moving the can so that it was level, Jerome started to nod as he looked to the foal. No longer drifting downward to her death, she laid with her nubs splayed outward as she breathed heavily, occasionally letting out a soft but audible chirp as she trembled and shook.
“*wheeze…*wheeze…*wheeze…*chirp…*wheeze…*wheeze…”
“Well since your the old abuse guru here, what do you suggest?” Jerome looked to Seth with a sly grin, the old comment clearly amusing him. Ignoring the small taunt, Seth simply continued. “Well for starters, what are your instincts kid? First idea that comes to your mind, right now.”
Jerome looked to the exhausted foal, and then looked around the back alley of the hardware store, trying to find inspiration. Picking up a nearby piece of cinderblock, Jerome held it up to Seth. “How about we smash her with this?”
Laughing as the kid’s enthusiasm, Seth shook his head. “Well that could be fun but that’d kill her just as fast as falling. Remember kid, foals are very fragile. Whatever kills a fluffy will kill a foal even faster.” Seeing the slight disappointment on Jerome’s face, Seth smiled. “Hey it wasn’t a bad idea, just an overenthusiastic one. Hell if you want, once your done with her, that can be your finale. In the meantime, try to thing lasting. Try to think lingering.”
His face awash with contemplation, Jerome finally snapped his fingers, a smile now on his face. Handing the can to Seth, the teen ran back to the storefront. “Hold this, I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later, he had grabbed his backpack and had a couple of bottled waters in his hands.
Taking the can back from Seth, the teenager had a look of pride on his face. “Check this out…” Holding the canister upright, Jerome began to pour the water into the tube, the foal thrashing and screaming the moment it touched her, her fatigue gone from raw panic.
“*screeeeeee!!!..wawa ba’!!!..nuuuuuuu!!!”
Using his hand to lightly push the bottle away, Seth nodded to Jerome, clearly impressed by his instinct. “Good, but don’t pour too much. You’ll drown her too fast.” Laughing as he put the bottle down, watching the foal flail it’s useless nubs as the water rose past her chest, the foal using her weak back legs to try desperately hold herself as high as possible. “Damn…she sure hates water…”
“They all do kid. Fluffies are notoriously scared of water, to the point where any amount larger than what could fill a water bowl will send them into a panic.” As Jerome nodded to Seth, enraptured with the foal who was now slowly starting to slip, her underdeveloped legs unable to bear her weight as she drifted closer to the water, her screaming mouth now struggling to stay surfaced.
“nuuuuuuu!!!..hew…*gurgle…*hewp…*gurgle…sab’…*gurgle…sab’ ba’beh!..”
Waiting until the foal couldn’t stay above water any longer, her exhaustion to the point that her limbs went slack and she started to bob below the surface of the water, Seth nudged the teenager. “Pour it out. Now!” Slightly jumping at the excitement in Seth’s voice, Jerome jumped, before tilting the can and letting the water pour out onto the pavement below.
“Don’t scare me like that asshole!” Jerome jibed to Seth, elbowing him lightly in the side. Laughing as the sudden outburst, Seth lightly held his sides. “Sorry kid. Just didn’t want you to let her drown by accident…” Seth pointed to the foal within the can. She was gasping for air frantically, laying on her side, her eyes bloodshot.
“*wheeze…*wheeze…*chirp…nyu da’deh am mun’sta!..*chirp…*wheeze…*wheeze…nee’ wun way’!”
The green foal began to try to upright itself several times, it’s quivering nubs collapsing each time, her breathing rapid and sharp as she desperately needed to escape the pair of laughing monsters. Finally in a last frantic attempt to flee, she started to use her front nubs to pull against the glass floor of her tube, trying to drag herself free. Jerome found this especially funny, laughing as he pointed to the hopeless foal.
“Ok Seth, that shit was funny as hell.” The teen lifted the tube back up, shaking it lightly as the foal was battered roughly against her cylindrical glass dungeon. Each impact was followed by a loud shriek and several chirps and whimpering from the injured foal. Seth had crossed his arms, simply smiling at the spectacle. “Yeah, but with all that rattling, she’s hurt now.” Seeing the smile fade slightly from Jerome’s face, Seth waved it off. “Don’t sweat it kid, you didn’t do anything wrong there. But you’re probably going to want to think of how you want her to die, and soon…”
Looking to the tube in his hand, Jerome gasped and then began to chuckle. “Oh fuck!” The glass had several splatterings of blood on the inside of it now, where the foal had struck her head multiple times while her can was rattled violently, at least from her small and fragile perspective.
“…*chirp… … … …*chirp… … … … *chirp… … … …hewp … … … …*chirp… … … … ba’beh…”
Her head was covered in blood, a small portion of her skull now partially concave. While not immediate, it was clear she’d die from her wounds, probably in a few hours. Jerome gave a concerned look to Seth, clearly underestimating how hard he had shaken the can. Seth shook his head lightly, consoling the teenager. “Don’t worry. It’s easier to hurt foals than you’d ever think. She’s still got some fight in her, but whatever you do next, make it count as she’s already circling the drain.”
Putting his hand on his chin, deep in thought, finally Jerome looked to Seth. “I got nothing. I don’t really just wanna bash her in with a rock anymore. You have any thoughts Seth?” Smiling, he walked over to the nearby trashcan, perusing it’s contents, grabbing some old napkins and burger boxes, looking at Jerome as though he were holding treasure instead of refuse. “Always…”
Puzzled, Jerome watched as he tore the cardboard from the burger boxes into strips, wadding it up with the napkins and then forming a makeshift plug, shoving the mass of garbage into the opening of the can. Smiling at Jerome’s confusion, he basked in the realization on the kid’s face as he simply pulled a lighter from his pant’s pocket. “Jesus Seth, that’s fuckin’ diabolical…” Bowing in a parodic manner, he then smiled as he held the lighter out for Jerome. He looked confused at first but then a look of appreciation warmed the teen’s face. “Really?”
Not wanting to spoil the kid’s moment in the sun, Seth simply nodded and handed him the lighter. Jerome walked over to the canister, the foal having managed to upright herself, chirping as she dizzily tried to keep from wobbling, her headwound severely hindering her perception.
“…*chirp… … … …*chirp… … … … … *chirp … …mu’mah … …*chirp… … … …sab’ …ba’beh…”
Flicking the lighter, Jerome ignited the wad of trash, the cardboard and paper catching quickly. As black smoke began to bellow from the burning garbage, the foal’s eyes focused, the horrible sight of the bright orange fire before her quickly clearing the vertigo that her injury had caused, with panic setting in. She instantly ran to the other side of the can, standing on her back nubs as she beat against the bottom cap, screaming as she felt the air within the tube began to heat up.
"*screeeeeee!!!..nuuuuuuu!!!..*chirp…*chirp…pwe’! wet ba’beh ow’t!..*chirp…*chirp…mu’mah!..*chirp…*chirp…sab’…ba’beh…*chirp…*chirp "
As her weak and feeble nubs beat against the bottom cap, her loud chirping and screaming increasing in volume, the fire consumed more and more of the garbage, with the flames creeping ever closer to the foal. Twenty seconds after the fire had been lit, the heat in the tube was so unbearable that the foal was already starting to burn alive, the very air scorching her fluff. Then the plug began to crumble apart, with the burning debris now drifting and falling closer to the screaming foal, with patches of her fur now burned away to reveal the rough red skin underneath slowly blackening as the fire licked towards her.
“*screeeeeee!!! nuuuuuuu!!! *screeeeee!!! *screeeeeee!!!”
In just under a minute, the flames had reached close enough to the foal that her back legs had caught, the pain forcing her to fall belly first onto the burning garbage and hot ash. Her mouth went wide, with her face locked into a violent, silent scream. For a few seconds, the foal tried flailing her front legs, trying to push herself up. But the pain of the flames quickly spread to her nubs as they slid and scraped against the trash fire, forcing her to fall, one last time. As her body shook and seized, the final noises she made sounded far too loud and distorted to come from a fluffy, let alone a foal. At just over two minutes, the fire had claimed the foal’s life.
Despite how quickly it had happened, Jerome was ecstatic. He had watched from beginning to end, his interest never wavering, with the teen actually covering his mouth in shock as the foal had begun to actually burn. After she had fallen down and released her last few death warbles, Jerome was quiet for a while, as Seth silently took the second bottle of water, dousing the flame. Finally, as the fire was quenched, the pile of wet refuse now only giving off a weak trail of dim smoke, Jerome looked to Seth. “Is it like that every time?”
“It can be. You can’t let it stagnate though. You have to keep it creative. And fun of course.” Seth looked to Jerome, the fledgling abuser in him clearly desperate to rise to the surface. “Say Jerome… remember that little get together I did a couple of years ago, right before Independence Day?” Jerome was brought out of his daze, a broad grin slowly growing on his face. “You gonna put that shit together again?” Seth shook his head lightly. “Not exactly the same but similar. As fun as tying bottle rockets to foals and tossing them to their mammas was, it’s like I was saying before. Always change it up. Now, I assume your allowance is more than just $3, right?”
Jerome’s smile faded ever so slightly as it dawned on him. “Oh, right…your cheap ass charges for the fireworks. Yeah I still have some cash…” Laughing Seth lightly chastised his young friend. “I don’t charge for the fireworks Jerome. I charge for what you get to do with the fireworks. And my prices are fair kid, otherwise you wouldn’t be so damned excited.” Checking to see if the burned can was still too hot to touch, Seth carefully gathered it up, carrying it over to his car, the dead foal’s skin congealed to the glass. “Woof…I’ll be riding with the windows down for sure. Tell you what kid, you invite your friends, just like last time, and I’ll cut you a deal. Half off what I charge everyone else if you bring at least four others who can pay. Deal?”
Nodding and seemingly satisfied, Jerome shook Seth’s hand. “Deal. You gonna clue me in on what you got planned for today then?” Seth shook his head as he simply smiled at Jerome. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise…”