Cold Cane

There was Danny, and there was Fuller, about three months before Black Friday, about twelve years after they were born again. They were born as twin brothers, but they weren't identical; Danny was bigger than Fuller. They sat in silence at the kitchen table while Mother Bible Face prepared supper; they were being punnished. Later on, Father Workhorse would give them a caning on their bare ends.

It was a shithole of an existance, this farm life. Kansas was a desolate, flat land which only bread crops and young boys who dreamed of escaping it. And since the depression was about to roll around, the only chance these boys would have to get out of there would be the army. And what a prime time to join the army, as in another decade, there would be another great war to fight. But until these times, the boys would sweat out the hard work and sleep to dream. But it was soon enough that they would find an entirley new fascination: Nanny.

This thirteen-year-old girl from down the way was just what these lonely Kansas boys needed besides a good Coca-Cola kick. Oh sure, they had many other good kicks. Smokin' PawPaw's pipe - that was a good kick. They felt real big and all when they did that. And cleanin' the chickens - that was another good kick. Fuller loved to chop off ther heads and watch the birds run around until Danny finished the job with his foot. They found a lot of good times with the farm animals. Bestiality - that was another good kick. Oh, the boys wouldn't ever admit to it, but they sure enjoyed havin' their way with one of the billy goats they called Zelda. But since Nanny came along, the boys had all forgotten about their crazy kicks. Because now, she was their one and only kick.

They met three times a week. She would ride her horse Jane down the old road and toss a pebble at their window. The boys would sneak out and meet her in the hayloft, where they would make kicks in the candle light. But tonight Nanny didn't seem so eager to have the fun ther boys were hoping for...

"I'm afraid I have some bad news." Nanny told the boys, "I think I might be pregnant."

The news spread around the county fairly fast that Nanny's belly was showing. And soon enough, she was forced to tell her parent's who the father was, as the police were suspecting abuse.

"Now Nanny girl," The Sheriff eased in, "You tell me now who did this to you, or I'm goanna have to be suspectin' it was yo PawPaw."

And this is why the boys had their pants caught around their ankles, enduring some savage caning from Father Workhorse, all the while the Sheriff watching and asking the boys...

"Now you boys better tell me. One of you did it."

Fuller screamed underneath his sobs, "We don't know!"

Thwack!

"You don't speak to the Sheriff like that!" Father Workhorse yelled.

"We don't know, sir." Danny continued for Fuller, "Because we both... we both..."

"Both-a-yas?" The Sheriff strained, and looked at Father Workhorse. Emberrassed, Workhorse only took out his anger on the boys' ends. With that cane. That damn cane.

The boys hated that cane. It seemed that all their lives they'd been afraid of that cane. Just the sight of it made them think of pain.

Thwack!

It was solid wood. An old man's walking cane; the cane of their late grandfather. It was made to be used as a crutch, but Father Workhorse had found a new utility for it. Smashing little boy's behinds in.

"All right Carl," the Sheriff laid a hand on Father Workhorse's shoulder, "that'll be enough. I suppose there's not much the law can do here."

The Sheriff left and father put the cane in it's spot - the umbrella receptacle by the front door. For dinner the boys sat on some cushions that mother had laid down for them. She was nice, but let's not get carried away, she was also a bitch for letting the boys get beat so savagely in the first place. Not to mention she would later indoctrinate the boys with some bible tales before they went to bed and tell them how the only way they could redeem themselves was to become a whore to Christianity.

Mother turns the lights out, leaving the boys to their own thoughts. They were in such severe pain from the beatings. Danny could hear Fuller weep in his bed...

"Hey Fuller, you ok?" Danny whispered.

Fuller sniffles, "I think I'm bleeding."

Danny is angry. He doesn't like to see anybody mess with his brother, even if it's his Father.

"I'm goanna fix that goddamn cane."

Danny and Fuller stand as silently as possible in the foyer, looking at the cane. It sits in the shadows. It's just a piece of wood. It plays innocent, like a gun. But they know that getting rid of that cane would make them feel good, so they pick it up and head out to the barn.

Danny sticks the sceptre in the ground and Fuller pours some gasoline over the top of it. They light a match and set it aflame. The cane lights up the barn, it burns like a column of fire, the flame reaching twice their height. The boys wait and watch it burn like this.

In the warm, red light, the boys' bad memories seem to melt away, and their pain subsides and fades. The flame abruptly extinguishes. They feel new.

But they were expecting ashes. Instead they saw a black cane, as dark as coal, a silhouette of it's predecessor, standing up straight, ready to strike again.

"Why did it stop?"

But then,

The boys hear a snap from behind them. They turn around; it's Nanny.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"What are you doing?" asks Fuller.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Nanny can see some blood stains on the seat of Fuller's underwear, "I didn't know that he would hurt you so."

"Well apparently you havn't met our father." Fuller snaps.

"And his cane." Adds Danny.

"Is that what that is?" Asks Nanny.

The boys nod. The cane stands there on it's own, like it's floating. It has a power. The boys hands are drawn to it. They touch it.

"It's cold." says Fuller.

"Really cold." adds Danny.

Fuller smiles, "Let's break it in half."

Danny nods, "Good idea."

They break the cane in half, and a sound that was all too familiar to the boys was heard - like the loudest thwack! in the history of man...

CRACK!

The cane split in two and a dark black orb pulsated between the two sides of the cane. The boys couldn't move, they could only speculate what the hell was going on. The orb sucked in some haystacks - father was going to be pissed. But then the orb started to grow and soon, it engulfed Danny and Fuller.

The orb subsided and the cane became one again. It fell to the floor, clattering. Danny and Fuller were missing. Nanny covered her mouth with a cold pale hand. She took the cane and left.

Coal Cane

Soft light pours out an open window of a tree house. Inside, Sven and Dansk sit around a small rudimentary card table made from a Magnavox cardboard box. They're kicking around a game of Sheath-Fuck. Sven shuffles the cards and deals them out.

"He said he's bringing his grandma's cocaine."

Dansk's eyes widened. "You mean, like the drug?"

Sven rolled his eyes, "No, like sugar caine. Duh."

"So we get to try some!?"

"Sheath-Fuck!"

"I'm not fucking the sheath." Dansk is serious, "So are we going to try some?"

"What, are you crazy?"

Dansk thinks about it; he remembers how cool Cole Kane looks with his leather, chains and guitar. "Why not? It's not like we're going to die from it."

"Yeah, but... Come on, man. Shit's crazy." They are silent for a bit, and then Sven remembers, "You just want to do it because of Cole Kane."

Dansk looks at him like crazy, "Psch, whatever. I don't even know him that well."

"He kept you from getting raped by that fat guy. Sheath-Fuck!"

"He wasn't going to rape me."

"Whatever," Sven speculates, "The story said he handled you like a ragdoll, like a helpless boy about to be molested."

Dansk yells, "Sheath-Fuck!"

"I don't know why we even play this game if you aren't going to fuck the sheath."

"Nobody ever fucks the sheath. It's just something funny to yell out. Why do you always take everything so literally? I mean, we don't even have a sheath."

"The sheath is the box for the cards."

There is some rustling below, and then a voice, "Hey, let down the ladder!"

"Here's your cocaine."

Dansk pushes the rope ladder over the edge. Shortly thereafter, Fuckle appears at the entrance with a black cane.

Sven looks at the cane, "What's that?"

"It's the cane I told you about."

"You didn't tell me about a cane."

"Yes I did. My grandma's coal cane."

Dansk looks at Sven, "Coal cane?"

"Ooooh." Sven nods in emberrassment, "I thought you said cocaine."

Fuckle laughs, "What? My grandma's cocaine! Ha ha! I wouldn't be surprised. I'm so glad that bitch is dead."

Sven nods, "Me, too."

Dansk stands up; he looks angry. "So what the fuck are we supposed to do with this cane?"

Fuckle is apprehensive of Dansk's hostility, "It's for my pimp costume, bitch. I suppose you'll be going as a fairy for Holloween?"

"What kind of a cane is made out of coal anyway?" Dansk grabs the cane, "Let me see that."

Fuckle grabs it, "Dont!" But Dansk won't let go of the other end, "Let go! You're going to break it!"

But when Dansk yanked the cane back, it cracked it two.

"FUCK!" Fuckle's yell was the last thing all of them heard.

The cane cracked loud, very loud; a snap as loud as an explosion, and then silence. A ball of dark matter hovered between the two ends of the cane. It seems the boys have opened a portal of some sort.

But Dansk couldn't think, he couldn't move. Neither could Fuckle. But they both saw that Sven was missing. The cards scattered over the makeshift table began to sift and vibrate, floating in mid air; they made their way to the dark matter, slipping into it like nobody's business. Like some high flutin' carpetbaggers, they just up and escaped this mess without even leaving a note or blowing a kiss.

How rude, thought Dansk. And then, for some reason, Dansk could hear what Fuckle was thinking, We're about to get clusterfucked.

How do you know? Dansk was curious.

Total Fucking Silence.

But Fuckle was right, because soon three black orbs emerged from within the dark matter and surrounded the boys. Then those three split into sixes, and the sixes into twelves and so on until they were surrounded by a cluster of small black dots, littering the air like fragments of coal.

Dansk thought the worse was about to come when the matter started to converge back towards the dark matter, but instead they both felt a strong jolt that pulled them towards the center, a crack from the cane and then silence. The orb was gone, and the cane was one again. In the place where it was cracked was a new tier of coal, making the cane about one inch longer than it was before.

Fuckle and Dansk were still holding the cane in utter shock. Dansk let go of the cane slowly, and Fuckle set it down on the ground. They looked over at the table; Sven was still missing, along with the cards. The sheath was the only thing left on the table.

"Maybe," Dansk said in a raspy voice, "he's back in bed."

"You fucking idiot!" Fuckle yells at Dansk, "I told you not to touch it!"

"Like I knew that was going to happen! I mean what the fuck was that?"

"I..." Fucke shakes his head, "I don't know man." Seriously, "We have to find Sven. Where the hell did he go? Fuck!"

Dansk looks out the window, "Wait a second..." He approaches the ledge and looks down; he doesn't see the ground. He looks out; he doesn't see anything. Nothing. He begins to wimper, "Shit, dude."

Fuckle observes, too. It seems that the treehouse is suspended in a void. There is no tree, and there is no seeable ground or other forestry. No stars. No moon.

"I think Sven's probably wondering where we are..."

~

In fact, on the other side, everything was in order, aside from Dansk having broken Fuckle's Grandma's cole cane.

"Jack ass! I was going to fucking use that!"

But even here, things were about to go terribly awry. As Fuckle could not channel his anger in the abscence of physical force, he started after Dansk - he pushed him. And since Dansk was close to the edge, he fell out the tree house, falling in such a way that assured the breaking of his neck. He died instantly.

~

But Dansk was alive back on the other side. And after fifty years of deliberation, the two boys decided to leap into the unknown. Fuckle grabbed the coal cane before they jumped. They held hands as they fell, but at some point, they were torn apart, separated. Dansk didn't know where his friend had gone, but before he was able to worry, he saw that he was approaching a warm, red light.

Cole Kane

Sven and Dansk were less than Freshmæn, but they snuck out of lunch with the best of them; them being the "cool" seventh graders - the ones who took risks. These boys had a small figurative scale in their minds, you see. This scale weighed the risks relatively accurate, however it should be noted that one side of the scale was saturated with peer pressure and the overwhelming need/ desire to be cool. This was the side that always tipped down further than the other side - the one which would tell the boys that they could be punnished for their mid-day escapes. Though it could be argued that what the boys really desired was that feeling of freedom.

The boys chowed on Wendy's fries smothered in katsup and sipped that caffeinated syrup called cola, turning their pink stomachs into a cauldron of potential indigestion - no doubt they would feel the effects of such a lucrative meal on the bus ride home. At this approximate time of day, it was bad to be an adult who wished to spend their luncheon inside the Wendy's, as the commotion of a dozen thirteen year old boys would surley raise any sane man's blood pressure. It might not be out of anger from the noise, but from the disappointment he feels; he may not have been so adventurous in his youth.

One of these men, Glenn, sits across from the boy's, his back to them. He doesn't want them to see his old face, or his Fry's nametag. He was alone, and at the moment, felt like something terrible as his presence strongly contrasted with the vibrent youth that was behind him. They were young, had prospects, and were still having at their first chance in life. While Glenn was a desolate plain of deforestation, they still had a flourishing, blossoming ecosystem. Just wait till you get out of college, Glenn muttered to himself. If they're lucky, he thought, the world will be Mad Max by then. Little bastards.

One of the more obnoxious boys holds up his empty fry carton and waves it in the air, "I fancy a second set!"

Sven and Dansk mostly keep to themselves; they are close friends. Dansk asks Sven if he's ready to go back to school, as the High Schoolers will be in soon. Sven looks at the other boys; it doesn't seem like they're ready to go.

"Let's wait until everyone leaves."

"OK." Dansk gets up and heads for the restroom.

He thinks in the stall; Dansk knows about the High Schoolers and what they're capable of. They could do a variety of things. For example, at the moment, Dansk was imagining being made fun of by one of the older High Schoolers. His younger friends would laugh, as they would have no choice. Unless, of course, Cole Kane was there...

The doors to Wendy's burst open - it's Cole Kane. He's still smoking inside, even though it's not allowed.

"You can't smoke in here!" Yells the manager.

But Cole just turns his head and says in a deep, gravely voice, "I know." He continues to walk; his leather jacket doesn't make a sound - he's worn it so much it's like Cashmere. The keys to his Camaro jingle on his side, clanking against his Zippo lighter with Kurt Cobain's face embossed on the side. Cole exhales. A smoke ring outlines his face like a halo. He hasn't shaved. He is, without a doubt, Dansk's hero.

"Something funny?" Everybody stops laughing. Kane's voice is soft but powerful. The High Schooler that took of Dansk's kipot and put it on his head is now a bit remorseful for his actions. He takes the small, round Jewish cap off and sets it on the table next to Dansk.

Cole steps foreward, "I don't think that's where that goes, Bro."

Bro takes the cap and places it, reluctantly, on Dansk's head.

"You think making fun of Jewish people is funny, Bro?"

"No, man - I was just giving him a hard time, that's all."

Cole sucks his cigarette; he's thinking. And then he blows the smoke in Bro's face. "Hard time?"

Bro doesn't know what to say. The fact is, Cole always makes it hard for people to have something to say.

Cole continues, "You say something about hard time?"

"Yeah, like a joke..."

"I don't want to hear anything from you about hard time. Because you don't know what hard time is, Bro."

"I'm not talking about jail, Cole..."

"Well then you aint hearing me clear are you? Because hard time, jail or jokes, it's never a good time for the person who's in it." Cole puts his hand on Dansk's shoulder. "It's easy time for this kid, Bro."

"OK."

~

When Dansk finished in the restroom, he exited only to find in shock, a band of High School kids sitting at the table his friends were at. They had arrived in a rumble of internal combustion and squealing tyres. Because of this, they always showed up without warning.

They left me. Dansk thought to himself in horror. The bastards left me. But Dansk figured they couldn't be too far away. And surely Sven is waiting in some dark corner somewhere for him. So Dansk headed silently out the door, only to run into one of the late coming High Schoolers. Strait into her chest.

"Watch it little perv." she said.

"Sorry."

Dansk dashed out of the Wendy's and towards the alley. In the distance, he could see his friends. But he was suddenly, without warning, taken from behind by some unknown person. It wasn't Sven, he thought, as the person was too powerful. I could be a High Schooler, but when Dansk turned around, the first thing he saw was a nametag that said Glenn in italics.

Some man, Dansk thought, is grabbing me. He might have been in the retail business, but he handled Dansk like a ragdoll, like a helpless boy about to be molested.

"Hel..."

But his mouth was suddenly covered, and his body being taken into a dark place behind a dumpster. When suddenly...

"Aaaah!"

Dansk was released, and he ran fast, but he turned around to see what had happened. And when he saw, he was in fact so ecstatic - it was Cole Kane, with a syringe into Glenn's neck. Some footsteps were approaching - those of his so-called-friends for which he sacrificed his safety to impress so often. But here was Cole Kane, a teenager which Dansk didn't even know, who was killing a man for his safety.

Glenn moaned and weeped, while Cole let his body slip onto the ground easily, respectfully, as if he had won the fight fairly. Cole held his arm - it was bleeding.

"Are you ok?" Dansk asked Cole.

"Heh..." Cole was kind of delirious, "was just about to... well, you don't need to know, kid. I'm fine."

All the boy's approached the scene; they were silent and scared and confused. What with the man with a syringe in his jugular.

"He won't be waking up any time soon," Cole told them, "he's got enough cocaine in his system to kill a man."

"Thanks for saving me." Dansk said; they pounded fists.

"No, bro. You saved me. You see that needle - that was for me."

"You were going to kill yourself?"

Cole pulls out a cigarette and lights up, "When you're my age, you see the world in a whole new shitty light." He reaches behind the dumpster and retrieves a Fender Stratocaster. He pulls out a pick from the strings and begins to strum and sing...

Just a kid.
Just a kiddie kid.
I told my daddy "I...
think I'm goanna cry.
My momma's dead...
she shot her fuckin' head."
He said "Cole Kain...
take some pro-pain,
take some low-pain,
take some cocaine..."