Letting It All Hang Out

The Cooler: Chapter 28

“Is this is really what Peter said I have to do?” JJ asked as he took off his shirt.

“Yes, and maybe your pants too, but he said we can try with them on first,” Raul said.

They were both standing behind the bar’s shopping center. It seemed that the influence from the vessel only extended out to apartment’s property edge. Once they got near the bar, their heads cleared, and they could remember what they needed to do. Neither of them could remember exactly what the vessel looked like, but they could at least remember that they needed to get it to Peter.

“Alright,” JJ said, handing Raul his shirt. “And he thinks this will work?”

“Yes, Peter told me that the tattoos that Aku Aku gave you will show the vessel that you are a friend,” Raul said.

“If I have the tattoos, why do I have to take my shirt off?” JJ asked.

“He said it was like that show, Greatest American Hero. He said that just like the hero, you had to show your suit, or in your case your tattoos, so that the world could see who you are,” Raul said.

“Ok, well, I guess I won’t stand out much from the rest. Maybe just a little underdressed since I’m not wearing a t-shirt,” JJ said, stealing himself. “Well, I’m off.” He started walking towards the building.

“I’ll be here,” Raul said to JJ’s back.

JJ crossed his arms, trying not to feel so naked while he walked up to the gate for the building.

“Nice ink,” the FBI agent said to JJ as he unlocked the gate

“Thanks,” JJ said, then headed up to his place. Opening up the door of his apartment, he didn’t have any of the fogginess he had felt ever since he had gotten that statue.

“There it is,” JJ said, picking it up. It was as beautiful as everyone had said. Now that it wasn’t hiding, JJ could see its true form. The wood was Koa processed in multiple ways to make it different shades. There were different colored precious stones that defined a lei, eyes, and other details.

“Wow,” was all JJ could say as he picked it up. He looked around for something he could find to protect it.

He didn’t see anything, so he went into his bedroom. The result of his experiment with the laundry room was still piled on the floor. He would grab an item when something he had been wearing got too pungent. He kicked the pile and found a lonely sock that looked like it could be considered mostly clean.

He grabbed it and slipped the statue into it. Luckily, the elastic was shot, making it look like it could be worn by a small giant, so the statue easily slipped in. As it slipped from view, JJ heard a low rumble.

“Its to protect you,” JJ said, to what he thought was a complaint by the statue.

There was another rumble.

“I promise I will take you out as soon as we get to Peter’s,” JJ said, followed by what was a resigned rumble.

***

“Why did you bring a beer?” Raul asked when he saw JJ walking up with the sock in his hand.

“It’s not,” JJ said, then slipped the statue out enough that Raul could see the top of it.

“Oh, wow, that is really…wow,” Raul said. He stood there stunned for a moment and then finally said, “Let’s get this to Peter.”

“First my shirt,” JJ said.

“Are you sure? The vessel might start hiding itself again if you cover your tattoos,” Raul said.

“Shit, Ok,” JJ said, resigning himself to having to spend the drive with his shirt off.

The two of them walked back to Raul’s car still in the apartment parking lot.

Hearing some arguing, JJ looked for the source. Now standing next to the agent at the gate was the woman from the publishing company, still on her phone. She seemed to be the source of the noise; she was yelling at the agent and some person on the other end of the phone call.

“Good time to leave,” Raul said, lifting his chin towards the pair. “I’m sure lawyers and guns will be out soon.”

Raul started the car, and they left the parking lot just as a group of agents came down the stairs to support the lone one being mauled by the woman.

As they drove over to Raul’s place, JJ started to hear some music coming from somewhere.

“That’s an interesting choice in music,” JJ said.

“What music?” Raul asked.

“That Polynesian music,” JJ said, reaching for the radio controls, finding them unresponsive.

“That radio hasn’t worked in years,” Raul said.

Not quite knowing why he was hearing the music, but enjoying it anyway, he sat back and closed his eyes to enjoy the personal concert.

“We’re here, sleeping beauty,” Raul said, waking JJ.

“Uh, ok,” JJ said, shaking his head, trying to clear the sleep. He had been dreaming of great voyages across endless oceans.

They had gotten to Raul’s place. It was a townhouse in a good neighborhood.

“Hi, Mrs Kravitz,” Raul said, waving at a nosy neighbor who was peeking out her window.

“Really, her name is Kravitz?” JJ asked.

“No, I just call her that because she is so nosey and always calling the HOA on me,” Raul said.

“Hey Peter, we’re home,” Raul said as he opened the door.

“In the kitchen,” Peter yelled back.

The front door opened into the living room where there were large sheets of paper strewn everywhere with intricate patterns drawn on them.

“We’ve been practicing protection symbols,” Raul said, referencing all the drawings.

“Hmm, not bad,” Simon said. “With a little work, these might be possible to keep a basic trickster spirit trapped for at least a second or two.”

“JJ?” Raul asked, hearing a condescending tone in his voice.

“Who’s JJ?” Simon asked. “Oh right, that’s the shell I’ve been hiding behind. No I’m Simon. I’ll show you how to create a protection sigil,” he said as he grabbed one of the sheets of paper and a charcoal stick and started drawing. “You didn’t divide the circle correctly,” he said as he started drawing an intricate symbol on the paper.

“What are you doing, J…Simon?” Peter asked.

“Peter! I’m glad to see you’re doing better,” Simon said as he finished a section of the drawing, then stood up, went over and hugged him. “I’ve been so concerned about you. I couldn’t let you know I was ok without Kapu seeing me.”

“How…What…I’m confused,” Raul said.

“Oh right,” Simon said. “Peter put protection spells around your place so now I can come out of hiding,” Simon said.

“Uhm, ok,” Raul said, just looking confused at Simon.

“I’ll explain later, but right now, Peter, tell me what you plan,” Simon said.

“Let’s discuss that over a meatball sandwich,” Peter said, walking back into the kitchen.

Simon and Raul followed him in and sat down at the small table in the kitchen while Peter went over to the counter to finish preparing the meal.

Simon sat with his hands on the table, gently drumming a beat and saying something under his breath.

Raul, not knowing who he was sitting next to or what the guy was doing, sat silently, trying to not let it show how uncomfortable he was. “Can I help with that?” He finally asked Peter to break the silence.

“You can get the water,” Peter responded. “I don’t remember where you keep the glasses.”

Raul jumped up and filled some glasses. “Anybody want a beer? I think I will have a beer,” he said, grabbing a bottle out of the refrigerator. Then placed the glasses and his beer on the table and sat down.

“Now that we have the vessel, we can capture Kapu,” Peter started, then looked around. “Where is the vessel?”

“You … I mean JJ had it in the car,” Raul said.

“I’ll go get it in a second let me hear the plan,” Simon said.

“Ok,” Peter said, looking a little concerned. “Well, Raul and I will draw containment circles around the two moai at the same time. Once that is done, it will become apparent which one he is residing in, and I can draw him into the vessel.”

“Simple as that?” Simon asked. “You think the containment will hold m…him?”

Raul was sitting, eating his sandwich and drinking his beer, still looking nervous.

“Yes, it will hold for long enough,” Peter said. “Can you get the vessel? It’s making me nervous that it’s not in here, protected.”

“Ok, I will,” Simon said, taking a bite of his sandwich and then getting up.

Peter and Raul sat eating their sandwich until Raul heard the front door close and then asked, “that’s really Simon?”

“Yes, and I’m so happy to see that he’s going to be ok,” Peter said.

Raul finished his sandwich and had a swig of his beer. “He should be back by now.” He said after wiping his mouth.

“You’re right; he should have been back,” Peter said, putting down his last bite of sandwich. “I think we need to go find him.”

Raul and Peter both went out to see what happened to Simon. When they got outside, they both looked around to find him.

“There he is,” Raul said when he saw him sitting in his car.

“What is he doing in the car?” Peter asked.

“Why are you sitting in the car?” Raul asked as he opened the door. “Wow, it’s an oven in here.”

JJ was drenched in sweat and simply staring at nothing. There was no response from him to Raul’s question.

“Simon? Are you ok?” Peter asked with concern in his voice. “Get him out of there.”

Raul grabbed him and easily pulled him out of the car. Then he carried him back into the house.

Once they got him into the house and seated on the couch, he seemed to snap out of his catatonic state.

“Hey guys,” JJ said after a moment. He looked around and then down at himself. “Why am I soaked and where am I?”

“You are in my house,” Raul said.

“Simon?” Peter asked.

“No, I’m JJ,” he said, then shook his head, sending droplets of sweat flying everywhere.

“Did I jump in your pool or what?” JJ asked.

“No, we found you sitting in my car, catatonic,” Raul said.

“Why was I just sitting there? Wait,” JJ said and then looked off for a moment. “You told me to wait…No, you didn’t Peter said…No, I don’t know who said to wait. I just remember when we got here…I remember driving here and…I think we got out of the car and then nothing,” JJ said.

“Do you remember coming in here?” Peter asked.

“No, I can’t remember…I remember this feeling of… despair. That’s the only way I can describe it,” JJ said. “Why, what happened?”

“You were…I mean Simon…You were Simon,” Peter said.

“I was Simon? Why don’t I remember it? I always remembered before?” JJ said.

“I’m not sure?” Peter said. “This is all new to me I don’t know how you came to be. I don’t know where Simon is or how we can get him back.”

“If you got him back what would happen to me?” JJ said with concern.

“I don’t know,” Peter said, and then turned and went into the kitchen.

“Raul, whats going on?” JJ asked.

“Well Simon said he had been hiding and when he came into the house he could come out,” Raul said.

“What does that mean for me?” JJ asked.

“Simon is probably the only one that can answer that,” Raul said, then stood and went outside to avoid the conversation.

“Why did I not remember anything?” JJ said to himself then stood up and looked around.

“That doesn’t look right,” JJ said when he saw a design on a piece of paper.

“You…I mean…Simon was working on that,” Peter said.

“Well its wrong,” JJ said.

“What do you mean its wrong?” Peter asked looking at it.

“I don’t know its just wrong,” JJ said.

“Hmm,” Peter said, then picked up the drawing. “You’re right. Its just a little off but that little would let a contained entity out.”

“What does that mean?” JJ asked.

“I don’t know,” Peter said, looking at JJ trying to understand what that meant.

“Don’t we need to get started?” Raul said stepping in from outside.

“Yes, soon,” Peter said. “Look at this.” Peter handed Simon’s drawing to Raul.

“Isn’t this the one Simon was working on,” Raul said taking it.

“Yes, but its wrong,” Peter said.

“Wrong?” Raul asked, looking at the drawing.

“Yes, its subtle but that line there should be a curve not a straight line,” Peter said pointing at a portion of the drawing.

“What does that mean?” Raul asked.

“I don’t know,” Peter said, putting the drawing down. “Well lets get started getting things ready.”