Ever since he revealed who he saw at the function, Thrax decided to take over the recruiting business. He did not believe him at first and insisted that it was his imagination, making him go back to the function and finish the job. Ozzie tried convincing himself as well that the virus could be right, but when he saw him again chit-chatting with the host of the function and when the cold pill caught sight of him and engaged in a brief conversation with him, apologizing profusely for bumping and scaring him, Ozzie knew it was not in his mind and that it was Drix standing in front of him in the flesh. Even Thrax, who was hiding at a corner a few meters away from the Pheomelanin family mansion waiting for Ozzie, was finally convinced when he saw Drix helping the host Mr. Pheo to send off the guests after the function ended, chatting a little longer at the door with Ozzie before the petrified cell ran back into Thrax’s arms shivering like he had just seen the scariest thing in his whole life. That was when Thrax decided to do this on his own and told Ozzie to prepare the little 4-fat chalet they were living in as best as possible and get dinner done before he brought the cavalry home.
“What else do you think I should get, Kiaran?” Ozzie asked as he scanned through the grocery list to see what he had missed. “You think maybe we should get some ice-cream for dessert? The guys might like something a little nice, cold and sweet for dessert after a long day.”
Kiaran yapped, seemingly agreeing as its mouth watered at the word ‘ice-cream’.
“Alright, ice-cream it—WOAH!!”
His words were cut off by a sudden pull on his shoulder. He was harshly shoved against the wall of a secluded corner and by the time his mind registered what went on, a familiar red hand cannon was aimed at his gut.
“How dare you! You traitor!”
Ozzie gasped as he looked up at the owner of the voice. Drix was glaring at him with a vengeance, his eyes narrowing in contempt as he ignored the frantic yapping of Kiaran.
“It’s OK, Kia. It’s OK,” Ozzie tried to calm the puppy down. “He’s a friend of mine.”
“Not anymore if you don’t explain yourself!” Drix yelled as he shoved the cannon harder against Ozzie’s gut. “What are you doing here, or to be precise, what the heck are you doing here with…with that virus?!”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?!” Ozzie retorted. “You were dead! I thought you fried your cherry little ass in Frank! You made me think you were gone, just like everyone else, and yet here you are, lookin’ like as if you never came to Frank! I should be asking you the same question!”
“I asked you first, Jones, and I am not budging until you tell me everything!”
“Well, I’m not saying anything until you explain yourself first! And take that stupid ass cannon offa me, or else you ain’t hearing a single syllable outta me!”
Drix glared long and hard at Ozzie for a full 5 seconds flat. It was the exact same glare he gave him whenever he was upset during their first few days being partners investigating Frank’s infection and into Thrax’s case. Ozzie glared back just as hard for another extra 5 seconds, challenging him to screw up before finally, Drix let out a sigh and moved his cannon away, deactivating it.
“Still the same old Osmosis Jones I knew,” Drix commented grudgingly as he brushed off a non-existent smudge on his shoulder, a habit he always had whenever he’s frustrated about something. “I should have just cornered you at the function last night when I had the chance.”
“You…You knew who I was all along?” Ozzie’s eyes widened in shock, feeling totally embarrassed right now that his ex-partner saw him in such a degrading getup.
“You may look and dress like a girl, Jones, but your eyes are a dead giveaway. You don’t have a woman’s eyes, Jones. One closer look at you is all it takes for anyone to figure out you’re a cross-dresser, and I’d recognize those pair of naughty street-smart eyes anywhere.”
Ozzie blushed despite himself, wondering whether that was how Mayor Margo figured out he was a guy.
“This is not exactly the best place to talk,” Drix said as he gestured at the opposite direction of where they’re standing. “Let’s go someplace else where walls have no ears.”
Seeing that there was still time to kill before he had to head back to the chalet to make dinner, Ozzie agreed. He followed Drix out of the secluded corner and out into the streets. They walked together quietly until they were at the overhead bridge of a busy highway. Leaning against the banister, Drix took out the bottles of coke he bought along the way and opened one for Ozzie. Sipping the drink, Drix eyed Ozzie’s midriff and quarter pants and snorted.
“Nice outfit.”
“Yeah, well, not exactly what I wanted to wear, but I don’t exactly have a choice in that matter,” Ozzie replied grudgingly.
“Is that what the virus does to you everyday?”
“You promised your story first. Now spill.”
Drix sighed, sipped his coke a little before beginning his tale, “Well, when you took off and didn’t come back, we thought you were a goner, that probably you lost the fight with Thrax and you probably got killed, or coagulated by the atmosphere. Leah was really upset and was crying ‘He’s not coming back’ over and over in my arms when there was no news from you. She kept blaming herself for not believing in you and not realizing you true feelings sooner. It seems that Leah had finally realized her feelings for you as well.”
Ozzie looked forlornly at the passing traffic. So Leah actually liked me too… he thought quietly. And what do I do? I go breaking her heart by making her think I’m dead, by leaving her to die…
“The Chief found out through the radio-in that those who were at the mouth area were the only ones alive. The rest of Downtown Frank, even the mayor, had gone up in smoke and cinders. Not a single one of them there remotely survived. We held out at the mouth for a while, but we knew it wouldn’t be long before we would go down with Frank as well once we are put in the morgue under freezing temperatures and once Frank gets buried. So the Chief decided that I, who was collateral damage that shouldn’t have been, should leave Frank as soon as possible.”
“Then why didn’t you bring Leah along with you?” Ozzie snapped. “Why didn’t you make her come with you if the Chief decided on you leaving? You could’ve dragged her or forced her or used that silly college boy martial arts of yours or your little bomb squad on your arm there and freeze her to take her with you! What are you the only one who left?!”
“I tried to, Jones! You think I didn’t ask her to come with me?!” Drix snapped back. “I begged her to come with me and leave Frank, but her grief over your ‘death’ had turned her catatonic! After crying in my arms, she just suddenly lost her mind and said if you’re gone, then she will join you as well. She jumped off the uvula before I could grab her and fell straight down to the throat to goodness knows where! And before you ask, yes, I did wanted to jump after to help her, hoping my bubble-jet propulsion will help me with my landing, but the Chief and his men held me back, saying there was nothing I could do! If she hadn’t tried to kill herself, I would’ve taken her along with me in a heartbeat!”
Ozzie was struck speechless. Leah, the love of his life and the most level-headed she-cell he had ever met, committing suicide because of him? He was unable to control the sobs that escaped his mouth as he fell to the floor, crying as he realized the full impact of his disappearance and failure to everyone in Frank. Drix laid a hand on Ozzie’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.
“I killed her…Oh Frank, what have I done…? I killed her…!”
“No, you didn’t. She killed herself. It’s not your fault. She took her life on her own accord.”
“But…But it’s my fault…If I had gotten back to Frank sooner…”
“No one could predict the future. You might have gotten back to Frank and still there is a chance that we’d be too late to save him anyway. Stop blaming yourself.”
Ozzie’s sobs calmed down after a while as Drix’s words sunk in. He had his eyes hidden behind his hands, and he tried to breathe properly. Drix sat down beside him and continued his story.
“After what happened to Leah, the Chief’s resolve to let me live strengthened and despite my protests, he and his men subdued me and waited for the coroner—her name is Deidre from her nametag—and the pathologist to come and examine Frank’s body to determine the cause of death, since his condition was a baffling mystery to all the medics to warrant an investigation, before they pushed me out of the mouth and onto Deidre’s hand when she took Frank’s chin and tilted his head sideways. I held onto one of her hair follicles for dear life and stayed there for a while, not going anywhere, not even into her body because I fear they would think I’m a virus and incarcerate me, and wondering what should I do next.
“When I was at wits’ end trying to contemplate my predicament, I found out that Deidre was invited to a house-warming party at Jackson’s, who is her nephew three times removed on the mother’s side, because he just moved into a new home after being appointed the new Village Head. Seeing Jackson, he reminded me of Frank if he were still alive, though Jackson is probably about 10 years younger than Frank. I decided to stop wallowing in self-pity and start anew, try my best to do what I could not do for Frank. I waited until they were passing around the mash potatoes before I jumped into the food and waited for Jackson to scoop me along into his plate. He swallowed me in and I soon found myself in the stomach port. The securities there saw me and arrested me, charging me with illegal entry and I was sent to see the mayor.”
“You? Arrested?” Ozzie said in amusement, but still had his hands over his eyes, not wanting the cold pill to see them red and sodden.
“I know,” Drix rolled his eyes. “Last thing I would ever do is to break the law, but the situation wasn’t giving me much option. Wasn’t easy convincing the mayor that I wasn’t a virus, a germ or some harmful pathogen or bacteria, what with me not wanting to reveal that I came from an infected cadaver, but I finally gained citizenship of Jackson County thanks to Mr. Pheo from the Pheomelanin. On my way to be sent to the brain centre and to the mayor’s office, some oxygen truck came brushing by, ignoring the traffic lights and failed to notice a little girl who was trying to cross the road. I rushed out to save her regardless of me being detained by security and it turned out to be Mr. Pheo’s daughter. Mr. Pheo was so delighted and grateful that he bullied the mayor into allowing me to stay in Jackson County using his aristocrat status. He decided to hire me as his family’s personal bodyguard, and the rest is history.”
Ozzie waited until he could feel his eyes no longer stinging with his salty tears before removing his hands and smiled up at Drix, saying, “Guess you’ve done yourself pretty well there, ain’t it, Drips?”
“You still can’t pronounce my name correctly, can you?” Drix shook his head in defeat and smiled wryly. “Definitely the same old Osmosis Jones. So now I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain. What’s your story?”
“You wouldn’t believe me, or like it, if I told you.”
“Try me.”
Ozzie sighed and picked up Kiaran in his arms and told him his tale, from the day he was kidnapped and partially infected by Thrax to the days he spent being Thrax’s slave and going around infecting and killing cities and the incidents in between, only stating briefly what sort of ‘activities’ that went on between him and Thrax, all the way till where he was right now. By the time he was done, Drix was giving him the incredulous look the cell had predicted he would.
“I do not believe this!” Drix exclaimed.
“I told you, you wouldn’t…” Ozzie replied nonchalantly but was cut by Drix’s intervention.
“No, what I meant is…you’re not exactly telling me that you honestly believe Thrax is in love with you now, are you?”
“I told you what I heard from him talking to his brother, is all.”
“The virus kidnapped you, infected you, did all those unspeakable things to you, made you wear scandalous clothes like these, made you an accessory to murder and have you suffer the consequences. You are no different than…than a T-4 cell, for Jackson’s sake! Is that how someone who loves you should be treating you?!”
“Hey, he’s a virus. Cut him some slack. What do you expect a virus like him to do? Give me the sappy serenade and flowers and chocolates and all that? That’s not him.”
“And you like being treated that way, like a masochist?” Drix asked, raising a brow as he had his hands on his waist.
“No! No, of course not!” Ozzie exclaimed immediately, giving Drix an accusing look. “What the heck are you implying here?”
“Take it easy, Jones. I’m not implying anything brash here. Look, I’m not saying that I’m an anti-gay activist or something. I mean, heck, back in University of Chicago, I got a few pals of such preference as well, and I’ve seen some who were converted into that genre one way or another even though they were straight to begin with—though they never seemed to target me, not sure why—but the point is: Are you in love with him?”
“W-W-Well, no…” Ozzie stuttered, trying to answer the question h had been trying to avoid even from himself. “I mean…not really…I mean, he can be nice sometimes and all but…I…well, you don’t know him like I do, OK? He didn’t really grow up right and all, so…”
“You’re not answering the question, Jones,” Drix narrowed his eyes and leaned close to Ozzie. “Are you in love with him?”
Ozzie’s eyes widened for a while at the blatant question before slumping, his eyes grudgingly looking away, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with the idea of being probed about his feelings.
“That’s…That’s none of your business, Drips.”
“None of my business?!” Drix chided in disbelief. “Jones, you are fraternizing with the deadliest virus that made it into the medical books, the very virus that killed your city including the love of your life and you’re telling me it’s none of my business?! Listen to yourself, Jones! How could you say that??”
“You’ve never been through what I’ve been through!” Ozzie shouted, poking Drix on the chest. “You never experienced rape! You never felt the pain of losing a child firsthand! You never felt the horrors of being someone’s sexual fantasy and being eyed all day by complete strangers who’s first thing in their minds is to get into your pants and shag you senseless! You have never had the experience of someone coming to your rescue, protecting you from all those threats, and telling you everything’s OK after a hellish day and you’ll never understand how it feels to be actually needed and not be treated like some second-class citizen of Frank! Someone you thought you’d never see the other side of is something I personally had it firsthand for all these while, while you had it easy getting into the city and straightaway getting a job from some rich folk who probably doesn’t even know how to tie his own shoelace without tripping, so don’t try telling me what I should or should not say!”
It felt like squabbling in Mayor Phlegmming’s office all over again as Ozzie turned his back to Drix, just like the day in Frank where they claimed they couldn’t work with each other when no one believed his claims of Thrax’s existence and having Leah settling the argument. Drix sighed and turned Ozzie around to face him.
“Look, all I’m saying is that maybe you’re just a little confused. You’re still feeling guilty and blaming yourself for Frank’s death. You needed to someone to reassure you it’s not. You lost Leah and you wanted someone desperately to hold onto, to feel like you’ve never lost her at all, and in your confusion, you turned to Thrax, who is probably the only other person you’ve ever known that was Frank.”
“I am not confused…” Ozzie’s protest were stopped by Drix’s hand.
“Sure, Thrax could have a different side to him, I’ll give him that much, since you’re still alive and kicking even under his rule of thumb, but be honest with me, Jones. If he truly loves you, would he allow you to go through all this?”
“Well…” Ozzie started but couldn’t continue, not sure what to say.
“I’m being objective here for you in believing that maybe there is some truth in Thrax’s feelings towards you, as much of a cold-blooded killer as he may be. I mean, even viruses have hearts. But you got to be objective for me as well. If he really loves you, would he let you be subjected to all the consequences that he made his choices on? Would he allow you to be an accessory of murder, a slave, a sex tool to satisfy his lust and allowing the world to cause you so much pain because of his goals? This is not what a lover should do to their beloved.”
“He’s…He’s just different, is all…”
“Yes, he is different. Different in such a way that he caused you to be an object of sexual interest to every stranger you meet, and yet even he, a powerful deadly virus, cannot protect you from all of them. It was because of him you got raped and he killed an innocent child within you in cold blood. He made you flirt with that Mayor Margo you mentioned to get to the hypothalamus even though he knew you will end up being raped by the brain cell and he gave you traumatizing nightmares. He made you a killer, Jones. Maybe not directly, but he still made you who you are now. Trillions of cells in every city you destroyed, their blood is in your hands as well, Jones, and he is going to do it again here. Is that what someone who loves you would let you become?”
Ozzie was rendered speechless again. Deep down inside, he knew that Drix was right in a way. He knew it, and it hurt. Ozzie massaged his temple and sighed.
“What do you want me to do then? Kill him and make everyone feel better?”
“As much as I’d like you to do so, I’d advise you against that. You are no match for Thrax in your current situation, and you’re gonna need all the help you can get,” Drix replied and opened his chest plate, taking out one of his capsules. He handed a greenish-white one to Ozzie, waiting for the cell to take it before continuing, “I have been creating my own ammunition for my bodyguard purposes thanks to free access from Mr. Pheo to high-tech labs, since I’m running out of the ones I came into Frank with and since I’m no longer really needed to relieve coughs and colds. This is a tranquilizer capsule. I need you to subdue Thrax and the recruits he collected with this.”
“What am I supposed to do with this? Shoot it at their faces? I don’t have that thingy-a-majiggy your arm has.”
Drix demonstrated by uncapping the top to reveal a sort of nozzle in it, saying, “When I use this in my cannon, the liquid inside the capsule will be sprayed out like an aerosol, but for your case, you just need to take off the nozzle and pour the content into the dinner you’re making tonight for Thrax and his company. It’s enough to knock out about a dozen people at one go.”
“I…I don’t know…” Ozzie hesitated as Drix recapped the capsule and put it into his shopping bag.
“I promise you, Jones, that Thrax will be dealt properly. I will try to ask Mr. Pheo to speak for Thrax, maybe even plead the mayor to give him a bit of jail time and have him confined to community services at best. Then you can stay here, not having to go anywhere and killing more cities, and it’ll be good for Thrax too to subdue him. You don’t want him to go around killing cities anymore now, do you?”
Ozzie wanted to retaliate but he knew he was facing an undeniable truth. He balked reluctantly and said, “No, I don’t want him to kill anymore. Asking him to settle down like a good citizen is impossible, but yes, I want him to stop killing.”
“Good. Here’s my cell phone number,” Drix said in relief as he wrote his number behind Ozzie’s grocery list. “When it’s done, give me a call and I’ll send in backup, OK?”
Ozzie nodded and looked down quietly. Drix felt a little awkward seeing his ex-partner that used to have everything as the butt of the joke and being the most smart-mouth person he had ever met standing there silent as a mute and docile and submissive like a little lost child. He wondered how much have Thrax really changed him in the last few months they were together. He smiled as cheerfully as he could and ruffled Ozzie’s hair.
“It’s really good to see you again, Jones.”
Ozzie nodded again and left, leaving Drix alone on that overhead bridge as he made his way back to the chalet.
This was not exactly the reunion he had hoped for.
--:--
Somehow, Thrax had managed to get the guest list of last night’s liaison function and tracked down all the germs and bacteria-s who were invited to talk matters with them. Apparently most of the germs and bacteria-s were victims of grudging acceptance to make peace with the city and swear into abiding the rules and not cause any health trouble to it, forced under the threat of elimination to cooperate. A minority of them shrank away from Thrax’s offer, in which Thrax killed them to eliminate witnesses and loose ends but the rest eagerly agreed to it after seeing what he can do and what he had to offer, wanting nothing more than to have the city dead and them running free and wild to do whatever they were meant to do.
“Now this is some good homemade dinner,” one of the germs complimented. “It’s a big change from all the takeouts I’ve been having. Thanks, boss.”
“Don’t thank me,” Thrax said. “Thank my little baby here. He made this just for you. So eat up, everybody, coz we’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Everyone made a toast to Ozzie for his wonderful cooking and ate heartily until their plates were clean. Once Ozzie cleared the table, Thrax started laying out the plans for the hypothalamus grand heist. While he was directing teams to go certain areas, Ozzie came in with a tray carrying bowls of ice-cream for dessert. Distracted by the plans, the germs and bacteria-s took their bowl of ice-cream and ate it absentmindedly. Thrax took his ice-cream, but he put it aside to finish his words, only to be met with a shocking scene.
One by one, the germs and bacteria-s slumped into a stupor, dropping their spoons and some falling face down onto the table as the tranquilizer Ozzie mixed into the ice-cream took effect. Ozzie just watched casually as the last one knocked out, and it was enough to tell Thrax that his little pet was behind all this.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Jones? What’s in the food?” Thrax growled as he grabbed Ozzie by the collar. “Why are you doing this? What’s going on?!”
Ozzie didn’t reply, his eyes staring apologetically at Thrax’s yellow orbs.
“Are you betraying me now? Who told you to do this? Answer me, Jo—”
Thrax’s snarls were cut short by Ozzie reaching up to take him fully on the lips, kissing him deeply. He slipped his tongue in to act as a funnel to let the leftover tranquilizer he kept in his mouth to flow into the virus’ mouth and make him swallow unaware. He had predicted Thrax would not touch the ice-cream, so he didn’t bother to mix it in with it. He knew an unexpected straightforward approach would be much more effective.
“I’m sorry, Master,” Ozzie whispered as he hugged Thrax softly, half of him trying to keep him in place until the tranquilizer took effect and half of him begging for his Master’s forgiveness. Thrax struggled from his arms and grabbed his collar again.
“Why? Why are you doing this? After all I’ve done for you, how could you betray me?”
“It’s for your own good, Master. I promise everything will be fine soon. Just bear with it, OK?”
“You…You little…bitch…”
Thrax’s voice trailed off as he could feel the effects hitting him. He struggled to stand, to stay awake, to punish his pet who had been naughty again, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate in standing still. His mind was making his world go in circles and his eyes were threatening to close. He tried to flex out his killer claw but Ozzie had his hands gently holding his wrists, as if coaxing him into submission. He fought until he couldn’t fight anymore in this battle of consciousness and the last thing he saw was Ozzie’s sad eyes before he finally succumbed to darkness.
Making sure everyone was out cold, including Thrax, Ozzie went to the chalet phone and made a private call.
“Hello? Drips? It’s done.”
No comments:
Post a Comment