And a Filthy, Stinkin, Bacc

Part 9: Shoulders

I sat on the ground of my cave. I'd been like that for about half an hour now, just thinking. Flashes of hope kept going through my mind, but quickly extinguished by despair. I kept thinking that It would be too late to do anything.

Too late to save Mitch.

But somewhere, nagging at the back of my mind, was the thought that maybe it wasn't too late. What if he wasn't dead?

But... Wouldn't they have killed him by now? Surely.

But... What if they didn't? If they wanted to kill him, they would have already done it.

But that would mean that Mitch was suffering. In pain. And that pains me worse than thinking that he was dead.

I stood up. "ALRIGHT!" I yelled to no one in particular. "I'm doing it!"

"No you're not," a voice said.

"Why not? Wait, w-who are you?" I stammered.

"Down here, cheese-pits."

I looked down, and didn't see anyone. "Am I going crazy?!"

"ON YOUR SHOULDER, BACCA!" The voice yelled. I looked to my right shoulder, and saw a tiny man standing with his arms crossed. He looked pretty normal, wearing a spiffy black tuxedo with a bright red tie. The only thing that looked off was that the man was made entirely of lava, with the face of a creeper.

"Who are you!?" I repeated, "And what do you mean I'm not going to do it?"

"Who I am isn't important," said little lava lad, "But there's no hope that you can save your little scruffy Canadian."

"And why not?" I asked, irritated and confused.

"Theres no doubt that the kid's dead by now. Even if he wasn't, someone like you could never save him! Theres no hope for you!" He chuckled.

The crispy critter kind of had a point. "Yeah..." I said, "You're probably right."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" Another voice said. This voice was softer, however.

"Oh god, another lava thing?!" I exclaimed, looking at my other shoulder.

This little man, however, was not made of molten melted magma. He looked very normal, and was dressed very casually. He had scruffy brown hair, and wore a faded blue hoodie. His face looked calm and friendly, and he wore a cutesy flower crown. "He's trying to corrupt you. He tells lies!"
The fiery fiend glared across to my other shoulder. "What are YOU doing here!?!!" He growled.

"Believe it or not, my job," Flower Crown said matter-of-factly, "And yes, I DO have a job. And that job is, aside from giving our furry friend here good advice, keeping YOU in check, Preston!!!"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK MY NAME!!!" Preston yelled, trying to look intimidating but failing. "It makes me look unprofessional, Rob..." He added.

"I can say it if I want to, Puh-res-tawn, 'cause YOU aren't allowed to do anything about it!" Rob snapped.

Preston growled.

"Uh... Why can't he do anything about it?"  I said, trying to add the the pointless argument.

"Shoulder angel code." The two little men said at once, still glaring at each other.

"Ok, ok, ok, let me get this straight!" I yelled. "You two" (pointing at shoulder people) "are my shoulder angels?"

"Yep." Preston said.

"And... Are you trying to help me?"

"We should be," Rob said again, but somebody..." (Glares at Preston again) "Is making that difficult!"

"Come onnnn!" Preston said, outstretching his arms, "Can't a cactus have a little fun?"

"Not a cactus..." Rob muttered under his breath.

"I HEARD THAT!" Preston yelled.

"SHUT IT!" I shouted. "We're wasting time! I need to go help Mitch!"

"That's what I came here to tell you!" Little Rob said, hopping up and down on my shoulder. "You mustn't give up hope! You won't get anything done by sitting around here!"

"Are you saying I can save Mitch?!?" I gasped.

"I really shouldn't be saying this..." Rob said, tugging at his hood, "but there is a very high chance that you'll find who- Uhh I mean what you're looking for if you go as soon as possible!"

"So he IS alive!!!" I exclaimed.

"Said too much!" Rob yelled, and he vanished into thin air.

"Well then," Preston said, "Since peace, love, and flower crowns is gone, let me lay down some cold hard trut-" He was interrupted by a portal that appeared next to him. Rob's arm shot out, grabbed Preston's collar, and pulled him into the portal. He then gave me a tiny thumbs up before closing the portal.

Hey all! For those of you who like the story so far, thank you all so much!! You are the reason I am continuing it. I love seeing support from you and I ESPECIALLY love to see comments. It really makes my day. Thats why I want to ask you to share this story with people you know. You can tell your friends, or post about it online. I'm sure there are lots of communities out there that might love to see it (looks at tumblr users). But thank you all for the support so far, and I'd love to see more people find this story, and you can have them tell me that you sent them. Thank you!! <3