Frank Iero and the Meaning of Life

Chapter Twenty - Double Trouble

I stepped out of the side of a building into a seedy alleyway. Not long after that, the other six followed and stared around with both awe and wonder; the moment we emerged from the sketchy trench, all six of the others were filled with both amazement and nervousness. However, when I felt a warm summer breeze whistle through my hair, I immediately knew I was finally home safe. Oh, Jersey...I'll promise I'll never leave you again!

"What is this place?" asked the Girl as she nervously hid behind Poison.

"This," I said, "is New Jersey. More specifically, Newark. Welcome home!"

The CEO treaded incredibly lightly across the sidewalk and jumped at a piece of trash that tumbled in the wind; the annoying click-clack of her heels made herself obvious to every other person who happened to be up at this hour. A few people passed us by, but only a handful seemed to actually stare at us. Then, when we approached the end of the road, the CEO abruptly stopped and stared at the murky stream of runoff flowing down the side of the curb.

"Oh, don't worry!" said Korse. "I'll carry you again."

Just before he could pick her up, however, some jackass in a civic going at least ten over the speed limit whipped by and kicked up a bunch of nasty mystery liquid on her dress.

"This place," she muttered, "is a dump."

"Watch out for the drivers around here," I said. "They're a little creative."

The Girl held onto Poison's arm nervously and glanced around every corner to make sure it was safe; she then peered up at the pitch-black sky and pointed up at it. "Poison," she said, "where did all the stars go? It isn't cloudy, but I can't see them."

"Oh," I said, "that's called light pollution. It happens in big cities like this. There's so much electricity being used that all of the bright lights drown the stars all out. It kind of sucks, but hey. We love our lights."

"I'm scared," she said quietly. "I've never seen buildings this big before."

"It's alright," said Poison. "I'll keep you safe."

Even though it had been god knows how many days since I had been gone, I still knew the part of town I was in like the back of my hand. I even managed to find one of my regular bus stops and sat down at it with the others until one came to pick us up. We all awkwardly piled into the seats, and the one other homeless-looking crackhead there stared at us as if we were the crazy ones. To be fair, our outfits looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Hey," said the guy, "you guys from Star Trek or somethin'?"

"No," I said, "I wish."

"That's cool," he mumbled. "I love Naruto."

Once we reached the stop closest to my apartment, I led the pack off the bus and paid the bus driver with what little change I had left on me. She took one last look at us in total confusion and seemed at a loss for words.

"Ya know," she said in a raspy voice, "the convention center is closed at this hour."

"We know," I said. "We aren't...headed there. This is our stop."

She gave us one last disapproving squint and then drove off without another word.

I guided the ragtag team over to my apartment complex and led them upstairs; even though the place still looked like it had seen at least two nuclear fallouts, it brought me a strange sense of comfort and nostalgia. Especially considering the fact that I was going to see an actual toilet and shower again. I swear, I was never going to take those things for granted ever again. But before I knocked on the door to my apartment, I stopped my hand and thought for a moment.