Carnage laughed again, but this time he gnashed his teeth and pretended to be threatening.
Daniel chuckled as he walked over to the cup, picked it up and caught the gum ball as it rolled into his hand. He tossed it across the several feet to Carnage. “Can you drive the ball like I showed you?” Daniel asked.
Carnage set the ball on the ground, then patiently took his time, lining up his stroke, stepping back from the ball time and time again to perform a full practice swing, before standing over the ball and making his final stroke, his muscles moving like water in one fluid movement, following through until the club was resting on his other shoulder as he watched the ball perform a perfect straight line drive just below the tops of the trees as it left their sight.
“You’ve got it. Let’s go win a golf game with Trawl.”
Carnage held out his hand for Daniel to high five.
Daniel slapped his palm against Carnage’s.
“And ‘Stoy,” Carnage said.
“Oh, yeah. We’ll beat everybody there, even Destroy.”
“Leeenah!!!!!” Carnage shouted, throwing his head back to get more volume to travel further.
They heard footsteps on the porch just a few hundred feet from them before Carolena looked over the railing at them. “I’m right here. You don’t have to shout my name to all of Whispers.”
“’Mon!” he said, waving his massive arm toward himself.
“We’re ready?” she asked.
“’Es!”
Carolena looked back at Avaleigh and Angelle who were relaxing with her. “Are you ready?”
“Lead on,” Avaleigh said.
Carnage led the way, stomping along the path from his house to Enthrall’s. He chattered the entire way, pushing low hanging branches and stray switches of bushes and shrubbery out of the way, pointing things out to Daniel who walked along beside him, while everyone else brought up the rear at their own pace.
Daniel, to his credit, chattered right back. He obviously had no problem understanding Carnage’s speech patterns, which meant a lot to Carnage. Not a lot of people understood what Carnage was trying to say when he tried to talk to them. He was born with a severe speech impediment, and it never got any easier for him. Some could understand, some couldn’t. Daniel could, and that made Carnage appreciate the opportunity to have an actual conversation without a member of his family, or a close friend, having to interpret for him.
After watching Carnage’s wings shiver and shake every now and then, just as someone’s hands did when they were talking,Daniel finally broached the subject. “So, there’s something I want to know…”
“’Kay,” Carnage said.
“Can you really fly, or are those just for show?”
Carnage smirked, extended his wings and flapped them once, which took him about ten feet off the ground, then again, which had him soaring overhead, looking down at them.
“That is too fucking cool,” Daniel said, craning his neck to look up Carnage.
“Boon!” Carnage said, nodding and pointing to Boon.
“You, too?” Daniel asked.
Boon shrugged bashfully. “I can, I just don’t do it often.”
“Can you really fly like that?” Angelle asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between Carnage who was still aloft, and Boon who seemed more than a little hesitant.
“It kind of makes people nervous. So, I don’t usually.”
“Doesn’t make them nervous, son. It makes them jealous,” Daniel said.
Boon laughed.
“Seriously, can I see?” Angelle asked.
