“Hey, Jak get up and we’ll go get another bottle of vodka, I’m starting to sober up, come on lets stop in the offy down the road.” Shouted Jim as he ran up to a half passed out Jak lying with his head in a bin.
“I don’t feel good, I might need to lie down for awhile” said Jak,
“C’mon you can sleep when you’re dead”
“Nah man, lets go I’m gonna be URGHHHHHBULCH” replied Jak as he vomited into the bin again,
“Well come on lets just have a look in one more shop,” Jak shock his head “Aah well, guess I’ll have to drink this bottle of triple distilled Smirnoff Vodka by myself won’t I.” said Jim as he withdrew a bottle of vodka from his jacket pocket. When he did this Jak’s hand reached after the bottle “Well someones perked up, come on now let’s get going” and off they walked with Jim supporting Jak over his shoulder.
An hour or so later they neared a dark alley in the middle of London, Jak looked over at it and saw a small sign made of aged wood and the paint on it was starting to peel away you could only just make out the writing on the it read ‘Ye Olde Shoppe’. “Hey there’s a shop. Lets look in there it looks alright” said Jak as they walked.
Jim stopped and looked both ways and replied “Yeah, go on then that will do I guess.” And they started walking down the alley.
As they wondered down the alley Jak could swear he smelt rotting flesh coming from the drains they passed, when they entered the shop they looked around but could barely see through the dark and gloom, the smell of rotting flesh lingered in the air as they passed over into the shop. They started to look around they saw voodoo doll kits that looked like they hadn’t seen light in years, they also saw a small head with its hair tied in a knot so you could pick it up easier. As they continued to browse the shop some movement caught their attention, they went over to see what it was and saw a small hunched back old man with no teeth and a stick in one hand, reaching into a draw looking for something. “Umm, excuse me but….” Jim was cut off mid sentence by what the old man pulled out of the draw, it was a long black snake that had obviously been dead for some time now as its skin was gone and only small patches of the flesh where still there.
The shop keeper then turned around and smiled which both Jak and Jim both preferred he did not do and said “Welcome to my shop if you are looking for the post office its straight this road and on the left”.
“Were not looking for the post office, were her to look and buy….” said Jim who was then shocked at the old man’s reaction to the word money and probably the prospect of money to be had.
“Buy! No one’s been in here to buy for years now,” the shop keeper then went into a much quieter voice that Jim and Jak could not hear him properly “and I’m beginning to get hungry.”
Jak who was still rather drunk found the old man very amusing as he showed them all his various items for sale. Jim however could handle his drink better than Jak and was beginning to get very spooked as the night went on and they worked their way towards the back of the shop. Each item for sale was either something that was alive or something that was still alive had been frozen and sole purpose was to be killed and pickled for later use.
“So where do you get all this stuff then,” said Jak as he slung his arm round Cosmo’s shoulder.
“Well,” replied Cosmo in an even more uneasy manner “I go into my back room and draw a devil symbol on the floor in blood and let the Prince of Darkness provide”.
“Wow that must be great getting all your stock from The Prince of Wales” laughed John.
“SILENCE YOU MERE MORTAL! YOU SHALL NEVER UNDERSTAND THE TRUE MEANING OF POWER.” shouted Cosmo as he straightened up to almost seven feet tall, making Jak and Jim cower behind each other. Then as soon as it began Cosmo recoiled himself and carried on walking beckoning them to follow him into the next room.
Jim was looking around the next room of the store with Cosmo and Jak, but the putrid smell of rotting flesh began to get stronger with every step he took nearer the door at the other end of the room. He could see a low burning light through the cracks in the door. He quickly glanced over at Cosmo, who was busy showing Jak a ‘rare’ voodoo doll of Tony Blair, seeing an opportunity to have a look at what the smell was Jim walked casually over to the door and slowly opened it and slipped in.
Jak was looking at the voodoo doll of Tony Blair when Cosmo turned around and asked “Where is your friend.”
“He’s most likely gone to the newsagents we saw when where on or way here.” replied Jak who was now starting to feel less drunk and also now seeing the true horror of the shop they were in and the smell of the rotting flesh began to be processed in his brain, but for Jak this was a novelty shop and a lot less scary as his books, Jak you see had a very bad perception over the real and the unreal and therefore decided to stay as he was becoming more interested in the items of the shop and the eerie aura they seemed to posses.
Cosmo looked over at the door into his room where he kept his most prized and secret passion and saw Jim’s feet making shadows under the doorway. He quickly thought of what to do and had an idea. “Follow me my new friend to may most favourite room.” said Cosmo and he walked towards the room in which Jim was currently standing staring at Cosmo’s prize.
Jim was standing in the room looking up at the prize when suddenly the door opened and in stepped Jak and Cosmo. Cosmo’s face the instant he saw Jim became ripped with rage and fury. “This as you can see is my most treasured possession The Provider!” said Cosmo and he pointed to a huge pickle tank with an entire human floating in it with bits of flesh and skin missing of its face and body. The face itself even though dead seemed to smile at Jak and Jim its arms seemed to beckon them into the tank with it its eyes seemed to show them the fate that they would meet if they stayed in the room with it. So this was what they could smell.
A huge noise filled the room as Cosmo shut the door before they could turn around Cosmo grabbed a knife form his desk which was just only in arms reach for him. As the two men tuned around he unsheathed himself from his usual state to his almost monster seven foot state he bought the knife up to his month and lunged with tremendous power at Jim, who managed to duck and miss the huge body of the man. He quickly grabbed Jak and ran out the door into the street, he could still hear the evil taunts of the shop keeper as they ran onto the road and into the night never to be seen again.
By Raphael
Yadgaroff RTPU