Pentical

After twenty minutes of walking Sylvia realized that Wander had been completely silent. This struck her as very odd as he was always humming to himself, plucking on his banjo while singing or just babbling on and on about the wonders of the planet they were currently on. She didn't think his lack of audible awe was because this planet was too ordinary for him. Despite its sparse trees and blue skies, which they had seen on countless planets before, he could always find some nuance that got him shouting about how cool or how neat something, ANYTHING, was. This guy could find a squirrel or a bug or a really neat looking rock and she'd be hearin

An Unwelcome Visitor The early morning hours prior to the arcade opening were the most peaceful in Sugar Rush. The Roster Race was long over and the competitors of the day were out in their homes and garages, fine tuning their karts and thusly were not on the roads causing all sorts of cacophony. Naturally, King Candy’s personal Kart was being tended to by Sour Bill and the finest mechanics the kingdom had to offer, so his highness was able to enjoy this calm before the storm when the arcade would open and the races would dominate the day. Standing on a balcony overlooking the entirety of the kingdom, he anticipated the day to come. B

Felix rushed down the road as fast as his legs could carry him. He had heard the crashing coming from the direction of the apartment building and knew immediately what it was. He reached the property line just as the sounds of demolition had eerily fallen silent. That’s when he saw Ralph with Gene in his grip. Forgetting his fatigue he could only think about how he didn’t want Gene or anyone else getting hurt. “Ralph!” He shouted, hoping to gain the giant’s attention. Ralph barely turned to acknowledge the pest trying to interrupt him. “Oh, look Gene, your favorite tool is here.” “Felix!&rdq

It was early in the evening when Gene spotted Felix outside at the edge of the property, sitting with his back against a tree, his hammer dangling from his hand. “There you are.” The mayor called, strolling over. Felix stared at the ground, the events of the afternoon still fresh in his mind. Right after Ralph had made his brief but impactful appearance during the interview, Felix got right to work on restoring the news van and the building. The reporter was visibly impressed by his talent and the speed the hammer allowed him to repair everything. The photographer was eagerly snapping a lot of pictures of him in his element. T

Ralph grunted as he pulled the heavy boulder from the ground. He flung the stone as hard as he could and watched it disappear over the tree line. A few seconds later it landed with a thunderous thud that scattered birds into the air. The next boulder he found, a much larger one, he punched repeatedly until it cracked and shattered. Taking his anger out on these objects did nothing to dissolve the feeling of burning outrage. More buildings? More people? Had that awful news he had overheard by chance been true? He had been avoiding the apartments all day; lulling the residents into a false sense of security and conserving his energy for the h

Chapter 11 Felix held the push broom upside down and poked the awning interior gingerly. The awning normally could handle the rain, but for some reason during last night’s sudden downpour around three AM the rain gutter over the building somehow overflowed and spilled out in a torrent that knocked over potted plants and caused the awning to collapse inside out and fill with water. Carefully he thrust the broom upward, forcing the water gathered inside the covering to spill over the sides and splash to the ground around him. Using the hammer he repaired the inverted frame. He then moved his attention to the upset potted plants on eithe

Chapter 10 Ralph pounded the building madly, his rage boiling over. No amount of damage could satisfy his want for the building, the Nicelanders, everything to go away. He was consumed with the desperate want for his life to go back to how it once was; quiet and stable and under his control. A thump below him caught his attention. It wasn’t the same kind of sound a falling brick or slab of concrete makes when hitting the ground. It was softer, more yielding and accompanied with a sickening crack of bone. A sudden dread replaced his anger as he looked down and saw Felix lying there, bleeding and unmoving. Any emotion other than fear q

Felix felt like he was floating. The world around him was spinning though he felt the ground solid at his back. There was a ringing in his ears, a buzzing through his skull and a dullness that made it difficult to feel his limbs. The world was still dark and everything on the other side of his closed eyelids felt nonexistent. Then, very softly, he felt something nudge his leg, then his side, then his face. Then something heavy gently laid itself on his chest. Distantly he could hear yelling. It was muffled, but getting closer and the weight on him suddenly vanished. The voices were garbled and many, and even if he were completely coherent h

When Felix fixed a rattling air conditioner vent in Don’s apartment, the two got into a conversation about Don’s sizable collection of model ships and boat paraphernalia. The discussion spread from the apartment to the elevator as Felix escorted the tenant to the lobby. Their topic had floated from Don’s sailor days to Felix’s memories of a fishing trip he had taken with his dad when he was seven. It was the first time Felix had spoken of his late father without breaking down into tears that he could remember. “Felix!” The shouting of his name turned his attention to Gene who was entering the building, an

Felix woke up on the couch. The rays of morning sunlight peeked in through the windows. He glanced at the clock, Six AM. He’d managed to get a few straight hours of sleep at least. He saw he still had the Hammer cuddled to his chest and felt a little embarrassed, he hadn’t slept with it like that since the night of his father’s passing. Deciding he may as well start getting ready for work, he got up and took a look out the window. Thankfully, Ralph was gone, which meant he could get to fixing the building. Not long later he was riding the elevator to the first floor still worrying about Ralph and what he’d do about h