Chapter - 3
Whoa, hold up! Rick was left utterly dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he just heard, and his mind went blank for a moment.
But then, as the shock wore off, anger started bubbling up inside him.
"What the hell, old man? You think you can just say whatever you want?" Rick yelled, his face turning red with frustration.
The old man just smirked, looking unfazed by Rick's outburst. "You got a problem with my words, young man? Maybe you should learn to mind your own business."
That was it. Rick had had enough. He just gave this shitty old man beer. To top it off, he defended him against a woman. To go against a woman in this day and age, that too for a foul mouth old man like him. Fuck, Anyone else would be washing Rick's feet and drinking that water. But this old man?
Rick clenched his fists, gripping the old cane tightly, and without thinking, he swung it towards the old man.
But just as he raised the cane to hit the old man, Rick stopped. When he looked at the old man, he just could not bring the cane down to beat him up. Despite the ugly smile on his face, the old man was nothing more than a set of bones put together. No matter what he wanted, his arms wouldn't just move. Rick was too good for this shitty world.
And then it happened. Just as his heart changed, the weather changed with him.
A mysterious force was brewing in the atmosphere, building with electric anticipation. The air crackled with energy, sending a tingling sensation down his spine. Rick paused, looking up at the sky, his eyes searching for any signs of what was to come.
And damn! Out of nowhere, the weather decided to go bonkers.
The sky which was all clear, sun shining brightly on them, had turned all dark and moody all of a sudden, like someone just flipped a switch. Black clouds popped up like nobody's business, and everyone on the street was left thinking, like, "What the heck is going on? What did we miss?"
"Hahaha... It is finally here," as the wind went nuts, the old man laughed like a maniac. The more he howled, the crazier the wind went. From a full-blown hurricane, blowing everything in its path. It was like Goddess Earth was on a rampage.
"What is going on, old man?" Rick could feel that the old man was behind everything shitty going around them, "What did you do?" But before he could get an answer, thunderstruck.
BOOM!
About a mile in front of Rick, the thunder hit. It was like a bomb went off in the sky. As soon as that bright flash hit, people started freaking out, man. It was like a signal to run for your life! Everyone on the street just went into panic mode.
People were sprinting like crazy, zig-zagging through the chaos. It was like a bunch of Olympic runners but with way more fear in their eyes! Nobody knew where to go, but we all knew we had to get the heck away from that lightning show. The ground was shaking under their feet, and it felt like the world was about to crumble!
BOOM!
And the thunder struck again, but this time, it was closer than the previous one.
"Hey, old man, I think it's time for us to leave," Rick said. He was starting to panic now. The situation was not normal at all.
But the old man just kept on laughing, as if Rick had just cracked the best joke ever. He had this crazy glint in his eye, and it was starting to freak Rick out a bit.
"Come on, dude, I'm dead serious. You can't just chill here like this," Rick tried again, raising his voice a notch.
But it's like the old man couldn't even hear him. He just kept cackling away, like he was having the time of his life.
Rick was getting pretty ticked off. He didn't know what the deal was with this old man, but Rick had no intention of sacrificing himself for him.
"Alright, die if you want to. I am leaving," Rick said and tried to leave. But suddenly he could not move. It was like his legs were stuck to the ground.
"Huh? What now?" Rick tried his hard to lift his leg, but they were like they were glued to the road.
"No... No... NO!" This was getting weirder by the second! Rick wanted to get the heck out of there, but his legs had other plans.
"Come on, legs, what's the deal?" Rick muttered to himself, trying to shake them loose.
But his legs weren't having it. No matter how much he pleaded, they won't budge an inch.
And to make things worse, those lightning strikes were getting closer and closer. Panic started to bubble up inside him like a volcano about to blow.
"Okay, this is not cool," Rick said, trying not to freak out. "Legs, we really need to move, like right now!"
But his legs were like two stubborn mules, refusing to budge an inch. It was like they were having their own little protest against him.
As another bright flash of lightning lit up the sky, Rick's heart pounded in his chest. He didn't want to be a human lightning rod, that's for sure!
With each thunderous roar, the fear intensified. Rick was starting to feel like a sitting duck in the middle of a lightning storm.
"Why me? Why now?"
And then, it happened.
A brilliant flash of light streaked across the sky, followed by a deafening roar of thunder. In an instant, everything around Rick seemed to freeze, as if time had momentarily come to a standstill. And then, with a force that knocked the wind out of him, a bolt of lightning struck him down.
Pain seared through Rick's body as he was hurled to the ground. His vision blurred, and he struggled to make sense of the chaos around him. Voices and footsteps echoed in the distance, and he could vaguely hear someone shouting for help.
Through the haze of pain and confusion, Rick became aware of a sharp burning smell and the taste of metal on his tongue. He tried to move, but his body felt heavy and unresponsive. Fear gripped his heart as he wondered if this was the end.
As Rick began to lose his consciousness. And just as he did, the old man smiled at him, showing his broken teeth, "You wanted to know my name, didn't you?"
"For all these years, I have been called so many names," The old man somehow looked profound. A wise man with all the knowledge in the world.
"But you can call me 'Daddy'" The old man said, grinning.
"Come on. Please say, Daddy."
* * * * *
Here are the choices for the readers. Whichever gets more comments is what we will do in the next chapter:
1. Call the old man Daddy.
2. Show him the middle finger.