skink






Oh, You


Oh, No









By the time I snuck silently

(Skip and I had been in the woods
playing an improvised
hide-and-seek goblin game)

to where I could see him . . .


. . . it was already too late

We were too far from the Witch's camp


the the four guys already had Skip handcuffed

and I saw

*stone sinking stomach*

that one of them
was wearing a wristwatch

Then they took off their robes

the 4 Horsemen are Security Guards

. . . from the corporation
from the 21st century


They put on their hats
and went through this
two-minute kangaroo court act
with Skip on his knees

and showed Skip his own little bag
of diamonds and gold
and listed the modern items he traded for them

and cited chapter and verse
of the employment contract
and how Skip had endangered
the shareholders' investment

and then one big bastard

drew a total bullshit Hollywood fantasy sword

and they bent Skip over

I don't think
there was anything I could have done
I've replayed it 1,000x in my mind

They would have killed both of us

I think

I don't know

Oh, no

and I sent out the biggest burst of good vibes
to him

I don't care if it was corny and new-agey

and maybe he looked up right then

"skink" is the sound
a blade makes
going through a neck







Oh, no
Oh, no






I made it back to camp

We put Skip together
and buried him

The Witch did a nice ceremony

Regine says
"There are only four Security Guards ---
no problem"

Oh, Julio
Oh, Benjamin
Oh, Skip
Oh, no