Shannon asked what kind of movies they were going to show. “Hope it’s not going to be that arty shit.” He’d said before he thought Hobie and Todd had too much of that at their video store.
“He’ll come up with something else to be into after he gets tired of running the theater. That’s going to be a bigger hassle than a video shop.”
“I think he already has with this new drug he’s come up with,” said Todd.
“This isn’t meth, right, it’s something else?”
“It’s a drug made out of some old kind of sarsaparilla,” said Todd.
“Out of what?”
“It’s like an old-fashioned soft drink, got something to do with voodoo.”
“Voodoo? You serious?”
“Yeah, it’s called Bald Cat. Louisiana Old-Fashioned Bald Cat Sarsaparilla. They stopped making it in the 1920s or something, but Hobie found a place to order it from with his home computer. It’s some shop in New Orleans where you can buy cats’ bones and all kinds of shit. You know how he’s into all that.”
“From the ’20s? You mean it’s real old, the original shit in old bottles?”
“I guess it’s fermented or something. That’s why you can use it to make this drug.”
“You drink this shit, when it’s that old?” Shannon made a grossed-out face.
“The finished product is kind of like candy, you eat it. Looks kinda like gummy worms.”
“You eat it? It sounds hideous. Have you done this shit?”
“Nope.”
“You going to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, fuck old Hobag and his devil dope,” said Shannon. “Are we gonna play poker or not?”
“Sure,” said Dewey, but everyone kept lying around, watching the porn video Todd had on, all with relative indifference except Dewey, who seemed to be sweating a little.
They had just begun to play poker when Hobie finally showed up about a half hour later, after they’d pretty much given up on him. He was acting real cheerful. Soon as he was in the door, he pulled a large plastic zip-lock bag out of his coat with some pinkish substance in it, shook it.
“Anybody want to sample some Verum Deus?” he said. “I should warn, I’m not talking about an ordinary high.”
“What you call it?”
“Verum Deus, is how it’s known. Very big with the cogniscenti out on the West Coast.”
“Who is the, what you say? What you talkin’ ’bout, boy?” Shannon stretched and yawned. “Is this the shit made from Dr. Pepper or, what was it?”
Hobie laughed. “Never mind that, just try it. It’s some heavy shit. It’s said by some to bring out a person’s essential nature.”
“Doesn’t sound like a good thing to me,” said Shannon.
“It’s definitely an adventure, and not for the timid. The recipe is quite difficult. Isn’t it, Todd? Todd, of course, actually made it.”
“Yeah,” said Todd. “I mean, I made it. I don’t know whether it’s, what did you say? Heavy shit?”
“He got you to make it?” Shannon shook his head. “Then you gave it all to him, or what?”
“Yeah,” said Todd. “I’m not really that…” He shrugged.
“Todd’s the chemist around here,” said Hobie. “I’m just the visionary.”
“I wouldn’t call it chemistry, exactly,” said Todd.
“I don’t necessarily like ‘heavy shit,’” said Shannon. “What is it, like acid? I don’t do acid.”
“There’s really nothing to compare it to,” said Hobie.
“This is that seventy-year-old shit Todd was telling us about?”
“Actually, I have no idea how old it is.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s safe if it’s seventy years old, man.”
“I’ve tried it several times myself, no ill effects whatsoever,” said Hobie.
“I’m not taking any,” said Dewey, but Todd figured he would if Shannon did.
“Where’d you find this shit again?”
“I got the recipe some time back from some literature put out by the Apocalypsis Ordine Angelorum group.”
“The who?” said Shannon.
“An occult group. I didn’t even think it was a real thing because the main ingredient was this product from a long-defunct company in New Orleans, but lo and behold, I found some online. It’s—”
“Apoca-what?” said Todd. “You didn’t tell me that part. Isn’t that some Satanist group or something? I think Clare mentioned them sometime.” He couldn’t remember, there was so much weird shit she talked about anymore.
“They’re a Crabtreeite group from the West Coast,” said Hobie. “Apparently they got involved in some shenanigans back in the ’60s, but I understand today they’re pretty benign.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring,” said Shannon. “Not carving up pregnant sex symbols anymore, huh?”
Hobie laughed. “Nothing like that.” He sat down in Todd’s rocking chair near the TV.
Shannon got up, reached for the bag. “Looks kind of like fucking worms. You sure some flies didn’t lay eggs in here? You supposed to eat it?”
“Of course.”
“You sure? You just eat it?”
“Correct.”
“How much?”
“A spoonful,” said Hobie, pulling a spoon from his pocket.
“Wow, you’re all prepared.”
Hobie dipped into the stuff, pulled a spoonful and put it in his mouth.
“I’m not using the same fucking spoon as you,” said Shannon.
“Okay, I’ll get some spoons,” said Todd, going into the kitchen.
When he returned, Shannon dipped in and tried it, and then Todd did as well. Dewey, as Todd expected, did too, since Shannon had, though he acted reluctant about it.
“Jeez, it tastes bitter, doesn’t it?” said Shannon. “I thought it would be sweet like pop.”
“Well, are we going to play poker or what?” said Dewey.
“I doubt that this game will last,” said Hobie. “It’s supposed to take effect quite quickly.”
“What’d you mean, s’posed to? I thought you already took some.”
“I did, but it was from a different batch.”
“Same shit, though, right?”
“Certainly.”
They went on playing poker, for small stakes since Shannon insisted he couldn’t play unless it was for money. Before too long, Todd noticed everyone was getting pretty quiet, and he himself couldn’t concentrate on the cards. In fact, the game had broken down completely, and they were just sitting around the table motionlessly, staring at each other, apparently all of them with their minds sludged considerably.
Todd looked at each face, judging that Hobe appeared to be the most impaired. An ambiguous section of time passed. Todd thought about getting up, but didn’t. Eventually he started to feel somewhat energized, almost with a start.
Just then, he saw that Dewey had the top off the container of stuff, Verum whatever, and was peering into it. He said, “Jesus fuck, this shit is moving. It’s worms! It’s live worms!”
Shannon had seemed really out of it, but snapped alert suddenly. “Say what? Lemme see that shit.”
“Goddamn, you’re right! Fuckin’ Hobag, what the fuck—”
He jumped up, grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him.
Todd picked up the bag, opened it. It didn’t look to him like they were moving at all, but he didn’t say anything.