Blue

Blue
an illustrated novel

Monday, August 30, 2010

Chapter 8 Vinny and the VinnCycle

The ride home on Vinny's bike would certainly qualify as one of the most amazing motorcycle experiences of Blue's life if it weren't for one thing - Blue wasn't at all sure that this actually qualified as his life. After all, he wasn't really Blue and he wasn't the real Tommy either. Regardless, the ride was a trip! The bike was a monster. It made any Harley that Blue had ever seen look like a child's toy motorcycle. It wasn't only the biggest damn bike he had ever seen, it was also remarkably well appointed and comfortable, even for two big guys like Vinny and Tommy. In fact, the thing seemed to know him. Vinny was still shaking his head in disbelief at Tommy's choice of dinner mates as he approached the bike and said one word,"T-bone." It was all Blue could do to keep his composure as the bike altered its appearance instantly before his eyes, sprouting a second seat automatically, in accordance with the single command from Vinny. The seat wasn't just another pad that popped out of some hidden compartment behind Vinny's seat. It was a full-sized seat, nearly identical to Vinny's, that seemed to grow from the back of Vinny's seat, unfolding like a stop-motion or time-lapsed photographic sequence of the opening of an exotic, blossoming flower, adding a good three feet to the total length of the bike. Vinny climbed on and Blue quickly followed, careful not to hesitate, figuring that he must be T-bone and that this was not his first time as passenger on the "VinnCycle". The bike confirmed his supposition as it wrapped itself around his form, presenting him with custom fitted armrests. seemingly sculpted to the exact contour of his forearms. Just as he felt the urge to shift his weight, the bike repositioned the seat, bringing his body into a position of absolute comfort, creating a feeling of weightlessness.

"Let's ride!" Vinny howled.

Suddenly a voice like an amplified evangelist with a tracheotomy echoed, "Let's ride," and the bike shot forth with a burst of speed unlike anything Blue had ever felt. Oddly, he didn't really "feel" a thing. He simply recognized that they were moving forward with tremendous speed. In fact, he was so comfortable that he felt as though he could fall to sleep right then and there.

"JumpJuice time!" he heard Vinny whisper as he felt a short burst of effervescence sparkle across his face. Instantly he sensed everything around him as if it was passing through some sort of amplifier. It was as if even his sense of feeling was getting louder. It was as if his senses weren't actually functioning, no, it was as if they were functioning but so quickly that he was unable to detect their origin before an even greater sensation would take over. No, it was like his brain was functioning so quickly that his senses didn't have time to feel or hear or smell. No, it wasn't that either, it was simply that he could do nothing but laugh and drool. Then Blue heard a voice that seemed to come from inside his own head.

"That's my T-bone! Settle in little bro, it's jump time for the VinnCycle."

In the time it took for Blue to realize that Vinny was actually Tommy's brother his own body seemed as though it had melted away completely. The VinnCycle had transformed again. Blue couldn't feel himself being repositioned at all, but he was hyper-aware that his body was stretched out like Superman when he's flying at top speed. Almost directly below him and slightly ahead, he could see Vinny. It was as though he was riding piggy-back on Vinny but they weren't actually touching each other. Vinny seemed to be steering them with his hands alone. The technology in this cycle was beyond anything that Blue could have imagined possible, even in a so-called parallel universe.

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