Kicking Back at the Taco de Setas


The cool breeze of the air conditioning also brought the spicy smell of taco meat and bleach. Before opening his eyes, Fever knew he was in the Taco de Setas. He reclined slowly against the hard plastic bench and opened his eyes. The sunlight lit up the room. The place was not too busy and the smell was making him hungry.

He noticed a man by the window, long bread stained with nicotine. Can I bum a smoke? Fever motioned with his hands. The man tossed one to him and Fever pulled out his lighter, lit the cigarette and took a deep draw.

“This is heaven, ain’t it?”

A man with albino white skin slid into the seat opposite Fever. He had white hair and his face had Asiatic features. His eyes were a brilliant blue. He placed a tray filled with tacos and burritos on the table and motioned with a nod for Fever to take a sample. He reached over and grabbed a taco and took a bite. He meditated on the flavours and how they filled his mouth.

“Now, that’s a damn fine taco.” He looked at his phone. The time read --:--. He knew that the symbols/numbers had lost their meaning in this space.

“You look pretty good. Not your usual box shape, or whatever.” He said, drawing a square in the air with his finger. Normally, the elves would appear to him as short balls of contained energy. Almost like a large, glowing brilliant gummy bear. It seemed that they have been making this other dimension a little more accommodating as well. Today, it was not the typical moonscape with the electric sky. This was much warmer.

Fever looked past the elf out the window. It was just a wall of rainbow colors, with a focus light from a sun. Light seemed to be present in everything. The air in the restaurant was thick. He could feel it clinging to his skin, wrapping his body. Just like any fast food joint back at home.

“Do you see this chair?”

“Yes.”

“Close your eyes. Do you see the chair? Is the image persisting?”

“Yes.”

“Do these questions make you nervous?

“No.”

“Is your negative answer a cover for your true feelings, an unease about being questioned at all and where this line of questioning will ultimately lead?

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when you’ve been asked these questions before?”

“I remember. It wasn’t here and it wasn’t with you. They were blue orbs that took me into a forest. A crow asked the questions.”

“Were they happy with the answers?”

“I guess so.” He said, taking another bite. “I’m allowed back here, ain’t I?”

“Who said you ever leave this dimension after you trip.” The elf said. “These multiple universes really just resemble a layered hologram.”

Fever opened his eye slowly and a white glow filled his field of vision. It took him an hour to open his eyelid.

“At least it’s not a computer simulation. ”

“We’ll get to that later.”

“I can feel you growing in my mind.”

“Just stop tripping. You got to get it all together.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s time for another run.”

“Not this again. Does anyone care? I’ve been shit on since I put my foot into the ocean. “

“Just show them.”

“I dreamed that when I put that foot into the ocean, I turned around and shot the Premier and that asshole from the Cancer Agency who were presenting me with a ribbon. Then I emptied my clip into the surrounding crowd. What a great feeling that was. I woke up feeling refreshed and excited to be alive. “

“That’s happened because we have thought it, and it could happen again. You are under magickal attack. It’s time to deal with it head on. Now let’s get out there and rip some shit up.”

“Why?”

The elf turned as two women, dressed in yellow and red Taco de Setas uniforms, appeared from behind Fever. Their pale skin and white hair contrasted with their bright clothing. He noticed that their arms resembled octopus tentacles. He blinked. When he opened his eyes, the first woman was cradling a black mushroom in her tentacle arms. The mushroom had a pair of glowing yellow eyes that stared back at him.

“They don’t grow like that back at home.” Fever said.

The girl behind him held his right arm outstretched, while the other attached the mushroom to it. Her tentacle arm wrapped around his bicep. When his veins had filled with blood, sharp roots, like tentacles from a jellyfish, appeared from the bottom of the mushroom and pierced his skin. Fever could feel a warm sensation flow through his body. He relaxed into the booth, his other arm draped over the back of the seat. He stared at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Their soft glow pulsated slowly. He heard laughter and talking as the restaurant became busier. The women took seats in the booth as well and the three stared at Fever as the warm circulated through his body. After a while, he could feel this mind becoming itchy.

“Is the rain falling or is the falling the rain?”

“Are you the product of a spore from space seeded billions of years ago?”

“Who is it who repeats the Mushroom's name?”

“Who is dragging your corpse about?”

“What did your face look like before your father and mother were born?”

“Do you know the sound of one hand clapping?” the woman looked at Fever. Fever shrugged his shoulders. She swung one tentacle in front of her, mimicking that she was clapping with one hand. “That’s the first step in a multi-layered answer.”

“It’s only something you can answer through practice. You can’t just conceptualize the answer. You’ll never understand just by thinking about the problem.” The other woman said.

“That’s the esoteric underpinning to your run. Doing, not thinking.” The first woman said.

“Do you see this burrito?” the man said. “Close your eyes. Is the image persisting?”

“Edward Lester took some mushrooms. With these mushrooms he was able to see and visit many alternative dimensions.”

“That guy was a visionary. Best damned porn director in the biz.” Fever said. “But, I just don’t understand.”

“The mushrooms he took were the same variety that you sampled on your run later. A special variety of mushroom that only grows in the Valley. That’s why you are here.”

“And that’s why he was able to make the films he did.”

“Now it’s time to go home.”

“Vernon? I’m not going any where near that shit hole ever again.”

“Back to the mushrooms.” The woman said.

“Then there is Wolf and her Agency. That’s another matter. Eat another taco.”

He blinked again, slowly. The woman sitting across from him grabbed him around the neck and squeezed hard. He could feel his cock begin to grow hard. He pulled down his gold satin gym shorts. The woman beside him took his cock in her hand and gave it a tight squeeze, stroking it to full erection. With her other tentacle, she removed the mushroom from his arm and placed it beside his cock.

“Your cock is almost one mushroom tall.” The elf said.

“You were funnier when you looked like a gummy bear.”

The mushroom sent out tendrils that began to pierce the head and shaft of his cock. Like small worms, they wiggled under the skin. He felt like he was having an orgasm, but he did not cum. The mushroom was absorbing the ejaculate through the tendrils. Fever could feel the warmth leave his cock and move to the slimy mushroom. He looked down and locked eyes with the yellow eyes staring back at him. Fever had the sensation of a cigarette in his mouth, and he could smell and taste the sweet aroma of the tobacco.

“Fuck you. I’m not running. I’m just going to sit back, drink some brews and jerk off.” Fever said.

“Let’s just kick back and enjoy ourselves.” The mushroom whispered telepathically. “We’ll hit the road tomorrow. How’s that sound, lover boy?”