Life after the Party

Or

Picking up Monster Girls

Chapter Two

It took almost no time to get the girls moved into our extra room. Well, it took almost no time after a quick trip to Wal-Mart in order to get a few essentials for the two of them. One of which was a bunk bed. Both of them had found a dresser they liked, and after that it was getting a few other odds and ins that they were going to need. Pinkie let me know that the apartment they were going to stay at was supposed to be fully furnished, and I had to explain that even if that was the cast they most likely were still going to have to at least get the clothing hangers. Once I gave her a rundown of what fully furnished usually meant here she explained that where she came from fully furnished meant everything except for food and clothes.

In truth that sounded like a nice deal, but at the same time I wasn’t sure that I really wanted someone else’s towels and washcloths. Maybe that was the germaphobe in me, but naw, I’d be fine with getting my own bath stuff. Once we had all of their essentials loaded we made the trip back to our house. Josh and I carried everything in, put together their furniture, and then we helped them get their other stuff into the room as well. I looked at the time, and excused myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with our new roommates, but I did have a prior engagement. I walked into Andrew’s room as he finished setting up his webcam, pointed to the chair beside him, and I took a seat. He looked ahead at the camera and a large smile came across his face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen welcome back to another edition of shuffling dead, I’m your living dead host, and today I’ve got my buddy Nick here to help me watch some more zombie anime. Tell me Nick, are you excited to see some T,A, and Z?”

I smiled, “Sure, sounds like a blast.”

“Alright, so here we go.”

With that he clicked the play button and soon Highschool of the Dead began to play. I hadn’t seen all of the episodes before, and in truth I was a little lost on what was happening. Apparently at some point two of the main cast of characters managed to get separated from the others on the minibus they had managed to get. I still wasn’t sure where they got the bus, but I wasn’t going to ask. It looked like they were riding around on a motorcycle, and they were arguing about money.

I felt myself chuckling, and at that moment Andrew stopped the episode, “Strike a cord Nick?”

I nodded, “Sure. I mean it makes sense right? Of all of the things for a girl to complain about she’s going to complain about him needing to borrow some cash.”

Andrew laughed, “Yeah, and trust me everyone that shit is the truth. It hasn’t changed at all. I know a lot of girls out there like to think that they’ve become so much different than how they were, but really it’s the same bullshit in a different package. That’s it.”

He clicked play and we watched as a deranged kid with a knife threatened to kill the girl, or did until the boy managed to get close enough to shoot him. They left him there for the zombies to find, and although I knew that zombies around now didn’t act the same it felt like the asshole got what he deserved. Andrew stopped it, looked at the camera and smiled, “Again, this is some of the funniest shit I’ve seen in ages.”

He sighed, “But honestly like Romero it seems to be doing a great job of hinting at an underlying message,” he folded his hands together, “None of that rampant consumerism bullshit, but rather pointing out that we has humans tend to hold onto our old notions of what should be right. Well, it does that and it shows some girls with fantastic racks.”

I nodded, “True that.”

He offered a highfive which I returned.

“Well,” he said, “Overall I give the series a solid seven. Sure, it’s not realistic in the slightest. I’m sure there’s several of you out there that’s gotten to know some of the Living Dead, and honestly we’re not that different from all of you. And I know there’s a pretty big movement from some of them that’s carrying on about how the zombie genre is offensive and stereotypical. Yeah, most of those asshats are turned professional protestors. If you like watching this kind of thing, watch it. No one really cares. Just know the truth that we’re not like it. Except for Warm Bodies. That movie is garbage. It’s the Twilight of the Zombie world, and I personally think that the author, and director, should be dragged out and beaten with a water hose.”

Andrew finished up his recording session, and then I watched as he began the process of editing his video. He thanked me, and let me know that the video would be up later that day. I knew that he poured a lot of time into his videos, and honestly I was glad that he had something he really enjoyed as a career. After leaving his room/recording studio, I walked out into the hall where I heard Pinkie and Fluttershy talking about what to do. Both of them wanted to get out, and they asked if there was someplace they could go to look around.

We had already been to a Wal-Mart, but what sprung up in my mind was a trip to a shopping mall. There was still a big one in Tulsa, and honestly it was part of a dying breed. Being a bit of a youtube junkie I’d watched more than my fair share of guys exploring abandoned malls, and those sights were getting greater in number every year. I asked Josh if he wanted to go, but instead he had every intention of playing a little Team Fortress 2 with a few of his friends online. I nodded, and with the two girls I walked back out to the old Ford. I quickly unlocked the door for both of them, and since Josh wasn’t coming along both of them decided to ride in the front with me. Pinkie scooted over until she was sitting close to my side, and then Fluttershy got into the old truck.

I took off in the direction of Woodland Hills, and soon we pulled up outside of the large shopping center. Looking at it I was reminded that the massive mall was a relic of a more consumeristic culture. Memories of being a child and getting to go to the Mall for some reason or another came back to me. Those had been fun times, and more often than not it was usually something that happened out of necessity instead of pure want. Walking inside I was reminded of just how large the shopping mall was. Inside it hosted no less than three hundred stores, fifteen different restaurants ranging from the typical food court fare to a couple of actual sit down restaurants that featured down home cooking.

Just walking into the mall I caught sight of several other beings. Honestly I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. It wasn’t as if I didn’t realize that other species were living among us, but it was still odd to see so many of them gathered in a single place. Part of me wondered if this was the kind of thing that would be the revival shopping malls like this needed. Instead of dwelling on it I smiled, waved, and walked with the two girls as we neared the escalator. We began to move up to the second floor and I felt something watching me. I tried to ignore it, unsure of what the feeling was, and instead I followed the girls as they began to explore the various vendors that set up shop in the middle of the floor.

I began to point out that some of these vendors were selling inferior products when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see a slender woman wearing a black business suit. She gave me a smile, handed me a card, and I looked at it.

"Jana Jones,

Interspecies Coordinator,

and Interspecies Security Captain."

I looked at her again and saw a gleam in her eyes.

"It's come to my attention that you currently have three demihumans living in your home Mr. Cooper."

I nodded, "Yeah, so?"

She grinned, "Well the Equestrians were supposed to be staying in an Apartment that was specifically reserved for them. Since that was no longer possible I was supposed to find them a home," she yawned, "I suppose it was luck they happened upon a couple of good Samaritans wouldn't you say?"

I nodded, "Yeah..."

She grinned again, "Good, so here's the deal. Your friend that's one of the Living dead already knows what he's supposed to do, and I'm sure that both of the Equestrians know their rights and responsibilities, but you, you my fine young man are a fish out of water so to speak. So I'm going to need you to memorize the Interspecies Bill, and also I've made contact with the landlord of your property."

She showed me the contract, "As of nine am this morning the department I work for purchased the property with the intent of allowing the Equestrians to continue to live there."

I almost felt like I was going to have to sit down, "Do... Do Josh and I need to move?"

She laughed, "No, in truth we would rather you remain there. The Equestrians need to have someone available to assist them," she extended her hand, "So consider yourself, and your friend, volunteering your services to that end."

"Great, I probably need to keep up with them..."

She stopped me again, "Before you head off you need to know one important detail. Some species view mating as marriage. I'm not certain about the Equestrians, but if you did anything with them, and they are such a species, then you my fine young friend, are in a marriage that is full and honored by the US government."

My eyes shrunk to pinpricks, "Say what now?"

She smiled, “Yes, I’m afraid that several gentlemen have already found themselves married. Apparently the Yuki-Onna, or Snow Woman, is one of those species that have that as part of their culture. I suppose that it is causing people to consider their actions a bit more closely at clubs.”

I swallowed, “A...Are the Equestrians?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “To be honest I’m not a hundred percent certain. I do know that I am the person that will be checking on them, and you, for quite some time. Until then I’d suggest to keep it in your pants.”

With that she turned and began to leave. As she left I realized that there was a thousand questions that I had, and not a one of were likely to be answered.

Author's Note

(AN: Wow, a second chapter. Yeah this actually has caught my attention. For those that are curious I do intend on showing some of the other species pretty soon. Expect to see a Lamia, Dullahan, and a few others fairly soon.)