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During the night, Zipper would catch-up with Blot who reported on Ross’s activities and failures to attract a mate. Later, Blot was used to record Ross’s journal entries. The pair reminisced until morning before Ross appeared. He unzipped his old backpack, checked the interior compartments, removed Blot, and handed Zipper over to his cousin, Becky.
Zipper shrieked, ‘Scumbag, dufflehead. Hope you fall down a cliff.’ Becky left the house with Zipper.
Redeemed
Zipper was relieved to be utilised again and curious as to where his next destination would be. He hadn’t any experience with a female human. Becky was short and energetic with smooth skin. She smelt fresh and produced hardly any moisture, compared to Ross’s pungent skin secretions. Zipper noticed that as she carried him, pressed against her spine, her body was supple and curved. Unlike Ross, who crammed him with heavy items, size ten hiking boots, metal cooking implements and a torch, Becky was gentle, and her belongings were pliable or fragrant. Within a couple of days, she arrived at her wilderness destination and that night, boarded an express bus. Becky struggled as she heaved Zipper up onto the baggage rack. He was pushed further back by a local, who stuffed a box and a hessian bag tied up with string next to him. The bag made clucking sounds which kept Zipper awake for hours.
Limbs from passengers on outer seats spilled onto the passageway. As the engine vibrated, the automatic door snapped shut. The hydraulic brakes made a loud shooshing sound and the bus shuddered, lurching forward as the driver pumped the accelerator. By early morning they reached the local depot, a cleared spot near the road, except for a corrugated tin shed.
