Willyhasaround,
disk mouth lined with sensitive,erectile blackhairs. He
is blind from shooting in the eyeball, his noseand palate
eatenawaysniffingH,hisbody amass ofscar tissue
hardanddryaswood.Hecanonlyeat theshit now
withthatmouth,sometimesswaysoutonalong tube
ofectoplasm, feelingfor thesilent frequencyof junk.
He follows my trailall overthe cityinto roomsI move
outalready,andthefuzzwalksinsomenewlyweds
from Sioux Falls.
"All right, Lee! ICome outfrom behindthat strap-on!
Weknowyou"andpulltheman'sprickoff straight-
away.
NowWilly isgetting hotand youcan hearhim always
outthereindarkness(heonlyfunctionsatnight)
whimpering, and feelthe terribleurgency ofthat blind,
seekingmouth.Whentheymoveinfor thebust, Willy
goes all out of control, andhis moutheats ahole right
through thedoor. Ifthe copsweren't thereto restrain
himwithastock probe,he wouldsuck thejuice right
out of every junky he ran down.
Iknew,andeverybodyelseknewtheyhadthe Disk
on me.And ifmy kidcustomers everhit thestand: "He
force me to commit all kinda awful sexacts inreturn for
junk" I could kiss the street good-bye.
Sowestockupon H,buy asecond-hand Studebaker,
and start West.
The Vigilante copped out as a schizo possession case:
"Iwasstandingoutside myselftrying tostop those
hangingswithghostfingers....Iamaghost wanting
what everyghost wants-- abody --after theLong Time
movingthroughodorlessalleys ofspace whereno life
is onlythe colorlessno smellof death....Nobody can
breathe and smell it through pink convolutionsof gristle
laced with crystal snot, time shit and black blood filters
of flesh."
Hestoodthereinelongatedcourt roomshadow, his
facetornlikea brokenfilm bylusts andhungers of
larval organs stirring in the tentativeectoplasmic flesh
of junk kick ( ten days on ice at time of theFirst Hear-
ing) flesh that fades at the first silent touch of junk.
I saw it happen. Ten pounds lostin tenminutes stand-
ingwith thesyringe inone handholding hispants up
withtheother,hisabdicated fleshburning ina cold
yellowhalo,thereintheNewYorkhotelroom...
night table litter of candyboxes, cigarettebutts cas-
cading out of three ashtrays,mosaic ofsleepless nights
and sudden food needsof thekicking addictnursing his
baby flesh.
..
night table litter of candyboxes, cigarettebutts cas-
cading out of three ashtrays,mosaic ofsleepless nights
and sudden food needsof thekicking addictnursing his
baby flesh....
TheVigilanteisprosecutedinFederalCourt under
a lynchbill andwinds upin aFederal NutHouse spe-
cially designedfor thecontainment ofghosts: precise,
prosaicimpactofobjects...washstand...door...
toilet...bars...therethey are...this isit... all
linescut...nothingbeyond...DeadEnd...Andthe
Dead End in every face....
Thephysicalchangeswere slowat first,then jumped
forward in black chunks, fallingthrough hisslack tissue,
washingawaythe humanlines.... Inhis placeof total
darknessmouthandeyesare oneorgan thatleaps for-
wardtosnapwithtransparentteeth...butnoorgan
is constant as regards eitherfunction orposition... sex
organssproutanywhere...rectumsopen,defecateand
close...theentireorganismchangescolorandcon-
sistency in split-second adjustments....
The Rube isa socialliability withhis attacksas he
callsthem.TheMarkInsidewascominguponhim
andthat'sa rumblenobody cancool; outsidePhilly he
jumpsouttoconaprowlcar andthe fuzztakes one
look at his face and bust all of us.
Seventy-twohoursandfivesickjunkies inthe cell
with us. Now notwishing tobreak outmy stashin front
of these hungrycoolies, ittakes maneuveringand laying
of gold on the turnkey before we are in a separate cell.
Providentjunkies,knownassquirrels,keepstashes
against a bust. Every time I take a shot I let afew drops
fall into my vest pocket, the lining is stiff with stuff. I
had a plasticdropper inmy shoeand asafety-pin stuck
inmybelt.You knowhow thispin anddropper routine
isput down:"She seizeda safetypin cakedwith blood
andrust,gougeda greathole inher legwhich seemed
tohangopenlikeanobscene, festeringmouth waiting
forunspeakablecongresswiththedropperwhichshe
nowplungedoutofsightintothegapingwound. But
herhideousgalvanizedneed(hungerof insectsin dry
places)has brokenthe dropperoff deepin theflesh of
her ravagedthigh (lookingrather likea posteron soil
erosion).Butwhatdoesshecare?She doesnot even
botherto removethe splinteredglass, lookingdown at
herbloodyhaunchwith thecold blankeyes ofa meat
trader.