Suddenly Hogg grunted, leaned over, pushed Denny’s fingers away and lifted the discolored penis. “Hey, now. Don’t look quite so swole up no more.” He turned the pierced head. The flesh no longer filled the looped nail. Hogg pushed the crown of his little finger between the flesh and the metal arc. (Denny’s face squinched: “Ehhh …”) “Looks like the pus done mostly all run out.” Hogg grinned at me. “I guess workin’ on him did him some good, cocksucker.”

“It’s …” Denny blinked. “It’ll be all … right, I guess.” He spoke haltingly, looking down at himself; but his voice had lost some of its glassy quality. “Yeah, I … I guess it’s okay.”

Hogg sat back. His grin became laughter. “Hey, Denny! Hey, maybe we just gonna get you back to your old self again. You know?”

Denny smiled, uncertainly. “Yeah … it’s all … okay. Sure.” His hand drifted back to shucking.

Hogg sat forward and looked out the window. “We’re only a few yards off the water.” He pointed out Denny’s window toward trees and bushes. “It’s right down beside the road through that brush there. I didn’t think I’d ever hear myself say this to anyone, boy—” Hogg’s cock had pulled out my mouth and was a sticky roll of flesh under my cheek—“but I want you to get down there and wash. I want you to get yourself just as scrubbed and shiny and squeaky-clean as you can. You hear?”

“Huh?” Denny asked. “What …?” He looked down at himself.

“You all covered with piss and shit; which is fine. But the blood is gonna get you in trouble. Come on. Take your clothes off.”

Lights from another car brightened and faded on Denny’s streaked face.

“Go on. Take ’em off.”

Denny began to pick at the buttons on his shirt. “All right.” Button by button, his shirt fell open across his narrow chest.

Again Hogg reached over. He felt around the shirt till he found the breast pocket, stuck two fingers in, and came out with a wad of bills. “I didn’t figure you had time to spend any of this since this morning. Good. I’ll just keep it for you till you get back up here.”

“Hey,” Denny said. “That’s my—”

“I’ll give it back to you,” Hogg said. “You just get down there and get yourself cleaned up.”

“But—”

“You do what I say, motherfucker. Or the police gonna get you and gas your ass. That’s if they don’t just lock you up in the nuthouse basement and throw away the key.”

“I’m okay,” Denny said. “I ain’t nuts.”

“Right,” Hogg said. “And you ain’t gonna kill nobody anymore, neither.” Hogg hit the heel of his hand against Denny’s shoulder when Denny didn’t answer. Hard. “Right?”

“Yeah. All right.” Denny nodded, blinking. He began to untie his sneaker.