14. Rooster

"What are you doing out here?" Nathaniel asked, offering a claw to help William up, which he accepted reluctantly.
"I was on my way to the Valley of Nightmares when I heard singing."
"Yeah, the mushrooms are hard to resist. You just have to learn to ignore them."
The mushrooms were still singing, though they had moved on to a different song; Rooster by Alice in Chains:
"Ain't found a way to kill me yet,
"Eyes burn with stinging sweat,
"Seems every path leads me to nowhere."
"Where do they learn these songs?" William asked.
"I don't know," Nathaniel said curiously.
"Wife and kids, household pet,
"Army green was no safe bet,
"The bullets scream to me from somewhere."
"They're strange songs, to be sure," Nathaniel continued. "Perhaps they make them up?"
"No, I've heard these songs before. They're classics where I come from."
"Hey they come to snuff the rooster, aww yeah.
"Yeah here come the rooster, yeah.
"You know he ain't gonna die."
"This is a classic song for you?" Nathaniel asked uncertainly, "snuffing a rooster?"
"Yeah," William said, then sang with them; "No, no, no yeah he ain't gonna die." and even did a little bit of air guitar which he immediately felt foolish for doing.