Roads Of Passage, Part 8

Roads Of Passage
by Blackbladder
Part 8

"Damn!" Rose muttered as the mobile phone failed to buzz to life.  She could
not understand this as the phone had been charged hours before they departed
on this trip.  Kicking her heels in frustration, Rose joined her friends back
inside the saloon.  Upon walking towards the table, she was shocked to see
Maxine flick her lighter to life and prod it towards Daisy's cigarette.
Daisy's cheeks collapsed and her eyes closed, a clear sign of her embracing
the smoke in her lungs.  Seconds later, Daisy reluctantly removed the
cigarette from its resting place and pursed her lips to release a tight
stream of smoke towards the smoky fanlight above them.  

"I really, really like this!!" Daisy beamed, thoroughly enjoying this new
experience.

"What the hell is going on?!"  Rose exclaimed, sitting down beside Pandora,
whom was shaking her head in disbelief.

Daisy, startled by Rose's return and abrupt question, tapped her cigarette
against the ashtray, hoping to delay an answer as long as possible.  She knew
that Rose in particular was against smoking.  

"Give the poor girl a break!" Maxine said, her cigarette dangling waiting for
the spark of life.  Moments later, Maxine granted its wish by flicking the
lighter and feeding the end its necessary fire.

Daisy was encouraged by Maxine's defending statement, and now felt more
secure about her actions.  

"Listen, I tried it earlier on today, and I must admit I like it very much.
Smoking ain't as bad as everyone makes out.  I am not gonna do this all the
time or anything...just now and again join Maxine for a cigarette or two."
Daisy justified, trying to appease her irate friends.

Realizing that Daisy had become a new supporter of nicotine, Rose did not
pursue this line of enquiry, and changed the subject.

"Is anybody's phone working today?"  Rose asked, still shocked by the sight
of Daisy smoking.

"Nah.  I tried to phone earlier on, but failed to get a signal."  Pandora
replied.   

The two smokers just shook their heads whilst feeding their lungs happily.  

Rose frowned at the response.  She had been hoping to contact Mark to see how
he fared in the race. 

An hour had passed since their arrival at the saloon.  The group, with the
exception of driver, Rose, had consumed six rounds between them of alcohol.
The bartender was busy closing up the bar for the night as Iona greeted the
final customers out of the premises.  The cloud of smoke hung thick in the
atmosphere, consuming everything and everyone within the bar.  Rose and
Pandora had taken frequent visits outside for fresh air whilst Daisy and
Maxine revelled in the heavy haze.  Over the hour, Maxine's support and the
allure of the nicotine breeded more confidence into Daisy about her actions
today.  She had reasoned that smoking had many benefits, and provided her
with an enormous sense of well-being.  Daisy also felt more confident as
well, and relaxed as she consumed more cigarettes, thanks to encouragement by
her best friend.  

Iona walked towards the group of friends and greeted them with a smile,
watching Maxine grind out her latest cigarette in the ashtray delicately.
Iona and the friends all walked out of the establishment into the deserted
car park.

"Thanks so much for this lift, guys.  I normally get a lift with Fred, the
bartender, but he ain't goin my way tonight." Iona smiled, sitting between
Maxine and Daisy in the back.  

As Iona directed them to her house, they discovered more about their new
friend.  Iona had been working at the saloon as a kitchen porter since she
left school.  Iona also seemed very pleasant - and very chatty.  The
black-haired beauty was twenty-one years old and single - immediately sharing
status and age with the rest of her new-found friends. Pandora felt pity for
Iona, who had been forced to sit in the back with the smokers - their smell
permuting the back seat.  

They drove up towards an old, wooden gate and the car stopped.  

"We're here!"  Iona exclaimed in relief, just glad to be home.

"You sure your parents gonna be ok with this?"  Daisy asked, looking
nervously beyond the wooden gate at the two-storey isolated house.  The house
stood alone in the middle of the countryside.  All but one light seemed to
eminate from the different rooms within the house.  That was a good sign as
far as Rose was concerned.  Pandora was more hesitant though, feeling uneasy
about staying with a stranger.  The story earlier of the Removal Man
definitely heightened her senses for the dark evening.  

"Yeh.  Let's go.  It's cold out here tonight."  Iona said as the group
stepped outside of the car, steadying their feet on the soft soil road.  

As Iona lead the friends towards the front door, they were startled by
growling nearby.  Pandora screamed, her senses frayed and on edge as Iona
walked into the darkness of the garden.  Immediately, they could hear the
growling form into a slow whining.

"There boy, calm down, its just me." They could hear Iona talk.

The friends sighed as they realised their friend had a dog - a big dog!

Joining the tourists once more, Iona showed them to the front door and turned
the handle.  

The door twisted open, and they were all greeted with a curly, red haired
older woman, dangling a cigarette in the corner of her mouth.  

"Hi Ma, we got guests tonight." Iona reasoned, showing her friends into the
well-lit hallway of the house.  

Frowning, the older woman closed the door firmly, maintaining strained eye
contact on the strangers now in her house.  The woman deeply inhaled on her
cigarette as she approached the party of visitors.  Rose and Pandora held
their breath as the cigarette smoke was simply an ingredient to the ambient,
stale smoke already sweeping over them from within a room behind them.  

Previous part | Next part