Getting Down To Business

X was not able to shake the uneasy feeling that he had done something wrong. 

He had felt a presence near his window but in his mad frenzy with the music he had pushed it all away. Maybe it was a friend, maybe an enemy. He'd never know. 

Below the tower, the black sea churned angrily. Waves slammed against the tower's foundation but it had borne the waves for god knew how much time. This was a godless, timeless place anyway. It was just the console, the bed and X in the room. He didn't feel hungry here. He didn't even feel like sleeping, but he slept out of habit. He had once thought of jumping out of the window and ending it all, but a fear had come over his mind and the thought had rushed from his head like a scared animal. 

He remembered how to make music, that was all he needed some days. There was the bass. That was enough. And he knew help would come.

The help that X wanted, was sitting in a bar somewhere in a small village community and drinking her fear away. 

A forest of vodka shot glasses was littered on the table in front of her. The kitten, Blue was munching on a fish that a waitress had left for him. 

"Blue," Cin slurred, "mom washn't there. She wash NOT. I shaw her, but sheeee was NOT there!!"

Blue eyed her suspiciously and went back to his fish.

Cin addressed the empty glasses. "It wash a placsh of memories, dead thingshh. The mushic wassh sooo bad. Ghosht music. And that motherfucking tower. Oh mother. Mother..."

She put her head down on the table and drifted into the strange dreamless sleep of drunk people. Blue licked her ear and tried to wake her up but she was already snoring. The waitress came to their table and stood over  her.

"Oh damn it, not another one." she sighed. "Henry! There is a passed out case here! Send someone!"

Henry, the bartender, grumbled as he took out his cellphone and started to call people who carried drunk people home. There was not going to be any need of it though.

The waitress drifted from the table to take other orders.  

A man sitting some tables away saw that Cin was alone now. He walked up to her table and took out a picture from his coat pocket. It matched the face on the table. He picked her up from table, put her arm around his shoulder and started to drag her out of the bar. 

"Come on," he said, "we're going."

"Where arrh we goiiinnnggg?" Cin asked.

"We're going to meet the old man." the butcher replied.

In the bar, Blue left munching the fish and jumped from the table to follow the strange man who was taking his human away.

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Chapter 9! Next chapter, end of first act. And we plunge into second act :D

As always, all typos are mine. You can hit me on twitter @69fubar to talk about this story arc, or as the old ways were, leave a comment :)