Pagewalker (17 page)

“Yea, yea ok I get it, frig sake, I’m not
simple!”

“Maybe not,” reaching out with her right hand
to push to door open, “but you don’t have a clue”

A Strong gust of warm air poured through the
opening gap, accompanied with the strong smell I knew and loved!
Yes, mentioning it again, Bacon. Proper bacon too, none of that
wafer thin crap! My mouth was watering like sponge out of a bucket!
Trailing behind by only seconds came more light, then the noise.
Like an echo chamber came the resonating sound of a packed bar
early in the wee hours. In distinctive chattering, loud bouldering
laughs, shouting over the conversations were demands of more beer
or food, the language used was shocking even for my ears, well
truth be told, I felt quite comfortable with it. If you were to
spend a day with some of my friends your vocabulary would expand
two fold!

Taking a few more steps slowly behind the
girl in front of us I noticed some strange behaviour from Tessa,
she was staying behind me. She NEVER walked behind me. Even on the
roads when she was a puppy she would only walk behind me for a
split second if a lorry or a bus sped round a blind corner. It’s
not in her nature to be so scared. This time however, she was
terrified. I stretched back to give her a reassuring pat on her
head, she walked forward to the speed needed to keep her head
resting in the palm of my head.

“Hey, um you go on ahead, I'm gona sit here a
while with Tessa, she doesn't seem right,” I said.

“Ok, suit yourself!” Continuing to walk into
the large cavern she didn’t even turn around just gave a flick of
the back of her hand as she continued on.

“Hey pup, what’s wrong?” Tessa’s Big Brown
eyes simply stared into mine, her ears tight into the side of her
head and her tail in between her legs. She was making herself
smaller and tight into my legs. She kept looking to me then
suddenly her eyes and head snapped towards to cavern ahead of us.
Her ears were pointing strait up and her body sat up from scared
and crouched with her tail curled back, to sitting upright, face
and ears pointed towards the cavern and her tail wagging furiously.
Like Anubis from Egyptian mythology, the dog headed God. She had
become suddenly alert and excited. She recognised something ahead
of us and the fear she was feeling only moments before had totally
gone.

Our guide had gone now. There was only one
direction to go from here, going back was not an option. It took a
few moments before the metaphorical light bulb appeared above my
head and the alarm bells rang. I looked at Tessa and it was as if
we were both thinking the same thing at the same time! Sarah? I
become so clear now, Tessa’s behaviour, It was how she acted when
her black Peugeot 107 pulled into the driveway, when she returned
from work. Tessa would have both paws on the windowsill, excited to
see her mummy arriving, mouth open and tail going a dinger! Her
head would click back and forth from the window to the door of the
living room until Sarah walked in. She was doing this right now.
“Tessa, stop! WAIT!” Without warning the dog tore loose from my
grasp and darted into the crowd, a bark followed after a few
seconds, then a cheer, then laughter and another bark. I edged
further in, now the doorway was behind me.

On the other side of the door lay a massive
room. Like walking into a church. Through narrow wooden doors, a
thin hallway that opens up into a massive cathedral shortly after.
The celling was rounded. Thin grey stones placed in a circular dome
overhead circled around us. They met strait walls standing still
circular and four metres high. Every few feet there was a lantern
burning, hanging from its brass brace, inches from the stone walls.
In the middle of the room was a deep pool. It looked like an old
Roman bath. Square with steeps down into a darkening pit. The water
was a lime green but turned a darker shade with each steep deeper
it went. Like a colour chart from the paint and hardware shop. The
middle of the pool looked like a black square. There was wooden
decking walkways that ran the whole circumference of the cavern. A
Single pillar of light came from the middle of the dome above It
was a low yellow glow, the sound that echoed underneath the chatter
was from above our heads. It was very clear that we were bellow the
streets of Renir. The light coming from above leaked through a
large, metal weaved grate. I could hear footsteps above moving in
every direction and see shadows dancing on the dome as people above
walked past and over the grate.

The light pillar was fading thinner as the
sun had set a while ago now, but I had noticed lamps lining the
streets on my arrival. Surly they would be lit now and illuminating
the narrow spaces between the buildings. There were wooden
handrails that ran parallel to the wooden walkways. Ropes hung from
the ceiling, in what I thought was random intervals but on closer
inspection I could see hammocks hanging, some occupied but mostly
empty. They hung at different heights. Some close together, some
apart, some directly above others and others hung solitary and away
from the others. I heard another bark. I made my way around the
walk way. There was no one in the pool at the moment but the green
coloured water underground and directly above a rain grate, didn’t
seem the most inviting or relaxing swim I could imagine. At the far
side of the cavern was where all the activity was happening. A
large group, with backs turned had gathered around something stood
on a raised part of the decking. There was a large collection of
wooden barrels, crates, boxes and sacks of grain or rice or
something, hoarded under the raised platform. The steps were only
about four steps high but I couldn’t see past the men standing with
their backs to me facing and cheering at whatever was happening up
ahead. I made my way towards the stairs. Another bark, I was about
to ascent the first wooden step, stick with years of beer spills
and other liquids I would rather not imagine. Pushing past and
between the crows came a black and white nose, wet and black, the
mouth was open and a large pink tongue was hanging from between
white blunt teeth. Brown eyebrows hovered above large brown eyes.
They were looking directly into mine and beckoning me forward. I
reached out to touch her head but she was gone again. I bounded up
the stairs, shoulder charging my way past the crowd into the centre
of everyone’s fascination. There was a large curved bar. Made from
two doors placed on top of four wooden, cube shaped crates. There
were tankards some full, some empty, and some that tested your
mental outlook or positivity. Leading over the bar was a burley
man, mutton chop facial hair, bowler hat. Dirty Cream apron and a
white shirt with the sleeves rolled up far past his biceps. Tattoos
of Sea creatures, boats and wolves ran the lengths of his arms and
hands.

He met my gaze with an almost toothless grin
and pointed his eyes towards the floor at the front of the bar. My
eyes drifted down, both excited and nervous of who or what I may
find. My heart longed with all of it;s fibers, that my eyes would
send the news it had been longing for. My heart wanted to see my
wife, IT wanted to see Sarah. Where the crates met the floor I
could see a tail wagging, two paws were planted on the wooden
decking and the other two were on the lap of the owner of two small
shoes. Shiny black shoes. On Tessa’s head rubbed small fingers
through her fur. Those fingers were ringed and attached to small
arms. Following the arms towards the face my heart sank and cut
communication from my heart. There was no long blonde hair I had
been hoping for, no hourglass figure and ruby red lipstick smile.
Instead was a ginger beard and a flat cap, accompanied with a
yellow toothed grin.

“Ah, bout ye mucker! Wondered when ye would
turn up here!” Came a familiar voice, not the one I was hoping for
but a very welcome one at that.

“Abe, Jesus Christ, Thank God it’s you!” I
gasped out, exhausted from the blood rushing through my body
overtime on account of my heart getting as excited as a fat man
seeing cake for the first time in a week. Tessa was sitting
contently with her paws on Abe's knees she was almost his height as
he crouched to pet her. His clothes were new. I had noticed that he
wore the same garb as many of the men and women in the room.

“You got him safe enough then Tara?” Abe
spoke with his head turned to the left. Sitting at the bar behind
him was our guide. She had chugged a pint already and was making
good on her second. Foam dripping from her chin and she chugged and
chugged until she slammed the tankard with a hollow metal sound,
upside down. “Well I wouldn’t say Easy boss, but got him here fair
enough, he can handle himself all right. Helped me with a pair of
bruisers on the way too. The others are probably still looking for
someone with a skirt like that.” She gestured to my kilt, much to
the amusement of the revellers around us.

“Hold on a friggin minute.” I protested,
putting my hands in front of my face like I was about to start the
Macarena. “She called you boss, and you sent her to get me? You
knew I would be coming? What the bloody hell is going on Abe? My
mind is totally melted here.” Another chorus of cheers and laughter
went up. Pints held high and a hard slap from a one eyed, putrid
smelling, hobo almost knocked me off my feet. “You gota help me out
here buddy, It’s a bit much to take in, u know what I mean
like?”

Abe chuckled and patted Tessa, letting her
know to return to her master who was getting worked up into a bit
of a tizzy. “Come on over, have another drink.” The room returned
to a more normal state now. People turned their back and broke off
into smaller groups of threes or pairs. The interest turned away
from us and back to normal conversation. Abe stood up and jumped
onto a high stool with his back now to me at the bar. He turned his
head slightly in my direction and beckoned me forward again with
the flick of his cupped hand. “mon over lad, share a drink.”

“ABE FOR FECK SAKE!” It burst out of me like
a bubbling geezer on the Iceland flats. So much pressure and
confusion had built up. I yelled it, like, really yelled it,
growled it almost. Tessa was tight into my legs, curling round her
feet in her over submissive, collie like way. Also in true Tessa
fashion, her bladder opened and she peed all over my bloody shoes.
Its always troubling when you feel a sudden heat on your toes. The
room fell deathly silent. Not a sound was made. Again all heads had
turned to face us. The air was thick with anticipation. You could
have cut it like a warm knife through whipped cream. The room felt
deaf. An involuntary belch came from a few rows back and an old
greying man gave an embarrassed and nervous shrug after a few angry
glares. I knew in that moment that Abe held some sway among these
people. I knew I should have apologised immediately, but my hot
headedness once again got the better of me.

“Im not going to join you for a bloody drink,
I’ve just been chased by a fat prick with a face of a pig, Stabbed
his mate in the God damn eye, pulled backwards into this stinking
crap hole, chased this prat through tunnels too low for any man..”
Tara kicked her stool back and took a step in my direction, her
hand on her blade. Abe put his arm out in front of her and stopped
her in her tracks. She obediently waited but without removing her
hand from the hilt. I really should have stopped there, did I? no.
“Not to mention waking up yesterday in the bloody sea, climbing a
friggin cliff, bumping into a crack pot talking to himself, having
to sing for my supper then wake up, hungover and traipse to this
god forsaken city. I have no idea where I am, I don’t know anyone,
I’m starving, cold and wearing a bloody skirt AND I still have no
idea where my god damn wife is!”

Silence.

More silence.

A distant muffled cough.

Silence broken. “Ok son, I can see and hear
clear as any that you’ve been through the works. Believe me I know.
We have a lot to talk about.” Abe said calmly, his voice low and
soothing. My blood was still on the hob however and bubbling
over.

“You don’t know Abe, I will do anything to
get her back even if it means ripping your ginger, smug, luchorpán
head of your ancient shoulders to spill out the answers out I
will!” I screamed this, veins popping in my forehead and my neck
and spit flying from my lips with every word. That seemed to get
the reaction I knew it would but secretly hoped it wouldn’t. Tara
and leapt from her stool. I was grabbed from behind and my arms
were pulled back rendering me helpless, I kicked out but Tara
rolled past my feet and had pulled her self close to me. Her blade
cutting my skin. Her face in mine and eyes like a hawk focusing on
its next kill. She turned her hair to Abe for a nod to make the
kill, he however just smiled. “Tara my dear, I wouldn’t be so hasty
to cut this one. You really have no idea who you are threatening do
you?” Her blade lowered slightly and the grip around my arms
loosened slightly. I tried to wriggle but I was still held tight
enough to be unable to move.

“You really wouldn’t want to be known as the
girl who cut the Dia now would you?” Gasps went up as the word fell
from his lips. A Smug smile appeared on his face as he gestured
towards me. Tara spat and kissed her lips

“Ha, this is the Dia Abe? You must be drunk,
the man can hardly run or fight!” She mocked, looking me up and
down.

“Ah but that is irrelevant, trust me, it was
his words that I found, His words that lead me here, his words that
birthed all of you.” My captors instantly backed off. I fell to my
feet. This was strange because I hadn’t even noticed I was lifted
off of them. Abe walked over to me and grabbed my shirt pulling me
up. He couldn’t help me the whole way to my feet as he only made it
to my waist. The crowd backed up even farther. Faces dropped and
turned white, like they had seen horns appear on my forehead. I
have always been a bit of a show off, I’m a drummer for God’s sake,
the loudest one at any gig, but this kind of attention made me feel
uneasy. Everyone looked scared of me. Tara had dropped her blade
and held both her hands over her mouth. She kept walking backwards,
past Abe and tripping slightly over the stool she had kicked back
moments before. Like the story of Moses parting the sea I parted
the drunken sea of thieves and rogues as I made my way to the bar
with Abe. We sat like freaks at a circus, or so it felt. For a long
while before anyone spoke.