Pools of smoke collected towards the ceiling, highlighted in the buzzing, electric light. Eli was smoking. His hand shaking, he took violent drags, clenching and unclenching his other fist, before a brief moment of calm as he breathed out. The smoke wisped its way languidly up to join its predecessors in clinging to the rafters. Eli didn’t know exactly if he was allowed to smoke here. He was crouched in one corner of the room, wearing a shirt and a tie already out of place from repeated loosening. Opposite him was a table. Large, round and imposing it dominated the space and he was doing his best not to focus on it too much. He couldn’t work out why it made him feel slightly off-guard. There were name cards sitting at each individual seat. Eli couldn’t see his name.
The door in the far corner opened. A tall, smartly dressed man sidled in, stopped momentarily to survey his surroundings and then abruptly slammed the door shut. He coughed once and then briskly strode over to Eli.
“Very good, sir.”
Eli tensed slightly and rubbed his forehead.
“What?”
“Very good, sir. You are remarkably prompt. Do not worry; the others will be with you shortly.”
“Others? Yes. Um…how soon? I’ve been waiting here nearly…”
He looked at his wrist only to realise he wasn’t wearing a watch.
“..Waiting here about…”
He paused again.
“I’ve been waiting here for rather a long time. I’m not entirely sure that I…”
“We appreciate that. Shortly, sir. The others will be with you shortly.”
With that, the man turned sharply on his heel and headed back to the door. He reached out to grasp the handle and then turned again.
“I have no doubt this time will prove very useful, sir.”
He then gestured to a stark, white cabinet next to Eli.
“Do have a drink if you desire.”
Then he was gone.
Eli leant forward and then lifted himself up, with only slight resistance from his knees. Still holding his cigarette in one hand, he shuffled over to the cabinet that the man had indicated. He turned the handle, half expecting it to be locked, but soon an ordered line of glasses next to a vast array of variously coloured bottles were staring back at him. The bottles had no labels. Eli let out a sigh. He picked up one of them, turned it one way and then the other in his hand and pulled out the stopper. One sniff and a sharp turn away of the head later, and the decision was made. Eli poured himself a drink.
The door flew open. There was a sharp crash and Eli winced, tightening his hand around something that wasn’t there anymore. He had dropped his glass.
Six men filed in mechanically and then stood impassive by the door. One of them, holding a clipboard, walked over to Eli.
“Are you ok…” he glanced down at the clipboard, “…Eli?”
“Sorry, sorry, I was just a bit…”
Eli bent down to try and salvage some of the broken glass, but it appeared to be a relatively thankless task. Eli sighed again. His drink was already seeping into the carpet. The man put a hand on Eli’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry about that, really. Someone can clean it up afterwards. Now,” he straightened up, “are you ready yourself?”
“I…yes… I think…actually, no. Maybe not, no. Have I come to the…am I with the right group? I couldn’t see my name at the table…”
“Group? Oh 1 | 2 | 3 NEXT |
etcetera.online
