Alamort | Troy Otto

1.24

[1.24]

That day, Thena Grimes promised herself to never drink again.

Her head was spinning and her vision was blurry. Almost every move startled her, made her grasp her nonexistent axe. Voices were a blur even more than what she saw, so she was satisfied when the person in front of her didn't comment when she put her hand on his shoulder to keep her stable. She didn't quite get if it was Nick or Troy, but as long as the man procured support so she wouldn't fall, she didn't care who of the two it was.

When they entered the bar, her senses seemed to sober a little. The atmosphere was warm, the lights emitting a yellowish glow and a speaker playing a soft song. She let out a small smile as she let her head fall back to avoid hitting a chandelier as she walked.

"Buenos noches," said Nick. Thena let out a small gasp as she hit the counter with her knee. She patted the air until she found a stool and pulled it next to her. Taking a seat, she placed her hands on the counter and smiled at the barman.

"Welcome to El Matadero, my fellow Americans. How can I be of assistance?"

"Well," started Nick, "I was told you're the man with the things."

"You were told correct. What sort of things are you looking for?"

"All the things." The girl let out a small laugh at Nick's words, the alcohol mixed with the pills still taking a hard toll on her system.

"We have heroína, morfina, cocaína, antefamina... codeía...."

"Can't go down. We need to go up."

"Do you really want... up?"

Nick only gave a nod. Thena watched carefully and intrigued as the bartender turned around and placed the tray of drugs under the counter. He took some shot glasses and put them in front of the three before grabbing a big jar full of liquid.

"This," he started, "is locus coeruleus."

"The hell is that?" asked Troy as Thena touched the glass jar, the sound of her nail hitting the material echoing too loudly in her ears.

"It's the nucleus from the brain stem. Pure adrenaline. As up as up gets. Enough to wake the dead."

"How much does a hunk of brains costs these days?"

"For you, my friends, its free."

With a newfound frown, Thena stared at the locus coeruleus in the shot glasses. She took one of them and brought it to her nose, sniffing carefully. She broke out in a fit of coughs, pushing away the glass from her.

"I think I'll pass," she replied, staring at Nick as he chewed, "I'll leave the brain eating for the zombies."

The moments that followed, Thena didn't pay attention to Troy and Nick. Her eyes were settled on the multitude of jars and boxes behind the bartended. When she looked around for the two men, they were nowhere to be seen, and she let out a frown.