Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

Chapter 8: Nose to the Grindstone

It had been a helter skelter mess of phone calls and emails as Willow ordered supplies and tried to find someone to help her out. Edmund, her former boss, agreed to come up and help her. He had tried to find someone else who could join them, but no one was available during the winter break period. Willow had no luck recruiting from her classmates either. She couldn't blame them though, they just wanted to go and see their families.

Willow now found herself standing in the middle of the empty bar, just the lights, fans, and a single television left on for some background noise while she and her former boss worked. It looked like whoever worked the night before had been kind enough to move the tables and chairs out of the way, and cleaned the floor.

Willow had the idea to have blue shoe prints added to the flooring as subtle guides towards the bar, burlesque, and the corner where the live bands would play. She had assured her old boss that once the flooring was installed she could handle finishing everything up on her own.

The first day had gone very quickly. It took them almost no time to get the boards in place, stain the prints, and begin to put the finish on the floor. They figured if they kept up the pace of their work, everything completed by the morning and the floor's new coatings would have plenty of time to dry before being used.

Around supper time the pair went into the burlesque to grab a bite to eat and relax. One of the staff had left their radio on and a few of the workers gathered around to listen to the news. They looked really worried.

"What's up? You guys look spooked." Willow said as she took a seat at a nearby table.

"Haven't you seen the news?" one of the actors asked.

"Not really. We've got a tv on in the bar, but it's mostly for the music channels." Willow explained.

One of the workers turned up the radio so everyone could hear. The actor moved closer to Willow's table to fill her in quickly, "Some psychos have been spotted running around the city. A few people got beat pretty badly, and one's in the hospital."

"Jesus..." Willow gaped.

The announcer on the radio spoke up, informing listeners that some of the attackers were still at large and a citywide hunt was underway. If anyone had any information on persons wandering the streets wearing an emblem of an eye surrounded by fire, they were to avoid contact and inform the authorities immediately.

Madame Celeste entered the room just as the news piece ended and the commercials began to play. She asked when Willow and her former boss would be finished, to which they said around midnight.

"You can drive Willow home, correct?" Celeste asked.

"Of course! I'm not going to let her walk home at night with this shit going on... If you'd pardon my language." Edmund replied.

"Good." Celeste nodded with relief before turning to Willow, "Did you still plan on coming in tomorrow to finish working on the doorframe?"

"That was the plan... But if there's a bunch of lunatics running around it might be safer to play it by ear." Willow gently drummed the pads of her fingers on the table as she thought.

"I don't want you wandering alone. If you do come in tomorrow, I want you to travel with one of your friends."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Willow replied. She was sure one of them would be fine with walking with her to The Blue Shoes and sticking around after.

Again Celeste nodded, urging them to be cautious with all that was happening in the city.

"Why are these maniacs going around attacking people?" Willow wondered aloud.

"They are fanatics." Celeste replied, a bit more bite in her voice than she might have intended. She looked Willow in the eyes, "They are going after people that they think 'don't belong'. I've... heard of them in the past. Same group... but they are never this bold and reckless."

"They sound like a bunch of evil pricks." Willow frowned with distaste, "Fucking shameful."

"Try telling their sort that." Celeste murmured before straightening, "Please, please be safe. I wouldn't want anything happening to you or the others."

"I promise, I'll be careful." Willow assured her, "And I will make sure the others are aware too."

Madame Celeste nodded but did not look at ease. She quickly excused herself, urging everyone else to get home as soon as possible and to be safe.