The door chime roused
Edmund from his thought, like the snap of a therapist’s fingers. His eyes quickly opened, his pupils dilated,
absorbing his surroundings. His senses
were immediately calibrated. Placing his
hands on the armrests of his chair, he slowly lifted himself to his feet. He paused to adjust his vest, removed his
pocket watch by its chain and observed the time. Nineteen at the forty second. He replaced his time piece, walked across the
salon and stopped at the iron bypass station.
He found the valve with brass lettering above it saying, “Hull” and gave
it two turns to the left. The copper
pipes hissed to life as the steam flowed from the bypass station to the heavy,
iron door at the other end of the salon.
The iron gears above the door creaked to life, working together to move
the massive structure away from the passageway.
Patiently waiting at the threshold stood 3 men; two behind the third,
flanking him on either side.
“Impressive!”
exclaimed the man in front. He was a
slender, gaunt individual with dirty blonde hair, hidden by a grey tall hat
with a lavender band. “What a brilliant
construct you have there, sir.” His lips
parted into a forced smile that unveiled a mouthful of yellowish teeth with
gaps between them large enough to reveal the silver tongue caged within. “Permission to enter the premises, my
lord.” He said with a hint of a bow.
“Granted”
returned Edmund.
The
thin fellow took two steps into Edmund’s den and stopped. His eyes briefly surveyed the ceiling and
walls on either side before his gaze affixed on Edmund. His eyes as grey as his hat and just as
soulless.
“I
assume you were expecting my good coming?”
The thin man questioned.
“I
was not.” Edmund lied.
“And
yet you open your hull without the forknowledge of what may lay in wait? You surprise, my lord. You should take more care to whom you open
your hearth to.” said the thin man.
“I
was unaware my wellbeing was in peril, sir.
Perhaps you are in the company of whisperings to which I have yet to be
acquainted.” Said Edmund.
“Please,
sir. I do not presume to suggest
impending danger is upon, rather I warn against such carelessness. We live in a troubling era in an
unpredictable metropolis, where unwary citizens are disappearing faster with
each passing hour. And with the
elections briskly approaching, the populace seems to be sprinting to the
grave.” The thin man said with a smirk.
No comments:
Post a Comment