Tales of the Groundbound: A Coming Drought for the Prairie, Chapter 13

[steuben]

Chapter 13

Bobory looked out over the bar. The Fuel Plant was full. All of his staff was working tonight. The crowd was rowdy, but well behaved. Everyone knew the cost of misbehaving at the Plant. Ox and Toad would enforce it if needed. The two of them had brought a couple of their friends to help with the crowd. It would be a good night once the till was counted. It would more than balance the quiet of the next three days. Though, it didn’t seem that it would be worth the effort right now.

He watched Walt step up on the stage at the other end of the room. The disc jockey faded the volume of the music. A few kerbals looked up at the stage, most did not notice. Walt seemed nervous. But, if you had the job of putting a good face on a total mission failure, you’d be nervous too.

There’d been accidents before, and would be again. The black and silver glasses along the top of the back wall of the bar were testament to that. He wondered if he would have to add three more in a few days.

Walt rang the bell at the back of the stage. Its low note cut through the conversation like a scythe. Walt walked back to the front of the stage. He raised a glass. Everyone else in the bar stood up and raised a glass as well.

“We live in the brown,” Walt said. “We fly the blue. We travel the black.”

“Kamn straight we’re coming back,” everyone said together. They all drained their glasses.

Jebediah, Valentina, and Cordos stepped up on the stage after Walt left. They each carried a bottle of liquor. Bobory raised an eyebrow at Jebediah’s choice. They placed the bottles on a chair that had been placed on the stage.

“Gus,” Jebediah said. “When I got here you promised me the stamp. You’ve delivered. With this bird you and your crew will deliver again.” He picked up his bottle again. “We’ll split these with you when we get back.”

Bobory felt a chill at the unspoken, unthought, known statement that could have followed. You always pretended you were coming back. Even if you knew you were not. He looked up at the black and silver glasses again. Especially, if you knew you were not coming back.

“Ugh,” Gus called out from the crowd. “That stuff will kill you. When you get back I’ll get you a real drink.”

The crowd laughed. The conversation and music started again as the trio left the stage. Ox waded through the crowd carrying the three bottles. He sniffed as he handed them over the bar.

Bobory looked at the one bottle. “It’s not bad stuff. But, it is an acquired taste.”

Ox nodded his head towards the large clock counting down on the wall.

“I’ll do last call about an hour short of it. You remember what happened last time,” Bobory said.

Ox rolled his shoulders and rolled his head around. The joints cracked.

“Yeah, and you still ended up with bruises over half your face and sewn up in a couple of spots,” Bobory said.

Ox raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry. The prairie will by dry at T minus 3 days.”