“Hey Cee,” Edgar said as he walked up to the table. “Mind having a go at a game of darts.”

The man was tall and built from the years he had done logging. He was also one of the regulars at the Twisted Nipple. The bar that C pulled Eldridge to on occasion. Tonight, they were supposed to be celebrating their win. Mostly it was just an excuse to go out as neither of them had work the next day.

C turned towards Eldridge, a question on his face. Eldridge waved his hand letting his friend know he was good as he took another sip of his long island.

“Show me what ya got,” C said as he turned back towards the man.

Eldridge watched on as the two of them took to the stairs heading to the lower level. He watched as the tall gruff lumberjack picked up a set of darts and threw the first one. It hit the outer ring scoring him a few points. Eldridge took in the comfortable and loose stance, the animated arm gestures as he spoke and the open nature of his body.

It spoke of what he already knew, this man loved the game and was having a good time. The final dart hit the four-point target and he could see some defeat fall upon his form. It was also clear this man wasn’t as proficient as his time playing would suggest.

C on the other hand was hitting fairly near the center each time and scoring tens of points. From his friends’ movements, his subtle twisting of his hand, it was clear that he was going easy on his fan.

Eldridge turned from the dart game towards the rest of the bar. He watched as a couple of women tried to get a pair of young studs to notice them. From his best guess, it was likely those two groups would, if not hook up, at least talk for a good deal of the night.

He took another sip of his tea, as he focused in on a less merry moment in the bar. A couple of men were speaking, and though he couldn’t hear what they were saying over the noise of the rest of the establishment, it was clear they were in conflict.

Eldridge took in a deep breath, as he centered his thoughts. His mind tried to see if he could pick out their conversation from across the room.

“Susan, I don’t see why you’re putting up with him.”

“You hear about the damage on Westridge drive?”

“With the new Mastic branch moving into town, I’m sure we will see a rush of business.”

“My neighbor’s dog continues to shit in my yard. I don’t understand it. They of course deny it but…”

Though there were some interesting conversations that were reaching his ears, none of them were from the two men. His sight of their lips allowed him to see that none of the words matched up. Eldridge took a deep gulp of his tea before he tried again. His mind focused on understanding what they were arguing about.

He could feel the alcohol tingle in his blood as he focused his hearing once again. He sat forward trying to lessen the distance between him and the two.

“I don’t know how I feel about Mastic, yes it will bring jobs but…”

“You should put in cameras, so you can prove what is happening…”

“Hank, I don’t think you quite understand the strength Paps brings to the team.” Elation hit Eldridge as he finally found their conversation. He took in another drink to celebrate. He could feel his body warm as the liquid hit his stomach.

“I’m not sure it would be worth it. I just wish they would admit it…”

Eldridge sighed. Easy come easy go. He thought as he laid back into his chair.

He reached out for his glass and took in another long drink. A shiver ran down his body as a burning hit his throat. He shook his head as he looked at the glass. The strong flavor wasn’t what he’d expected. As he saw the drink in his hand, he understood why. He’d taken Cee’s whisky instead of his own long island iced tea.

Figuring there was no way around it now, he downed the rest of the beverage. The ice clanked as he placed the glass back on the table. His gaze once again started to drift through the bar, examining each individual as they went about their business. He could feel a warmth flood his body, the alcohol no doubt.

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“Are you sure,” a new voice said. Eldridge looked out over the crowd trying to figure out who might have said that. It wasn’t too important, but the tone did strike him as a bit desperate.

“I am telling you, get a camera and…”

“Honestly I don’t even know what Mastic does?”

“Reb, you just can see how hurt he is.”

The conversations continued to fill his ears as he struggled to find those who spoke the words.

“Yes, the vacuum is gone,”

There it was again. Eldridge thought as his eyes started to gaze around the bar with more intensity. He instinctively took a swig of his drink.

“What could I do, talk to the police?”

“Yes!”

“A Xenoid rich human?” Eldridge tilted his head trying to locate the direction.

“Mastic is an everything firm, you know like computers.”

“Susan, you can’t keep going back to him.”

“I suppose a lack of a vacuum could do that, but what is causing it.”

Eldridge stumbled a bit as he stood. The world around him spun slightly. He took a deep breath and steadied his body. It helped a little bit, but that tinkle of the alcohol was still there slowing his reaction.

“It has to be coming from outside,” he mumbled to himself as he started to make his way down the steps.

***

Falreath hit the double 4 completing the final score of the dart game. Though he played with Edgar at least once a week, the man never seemed to get better. However, Falreath had learned how to play down to his level a bit. Letting him win one every now and then to keep the man interested in playing. For all the simplicity of the game it was something he could do with no pressure.

“I would’ve had you next turn,” Edgar said as he gathered the darts. “I guess the round is on you.”

Falreath smiled, the man always twisted it so that he got a free drink out of the game. Honestly, Falreath was happy to oblige him. He turned towards the bar to order the round when he caught sight of Eldridge walking uncoordinatedly towards the back door.

“That man isn’t trying to go outside again is he,” Falreath mumbled as the barkeep turned to him.

“A round for this table, put it on my tab.” The barkeep, Nick, nodded in understanding.

Falreath then took off after his friend. Concern of what he might try to shit on rolling in the back of his head.

As he opened the door, he was surprised to find his friend was nowhere in sight. “How can a drunk man move so fast,” He said under his breath as he started to look around for any sign of his friend.

As he looked close at the ground, he caught a few scattered scuffle marks, probably from when his friend staggered in his walk. He followed their direction and noticed they headed into the privately-owned park that a good portion of Port Coulee bordered. With a shake of his head, he took off after his friend.

He followed the tracks and stepped into the forest through the brush that grew along the border. The canopy of leaves let in scattered rays of moonlight giving him only a faint illumination to see by. If it wasn’t for the occasional broken bit of foliage, Falreath would’ve had a hard time trying to track his friend. His drunkenness seemed to be a boon as well as detriment in this.

After a few minutes of careful tracking, he found his friend in a clearing pissing on a tree. “I see you’ve found yourself a toilet.” Falreath said as he paused at the top of the small dip his friend resided in.

“Shhh,” Eldridge said quite loud as he turned to his friend, his hand on his mouth.

Falreath’s brows knit as he looked at his friend. While yes, he was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, he wasn’t this bad. A single long island shouldn’t drive him this far.

“Hear them.” Eldridge continued, his body swaying.

“Alright buddy,” Falreath said in barely a whisper as he stepped into the large bowl of dirt. “Let’s get back to the party.”

“The Xenoid seeks us,” Eldridge said as he leaned against his friend. “Their chatter is all around us.”

Falreath let out a sigh as he stabilized his friend. At the same time, he decided he might as well relieve himself given the pressure’s been building for a few minutes now.

“Just stay over there for a moment while I take a piss.” He gave a gentle push positioning his friend.

He looked up towards the ridge of the bowl as he released the stream, his body sighing in act. He didn’t realize how bad he had to go, not till he stopped moving.

His eyes narrowed as he started to see beasty little eyes staring at him. He tilted back a bit trying to see if he could scare them off with his stream. As he did, he noticed another pair, then another. All around him, along the edge of the bowl were tiny beasty eyes which stared at him and his friend.

“They’ve arrived,” Eldridge said as he stumbled towards Falreath. “The Xenoid seeks its prey.” Falreath turned towards his friend, keeping an eye out towards the border. His friend’s body swayed and tried to move towards the ridge to escape presumably. His eyes were drawn to a flash of light which burst up from the ground below Eldridge. Falreath’s head darted towards the source only to see a rat the size of a small dog scurry by.

“I think,” Eldridge began as he held his head. “I think can stop this.” At those words, his friend simply stopped adjusting his stance and fell face first into the ground.

“Oh, you’ve got to be,” Falreath said as he looked around at the ghostly white rats as they started to slowly close in around them.

His gaze fell upon his friend and he let out a sigh. In a quick motion he darted toward Eldridge and lifted him up. Falreath wasn’t sure how he was going to fight and carry his friend, but he had to try.