Joe awoke feeling confused. What exactly had taken place there? He blinked away the bleariness from his eyes and looked about. He found himself back in the cavern where he had been attacked by the greasy man earlier. He was alone, but as he looked over the crates and mounds of junk a rainbow coloured rip appeared in mid-air. Unceremoniously, a less than demure female figure tumbled out of the rip, sprawling on the hard stone painfully as she landed. A few expletives were issued from the pile of limbs whereupon she staggered to her feet like a nascent fawn. Joe watched all of this, his own thoughts totally forgotten.
Mary was not an unattractive woman at the worst of times so Joe, as was becominging the norm around the Irish lass, felt a guilty stirring of his loins watching her pat herself down and smooth her disorderly hair into something more reasonably discerned. Then Joe remembered the state of the fellow who had attacked her earlier and swiftly averted his eyes, shivering. Even a lion must pay heed to a lioness as they say.
Mary had noticed Joe standing there awkwardly so had walked over. They caught each other's eyes and silently analysed the other.
“ Well, this was not what I had expected when we set out from Heathrow” Mary said lightly. It was only then that Joe noticed that Mary's hands were shaking, partially hidden beneath her bust. Joe looked at her seriously “what happened to you in there?”
Without answering Mary withdrew a pack of cigarellos from her bag and lit one up, drawing deeply. She looked back at Joe, flicking the nonexistent ash. “ I died” she said bluntly. She sucked in another draw, leaning her now seemingly frail form against a nearby crate. “I entered a room, lit like this one, where a voice spoke to me. Told me I was not worthy it did.” A hint of anger entered her voice. ‘Then I felt agony, the worst I have ever felt. I felt myself get torn apart from the inside out. But it was slow Joe!” She held up her hand as he attempted to console her.” And then” she laughed softly “I find myself falling, no idea of up and down, just the sensation of wind past my ears, and then “ she gestured behind her” I fell on my arse over there.”
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She chucked the half smoked fag on the ground where It abrubtyl disappeared as she made to stamp it out. Shrugging as she straightened herself up, she turned to Joe. “And you, did you get to enjoy something similar? Drawn and quartered perhaps?” She chuckled grimly.
Joe didn't quite know what to say. So he told her the truth. “I climbed some stairs, er…, it was pretty tough there at some points” he looked despairingly at Mary, for he had been in all honesty quite proud of his stair climbing achievement but now… “It was a test of sorts, the higher I climbed the better the rewards, but” he looked at Mary to gauge her reaction thus far “I did almost die once or twice I'm pretty sure”. Feeling somewhat flustered he boldly struck on. “The prize for climbing the whole flight was to save your life, so I'd say that was worth it” he smiled at Mary but felt slightly disgruntled when he saw her fair visage frown.
“My life was worth climbing some stairs!? What sort of dumb shit is that? Are you taking the piss? I mean I've heard some false platitudes in my time but this” she glared at Joe, swishing her hair angrily as a twang of her muted Irish accent affected her next words “is a right crock of shit!”. Joe stuttered slightly but wisely chose to remain silent as the devilish beauty before him stewed. What could he say? Turning his mind to more pressing matters he changed the subject. “What now then? We know bugger all more than we did before about Rock and its aims here, except they're hiding some mystical killing machine” he looked about tiredly. “What's our next move? And what day is it anyway?”