Chapter 11

Refilling a pair of empty glasses before continuing her conversation with Mr. Ceiling, Eva partook of yet another draught.

“Ice cold peppered vodka?” questioned the head coordinator of all the Hero Caretakers from the planet Cassandra.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Ceiling. The lisp was gone now the fallen tiles had been replaced.

Opening yet another bottle, Eva refilled her tumbler and poured Cassie’s glass full. They both took a swallow.

“I don’t believe I’m familiar with peppered vodka. Have I had it before?”

“I don’t recall you having experience with the drink, ma’am,” said the Ceiling.

Eva and Cassie tilted glasses towards each other and slammed another swallow. Cassie noticed her water tumbler was empty and refilled it. Eva’s glass was now brimful.

“Well, I quite like it. How about you, Cassie?”

“It’s different,” said Cassandra, Heroes Caretaker ... cautiously. Carefully choosing her words due to an increasingly confused tongue, “It’s not Restorative, but good in it’s own way. I say, Ceiling?”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

Cassie made a grand gesture and accidentally sent one of several empties spinning. The spinning bottle was likened to a bowling ball among the pins. “Have we drunken all these bottles?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She sat stupidly gazing at the littered table. Eva was saying something ... no ... singing ... Eva was singing some ribald ditty about Earth Heroes and their size and stamina. Cassie had never heard it. Just before the lights went out and she nose-dived the battlefield she thought of tomorrow and the clean up.

“Oh gods.”

Cassie, Heroes Caretaker, slowly settled forward and rested her head among the debris of the nights drinking.

Eva didn’t notice. The song went on and on, stanza after stanza after stanza. Drink after drink after drink ... Eva began repeating herself ... verse after verse ... each verse harder to remember than the time bef...

The morning was ugly.

The morning was so ugly that the question from the night before was forgotten.

While Cassie was visiting the porcelain throne, Eva had taken Ceiling to task.

“Why?”

“I believe we are going to receive new Heroes.”

“Who?”

“Russians.”

“And?”

“Last night was typically Russian.”

“They celebrate... ?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, gods.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Where has the orphan Cassie gone was the question that wasn’t answered for months.