Absinthe - A Cautionary Tale (2/2) By Sean Davey

(1/2), (2/2).

His thoughts turned back to the immediate danger of the beast, snorting and ranting and drooling in the garden. It wanted blood, and there was Ed, trapped in the kitchen. No weapons and a head full of strong booze, perfect prey for any kind of hunter. He knew what he had to do. No shame in fleeing from an animal such as this. Ed ran, away from the grass and trees, obviously the favoured habitat of the predator. He ran down into the urban decay of the town, knowing he would be safe there. The monster gave chase, snapping and growling around his ankles, but unable to gain purchase on the tarmac of the road, it fell behind and was soon out of sight.

With the howls of his attacker still ringing in his ears, Ed fell into a café. What I need is caffeine he told himself, to try and cut through this terrible absinthe. Sweating and out of breath, he ordered from the till woman, an ancient relic of better times now stooped down and rotting slowly. Ed knew what she was thinking. He sat down and tried to gather himself, the absinthe had peaked and with the fear it brought now long gone, Ed felt good. He struck up conversation with a Japanese reporter at the next table, a trustworthy sort, who happened to comment on the state of affairs in the U.S.A.

Feeling strongly on the issue, Ed slandered the Bush administration up the walls, much to the amusement of his journalist friend. They talked for a good ten minutes but things turned nasty over a misunderstanding, the foreigner took offence over Ed's drunken mumblings and cracked him across the face. Ed stood, ready for confrontation yet again. However, he was quickly silenced by the sight of a blade in the pocket of his assailant. 'You sleaze, I'll have you shot,' shouted Ed as he ran out across the road, straight into the path of an oncoming bus. Fini.

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