Through the clouds of smoke, Christabel Bloom heard the man clanging the shovel round inside of the ash bin. She coughed and stepped back, her eyes blazing as though fire had leaped into them. Behind her, three other women were coughing including her friend, Samantha. She opened her eyes and strained to see what was happening in front of her. She felt that there was suspended just above her head a huge weight that would soon fall and crush her until she was dead. She tried to push the thoughts away from her head as she tried to focus on the man who was guiding them through the whole process. She tried to push the thoughts away from her head as she tried to focus on her conversation with Nicholas Wild on her phone in the early morning. It was almost an hour now since she had gotten a call from Nicholas Wild. A call that came with an instruction.
Wait!
Wait for me at the long road where good folks used to hop around like kangaroos!
Wait for me Christabel Bloom because I am willing to walk around the surface of the earth just to make sure we meet today!
Her body, despite the smoke and her burning eyes and heaving chest, was flexed taut like it was responding to a change it was aware was going to come. She wanted to lunge at the man who was wasting her time now and take the shovel from him, show him what she was capable of doing with the shovel and walk away from the basement with the memories of her actions in his head. But she stood still, hearing the babble of voices and the clanging of the shovel against iron. She knew that the man was digging frantically at the ashes in the bin, trying to clean as much out as possible so that air could pass up through the grates, pipes, chimney and out into the night. He had a point to prove to them there and she knew he was more than willing to prove his point without stopping. She heard the man yell as he stopped digging: "What the hell is wrong with you guys? For God's sake, open that door! Can't you see they are women with me here who are choking!"There was quick movements as soon as the man was done lamenting. There was a scuffle of feet and a rumble of lips. Christabel felt the icy wind of the night sweep over her and she discovered that she was wet with sweat. Somehow, something had happened to her with her parents and now things were out of her hands. Her current situation could be best described as a moving vehicle where the fate of car depended on the driver. Now, she was nervously poised, waiting for what the new flow of events would bring as she watched the man dig further. The smoke drifted past her toward the open door. The room was clearing slowly as the smoke thinned to a grey pall.
She heard the man grunting and saw him bent over, digging at the ashes in the bin, trying his best to make his point clear to her and to all the women who were with her. She wanted to go to him and ask for the shovel so he would stop digging and rest for a while. She wanted to say that she could take care of it now and she was more than capable of proving him wrong. But she did not move. She stood where she was as she thought of the implications of what she was going to do. She felt that she had let things slip through her hands to such an extent that she could not get at them again. She felt she had let things slip through her to such an extent that she had to respect herself if she wanted the day to end in the exact manner that she had planned. Then, slowly, she heard the draft. This time a long low sucking of air that grew gradually to a drone, then a roar. The air passage was clear and the man smiled as he became aware of the new changes in the draft.
"This is hard work, ladies," the man gasped as he informed the women. "I don't know if all of you can handle the heat because every part of me says the women in here can't."
The man’s voice trailed off and he stooped again and poked the shovel deeper. Christabel saw come into full view on the surface of the ashes several small pieces of metals. Instantly, her whole body was wrapped in a sheet of tiredness as if the mere looking at the metals had caused it.
"This is one hell of a ride ladies. Are you sure you are capable of handling this job? There is a hell lot of ashes in there which I think is ready to get a portion of your flesh if you dare try to go near it," the man gasped again. "I wonder what is going to happen when you ladies decide to get on its way. I am thinking the smoke wouldn't let you guys get away so quickly."
"Alright, sir," Christabel whispered so that the man would shut his mouth permanently, once and for all.
The draft roared loud now. The air passage was completely clear.
"You can now see how it is done ladies," the man couldn't stop talking and feeling himself with pride. "Now,, you guys can have a glimpse of what it takes to be a real man in New York City."
Christabel wanted to walk towards the man and press his lips tightly until it was completely shut. She wanted to tell the man that she understood all that he was saying and there was no need for him to treat them inferior because of their differences in gender. But she did not talk neither did she move. She just stood there and watched as the man continued with what he was doing, leading them like a soldier who possessed the only weapon available.
"The key to this work is to observe all the time."
Christabel looked round. Some men were still standing about the table, red-eyed, sipping coffee as they stared at her and the ladies. The man with the shovel stood in front of the furnace and looked down into the ashes strewn over the floor. What is he doing? Christabel wondered as she looked further. She saw the man stoop and poke the shovel into the ashes as if he was about to collect some roasted beef. What is he looking at that has finally caught his interest? Christabel's muscles twitched. She wanted to move to the man’s side and see what he was looking at. She was tired of standing in one position, watching the man do everything while he turned and make jest of them.
"You didn't tell me this job was going to be like this," Christabel whispered to her friend, Samantha, turning. "I was expecting something better. At least, a job where I wouldn't have to deal with a man who thinks his gender is superior to women."
"You said you needed quick money," Samantha reminded her. "I looked around and made some calls from the people I knew who could get you a job that could get you some quick cash, you know. At first, when I got the job information, I was unwilling to be a part of it. But, after taking a thorough look at the job description and the salary, I thought it was a golden opportunity I was never meant to neglect. Who pays women fifty dollars per hour just to watch an old fool whine about his strength?"
"The person who employed all of us to do this kind of job," Christabel answered.
"Of course," Samantha chuckled. "This job is too easy and I have no idea why this old man is making it seem hard."
Christabel found Samantha's words funny. But, she was running out of time. She needed to be in the location that Nicholas had gave to her because she had promised him with all her heart that she was going to be there no matter what happened. She checked her wristwatch, observing the position of the longest hand. It was almost nine now and the man in front of them who was supposed to act as their guide for this supposedly easy but crazy job was busy still focusing all his attention on what he had seen in the ashes. Christabel sighed as she tried to look back at the man who appeared to be smiling now as he took hold of a metal piece that resembled the spoon a child would use.
"Who would make a plastic spoon for a child without thinking about the strength of a child's teeth? Who would do such a crazy thing to mock themselves?" The man asked.
Christabel was in no mood to answer the man's questions. The women standing close to her were still in no mood to answer the man.
"It doesn't matter," the man answered himself and turned to face what he was doing.There was silence. Christabel stared without a thought or an image in her mind. There was just the old feeling of doom she had had before inside her. The feeling that she had had all her life until she got that important call from Pam that had changed her life. She had fainted and had done wrong to win the race in that manner. She knew that even if she had not fainted, they would have still found something to make sure she didn't represent the state. It was the way the world was ran. It was the way the world was controlled by the people who owned it. Powerful men sitting in high places that couldn't be rejected. Powerful men giving orders that had to be obeyed no matter how difficult it was. Powerful men who cared only about themselves and their greedy desires. Powerful men who were ever willing to bribe anyone to had to bribe just to make sure that they got what they wanted in this life. Christabel knew her sprinting career was on the edge. She knew that her sprinting career had reached the worst stage and it would take only a miracle for her to recover. But, all that matter to her at the moment was making sure that she got what she wanted from this job that her friend, Samantha had connected her to. All that mattered to her was that she didn't leave the place she was in the same way that she had came.
She checked her wristwatch again and noticed that ten more minutes had passed. She was running late and she knew it. But, only if the man would just stop with his stupid plays and show them what they had to do to get their fifty dollars per hour, she would be out of here as soon as possible. She folded her hands as she looked at the man who had now grabbed the shovel and was standing in a position that made it seem like as if he was trying to think of what he was going to do next, as if he didn't understand the nature of the job as he claimed he did. Christabel exhaled as she turned to stare at her friend's face.
"When are we going to leave here?" She asked.
"Very soon," Samantha tried to please her with her words
"I am getting tired of this fool, Samantha. When are we going to really leave here?" Christabel asked again.
Samantha lowered her head and checked the time on her phone. "Very soon, Christabel Bloom. Very soon!"