16 The Hangover

Mark awoke, his alarm bell ringing once again. He looked around and noticed he was in his flat once again. The sun glaring through the window and reflecting off the mirror in to his eyes. He should have purchased some better curtains he lamented. But he was not of this world anymore and could do nothing to change it.

He felt sweaty and his head hurt like he had been drinking lots the night before, but it shouldn't have felt like that. He should have had his meeting with his boss for the promotion and would not have drunk the night prior.

He rolled out of bed, his body aching all over, especially his arms and back. He moaned and groaned and he stood up and looked around. This was the his room he knew, but why he was here again he didn't.

He headed to the shower and turned it on. The water was hot and hard against his skin. He hadn't expected to feel the water, but somehow he had and it helped clear the sweat away. He grabbed his shower gel and rubbed it into his scrunchy that he used to clean his body, scrubbing the dirt from his skin. He noticed there was a couple specs of blood under his nails, had these come from Jama?

After the shower he headed to the sink and brushed his teeth, getting rid of the taste of cheap ale from his mouth. He had never been an ale drinker, he had drank it with his mercenaries last night, but not in the world where his flat was.

He got changed in to his suit and skipped breakfast today, he wanted to try the Michelle's Doughnut and Pastry stand again, maybe she would notice him today and sell him some of her food. He had only left this world for a couple of days, but he missed those things that made him who he was.

Mark realised he had many regrets, He regretted never asking Michelle on a date, she was a fantastic woman and he felt he had missed out on so many opportunities in life by concentrating on his career. He hadn't been close as close to his family as he should have been, moving to the city as soon as he could, and rarely visiting.

As he was leaving his flat he looked around and noticed a small layer of dust started to settle on certain things, his TV and Living Room were slowly becoming dusty. He walked over and brushed his finger across the screen of the TV, leaving a lone finger line. It was a strange feeling as he could touch and feel things inside his apartment, but outside it was like he didn't exist. Mark stepped over a small pile of letters addressed to him and left his place.

As he headed out of his apartment, he headed straight to the park.

"Wilson, is this real?" he asked. But there was no reply.

"Worth a try" he mumbled to himself.

He soon arrived at the park and walked towards the Doughnut and Pastry stand, there was but a slight cue this time. Michelle seemed more happy than yesterday morning and quickly served the customers. Mark once again tried to grab her attention but was ignored.

"This is frustrating" he exhaled to himself.

He looked around and sat on a nearby bench, planning his next steps. He really needed to try and grasp someones attention so that he could understand what was going on. He decided he would wait for Dolores to order again and hear their conversation, maybe it would give him answers?

Soon she arrived, wearing a black overcoat with a white collar. The coat was covering a long black dress.

"Good morning Michelle." She stated politely.

"Good morning Dolores." Michelle replied. "Why the long coat today?"

"Today it is due heavy rain." She replied, "and I heard they were having an open funeral for Mark. So I thought I should dress appropriately and attend. I didn't know him well, but I feel I should still go. Won't you be attending?"

"Damn!" Michelle exclaimed, "That's today? I need to go and get changed, what time is it at? How did I forget about that!"

"Early afternoon." Dolores replied calmly, "Close early and I'll head there with you. I believe a lot of people will be in attendance, the mayor is even attending and giving him a hero's send off supposedly."

"I will." Michelle replied. "I can't believe it's been nearly a month already, I just feel for his family."

"Me too, the coroner holding the body for that long must have been hard on them." Dolores replied.

Mark was in shock, he had been dead here for a month already, time in this world was much faster compared to his new one. His funeral was today, he hoped his sickly mother would be ok, and that his estranged father would attend and finally be there for his siblings.

Mark closed his eyes, thinking deeply if he should attend his own funeral or not. Suddenly there was a crash and a loud clatter as something dropped nearby.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He heard Boudica exclaiming.

He opened his eyes again, this time in the bedroom of the headquarters. The stench of stale ale reaching his nose. He looked around and noticed Boudica collecting herself after tripping over what seemed to be a leg, coming from underneath the desk in the room. She was wearing a grey blanket that was held tightly as she stumbled across the room.

As he sat up, his head pounding, Boudica noticed him.

"What are you looking at." She exclaimed, holding the blanket tighter as she tried to gingerly leave the room.

"You, banging around." He replied grumpily. "What are you doing in here?"

"What am I doing in here? I don't remember what i'm doing in here." She replied angrily.

There was a bang, and the desk suddenly shook as the owner of the leg had attempted to sit up. There was the noise of some grumbling as the occupant attempted to move themselves. Boudica and Mark both looked in the direction of the noise as a large topless man stood up.

"Little Tai! What are you doing in here?" Mark exclaimed. "Why are you both in my room?"

Little Tai grunted in response, before stretching his back and yawning. He then rubbed his head and looked at them both confused.

"Vlad." A meek voice said from behind. Mark turned and noticed that Sakura was also in the room, wrapped in a blanket under the window. How many people had ended up in his room last night he did not know.

"Vlad?" Boudica asked grumpily.

"Yes, after the ale he brought out some of his own liquor." Sakura replied. "He said it would be a good challenge to see who was the strongest drinker, as they would be the strongest warrior. Bertrand, Octavian, Lucan and Little Tai agreed to the challenge, being a group of boisterous people lots more joined in. Boudica, you refused to be beaten by a man and thought bravely until the end, destroying most of the competition."

Mark shook his head, that explained the hangover and probably some of the memory loss. Yet didn't answer his question on how everyone ended in his room. He went to ask Sakura.

"Before you ask. We are in your room because you invited us all here for a team leader meeting, mentioning a big battle and your plans for the fort. You were that inebriated that it was mainly mumbling and incoherent words." She replied with a tired voice.

Mark nodded in understanding, that did sound like something he would do. Boudica stared at him suspiciously.

"Then where are my clothes?" Boudica demanded.

"You decided that you was too warm and took them off." Sakura replied honestly. "You are quite a proud woman." She added.

Little Tai grunted in agreement and headed towards the door

"Who won?" Little Tai asked as he reached the handle.

"You did." Sakura replied politely

"I need to pee." He commented, happy at being the strongest drinker, and therefore the strongest warrior. He grabbed the handle and pushed, but the door didn't budge.

"The door won't open." He explained.

He pushed the door again, but it still didn't budge.

"Open the door" He demanded loudly.

There was a grumble from behind as the door slowly opened, revealing a haggard Bertrand. His hair untidy and his breathing deep.

"Stop your shouting!" Bertrand exclaimed angrily.

Little Tai stormed past him and headed outside, the need to urinate being the most important to him right then.

"Good morning Boss." Bertrand said, having just awoken.

"Good morning Bertrand, why did you sleep behind my door?" Mark asked.

"Didn't make it all the way inside." Bertrand replied, before coughing loudly, covering his mouth with both hands. He looked at Mark worriedly before running outside after Little Tai.

"Vlad has a lot to answer for." Boudica added behind Mark. He turned to look at her, she had a devilish grin on her face, knowing that someone was going to pay.

Boudica, Mark and Sakura replaced their clothing awkwardly and headed downstairs, through the headquarters that was littered with both Mark's new recruits and a few of Teech's men asleep in no sensible location or order.

"Get washed and meet me outside the fort." Mark ordered loudly to his recruits. A few noticed his gaze and felt a shiver down their spine. What had they let themselves in for?

Boudica and Sakura headed across the fort to one of the bunk houses, inside each bunkhouse was it's own washroom. They had claimed this as their own and it was probably the bunk house with the need for the least amount of work. He understood from Boudica's character that she would want this house fixing up first, before the rest. Mark pondered if he was the real boss here?

"We will meet you outside shortly." Boudica advised sternly. "When did you have time to bathe?" She questioned.

Mark looked at himself and noticed he was fresh and clean, as if the shower he had earlier had actually cleaned him.

"I have self cleaning skin?" He joked in reply, not sure how he could explain the situation.

Sakura looked at him deeply, before leading Boudica to the Bunk house they had chosen.

Mark looked around the Fort, soon this place would be bustling with life, troops training and builders repairing. He was exited for the return of Gan Ning, Eduardo and Tsubotai, hoping they had a successful and fortuitous visit to Runetown.