Ambient 06 - Going, Going, Gone

more I found myself developing a soft gooey centre for the wee missy. She had some trace of an accent; sounded familiar. »You two New Yorkers?« I asked.
    She shook her head. »Jersey.«
    Farmer’s daughters going hogwild in the big city: that explained their fashion parade if not the goofball behaviour. You may take the girl out of Secaucus but you can’t take Secaucus out of the girl. My nerves started doing that jingle-jangle-jingle; I knew if I was going to keep playing host with the most I was going to need relief.
    »You ladies wouldn’t drop your drawers if I fired up, would you?«
    »What?« Eulie asked. Chlojo finished lining up the boxes and stood up. I took a pinch and a Bugler from the stash at hand and started up a one-hand Detroit roll.
    »Herbifaction,« Chlojo said to Eulie.
    »Of course.«
    »Muchas thankas,« I said. After giving the bone a quick lick I flipped up the crystal on my Doxa Firelight and clicked the bottom stem; the fire flowered up from the face and I listened to the sweet music of popping seed. »Pause that refreshes,« I mumbled, drawing south until the fume soaked the alveoli; then I let the north wind howl.
    Chlojo gave me a loan shark’s grin. Sticking her fist into her bodice she tugged out a change purse. Squeezed it open, and she extracted a bud the size of a bing cherry. She held up her treat as if expecting me to beg.
    »Lovely one, I’m used to Manhattan grade,« I said, stepping over to be polite. »No need to cop my muggles off eighth-grade hoods at the Nutley Dairy Queen –«
    Live and learn. When I took a whiff of that bud of hers I blasted off through mere proximity. Before I knew what hit me I was one with the floor, overcome by g-force. My head felt like the Babe had knocked it into the upper deck, and even though my blinds were drawn I saw the saucers swooping down to get me. » Valentine,« I heard somebody say before realizing it was me. When I finally returned to the solid world, a minute or so later, I saw Chlojo flashing a truly sinister rictus. Eulie was holding my shoulders, and demonstrating far more concern than her duplicitious sidekick.
    »What is that shit?« I asked, feigning a semblance of coherency. Clearly no playground was involved here. Only explanation I could figure was that these gals had big brothers in green overseas, and they loved their siblings dearly. »Vietnamese?«
    Chlojo sized me up as if deciding where to kick me next. »Secaucus.«
    The yen was on me; I somehow had to reserve acreage on this produce. »Not bad,« I said, lifting my hand and seeing fourteen. »Would you ladies care to share and share alike –?«
    »Chlo,« Eulie shouted, passing her big buddy the rod, distracting us for the moment from considering profitable co-op schemes. »Positioning. Formation ninety percent sure. Ready yourself.«
    »AO,« Chlojo said, pointing the rod directly at the small boxes. The rod’s tip began shining fire-engine red.
    »What? What is it?« I asked.
    »They’re seeable, Walter?«
    I shook my head, and realized I shouldn’t have. It still didn’t really feel attached to my neck. »Nope.«
    »Walter, how many hours since initial contact?«
    »Uh, twenty hours?« As I drifted back and forth over the enhanced plane it struck me that I should be more candid about my state, the night before. »First time I saw them I’d just dropped something vaguely psychoactive. Would that –?«
    »You’ve known similar alteration during successive showings?« Eulie asked, extracting what I thought was a white business card out of a pocket I hadn’t seen. When she held it in front of the boxes the card got bright pink spots all over as if it had chickenpox.
    »No more than usual.«
    »Conceivably facilitated,« she said. »Wouldn’t generate.«
    »Eulie,« said Chlojo. »There.«
    Each little box started putting out a deep blue shine, looking like they were heating up, though since I wasn’t dripping I could tell they weren’t. After ten seconds or so the shine intensified and something like St. Elmo’s fire outlined the fireplace mantle. There were two lamps on in the room and one in the record chamber and all of them suddenly started putting out black light. Our skin turned deep purple and the gals’ teeth went all snowy. Place looked like some California head shop. When I touched the walls I felt static electricity giving me that doorknob in winter feel; an ozony perfume filled the air, the kind that comes up when a rainstorm suddenly