Category: Hardware

It is a cold, cold morning in Cheltenham. People everywhere are calling in sick or telling their employers that they have no choice but to work from home.

One woman, in particular, is on the phone with her husband begging him not to drive in the weather. Julie is expecting and is at the stage of her pregnancy where she can no longer work. All she can do now is look after her body and do everything in her power to ensure the baby has a healthy last few weeks in the womb. She also has a significant amount of time on her hands to worry about her husband, who is well known for making dangerous decisions with no regard for his very fragile life. 

While on the phone to her husband, she begged him to turn around. To come home. Not to visit the hardware store in the Cheltenham area, the one just off that busy main road. She told him it wasn’t worth it and that if she had to raise their baby without a father because he was too stubborn to admit this was dangerous driving weather, then she would be mad at him forever. Unsurprisingly, based on his actions throughout their entire relationship, her husband refused to turn around. He insisted that they were in absolutely desperate need of a new batch of timber supplies. Cheltenham shops were so close to their house that he wouldn’t be long at all, he tried to reassure her. It was clear by her tone of voice that she was not reassured, but he was a grown man and she couldn’t force him to drive home to her. She just had to sit and wait for him to hopefully arrive home safely and even though she was not a religious woman, she would pray for his safety too. Julie knew that you could never be too careful when there’s a baby on the way.

“This is insane. You’ve completely lost your mind.”

“No, trust me, this is totally going to work.”

Vai rubbed her temples. “This doesn’t even make sense, scientifically. Paint doesn’t explode when you set it on fire.”

Maphira continued setting up her brilliant plan to escape the hardware store. It wouldn’t have come to this if they’d gone to a Hampton hardware store instead, but here they were, in Cheltenham, about to do something awesome.

“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t explode,” Maphira said. “But let’s be honest, we have no idea what’s in this paint, so I’m not ruling out the possibility. It’s all in the fumes. You got a lighter?”

Nodding, Vai dug through her pocket and pulled out a small, metal object. “Any chance I’m going to get this back?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Maphira said. “Thanks, your sacrifice is appreciated. I’m almost done, so get your gas mask on.”

Her mission to get electrical supplies around Cheltenham had been a failure, unfortunately, but at least they’d get out of here alive with her incredible plan. When they both had their masks on, Maphira took the lighter and set several scrunched up pieces of paper on fire. She used a rubber glove to toss each small fireball into a nearby paint can. Once that was done, she threw the lighter into the biggest can of paint.

“Let’s go,” Maphira said, dragging Vai out of the aisle.

As they snuck through the hardware store, the air became hazy, and slowly they began to hear the coughing of nearby people. Using the coughing as a guide on where not to go, they made for the exit.

By the time they reached the front of the store, several of their hunters lay on the ground, knocked out by the overwhelming paint fumes. The Great Mechanist was nowhere to be seen.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Vai said. “That actually worked. No explosion though – I told you.”

And that was when a great rumbling came from the back of the store, lighting it up in a brilliant fireball.

“You were saying?” Maphira teased, running out the door and escaping the hardware store.