[Runesmith]

The inside of the cafe was painted a gaudy red, with red table tops and faux leather chairs. It was also completely empty - a fact that relieved and scared Nadine at the same time. She didn't want to be seen in a cafe in this area by anyone she knew, but she didn't like the idea of being alone in the cafe with someone she didn't even know.

"Andrei!" yelled the man. "tashchi svoyu zadnitsu syuda"

The language was not familiar to Nadine. It sounded east European - maybe Russian. She suddenly realized what a stupid thing she had done, following this man here.

"Umm... thanks for the offer, but I don't need a drink. I need to go home now, please."

"Oh, come now, I hardly know you, but I saved you from that thug. The least you could do is to have one small drink with me, no?"

"I... umm... ok, just one drink. Then I need to home."

A tall, thin man, most likely the owner, emerged from the back of the cafe. "Chto ty oresh', suka blyad?" he glared at the man.

"Get this lady a nice drink, Andrei", said the man, "She just got herself lost here in this bad area."

Without even asking what she wanted, the owner of the cafe walked over to the bar, took a bottle out of a locked cupboard, and poured something greenish in to a shot glass. He poured another glass from a clear white bottle with Russian letters on it, sprinkled some black pepper on it. Without a word, he brought both glasses to their table, handed the green drink to Nadine, and the clear one with pepper floating on it to the man.

"This is how we drink Vodka in Russia," said the man, confirming her suspicions about his origin, "we put some pepper on it to absorb all the toxins that get in during the distilling. Now, to your health!"

She sipped the drink. It tasted strongly herbal and bitter, and was a bit strong. "That's very good Absinthe. Andrei keeps a special bottle for me," smiled the man. "Now drink it up, and I'll help you to get a ride home."

She smiled nervously back, and downed the drink in one gulp. "Ok, now can I go home?"

The man downed his Vodka after her. "Of course, of course. Let me call a taxi for you." He took out his phone, and started dialing.

Nadine realized suddenly that the red walls of the cafe were pulsating... as if they were alive. The spot-lights embedded in the ceiling were staring at her... as if they were eyes. And indeed they were eyes... they were winking at her. She tried to stand up, unsteadily, but at that moment, the gravity reversed, and the floor of the cafe became a wall. She felt the man catching her as she fell. And that's all she remembered.

To be continued...

Note: the effects of Absinthe are a little exaggerated here. It's a great drink, and it can't be used as a knock-out drug as described here. To get the kind of effects that Nadine experienced, you would need to drink more than just one shot glass (of real Absinthe, not the wimpy fake crap they sell in the US).