Anywhere But Here (CH 8) [Human(m)xHyenas(f)]

Anywhere But Here [human(m)xmultiple hyena(f),violence, femdom, smut, pseudo-penis, intersex, romance, drug use]
by Teether


Chapter 8


>You hear a crackling noise as a heavy vapor of chems wafts through your nose, burning the inside of your nostrils
>You hear fumbling and clicking along with sounds of whispers and cursing
>You roll over in bed, grabbing a pillow and covering your head to drown out the noise
>Your arms splay out to your sides sweeping over the cool, empty, bed sheets
*….Wait a second
>You pull the pillow off your head and open your eyes as you look around the dark motel room
>At the end of the bed a fiery glow casts jagged shadows up onto the walls as they dance amongst the ghostly chem mist rising into the air
>You look over at the clock next to your head reading ten pm
>You hear coughing and spitting followed by more burnt chem vapors
>”Shhh. Shut the fuck up. He’s going to hear you, you dense motherfucker” you hear Tinker say in a low whisper
>You hear the light thud of a punch hitting flesh as Tinker yowls “You bitch!” followed by more punches
>You sit up, pulling yourself to the end of the bed where the twins sit crossed legged next to each other, their backs to you
>You lean your head between the two of them as Tyler torches the bottom of a little charred glass pipe
“I thought we had a promise?” You say gritting your teeth
>Both of the twins jump as Tyler drops the pipe to the ground, smashing it into shards as she coughs violently
>Tinker turns back and pushes your face away with her paw, “We didn’t agree to shit” she spits
“Yes we did! I said if I let you two have your way with me then-“
>”And if you remember, we never actually agreed to any of that. From what I remember we never said “I promise” smoothskin . Therefore, not a promise” said Tinker sticking out her tongue at you
>In a fit of rage you pick a half full beer bottle off the nightstand next to you and fling it at the wall directly in front of you
>The brown bottle explodes as the twins get showered in broken glass and stale beer
>”The fuck!?” yells Tyler still coughing
>Tinker just laughs as you get up from the bed and stand in front of the twins, glaring down at the two hyena girls
“You two are the most obnoxious, shit spewing Beasts I’ve every fucking dealt with! What the fuck is wrong with you two stupid junkies!?”
>The twins stare at you in silence for a bit
*Did I go too far calling them Beasts?
>”Says the big bad smoothskin with his fleshy little dick hanging out” said Tyler pointing at your junk before bursting out into laughter
>Tinker gives Tyler a high five as she starts laughing and saying “nice one sis”
“Your both naked too!”
>”Yeah but at least were not naked fleshy boy, smooth skins” said Tyler again as her sister gives her another high five followed by applause
>You begin to blush, as you a wave of embarrassment
>You stomp off to the bathroom, slamming the door as hard as you possible can behind you
>You hear the sisters outside the bathroom making a childish “OOOOOooooooooooo” noise like an elementary school kid calling out someone for cursing
>You splash some water on your face and begin brushing your teeth to get your mind off of the twins and to clean some of the lingering musk flavor from your mouth
>You spit out the mouthful of toothpaste as you hear the two twins argue over the smashed glass pipe “Well now we have to go get another……….you stupid…… We’re out of shit anyway ……..uncoordinated cunt…….Man! I didn’t want to spend this night walking to Main street dammit!”
*Main street, they can’t be serious
>You frantically grab fresh clothes from your backpack in the corner of the bathroom and put them on
>You run out into the bedroom to see the now fully clothed twins walking out the doorway
“Your both going to Main street!? You’re going to get killed!” you say as the twins ignore you, flipping you off as they continue on
>You quickly grab a loaded pistol off of the nightstand next to the bed and run out onto the balcony after the twins
>You fire a round into the air before pointing the gun at the twins a couple feet away, “Stop! Iam not just going to let you two waltz off down to Main street to get yourselves killed! You’re staying here!”
>The twins turn around as Tinker gives you a smirk “Are you for real smoothskin? What are you going to do if we leave? Shoot us?”
“I….Uh……”
*Shit
>Tinker lightly chuckles, “You going to shoot us to keep us from getting shot? Good one smooth skin.”
>You begin to lower the gun to your side
>”Why do you even care if we die skins? I thought we were just a couple of ‘shit spewing Beasts’?” said Tinker making exaggerated quotes with her fingers
*Dammit….I did take it too far
“I am not worried about you two. I am worried for Riley and Dee. They care deeply about you two and all you do is give them shit. They’d give their lives for you and your just going to go and throw it away?”
>You see the twins are visibly affected by your comment as they look down at their feet in silence for a couple seconds
>”We don’t need your pity skins. Neither Riley nor Dee knows what were going through. We love them but they don’t understand. I’d rather get shot and die out there than have to go through withdrawals in this fuck hole. We can’t just sit back and pretend everything’s going to be ok like the rest of them. This world is dying skins, you know it and I know it so stop pretending like you care about us. If we’re going to be forced to live in this hell then we might else well enjoy the time we got. Right sis?” said Tinker
>”Right” said Tyler nodding
>As the twins turn back and walk down the balcony towards the stairs, you walk back into Mace’s room and collapse on the bed, gun still in your hands
>You stare up at the ceiling for a bit as you listen to the white noise of the few buzzing flies
*Fuck it
>You slip on your boots before hurrying to the bathroom to grab your backpack off the floor
>You dump all the contents of your backpack onto the bed as you pick Mace’s black weapons duffle off the ground
>You dump everything from Mace’s duffle bag ontop of the bed
>Four semi-automatic pistols, lot of pre-loaded clips, ten hand grenades, and an old uzi with an underarm sling
>You dump everything into your backpack and sling the uzi over your shoulder so it rests directly under your armpit at your side
>You take one of the long black rectangle clips and smack it into the bottom of the uzi
*Fuck….I’ll figure it out as I go……The movies couldn’t have been too off from reality….right?
>You slip on your jacket and zip it up. You keep the uzi close to you, hiding it well in the oversized coat
>You put on the heavy backpack and run off after the twins
>You catch them half way across the parking lot, walking down towards the direction of Main street
>You try to catch your breath as the backpack’s weight strains against your shoulders
>Tyler glances back as you run up to them breathing heavily, “Oh Look, sexy smoothskin came to join us. You still planning on putting a bullet in our head for being junkies?” she says
>You swallow hard, catching your breath, “Look I am sorry. I am sorry for everything I said to you two. It was fucked up. I shouldn’t have called you Beasts. I am just here to be protection if you need it”
>Tyler snorts loudly, “Us? Needing protection? A little scrawny skin is going to protect us? Hah! We already got all the protection we need”
>Each of the twins pulls out a small snub nose three-fifty seven revolver from their pocket
>They point them at you and each other making obnoxious pew pew noises
>After a bit they blow imaginary smoke from their barrels and slide them back into their pockets with a cowboy twirl
>”Like we said earlier sexyboy, we don’t need any protection. But we’ll bring you along for some sexy company I guess” said Tyler wrapping an arm around your waist and putting a paw in your back pocket
>Tinker wraps her arm around your waist on the other side sneering at her sister as Tyler sneers back
*….Yeah…perfectly safe

>You and the twins walk silently down the side of Main Street
>The road and sidewalks empty except for the copious amounts of litter and trash floating about
>Any beast still up is crowded, elbow-to-elbow in the bars getting drunk and staying away from the slum villages dotted around Main street
>You look over at the twins, surprised by their silent composure for the past twenty-five minutes.
>You look down and notice both of twins’ hands are shaking as there eyes stare straight ahead
>Tyler pulls out a small bent joint as she barely manages to light it with her trembling fingers
>She takes a long drag, consuming about half of the poorly rolled paper before handing it off to Tinker to finish
>Tinker sucks the joint down to a nub before flicking the roach into a pile of open trash on the sidewalk
>Tyler looks over at the both of you giving a nod with her head towards an alley way to your right
>The alley way is formed out of rows upon rows of poorly made slum shacks held together loosely by nails and duck tape
>Goosebumps spread along your arms as the twins begin to walk down the garbage-infested corridor
>You follow the twins down into the slums as the smell of wet cardboard and open sewer smack you in the face
>The sound of squishing mud and loose pebbles resound off the aluminum siding and plywood walls with each step you take
>You constantly sweep your gaze back and forth; peering into all the dark, empty shacks that flank you on your left and right
>No matter how dead the place looks, you still can’t shake the feeling of eyes watching you
>After turning a couple more corners, Taylor stops in front of a long, blue, muddy tarped wall
>She lifts up the tarp by the corner and motions you inside
>You step inside and look around at the gigantic roofless hall before you
>The place looks exactly like a large, square, open-air market with empty stands for vendors draped with canopies of all shapes and colors
>The square is faintly lit by the starlight overhead, covering the ground with a dark blue glow
>It would almost look beautiful if it weren’t in the middle of a rotting slum
>Tyler lowers the tarp behind her and quickly follows past you to the far end of the market square where you can see a small light
>At the end of the square sits a little, hunched over, ancient looking badger wearing torn rolled jeans on stone bench. He sits peacefully with an old wooden pipe pressed between his cracked lips. Draped over his shoulders is a frayed yellow plaid wool blanket worn like a cloak and on his head sits a busted wicker hat. To the right of him is an old kerosene lantern, which illuminates the area around him in a warm glow.
>The badger takes a large, canvas pull string bag out from beside him and opens it up. He pulls a wad of bills out of it and shuffles them through his fingers, counting. He folds the wad over and hands it off to a small, hooded fox in front of him
>”Take that over to Luca a.s.a.p. I trust her enough to deliver us a steady supply till morning” said the badger with a rusty southern voice
>The fox simply nodded before pulling its hoodie over its head and rushing past the three of you
>The badger looks up past the brim of his hat as he knocks the ash from his pipe onto the stone bench, “Ah well isn’t it my most consistent customers. Back like clockwork I see”
>”Yeah, Mr. H. Well, you do have the best shit this side of the glassed coast as far as I’ve ever had” said Tyler with a mix of shakiness and genuine enthusiasm
>”Well shoot girl, your going to make this old fart blush” said Mr. H refilling his pipe with a pinch from a small tobacco pouch around his neck
>”So do you think we can have a couple rounds of the usual?” said Tyler twiddling her fingers like an expectant child
>The badger doesn’t answer; instead he takes the next couple minutes lighting a match and slowly puffing on the old wooden pipe. Its scent fills the air with a heavy maple syrup-like smoke
>The badger takes one last long drag as he blows a thick smoke ring into the air
>”Well?” says Tyler impatiently with her arms crossed
>The badger pulls his pipe out of his mouth and taps it lightly on an old oxidized hotel counter bell sitting on the bench to his left
>It lets out a sharp ring that cuts through the empty market, echoing along the corridors of filth
*What is he? ….Is he senile?...wait a second
>”Girls. I think we need to go. Now!” You say grabbing Tyler’s arm and pulling her back towards you
>Tinker goes to pull her pistol from her front pocket as the badger whips out a small thirty-eight special revolver from a holster underneath his plaid blanket
>He pulls off three blindingly fast shots at the ground near each of your feet
>He lets out another billow of smoke from the corner of his mouth as he levels the gun at Tinker’s face
>”Guns on the ground. Now” said Mr. H in a calm voice as smoke streams steadily poured out through his nostrils
>”You little wrinkly ass, piece of shit! I am going to fucking kill you!” yells Tyler as she begins to rush towards the badger snapping her jaws
>“Hold up there!” says Mr. H cocking the hammer back on his revolver as Tinker flinched
>Tyler stops in her tracks as M.H blows out another long billow of smoke from the corner of his mouth, “You better watch what you say and do next little missy, the arthritis in my hands might just cause my finger to slip. Now I am going to say politely one last time. Guns. Ground. Now”
>Tinker drops her revolver to the ground as Mr.H points the gun at Tyler “You too honey. I see that in the side of your pocket.”
>Tyler pulls the out her pistol and drops it into the dirt
>”Hey smoothscum. That means you too. Drop the bag on the ground” said Mr. H looking at you
>You carefully lay your backpack on the ground trying your best not to jostle anything inside
>Mr.H moves his gun back towards Tinker as he takes his pipe out of his mouth and rings it twice on the counter bell
>Tarp walls open up on both sides next to Mr. H as six foxs and two bulls walk out
>The bulls are wearing straight black dress suits and carrying submachine guns
>The foxes are wearing a motley of cheap hoodies and random garb carrying makeshift bats and blades
>The bulls and foxes pile in between you and Mr.H
>”They’re all ready for delivery to Artutr boys. Now were is my money?” said Mr.H looking at the two bulls before holstering his revolver under his plaid cloak
>”You’ll get your payment after we finish our arrangement with the head bitch. No sooner, no later” said The bull in a deep voice
>Mr.H let out a light cough as smoke shot out his nose, “Your guy promised me payment on site once we delivered!”
>”You’ll get your payment, once we deliver them to Artur. We are not here to negotiate badger, we need to make the delivery, now!” said the bull on the left cocking the bolt of his gun and glaring down at the old man
> “Is that a threat? I don’t take kindly to threats, bovine” said Mr.H as he gnawed lightly on the tip of his pipe
>Three of the six foxes keeping an eye on you immediately turn to face the bulls
>“Don’t be threating Mr.H, you dumb cow” said one of the foxes with a muddy voice as it swiped its machete through the air
>”We have more strings to pull and connections than you can possible imagine” said another fox patting an aluminum kids bat to his palm
>The third just chuckled in a high pitch squeal as it swept a link of steel chain over the ground
>The bulls just chuckled and lowered their guns towards the foxes, “Is that all you baby rodents got? Empty threats and baseball bats?” said the one on the right
>Mr.H reached over and tapped his smoldering pipe against the bench counter bell three times
>As the ringing died down, the loud patter of feet could be heard coming from all sides
>You look around to see the glint of eyes from all corners of the market. Foxes, coyotes, and jackrabbits hiding behind the counters and tables with more makeshift weapons
>”You Bastards think you can just walk all over anyone smaller and poorer than you don’t you? You think just because the Bastards live the soft life it makes you all better than us? Well think again beef” said Mr.H with a grin
>The bull to Mr.H’s left side pulls out a revolver, bringing around to the badger’s head
>”Back off or the old man gets an early funeral!” yelled the bull out into the market
*Now’s my chance
>You quickly unzip your jacket and bring the hidden uzi up with your right hand
clickclickclick
>Nothing
>The bull on Mr.H’s right side swings his submachine towards your direction as Tyler tackles you to the ground
> A stream of bullets flies over your head, sweeping through where you just were a second ago
>The three foxes near the bulls make their move, pouncing on them with their bats and blades as the bulls try to fight them off
>Tyler in one lighting-like movement pulls the bolt back on the uzi and disengages the safety as she strafes everything in front of you
BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA
>The six foxes and the two bulls are caught in hail of bullets as Tyler pours every round from the gun until you hear the empty bolt click
>Tinker quickly goes to pick her revolver off the ground amongst the chaos
BANG!
>A spark flies off Tinker’s revolver, sending the gun out of her grip and skidding far across the ground
>”FUCK!” Tinker screams as she grabs her right hand and kneels on the ground, blood dripping from between her clenched fingers
>Mr.H stands in front of the now flaming stone bench covered in spilled kerosene, his revolver in his right hand pointed at Tinker
>He pulls a second revolver out from another holster and points it at you and Tyler
>Mr.H’s plaid cloak and wicker hat are now shredded with bullet holes as he walks a couple feet, carefully stepping amongst the bodies scattered around him
>”Well, well. It looks like y’all are worth a significant amount if the Bastards are willing to throw blows. I think I’ll just take you nice folks for hostages in the mean time. Lets see how much Artur likes playing keep away when its his money on the line” said Mr.H before coughing and staggering a little
>You and Tyler look at Mr.H’s feet as you both notice a slow trickle of blood flowing down the badger’s legs
>Mr.H regains his stance but is notably weary, his breathing heavy and labored
>You see his eyelids begin to droop slightly as he darts his eyes back and forth between Tinker and Tyler
>”Boys! Get over here and help me!” said Mr.H as his goons slowly begin to emerge
From behind cover
>”Boys!” he screams again as his gaze drifts away from you and Tyler
>Tyler takes the moment and leaps from you onto the badger. She scoops him up into a full nelson as he blindly squeezes off rounds from his revolvers into the surrounding air
>”SIS! NOW!” Tyler screams as Tinker leaps up off her knees at the old man
>She wraps her powerful jaws around the badger’s throat ripping it out with a meaty sound of tearing muscle and sinews
>Mr.H lets out a whispy scream of desperation as his vocal chords are torn from his body
>Tinker spits out the giant chunk of flesh as she sticks out her tongue and curls her lips,” Yeeetttcch! Tastes like a wrinkly leather couch made of cigarette butts”
>Tyler drops the badgers body, face down into the dirt as she raises her paw for a high five, “nice one sis” she says
>Tinker gives her an enthusiastic high five with her left hand before a piercing shriek goes up from around them
>A four-foot tall jackrabbit in dusty cloth rags and an old military officers hat leaps onto a cluttered table and points a curved machete at the three of you, “They killed “Pappa H! Get them! Get Them!” it screeches in a high pitched voice
>You begin to hear the rumbling of hundreds of small feet circle around you as growling and animal calls emanate from the shadows
>You roll over and stumble over to your backpack, picking it up off the ground
>You unzip the backpack and pull a fresh uzi clip from the bag
>You release the old clip and slam in the new one as you pull back the bolt
>Tyler scoops her revolver off the ground and runs up next to you. She reaches in and pulls two hand grenades out of your backpack
>”I knew mace was holding some good shit out on us” She said pulling the pins and throwing them at the figures running around the market in the distance
>Tyler links her arms through you and Tinker, pulling you towards a wall as hordes of small hooded creatures follow you on the sides from the shadows
“Where are we going?”
>”I think I saw a shortcut from the last time I was here” Tyler said as wave of twenty or so small critters forms in front of you
*You think?
BOOM! BOOM!
>Both of the grenades go off as everyone instinctively ducks down
>You seize the moment of confusion and spray the crowd of beasts in front of you with the uzi in a couple short burst
>The gun rattles back and forth in your palms as you nervously hold onto it for dear life
>Eight of the Beasts’ spasm and twirl as their bodies absorb the volley of lead while the others scatter amongst the counters and tables in panic
>Tyler grabs the two of you again rushing forward towards the tarp wall
>You jump over the fallen beasts and through the wall, bursting through as you three slam against a plywood wall on the other side of a long corridor
>Tyler begins running down to the right while yelling back to you “Come on! This way…….I think”
*Goddamit Tyler….don’t get us killed
>You grab Tinker and the two of you sprint after Tyler, the mud and trash crunching under your pounding feet
>You take a couple turns down the maze like hallways as you begin to smell smoke, “Fire! Fire!” You hear a squeaky voice from inside the walls shout
>You begin to hear the stampede-like noise of hundreds of feet right behind you splashing through the stagnant water and muck
>You glance back over your shoulder to see a writhing mass of small creatures clambering over one another to get at your throats as they snap their jaws and foam at the mouth
>You hear small voices screaming in unison “KILL!, KILL!, KILL!” over and over again from the shape shifting mass of animals
>You try to quicken your pace as Tinker slips and falls in the slimy mud
>You stop and turn back as you spray the last half of a clip down the tunnel
>A few of the Beasts’ catch most of the bullets, falling over as the rest behind them trample over their remains like an unstoppable ocean wave
>You pick Tinker off the ground and keep running as the crowd gets within a couple feet behind you
>You reach your hand into the open backpack and pull out another grenade ripping the pin out between your teeth as the two of you try to catch up to Tyler
>You flick the grenade over your shoulder as you can see the light at the end of the tunnel come into view
>Tyler if waves for you to hurry up before pointing her revolver down the hallway, “Get the fuck down!” she yells
BOOM!
You hear a chorus of screams as shards of flaming debris fly past you, zooming around your head and shoulders
>You hear more shouting as the wooden tunnel begins collapsing behind you
>You make it a couple feet to the entrance before you grab Tinker and drop into the vile muck
>BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
>Tyler unloads all six rounds down tunnel as you hear cries and wheezing directly behind you
>You feel the weight of multiple bodies and debris collapse onto your lower legs and torso
>”Come on! Get up you two! Said Tyler beckoning
>You begin to crawl from underneath the moaning pile as a small wiry claw reaches out and wraps around your ankle, its nails digging into your flesh
>You look back to see the jackrabbit from earlier, half its face torn away, its brain and nerves exposed
>”You killed…..Papa….H….kill…..kill……kill” It wheezed repetitively through its already collapsed lungs
>Tinker pulls herself from the mass as she raises her leg, bringing it down with a weighty stomp onto the rabbit’s head
>The remainder of its head explodes like a rotten cantaloupe as the brains gush between Tinker’s clawed toes
>”Fucking stupid jackrabbits. Pieces of shit!” says Tinker grinding her foot in the mess like she’s casually crushing out a cigarette
>She lifts up her foot and wipes it off on another dead critter’s shirt before grabbing you and helping you up
>You try to hold back from puking as the waft of raunchy slum muck begins to settle heavy in your noise once more
>”Come on you two! Chop Chop!” said Tyler “We gotta keep moving!”
>”You better watch out Tyler, you’re beginning to sound like mom” said Tinker walking up to her
>Tyler playfully punches Tinker in the chest, “Shut the fuck up bitch”
>”Hey, hey, hey watch the merchandise!” Tinker says covering her arms over her chest
>”Sis, your tits aren’t that special you stupid fucking snowflake!” says Tyler as she empties the shells from her revolver
>”No Tyler. I am talking about this.” Said Tinker pulling a large, pull string, canvas bag out from behind her overalls
>”Is that?” said Tyler eyes wide pointing at the bag
>”Yup. I swiped it after I tore the old geezers throat out” said Tinker snapping her jaws and curling her lips with pleasure as she pulls out a handful of baggies all filled with clear crystals and powders
>”Holy shit! That’ll keep us going for like forever!” said Tyler getting gitty
>Tyler hugs her sister, squeezing out what little energy there was left in the girl
>”Did I ever tell you I love you” Tyler said getting all misty eyed
>”Cut the mushy shit you stupid junkie” said Tinker pushing Tyler away
>”But…..I love you too” Tinker finished in a mumble under here breath
>Tyler grabs her sister around the shoulder and raises a middle finger in the air “Yeah! The twins live on to party another day! Take that universe! You fucking endless waste of shit!”
“Uhhh shouldn’t we be leaving? Incase all those critters come back?”
BBBBBBBOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
>All three of you look over as a quarter of the shantytown explodes into a fiery, ear-shattering mushroom cloud as flaming plywood and trash wrappers float down from the air
>”I think they might have bigger things to worry about right now. Gods, what kind of volatile shit we they storing in there?” said Tinker
>”My guess would be meth labs” said Tyler as another echoing boom goes off in the distance
>The three of you begin to run down the street to get as much distance between you and the village-sized ticking time bomb as you can
>You eventually run up a large hill with a view of the slum from a safe distance as you all collapse panting on the cigarette butt littered grass
>”Well, where do we go from here? I got a feeling were not going to be welcome in this side of town anytime soon” said Tinker as you all look back at the giant flaming mess you created
>Suddenly, it hits you
“Riley! Mace!” you say slapping you forehead
>”What?” says the twins looking over at you
“Riley and Mace are going to negotiate with Artur at midnight tonight in the cemetery on the edge of town. Everything Mr.H and those bulls said. They were going to use you two as leverage against Riley. I’d bet anything right now they’re going to be walking into a huge setup and now that they don’t have hostages for leverage they might resort to something more drastic. We have to go and save them. They think there dealing with a small punk ass gang, not some coordinated militia movement”
>”What are you crazy? Why would we go and throw ourselves into the situation we just got ourselves out of? Are you trying to hand us to them on a silver platter?” said Tinker
”Were not though, we got some firepower” you say patting the backpack
>”But…but” Tyler said whimpering
“Stop being such a pair of whiny pathetic pups and actually grow a spine! This is your mother’s life we’re talking about!” you say snapping
>Both of the twins droop their heads and ears as they look down at their feet
>You sigh and look down at your feet as a small line of beetles carries bits of litter and cig butts back to their nest
>You hear Tinker rummage through her bag and then loudly snort something
>You look over to see the hyena wipe her arm across her nose and hand a baggy off to Tyler, “Your right human. Lets do this shit” she says
>Tyler pours out some of the crystals onto her palm and snorts them as well, “Yeah, lets go save mom. I think I know where the cemetery is if it’s the one I think they’re talking about. I use to wander through their at night when I was younger. It’s a bit far out but we can probably make it around midnight if we hurry” she says holding up her revolver in her paws
>You smile as you open the backpack and start delegating weapons and ammo out to the two teens
>The two hyena girls bicker over who gets what while the sounds of explosions and high-pitched screams reverberate from the flaming monstrosity before you
>The night air is filled with billowing tar-black smoke, thick with the scent of burning plastic and hair