[i]Thump, thump, thump.[/i] They were out of canned plastic for filling holes, so Tack was spending his day patching a woman's rusted, aluminum roof with a flat sheet of iron. [i]Thump, thump, thump.[/i] It wasn't very fun, either. [i]Thump, thump, thump.[/i] The sound of the metal against metal being pounded through more metal and into a supporting board was giving him a headache. [i]Thump, thump...[/i] His eyes started to wander to the side, looking out at the wall...was that smoke? Right there, just above--

[b][i]THUMP.[/i][/b] Tack's squinted eyes widened in shock and he resisted the urge to scream out the long stream of curses that crossed his mind as he held his clenched fist to his heart. Letting out an exasperated, raspy sigh, he set the offending hammer down and took off his gloves to examine his injured thumb. 

As he turned away from his work and sat at the edge of the roof for a break, a thought came back to him; [i]why would there be smoke?[/i]