December 24, 2023 - 10:15 p.m.
Aside from the bartender behind the counter, a couple of servers setting up tables and a hostess at the front, it was mostly empty when Jude first entered the bar. The place had a small stage at the farthest wall from the door, but there was no band playing that day. First, it was Christmas. Second, the blizzard had stopped just earlier, so although the streets were being cleared, there really weren’t enough people out to fill up a bar.
Jude went straight for the counter, sat on a stool and ordered a glass of whiskey, no ice. He sat there contemplating his life and what it meant to be alone for Christmas. He was estranged from his parents. They had never really seen eye-to-eye, not even when he was young. He had a sibling, a younger brother who had his own issues. His brother was extremely smart, but he had had difficulty interacting with people growing up, not so much anymore though.
Jude had a lot of friends, or maybe it was better to say that he knew a lot of people, but only had a couple of close friends whom he had left behind to pursue whatever career he wanted to pursue, to live whatever life he wanted to live.
Sitting there on that counter, he thought of the past: of being bullied as a kid, of being braver than anyone he knew, of being lonely and of being tired. He was also alone and tired now, but in a sense, he felt fulfilled. He knew he was where he wanted to be, pursuing the things he wanted to pursue, and the only obstacles ahead of him were things he didn’t know yet.
After drinking the first glass of whiskey, Jude looked up and saw the bartender working. He looked around and saw that more people had walked in. A few tables had filled up, and the waiting staff was already sending orders out to the bar. There were also some people sitting on a couple of the bar stools far from him. They already had glasses filled with beer in front of them. In his contemplation, he hadn’t noticed any of the changes around him.
“Can I have another glass?” he asked the bartender.
“Coming right up!” It didn’t take long for another glass of whiskey to be placed in front of him. When the bartender let go of the glass, he asked, “Are you OK?”
“Huh?!”
“Well, you’re alone. And it’s Christmas. I just wanted to make sure.”
“Oh! Yes… yes! I just moved to the city a few days ago, so I just don’t know anybody. I’m fine, thanks!”
“What’s your name?”
“Jude,” he said while picking up the glass of whiskey in front of him.
“I’m Nathan. Nice to meet you! What do you do, Jude?”
“I… Nothing at the moment. I just finished school. I studied languages, so I was hoping to at least start as an interpreter in the city somewhere, or a translator for a publisher.”
“What languages?”
“Most romance languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese… I don’t know any Romanian though.”
“Wow! Impressive!”
Jude buried his head down in embarrassment, taking another sip in the process.
“Do you… work here full time?”
“I do not!” Nathan said while feigning being wounded. “No, most of us here are aspiring artists. You know, actors, musicians, painters and writers! I, myself, am a dancer.”
“That is much more impressive!” Jude said with a chuckle. He felt sometimes that he wanted to create something. Like all of the artists around the world, he wanted to build something just his, but he didn’t know what. He was jealous.
“Hmm… So, you’re new to the city and you don’t know anyone.”
“Well, I met the owner of the convenience store near my place.”
“Riiight… You seem OK, Jude. Are you OK? You’re not a serial killer or anything right?”
“Hahaha! No, are you?”
“Most certainly!” Nathan said as he picked up a knife from behind the counter and proceeded to cut some limes for a drink order that had just come in. “Call me The Slasher!”
“Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Slasher.”
Nathan went back to work, and Jude sat there drinking for another fifteen minutes or so. While he did, he noticed Nathan went all the way up to the hostess' station and started talking to her. It wasn’t a long conversation, and when he came back, he smiled at Jude and said, “My friend, you are in luck! You have just been accepted to an exclusive Christmas party filled with chaotic existences and artistic degenerates. It’s tonight, after our shift ends at 3 a.m.”
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Nathan took a napkin, scribbled something on it and handed it to Jude, saying, “Here is the address.”
When Jude looked at it, he recognized the street. Surprisingly, it was just a couple of blocks from his place.
“Hah! I live nearby.”
“Really?! Perfect! It’s Angela’s apartment. She’s the hostess over there. She’s an actress, a very good one too.”
Jude saw a dirty blonde woman by the hostess counter. She had blue eyes and a slim body. There seemed to be something on the counter in front of her, and she was mumbling words as she looked at it. Jude thought it had to be a script, whether for a play, a commercial, or even a movie, he didn’t know. Was she reading for the part, or had she already gotten it? Jude would have to ask her later if he ever wanted to find out.
“Are you sure it’s OK for me to come?”
“Of course! There’ll be plenty of other single, lonely people there. It’s the perfect place for you tonight.”
“Well… I suppose you’re right.”
“By the way, Angela is my girlfriend, so don’t hit on her. Your whole dark and broody vibe is right up her alley!”
“Haha! I would never!”
“Good! Do you want another drink?” Nathan said as he pointed to the empty glass in front of Jude.
“Yes, please, Mr. Slasher.”
At 11:45 p.m. Jude paid his check and walked out. He didn’t want to spend Christmas at the bar. Sure, people would be celebrating there, but he felt there was something romantic about walking through the city as the clock struck midnight. So, that’s what he did. He walked out of the bar and started walking back home, knowing full well that he wouldn’t make it there before midnight. The day would change along the way, and he would have no way of knowing when aside from maybe some cheers of Merry Christmas coming from the apartments surrounding him or from the people on the street.
And that’s exactly how it happened. Somewhere along the way, he suddenly heard a giant roar of Merry Christmas in unison coming from the rooftop of a relatively short building he was walking by. Jude smiled at that and whispered Merry Christmas back in the direction of the roar.
He looked around. There were a few people on the street wishing good tidings to each other. He could see people hugging from the glass windows of the bars nearby. It was cold out, and the city wasn’t moving like it usually did, but it was still alive and filled with hope. It was a city that could be both harsh and beautiful, and that too, to him, was what made the city even more romantic.
Jude was glad he had moved.
He kept walking until he got to Mr. Lee’s convenience store. From the window, he saw Mr. Lee behind the counter. People were at the register purchasing whatever they needed at that time, and Mr. Lee was bidding each customer a Merry Christmas.
Jude opened the door just enough to stick his head in and yell, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lee!”
The old man’s head jolted in the direction of the door. Seeing Jude, he smiled and yelled back, “Merry Christmas, young man!”
After that, Jude closed the door and continued on his way, turning the corner at the convenience store to his street. Just as he was about to keep going, however, he heard the sound of trash cans falling coming from the alley behind the convenience store. It was late and dark, so he couldn’t tell what had happened. The lights on the street were still a warmish yellow and red, and for some reason, it felt like the snow absorbed all of that light and gave nothing back. The alley was pitch black.
“Arrgh!”
He had heard that. It was the sound of someone in pain.
Having decided to look into it, Jude took out his cell phone and turned on the flashlight. He shone it at the alley, but it didn’t help a whole lot. The darkness still felt very oppressive.
He walked closer, scanning through the alley with his phone as he did. Against the wall of the back of the convenience store, there lay a body. Seeing that, Jude rushed over, phone still in hand pointing straight at the body. There was something odd about it.
When he got closer, Jude saw the person was still breathing. It was a woman. She seemed small, but he could tell that she was strong. The woman was wearing something that looked like a bodysuit, but it seemed to be made of some kind of small, yet reflective alloy stitched in a honeycomb pattern. She was missing an arm and a leg, but when Jude looked around he saw mechanical limbs a few feet from her body, so he assumed they were hers. She had jet black hair, and an eye patch over one eye. Her other eye showed that she was Asian. However, the color of the eye was strange. When Jude had first seen it, it had been red, but once she looked at him, it turned blue.
“It’s you…” she whispered.
“Just hang on! I’ll call an ambulance!”
“No… Time… Closer…”
Jude looked at her puzzled as he dialed the paramedics on his phone. There was blood coming from her amputated arm and leg.
“No… Time!” she repeated more forcefully.
The dispatcher answered the call at that moment, and Jude quickly gave out his location and the level of injury of the woman. Then, seeing her getting more frustrated, he hung up the phone and kneeled next to her.
The woman took a deep breath and said, “Grab… my hand.”
Jude did so, and at that moment, he felt a jolt in his brain. His whole body was paralyzed, and the bodysuit the woman was wearing started to transfer to him, like a second skin. Once the transfer was complete, the bodysuit expanded and turned translucent, like a thin layer shielding his body. When he looked back at the woman, he saw that she was in her underwear, and there were deep scars all over her body. The injuries she had sustained were now completely open, and blood was rushing from her body.
“I’m… sorry…” she said as she closed her eyes.
Suddenly, Jude’s body lurched back, and a sharp, blinding pain overtook his head. It was much too strong, and he knew he was going to pass out. As his eyes closed and he felt his body collapse, he heard the words:
[System Initializing]