The chilly air seemed to be seeping through my clothes as I trudged towards my home. I couldn’t pinpoint the emotions that had taken a hold of me. It seemed like a constant state of living recently for me, not knowing what I was doing or thinking. The entire encounter at the club was strange.

I kept hearing people mention some boss they were certain would be enamored with me. And well, my mind came to the worst conclusion, Sex workers being one of my first ideas, which terrified me. Then again, I could be mistaken; perhaps they are simply in search of dancers or attractive bartenders.

I arrived back home shortly before midnight. It was still relatively early in the night. The house was quiet. Grandma must have been exhausted after a long day of work. And Jaron... well, at least he behaves when it comes to his sleep schedule and doing his homework.

I decided to call Jake and let him know how it went. I was confident he was still awake. After two rings, Jake picked up the phone, his voice heavy with exhaustion but still welcoming.

“Hey! I was beginning to worry about you. Was it alright? Did you get it?” he asked eagerly. My lips tagged in a smile, “It was alright, a little bit strange. I don’t like the party scene too much. And everybody thought I was some kind of a stripper or a dancer. Correcting their assumptions was an uncomfortable experience. I’m only here for the cleaning tasks.”

There was some silence at Jake’s end. “Well, you know, stripping is a serious line of job. Please let me know if you ever decide to go down that path.” I rolled my eyes. “Jake, please be serious about this. You know it’s a bad place of employment when everybody keeps saying, ‘the boss loves boys like you’ and ogles you to no end.”

“I don’t think they do that for every new hire, just the pretty ones.” was his reply. “Jake, you’re an awesome human being, but sometimes I just can’t with you,” I said. “Well, that’s because I’m not human. Therefore the argument does not apply to me. And also, the boss likes ‘boys’? A little bit pedo if you ask me.”

Yeah, Jake wasn’t helping much. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure they meant guys,” Jake chuckled at his end of the call. I suddenly realized there wasn’t a buzz at the back of my head.

People never really realized just how much they were lying. It was ingrained in our culture, becoming a type of slang and a way of talking like sarcasm. Most of the time, it had no sinister meaning behind it, just a way of speaking.

I was getting the little vibrations all day long. When I was younger, it always put me off balance. As I grew older, I was getting better at ignoring the unimportant lies, the white lies. I was used to it by now but still looked out for anything major. Just a walking lie detector.

At that moment, upon hearing Jake’s words, I felt nothing. The latter half of his statement was simply an opinion with no truth or lie in it. But he said he wasn’t human, and I felt no buzz. What did that mean? I understand it is a figure of speech. But like all the other similar lies, I would expect to feel it.

I would always feel the lie as it regards the absolute truth. I trusted myself and knew the statement was true. My ability was working for facts, not for the symbolic meaning behind words. It can’t mean he feels like a monster or something along those lines.

Not human means not human for my little buzzes. But what else could there be? Maybe Jake is someone like me? Am I even human with this ability I got? Too bad I cannot feel my own lies. Left with the ability to lie to myself. Jake’s words brought me back from my thoughts.

“So, did you get it?” I could picture him on his bed, keenly awaiting my response. “Yeah, I got it, thanks to your uncle, who bagged Sam to take me. Thanks for that, by the way.” Jake sounded surprised at that. “Oh, I didn’t know he did that. That’s Michael for you. He takes care of family. And you practically family as well.”

The comment caused a lump to form in my throat. I fought back tears, touched by the kindness of his family. We carried on with our chit-chat for another hour or so, yapping about ridiculous nonsense.

“Hey, what about going ice skating this weekend? They’re having an ’80s music theme, and we could head there at noon so it won’t clash with your job,” Jake finally asked. “Sure, who else is coming?” Jake got quiet again but only for a second. “Well, I thought we could hang out just the two of us. We need some alone time.”

The corners of my mouth tugged upward in a grin as I responded to him. “You asking me out?” I questioned, my voice laced with amusement. “No, I’m not trying to ask you on a date,” Jake said, sounding slightly serious. But soon enough, he started laughing.

The buzz went through my head. I knew he was lying instantly. Was he hoping for a date? With me? Would that be something I’d want? I mean, I wasn’t even sure if I liked guys. Did I? Did Jake? Ugh, my head was pounding. To avoid making the situation uncomfortable, I joined in with his laughter.

I’m not going to bring up the topics of humans or dates right now. I’ll do it in person if I have something to ask him. Plus, it will be less awkward for me to ask about a date than his humanity.

I tried to sneak into the house so I wouldn’t wake anyone up, tiptoeing around until I could climb into bed after being outside for almost an hour. It seemed as if I was at odds with the universe, unable to enjoy a good night’s sleep. No matter what, something always seemed to be preventing me from falling asleep. I was an overthinker, that’s for sure.

Did I have feelings for Jake? I mean, romantically? Everyone said I was oblivious to it all, but I noticed things. Maybe I was in denial? My heart raced with conflicting emotions as I tried to unravel my true feelings.

Lyanna came as a surprise; we never talked about her and me. But Hunter was telling the truth. So it is true. I just never saw her that way.

Guess going on a date with Jake could be nice. I’ll ask him about it on the weekend. Probably, If I could master my courage. It seems like I have two shifts at work before the weekend. I would have to survive that first.

The following day at school, I emerged from my classroom while my eyes were glued to my cell phone, not really taking in the sights around me. I bumped into someone and apologized immediately. Looking up, Suzie stared back at me. Of course it had to be her. “Watch it, white trash. You could at least look where you’re going.”

I really got mad at those thoughtless comments. She was simply being rude. I mean, yeah, I bumped into her, but I said sorry. “Come on Suzie, can’t you come up with something better than that? You sound so dull.” Her face was getting red. “You are such an asshole. People like you should drop dead. The world would be better.” She was lying. I could feel the buzz. She didn’t really believe it.

Dramatic much? I just bumped into her. “Once you actually believe your words, come find me.” Her jaw dropped in shock as if she had never imagined anyone responding in such a way. It was an unexpected response, and she seemed utterly taken aback. I left her standing there, her boyfriend giving me a menacing look from across the way, not daring to approach. While I wasn’t intimidating, nobody wanted to mess with Jake or Hunter. I was safe by association, and honestly kind of liked it.

Lyanna was standing at the entrance to the school when I arrived, her expression telling me she had seen it all. “Hey Jules, are you alright? I saw what just happened with Suzie...” she started to say. “Nah, don’t sweat it. Honestly, it was my fault, I bumped into her, and she acted like her usual drama queen self.”

Despite my efforts, Lyanna seemed unconvinced. “Promise you’ll tell us if things get out of hand,” she said. “Yeah, of course, but don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.” As always, we walked to our table and ate lunch.

As classes finished for the day, Hunter and I were on our way to pick up Jaron. My head was full of questions I wanted to ask Jake, and they all seemed to be competing for attention in my mind. I knew I had to talk to him soon, but I was scared of his reaction.

Yet the thought of delaying it made me anxious and guilty. So I promised myself that I would talk to him by this weekend. But until then, I was determined not to let my worries consume me. It wouldn’t be that difficult. Between Jaron, school, and my new job, I had plenty of activities to keep me busy.

“Jules, can I ask you something?” Hunter pulled me from my thoughts. “Yeah, sure. What’s up?” I said. Hunter looked a little bit uncomfortable. “I know we joke a lot, but... I do like Lyanna, and if you like her, I don’t want to come between you two or-” I stopped him in the middle of the sentence.

“Hunter, I just don’t feel that way about Lyanna,” I said. “She’s a great friend, but I don’t see her as anything more than that. Ask her out, and who knows, you might click with her on your date. I’m rooting for you two.” Hunter seemed to relax at that. “I was so afraid of your reaction. I didn’t want you to be angry at me.” It was an odd thing to say, considering Hunter was twice my size.

“I won’t ever be mad at you for telling me the truth and looking out for my best interests, even if I wanted to date Lyanna. I’m sure we could come up with a solution”. I smiled at him. Hunter grinned back at me. “Yeah, we could have an open relationship, or even better, be a throuple!” I stared at him dumbfounded. “Wasn’t exactly what I thought about, but sure.”

I knew he was joking, I even felt the little buzz going through my head, and yet I got curious. “Hunter, would you be open to it? Like... dating a guy?” I asked carefully. Hunter seemed surprised by that. “Umm, I know I joke a lot, but I’m straight,” he said. Hunter glanced my way and quickly added, “It’s cool if you’re not straight, like better even, less competition to the average population.”

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I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hunter Thomson, you are anything but average.” A bright blush spread across Hunter’s cheeks. “Thank you,” he muttered softly. After another minute of driving, Hunter looked at me and asked almost inaudibly, “So, are you straight?” He seemed really uncomfortable.

I answered him honestly. “I don’t really know. I guess I’m trying to figure it out. And I think Jake kind of asked me on a date?” Hunter raised his eyebrow at that, and I continued. “I mean, he didn’t say it was a date. But he wants to hang out alone, and I think maybe we’ve been flirting for a while. And I’m pretty sure not in the bromance way.”

Why did I feel such a powerful desire to tell Hunter everything? Even though I was confident I could depend on him, it was still hard for me to open up. “It might be a date. I think Jake might like you. And don’t tell him I told you, but he’s bi.” Despite everything, it really did surprise me. And hurt a little that he didn’t tell me. “Why hasn’t he told me?” I whispered.

“No! It’s nothing like that. I just kind of saw him scrolling through social media and liking some photos. He realized I saw it and just came clean. He made me swear not to tell anyone. I think he’s scared we’ll look at him differently,” He explained. “I would never-” I started to say, “I know” Hunter stopped me.

“I know you won’t care, but it’s still his secret to tell. And if you think you might like Jake, you should give him a chance.” I thought about it. “Maybe, we’ll see. I’m hanging out with him this weekend. I’ll talk to him.” Hunter smiled. “Tell me all the juicy details later. If you start going out, I’m rooting for you.” A smile crept on my face at that. “Thanks Hunter,” He looked at me once again. “Anytime,” he said.

We drove to the middle school, picked up Jaron, and then Hunter dropped us off at the house. We said farewells before he drove away. Today, Jaron was unusually quiet. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a snack while starting his homework. I settled into the seat next to him and began my own work. For once, Jaron didn’t attempt to keep me away, and we remained in a peaceful silence together. “Are you working tonight?” he asked.

I looked up in surprise. “Yeah, I start at nine. But I have time to make dinner. Anything you would like?” I asked. He paused for a moment as if considering his options. Then he said, “I think I’d like pasta and meatballs.” I was fortunate to have the necessary items for the meal. I had purchased some more groceries earlier that day. “Absolutely,” I replied with a smile. He simply nodded in response and continued his schoolwork.

As dinner time crept around, I made the pasta and meatballs, which turned out pretty nice. As always, I set the food up and divided it into three portions, as I always did when Grandma was working the night shift. I wasn’t really that hungry, so I decided to put off eating for now. I can grab something at the club later if the worst comes to pass.

I had nearly finished my homework, so I decided to bring it with me. Perhaps I could get some of it done at the club. I carried a plate of food up the steps to our room. When I opened the door, I saw Jaron in front of our little desk, engrossed in a screen of streaming videos. “I got you dinner. I’m about to leave for the club,” I said. Jaron looked up at me, his face full of questions.

“Do you have everything you need?” I asked. Jaron’s gaze drifted to me, and he responded with a laconic, “Yeah, nothing to need really.”

“Oh, good, well I’ll see you in the morning.” I gave him his food and was ready to grab my bag and go. “Thanks for the pasta. See you tomorrow,” Jaron said before I could leave.

I was shocked at this. It was the first time in a while he acknowledged me at all. “Anytime” was my lame response. Then, not wanting to ruin anything, I bolted out of our room and into the living room.

It was already eight, and I didn’t want to stay in the house any longer. The first day at work made me nervous, so I left a little earlier than necessary. Grabbing my bag and keys, I headed to the bus station after double-checking that the door was securely closed. The bus showed up surprisingly fast, so I hopped on and enjoyed some music during the ride.

When I arrived at the club, I had to go through the main entrance since I still didn’t have my employee pass for the back door. I was really hoping Vincent would be there. He seemed like a nice person. When I arrived at the entrance, I spotted Vincent and couldn’t help but smile. Guess I was lucky. “Hey, you got here pretty early,” he greeted me immediately. “Yeah, I wanted to make a good impression on my first day.”

Vincent smiled and offered me the chair next to him. “Well, we have some time before your shift starts. Want to keep me company until the annoying customers of the night arrive?” He asked. “Sure,” I said and sat in the chair he offered me. Vincent may have come off as hard on the outside, yet our last conversation left me believing he was a gentle giant in his core.

His eyes were scarily black, just like Sam’s. You could barely see the iris. “Getting lost inside my eyes, Lewis?” he asked jokingly. “No, sorry, it’s nothing,” I answered apologetically. Asiad from his eyes, he had dark and smooth skin. His head was shaved in a buzz cut, making you want to run your hands through it. His sharp jawline did nothing to humble his face.

Vincent mentioned that he had worked for Ari for quite a while before becoming the bouncer. It seems Ari was the boss of the club. Vincent spoke highly of him and seemed to have genuine admiration for his boss. I found out that Vince also enjoyed playing the piano during his free time, which was a surprise. I opened up about myself and why I started working at this age. Fortunately, he was very sympathetic.

It was fun talking to him. My nerves seemed to fade away. He was a nice person, I finally decided. Looking at the time I told Vincent I had to go and start the day, well... more like night.

I made it to the club quickly and found the kitchen in no time. A young woman with blond hair, who seemed like she might be in college, said hello when I arrived. “Hey, I’m Vera. You must be Julian”. I nodded and said hey. Vera was quite firm, and I realized that she was going to be my supervisor instead of Sam. She oversaw the team of cleaners in the kitchen and the entire club.

“So you have your gloves. Make sure you’re always wearing them. Chemical exposure is nasty in the long run. Always have your hair tied back away from your face. No fooling around. You come here, you clean, get paid, and go home. Sam told me about your situation. So you’ll be getting your payment each night in cash. any question?” I had none. I let the information sink inside my head before daring to ask anything.

She walked me through the kitchen, making it clear that washing dishes was my job. The other staff members seemed to hate dish duty and were relieved to have someone new take on this task.

Following that, the task was relatively straightforward. I would grab a ton of dishes, put them in the dishwasher, or scrub them clean by hand. Then, I’d unload the dishwasher. I managed to keep up with the demanding pace, but I started to feel tired around midnight. Nevertheless, I kept at my task until one in the morning, when I was allowed a break of thirty minutes.

“Hey Vera, where can I go to catch up with some studies? Maybe a quieter place?” I asked her. “You can head up the stairs. It’s pretty quiet there.” I thanked her and took my stuff upstairs. Looking for the perfect spot, I settled down and opened my notebook to start writing. Soon enough, I saw Vincent climb up the steps.

“Hey, on your break? And... doing homework?” he arched a brow in my direction. “Yeah, I didn’t want to be behind on schoolwork. So how’s it going down there? It seems like a lot of people came out tonight” Vincent nodded. “Tell me about it. I already kicked out a few drunk fools.” I laughed at that.

“Well, I’m heading to see Ari, good luck with your homework.” He turned around and left toward the big fancy door. I was lost in concentration, trying to solve something for algebra, when suddenly I heard a scream.

The ear-splitting scream held me in place. It came from the other side of the hallway, away from the route Vincent had just taken. I heard a sloshing sound then the screams cut off.

I shook myself out of the trance I was in and ran toward the source of the sound. My feet pounded against the ground as I shouted Vincent’s name, hoping he would hear me. When I got to the door, it was wide open. Inside, deep scarlet liquid stained the walls and floor. It seemed to be everywhere.

I was horrified by what was in front of me. A woman’s body was mangled and distorted, with chunks of flesh missing from her arms, legs, and torso. Her eyes were distorted and wide open with terror, and her right arm was completely gone. Tears in her skin exposed raw muscle tissue and bone as if a savage force had ripped her body apart. The coppery smell of the blood made my stomach churn. God, what could do such a thing?

I couldn’t move. I was stuck on the entrance floor, unable to take another step. Any thoughts of performing some kind of CPR left my head right away. There wasn’t a single chance the woman in front of me was alive.

Vincent pushed past me and went straight toward the disfigured woman. After him entered three more people to the room. A man so large he could barely squeeze past me. He was followed by a tall, stunning woman with dark locks and no other than Sam.

“What happened here?” the large man demanded. Surprisingly enough, his question was directed at Vincent and not me. Nobody seemed to acknowledge my presence in the room.

Vincent shook his head, a terrified look on his face. “It’s a wendigo’s doing, but there isn’t a way for one to enter the club. It’s impossible”. It wasn’t the answer the large man was looking for. “We have wards against those vile creatures. The wolves would have destroyed any one of them the second they would set foot in the city. So how did this thing manage to pass the wolves and our protection!?” he screamed by the end of the sentence. Vincent seemed lost, and the large man seemed ready to kill.

“I want you to notify the wolves immediately. They won’t stop bragging about killing every last wild wendigo out there. Now they have something to do. Call Jahha immediately and tell her to reinstall the wards. I don’t care how much it will cost. Just make her do it.”

Vincent gave a slight nod and got to work on his phone. The woman and Sam watched the body in disdain, yet they did not react beyond maintaining their current stance.

What were they talking about? Shouldn’t they call the police? We heard the scream a minute ago. The one who did it could still be here. What was all this talk about wolves? And wendigoes? Shit, were they part of some cult?

My mouth was still shut, and my body was frozen, but the large man turned his head to face me. His dark eyes were identical to Sam’s and Vincent’s. “Who is this boy?” he asked. Vincent looked up and caught my eyes, frightened. “This is Julian, new to the cleaning crew. He’s a good guy. Let me make him forget. He won’t cause any problems,” Vincent finished.

The man considered the proposition before giving his orders. “Alright, do it fast and send him back home with a fitting excuse for Vare. We have much to do tonight.”

Vincent walked towards me, and finally, I managed to move. I took a step back, wanting to run. I was terrified. Vincent tried to calm me. “Relax, it’s all going to be all right, just listen to my voice, and you’ll be home in no time.”

Vincent took hold of my chin and made me look into his eyes. “You were coming down the stairs and had a little accident. You fell and hit your arm. I saw you and helped you out. You weren’t feeling well, so I ordered a taxi to take you home.”

I said nothing, too scared to utter a word. For the first time in my life, the little buzz at the back of my head made me hear words. ‘Lie, play along’ it said, Sending a vibration through my skull. Was Vincent trying to make me forget what I had seen? I learned to trust that buzz and decided to play along just as it said. “Sit, Julian, the taxi will be right here, try not to put pressure on your arm,” Vincent said. I nodded and took a sit.

Soon enough, a taxi came to take me home. Vincent ensured I was okay and said goodbye while entering the car. He handed me an envelope, Payment for today. I said goodbye, trying to act as normal as I could.

I kept myself from showing any emotion for the duration of the entire drive. Not knowing if the driver is working for the club as well. When I entered the house, I didn’t go immediately to my room. Instead, I sat on the sofa and just stared at the wall. Were they trying to make me forget? Did Vincent hold the power to alter memories? Was he someone like me?

I was on the break of a full panic attack. Screaming wasn’t optional. Everybody was sleeping. I couldn’t let the people of the club find out. I remembered everything. Maybe it was because of my own ability. But, God, what did I get myself into?