At first, I thought she was joking. After catching up to my would be partner there was no conceivable way she was being serious. She was talking to a brutish looking man, his bald head appearing like the peak of a mountain, who seemed to be guarding a wall. His arms were crossed, his brow furrowed and his black shirt concealed what looked like the outline of a sword. This wall was clearly very important. Dwarfed stood in front of him – dwarfed by his enormous stature – and held up the note with the half star to his face. He took the paper, revealing a large sweat patch beneath his armpit, and proceeded to struggle to read. After an eternity he finished and handed the note back. The guard rapped his knuckle on the brick wall behind him and astonishingly one by one the bricks began to vanish, eventually creating a pathway into what should’ve been the café but certainly was not. I could hear the faint sound of music and see the dim shine of bright lights; each of varying colours. Aurora stepped inside, disappearing from my view and as I tried to round the corner to join her I was stopped in my tracks by a long piece of razor sharp steel. My shirt was not enough to protect my chest from the cold that emanated from the blade. It was different from the regular cold of metal, as if the sword had been stored in a freezer for years or rather the sword itself was the source of the cold, freezing the air around it creating an icy vapour. I looked at the bouncer and saw the seriousness in his eyes. Cold. “Hey uh…” I stumbled, trying hard not to focus on the ever-increasing pressure being applied to my chest. “I’m uh…”
“Unfortunately, he is with me,” Aurora had reappeared from behind the wall which I could now see led down a long spiral staircase. “Although I would much rather he would stay and keep you company.” The bouncer sheathed his sword and quickly apologised in a deep rumbling voice almost sounding like the humming of metal. I began to walk down the staircase and could see the tip of Aurora’s white beret disappear into the darkness below. I followed her down the staircase, only slightly concerned about the clunking of bricks behind me. The sealing of our exit.
***
As we neared the bottom of the staircase in the pit – which creaked and shook with every step making the journey feel much more perilous than it was - I decided to try and make conversation with Aurora again, maybe start afresh. “So, uh Aurora is it?” She said nothing. It didn’t matter it was just a stupid opener. “What are we uh actually doing here? I mean, w-what’s the job?”
“We are guarding.” I was so shocked she’d replied (or maybe because I hadn’t passed out) I nearly fell down the remaining few steps. We stepped out into a massive room which must’ve been covered by the café above as we had only went downwards. The place was packed with people of all different shapes, sizes and colours jumping in rhythm to the beat of the deafening music. The majority of people looked human – not that image is an indicator – but every so often someone stuck out. A woman with fins and gills. A man seemingly on fire. I’d never seen anything like it before, a melting pot like no other. A large glass sphere floated below the ceiling and contained a glowing orb, like those found on the street only considerably larger, which was every so often alternating between the colours of the rainbow, going through them from red to violet and then back to red. The sphere caused the orb’s light to fire out around the room as beams, following the spin of the ball. The floor they were dancing on (if you could call it dancing) was similarly coloured only each square on the floor was a different colour and would change slightly before (or long after) the orb had. It was almost comical seeing Aurora there. She stood out from the crowd completely; her long blue and white trousers and jumper against their skimpy shorts and tank tops - which left little to the imagination. Her snow boots clunked against the vinyl of the floor when she walked. It was helpful as it made it difficult to lose her as we made our way through the crowd towards the DJ’s platform in the middle of the dance floor. She tugged on his shirt and showed him the note. Unlike the guard, the DJ was clearly extremely lax and didn’t even bother to read the note, instantly nodding and yelling instructions at the two of us. “THAT’S AWESOME DUDES. IF YOU TWO COULD LIKE JUST KEEP YOUR EYES OUT FOR ANY SHIFTY LOOKIN FELLAS THAT’D BE SWELL ALRIGHT!” I nodded in reply and the DJ put his headphones back on and went back to work. I could tell from her face that Aurora on the other hand had no idea what had just happened. “He wants us to patrol the area and look for anything suspicious.” I kindly told her, choosing to not shout over the music but instead lean in closer. She nodded and decided we would cover more ground if we split up so she took the left side of the club and I the right. “Remember,” She started, pulling me back as I began to walk away. “We are here together even if I would rather we were not so if you see anything come get me okay? Do not be a hero. That is not our job here.”
“Right.” She spoke slowly and methodically, carefully annunciating every syllable as if each one required her full concentration. She walked off towards her side and it was the last I’d see of her in that club. I followed suit and ushered myself through the crowd – treading on multiple toes and mumbling many apologies – eventually reaching a set of stairs leading to a first-floor balcony. I sat at the foot of them after deciding that this would be a good vantage point and that I needed to sit. Enhanced senses are great until they give you a headache in a rave. I had a full view of the area, from the toilets to my right to the entrance we’d used on the far left. The job wasn’t exactly difficult. Essentially, we would just be sitting around for hours and dealing with the occasional idiot or two. No, the job was meant to be simple, a trial. That or an excuse to get the uninitiated out of the way. Something told me it was a bit of both. It became clear to me at that moment that Aurora had a reason for being there, one that she was willing to work with the outcast of the group - if I could even be considered a member - to achieve. Even though she knew I was disliked, even if she didn’t know what had happened either, she knew to succeed we would have to work together. Though saying that, splitting up is one of the few ways of working together with minimal contact. She had spoken at least, to me that was progress. As I sat watching the shifting sea of people, rising and falling with the melody of the music, I began to think back. The dream. The boy. It had to be him. It had to be Micah. It was just him and I there that day. I hadn’t thought about it in so long, in fact I think part of me had forgotten but I knew the rest never would. I had to keep telling myself it wasn’t my fault, it was my only option. I sat there in silence, stroking my right hand as the people around me continued to mingle.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
***
Time passed. I’m not sure how long; an hour or two at an estimate. Nothing interesting had happened. Every so often there was a drunken scuffle that resolved itself or I saw the flash of a white hat but nothing out of the usual. Bored, I headed for the bathroom. I didn’t need it I just had to move. I walked into the bathroom, nodding at a fellow toilet goer leaving the toilet, and stared at my reflection, only then realising truly how much I stood out. My brown hair was a bird’s nest, with random strands sticking out in indiscriminate directions and I was covered head to toe in dust. I needed a bath. I filled the sink with warm water and began to ineptly scrub myself down. It wasn’t a great wash, but it would suffice, and it was boiling in the club, so the cool water was much appreciated. Just as I finished washing my face and had begun to clean out my goggles (everyone in the Deadlands was given a scarf and googles at birth instead of toys my mum had joked) another person entered the room. I had been alone up until then. He stood a few sinks away from me and didn’t move for a while. I didn’t look up – whether it was nerves or fear I don’t know – and continued to wash my goggles. The man began to cough violently. “Are you okay?” I asked, slightly regretting saying anything. Silence for a moment. “Yeah. Just peachy.” The sound of water running amplified as the man ran the water at his sink. His voice was low and gravely, though not like the metallic hum of the bouncer’s. I couldn’t decide what it reminded me of. The silence was again interrupted by coughing, as if something was lodged in his throat. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can go get some he…”
“No!” Another cough. “No that’s quite alright. Thank you.” He spoke eloquently, the way you would when speaking to royalty (though I was the furthest from that anyone could be) but it didn’t match his voice. It was almost like a constant grumble or growl. A pungent odour had filled the air since the man had entered though I only just noticed its presence. It reeked. A combination of sun spoiled meat and vomit. I’d never smelled anything like it before and I hoped I never would again. Stifling a gag, I glanced up at the mirror in front of me, trying to get a look at the man without him knowing. He had long yellow finger nails, chipped, and equally long fingers, bruised. He was tall – about the height of the bouncer outside – so tall that I couldn’t see his face from the angle. However, I could see the sink, bathed in a crimson liquid. Blood. It stained both the bowl and the man, completely covering the front of his grey trench coat in dried blood. I was petrified. Unable to move due to sheer fear. Whose blood was it? His? If not, why was it on him? I dared to look further up the mirror, trying to get a look at his face but immediately regretting the decision. His nose was long and black, like a snout, and it was difficult to tell where his shadow black hair ended and his beard began. As if his face was covered in fur. His mouth was wide but tightly shut His lips rough and scarred. Everything covered in congealed blood from the bottom of his pointed chin to the tip of his top hat. Most frightening of all, one single silver eye was staring directly back at me. I knew I had to move. To get away and find Aurora but I was stuck, rooted to the ground. “Oh dear,” He said in his growling voice. “This is a surprise. I don’t believe we’re intended to meet just yet.” His mouth twisted into a wolfish grin, revealing terrifyingly large teeth the size of daggers. The air fell cold as it had outside with the bouncer and my heart felt like it was about to burst. He stepped away from the sink and stood right next to me. I closed my eyes afraid of what I might see. “Oh well, plans can change. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I had, a little fun while I was here.” He leaned in close, his noxious breath causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I heard the slapping of lips and the flap of his long red tongue. “On the other hand.” The breath vanished. My heart rate slowed. “I am feeling rather full. That brutish man was awfully large, not very bright either.” I looked at the mirror once again to see the wolf like man standing with his back to me, one hand on the door handle the other cradling a long steel sword, with icy vapour wafting from it. He turned to look at me once again, his silvery eyes piercing into my very soul. “We will meet again don’t you worry. My superiors have great plans for you though next time I do hope you’re a bit more interesting because I for one,” He grinned his malicious grin, “Will certainly be off the leash.” He tipped his hat and opened the door. “Ta-ta Asura.” With that the man left and the only sounds left in the bathroom were the swinging of the door and the sound of the running sink. The bathroom had been mildly flooded with bloodstained water.