by Tiffany Foxe
Em walked up to the entrance with her bag on her shoulder. A large black man with broad shoulders stood by the entrance. He was wearing a grey blazer with a white shirt which did little to hide his muscular physique. She showed him her ID.
“You know you can’t come in here with that.” The doorman looked at the black bag on her shoulder.
“Well, I can’t leave it out here, now can I? Can I leave it with you?”
“What do I look like?”
Em just looked at the man. He rolled his eyes.
“Gimme the bag,” he demanded.
She handed it over. He opened it and fingered through her clothes. He stopped when he got to her underwear, apparently too embarrassed to continue.
“Ten dollars.”
Em pulled out a ten for the cover. He stamped her hand and she walked in.
Loud dubstep music blared inside. Strippers performed their erotic acrobatics around their shiny metal poles with skill and precision. Strobe lights illuminated the captivated audience in frames of white and black while white brassieres and panties glowed from the black lights. Em found it pretty amazing some of the things these women could do on a pole, though, she would never admit it. It was hard not to watch. She made her way to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. Em scanned the room while she waited for her drink. She watched a man merrily blow through his cash on a lap dance. The woman continued her costly performance, but only when the customer forked over wads of doe. It was probably his whole paycheck, Em thought.
She continued to scan through the crowd. Others enjoyed their shows from afar, gulping their drinks, enjoying the music, laughing with company. Emiline spotted a familiar face in the corner on the far side of the room. Sophie sat at a table talking to someone, a woman. Em couldn’t see her face with the lighting and the angle that the woman was sitting at. Sophie’s back was partially faced toward Em.
“Here you go. Nine dollars,” said the bartender as he placed her drink on the bar.
Emiline turned toward the bartender and pulled out some cash. She handed it over and returned her attention to the two women across the room.
“Keep the change,” she said.
“Thanks,” he said as he placed the money in the register and wrote something down on a pad of paper.
Sophie and the other woman were leaning in close to each other conversing about something. Whatever it was they were talking about, it appeared intense. Em pulled out her phone to check for any missed calls or messages.
“Fuck, Jack. Where are you?” sighed Emiline.
Sophie turned her head to look around the room. Em leaned toward the bar, hiding behind the guy standing next to her. She attempted to blend in and took a sip of her drink.
“Whoa.” she said with wide eyes.
The drink was much stronger than she expected. She leaned back away from the bar and peered around the man next to her. Sophie and the woman were back to talking, again. The woman had moved just enough that Em could barely see her face. She squinted and leaned forward, then blinked hard. It was the woman in the photo, the owner of the very club she was standing in. The woman placed her hand on Sophie’s cheek, focused on her eyes, and mouthed something indiscernible. Sophie tilted her head down. The woman gently lifted her head back up so that Sophie was once again facing the woman, but her eyes remained toward the ground. The woman leaned in and placed her forehead against Sophie’s and looked her in the eye.
Em took another sip of her beverage, once again startled by its potency. She noticed the bartender making lemon drops in front of her. She glanced around at the people at the bar, scoping out the possible customer of these fanciful, albeit, girly concoctions. Two men in t-shirts and baseball caps grabbed the shots and eagerly tilted them back in their throats. Em shook her head. She never ceased to be amazed. She turned her attention back toward the women. She straightened up immediately when she realized they were gone. She leaned her back against the bartop and scanned around the club.
“Fuck,” she mumbled to herself.
“Hey, honey. How are you doing, tonight?”
A topless waitress walked up to Em. She had tattoos down one arm that formed an exotic sleeve, and wore a thong and cowboy hat that partially tamed her wild, long brown locks. She was holding a tray in one hand topped with several full shot glasses on it. The waitress stood so close to Em that her nipples brushed Em’s arm. Em uncomfortably leaned away from the woman and continued to scope around the room for her missing suspects. The waitress lingered unbearably close to Em.
“Fine,” she finally replied, but didn’t pay the waitress any attention.
“Here.” The waitress lifted a shot of dark brown liquid from her tray. “On the house.”
Emiline shook her head in rejection.
“Thanks. I have my own.” She raised her glass of tonic in response.
“You looking for someone sweetie?”
Em set her glass down.
“Uh…no. Not really,” she said, her eyes still searching the room.
“I’ll tell you where they are,” she interjected as she leaned in.
Her perky boobs were full on resting on Em’s arms now. Em eyes widened as she nervously cleared her throat. Em leaned further back against the bartop, trying to politely gain some space from the rock hard nipples that brushed her forearms. Unfortunately, the bar was too crowded to lend much leeway.
“But you have to do a shot with me first,” insisted the waitress.
“I’m not looking for anyone. I...really...”
“No? No one named Sophie?”
Em perked up and looked her in the eye. She recognized her from earlier that night. It was Ariel Amasa, the woman she had taken a statement from.
Ariel gave a sly grin and offered a shot to Emiline.
“Drink up.”
The woman lingered extremely close to her. Emiline tried not to look down at the supple nipples that unremittingly brushed her skin. Hadn’t this woman ever heard of personal boundaries? Em gave in, grabbed the shot and tilted the cool, brown liquid down her throat. It tasted like Jaeger, but married with another flavor somewhat akin to beets. Her mouth puckered at the taste.
“You didn’t do yours,” Emiline pointed out.
“I’m high on life, honey.”
Em grimaced.
“And working,” Ariel added.
The waitress was smiling back at Emiline. Emiline shook her head.
“Okay. Where are they?”
“This way.”
The waitress motioned with her head toward the back of the room. Em followed the woman who set her tray down at the end of the bar and continued walking toward the back. The light dimmed as they approached the back of the building. The woman stopped at a staircase that descended downward. Em strained to see down the stairwell, but it was pitch black. She could see the hint of red light at the bottom of the stairs. Em’s stomach churned from the shot. She pressed her hand against her abdomen, attempting to quell the unease that belched up her throat.
She remembered she still hadn’t heard anything from Jack who should have been there by now.
Her phone was set to vibrate in case he called and she couldn’t hear.
“What’s down there?” Em asked.
“Members only.”
Em nodded, still straining to make out what was downstairs, but it was no use. It was too dark.
“But, you can go down. Tonight, only,” Ariel said with a grin.
The waitress descended down the stairs. Em stood at the entryway and looked on. Ariel stopped a quarter of the way and turned around.
“Come on. I won’t bite,” she said as she smiled devilishly back.
Em looked back toward the entrance of the club. Still no sign of Jack. She took a deep breath and followed the woman down the stairs. It was so dark Em had to grab each side of the wall as she maneuvered her way down the stairwell. They advanced through the darkness which ended in a room permeated with a dull, red light. Men and women sat on plush, cushi
oned benches that lined the walls. Some were conversing, others drank red wine, and several were making out. They all stopped when she stepped into the room. Em swallowed hard.
“Come,” the woman coerced.
Em took a few steps forward. Most of the people went back to their conversations and drinks. She stopped moving when she looked at the wall to her right. It began moving horizontally like a tree swaying in the wind.
Oh shit.
She looked over to her left to find the walls doing the same thing. An overwhelming sense of vertigo coupled with nausea enveloped her. Was she hallucinating? Was it the drink?
“I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled, holding her stomach.
“Maybe I should…”
She reached out toward the stairway.
“Nonsense,” said the woman.
She grabbed Em’s hand and pulled her toward her.
“You can’t leave now. The fun is just beginning.”
She pulled Em to an empty bench and pushed her down onto the seat. It didn’t take much effort, Em wanted to sit down, anyway, anything to stop the spinning. She was still trying to make sense of the walls moving and she grew dizzier by the moment. The woman grabbed Em’s collarbone and pushed her back against the wall. She lifted one leg and then the other until she was straddling the blonde, disoriented detective. The waitress held Em’s head in her hands and tilted is gently so that the left side of her neck was exposed. The woman began kissing her neck, moving up and down its length, sucking on her ear, and then back down to her neck. Em sat there, dazed. Her heart raced, uncontrollably. She feared if she got up she would surely stumble and fall considering her current state. The woman’s long brown hair brushed across Emiline’s face as she moved to kiss her lips. Her bare chest pressed against Em’s. The woman kissed her passionately, grabbing Em’s bottom lip and pulling it gently with her as she moved away. At the last moment, she bit down. Em jerked as the jolt shot through her lip.
“Sssss.”
A metallic taste filled her mouth as she rolled her tongue against her bottom lip. The woman swept in and kissed her again, tasting and sucking the blood that trickled from her bottom lip. Em looked into the woman’s eyes and swore they glowed a bright blue for a moment. Em threw her arms up, and leaned forward, trying to stand up. The movement made Em become aware of a wet spot on her thigh where the woman had been sitting on top of her.
“I’ve gotta go,” Em said with apprehension as she realized she had lost all control of the situation.
Em tried to stand up, but her dizziness was debilitating. The woman pushed her back against the wall once more. This time she grabbed Em by the hair and pulled her head to the side, revealing the soft white skin of her neck. The woman brushed Em’s blonde hair away with her hand. She leaned in closer and closer to her neck. The woman kissed her neck, again. Em could feel the woman breathing harder. The walls still swayed side to side, partaking in a rhythmic dance of which Em was unfamiliar. Nausea swelled into her throat. She turned up toward the ceiling. A red light hung directly above. She focused on the bulb, trying to ignore the chaos that celebrated around her. The red light darkened. She scowled as she wondered why. She looked to her right and realized that the darkness came from black, feathered wings towering over her. They stretched out in a span that must have been ten to fifteen feet. Em stared in awe, unable to move. Whatever was in that drink created the most imaginative, realistic trips, she thought. She followed the wings down from their tips to find them attached to the woman on top of her. Em immediately squirmed in panic. The woman pinned her down harder. She could feel something scratching her neck. It stung. The woman lightly drug her teeth along Emiline’s skin, but her teeth were so sharp they cut like a hot knife through butter. The woman sucked on her neck once more. Em struggled to move but was unable. Ariel pulled back and looked Em in the eye.
“You taste so sweet,” she smiled, revealing two very sharp fangs.
The woman moved in toward Em’s neck, her mouth open, and eyes ballooned with desire. Em felt a sudden rush of wind as she noticed the woman fly across the room and land head first into the back wall like a torpedo. Her body hit the floor, motionless. Em sat stunned and doe-eyed. She couldn’t figure out what just happened. The red light was visible again, but only partially. Em turned her head forward. Sophie stood in front of her, blocking a portion of the light with her wings. She squatted down in front of Em and searched her eyes with concern.
“Are you okay?”
Em nodded, embarrassingly, still grappling to make sense of the situation and gain her bearings.
“I told you to stay.”
She nodded again.
“Yeah...yeah,” she said in a daze.
It was all she could muster. She glanced over at the waitress, motionless on the floor, wings partially covering her body. She looked at the walls. They continued to waltz in unison under the dull red glow. She felt overwhelmed and powerless.
“Come on.” Sophie grabbed Em by the arm and helped her to her feet. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Em lifted her index finger.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she affirmed with authority although she knew she would not be able to make it out on her own.
Sophie tilted her head down and stared objectionably at Emiline.
“Well, let me at least escort you home,” Sophie insisted.
Em didn’t have much of a choice. She could barely stand. They made their way up the staircase, Sophie holding Em’s arm, and maneuvered through the club. Em noticed that all of the staff had wings, now, just like the waitress and Sophie. She continued her trek to the exit, nausea and vertigo rendering her helpless. All she could do was look on in astonishment as Sophie helped her through the waves of people.
“What did they give me?”
“What?”
“The drink? What did she give me? I...I think I’m hallucinating.”
“What do you see?”
They continued toward the exit. The customers looked normal, she noticed. No wings. It was only the staff.
“The walls. The walls are dancing…”
Sophie yielded a slight grin at Emiline’s choice of words.
“And wings. You have wings.”
Sophie turned her head and glanced back at Em. She was looking at the pole dancers. No wonder they could do all those cool tricks on the pole, she thought. They had wings to help deter gravity.
“Is that it?”
“The walls...the walls are moving.”
“You just said that.”
They made their way out of the club and down the steps outside.
“Hey, Pig,” said the bouncer as he threw Em’s black backpack at her.
She fumbled and frowned as it hit the ground. She noticed the bouncer had wings, too.
“Thanks, birdie,” she replied.
Sophie walked towards a white car and opened the door.
“Oh, no,” said Em.
She tilted her index finger side to side.
“I’m not going anywhere alone with you.”
Sophie looked at Em in earnest. How did she expect them to get anywhere?
“We’ll call a cab,” said Em.
Sophie rolled her eyes and shut the car door.
“Okay…” sighed Sophie.
Sophie pulled out her phone and rang a cab.
They sat quietly in the back seat of the cab, together. Em didn’t feel well enough to play detective with her mysterious companion, and surrendered to leaning her head on Sophie’s shoulder, instead. If only the world would stop spinning, she thought.
They arrived in front of Em’s apartment building and got out of the cab. The car drove off leaving the two of them on a desolate, damp street. It was late and the city had long gone to bed. Em turned to her building and began walking to the front door. She pulled out her keys and fumbled for the right one with one hand and held her backpack in the other. The task grew harder by the second for with each fumble with a key her arms
grew a foot in length. The next thing she knew, her arms were twenty feet long and her keys were too far away to see.
“Fucking-A,” she complained. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep. “Do you see this?” Em asked.
Sophie was standing in the street with her hands in her pockets, looking to her right. She glanced over at Em.
“See what?”
Em’s eyes bulged.
“This! My arms!” She looked at her arms stretched out on the sidewalk. Keys in one hand, backpack in the other. “Tell me you don’t see this.”
Sophie walked forward a little and squinted in the direction that Em was gawking at. She shook her head in confusion.
Just then, a wolf pounced on Sophie from her blindside, sending her crashing on the asphalt. The two struggled on the ground. Em’s pulse quickened. She looked at her arms. She felt like Stretch Armstrong, a useless, limp Stretch Armstrong. She glanced back at Sophie who was still wrestling with the wolf, exchanging blows here and there. Em tried to make her hands come closer to her face, but failed. They just wiggled around in loops. She scuffled past the apartment entrance, dragging her arms on the sidewalk until her hands were lined up with the door. Then, she lifted her hand with the keys to the doorknob and squinted from afar, struggling to see the correct key to put it in the keyhole.
She noticed another wolf dashing toward her. She quickly fumbled through her keys.
Ching!
The keys hit the ground. She looked up at the wolf charging her. Sophie struggled to her feet, the first wolf clinging to her back, its nails dragging down her wings as she trudged forward toward Emiline. Loose feathers swirled in the air around her as the wolf’s claws pried them out. Sophie stood still for a moment, ducked her head, then charged toward Em. Em’s eyes grew wide, then she closed them tight and braced for impact. She didn’t have time for anything else. She felt a current of wind rush across her face. With hesitation, she opened her eyes. Sophie had tackled the wolf that had darted for Em. Now, Sophie was on the ground with two wolves upon her. Em stood stunned. They wrestled back and forth in front of her. Em picked up her keys and continued her predetermined task. Get inside. She flipped through the keys, found the right one, and attempted to slip it in the keyhole. The winged woman and animals struggled behind her. Sophie let out a shriek, sending a jolt down Emiline’s spine. One of the creatures had slashed her along her ribs.