by Stuart Keane
She walked into another room, which seemed much darker than many others in the club. She noticed a central stage, and the style of music changed from hard hitting dance music to more psychedelic. Two women were bent over stainless steel frames, their faces hidden behind grotesque masks while their naked rears faced upwards. Two men dressed in black and white striped suits, similar to the type that Beetlejuice wore in the film, stood behind them. Ugly looking rubber masks with freaky stitched-on eyes, and crooked macabre smiles, constricted their faces. They gently whipped the women’s exposed buttocks with whips. People stood around watching the show with their arms around each other, saying nothing.
At the opposite end of the room was another stage, a little smaller. People were queueing whilst two men administered various body piercings and tattoos. Shay watched in awe as a woman lay back in a reclining seat, and watched the procedure in a hand mirror that she had been given. The body piercer rubbed a sterile cloth across the woman’s chest, before entering a plastic hollow tube into the section just below her throat, leaving a small hole. He proceeded to insert a metal stud into her throat. The woman glanced over and noticed Shay watching, before giving her a sly wink.
To her left, someone pushed a small vial of liquid under her nose; the fragrance was overpowering. Shay pulled her head away from the bottle, wincing. She spun around to see a short man standing next to her. He stood at least a foot shorter than Shay, his face almost made her laugh, and he had a glimmering bald head with a tattoo of a dragon down the right hand side of his cheek. The man’s chin was dark in the low light, and she realised he had a messy goatee hanging from his chin. Every other part of the man’s body was covered in a thick brown thatch, including his shoulders and back. The pungent smell of his overbearing body odour turned Shay’s stomach.
He raised the bottle to his nose and breathed the vapour in one stiff pull; he wrinkled up his face in disgust and handed the vial back to Shay. “You want some?”
Shay frowned. “Seriously? What the fuck is that shit?”
The man leered at her, a pathetic grin spreading across his face. “Poppers, man. You never used them? You don’t know what you’re missing. They do great things for your sex life.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “No, I’m fine thanks, I don’t need anything like that.”
She turned and went to walk away before the man grabbed her round the wrist tightly, making her wince.
“Hey, baby. What you say me and you go down into the dungeon and have us some fun?”
Shay wriggled her wrist, attempting to break free, but the man had a vice-like grip. “No, it’s okay, thanks. I’m looking for someone.”
He continued holding her wrist, tightening his grip. “Don’t be unfriendly, this isn’t that type of place. Some would even say a lack of manners is against the rules. Besides, I’d say you already found someone, wouldn’t you?”
Shay stopped to think for a moment, considering the options, and then faked a smile. “Okay,” she began, gesturing towards the poppers in his hand. “Let me try some of those.”
The man smiled and handed her the bottle, not releasing the grip on her wrist. She raised the vial to her nose. The smell was putrid, similar to paint stripper, only more concentrated. She noticed a small warning on the side of the bottle but in the subdued light, she was unable to identify the markings.
Shay hesitated for a moment with the bottle poised inches from her face before flicking her wrist forwards and throwing as much of the liquid as she could manage directly into the man’s eyes. Instinctively, the man screamed and let go of her wrist, raising his hands to his face where the liquid began to burn his eyes. Shay dropped the bottle to the ground at her feet and stepped away from him.
She watched in awe as the man continued pawing at his eyes and face with the back of his huge, hairy hands. A few people had turned around to inspect the commotion. Shay simply shrugged her shoulders, addressing the peering glances of strangers she spoke calmly. “He spilled his drink; I don’t know what they put in the mixers in this place.”
The crowd continued watching as the man continued to rub the skin on his burning face. Shay took one last look at him. “If I were you, I’d consider going into the toilets and washing it off your face.” She leaned in towards the man. “You have no idea how lucky you are. If you come anywhere near me again tonight, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Striding past the man, she walked to the exit on the far side of the room, following a set of curving stairs that led downwards. She started to descend into the room below; red strobe lights illuminated the high walls, reflected from the huge mirrors on every surface and the ceiling. Due to the reflections, the room initially looked a lot bigger than it actually was.
She looked around, not believing what she was seeing. Everywhere in the room, cast about in pairs or in groups of three or maybe four, were people having sex. Inches in front of her, a young man in nothing but a pair of leather shorts had his head buried between the legs of thickset woman with long brown hair and huge breasts. A look of pleasure contorted her face as she held the man’s head in place.
Next to the woman, another young man positioned himself behind a masked man, who was bending over a stool. He thrust into him from behind whilst holding a leash that was looped around the masked man’s neck. The man at the rear was also twisted to his left, kissing a woman that stood next to him, and fondling her bare breast while she had her own hand down the front of her leather skirt.
It was total sexual degradation. Shay had never seen anything quite like it in her life. Looking around the room, she realised people were indulging in every sexual act known to man, and a couple of them were even new to her. With the MDMA continuing to surge around her body, she began to feel aroused.
She walked into a side room where she spotted a good-looking man standing in the corner with his arm around two beautiful women. He did nothing, he just glanced around the room with a huge smile on his face. The woman to his right ran the tip of her index finger across his chest, nothing more. Shay ambled over to them, and the man immediately spotted her approach. She attempted to pull her most sultry look and walk as suggestively as she could, utilising the costume to enhance the curves of her body while trying not to fall flat on her face.
Without saying a word, she walked right up to the man.
He was tall and slim, he had wide, brown eyes and a thin face with trim pink lips and a beard formed from short designer stubble. His eyes lit up as Shay leaned in for the kiss. She opened her mouth and pushed her tongue into his mouth gently. He reciprocated with his own tongue and gently ran his fingertips along the side of Shay’s face. He pulled his face away from her and they stared into each other’s eyes for a brief moment. The attraction between them was electric.
He smiled. “Hi, I’m Trent.”
She smiled back, noticing that the man was wearing a tight leather suit with a folded up collar. It reminded her of a vampire costume from the films. The man stood for a moment, staring down at the Shay’s costume, obviously impressed with the view.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look fantastic.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“What do you say we take this party elsewhere? Somewhere a little more private.”
“Where did you have in mind?”
“We could go up to my penthouse upstairs.”
Shay frowned. “Penthouse?”
The woman to the left of him interjected. “Yeah, his name is Trent; he’s the owner and manager of this club.”
Shay looked at the man. “She’s shitting me, right?”
The man offered his hand. Shay took it and went to shake as the man turned her palm downwards and gently raised the back of her palm to his lips. Shay couldn’t help but notice how cold his lips were, despite the heat in the club.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Shay,” she uttered, entranced.
“The pleasure is all mine, Shay. What say we head upstairs for some fun?”
S
he nodded. “Why not.”
The man took a step forward, and leant into the ear of the woman to his left. She simply nodded, kissed him on the cheek and walked away. He continued to stand with his arm around the woman to his right.
“You don’t mind if Michelle here joins us, do you?”
Shay looked at the woman; she was a slim, voluptuous woman with long, curly brown hair. Her face was slim and unfriendly and she wore excessive make up. Her eyes gave a slight menacing, condescending glare.
Shay smiled. “The more the merrier.”
The woman smiled, but Shay saw it as more of a scowl. Michelle reached out her hand and placed Shay’s chin between her thumb and fingers. Shay didn’t respond. Slowly, she began to run her index finger down her chin and neck, before tracing the lines of her zigzag costume down to her right breast.
The woman raised an eyebrow, whilst licking her lips. “Yes, she’ll do just fine.”
“Excellent,” Trent snapped. “Follow me.”
Turning quickly, he led the two women through the exit and down a corridor towards the main dance floor. Before they reached the entrance, the man turned to a doorway on the left wall that Shay hadn’t spotted before. He punched a six-digit code into an electronic keypad positioned beside the door.
An error message flashed up on the screen in red, and the man frowned, confused. He attempted to punch in the same code again, and this time the display lit up green. Smiling, he opened the door.
“Technology,” he said. “Follow me, ladies.”
Shay and Michelle followed him through the door, allowing it to close behind them with an audible click as the internal lock moved itself back into position. Leading upstairs was a set of stairs decorating in a fine, royal blue carpet. On either side of the stairway sat an ornate, wooden handrail.
Trent began to climb the stairs. Michelle looked at Shay and raised her eyebrows, as if seeking her approval. Shay simply smiled and the two women began to follow him up the stairs.
After three steep flights of stairs, the top level opened out into a large, plush area with glass skylights and two large, solid oak doors. Shay looked upwards; the stars looked magnificent through the thick glass, and she felt another rush of pleasure from the chemicals washing around her nervous system. Trent approached the two doors and punched a code into another access device. This time, the door unlocked on the first try. He held it open as the two women entered. He made no attempt to hide his perverted gaze, as he watched their rears bob up and down on their approach.
The room opened out into a large, plush seating area. Four, cream leather sofas were positioned at right angles to each other in the centre of the room, surrounding a large glass coffee table. The floors were constructed with solid pine flooring, polished to perfection. The rest of the apartment was all open plan; Shay spotted the expensive-looking sink and work surfaces in the kitchen at the far end of the room.
Shay looked at Trent. “Nice place you have here.”
“It does me just fine,” he replied, nearing her, a lustful look in his eyes. He stopped and gave her an admiring glance up and down before grabbing her hair and passionately kissing her, open-mouthed, lapping at her tongue with his own. Shay, a little taken aback at first, felt the tingling sensation in her loins and began to reciprocate. After a few moments, Trent pulled away from Shay and grabbed Michelle, similarly forcing his own tongue into her mouth. She showed no restraint and kissed him back.
Michelle began to rub the palm of her hand down the man’s chest and stopped when her fingers were positioned over the man’s nipples. She gently tweaked them through the rubber of his costume, and he groaned slightly. They continued to kiss and she ran her hand down the front of his trousers and caressed the rubber, where it had begun to bulge.
She broke away from the kiss, licking her lips. “It looks like someone is ready to party.”
Trent snapped away from his lustful reverie. “All in good time. What do you say we have a drink first?”
Michelle shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
“Sure,” replied Shay.
Trent walked off into the distance and headed towards the kitchen. He shouted over his shoulder, “Why don’t you girls get to know each other a little better, it’ll be more fun for everyone if you we all get along.”
Michelle looked at Shay, and a strange sensation filled the air between the two women. “So have you ever, you know … been with a woman before?”
Shay cast her mind back to the previous day at Gavin’s house, when she had shared that shower with Odette. She recalled the feeling of exhilaration as the soft spray from the showerhead gently caressed their naked, blood-soaked bodies, washing away the mixture of Lush shower crème, dried blood, sweat and debauchery. She closed her eyes and relived the sensation as Odette gently ran her gentle fingertips down her cheek, and the moment of electricity before they engaged in a soft kiss; their tongues briefly stroking each other for nothing more than a mere moment before both women pulled away giddily, coming to their senses.
“No, I can’t say that I ever have but I’ll never say never,” Shay replied, feeling more adventurous than usual due to the chemicals swishing around in her blood.
Michelle smiled. “That’s good. We want to please him, after all.”
“How do you know him?”
“I’ve never met him before tonight, he approached me and my friend and offered to buy us a drink. I thought it was strange that he didn’t pay at the bar, and then he told me who he was.”
“So you came upstairs with a complete stranger?”
“Well, technically, I came upstairs with two, but I figured it would be safety in numbers, you know?”
Without warning, Michelle took a step towards her and gently ran her fingers up her toned legs and into the front of her dress. Shay bit her lip and groaned as the woman slipped a finger inside of her. Shay gasped and tilted her head back slightly as Michelle began to work the finger back and forth, then nibble at the front of her neck.
They were interrupted as Trent returned from the kitchen carrying three champagne flutes between his fingers. “Now that’s what I’m talking about when I say get to know each other. Fuck, any longer and you’d have been at it, full pelt.”
Both girls turned towards him and smiled. Michelle sucked her finger. Shay couldn’t believe how aroused she was by the whole experience.
Trent passed the two women a champagne flute each and proposed a toast. “To the best fucking night you’re gonna have in a long time.”
Both girls smiled and clinked their glasses together before taking a large swig. Trent smiled and walked over towards the sofas, taking a seat.
“Come on over,” he gestured.
The two women began to walk over. Both of them took another swig of their champagne before placing the glasses down on the glass table. Michelle suddenly stumbled, tumbling over her high heels and landing on the laminate floor with a thud. Shay frowned and began to panic for a split second as she began to feel groggy. The room began to spin and the sounds became distant and tinny. She tried to fight the overwhelming sensation, but it wasn’t any good. Before she knew it she had collapsed to her knees, smacking the floor with a crack before falling onto her side. She looked up at the table unable to move, spotting the two champagne flutes. Then, she realised.
Drugged.
She lay still on the floor as the face of Trent came leaning towards her. He slapped her around the cheek with the back of his hand. She felt the sting of pain but couldn’t do anything about it. Trent laughed and moved over to Michelle. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he pulled her face up towards his own, lifting it a few feet from the floor.
“Oh, we’re going to have some fun alright,” he spat at her. “Some of us more than others.”
Shay looked on a few feet away, unable to move as Trent landed a vicious blow straight into Michelle’s face. Her head swung back and connected with a thud as it hit the floor below her. Trent watched, amazed, as he inspected the hand
ful of brown hair that he still held in his balled up fist. Laughing, he blew into his hand and sent the strands spinning to the ground. He took a step over her fallen body towards Shay, and paused. He leaned down on one knee and collected the two damaged teeth from where they had flown from Michelle’s mouth, the plinking of the enamel on wood the last sound she remembered before fading to black.
XII
Are you sure you want to do this?
Odette slowly sipped her soda water and observed the quiet communal area of the hotel restaurant. A quiet whisper of lowered voices radiated off the comfortable yet silent air, while a bartender swiped at the empty bar beside her, polishing the dark wood with expert precision and a proven, deft touch. Through the wide curving archway she could see the reception desk of the hotel, which bustled with new arrivals and existing customers. The desk clerk from the previous night, this time minus his glasses, which made him look a little reserved, was talking to a short, elderly woman.
Odette turned back to her drink, stirred the black plastic mixer, and emptied the glass.
The bartender smiled. He dried a pint glass and placed it on a hidden shelf above his head. He said nothing as he turned and vanished behind a rack of spirits. Odette pushed the glass away, done with it. She wouldn’t need another.
Are you sure you want to do this?
Yes, I told you already.
This is potential suicide.
This is the agreement I had with Shay. Now she’s texting me, and I know she didn’t bail on me, it’s on. There’s no going back now. Anyway, you were all for this less than twenty-four hours ago.
Killing is fine. Doing so without preparation, something I specifically mentioned yesterday, is only going to end badly.