Crimson by Ben Wise

Author:Ben Wise [Wise, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780994194701
Published: 2014-10-19T22:00:00+00:00

With Arms Wide Open

The sun dips below the horizon and the temperature falls with it.

“We’re almost there,” Cara says. “I’m not looking forward to going back. It’s been such a long time. I should warn you, they’re not particularly accepting of strangers. Don’t expect a welcome mat rolled out for you.”

We walk down a street full of neon and nightclubs; most just beginning to open their doors. The streets are already filled with people looking to get into these clubs. More people than I’d ever seen in the one place. Is this what people in the inner city do? None of the clubs seem particularly inviting to me though, frankly and I’m having some serious second thoughts about where I’m being taken.

We seem to be attracting a lot of attention. The gawkers are making me feel uncomfortable. It’s pretty easy to feel like everyone is staring at you when all you want to do is disappear and disappear is what I want to be doing right now. Why are they staring so intently at us?

“Keep your eyes open and try not to stand out. There’s something not right here. I can’t tell what it is; it’s being masked. Try to avoid drawing attention to yourselves,” Nem says to me telepathically, her voice resonating weirdly through my mind, making me pause for a moment. It’s not what I want to hear as I walk into the unknown.

Cara pulls me along, oblivious to the attention. “Come on, it’s at the end of this street,” she says.

The places along this street keep getting seedier and seedier the further we walk. Eventually the street runs out of clubs.

“Where is this place?” I ask.

She points down a side street, where two large men stand sentinel before a massive steel door.

“Hmmm, new guard, this might be a problem,” she says with concern as she walks up to them.

“We need in,” she says stiffly to the guard.

“And who the hell are you? The clubs are back that way, down the street.” He motions with his head. “Fuck off.”

At that moment the big steel door opens and a man sticks his head out. “Calm the fuck down there,” he says to the bouncer. Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in?” He says unimpressed, at Cara.

“She’s one of us,” he says, turning back to the doorman. “Or at least she used to be. She’ll behave. Won’t she?” He turns away before Cara can answer.

The guard reluctantly steps out of the way, letting us slip through the heavy door. Inside a grinding tempo of heavy bass notes reverberates down the hallway.

“Sorry about that, these new guards aren’t the most switched on and I got held up,” The man says. “Now…” He turns quickly to Cara and roughly pushes her against the hallway wall. “What the fuck are you doing here and what the fuck was going through your head when you decided to bring her here?”

Cara doesn’t blink, firing back an aggressive retort. “It’s good to see you too, Calix.

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