Phoenix
The blood moon in the sky overcast the graveyard, shadowing us like lost souls that haunt the night. A chill in the air left a quivering down my spine as I stared at my best friend like she was crazy. Her spontaneous bursts of adventure had the three of us, once again, in a place no one would be caught in unless dead.
“Are you sure we are in the right location, Phoenix?” Tonya asked me yet again, considering we already had been waiting fifteen minutes near the crypt marked “Brimstone” which had made me want to bounce already.
“We are in a freaking cemetery girl! How right you wanna get ten damn feet.” Mariana said, shivering just a bit from the cold.
“Shut up Mari, you didn’t have to come,” Tonya said.
“Girl, please like I was going to miss a hidden rave party in Chicago.”
These two and their constant bickering had me laughing inside, we knew each other way too long to take offense to what either of us said. While they went at it, I scoped our surroundings. It was getting creepier by the second. Out of nowhere appeared a mysterious figure in black, a face unable to be seen. Shushing them, they turned toward the figure, straining like I was to hear what was whispered.
“Password please.”
I stared at him for a second, realizing I held the invitation with the map and password, we all said it together.
“Darkness in the night hail forth do we agree.”
The figure grinned, nodding to follow it. I made sure we were all in agreement before we stepped forth behind it. The gate to the crypt was opened and inside we went. Following downstairs to a hidden tunnel. Each step we took lit up the lanterns on the wall, bringing a sense of secrecy to the atmosphere. Sending chills through me, but excited Mari and Tonya more.
“This is going to be the shit,” Tonya whispered to me as we followed along. The deeper we went in, the louder the music got. Still had a chill running through me, usually, that meant something was off. I had to ignore it this time because I didn’t want to be the spoilsport. We reached the end, the figure finally removing the hood. Call me star-struck. This brother was fine as hell, he even looked back and winked at me like he heard what I had just said in my head.
The place was decked out in neon lights and candlelight. A bar set off to the right like this was an every-night gig. A hefty number of people had appeared, dancing and swaying to the music the DJ played. There was body paint and glitter and even some nudity. I had to head to the bar quickly for a drink to get into this. There was an odd kind of smell of where the fog had come from. My friends had disappeared on my own as I sat down for a strawberry margarita with a vodka chaser. Yup, this rave was something. Did someone just howl? Or were my ears deceiving me? Man, my head was spinning. Why was the bartender smiling at me? What were those fangs?!
Thinking it was definitely time to go, it sucked we just got here but our safety was foremost. Looking at my phone, I noticed it was 2 a.m. Where the fuck did the time go? I couldn’t have been at the bar that long, right? Barely able to get up and walk around to look for my girls. I shook my head a bit to gain some clarity. The fog that billowed around me smelled funny, in between weed and some other herb.
“Hey, are you okay?”
It was the fine-ass brother that accompanied us.
“I need to find my friends,” I whispered, damn my voice sounded strange.
“No problem, they are over here, come on I’ll show you the way,” he said, guiding me along.
“Thank you, I’m Phoenix and are you?”
“Nathan, watch your step,” he said before I almost tripped.
We were outside the crypt again. I didn’t remember coming in this way. My head started to feel much better, but I didn’t see my girls anywhere.
“I’m sorry, but it's already too late for them,” Nathan said as he closed the gate. Locking me outside the crypt, it was then that I heard the screams. There was no way I was leaving them. We stared at each other as I grabbed the bars, his hands gripping my wrists.
“Trust me Phoenix, I just saved your life.” he then whispered words to me. My wrists began to burn and the world began spinning.
Tonya
Damn, this Dj was playing my jam. Not to mention the major chemistry between him and me the minute I hit the dance floor. I knew one day my adventure quest would pay off. Phoenix and Mari didn’t know the real reason why I started these quests. I was looking for someone and tonight I think I finally found him.
I could never forget eyes like his. He said it came from his birth parents. Eyes the color of whiskey with specks of gold and on a good day when the sunlight hit them just right they simply took my breath away. He was my first and only friend before I met Mari and Phoenix at the age of 10.
His name was Vincent. He was seven and I was five when we were both brought to Windy City Orphanage after a tragedy left us without parents or any living relatives. He was my protector, my best friend, and my secret crush, as he made every day less painful and gave me sweet memories instead.
Mariana’s parents adopted me when I was ten years old. They even wanted to adopt Vincent as well, after learning of our close friendship. Surprisingly, a distant relative showed up out of the blue back then. Even though we had promised to keep in touch, time and the growth of life separated us for years until now.
The Dj even had the same grin as him. My heart skipped a beat as he winked at me. Was it really Vinny? Before I could move a little closer, I found myself a bit dizzy. A strong smell of weed with a bit of something else permeated the air. It shouldn't have made me this dizzy though. Something was wrong.
I looked toward where the Dj was, but he was now gone. I needed to go find Mari and Phoenix. I know I spotted Phoenix at the bar a few minutes ago while I was dancing, but where the hell was Mari? I headed to the bar, first checking my phone on the way to see if Mari messaged me, but the time threw me for a loop. How the hell was it at 2 a.m we had just got here, right?
When I reached the bar, Phoenix wasn’t there. Looking around me, I spotted the guy who led us through the tunnels to the rave and he was holding someone. I hit the speed dial to call Mari while chasing after them. The phone kept ringing as I followed them.
“Hey” I yelled, trying to get his attention, but the noise was too loud for them to hear. My head started to pound and Mari still hadn’t picked up. Where the heck was she? Suddenly, someone pushed me from behind and I fell, spraining my ankle and skinning my knees as I tried to break the fall like an idiot.
My ears started ringing and my vision started to blur. Something was wrong with the fog. I started to cough when a loud scream pierced my hearing, then everything went dark.
“Oh. My god, we’re locked in!”
“Help!” someone started yelling and panic struck. I was still on the ground near the tunnels. I scrunched my body as close to the wall as I could get as people ran unseeing in the dark. Some were smart enough to use the lights on their phones to try and see better.
Slowly, I got to my feet using the wall as support. My ankle and knees hurt like a bitch but I have to dwell on the pain right now. Looking at the phone I noticed that Mari had finally answered and we’d been connected for three minutes.
“Mari, where are you? People are saying we got locked in. I think Phoenix got out, but you need to tell me where you are so we ……….”
It was at this moment I realized I could only hear heavy breathing.
“Mari, Mari? Can you hear me?”
“Tonya…… help! Ahhhhhh!” Mari’s scream sent the coldest chill down my spine. My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, telling me I should head away from the entrance. Before I could even move, someone pinned me against the wall. Tears were already streaming down my face. I had to save Mari and did Phoenix get out? And who was the guy that was with her?
I couldn’t explain it but I knew somehow that the guy who helped her wouldn’t harm her. I tried to get a look at the person in front of me, but it was dark and after Mari’s call my phone was now dead.
“Let! …….” before I could finish, the person held his hand over my mouth, leaning even closer to me. All the screaming around me had been terrifying. What was going on? The person’s lips grazed across my ear as he whispered.
“Don’t be afraid Toto.” he patted my head as he said this, causing me to stiffen. He removed his hand from my mouth, as I asked who the person before me was.
“Vinny?” I whispered
“Shh… don’t let them hear you” he whispered in my ear again. It was then that the strong scent of blood hit me. Something else was in the tunnels with us. The screams were lessening by the minute. People were dying.
Vincent held me closer. By now I was trembling, I didn’t want to die here. I prayed that Pheonix was safe, but I was really worried about Mari. The sounds coming from all around me were horrific. I even thought I heard growling until there was nothing but silence.
“Close your eyes, Toto, don’t open them until I tell you to.” I always trusted Vincent with my life and I didn’t want to see the aftermath of whatever just happened. I didn’t know how or why, but a strange wind began to pick up around us. The dizziness from before soon subsided. Was I floating? Soon my feet were touching a soft but prickly service that seemed to be grass. Had Vinny found a way out?
“You can open your eyes now.”
I opened my eyes to see Vincent before me. He had really grown up and Dammit if he wasn’t sexy as fuck. I wanted to smack myself as it was definitely the wrong time to be thinking something like that. Both my besties were missing.
“Wait, Mari?….”
“My friend got to her in time.. she should be fine after a few days of recuperation.” that heart-stopping grin he gave me had me confused for a bit. What did he mean by recuperation?
“Huh?.. wait for shit! Pheonix.”
“ Pheonix is more than fine …. She’s with Nathan, so don’t worry.”
“What do you mean, don’t worry? What the fuck happened back there? That was some abnormal shit, Vinny! And how the hell did we get outside? Weren’t we locked in? I mean…….”
“Whoa… slow down and breathe Toto,” he said, moving closer to me and taking me into his embrace once more as I began to break down. I didn’t know why I couldn’t stop crying. Some weird shit had gone down, people were dead, and my girls were saved by people I didn’t know, but Vinny did. I guess it was a good thing, but all this was overwhelming and one thing was blatantly clear. All of it was my fault.
“Don’t think like that Toto.” He kept holding me and comforting me as he used to when we were in the orphanage. Wait, I hadn’t said any of this out loud. Did he read my mind?
Vincent took a deep breath before looking into my eyes.” I’ll explain everything later, but right now both of us need to get to safety.” He took my hand in his and led me to a motorcycle parked not far away. I stood blankly as he strapped the helmet on my head and then one on his own, then seated himself on the bike.
“ Hop on,” he said. I blindly obeyed. Right now, I am safe with him. My mind was still reeling and I couldn’t figure out why, whatever, those things never attacked us even though we were within view.
The bike roared to life and we hit the road. I had no idea where we were headed. Also, Vincent said he would answer all my questions soon and that my best friends were okay. I wanted to see them more than anything. They were my only family other than Vincent. At that moment, I knew my life wouldn’t be the same, there was something otherworldly going on in the city of Chicago, but was this something I would be willing to accept or believe…………..
