//------------------------------// // Going Clubbing // Story: Brighter Horizons // by Destiny Chaser //------------------------------// Franklin stomped out another cigarette on the cold, cement floor of the hallway. He had promised his mother that he would quit smoking of course, but like they say, old habits die hard. He was a big man with a bit of a gut but with broad shoulders and a heavy, set jaw; a well-trimmed brown goatee complimented his high and tight haircut. He could easily hear the muted throb of heavy bass music in the main area of the club through the wall where hundreds of patrons reveled and danced. It was his turn to man the back door for pick up and drop offs that evening and so far, everything had gone smoothly. The well-lit hallway with its white-tiled ceilings and plaster walls made for such an utterly monotonous setting that he found himself almost wishing for something out of the ordinary to occur if only to make things interesting for a change, especially since there was no one to talk to tonight. A blasted runaway had caused the boss to send out the extra hands which meant they were running on a relatively light crew tonight which just meant more work for everyone. He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as someone outside pounded loudly on the steel security door. That’s odd, he thought, There shouldn’t be any cash drops this early in the evening. Checking his shoulder-holster under his navy-blue sport coat, he reached over and slid back an eye-slit on the door to check who was in the alley outside. Franklin gazed through the open slide and saw two figures, a man and a woman, dimly illuminated by the exterior light above the door. The man was wearing a brown jacket with a gray hood pulled up causing a shadow that obscured the top portion of his face; a gleam of eyes could still be faintly seen. He was gripping onto the upper arm of the young woman whose disheveled, blonde hair partially covered her face. Even so, Franklin could tell that it was Ella, the one they had been searching for. “Hey, you lose somthin’?” Came the man’s Brooklyn accent, he jerked the girl’s arm for emphasis. “I came to return an item to the lost and found.” Franklin was delighted to see her back, this meant that he would be the one who would get to report the good news to the boss; the only problem was that he did not recognize this guy. “And who the hell are you?” He demanded. “Napoleon Bonaparte, what’s it to ya?” The man scoffed in annoyance. “I’m one of the extra hands your boss called in tonight ta’ help find your girl.” Franklin paused for a moment; he hadn’t heard about the boss calling in extra help. “Look, you can jerk me around if ya want buck face, makes no difference to me. I’ve already been paid and I’ve delivered so I got no problem walking away right now and letting this be your problem.” “Wait! Hold on a sec’.” Franklin slammed the slide shut before undoing the two dead-bolts and yanking the heavy door open allowing the light from the hallway to spill out into the alley. The mystery man shoved Ella forward into his arms; she immediately tried to run away from him down the hall but he grabbed onto her arm, spinning around as he jerked her back towards him, gripping her other shoulder in the process. “Hey doll face, what do you think you’re doing?” He sneered with a satisfied grin. Ella shook her hair out of her face as she looked up at him and smiled vengefully. “Distracting you.” She said softly. Franklin suddenly felt a powerful set of arms clamp hard around his neck in a firm chokehold before dragging him backwards; he was practically lifted off the ground. He felt a painful blow to the back of his right knee, causing it to instantly buckle as he dropped down hard to the floor. Unable to breathe, Franklin felt panic surge as he immediately grabbed at the arm that was cutting off his airway and pulled; it was like trying to remove a steel coil. He flung himself backwards with all of his might as he began to see stars but to no effect. His assailant was impossibly strong which Franklin didn’t understand since, from what little he saw of the guy, he knew that he was much larger than him. After a few more seconds, Flash finally released him as he felt the man go limp allowing him to slump to the cold, hard cement. He pulled the hood off of this head and tucked it back into its inner pocket inside his jacket collar. “Buck face?” Ella asked with a raised eyebrow as she bent down to search inside Franklin’s jacket. Flash blushed slightly as he ran a hand through his hair to smooth it. “Yeah, sorry about the language. But I was trying to sound more authentic.” He said glancing to the side. “Language?” Ella said with greater incredulity. Flash looked at her with that owl-like blink again. She rolled her eyes, “Nevermind.” It’s like he’s from another planet. The idea amused her more than it should have as it made far too much sense. “Not too shabby with the accent,” she remarked. “Thanks.” Flash took a moment to take in his surroundings. In front of them, the hallway went down a good ways before ending in a ninety degree turn to the left; he thought he could make out stainless elevator doors to the right. He wrinkled his nose at the acrid scent of cheap tobacco that hung heavily in the air, it smelled nothing like the sweet pipe tobacco that Burnt Oak would puff on occasionally. He winced slightly as his sensitive ears were assailed by the awful thump of very bad techno reverberating above them and to their left. Ugh, what a beastly noise. Vinyl could sure show them a thing or two about proper music. Flash mused to himself. He and Ella had carefully planned their approach to the Velour night club on their drive up to the city. She had explained to him the nature of the back entrance and the different rooms that were hidden there; almost all of them were accessed by an electronic keycard for security. It was her suggestion that he use her as a feign in order to gain entrance to the back; a risky move, but he was impressed by its tactical merits. She certainly knows how to plan ahead. He found that immensely attractive for some reason; the thought caused him to smile slightly. “Got it!” Ella said triumphantly as she held up a small, white card. “This should get us access to every dirty little secret in this dump.” She cast a glance up to a small, black camera mounted high in the corner of the ceiling. She knew that as soon as they got in, it would be a race against time before they were noticed, if that wasn’t the case already. It all depended on if anyone was doing their job tonight and knowing Enrique, they could count on it. “Let’s move,” Ella said as she rose to her feet. “We need to take care of those cameras I told you about fast before we get any company.” Flash stepped ahead of her as they began to quickly move down the hall. The only reason he agreed to this approach was because she assured him that they could knock out the cameras quickly after gaining entrance. He was confident in his ability to handle any number of guards there might be, especially after his encounter with the first three men he had faced. But one of Sunset’s warning prior to his departure continued to ring in the back of his mind: “Don’t underestimate ‘guns’.” He understood the concept of these projectile firing ‘weapons’, but knew that he did not yet fully appreciate their capability. His mind flashed back to the seriousness of her expression, “Please Flash, understand. As fast as you are, these weapons are extremely dangerous, they can kill you. My spell will not protect you from them. Please, be careful.” “Is that the one, up ahead on the left?” “You got it kiddo, let me get the door!” Ella quickly moved to the other side of the door and leaned against the wall, allowing Flash to stand in front of it; she swiped the card past a gray slat on the wall next to the black steel door. A green light flashed on it and the door swung inwards with a ‘click’. Inside the dimly lit room was a desk and chair set up against the right-hand cement wall. Two computer monitors with multiple screens displaying different areas of the club sat upon the table. The ceiling was unfinished and lined with bundles of cable and pipes. Fascinating. Flash thought as he eyeballed the alien technology on the desk. They both looked around the room and were surprised that no one was present. “I don’t get it,” Ella said, “Someone should be here watching the monitors.” They both looked as they suddenly heard the sound of a toilet flushing coming from the far side of the room behind another door; they both glanced at each other before looking back in the direction of the sound. The door suddenly swung open as a man with a medium build and black hair stepped out of it. He was wearing khakis and a black polo shirt; he had a smartphone in his hand; he blinked in shock at the two intruders. “Hey Flash,” Ella said with a smirk, “He didn’t wash his hands.” “That’s nasty.” Flash agreed with a savage grin as he stalked forward. “Hey, who are yo-” He didn’t have time to finish his statement as Flash, fast as lightning, landed a solid blow with his fist into the man’s stomach, doubling him over. He followed up with an elbow to the side of his head, knocking the unfortunate fellow senseless and back into the bathroom as his phone clattered to the floor. “Wash up,” Flash said as he grabbed the inner handle of the bathroom door and, after a moment of strain, ripped it clean off before slamming the door shut. Ella shook her head in amazed disbelief before turning her attention to the monitors. Flash tossed the broken handle to the floor with a clatter before joining her at the desk. “So, what are we looking for?” He asked. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I’ll know it when I see it…” She trailed off. As the seconds ticked by, Flash could not help but steal a few glances at her, the first female of his species he had ever seen. If he had to choose a single word to describe her, it would be ‘beautiful.’ More beautiful than any pony, or any other creature he had ever seen. The best part though, was the sense of peace he finally felt after so long. A peace he began to experience ever since he entered into this world and met her. I’m not alone…after all this time, I’m not alone. The relief felt like a balm on his soul. No, focus Flash! Keep your head in the mission! He shook his head as he turned his attention back to the computer monitors. “There!” Ella finally exclaimed as she pointed to one of the camera views on the first monitor. Flash squinted and saw what appeared to be a storage room holding several pallets with white bricks wrapped in cellophane stacked in a neat pile on top of each other. “Look at all that horse…” she murmered. “Horse?” She gave him an incredulous look. “Smack, Dope, the Big H…” He continued to stare blankly at her. “Heroin ya numbskull! Geez, what kind of soldier are you?!” Flash chuckled slightly at that which caught her a little by surprise. “You sound like one of my old drill sergeants…I guess drugs go by different street names where I come from.” He said with half-a-smile on his face. “Yeah? And where’s that, the moon?” “Nah, I only know one person from the moon, she said it was a rather lonely place.” Now it was Ella’s turn to stare blankly. “Wha-oh…gosh…You and I are going to have a long talk later…” she grumbled as she glanced back at the screens again. Flash suppressed a smile; he couldn’t help but tease her, even if only a little. “Alright, I know where that room is, let’s go.” They made their way back out into the hall and took a left, heading towards the end or the corridor. Flash took the lead again, stealing a quick glance around the corner to check if it was clear before they headed down the next stretch. Ella smiled a little at how protective he was acting of her. Ain’t he sweet… After about fifty feet they came to a T-junction. “Go Right.” Ella said. He checked the next turn again before following her instruction. This section of the lower level was different. On the right side of the corridor were several black doors each set about twenty feet apart from the other. Far ahead on the left side opposite the single doors, was a set of double doors. “I’m guessing that’s the room were looking for…Ella? Flash turned around to see her lingering back. She was staring at the multiple doors that lined the hall, her face full of disgust and pain. “Hey, are you alright?” She shook her head. “I didn't think I would be back here so soon…” Flash glanced from the doors and then back to her. “Ella…is this what I think it is?” She swallowed and nodded silently. “Are you…” She looked at him sharply. “Don’t worry about me, let’s just get this over with.” Flash clenched his jaw and, turning, made his way to the outside of the double doors; Ella stepped up beside him. “I saw two guys in there on the security feed. You sure you got this?” Flash let his outrage on her behalf soak into his facial expression. “Not a problem. I’ll take care of it in ten-seconds flat.” He said it with such certainty that her own confidence rallied as a result. Ella swiped the key-card and the door clicked open. “Wait here,” he whispered as he quickly slipped inside. She heard someone shout followed by a crash of what sounded like a metal shelf falling over. There was a cry of pain, another loud crash, and the sound of something metal rattling to the floor; then it was silent. Flash stepped back outside, “All clear.” He looked no worse for wear but appeared more than a bit agitated. Ella peeked into the room and saw one of the two men she had seen on the security feed sprawled faced down on the floor next to one of the drug pallets. She could not see the other at first until she noticed on the other side of the two pallets a pair of legs sticking out from under a metal shelf that had once held some tools and other miscellaneous items which were now scattered about the room. “Geez…” She gaped, “That guy ain’t dead, is he?” Flash didn’t answer right away. Ella looked back at him and saw that he had his eyes closed; he appeared to be trying to hear something. “Uh, Flash?” “Shh!” Ella immediately clamped up as she saw that he was trying to focus on something. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and looked left. “No, he’s not dead; but someone else’s going to be in a minute.” He stated coldly. Flash looked over at her, his expression neutral, but there was a fire raging in his vibrantly colored eyes; he looked very intimidating. “Three doors down on the right, open it.” She swallowed nervously. “Why do you ne-” “Open it Ella…please.” He said calmly but firmly as he looked back in the other direction. “Before I break it down.” The doors were steel fire-doors set in metal frames within the cinder-block walls; but after all she had seen Flash do, Ella did not think for a second that they were capable of stopping him. She nodded before moving immediately to the indicated door. He could probably tear one of these off its hinges…she thought, dreading what they were likely going to find on the other side; she could sense that predatory air radiating off of him once again. Flash methodically cracked his neck with a smooth roll of his head as he stood before the closed door. Ella gave him a final, worried look before nodding and swiping the card; the door swung inwards. The interior was dimly lit by a single ornate lamp sitting on a small, cherrywood table in the far-left corner of the room. From its soft light, he could tell that the room had been lavishly furnished. The dark blue carpet was thick and soft, the walls had been lined in a deep, violet wallpaper with red, curling vine patterns. On the right side of the room against the wall was a large, queen sized bed with violet sheets that matched the wallpaper and a mirror above its cherrywood headboard. To his immediate right was a half-dresser with a vanity mirror also made from fine cherrywood. There, standing barefoot in his underwear between the bed and dresser was a fat, middle-aged man with thin brown hair that was starting to gray; he stared in slack-jawed bewilderment at the sudden intruder who was now glaring at him with murderous intent. Flash’s nostrils flared at the scent of blood that mixed in with the other smells of sweat, cheap air freshener, and misery. Looking towards the bed, he could just make out in the shadows the half-naked form of a young girl partially covered by the bedsheets; she was whimpering as she trembled in shock. He couldn’t make out her face completely, but could easily tell from where he stood that it was swollen, badly bruised, and bleeding. Flash slowly turned his gaze from the girl to the man, barely able to contain his rage. The disgusting slob had gone from shocked to indignant as he turned to face the young intruder, puffing out his flabby chest. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing in here-AAAAAAH!” He screamed in agony as Flash had instantly seized him by the hair faster than the eye could follow. With a brutal yank, he toppled the man over the corner of the mattress and slammed him, rolling onto the carpet at the foot the bed, ripping out a good portion of his hair in the process. Flash shook his hand, letting it drift to the floor. Ella quickly rushed into the room behind him. She took one look at the man on the floor before turning her attention to the girl on the bed. “Ashley!” She cried as she immediately jumped up onto the bed and pulled the smaller girl up against her chest into a hug; she wrapped the bed-sheet around her shoulders. “Oh baby…I’m sorry, so sorry…it’s going to be alright.” Flash could tell that she was young, not even as old as him; probably two years his junior. The girl hiccupped once before wailing into Ella’s shoulder. It was a kind of wailing unlike any Flash had ever heard in his life: pain. So much dark, unbearable pain. Ella slowly rocked back and forth as she held her close; she locked eyes with Flash, an understanding seemed to pass between them. A groan snapped Flash back to attention. “Ugh…the hell…” the man staggered to his knees; his face twisted in rage. “Do you…DO YOU KNOW WHO THE FU-” He slammed hard back down onto the floor once more as the back of Flash’s fist smashed like a cannonball into the side of his face with a vicious ‘smack’. His screaming was muffled as he clamped both hands over his bleeding mouth. “Mm toof! Yoo knokd ou my tooooof!!” Flash tilted his head slightly to the side as he stared down at him, his expression no different than if he were looking at a rather curious insect. “No. I don’t know who you are. Care to enlighten me? You’ll need to speak up though, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” He stated, his voice as cold and sharp as the edge of a knife. “City councilman Harold Johnson,” Came Ella’s voice; Flash glanced back at her to see her glaring in recognition of the miserable wretch. “I see beatin’ girls is still your turn on, how’s that fetish workin’ out for ya?” Just a little more gas on the fire… She smiled grimly as Flash turned his attention back to the councilman; that was all he needed to hear. “A public servant? Someone responsible for the common good?” Flash glanced right and spied a smartphone on the dresser. “Alright then, let me help you with that.” He bent down and seized the man roughly by one of his ankles, causing him to cry out in pain as Flash squeezed hard enough to bruise; he simultaneously snatched the phone off of the dresser as he turned and began dragging the man out of the room. “Hey, HEY! STOP!” Johnson attempted to grab onto the doorframe but his hands, slick with his own blood, slipped off. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?! SOMEBODY HELP!” Flash ignored his struggles as he continued to drag him down the hall towards the storage room, pushing through the open door as he arrived. “Shut up.” He snarled as with a grunt of effort, he flung the man against the side of the drug pallet, causing several bricks of heroin to tumble onto the floor. Johnson coughed, spitting some blood onto the floor as he glared up at Flash. “Ugh…you are so dead kid.” Flash raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed that even now, he could be so defiant; he sighed. “You strike me,” Flash remarked as he pushed the door until it almost closed, “As someone who has always gotten what they wanted. You think you’re just entitled to everything; that the whole world owes you a living.” His knuckles cracked audibly as he clenched his fist. “I truly despise that, but not as much as I despise the man who would dare raise his hand to a woman...and even defile them...” He took a breath to calm himself before slowly letting it out. “I can’t think of anything more dishonorable, you sickening piece of trash. So tonight,” He tossed the phone he had been holding in his other hand at the man’s chest who fumbled as he caught it. “You’re going to help me make this world a better place. Open it.” He remembered enough from Sunset’s instructions the basics of how these strange devices functioned. The man sneered at him through bloodied, clenched teeth; he was missing two on his left side. “Go to hell kid.” Flash smiled darkly as he abruptly flicked his right fist inward; a pair of curved, golden blades, each extending about 8 inches past his fist, snapped out from under his jacket sleeve with a metallic ‘clack’. The polished metal glinted in the light, appearing wickedly sharp. Johnson’s eyes widened in horror as he immediately regretted his choice of words. “Here’s how this is gonna work. I’m going to count to three…” He said as he traced a finger over one of the blades with a thoughtful expression, “And if you haven’t done exactly as I’ve said,” Flash looked back to him as he slowly lowered his hands down to his sides, “I’m going to turn you into a gelding.” His eyes shone momentarily with a blue light. “One…” Johnson blinked in bewilderment before fumbling with the phone, trying to unlocked the screen. “Two…” Flash took a threatening step towards him. “OKAY! It’s open! It’s open!” he practically blubbered. “Better. Now, you are going to call the police. Tell them who you are, where you are, and what you have found in this room.” Johnson blinked in shock; his left eye was beginning to swell shut. “Y-you’re crazy! I’m not calling the cops! Do you-” Flash was suddenly crouched at eye level with him, pressing the dull side of his wrist-blades firmly against the flabby waddle of the man’s chin; his fury was palpable. “You…are trying my patience, of which I have perilously little remaining.” He let his words sink in for a moment as he stared death into the man’s eyes. “Nothing would please me more than to beat you to death for what you did to that girl, and believe me, I’m considering it. Call. The bucking. Cops.” He growled through clenched teeth. That was all it took. Johnson dialed emergency services and began to desperately spill his guts to the emergency operator everything Flash had told him to say and more. Flash stood up and flicked his wrist again, causing the blades to retract. “That’s better.” He took a quick look around the room before looking back down at his captive. “Oh, and tell them to send a couple of ambulances.” Johnson paused for a second in confusion before relaying the message to the operator. “W-why do you want ambulances?!” Flash stared at him impassively for a second before stomping savagely on the man’s exposed knee with a sickening ‘crunch’, completely shattering it. Johnson’s face turned white with bone-bending pain as he howled in utter agony. Flash snatched the phone from his hand and held the speaker towards him to ensure maximum effect to whoever was on the other side. “That’s why.” He deadpanned as he turned and stalked out of the room. Flash figured out how to hang up the call as he examined the different icons on the phone’s screen; one said ‘Photos’. He almost regretted opening it as there were multiple, graphic images taken of what Johnson had been doing to the girl in the other room. It took enormous effort for him to resist the urge to go back and tear the man's head off. Flash stepped back into the room where he had left Ella and froze, she was gone. Buck. The young girl Ashley was sitting upright on the bed with the bed sheet clutched around her, she snapped to attention as he walked into the room. Flash glanced back and forth before slowly approaching the girl on the bed; she shrank back from him as he sat down on the mattress across from her. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” He said as he raised his hands in an nonthreatening manner. “Hi. Uh, wow. You’re really pretty.” He stumbled over his words as he tried to overcome his own embarrassment at the relatively immodest situation. Smooth Flash. He became serious again as he took greater notice of her battered condition. For Celestia’s sake… He began to wish he had broken every bone in that man’s body. Flash reached into his jacket and pulled out a violet, circular crystal about the size of a walnut. “Here, don’t be afraid. I’m here to help.” He reached out and gently pressed the crystal to her face causing her to recoil slightly. It was a sealing crystal, one that could contain any number of basic spells. In this case, it was a simple healing spell, standard issue in battlefield trauma kits. It was capable of stabilizing even severe injuries provided there was no serious damage to the internal organs. The crystal flared briefly with a violet light as the spell activated. Ashley flinched as the magic instantly began to heal her bruised and cut face; it wasn’t a moment before she was made whole. Flash removed the crystal and tucked it back into his jacket. “There, that’s better now.” He said with a gentle smile. Ashley gaped as she reached up with trembling hands to feel her face. “Now Ashley, I really need you to tell me, where did Ella go?” She stared at him as she registered his words; she had brown eyes and hair. “I-I’m not sure.” She finally said. “She said to not worry anymore. That…that she was going to take care of everything.” BUCK! Flash immediately stood up, and handed the phone to the girl. “Here. That phone should have on it all the evidence you need to put that freak away for good.” He turned and began heading for the door. “The police will be here soon. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright now.” “Wait!” Ashley shouted. He paused and looked back at her. The girl looked from the phone in her hands and back to him, “Who are you?” She asked, her expression a mixture of confusion, wonder, and gratitude. He responded with a sympathetic smile. “A friend.” With that, Flash bolted out of the room, racing back down the hall to find Ella.