Alex's POV
"No! You can't do this to me!"
A voice mumbled from far away, Of a little boy in pain.
A chill ran down my body, so cold that it was making my limbs freeze.
'Is it a freezing rain, and the ceiling is leaking?'
"This is impossible, he can't do this!"
Another one showed up. This time a female, screaming in agony.
"Open your eyes to see the truth!"
Yet another one.
'What the hell was going on?'
My eyes snapped open. There was water in front of me. Above me. Below me. A weightlessness dawned upon, my legs and arms were floating, the white fabric covering me was flying around. My ears and nose were filling up with water. I looked to my right and left.
Nothing but teal water stroked with blues where the sunlight hit. There was nothing down below except the teal that gradually darkened into an abyss. At one point, my limbs gave in and I was descending downwards, with my arms and legs flailing to go back up. After a long struggle, I began to free fall sharply.
My heartbeat had almost become silent, with my eyes slowly shutting down.
At that moment, my squinted eyes hinted at the familiar fuschia glow.
It was Franxis.
I reached out my hand, stretching as far as possible, hoping to reach them.
Right then, I felt the metallic touch of their hand graze mine. I gripped their finger.
But then, I felt a figure run past me. A tall shadow, floating away, almost making me lose my grip, but Franxis held my hand hard, dragging me through the cold, hard ripples, eventually leading me into the heat of the sun and upwards.
I let out a violent gasp, getting hold of whatever air I could get. I then opened my eyes.
Strangely enough, I saw the familiar chandelier and the golden wallpaper, with the window that I had shut and curtained. I finally let go of my constricted body, succumbing inside the blanket, drenched in sweat.
'What the f*ck happened?'
I dragged myself to the bedside table, with the aftertaste of the dream still lingering, and picked up my phone. Clicking the lock button, I opened my wallpaper to check the time.
It was around three AM in the morning.
I forced myself to shut my eyes and sleep, but every time I would slip, the scene of the water around me wouldn't allow me to relax. I was rolling on the bed side to side, because I just couldn't relax.
Eventually, I gave up.
I got up the bed, put on a relaxing t-shirt and some sweatpants and walked out. Although it was peak winter, I was still burning on the inside. Inside the hallway, I could hear the sounds of rain drops hitting windows and the marble tile entrance, with an overall moist atmosphere.
Right then, my eyes met Ben's, who was standing in the hallway, leaning his back against entrance of a room. Maybe it was his own? Why would he be standing outside then?
He was now dressed in full - sleeved thick woollen pajamas in grey, quite opposite the sheer top and shorts the day before.
"Seems like the cold finally got you, huh?" I stopped near the other side of the entrance, facing him, and leaning on shoulder again the wall.
"Those were just for the vibes, since we were coming for a vacay," he replied back, without looking back at me.
"And what are you doing here at 3 AM?"
"I could ask the same question to you," he smiled.
I knew he didn't respond. This is why I didn't bother asking him why he's outside a room either.
"Personal. Matters. I'll keep them to myself," I said, throwing back a smirk.
"Jeez, someone's salty."
I didn't react.
"What did you do with the jacket?" I asked him, straightening my back from the wall.
"Threw it since it was covered in mud," he shot a glance at me, eyes deadpan.
"What do you mean you--"
'Shit. He didn't know who gave it to him, why did I have to even ask this question?'
"Wait." He interrupted.
"How do you know someone gave me a jacket?" He leaned in a little closer to my face.
My face turned red, with blood rushing to my face and my ears, making them feel hot. It was starting to drive me crazy.
I pulled myself back a little, yet not able to take my eyes off him. Any sign that showed I was embarrassed would give him fodder for days to tease me and even mock me in front of others. There was no way I was going to back off.
I broke the eye contact and started to fan my shirt, "hahhh... It's so hot... in here yeah?"
"Okay, let's take you somewhere," he said, gripping my hand.
"Wher-"
Before I could even ask him, he pulled me along himself through the hallways, down the lift and into the leisure section. I didn't fight back, since I was looking for something to distract me from the dream I saw, I just decided to go with the flow.
We stopped right in front of a bar, with a signboard that said 'Midnight Bar' in blue neon lights.
A bouncer stood against the entrance, but didn't seem to bother checking our IDs. We had to scan our faces before entering. But once that's in, we could enter freely.
He was walking ahead of me while I was following him, since I didn't know much about the place.
Looking around, I could tell this bar was different from the rest. First of all, it was completely dark. Like, no lights or even flashlights around. Yet, it wasn't as dark as absence of light. You see people as shadows and their muted features. I could tell I was walking on wood floors. The expensive kind.
The center had a staircase that descended to the glass dome pavillion, which looked like a giant snow globe, with mountain surfaces covered with snow and trees glowing under the moonlight. Unlike the city, moonlight here was so bright that it illuminated this place enough for us to see each other. It was serene.
He walked to a corner table, facing the view. He ordered a bunch of stuff to the bartender, maybe a drunkard like him wouldn't skip drinks even in this atmosphere. Why should I care though? I'd rather enjoy the view.
I stood next to him, confused as to why of all people, he chose me, his nemesis to be here. I mean, he could come with anyone.
"This place is only known by insiders," he said, leaning closer to my ear.
I walked a little further from him, "you've been here?"
"Yeah, of course. It's my favourite place," he said, picking the menu book and browsing through it.
"Then what about you hating snow-camps?"
"Ever heard of reverse psychology?"
I tightened my fist and gritted my teeth. His eyes wandered towards me but darted away quickly. He probably noticed my expression.
What the hell? I thought I was bothering him but turns out I was being controlled. Good job Ben, you got me good here.
Before my previous flow of embarrassment could subside, this one took over, a little more intense than before. My hands were shaking, ears fuming and palms sweating. There was a sense of loss looming over my head.
"I mean I expected this–"
Before I could say something, the server returned with two cups of hot chocolate, and placed them on the table. It had torched marshmallows floating on top.
Keeping off everything aside for the moment, I picked up the cup and took a sip. It was warm, yet comforting, soothing, exactly what I needed then.
"Mmm... This one is really good," I said as I took another sip.
"Yeah," he looked down at his cup and picked it, "I curated this recipe."
"What do you mean? You Interned here?" I asked, curiosity piquing in my mind.
"No," he said, taking a sip, "I led them, my dad owns this place."
I choked hard. Coughed– spraying the drink on him and the table.
Guess my dignity bid me farewell for today.
'He's levels beyond me. I should be treating him better. Now I understand Margie.'
"Now THAT was a reaction," he said, wiping down his face and looking at me square in the eyes, "I guess you don't really like my company," he said, walking away from the table.
I followed him, "no, wait, this time it really was a mis—"
I saw it.
A seeker.
As I was running to him, among the crowd, I sensed a familiar glow, this time orange in color. It was a man, middle-aged, short spiky hair, a lean body and dressed in some kind of dress shirt and pants, shirt untucked. His CUBE-iD glow was insane.
'A Seeker in the dark?'
Without wasting any minute, I walked to him, standing upright, staring him square in the eyes, "I'm Alex," I said, holding out my hand for a handshake.
He returned back the handshake. No reply.
"I'm from a theatre troop, would you like to be a theatre actor?"