frankie [episodes 1-3]

-11-

Jared powers down the street, his jaw set and his eyes focused straight ahead. I keep up with his pace, my stomach turning. The wind is cold and it whips my hair into my face. Suddenly it's as if Jared notices my presence and he looks down at me.

"What are you doing, Frankie? Why are you here?"

"My name's not Frankie."

"The question still stands."

The streets are full of drunks looking for places to drink as we power ahead. A few shout things at us as we pass.

"Rebecca's my..."

"Your what?" he raises an eyebrow, "Your friend?"

"I...uh..."

"No...I didn't think so. Girls like Rebecca aren't quite good enough for you, are they?"

There's real venom in his tone as he speaks. We turn a corner and he stops and stares at me. His eyes darken - there's hatred behind them and I feel a flare of anger. Anger is good. It stops me from feeling quite so small.

"No-one's too good for me. Why are you being like this? Why do you hate me so much? I've done nothing to you."

His jaw is clenched and there's a storm behind his eyes. I refuse to look away from him - even though he is stood too close for comfort. He seems to be looking at me, really looking at me, and it makes me squirm. Then he exhales heavily and runs a hand over his closely shaved head.

"You better not get in the way."

He begins walking again and I fall into step beside him.

"I just want to help," I say, "Rebecca's been kind to me. I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

The grainy image of the bag of body parts flashes in front of my eyes and I swallow hard. Jared grunts in response as we turn into a badly lit alleyway.

"Do you know where we're going?"

He gestures ahead and I look upwards. At the end of the alley is a shabby looking club. Meat Market is written in big scrawling letters above the entrance, and a short queue of heavily tattooed people wait to get in. Metal music blazes from the opening.

We bypass the line and stride straight to the door. A stale faced bouncer steps into our path and folds his big arms. He looks severely unimpressed.

"You need to queue up like everyone else."

Jared looks like he's going to hit him for a moment then takes a step back. He glances down at me, and reluctantly we head to the back of the queue.

"We don't have time for this." He pulls out his phone and I see him dial Rebecca's number. Promptly he shoves it back in his jeans pocket. "Damnit, no signal."

Something occurs to me.

"Are you sure she's in there? That guy said it was tattoo only night. Rebecca doesn't have a tattoo. She wouldn't be let in."

Jared's eyes are fixed straight ahead - his lips tighten. He shifts his weight from one foot to another.

"She does. She's got a heart. On her chest."

My stomach sinks.

"Oh..."

The queue shifts, five people are let in. We move into position at the front.

"Really? A heart? I wouldn't have thought that was her style."

"Not a love heart. An actual, atomically correct, human heart."

"Oh...gross."

The corner of his lip quirks upwards slightly.

"Are you and Rebecca together?"

He looks at me - finally holding my gaze. There's a slight spark of amusement glistening in his eyes as though he's privy to an inside joke.

"No. I'm not really Rebecca's type..."

Before I can reply we are beckoned forward.

"Tattoo," says the bouncer.

I pull up my sleeve.

"ID."

Oh shit. I don't have any, I'm not old enough.

A triumphant look crosses Jared's face as he passes over his driver's license and steps through the door. He doesn't glance back.

"I...uh...I left it at home."

Another bouncer looks me up and down - a malicious glint in his eye. He whispers something and they both grin. The bouncer nods.

"Tonight's your lucky night, love," he says, "Go on in."

I look hurriedly away and head inside, feeling a sickness in my gut as I realise the reason why they've allowed me entry. They think no-one will care if I go missing. The nausea grows as I realise they're right. I'm perfect body part material for whatever demon runs this club.

It should scare me but it doesn't. Maybe I should be pulled apart.

I push through the next door and a wall of sound and heat smacks me in the face. The music roars - throaty and threatening - and tattooed people push and jump aggressively against one another. It's dark and smoky and it takes my eyes a few blinks to focus. I take a deep breath.

I need to find Rebecca.

I push through the crowd, elbows hitting me in the face and feet landing on my toes, and with a jolt of relief I see her on stage screaming into a microphone. A smile tugs at my lips as I look up at her, parading about the platform like she owns it. I usually wouldn't like this kind of music but the heavy bass thumps away my thoughts and distracts everyone else from gawping at me. I look over my shoulder to try and find Jared. And then time seems to stop.

Two tall, spindly men wearing top-hats are stood at the back of the room - their spines are almost inhumanly straight. Their eyes are completely black as they stare ahead. One of them clicks his bony fingers and a bouncer drags a heavy chain across the door. The tall gentleman catches my eye and smiles- it is too wide for his face.

My stomach lurches.

There are demons here.

And we are all trapped inside.

Suddenly the music cuts out and a tall, spindly man strides onto the stage. He is wearing a gas mask so his features are obstructed. Rebecca watches him warily, the microphone still in her hand. He takes it gently off her then stops in the centre of the stage.

"Welcome to the Meat Market," he says, the crowd roars in response. "Some of you will have a very special part to play in tonight's entertainment. If you get chosen make your way to the Meat Factory room." He gestures to a small, metal door to the right of the stage. "When you see what's in there, you'll be in pieces! Now - for the next band of the night."

Suddenly the lights turn off and we are momentarily plummeted into darkness. There's a copious amount of movement and shuffling before they come back on again. When they do four men with gas masks are playing instruments on stage. Rebecca is gone.

I look over to the door to the meat factory just in time to see it close.