My Soul to Reap (Archived)

Interview With A Vampire

At this point, I was getting tired of not knowing where we were going. And since Aryan was supposed to be on my side, I figured I'd ask him.

"And we're going where?" I kept pace with him this time, not trailing behind.

"Somewhere where we are able to talk," he said helpfully, and I debated just stopping right there and making him explain everything. But I just shook my head and kept walking, understanding the rest of the explanation. We were going somewhere that no one would overhear us. Which meant we weren't safe to talk now.

It wasn't quite night, but it was getting there. A few cars and people were out, enjoying the last heat of the day. I glanced over at him every once in a while, trying not to be scared. I think it was fair to say that at this point I knew less about him than I did about Brie. But he wasn't hiding anything, not really. He was working under the twins, probably because they scared him. So that was one thing we had in common. We continued on until we were just out of the shady part of town, which interestingly enough gave way to a particularly nice part of town. Funny how things like that worked out. He turned off the main streets fairly early, after passing a few storefronts and, ironically, at least three churches. As we went on I could see a line of people, all short skirts and dress shirts. I frowned over at Aryan, because of course that was where we were going.

The large, bulky man standing at the head of the line was easy to see even from far away. He was wearing a suit and sunglasses, and he was probably one of the most intimidating people I'd seen. Which, by extension, meant he was the bouncer. The pieces were starting to fit into place.

"Nightclub?" I asked, because I was pretty sure this was the place I was ending up tonight. The sign, splayed across the four storey building everyone was outside, announced it was called Alpha. Somehow I was only mildly surprised.

"A supernatural one," he confirmed. I didn't need to look at the assembled people in order to be able to figure that out. At this point it was just kind of a given we wouldn't be interacting with humans.

"Will that be a problem for me getting in?" I asked, and he just shook his head.

"Humans are perfectly welcome. Well, at their own risk." I looked down at myself, suddenly realizing it wouldn't exactly be easy getting in. The cloths I'd stolen from Brie earlier were hardly clubbing material, similar black shorts with a thin and flowy top. I was severely under dressed, to say the least. And the whole "at their own risk" thing wasn't helping my nerves. We eventually reached the line and the bouncer, and Aryan barely even slowed down before walking right past. And, funnily enough, it worked. He walked up to the door before he noticed that I hadn't followed.

"Are you coming?" he asked, and I nodded, following quickly. I shot a glance over at the collective of people, who were looking on fairly enviously.

"Technically this place won't open for another hour," he offered as explanation. "But I know the owners, so we should be okay." I shrugged it off and followed him, because I didn't really have any other choice. But I did feel like showing him up.

"Friends with the werewolves?" I asked casually, smiling to myself when I saw the look he shot me.

"Don't look so smug," he laughed, and I found myself laughing a bit too. Against every instinct I should have had, I actually found myself liking Aryan.

It was a nightclub, that was for sure. The room we walked into was huge and wide-open, stretching three storeys upwards and completely empty from the dance floor to the highest ceiling. Balconies hung over the sides, and a huge screen and DJ table dominated the front of the room. To our right was a giant staircase leading upwards, and to the left was a long and extremely well-stocked bar. Everything was black and gold, with the occasional neon of lights from the dance floor. There was a girl busying herself behind the counter, and she looked up and smiled as soon as we walked in.