Death's Paradise

Instinctively, I yanked my hands away. "What do you mean by bind me?" I asked nervously, but the old lady only smiled, baring her crooked, yellow-stained teeth.

"You will know soon. Heed my warning, child." Her voice cracked and then a rush of wind whipped through the room, blowing all the candles out one by one until I was encased in darkness.

I sprung up from the chair, and with a blink of an eye, everything morphed and twisted.

I was jerked backward like a reaper had snatched my waist, and was dragging me down to the fiery pits of hell.

I could hardly hear a sound from her as the wind picked up and thrashed around me.

"Do not forget, the haze will come in the form of—" She was cut off as a new wall materialized and dropped in front of me.

Everything moved so fast that I couldn't stop myself from being propelled backward.

My back collided with a light post and all the air escaped me as another wall materialized and dropped. I crumpled to the ground, gasping for air.

All the lights surrounding me began to flicker.

I clenched my chest and lifted my chin to the sky. It was already night, but that couldn't have been right. How could I have been there for more than ten hours? We barely talked for five minutes.

My eyes darted back to the wall, wood splintered and broke apart as the shop's door bent inward and vanished within the cracks of the building.

It left no trace behind.

I stared at the mossy bricks stained with colorful graffiti that had assembled itself in front of me like it had always been there.

My mouth hung open, but all thoughts and words eluded me. I waited and waited, hoping that maybe the sign or door would soon appear, but nothing.

I stood up and dusted the dirt off my slacks. I squeezed my eyes shut and then looked back at the wall. Still, nothing.

I knew that I shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but what could have prepared me for a day that turned into the Twilight Zone? I was living a nightmare that I had no clue how to wake up from, and what did that old lady even mean by he had found me? I wanted to pull my hair out just thinking about it.

"Addy, is that you?"

I scrunched my whole face like it would magically make my vision better, but I still couldn't recognize the voice or person.

The slender figure walked closer until I could make out more of their features.

It was a woman who looked as if she walked right out of a magazine and into downtown Hollow. Her blonde beach waves bounced with purpose as her floral romper exaggerated her long legs and complimented her stiletto heels.

"How have you been?" she asked, looking down at me as her green eyes sparkled back at mine.

Her smile exposed two gapped teeth that somehow made her look even more sincere.

I couldn't help but grimace a little. I had no idea who she was and I felt like an ass. It didn't help that I was terrible with faces.

I looked her over again and again, but nothing came to mind. "I've been good," I lied through a masked smile. "How have you been?"

Was she from one of my previous jobs? School? Foster care? God, this was going to kill me.

"That's good at least. I heard what happened, and what the customer did to you. Outrageous. Tyler was wrong for firing you," she said, shaking her head. She leaned down quickly and brushed my collarbone. I jerked backward. "Oh, you had some dirt on you. Sorry, force of habit." She smiled and tilted her head slightly.

I lifted my hand and impulsively wiped where she touched. Oh, Tara. Her name was Tara. It was that girl who went on vacation for a couple of weeks when I first started working at Cosmo's.

I rubbed the nape of my neck, uncomfortable with the topic. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd get immediately fired for punching a customer after he grabbed my ass. I thought I'd be put on leave or only get written up, but what can you do?" I laughed sardonically.

"Shitty manager. That nasty old man deserved it." Tara nodded as if agreeing with her own statement. "Are you headed to Death's Paradise as well?"

My voice came out as a squeak. "Excuse me?"

"The nightclub? It's all anyone talks about. I'm meeting a couple of friends there. You should totally come." She pointed at the sign behind us.

The massive black sign with crimson stripes and white letters reading Death's Paradise loomed over us and illuminated the entire block. I wasn't sure how I missed that earlier, but what a morbid name. Who puts death in front of paradise? It sounded more like a mortuary than anything else.

I cleared my throat. "I'll think about it. I have to make a couple of stops first." I couldn't outright refuse her.

Tara was always such a sweetheart compared to everyone else at that shitty restaurant. She even took a couple of my shifts when I was in so much pain from my period, which was around the same time as my break up with Jared.

I felt bad that I didn't recognize her at first.

"Well, you have my number. Text me if you do, so I can come to the front and let you in." She waved me goodbye and crossed the street.

I watched her get through the doors immediately, forgoing the line entirely. It must be popular like Tara said because the line was enormous and bent past the corner.

Although, I couldn't help but wonder, did none of them see me fly out of the building and hit a light post? Not one?

No one looked at me like I did anything out of the ordinary. They were all chatting up a storm, idling waiting to get into the hottest nightclub in Hollow.

My back pocket vibrated and I pulled it out. Ten text messages and five missed calls.

Shit.

I jogged down the sidewalk, retracing the steps I took to get here.

The moon shone brightly as I maneuvered through people, who probably thought it was weird that I was jogging at night in slacks, but I didn't care. I cared more about Lucien waiting for me on his day off.

I made it to his front door, out of breath. I shook out my hands and then ironed my clothes, hoping I looked more put together than I felt.

I walked through the door and immediately, Lucien sprung up from the couch and sprinted right up to my face.

"What the actual hell, Addy? I thought something bad had happened. You show up a couple of nights ago looking like you got the shit kicked out of you, and then you disappear for hours with no response?" He was fuming. I could even see his eyebrows furrow deeper with each word. He brushed his hair back and then sighed. "Was it that piece of shit Jacob that did this to you? We can turn him in if it was," he said with so much concern.

I wanted to laugh. Was he getting Jared's name wrong on purpose? It didn't matter anyway. I didn't think turning him in would do me any good.

I shook my head and gave him a lopsided grin. "Thank you for your concern, Dad. But I lost track of time." I lied through my teeth, again.

I didn't want Lucien to get sucked into my mess. What if they took him instead of me this time? I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

It's like he saw through my facade and huffed under his breath. "You know you're going to have to tell me the truth sooner or later." He crossed his arms, scrutinizing me as his biceps flexed angrily.

"Yes, yes. I swear," I said, but I wasn't sure if I was lying or not. Maybe, I would tell him later on. "Well, I'm going to get changed. I don't want to wear this outfit while packing stuff."

Lucien didn't say another word and only nodded.

I walked back to the guest room and closed the door behind me. I plopped on the bed and sighed. I rubbed my temples and then picked up the only outfit I had left. The one Luicen gave me.

It had orange and pink stripes with a white collar. I felt like a person dressed for a kid's show as I slid on the atrocious brown khakis. I honestly think he chose this as a cruel joke because he couldn't have that bad of taste.

I didn't have to look in the mirror to know I looked absolutely ridiculous. I picked up the outfit Lynne had let me borrow off the ground and placed it on top of the bed. I would have to wash it before giving it back to her.

A light reflected off the dresser and blinded me for a split second.

My jaw dropped.

How the fuck did my necklace get here?