One: The Dungeon

"JACK ASH Performing LIVE at The Dungeon. Tomorrow 8 P.M. Onwards" The sign above the lockets says in full display to the streets from both directions. Ginger and Goldy, the Siamese twin who was conjoined on their backs sat conveniently in the booth to greet and sold tickets to Dungeon Dwellers that came from opposite sides.

He passed the lockets straight to the entrance door. "CJ's here," said the bodyguard with one yellow eye. Adrian didn't respond. He walked into the club where the music overran any other sound in the room. Under the black light he could see teeth glowing and neon colors as he went down the stairs to the dungeon's cellar where all the magic happened.

Everyone who worked there was deformed in one way or another. Most of them were deformed physically, but mentally, they were all handicapped whether they realized it or not. They were the first born of Mofocity, the first generation citizen who were born after The Separation and they were affected by secret government's experiments that had gone terribly wrong.

Bella, one of the cage dancers had a third arm removed from her stomach that left a hollow dent right above her belly button. Dorian, the bartender had a split tongue. Bob the janitor had long ears and no neck. But Adrian was there because the owner of the joint was his childhood friend. He also had exceptional eyesight that was very useful for his work in the night time. The one thing he had in common with the others was the fact that they couldn't get work anywhere else in town.

Adrian knew his way around the dungeon like the back of his hand. Even in a room full of people and insufficient light, he knew exactly how many steps it took from one cage to another, pass the bar to the left where there was a small hallway to the rest room and a narrow staircase to Jordan's office. He was at the bottom of the stairs when Kat showed up with an empty tray and grabbed him by the arm.

"I think you should sit this one out, honey" she said behind her face painting of a cat. "It's a private meeting, and the old man is not looking very peaceful," she continued as she dragged him to the bar stool and put the empty tray behind the bar. She leaned on the bar and popped her bubble gum. "Some lady is missing … a school teacher or something … I didn't get the details 'cause Chief wanted to talk privately with Jordy."

Dorian came just in time to hear the last part when he put down a glass in front of Adrian and poured him green liquid and a shot of thick red syrup on top of it. "My newest invention! Why don't you give it a taste, man! It's the 'Bloody Swamp Fire'" he said excitedly before he sprinkled some herb and lit up the drink.

The drink lit up for a fraction of a second, almost like a mini explosion before turning into a puff of smoke and bubbles appeared from the bottom of the drink. It looked like something out of an experiment lab and everyone at the bar was astonished by it. "Come on, man! Strike it! One of these babies will last all night," Dorian boasted of his new creation. Adrian was hesitant, but then he lifted the glass and chugged it all in. He pursed his lips as he swallowed and squinted his eyes. "That's nasty," he commented.

Dorian burst out laughing, Kat smiled while her finger stroked her necklace with a 'Kitty Kat' pendant plated in gold. "Jack Ash's special request, man! So I made something really special for tomorrow, everyone will get a glass of that before the show," Adrian nodded, raising his eyebrows still struggling with the burn he felt in his throat and mouth. Dorian leaned in and whispered, "By the way, that wasn't thyme."

"Shit, man! I have to work tonight!"

But Dorian was just laughing very pleased by what he had done. "It's all good, man, I promise 'ya, I tried it for two weeks straight … it's all good," he said, giving a high five to Kat.

"Hey, do you think CJ's going to do an investigation on that missing lady here?" his tone turned serious.

Kat shrugged while playing with her freshly shaven tail, "Don't they always do that whenever anything wrong is happening in this town?" She brushed Dorian's cheek with the tip of her tail that shaped like a lion's tail. "That's the fourth missing person this past four months, and they haven't even solved the other ones from last year," she said as she turned to leave.

"I know for sure that's not the fourth one, there are others, plenty of them," Dorian commented. Adrian didn't answer, he was starting to notice that Dorian's split tongue is getting closer and further away with every beat and the pounding of his head.