The Last Horizon (15 page)

His falsetto voice reverberated with the synthesizers and bass beat as he sang the club’s theme song:

Ten
thousand light years                                    I've roamed the skies                                          I’ve touched the rainbow                                     and it feels like ice
I move so fast,                                                 never touch the ground
I live my life at the speed of sound…

…t
he crowd danced wildly to the anthem and pumped their fists in the air as they sang along at the top of their lungs…

Techno-
Gypsy, Electric Gypsy                                The night is young,                                                  Gypsy, Oh Electric Gypsy                                       All night long

  …
the laser lights pulsed red and blue rays from the platform as the silhouettes of clubbers waved glow sticks, squirted water bottles, and jumped up and down in unison…screaming…

                    
I won't come down                                               so don't make me try
My sonic dream                                                     is never gonna die                                                 I’ll take my chances                                              on chrome and steel                                           Live fast die young is how I feel…

Techno-G
ypsy, Electric Gypsy                                 The night is young,                                                  Gypsy, Oh, Electric Gypsy                                       All night long

 
The DJ came down from the platform and started dancing with a group of girls. He was wearing tight red vinyl pants and undulated with the music as the girls ran their hands over his pale shirtless body.

  The girl I came in with shrieked, “
OH HERRON, YOU’RE GOD! I LOVE YOU!” And the DJ spun several times and floated to where we were dancing.

  “Trance is energy, baby.” He
purred. “Are you here with anyone?”

  She shook her head and beamed.

  “Perfect!” He smiled widely. “Give yourself to me tonight.”

 
He took her hand and led her to the platform. The group of girls he danced with clawed at him for attention, but a couple of bouncers stepped in and yanked them away. The DJ had made his choice and brought the girl to the stage and started manipulating the console again as she stood star-struck and watched her idol in fascination.

  Even through the chaos of strobe lights
, and the echo of electronic voices inducing the frenzy of sweat and hypnotic lust, I saw the DJ hand the girl a small vile and encourage her to inhale its contents while she danced seductively to the music. Crunch dust.

  The ceili
ng burst with blinding white light and flickered back to darkness as the techno-trance engulfed the crowd and electrified the air. Someone handed me a bottle of water and motioned for me to drink it. I handed it back and moved through the mass of howling people indulging themselves in the scene as a giant blue butterfly appeared  and floated gracefully over the horde of clubbers.

  I made my way to the side of the dance floor and looked for an empty seat at the tables
that were set up for spectators on a raised floor. I moved through the mingling people watching the bash when I spotted a small, empty table by the handrail that bordered the floor perimeter. I sat down and exhaled and watched the butterfly glide over the party.

  “
It’s a great scene isn’t it?” A man with long dark hair wearing a vest and dark glasses sat down and edged up next to me.

  “Yes it is.”

  “I’m Roscoe Brown, the ladies call me RB.” He said smoothly as he dropped his voice an octave.

 
I recognized the approach. “I’m not really looking for any company, handsome.” I said politely.

  “
Hey, you need to get hooked up? I can get you anything. You need some crunch? Psycho-dots? How about some Afterburner?”

  “No thanks
, I’m not into getting chemically motivated to do something stupid.” I frowned as I turned my attention back to the dance floor.

  “How about me then?” He grinned.

  “Huh?”

  “Want to session?”
He stood up and rubbed the bulge in his crotch. “I can promise you a night you’ll never forget.”

  I rolled my eyes in disgust. “I’ve seen
bigger balls on a kitten. Do yourself a favor and give those steamed clams the night off, handsome.”

 
“You keep calling me handsome, so there’s obviously something about me you like.”

 
“I call you handsome because you’re going home alone tonight and going to be using your hand-some.”

 
Roscoe laughed and put his hand on my lap as he sat back down. “I bet you like it rough, am I right?” He squeezed my thigh and ran it a little higher. “I bet you can get real nasty with the right man.” He winked.

  I laughed along with him as I reached down, grabbed his hand, and set it flat on the table. “Oh Roscoe,” I smiled as I reached over and removed his sunglasses and put them on, “you definitely have
a way about you, and you’re right, I can get
real
nasty.”

  He smiled confidently and
tilted his head sideways and eyed my breasts.

“I tell you what,” I said with a softer voice as I lightly stroked the wrist of his hand on the table, “I’m going to get you something to drink…” I leaned in and slipped my other hand into his vest without him noticing and removed the stiletto he had stashed in the right pocket.

 
“…while you sit here and try to figure out…” I held the knife up in front of his face, flicked the switch that snapped the blade out, and watched his eyes widened as I drove it hard through the top of his hand and pegged it to the table, “…how this evening could have turned out better for you.”

 
“SON-OF-A-BITCH! GET THIS OFF OF ME!” He screamed as he stared in shock at his impaled hand.

  “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” I
got up and went to the bar.

  Summer sat
in a corner booth and watched Roscoe whimpering as the girl with the leather jacket stood up and calmly walked away. A crowd was gathering around him as he cringed and yelled for help.

 
She got up to see what the commotion was all about; when she got to Roscoe’s table, she saw a growing pool of blood and a stiletto knife jammed through the top of his hand.

  “Don’t just stand ther
e you idiots, get some help!” Roscoe screamed. “Summer! You little whore! Get me some help, damn it!” He demanded as he looked helplessly at his injury and pounded his fist on the tabletop in agony.

  Summer had a hard time conce
aling her smile. “Having a bad night, Roscoe?” She reached down and wiggled the handle of the knife.

  “YAAAAH! DON’T TOUCH IT! DON’T TOUCH IT!”
He cried hysterically.

 
“Excuse me. Pardon me. I’m sorry, I just need to get through for a second.” Nikki nudged her way politely through the crowd standing around Roscoe’s table. She had a pitcher of beer.

 
“Hi honey, I brought you something to drink.” Nikki poured the beer on Roscoe’s head, set the pitcher next to his bleeding hand, then punched him in the face with a straight left jab that knocked him out cold. His body slumped forward and his face hit the table hard. The crowd gasped and parted as Nikki turned around and walked to the restroom wearing Roscoe’s sunglasses.

  Summer watched
her walk away coolly and admired her confidence. She looked at the mess that was Roscoe and decided to follow her. When she got to the ladies room, she saw Nikki washing blood off her hands in the clam-shaped sink.

  Summer
smiled coyly and nodded as they made eye contact, and took the spot next to Nikki and pretended to fix her hair. It took a few seconds to work up the courage to say something, and she tried not to be distracted by the bloody water spinning down the drain as she watched Nikki scrub her hands clean.

 
She side-eyed Nikki in the mirror. “That guy you hammered back there…do you know who he is?”

  “
He said his name was Roscoe.” Nikki shrugged as she reached for a towel.

  “Roscoe Brown is one of the biggest drug dealers in south
Fluture.” Summer said dryly. “A real balloon knot that walks around here like the world owes him a living.”

  “
He struck me as a pathetic turd-slurper.”

  “He is.”

  The girls burst out laughing as they looked at their reflections in the mirror. Summer put her hand over her mouth and blushed as she shook her head.

  “I’ve never heard that one before.”

  “Yeah, well, I have my moments.”

  “I’m Summer.” She held out her hand and smiled.

  “Nikki.” She shook Summer’s hand. “Is the Gypsy open every night?”

  “
It closes for three days every month for maintenance. Are you new to Fluture?”

  “Just passing through.”
Nikki looked at Summer. “Lovely dress.”

  “
Thank you. Where are you from?”

  “Earth.”

  “I’ve heard of your planet, you’re a long way from home.”

  “
I sure am. I’m here on business. Now I’m here to take in the nightlife. Are you from Nexus?”

  “Yes, I’m originally from Southern Icarus, but I live here in Fluture.”

  “You’re a long way from home too. So what do you do?”

  “I work here at the casino. How about you?”

  “I’m a pilot.”

  “Really? You must see a lot of places. What company do you work for?”

  “I’m on commission. I own my ship.”

  “
Wow Nikki, if you don’t mind my saying so, you are by far the most interesting girl I’ve ever met. You sound like you have an exciting life, and what you did to Roscoe out there was epic.”

  “Like I said, I have my moments.” Nikki grinned. 

  “Do you want to hang out? May be get something to eat?”

  “Sounds good. I’m famished
.” Nikki threw Roscoe’s glasses in the trash bin as they stepped back out to the party.

  They were met by two
hulking men in black uniforms--members of The Orchid’s security team. Roscoe stood between them cradling his wrapped up hand. “That’s her!” He scowled as he pointed at Nikki.

  The security guards
looked at each other, then at Nikki, “Young lady,” one of them said calmly, “this man claims you assaulted him with a knife. Do you know him?”

  “I beg your pardon?” Nikki feigned a look of confusion. “I’ve never seen this gentleman before.
What happened?” She asked innocently.

  “She’s lying!” Roscoe barked.
“You little bi…”

  “She’s with me.” Summer intervened as she looked the security man square in the eyes. “She’s an old friend of mine.”

  “She’s lying too!” Roscoe spit venomously. His shirt was soaked with blood and his right eye was black.

  The security guards
glared at Roscoe then looked at Summer. “Mr. Charon’s been wondering where you’ve been.”

  “I’m sorry, I lost track of time when I ran into Nikki. We haven’t seen each other in years.” Summer said apologetically as she hooked her left arm around Nikki’s right. “Can you tell Charon I’ll be up in a few minutes?”

  “You’ve got ten minutes.” The man said firmly. “Then you get your ass up there to join Charon for dinner. Don’t make me come looking for you.”

  “Hey wait a minute,” Roscoe contested, “what about her?” He pointed at Nikki.

  “Nikki’s been hanging with me all night,” Summer piped as she looked at the security guards, “I have no idea what Roscoe’s babbling about. He’s probably drunk and hitting the crunch again. Look at him, he even spilled his drink all over himself.”

  The security guard slapped Roscoe on the side of the head. “Shut up, yhamo,” the guard grunted
in disgust, “I catch you in here with a knife again, I’m going to stick it up your ass. You hear me?” The guards turned and half dragged Roscoe away. “Now go put on your big boy pants and go upstairs and have a med-tech look at your hand.”

  Summer looked at Nikki. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

  “Thanks for the cover story, Summer.”

  “May be I’ll see you around.”

  Nikki watched Summer disappear into the crowd. She couldn’t help but feel that the girl did her a big favor by standing up for her in front of the guards.

  She sensed
a certain sadness in Summer’s eyes. Even though the girl was wearing a gown that probably cost thousands of dollars, there was an air of desperation about her. Especially when the guard told her she was late for some sort of dinner date.